The House of Representatives is to be composed of members directly chosen by the people of the several states, and the number which each colony will return will depend on its population. This Chamber is, as nearly as practicable, to contain double the number of members of the Senate. The House of Representatives would therefore consist, at the outset, of about seventy-two members, which would give as nearly as possible, one member for every 50,000 of the population. Victoria would, roughly speaking, have about twenty-two members. In order, however, to protect the interests of the smaller states in this House, it is provided that Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia, shall be entitled to at least five members each, although on the population basis, the island colony might not be able to claim more than four members. Until the Federal Parliament otherwise provides, each local or state Parliament can determine into how many electoral divisions the colony should be divided for the purpose of returning members to the House of Representatives, but should it not divide the state into {239} electoral districts, then each colony is to be regarded as one electorate, in the same way as in the case of the election of senators. The duration of every House of Representatives will be three years, unless it is sooner dissolved by the Governor-General. There is no power, however, conferred on the Governor-General to dissolve the Senate. The qualification of electors of members of the House of Representatives is in each state to be that for electors of the more numerous House--or Legislative Assembly--of the state. The members of both Houses are to receive an allowance of L400 each per annum for their services. The following are the subjects the Commonwealth Parliament is to be empowered to legislate upon and deal with:-- 1. The regulation of trade and commerce with other countries and among the several states. 2. Customs and excise and bounties. 3. Raising money by any other mode or system of taxation. 4. Borrowing money on the public credit of the commonwealth. 5. Postal and telegraphic services. 6. The military and naval defence of the commonwealth and the several states, and the calling out of the forces to execute and maintain the laws of the commonwealth. 7. Munitions of war. 8. Navigation and shipping. 9. Ocean beacons and buoys and ocean lighthouses and lightships. 10. Astronomical and meteorological observations. 11. Quarantine. 12. Fisheries in Australian waters beyond territorial limits. 13. Census and statistics. 14. Currency, coinage, and legal tender. 15. Banking, the incorporation of banks, and the issue of paper money. 16. Insurance, excluding state insurance not extending beyond the limits of the state concerned. 17. Weights and measures. 18. Bills of exchange and promissory notes. 19. Bankruptcy and insolvency. 20. Copyrights and patents of inventions, designs, and trade marks. {240}