The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-03-18 00:00:00

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.,

Our advices extend down to the 15th December.
The day previous, the Chief Secretary and the
Attorney-General, in their capacity of Special
Commissioners of his Excellency, prorogued the
T egislative Council. The South Australian thus
alludes to the breaking up of the session :
We have, on a former occasion, intimited that, by a
Special clause in the new Constitute to Act, the governor is
precluded from dissolving the existing council until after
the first writs are issued for the new parliament. The
parliament might be legally elected at the beginning
of March; and as the governor possesses power to
issue the writs forty:two days before the nomination
of the candidates 3t is evide,nt that the present
council might be dissolved about the miadle of January.
A Hula longer lease of life l'.`; however, conceded, and
it stands prorogued until the 4th of February. The Chief
Secretary, in proclaiming the prorogation, announced that
but for the very serious illness of the Gover,:9r, the Council
would have been prorogued by his Excellen,7 in person.
The ceremony was, howeier, under the circuOstances,
performed by the two ministers in their capad!'Y as
o.,mmissionera, the hon. gentlemen taking their stand MI
the left hand side of the Speaker's chair, in order to read
their commission, and to prorogue the house. The Council
met at one o'clock, and the prorogation took place at
half-past one. Daring the half hour that hon. members
sat, a petition from the City Corporation, pravif.g
that short sentenced prisoners might be employed in
cultivating the Park Lands, was presented, read
by the clerk of the haase, and ordered to be printed. The
Attorney General then brought' forward a bill to amend
the Electoral Law Act, which was real a first time, after
which the standing orders were suspended to allow of its
being read a second and a third time, and then considered
in committee, five short speeches being delivered in con-
nection with it. The report of the Chairman of Com-
mittees was then, upon :Notion of the house, brought up,
and, subsequently, upon the roation of the house, adapted.
The Speaker reported progress, znd the bill was read it
third - time—clans.s, preamble, and title—pat to
the vote and carried. After this a message from hid
Excellency, containing his assent to a variety of ioi!ls, and
his acknowledgement of numerous addresses, were read and
ordered to be printed. S tbsequently to this, the Chief
gs.cretary explained the causes of his Excellency's absence,
intimited that himself and the Attorney-General had
been appointed Commissioners, read the commission, and
afterwards read the decree of prorogation. The whole of
this business was transacted in half an•honr, or in a few
minutes more or less. The assent to the Electoral Law
Act Amendment Bill was inscribed before the bill was
breieht forward, and was in the hands of the Private
Secretary, who stood in the lobby while the bill was
passing throu. ..11 its final stages.
The Council ;;.7.a refused to vote any subsidy in
aid of the ocean maii:ervice, because the steamers
are not to call off Port Au..laide•