| A N N O | V I C E S I M O | Q U A R T O | & | V I C E S I M O | Q U I N T O |
| A n | Act | to | remove | Doub t s | respect ing | t h e | A u t h o r i t y | of | t h e |
Legis la ture of Queensland and t o a n n e x ce r t a in Terr i tor ies to t h e Colony of Sou th Austral ia and for o the r purposes . [22nd July, 1861.]
| WH E R E A S | in t h e fifth | a n d s ixth years of H e r Majes ty in t i tu led " An | Act |
| by an Ac t passed in t h e Session of P a r l i a m e n t | holden |
for the Government of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land"
i t was enac ted t h a t i t should be lawful for H e r Majesty by Letters P a t e n t to be from t i m e to t ime issued unde r t he Great Seal of t h e
| U n i t e d K i n g d o m of Grea t | Br i t a in | a n d | I r e l and | to | define | as | to | H e r |
Majesty should seem fit t he l imi ts of t h e Colony of N e w Sou th W a l e s and to erect in to a separate Colony or Colonies any Terr i tor ies which t h e n were or were r epu t ed to be or thereaf ter m i g h t be comprised
| wi th in t h e said Colony of N e w Sou th Wales | Provided always t h a t no |
| pa r t of the Terr i tor ies | ly ing | sou thward | of t h e twenty-s ix th degree of |
| south la t i tude in t h e said Colony should | by a n y | such | Le t te r s | P a t e n t |
| be de tached from t h e said Colony | A n d whereas by a Bil l passed by t h e |
| Legis la t ive | Counci l of N e w Sou th W a l e s in t h e seventeenth year of | H e r |
Majes ty in t i tu led " An Act to confer a Constitution upon New South
Wales and to grant a Civil List to Her Majesty " wh ich said Ac t was
wi th cer ta in a m e n d m e n t s assented to by H e r Majesty in Council u n d e r
| au tho r i t y of an Act | of P a r l i a m e n t | passed | in t h e | Session holden | in |
t h e e igh teen th and n ine t een th year of H e r said Majesty in t i tu led " An " Act to enable Her Majesty to assent to a Bill as amended of the " Legislature of New South Wales to confer a Constitution upon New
| " South Wales and to grant a Civil List to Her Majesty" | i t was pro |
| vided t h a t | n o t h i n g in t h e said Bil l conta ined should | be deemed | to |
| p reven t | H e r | Majesty | from | a l te r ing t h e bounda ry of N e w | South | W a l e s |
on t h e n o r t h in such m a n n e r as to H e r Majesty m i g h t seem fit nor for de tach ing from t h e said Colony t h a t por t ion of t h e same which lies be tween t h e western b o u n d a r y of South Aus t ra l i a and t h e one h u n d r e d
| and t w e n t y - n i n t h degree of east longi tude | reckoning from t h e | mer id ian |
of Greenwich A n d whereas by t h e las t -reci ted A c t of P a r l i a m e n t provision was made respec t ing t h e exercise by H e r Majesty of t h e power given H e r by the said Bil l of a l t e r ing t he n o r t h e r n boundary of N e w South W a l e s and i t was declared t h a t i t should be lawful for H e r Majesty by Le t t e r s P a t e n t to be from t ime to t i m e issued u n d e r t h e
| Grea t Seal | of | t h e | U n i t e d K i n g d o m | of | Great | Br i t a in | and I r e l a n d | to |
| erect in to a separate Colony or Colonies | any Terr i tor ies which m i g h t |
| be separa ted from | N e w South W a l e s b y such | a l te ra t ion | as | aforesaid |
| of | t h e | n o r t h e r n | b o u n d a r y | thereof | a n d in | and by | such | Le t t e r s | P a t e n t |
| or by Order in Council to m a k e provision for t h e Gove rnmen t of | any |
| such Colony a n d for t h e es tab l i shment | of a Legis la tu re there in | i n |
| m a n n e r | as near ly | resembl ing | t h e form of Gove rnmen t | and | Leg i s l a tu re |
which should be a t such t ime established in N e w South W a l e s as t h e c i rcumstances of such Colony would allow and t h a t full power should be given in a n d by such L e t t e r s P a t e n t or Order in Council t o t h e
| Legis la tu re of t h e said Colony to m a k e fur ther | provision in t h a t | behalf |
| A n d whereas in v i r tue of t h e powers hereinbefore set forth H e r | Majesty |
| did by cer ta in | Le t t e r s | P a t e n t | bear ing da te t he s ixth day of J u n e | in | t h e |
year one t h o u s a n d e ight hund red a n d fifty-nine separate cer ta in Terr i tories the re in men t ioned from the Colony of N e w Sou th W a l e s and did erect t h e said Terr i tor ies in to a separate Colony u n d e r t h e n a m e of
| Q u e e n s l a n d | a n d did also by a cer ta in | Order in | Council | also | bea r ing |
da te t h e said s ix th day of J u n e one thousand e ight h u n d r e d a n d fifty- n ine m a k e provision for the Gove rnmen t of t h e said Colony of Queens l and a n d for t h e es tab l i shment of a Leg i s la tu re the re in b u t t h e form
| of Gove rnmen t a n d Legis la tu re | so established did no t | in al l | respects |
| resemble t h e form | of G o v e r n m e n t | a n d | Legis la tu re | a t t h a t | t ime | estab |
| l ished | in | N e w | South | W a l e s | A n d | whereas | doubts | are | en te r t a ined |
| whe ther t h e powers in tended to be conferred u p o n the said | Gove rnmen t |
| a n d Legis la ture by t h e said Order in | Council a n d t h e Acts clone by |
| t h e m may no t be inval id by reason of such w a n t of resemblance | as |
| aforesaid | A n d | whereas | doubts are also enter ta ined w h e t h e r i t | is |
| competen t to H e r Majesty by Le t te r s P a t e n t to annex to any | exis t ing |
| Colony any p a r t of N e w South Wales | which m a y be de tached | the re |
| from or to de tach from N e w Sou th W a l e s t h a t | por t ion | thereof | which |
| lies be tween | t h e wes te rn bounda ry of Sou th Aus t ra l i a | and | the | one |
h u n d r e d and twen ty -n in th degree of east longi tude A n d whereas i t is expedient t o set a t res t all such doubts as aforesaid and also to de tach from N e w South W a l e s t h e las t -ment ioned por t ion thereof and to
| annex t h e same to Sou th Aus t ra l i a | Be i t therefore | enacted | by the |
| Queen ' s Mos t Exce l l en t Majesty | by and wi th | t he advice and | consent |
of t h e Lords Spi r i tua l and Tempora l and Commons in th i s p resen t P a r l i a m e n t assembled and by the au thor i ty of t he same as follows :—
| 1 . | So m u c h of t he | Colony of N e w Sou th W a l e s be ing to | t he |
| sou th of t h e twenty-s ix th degree of south l a t i tude as lies be tween | the |
western b o u n d a r y of Sou th Aus t ra l i a and t h e one h u n d r e d and twen ty- n i n t h degree of east long i tude shal l be and t h e same is he reby detached from t h e Colony of New South W a l e s and annexed to t h e Colony of Sou th Aus t ra l i a and shal l for all purposes wha teve r be deemed to be pa r t of t h e said las t -ment ioned Colony from the day on
| which th i s A c t | of | P a r l i a m e n t | shall be proclaimed | there in . |
±
| 2. | I t shal l be lawful for H e r Majesty by such Le t te r s P a t e n t | as |
aforesaid to annex to any Colony which is now or m a y hereafter be established on the Cont inen t of Aus t ra l i a any Terr i tor ies which in
| exercise of t h e powers hereinbefore | men t ioned m i g h t have been |
| erected in to a separa te Colony | Prov ided always t h a t i t shal l be lawful |
| for H e r Majesty in such Le t t e r s P a t e n t | t o reserve such powers of |
| revoking or a l t e r ing t h e same as to H e r |
| declare t he period du r ing which such Le t te r s P a t e n t shal l r e m a i n in | Majesty shall | seem fit or t o |
force and also on t h e revocat ion or o ther de te rmina t ion of such Le t t e r s P a t e n t again to exercise in respect of t h e Terr i tor ies referred
| to there in or any p a r t | thereof | all such powers a n d au tho r i t y as m i g h t |
have been exercised if t h e said Le t t e r s P a t e n t had never been made .
| 3. Al l t h e | provisions made in t h e afore-mentioned | Le t t e r s |
P a t e n t and Order in Council of t h e said s ix th day of J u n e one thousand e ight h u n d r e d and fifty-nine for es tabl ishing t h e Colony of Queens land and for t he Gove rnmen t of t h e said Colony and for the es tabl i shment of a Legis la ture there in shall be a n d be deemed to have been valid and effectual for all purposes wha tever a n d al l acts and proceedings of t h e said Governmen t a n d Legis la tu re shall be and be deemed to have been from t h e da te of t h e said Order in Counci l of the same force a n d effect as if t he las t -ment ioned Order in Council h a d been in all respects valid and free from doubt .
| 4 . A n d whereas in t h e event of any Terr i tor ies be ing | hereafter |
separated from N e w Sou th W a l e s a n d erected in to a separa te Colony it may not be expedien t t h a t t h e form of t he Gove rnmen t and Legis la ture to be established in t h e said Colony should depend upon
the
| t he form of Governmen t | and | Leg is la tu re which m a y a t t he | t i m e | of |
| such separat ion he establ ished in N e w Sou th Wales | Be it enac ted as |
| follows—So m u c h | of | t h e secondly herein-reci ted Ac t | of P a r l i a m e n t | as |
requi res t h a t t h e Gove rnmen t a n d Legis la ture of any Colony so erected as aforesaid shal l as near ly as t he c i rcumstances of t he said Colony shal l al low resemble t h e form of Governmen t and Legis la ture
| which shall be a t such t ime established in N e w South W a l e s shall | be |
| a n d t h e same is hereby repealed. |
| 5. | W h e r e a s t h e boundar ies | of ce r ta in of H e r Majesty 's | Colonics |
| on t h e Cont inen t of Aus t ra l i a m a y be found to | have been | imperfectly |
| or inconvenient ly | defined a n d i t m a y | be expedient from t ime to t ime |
to de te rmine or a l te r such boundar ies Be i t therefore fur ther enacted as fol lows—It shall be lawful from t i m e to t i m e for the Governors of any cont iguous Colonies on t he said Cont inent wi th t h e advice of t he i r respective Execu t ive Councils by any i n s t r u m e n t u n d e r the i r jo in t
| h a n d s and seals t o de termine or a l ter | t h e | common | bounda ry of | such |
| Colonies a n d the b o u n d a r y | described | in any such i n s t r u m e n t | shal l | be |
| deemed to be wi th in t h e l imi ts | t he r e | la id down t h e t r u e b o u n d a r y | of |
said Colonies so soon as H e r Majes ty ' s approval of such i n s t r u m e n t shal l have been proclaimed in e i ther of such Colonies b y t h e Governor thereof.
| 6. | I n t he event of any Ter r i to ry be ing hereafter separa ted | from |
any Aus t r a l i an Colony a n d e i ther erected in to a separate Colony or annexed to any other Colony if t h e Governor of t he Colony to which such Ter r i to ry belonged before separa t ion or t he Governor of t h e Colony t o which i t shal l be long or which i t m a y cons t i tu te after separat ion shall represen t t o one of H e r Majes ty ' s Pr inc ipa l Secretaries of S ta te t h a t a ques t ion has arisen be tween t h e Governments of two Colonies as to t he propor t ions in which t h e Pub l i c Deb t of t h e Colony from which such Terr i tory has been separated should be borne by t h e two Colonies respectively after separat ion or as to t h e division of t h e Pub l i c Moneys in the Treasury of such first-mentioned Colony a t t he t ime of separat ion i t shal l be lawful for H e r Majesty t h r o u g h one of H e r Pr inc ipa l Secretaries of S ta te to requ i re t h e Governors of t h e two Colonics w i t h t he advice of the i r respect ive Execu t ive Councils each to appoin t a Commiss ioner and i t shall be lawful for H e r Majesty to appo in t a t h i r d Commissioner no t be ing a res ident in or employed in t he Pub l i c Service of e i ther Colony and to fix t h e t i m e a n d place of t h e first mee t ing of t h e Com missioners a n d such Commissioners shall de te rmine t he propor t ion in which such moneys or debt shall be divided be tween t h e t w o Colonies
and t h e award of such Commissioners or of any two of t h e m when
confirmed by H e r Majesty in Counci l shall be final and conclusive
agains t b o t h Colonies Provided a lways t h a t no th ing here in contained a n d no award as aforesaid shal l in any way prejudice or affect the secur i ty of any Deben tu re s which may have been issued before t h e separa t ion of any Terr i tory by t h e Gove rnmen t of t h e Colony from
| which such Ter r i to ry m a y be separa ted or t h e absolute r igh t and | claim |
| of | t he holders thereof to demand a n d receive p a y m e n t | of t he | a m o u n t s |
the reby respectively p u r p o r t i n g to be secured as well ou t of t h e revenues of t he Colony from which such Ter r i to ry has been separa ted as ou t of t h e revenues of t h e Colony to which such Ter r i to ry shall be long or
| which i t | may | cons t i tu te . |
A N N O