[On 17 June 1914 the following minute by the Chief Electoral Officer was, by direction of the Minister for Home Affairs, referred to the Attorney-General, Mr Irvine, for consideration and such action as might be necessary]:

In view of the suggestion that provision might have to be made for a period of ten days be-tween the proclamation of the dissolution of the Senate and the date of the issue of the Writs owing to the provision in the Senate Elections Act South Australia⁽¹⁾ requiring an official notification by the Governor of the State at least nine days prior to his issuing a Writ for a Senate Election and the further suggestion that it might be arranged for the dis-solution and the issue of the Writs to take place on the same day, I desire to state that in 1913 the Governors of the States were advised by the Governor-General, prior to the proclamation of the dissolution of the House of Representatives, of his intention to issue Writs for the House of Representatives Elections on 24 April, and furnished with the dates adopted by the Commonwealth Government for the nomination of candidates, the polling and the return of the Writs, and were asked to adopt the same dates in connection with the Senate Elections.

The Governors concurred without question and notices of intention to issue Writs for the Senate Elections and fixing dates duly appeared in the State Gazettes of South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania in pursuance of the requirements of the local Senate Elections Acts.⁽²⁾

Whether the Governors of the States will be disposed to act in 1914 as they did in 1913, having regard to the fact that the Senate is to be dissolved on this occasion, may, I submit, be a matter for inquiry by the Prime Minister.

It would seem that the Governors of South Australia, Western Australia and Tas-mania, acting on advice, might possibly consider that they should refrain from issuing notifications of their intentions until after the proclamation of the double dissolution by the Governor-General, and that in order to avoid, with certainty, the delay of ten days be-tween the dissolution and the issue of the Writs as desired by the Government, the Attorney-General's Department might be disposed to consider whether the Governor-General could not proclaim the double dissolution, say ten days prior to the date upon which it is to take effect.

The adoption of this last-mentioned course, if practicable, would apparently remove all possible difficulty.⁽³⁾

The Attorney-General is not prepared to advise that the Governor-General has power to proclaim that the Houses shall be dissolved on a date later than the date of the proclamation.⁽⁴⁾

[Vol. 12, p. 336]

(1)The Election of Senators Act 1903(S.A.)

(2)Election of Senators Act 1903 and Election of Sentors Amendment Act 1912(W.A.);The Federal Election Act 1900 and The Election of Senators Act 1903(Tas.).

(3)Mr Garran Secretary,Attorney-General's Department,appended the following on 17 June 1914:'Submitted' There is precedent for this course.In 1913 the Governor-General, By proclamation dated 11 April 1913, and gazetted on 19 April, dissolved the House of Representives "as on and from the twenty-third day of April"'.

(4)As communicated by Mr Garran through the Seceratary, Department of Home Affairs.