APPEAL ALLOWED.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1781, 20 June 1913, Page 5

APPEAL ALLOWED.

SYDNEY'S VICE-REGAL EVICTION. HIGH . COURT'S DECISION. Br Telegraph—Press Assoclation-Copyrißht (Ree. June 19; S.lO p.m.) Sydney, June 19. The Federal High Court has delivered its judgment in tho appeal against the State Court's decision in connection with the alleged eviction of the GovernorGeneral from Government House, Sydney. The Court unanimously allowed the appeal, thus confirming Lord Denman's eviction. Sir Edmund Barton, in delivering judgment, said tha,t when New South Wales received her Constitution in 1855, and with it the full control of waste lands, it would be marvellous indeed if she wero refused control of Government Houso lands. Clearly, it was part of tho lands taken over by the self-governing community, and if it were assumed that the original naturo of the Governor's office meant Imperial control of the land, then tho transition to constitutional government, by parity of reasoning, meant colonial control of the lands. The Labour party is jubilant at the Court's decision. Mr. Carmichael, Minister for Public Instruction, proposes—provided there is no appeal to the Privy Council—to proceed at once with a scheme for utilising the house and grounds for the public bsnefit, including the erection of a Conserratorium of Music.

The State Court, a specially-constituted equity tribunal, found that the Government of New South Wales was merely tho custodian of Government Houso for tho Imperial authorities, and was not entitled to utilise the premises for other than tho purposes for which they had been originally set apart. An injunction was therefore granted, with costs, against tho Government, preventing the State authorities from converting tho land and buildings to its own uso. Having regard to the relation of tho Governor to tho Crown, both as the executive head of the Empire and of New South Wales, the Court was of opinion that the proprietary right in tho lands sot apart before (he "passing of tho Constitution statute for the purpose of the Governor's residence diet not—any more than the lands sot apart for naval' and military purposs9—pass from tho Imperial to the New South Wales Government. Moreover, though the land might liavo been dispropriated from tho purpose of a Governor's residence and applied to a purely local purpose by tho Executive, tho act had been done without legislation. This could not be dono by the Governor acting on the solo advice of tho local Ministers, aiul much less by the Ministers themselves without his concurrence. By whatever means such a chango in proprietary right might bo effected, there should be, considered the Court, some evidence of tho concurrence of tho Imperial Government. From this decision the New South Walls Government appealed, with tho result above stated.

The crux of the position is that Government House, Sydney, is the property of tho State, but on tho inauguration of Federation in 1901 was loaned to tho Commonwealth Government for the uso of tho Governor-General for a period of years, whicli has expired. Tho State Government takes tho attitude that it is the duty of tho Commonwealth, and not tho States, to provide a rcsidenco for tho Gov-ernor-General.