The New Irish Constitution: An Exposition and Some Arguments
History
The New Irish Constitution: An Exposition and Some Arguments
Home rule -- Ireland; Ireland -- Politics and government
In considering what subjects would naturally be withdrawn from the
jurisdiction of the future Irish Legislature, as of other subsequent
British local legislatures, it will be well to see which of these
exclusions are common to the Canadian and Australian Constitutions. These
are: trade and commerce, indirect taxation, borrowing money, postal,
telegraphic, and telephonic services, naval and military defence,
lighthouses, etc., quarantine, fisheries, census and statistics, currency,
coinage and legal tender, banking, other than State banking, weights and
measures, bills of exchange and promissory notes, bankruptcy and
insolvency, copyrights patents and trade marks, naturalization and aliens,
marriage and divorce. There are also a few differences in the matter of
exclusions between the two Dominions. For instance, Canada’s list of
reservations for the Central Parliament begins with “The Public Debt and
Property,” for which there is no exactly corresponding heading in the
Australian Constitution. This Canadian list also includes navigation and
shipping, savings banks, the criminal law and penitentiaries. On the other
hand the subjects reserved for the Central Parliament in Australia,
comprise, _inter alia_, bounties, insurance, other than State insurance,
trading or financial corporations, invalid and old-age pensions,
immigration and emigration, “external affairs,” control of railways for
military and naval transport purposes, railway construction and extension,
industrial conciliation and arbitration, etc.
The essential exclusions from the jurisdiction of State Legislatures are,
of course, national defence, treaty making powers, laws affecting foreign
trade and shipping, lighthouses, coinage and legal tender, trade marks,
patents and copyrights to which might very well be added factory
legislation, company legislation and the laws affecting negotiable
instruments. It would seem a pity to break up the legislation on subjects
that are less of local than of general interest, thus adding to their
legal difficulties by diversity of legislation. As regards factory laws
the question of the position under international conventions of an Irish
Legislature demands specially careful consideration. There are, at
present, two international conventions relating to factory laws, namely,
those concerning the prohibition of white phosphorus in match
manufacturing, and night work by women in industrial occupations. It is
likely that they will shortly be followed by others regulating the hours
of work of women and young persons and prohibiting night work by boys
under eighteen. It is desirable that the advantages of such conventions
should be retained for the Irish industrial worker.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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