8 K£W SOUTH WALES. 



the supremacy of tlie Imperial Parliament, and the Royal prerogative. 

 The former, although still an active principle, is greatly limited iu 

 practice by considerations of policy, under which imperial legislation 

 is virtually confined to matters of general or imperial concern and to 

 cases M'here such intervention is requested by the Colony itself.* The 

 prerogative powers of the Crown in relation to the Colony have not 

 only been considerably modified by statute,*" but are still more largely 

 qualified by the convention which precludes the Crown, under ordinary 

 circumstances, from interfering in matters of local or domestic concern. 

 These powers, moreover, are no longer wielded by the Crown itself, 

 but by a minister responsible to the Imperial Parliament — the Secre- 

 tary of State for the Colonies." From icithcmt, the Royal preroga- 

 tive manifests itself mainly in two ways — (1) the control which is 

 still exercised by the Secretary of State over colonial legislation 

 and over the colonial Governor ; and (2) the maintenance of the 

 appellate jurisdiction of the Crown as exercised through the Judicial 

 Committee of the Privy Council. Within the Colony, the pre- 

 rogative powers of the Crown, so far as they are delegated to the 

 Governor, still constitute the basis and measure of local executive 

 authority, except indeed in so far as they have been modified by local 

 or imperial statute."^ 



(ii) The Local Element. 



So far as relates to local affairs, therefore, the Colony enjoys the 

 fullest measure of self-government. Its domestic constitution rests 

 partly on statute," partly on the common law,*^ and partly on conven- 

 tion.^ Its groundwork is furnished by the Imperial statute 18 and 19 

 Vic, c. 54, to which the local Constitution Act is appended by way of 

 schedule.'' The latter has, however, been considerably modified by 

 later acts, such as the Constitution Act Amendment Acts of 1857, 1884, 

 and 1890, the Triennial Parliaments Act of 1874, the Parliamentary 

 Representatives Allowance Act of 1889, and the Electoral Act of 1893.' 

 The chief factors that require to be noticed in connection with the 

 local constitution are the Governor, the Legislature, the system of 

 Administration, and the Judicial system. 



" As illustrations of the former class of cases we may take Foreign Enlistment and 

 Extradition Acts ; as illustrations of the latter, the passing of the Federal Council of 

 Australasia Act, 18S5, and the proposed reference of the Federal Constitution to the 

 Imperial Parliament. 



'' 18 and 19 Vic, c. 54, sec. 2 ; Constitution Act, sees. 47 and 48. 



^ Anson, Law and Custom of the Constitution, ii. 249. 



'' For a judicial recognition of this principle see ex parte Leoiuj Kum (7 N.S.W. R. at 

 p. 262), which on this point is not affected Ijy the later decision in Chun Tecong Toy v. 

 Musiirove. (1891, App. Ca. 272). 



'• The statutes affecting the Constitution are partly imperial, such as 9 Geo. IV, c. 

 82, 18 and 19 Vic, c. 54, and the Colonial Laws Act, 1865 ; and partly local, such as the 

 varioiLS Constitution Act Amendment Acts 1857, 1884, 1890. With them we may class 

 orders and regulations made under this authority. 



^ The Letters Patent and Instructions take effect under the Royal prerogative as it 

 exists at common law. 



f-' The Ministerial system rests on convention, the only reference to it in the Consti- 

 tution Act being found in sec. 37. 



'' The Constitution Act is not strictly a .local statute, having been altered by the 

 Colonial Office before being assented to by the Crown. 



' Strictly the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Act, 1893. 



