OPENING OF THE FEDERAL PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA
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9th May 1901 THE PROCEEDINGS Precisely at 12 o'clock His Royal Highness
the Duke of Cornwall and York, accompanied by the Duchess of Cornwall and
York, and also by their Excellencies the Governor-General and the Countess
of Hopetoun, entered the Exhibition Building. The members of the Royal and
Vice-regal staffs were all in attendance. The orchestra played the
National Anthem. Shortly before noon the members of the
Senate were in their places, occupying seats immediately in front of the
Royal dais, while members of the House of Representatives were seated in
the building designed for the chamber of that House in the western annexe
of the Exhibition Building. The clerk of the Parliaments read the
Proclamation to the Senate. The clerk of the House of Representatives read
the same Proclamation to the members of that Chamber. The Proclamation was
as follows:- PROCLAMATION. "Australia to Wit.
"Whereas, by the Commonwealth of Australia
Constitution Act, it is amongst other things enacted that the
Governor-General may appoint such times for holding the sessions of the
Parliament as he thinks fit; and whereas, by the said Act, it is further
enacted that the Parliament shall sit at Melbourne until it meet at the
seat of Government; and whereas, it is expedient now to appoint the time
for holding the first session of the Parliament of the Commonwealth: Now,
therefore, I, John Adrian Lewis, Earl of Hopetoun, the Governor-General
aforesaid, in exercise of the power conferred by the said Act, do by this
my Proclamation appoint Thursday, the ninth day of May instant, as the day
for the said Parliament to assemble and be holden for the despatch of
divers urgent and important affairs. And all Senators and members of the
House of Representatives, and all officers of the said Parliament, are
hereby required to give their attendance accordingly at Melbourne, in the
building known as the Exhibition Building, at the hour of 12 o'clock noon,
on the said Thursday, the ninth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and
one. "Given at Melbourne, this twenty-ninth day
of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and one, and
in the first year of His Majesty's reign. "By His Excellency's command,
His Royal Highness the Duke of York motioned
to the Usher of the Black Rod to inform the House of Representatives that
His Royal Highness, authorised by virtue of His Majesty's
commission, desired the immediate attendance of that honourable House to
hear the commission read. Several minutes elapsed before the members
of that Chamber, headed by the Prime Minister, entered the Royal
presence. PRAYER AND PRAISE. The Hundredth Psalm was then sung with
accompaniment by the orchestra. His Excellency the Governor-General read
prayers as follows:- O Lord, our heavenly Father, high and
mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of princes, who
dost from Thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth, most heartily we
beseech Thee with Thy favour to behold our most gracious Sovereign Lord
King Edward, and so replenish him with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit that
he may always incline to Thy will and walk in Thy way. Endue him
plenteously with heavenly gifts, grant him in health and wealth long to
live, strengthen him that he may vanquish and overcome all his enemies;
and finally, after this life he may attain everlasting joy and felicity,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Amen. Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,
we humby beseech Thee to bless our gracious Queen Alexandra, George Duke
of Cornwall and York, the Duchess of Cornwall and York, and all the Royal
Family; endue them with Thy Holy Spirit; enrich them with Thy heavenly
grace; prosper them with all happiness; and bring them to Thine
everlasting Kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Amen.
Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to
regard with Thy merciful favour the people of this land, now united in one
Commonwealth. We pray for Thy servants the Governor-General, the Governors
of the States, and all who are or who shall be associated with them in the
administration of their several offices. We pray Thee at this time to vouchsafe Thy
special blessing upon the Federal Parliament now assembling for their
first session, and that Thou wouldst be pleased to direct and prosper all
their consultations to the advancement of Thy glory and to the true
welfare of the people of Australia, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who has
taught us when we pray to say - Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be
Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we
forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory, forever and ever. - Amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all,
evermore. - Amen. THE ROYAL
COMMISSION. The Clerk of Parliaments then read His
Majesty the King's Commission to His Royal HIghness the Duke of Cornwall
and York to open the Parliament. The Commission was expressed in the
following terms:- "Commission empowering His Royal Highness
the Duke of Cornwall and York, K.G., K.P., G.C.V.O., to open the first
Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. "Dated 23rd February, 1901.
"Edward the Seventh, by the grace of God, of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the
Faith, Emperor of India; to our right trusty and right well-beloved cousin
and councillor, John Adrian Lewis, Earl of Hopetoun, Knight of our Most
Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Knight Grand Cross of our
Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Grand
Cross of our Royal Victorian Order, Governor-General and
Commander-in-Chief in and over our Commonwealth of Australia; and to our
trusty and well-beloved the Senators, Representatives, and people of our
Commonwealth of Australia, greeting:- "Whereas in pursuance of the act passed in
the sixty-fourth year of the reign of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria,
intituled An Act to Constitute the Commonwealth of Australia, the
Parliament of the said Commonwealth has been summoned to meet for certain
arduous and urgent affairs concerning us, the state, and defence of our
said Commonwealth, at the City of Melbourne. "And whereas we are desirous of marking the
importance of the opening of the first Parliament of the said Commonwealth
of Australia, and of showing our special interest in the welfare of our
loyal subjects therein, and forasmuch as for certain causes we cannot
conveniently be present in our Royal person in our said Parliament, at
Melbourne, Now Know Ye that We, trusting in the discretion, fidelity and
care of our most dear son and faithful councillor, George Frederick Ernest
Albert, Duke of Cornwall and York, Knight of our most noble Order of the
Garter, Knight of our most ancient and most noble Order of the Thistle,
Knight of our most illustrious Order of Saint Patrick, Knight Grand Cross
of our Royal Victorian Order, by the advice of our Council, do give and
grant, by the tenor of these presents, unto the said George Frederick
Ernest Albert, Duke of Cornwall and York, full power in our name to begin
and hold the first Parliament of our said Commonwealth of Australia, and
to open and declare and cause to be opened and declared the causes of
holding the same, and to do everything which for Us and by Us shall be
therein to be done. Willing that Our said Son shall hereby carry to Our said
Parliament and people Our Royal Message of Goodwill and assurance of Our
earnest prayer for the blessing of Almighty God on the Union of Our
Dominions in Australia, in one Federal Commonwealth, under the crown of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; commanding, also, by the
tenor of these presents, with the assent of Our said Council, as well, all
and every, the said Governor-General, Senators, and Representatives of our
Commonwealth of Australia, as all others whom it concerns, to meet in Our
said Parliament, that to the same George Frederick Ernest Albert, Duke of
Cornwall and York, they diligently intend, in the premises, in the form
aforesaid; "And we do further direct and enjoin that
these, Our Letters Patent, shall be read and proclaimed at such place or
places as Our said Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief shall think
fit, within Our said Commonwealth of Australia.
"In witness whereof We have caused these,
Our Letters, to be made patent. "Witness Ourself, at Westminster, the
twenty-third day of February, in the First Year of Our Reign.
"By the King Himself.
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MESSAGES FROM THE
KING. The message from His Majesty the King,
delivered by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall and York, was:-
"GENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE, and "GENTLEMEN
OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. "My beloved and deeply-lamented grandmother,
Queen Victoria, had desired to mark the importance of the opening of this
the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, and to manifest her
special interest in all that concerns the welfare of her loyal subjects in
Australia, by granting to me a special commission to open the first
session. "His Majesty has been pleased to consent to
this separation, moved by his sense of the loyalty and devotion which
prompted the generous aid afforded by all the colonies in the South
African War, both in its earlier and more recent stages, and of the
splendid bravery of the colonial troops. It is also His Majesty's wish to
acknowledge the readiness with which the ships of the Special Australasian
Squadron were placed at his disposal for service in China, and the
valuable assistance rendered there by the Naval Contingents of the several
colonies. "His Majesty further desired in this way to
testify to his heartfelt gratitude for the warm sympathy extended by every
part of his dominions to himself and his family in the irreparable loss
they have sustained by the death of his beloved mother.
"His Majesty has watched with the deepest
interest the social and material progress made by His people in Australia,
and has seen with thankfulness and heartfelt satisfaction the completion
of that political union of which this Parliament is the embodiment.
"The King is satisfied that the wisdom and
patriotism which have characterised the exercise of the wide powers of
self-government hitherto enjoyed by the colonies will continue to be
displayed in the exercise of the still wider powers with which the united
Commonwealth has been endowed. His Majesty feels assured that the
enjoyment of these powers will, if possible, enhance that loyalty and
devotion to his throne and Empire of which the people of Australia have
already given such signal proofs. "It is His Majesty's earnest prayer that
this union so happily achieved may, under God's blessing, prove an
instrument for still further promoting the welfare and advancement of his
subjects in Australia, and for the strengthening and consolidation of his
Empire. "GENTLEMEN OF THE SENATE, and "GENTLEMEN
OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TELEGRAM FROM THE
KING. His Royal Highness read the following
telegram from His Majesty the King:- "My thoughts are with you on the day of the
important ceremony. Most fervently do I wish Australia prosperity and
great happiness." REPLY TO THE KING. The following telegram was despatched by His
Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall and York to His Majesty the King
immediately after the opening ceremony: "I have just delivered your message, and, in
your name, declared open the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of
Australia. I also read your kind telegram of good wishes, which is deeply
appreciated by your loving Australian subjects, and was received with
great enthusiasm. Splendid and impressive ceremony, over 12,000 people in
Exhibition Building." __________________________________________________________
MESSAGE FROM THE BRITISH
GOVERNMENT. When the newly-elected President of the
Federal Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives were presented
to His Excellency the Governor-General at the old Treasury Buildings, Lord
Hopetoun intimated to them, and to the members of the Commonwealth
Legislature who were present, that he had received the subjoined message
from the Secretary of State for the Colonies:-
"His Majesty's Government welcomes the new
Parliament that to-day takes its place among the great legislative bodies
of the British Empire, and they feel confident that it will be a faithful
interpreter of the aspirations of a free and loyal people, and they trust
that its deliberations will promote the happiness, prosperity, and unity
of the whole continent of Australia." The message was subsequently read in both Houses of
the Federal Parliament and received with cheers. |