Coming Commonwealth

Excerpt from The Coming Commonwealth: An Australian Handbook of Federal Government This book aims at being a short summary of what every Australian citizen ought to know in order to understand the question of Australian Federation. The first part is a discussion of the federal system itself; the second is a historical, constitutional, and comparative sketch of the chief federal governments of the world, from the earliest times to the present day; the third deals with the special problems of Australian Federation. Under these three heads an attempt has been made to describe shortly the principles, the practice, and the proposed application of the federal system. No space has been wasted in proving what no one now denies - the necessity and the urgency of Australian union. The well-worn platitudes on that subject are out of date; the question is no longer 'Shall we federate?' but 'How shall we federate?' This book, therefore, is a practical discussion of ways and means, prefaced by an account of those political principles and historical facts which cannot be ignored in the framing of an Australian Constitution. Federal government has already a vast literature and history of its own, bearing directly on the problems which we in Australia must now face, and upon which every citizen will soon be asked to give a responsible vote. Few, however, will have time or opportunity to read all that has been written on the subject; and it is hoped that an outline of this kind will be useful both as a substitute for, and as an introduction to, a deeper study of the question. Of course the limits of this book, and the wide field to be covered, make exhaustive treatment impossible; but those who desire more detailed information will find references throughout to the leading authorities. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.