Legal Opinions

Upon the cessation of hostilities at Rabaul, German New Guinea, Colonel Holmes, the Brigadier in command of the Expeditionary Force, issued a proclamation proclaiming the military occupation of 'the Island of New Britain and the Dependencies.'

Mr Stuart Cameron, a Brisbane Solicitor, who was a member of the Expeditionary Force, has raised the question whether the proclamation is effective, in that the Island of New Britain is only one of the German possessions in the Pacific, and the Island had no dependencies.

Messrs Phillips, Ormonde & Co. have written the following letter to the Secretary, Defence Department:

The Geneva Convention Act 1911 which was promulgated in England on August 18th 1911 in effect enacted, inter alia:

This is a doubtful matter. The terms of the Hague Convention-'small boats employed in local trade'-are very vague. From the discussion at the Hague and the various proposals made there (Higgins, The Hague Peace Conferences, p. 404) it seems probable that the intention was to embrace what are described as 'ships and boats of small dimension, used in the transport of agricultural produce or of persons along the coasts, or between the coast and adjacent islands or in archipelagoes'.

In reference to the letter of the Waterloo Glass Bottle Works Limited, dated 21 July 1915, asking for advice as to a claim for the refund of money paid to Messrs Lohmann of Sydney as agents for the Norddeutscher Lloyd Company, the matter appears primarily to be one on which the claimants should seek the advice of their own solicitors.

The Secretary to the Treasury desires advice as to whether an officer appointed to the Australian Imperial Forces for the voyage only comes within the definition of 'Member of the Forces' set out in section 2 of the War Pensions Act 1914.

The conditions of appointment are contained in the following circular issued by the Adjutant-General to the Commandant of the respective military districts:

The Industrial Peace Act of 1912 of the State of Queensland provides inter alia as follows:

34. No person shall be refused employment or in any way discriminated against on account of membership or non-membership of any industrial association.

No person who is an employer or employee shall be discriminated against or injured or interfered with in any way whatsoever on account of membership or non-membership of any industrial association.

The Commissioner of Taxation has forwarded the following memorandum for advice:

Under section 8 of the Estate Duty Assessment Act 1914, estate duty is levied and paid upon the value as assessed under the Act of the estates of persons dying after the commencement of the Act.

Sub-section (5) exempts from duty so much of the estate as is devised or bequeathed or passes by gift inter vivos or settlement for religious scientific charitable or public educational purposes.

In reply to your minute of 26 July last, I have to inform you that in my opinion the issue of instructions to members of the Forces, as to their user of privately owned lands, by means of Standing Orders is within the provisions of section 69 of the Defence Act 1903-1915, but that the manner in which compensation shall be made to landowners for injury to or destruction of their property can only be prescribed by Act or Regulation.

[Vol. 14, p. 59]

The Secretary, Department of External Affairs, has forwarded for advice papers in connection with the imprisonment of a . . . youth A.B. by name. The following memorandum is with the file:

The attached memorandum from the Collector, Fremantle, and the report by the Police regarding a . . . youth named A.B., aged 18 years, are submitted for consideration by the Minister as to whether action should be taken against this person under section 8 of the Immigration Act with the view of his being deported from the Commonwealth.

The Commissioner of Land Tax has forwarded the following memorandum for advice:

Will you be so good as to favour me with your advice on the following case: By his will A.B.C. directed that his widow should have the personal use and enjoyment of the dwelling-house in which testator resided, for her life, and subject thereto the whole of his real estate was to be held upon trust, the trustees being directed to sell and to stand possessed of the net moneys which were to be devoted to specific purposes.