The Secretary, Department of Defence, has forwarded for opinion the following questions:

His Excellency the Governor-General communicated, on 4 March 1920, with the Governors of the several States in these terms:

I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that in view of the possible ill effects on shell-shocked soldiers no salute was fired in Melbourne on the occasion of the opening of the Commonwealth Parliament last week.

The Commonwealth Government feels that for the reason mentioned artillery salutes should not be fired at the present time. I therefore invite Your Excellency's concurrence in dispensing for the present with the firing of such salutes in connection with State Government ceremonies, namely the opening, prorogation and dissolution of State Parliaments, etc.

The Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia replied that he had laid the matter before his Ministers who informed him that they had no objection to the suspension of the firing of salutes on the occasions referred to.

Subsequently the Commandant, Adelaide, reported that the Lieutenant-Governor strongly insisted on the rights, conferred by the Colonial Office Regulations, of the Governor of South Australia to artillery salutes on his arrival on 8 June 1920, and the taking of the oath of office.

As a matter of urgency, the Minister for Defence approved by wire of the salutes being fired on this occasion 'without in any way admitting the authority of the. Colonial Regulations in this respect over any decisions of the Commonwealth Government'.

Question(A): Whether the Colonial Office Regulations in this respect override the decision of the Commonwealth Government to suspend the firing of artillery salutes in connection with State Government ceremonies? The Australian Military Regulations contain the following provisions:

228. The Governor-General, State Governors, and officers administering the Government will be saluted on the following occasions. They will not receive artillery salutes on any other occasions:

1. On first landing in their governments.
2. On reading of Royal Commission and taking of oaths of office.
3. On departing from their governments on leave of absence exceeding three months.
4. On returning from leave of absence exceeding three months.
5. On finally quitting the Commonwealth, or a State, as the case may be, on expiration of term of office.
6. When officially visiting States, ports, and dependencies within their governments, but not oftener at any one place than once in 12 months.

Question(B): Whether it is considered necessary that this regulation should be amended to provide for the temporary suspension of the firing of the artillery salutes?

Regulation No. 146 of Regulations for His Majesty's Colonial Service (contained in Colonial Office List) provides that Governors are authorised to cause the usual salutes to be fired at the opening and closing of the Houses of Parliament, or Assembly.

Although this regulation authorises the State Governors to cause salutes to be fired, it cannot be regarded as empowering the State Governors to give directions to members of the Commonwealth Defence Force to fire the salute.

The regulation in question, while possibly applicable to the circumstances of most of the British Dominions, is certainly inapplicable to the federal system of Government instituted by the Commonwealth Constitution Act, and is inconsistent with the Constitution itself.

It may be noted from regulation 1 of the Colonial Office Regulations that a distinction is drawn between the Commonwealth of Australia and the other British Dominions. This is no doubt in consequence of the federal form of Government in vogue in Australia.

For these reasons, it is worthy of consideration whether His Excellency the Governor-General should not be asked to bring under the notice of the Secretary of State the question of the desirableness of amending the regulation, so far at least as the Commonwealth is concerned.

As regards question (B), namely whether it is considered necessary that Regulation 228 of the Australian Military Regulations (which is set forth above) should be amended to provide for the temporary suspension of the firing of artillery salutes, I am of opinion that the regulation should be so amended. In its present form, it states that on certain specified occasions the Governor-General and others will be saluted. If it Js not intended to carry out the regulation in its entirety, it appears desirable that it be suitably amended.

If it is intended to amend it, I suggest that the occasions set out in paragraphs (a) to (f) should follow immediately after the words 'following occasions', and not after the words 'other occasions'.

[Vol. 17, p.55]