Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/697

 r f. ,^°'"f°c:"'!'.'A ., ADELAIDE AND VICINITY xxi Constitution of South Australia The members of the Assembly are elected for three years, unless in the meantime the House is dissolved ; that is to say, unless the Governor declares the seats of all the members vacant and orders an election for new members. The voters or electors for the House of Assembly comprise all those who — (i) Are over the age of 21 years. {2) Are not in gaol for treason, felony, or other infamous offence. (3) Have been registered on the electoral roll of the Province for six months previous to the election for which they claim to vote. (4) Are natural-born or naturalised subjects of Her Majesty. The franchise for the House of Assembly was originally confined to males ; it has, however, been extended to females. At the first election in 1857 there were 15,538 registered voters out of a population of 109,917 ; at the last election, 1899, there were 152,393 registered voters out of a population of 362,897. Casual vacancies are occasioned by practically the same causes as in the Council, but the wording of the two sections referring to this subject for the respective Houses is somewhat different, especially as regards bankruptcy or insolvency. A Speaker is elected, who issues writs to fill casual vacancies, and who has substantially similar powers and performs similar functions to the President. Parliament cannot proceed to transact any business unless summoned by the Governor, who has the power not only of summoning and of proroguing Parliament, but also the power of dissolving the House of Assembly, and, in certain cases, which will be hereinafter mentioned, of also dissolving the Council. It is, however, provided that the Governor must summon Parliament to meet once a year, "so that a period of twelve calendar months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the Parliament in one session and the first sitting of Parliament in the next session." Since the Constitution Act only three amendments of importance have been made in the "constitution of the Houses": — (i.) In 1869-70 "The Contractors in Parliament Act" was passed, which prohibits persons who have contracts with the Executive from being elected to or sitting in Parliament. Certain contracts are, however, excepted from the operation of this Act. They are : — (a) Contracts made by incorporated trading companies consisting of more than 20 persons. (6) Contracts or agreements " in respect of any lease, licence, or agreement in respect to the sale or occupation of any waste lands of the Crown or Crown lands." (c) Contracts devolving upon members of Parliament as executors, legatees, etc., etc. (2.) The "Female Suffrage Act" (613 of 1894) extended the right to vote for members of both Houses of Parliament to women possessing the necessary qualifications. This places women in exactly the same position as men so far as the electoral franchise is concerned, and has one curious effect not generally known : it enables a woman to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly, but not as a Legislative Councillor. This results from the wording of the Constitution Act, which enacts that " any person who shall be qualified and entitled to be registered as a voter shall be qualified and entitled to be elected a member of the House of Assembly."