Legal Opinions

The Secretary to the Department of Defence has asked for advice on the question whether the ordinary rules for remission of sentences for good conduct applicable to ordinary prisoners in State gaols should also apply to military prisoners in these gaols.

In my opinion the rules as to good conduct remissions should, in the absence of any direction to the contrary in the sentence of the court-martial, apply to military prisoners in State gaols.

[Vol. 14, p. 362]

The Secretary to the Department of External Affairs has forwarded for advice the following memorandum:

In 1911 this Department received an application for naturalization from a person who stated that he was a Turkish subject by birth, and that his birth place was Jodsidat, Merjayoon, Turkey. It was presumed, at the time, that the place mentioned was in Turkey in Europe, but it has now been ascertained that it is in Turkey in Asia.

In connection with the payment of drawback on goods purchased by the Department of Defence for shipment outside Australia, the Auditor-General in April last wrote to the Treasurer in the following terms:

I have the honour to bring under your notice the question of drawback on goods purchased in the Commonwealth for supplies to troopships, such supplies to be delivered on board, or upon the wharf.

The Prime Minister asks to be advised as to the power of the Federal Parliament to provide for the appointment of a Rents Board to determine-

The Secretary to the Department of Defence has forwarded for advice the following memorandum:

It is desired that a legal opinion be obtained as to the exact scope of a commanding officer's powers to inflict summary punishment in time of war. Section 55 of the Defence Act reads:

The Secretary to the Treasury has forwarded the following memorandum asking for advice:

I am directed to ask that this office be furnished with an opinion, at the earliest possible date, as to whether-

Referring to the attached papers relating to the proposed treaty arrangement with Russia, I have carefully perused the papers and the memorandum by Mr L.F. East of the Department of Trade and Customs.

As regards the legal questions discussed by Mr East⁽¹⁾, I agree generally with his conclusions. It is, I think, quite clear that the Treaty itself does not override Commonwealth legislation, and it was for this reason that provision was inserted in the Commonwealth Navigation Act, section 422, which reads as follows:

The Secretary to the Postmaster-General's Department has asked for advice on the question whether, in view of the British occupation of what was formerly German New Guinea, and the adjacent islands, pending decision re ownership by the Prize Court or other tribunal adjudicating on such matters after the termination of the war, such occupancy is sufficient to warrant the Commonwealth in treating these territories as British in contradistinction to foreign, that is to say, whether the nature of the occupation is such as to warrant the Commonwealth applying to those territories the rates of po

The Postmaster-General asks for advice as follows:

The Minister for the Navy desires advice upon the following telegram received from the High Commissioner: