Explore "A Short History of Australia" by Ernest Scott on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Responsible government and federation--The task of the Convention--Types of federal government--The Senate--The House of Representatives--Provision against deadlocks--The High Court--The Governor-General--Federal powers-- The name 'Commonwealth'--New South Wales and the constitution-- G. H. Reid's attitude--Referendums--Conference of premiers--The Bill before the Imperial Parliament--The Commonwealth proclaimed--First Parliament opened.
The task of the Convention was made easier by having the draft of 1891 as a model; and a comparison between the Constitution which it prepared and its predecessor shows both general resemblance and striking differences. Substantially the framework of the new edifice followed the lines laid down six years before. The departures lay in the widening of scope and the liberalizing of powers.