It was also contended that, among a population of not more that 160,000 persons, if the experiment were worthy of a trial, it should be extended to the whole country. The only other electoral peculiarity that I have noted in Australia is to be found in Queensland. Under an Act of 1892 which deals with the election of members of the Assembly, an elector may "indicate on his {176} ballot-paper the name or names of any candidate or candidates for whom he does not vote in the first instance, but for whom he desires his vote or votes to be counted in the event of any candidate or candidates for whom he votes in the first instance not receiving an absolute majority of votes." These contingent votes are not counted unless the requisite number of candidates fail to obtain an absolute majority of all the primary votes; they are of no value where the candidates are not in the ratio of more than two to one to the vacancies, as it is provided that in such cases the candidates who receive the greatest number of votes shall be elected. It is a noteworthy fact that the four Provinces, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, which decided in favour of popular election of the delegates to the new Federal Convention and the subsequent approval or rejection of the Draft Constitution by a direct popular vote, are those in which the Ministry advocate a plebiscite for the settlement of disputes between the two Houses of Parliament. The acceptance of the Federation Enabling Bill by the Legislative Councils of these Provinces must weaken the moral force of their opposition to the plebiscite, as it may reasonably be argued that, if the people can be trusted to give an intelligent vote upon the most important of all Australian problems, they can still more be trusted to deal with any question of current politics. In Tasmania Ministers are {177} confronted with a Legislative Council which continually amends, as well as rejects, their financial proposals, justifying its attitude upon the wording of the Constitution Act of 1854. The section in question states that "all Bills for appropriating any part of the revenue or for imposing any tax, rate, duty, or impost shall originate in the House of Assembly, and it shall not be lawful for the House of Assembly to originate or pass any vote, resolution, or Bill for the appropriation of any part of the revenue, or of any tax, rate, duty, or impost for any purpose which shall not have been first recommended by the Governor to the House of Assembly during the session in which such vote, resolution, or Bill shall be passed." As the right of amendment is not specifically withheld, as in the Victorian Constitution, the Legislative Council assumes its possession. The case for the plebiscite was put by the Premier and the Treasurer upon the second reading of the Bill. Sir Edward Braddon stated that the financial privileges of the Assembly had continually been infringed by the