after investigation of the subject, have pro- 

 nounced in favour of legislation following the general trend 

 of the English Life Assurance Companies Acts 1870, 1872, 

 and 1909. Such legislation, as is well known, has as its 

 basis a full measure of publicity regarding the operations 

 of life offices; rather than that close and direct supervision 

 by the Government which obtains in the United States of 

 America and in Canada. This suggestion will most probably 

 be acceptable to the various offices. 



At the threshold of the Commissioners' labours, which 

 were undertaken at the behest of the Commonwealth 

 Government, it was primarily necessary to decide whether 

 Federal legislation should be imposed, such as would effec- 

 tively supersede the present divergent life Acts of the 

 individual States, and so secure uniformity in legislation, 

 in office procedure, and in the measure of supervision 

 advisable in the interests of the public. It is to this par- 

 ticular initial aspect of the work of the Royal Commission 

 that attention is invited in this paper. The Commissioners 

 state in their recommendation, No. 1, "That in the interest 

 alike of the life offices and the public, it is desirable that 

 the independent legislative provisions of the several States 

 relative to the transaction of life assurance business should 

 be superseded by the enactment of a uniform Federal law." 

 It may perhaps be unfair to assume that the Commissioners 

 intend to convey by this recommendation the idea that all 

 State laws relating to life insurance contracts and business 

 may be thus superseded. They are, of course, aware of the 

 series of judgments which have already emanated from the 

 Federal High Court, either checking, or amending in certain 

 important aspects, Federal enactments which that Court 

 has decided contravene the sovereign powers of the indi- 

 vidual States. The Commissioners' recommendation, No. 

 4, is that "A Federal public officer should be appointed, to 



