Appointment of President.

Mr. Griffith said: Hon. members of the Federal Council,—The first duty for us to perform, now that the Council is properly constituted, is to appoint a President. I rise to move—"That the Hon. James Service do take the chair as President of this Council." It would probably be unnecessary to give any special reasons for selecting Mr. Service for that office, because the circumstances under which we are met are familiar to all of us. Nevertheless, I will take the opportunity to say a few words in giving the reasons why I rise to make this motion. This Council is the outcome of a meeting, or convention, of delegates of the different Australasian Governments held at Sydney a little over two years ago. Of the representatives of that convention, 14 in number, there are only three present here to-day. Of those three, Mr. Service may be said to be the senior; Mr. Berry and myself being athe other two. At that convention much of the work done was necessarily of a preliminary character, and much remained to be done. The burthen of the work that has been done since then has fallen to a great extent upon the shoulders of Mr. Service. The interest he has taken in the matter throughout, and the position of the colony he represents in the Australasian Group, are reasons why the motion I have made is a fitting one. The functions of the President of this Council are not yet, I think, fully determined. With so small a number of members, it would perhaps be undesirable that the President should be debarred from taking part in the discussions to the extent that is usual with the Chairman of the Legislative Assemblies or Legislative Councils of the colonies. To what extent that limitation may be overstepped, it is not easy at present to say. It is also, I think, yet uncertain whether the President, who is appointed for the session only—the Act says a president shall be appointed in each session—whether his functions should not, to some extent, continue after the session is closed, either formally, under the powers conferred by the Imperial Act of delegating certain authorities of the Council to committees during the recess, or informally, the President merely retaining the titular office until his successor is appointed. But those are questions which will no doubt settle themselves, and it is unnecessary to consider them at the present moment. The only regret I feel myself, and the only doubt which can arise as to the propriety of the nomination springs from what we have heard with, I fear, too much truth, that Mr. Service will not very long remain a member of the Federal Council. At present, however, he is a member of it; indeed, the Council would be incomplete without him at its first meeting. For the reasons I have given, I think there will be no difficulty on the part of the members of the Council in agreeing unanimously on the motion I have made. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. Douglas: I have much pleasure in seconding the motion.

Mr. Service said: Hon. gentlemen—In the matter of the choice of a President, I desire to submit myself to the will of the Council.

The President-Elect then took the chair.