Guide 3 to NSW State Archives relating to Responsible Government - OCR - Flipbook - Page 19
A Guide to New South Wales State Archives relating to Responsible Government
that it should be finally abolished. The British Government at once agreed "for whatever
it might think of the colonists' wisdom, it never intended to force convicts upon them
against their wishes"."
The next Imperial Act, replacing the Act of 1842, 13 & 14 Vic c.59, the Australian
Colonies Government Act, was assented to on 5 August 1850. Apart from the obvious
provisions relating to the separation of the Port Phillip district and erection into a
separate colony named Victoria, the Act contained a number of changes in the
constitution, such as repeal of the unpopular district council clauses of the 1842 Act,
lowering of the voting requirements by half of those imposed in the 1842 Act, and giving
the vote to those holding squatting licences.
But perhaps the most important change was that recommended by the Committee of
1849: the Council was given power to amend its own constitution, and to alter the
Civil List, subject to confirmation from the British Government. ... And finally, power
was given to the British Government to separate the north of New South Wales from
the mother country in the same way that Victoria had been separated by this Act. The
colony of Queensland was foreshadowed when Victoria was created.12
However, while the Act of 1850 might have been welcomed in the Port Phillip District/
Victoria, South Australia and Van Diemen's Land, its receipt in New South Wales was less
enthusiastic. "The Civil List was still there ... The control of Crown lands was still
reserved; any Act could still be vetoed by the British Government; and there was no sign
of responsible government.i13 The Legislative Council voiced its criticisms in a
Declaration and Remonstrance in May 1851, with two subsequent protests in 1851 and
1852. These resulted in a concessionary response from Sir John Pakington, received in
May 1853, in which he recommended that the Council should use the powers given by
the Act of 1850 and draw up a constitution suitable to the new powers he was willing to
give, control of Crown land and the (implied) responsible government so long sought
after. The discovery of gold and the wealth it brought, the consequential increase in the
population, or in other words "the new and rapidly changing circumstances of New South
Wales" and "the rapid progress of New South Wales in wealth and population" were cited
as reasons behind the change of policy/opinion.
The Legislative Council proceeded through two select committees, one in 1852 and 1853,
to draft a constitution. Following petitions from inhabitants objecting to the Bill, debates
and amendments the Constitution Bill was passed by the Council on 21 December 1853.
The Governor reserved the Bill on 22 December 1853, and on 16 July 1855, Royal assent
was given to the Bill, as amended.
1855 was a significant year for New South Wales. Not only was the Colony granted
responsible government by the enabling Imperial Constitution Statute and the
Constitution Act, which took effect on 24 November, but also it saw the renewal of steam
communication with England following the cessation of the Crimean War, the opening of
the railway line connecting Sydney with Parramatta, and the passage of such legislation
as that relating to making further provision for the regulation of railways, providing for
the destruction of sheep infected with scab, and amending and consolidating the laws
affecting marriages.
11 Ibid
12
Ibid, p.161. The Committee referred to is the Privy Council's Committee for Trade and Foreign
Plantations; a copy of its report can be found in the Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative
Council (NSW), Volume 1 of 1849, from p.704
13
Ibid, p.166
18
State Records Authority of New South Wales