§ 25. “A Day therein Appointed.”
Where an Imperial Act of Parliament is expressed to come into operation on a particular day, it is construed as coming into operation immediately on the expiration of the previous day. Thus if the day appointed is the 1st January, the day begins at midnight, marking the end of 31st December. (Tomlinson v. Bullock, 4 Q.B.D. 230.) This principle will apply to the day appointed in the Queen's proclamation. An expression
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of time in an Imperial Act, in the case of Great Britain, means Greenwich mean time. Definition of Time Act, 1880 (43 and 44 Vic., c. 9); Interpretation Act, 1889 (52 and 53 Vic., c. 63). On the day appointed by the proclamation, the following events are declared to happen, viz.:—
- (1.) The people of the colonies are united.
- (2.) The Commonwealth is established.
- (3.) The Constitution takes effect.
- (4.) The electoral and other procedure laws passed by the Parliaments of the federating colonies between “the passing of the Act” and “the day appointed” come into operation.