V.  Australien.  1415  251.  Australia.

Such  territory  shall  contain  an  arca  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  square  miles,
and  such  portion  thereof  as  shall  consist  of  Crown  lands  shall  be  granted  to  the  Commonwealth
  without  any  payment  therefor.

The  Parliament  shall  sit  at  Melbourne  until  it  meet  at  the  seat  of  Government.

126.  The  Queen  may  authorize  the  Governor-General  to  appoint  any  person,
or  any  persons  jointly  or  severally,  to  be  his  deputy  or  deputies  within  any  part  of
the  Commonwealth,  and  in  that  capacity  to  exercise  during  the  pleasure  of  the
Governor-General  such  powers  and  functions  of  the  Governor-General  as  he  thinks
fit  to  assign  to  such  deputy  or  deputies,  subject  to  any  limitations  expressed  or
directions  given  by  the  Queen;  but  the  appointment  of  such  deputy  or  deputies
shall  not  affect  the  exercise  by  the  Governor-General  himself  of  any  power  or
function.

127.  In  reckoning  the  numbers  of  the  people  of  the  Commonwealth,  or  of  a  State
or  other  part  of  the  Commonwealth,  aboriginal  natives  shall  not  be  counted.

Chapter  VIII.  Alteration  of  the  Constitution.

128.  This  Constitution  shall  not  be  altered  except  in  the  following  manner  :—

The  proposed  law  for  the  alteration  thereof  must  be  passed  by  an  absolute
majority  of  each  House  of  the  Parliament,  and  not  less  than  two  nor  more  six  months
after  its  passage  through  both  Houses  the  proposed  law  shall  be  submitted  in  each
State  to  the  electors  qualified  to  vote  for  the  election  of  members  of  the  House  of
Representatives.

But  if  either  House  passes  any  such  proposed  law  by  an  absolute  majority,
and  the  other  House  rejects  or  fails  to  pass  it  or  passes  it  with  any  amendment  to
which  the  first-mentioned  House  will  not  agree,  and  if  after  an  interval  of  three
months  the  first-mentioned  House  in  the  same  or  the  next  session  agaın  passes  the
proposed  law  by  an  absoluute  majority  with  or  without  any  amendment  which  has
been  made  or  agreed  to  by  the  other  House,  and  such  other  House  rejects  or  fails
to  pass  it  or  passes  it  with  any  amendment,  to  which  the  first-mentioned  House  will
not  agree,  the  Governor-General  may  submit  the  proposed  law  as  last  proposed  by
the  first-mentioned  House,  and  either  with  or  without  any  amendments  subsequntly
agreed  to  by  both  Houses,  to  the  electors  in  each  State  qualified  to  vote  for  the
election  of  the  House  of  Representatives.

When  a  proposed  law  is  submitted  to  the  electors  the  vote  shall  be  taken  in
such  manner  as  the  Parliament  prescribes.  But  until  the  qualification  of  electors  of
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  becomes  uniform  throughout  the  Commonwealth,
  only  one-half  the  electors  voting  for  and  against  the  proposed  law  shall
be  counted  in  any  State  in  which  adult  suffrage  prevails.

And  if  in  a  majority  of  the  States  a  majority  of  the  electors  voting  approve
the  proposed  law,  and  if  a  majority  of  all  the  electors  voting  also  approve  the  proposed
  law,  it  shall  be  presented  to  the  Governor-General  for  the  Queen’s  assent.

No  alteration  diminishing  the  proportionate  representation  of  any  State  in
either  House  of  the  Parliament,  or  the  minimum  number  of  representatives  of  a