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

• The Auditor-General recently reported that ‘three hundred and fifteen books, works of fiction, were found missing early in 1923 from books received during the year 1922, and in January 1923, being 40 per cent of the novels received, and thirty were found missing from a test check of invoices of one hundred novels received during the year 1923.’

2. When the Treasury first brought this report under the notice of the Librarian, he replied that he had laid the matter before the Chairman of the Library Committee who adhered to his view expressed in a letter to the Secretary to the Audit Office, written by his instructions, that he thought that all reasonable precautions were taken to prevent loss of books, and it was not thought that the present system of recording and checking could be improved.
3. The Chairman refused the Librarian permission to furnish the Treasury with information regarding the system in force with regard to the distribution of works of fiction and also as to whether it would be possible to obtain the names and addresses of the borrowers, so that enquiry might be made after books which had been outstanding for a period, of, say, two weeks.
4. A copy of the Librarian’s letter was forwarded to the Auditor-General who asked whether the Treasury approved of the adjustment of these losses. He stated that books are allowed by members to be taken away by relatives and friends and no proper internal check appeared to be exercised. He further stated that it would be his duty to make the position of this account public in his next report to Parliament. A copy of the Auditor-General’s letter was forwarded to the Librarian on the 18th December, 1924, but no reply has been received to date.

The Acting Treasurer has minuted the papers as follows:

It appears to me doubtful whether the Treasurer is entitled to lay down rules and regulations as to how the Library Committee appointed by Parliament carries out its duties. Ask Law Officers for opinion.

5. I shall be glad if you will be good enough to furnish an opinion on the matter as desired by the Acting Treasurer.

Sections forty-nine and fifty of the Constitution provide as follows:

49. The powers, privileges and immunities of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, and of the members and committees of each House, shall be such as are declared by the Parliament, and until declared shall be those of the Commons House of Parliament of the United Kingdom and of its members and committees, at the establishment of the Commonwealth.
50. Each House of the Parliament may make rules and orders with respect to–
1. The mode in which its powers, privileges and immunities may be exercised and upheld;
2. The order and conduct of its business and proceedings either separately or jointly with the other House.

In pursuance of section 50, each House of the Parliament has made standing orders in which is included provision for the appointment of a Library Committee.

Standing Order No. 34 of the Senate is in the following terms:

34. A Library Committee, to consist of the President and six Senators, shall be appointed at the commencement of each session, with power to act during Recess, and to confer or sit as a Joint Committee with a similar Committee of the House of Representatives.

Standing Order No. 32 of the House of Representatives is in substantially the
same terms.

The Standing Orders do not set out the functions of the Library Committees nor do they specify their privileges or immunities. Those Committees are, however, the creatures of the respective Houses, and in the absence of any provision to the contrary in the Constitution or any Act of the Commonwealth, the Houses creating them alone have power to direct what the duties of the Committees are and how they are to be performed.

In my opinion, therefore, the Treasurer is not entitled to lay down rules and regulations as to how the Library Committees are to carry out their duties.

[Vol. 22, p. 138]