The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1910 TINKERING WITH THE CONSTITUTION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 934, 29 September 1910, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1910 TINKERING WITH THE CONSTITUTION.

Every' well-wisher of the' Australian Federation will have read with interest, perhaps mingled with concern, of the decision of the. Fishee . Government, . recorded in a cable message in Tuesday's paper, to introduce legislation with the object of ; amending the Constitution in the direction of giving the Foderal Government unrestricted power to enact industrial legislation for the whole nation and to nationalise what it pleases the .Radicals and Socialists to call "monopolies." The Constitution cannot, of course, be amended by' Act of Parliament: a good many obstacles must be surmounted before, the Constitution can be altered. The proposed law for the alteration- desired must be passed by an absolute majority of each of the two Houses of the Parliament. The proposed alteration must then be submitted by referendum to the people of the Commonwealth, and, it cannot be adopted unless there ijs a majority

in its favour in a majority of the States, and a majority also of the total votes cast in all the States. This is generally looked upon as being as good a balance as can be struck between the two cardinal principles of sound federation, which are, first, that the Constitution must not be a fossil but a living organism capable of undergoing the change necessary 'to keep in harmony with the development and growth of the community, arid, second, that, as-a charter of government and .dcv.l of trust, it must not be lightly or in-' considerately altered. . ■ The amendments proposed by M». Fisher may or may not secure thc : various majorities necessary to their .adoption, but even if they are ultimately rejected, the reason - for uneasiness at , his action-will not have disappeared. The first disquieting fact is. that a Government, in the absence of any overwhelming necessity for : reconsideration, should be desirous of making a drastic change in the Constitution almost before it is cold. Ten years is a long time in- the life of an individual, but in the life of a charter of government it is a•' mere nothing. That is obvious enough in itself, but there is an enormous mass of evidence to show that the . .Constitution is still very far from having, hardened into permanence as the/backbone of the national body. Mr.; Fisher, if challenged on these lines, may quote thecase .of America, in- 'whose Consti-tution-no fewer than'twelve amendments were; made in the - first, fifteen years, but an examination of these .amendments and the amendments of later date will sho,w that there is nothing in . the history'of the-Ameri-can instrument to afford an argument to Mr.:, Fisher, while there is; much . that testifies against the expediency. or propriety of- his proposed alterations.- The ; first . ten amendments were made immediately after the' Constitution . came into I effect,-and were proposed by,/ the Legislatures of. the States. They are j not _ regarded as' amendments itf the ordinary sense of the word, but, as Mr. Bryce notes in his monumental iwork:on The American Commonwealth, as merely a "supplement" or "postscript" to the . Constitution. Trie eleventh' and twelfth amendments were brief "corrections of minor defects which ,_had disclosed themselves in the working'of the Constitution." Three other amendments, and three only, had been made in- the century that elapsed before Mr. Bryce wrote his , book. These were all effected between, the years 1865 and 1870, and were all concerned with the emancipation of the negroes. ' ; It is noted by Mr. Bryce that this group is tl«s only one that- marks a .political crisis..arid- registers a, politicals victory. : V .: .. '-It will, thus be seen , that, speaking broadly, there was only one change of a political character made in the American Constitution in a century of its _ working. That is in itself a most impressive fact, and ought to be read in Australia as the most weighty instruction conceivablc as to the frugality with which the power of. aimendment should .be exercised. 'But-there is a further fact that immeasurably enhances the gravity of this lesson, and it is. this: that before even that, change was' made there was; required the justification of a! strength of feeling great enough to plunge the country , into a terrible civil war. What Mr.' ; Fisher proposes is ..to..put the. -ponstitution : through the.mill;simply in order to permit the enactment into law of, a couple of; ideas->vhich; happen, to constitute, planks in the political platform of the party i in power for tho time being.'. It is ;!i we know, to cherish any-respect for established ; principles and institutions,- and no doubt a great many people- in Australia would laugh at the idea: that one -should "go slow!' in any matter, however delicate anil serious it- might be. "To the melting potis', a cry that , has an ■irresistible charm for the ..Radicals, arid the. Socialists; and it is'not surprising '.that. they should .desire ■ to : satisfy, their passion .for change and destruction on the Constitution, Most reasonable people, however, will not' .view with', the same equa-, nimity the suggestion that the Constitution should be changed in order that'. an ephemeral Government may thrust its ideas, upon the nation. The people, however, have the mat- , ter in. their. own hands. .: The- attitude of the Fisher ' GOTernment towards the Constitution may be disquieting to those who recognise, the danger- underlying such tinkering,. but.the safeguards.provided against hasty changes, though not sufficient to check a strong wave of popular' feeling,.are,nevertheless very considerable and will not be easily set aside. - . ..'