except constitutional debates Sir EDWARD BRADDON.-The amendment is to omit clause 110, and insert the following now clause:- The citizens of each state, and all other persons owing allegiance to the Queen and residing in any territory of the Commonwealth, shall be citizens of the Commonwealth, and shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens of the Commonwealth in the several states, and a state shall not make or enforce any law abridging any privilege or immunity of citizens of the Commonwealth, nor shall a state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws. Now, there is a clause that covers the whole ground-a clause that is all-sufficient for the purpose-bearing in mind that every provision is made for securing to the Commonwealth that its citizens shall not be people of alien races to any considerable extent. There are in India some 150,000,000 British subjects, but of those 150,000,000 people very few indeed could stand the test applied by the Natal Immigration Restriction Act, which I think has been adopted already in Western Australia; which will no doubt be adopted in other colonies. of Australasia, and which will be effective in keeping from our shores the natives of India who cannot pass the education test that is applied under the Natal Act. This education test is one which would debar some 149,000,000 at the least out of 150,000,000 from qualifying, and would so keep them out of Australia. There you have a very much wider disability-and I think a very wholesome disability-which goes far and away beyond that suggested by the learned and honorable member (Mr. Isaacs). I think if we took this clause into our consideration, it might be found to do all that is required for us. Mr. TRENWITH (Victoria).-It seems to me that the clause that has just been read by the Right Hon. Sir Edward Braddon-the one suggested by the Tasmanian Assembly-would land us in greater difficulties than anything we have thought of yet, and I think we shall be incurring a very great risk in endeavouring to define who is in future to be considered a citizen of the Commonwealth. We have a right to deal to-day with what we think is right for to-day, but we have Do right to tie the hands of the future people of the Commonwealth in this connexion. Therefore, I think it would be extremely wise to reject both of these amendments, with the view, as suggested by Mr. Holder, of getting back, if we can, to the proposal which we had before us yesterday, and which says exactly what I think we ought to say in connexion with all questions, namely, that the Parliament shall have the power to deal from time to time, as necessity dictates, with the question of citizenship, if we are to deal with the matter at all. The clause we have here, proposed by Dr. Quick, reads as follows:- All persons resident within the Commonwealth, being natural-born or naturalized subjects of the Queen, and not under any disability imposed by the Parliament, shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. [start page 1792] I think it has been shown that it would be unwise to insert that provision in the Bill. The Attorney-General of Victoria suggested that there may be here-indeed experience has shown that there will be-as in various countries of the world, races within the nation that remain distinct; that do not blend with our people; that are by their existence and by their rapid increase inimical to the well-being of the whole community. This has been made very manifest in America. Any student in the history of America must see that the negro population is a disturbing factor which is increasing with immense rapidity in that country. They had to make them citizens, but the Americans made a mistake by declaring that the negroes should be citizens. Mr. SYMON.-They did not make them citizens; they gave them the franchise. Mr. BARTON.-They were made citizens.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 10:08:29 +0000
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