SYDNEY GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1742, 6 May 1913, Page 5

SYDNEY GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

» THE ALLEGED WRONGFUL EVICTION. THE CASE ON APPEAL. By Telegraph—Press Association—CopyrleSt (Rec. May 5, 9.20 p.m.) Sydney, May 5. The High Court has commenced tho hearing of the Stato Government's appeal against tho Supremo Court's decision concerning tho alleged wrongful eviction, of tho Governor-General from Government House, Sydney, which tho State Government had lent to the Federal authorities sinco tho Federation.

[The Court, which was a speciallyconstituted equity tribunal, found that the Government of New South Wales was merely the custodian of Government House for tbo Imperial authorities, anil was not entitled to litiliso the .premises for other than Hie purposes for which they had been originally set apart. Tho injunction was granted with costs against tho Government. Having regard to the relation, of, tho ~Goyer;iop,,to tho Crown, both as tho oxecutivo head of tin* Empire and of Now Soutli Wales, tho Court was of opinion that tho proprietary right in the lands set apart Ijeforo tho pasSTng of the C-flJiatitutioii statute for the purpose of tho Governor's residence, did not —any more than tho lands set apart for naval and t military purposes—pass from tho Imperial to the New South Wales Government. Moreover, though tho land might have been dispropriated from tho purpose of a Governor s residence and applied 'to a purely local purpose by the Executive, tho Act had been done without legislation. This could not bo done by tho Governor acting on tho solo advice of the local Ministers, und much less by the Ministers themselves without his concurrence. By whatever means sucli u change in proprietary right might bo cffccted, there should bo some ovidenco of tho concurrence of tho lmperiul Government.]