NATIONALISING BANKS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25299, 26 September 1947, Page 7

NATIONALISING BANKS

PETITIONS HANDED TO MR CHIFLEY

DECISION ON SHARE TRANSFERS

(Rec. 11.30 P.m.) CANBERRA, Sept. 25. Country Party members, after assembling in a nearby hall, marched to the Prime Minister’s suite at Canberra laden with a petition against the Government s bank nationalisation plan bearing 08,000 signatures. The petition almost completely covered Mr Chitley’s table. ,_The Leader of the Country Party rSJu, ex P lain ed to Mr Chifley that he and his colleagues were discharging their obligations to a large number of Australian electors. The signatures were in addition to those already presented in Parliament. Party officials estimated that over 500,000 signatures on petitions protesting against bank nationalisation had been received. Mr Chifley said he would receive any petitions forwarded to him through the Opposition, but he gave no pledge that ne would read them. Bank shares from now on cannot be sold or otherwise transferred to people in other countries except in special circumstances approved by Exchange Control. The Commonwealth Bank informed the Stock Exchanges that as a general rule in future Exchange Control would not approve the transfer of bank shares from Australian to overseas registers whether for the purposes erf sale or otherwise.

This decision by the Commonwealth Bank follows closely the news that some British-Australian banks were limiting transfers of their shares from London and New Zealand registers to the Australian register, pending clarification of the bank nationalisation groposals. Compensation for the shareoiders of British-Australian banks is made difficult by the agreement for freezing London balances made with the British Government.

PAYMENT OF PRIZE TO BAND

DISPUTE ABOUT CONTEST AT NEWCASTLE

(Rec. 11 p.m.) NEWCASTLE, Sept. 25. The Australian Band. Council would probably take legal proceedings to enforce its rules if the New South Wales Band Association allowed the payment of prize money to the Bathurst Band, said the council’s secretary (Mr D. T. Beatson). The Mayor of Newcastle (Mr H. D. Quinlan) ordered the stoppage of the payment of prize money pending an inquiry after Mr Beatson had informed him that the Bathurst Band, which beat the Auckland Junior Watersiders’ Band in the B grade “own choice” section of the championships at Newcastle, included unregistered players. Mr Beatson informed the Mayor that in spite of his representations the New South Wales Band Association proposed to pay the first prize to the Bathurst Band. Mr Quinlan said no prizes would be paid until after the inquiry next Monday. LOS ANGELES TENNIS TOURNAMENT

(Rec. 11p.m.) LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24. Kramer easily brushed off a challenge from Vladimir Cernik (Czechoslovakia), and beat him, 6-1, 6-1, to-day to enter the quarter-finals of the Pacific South-West tennis tournament. Earl Cochell, of New York, who yesterday beat Geoff Brown (Australia), beat Francisco Segura, of Ecuador, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in a quarter-final match. Pancho Gonzales (Los Angeles) entered the quarter-finals by defeating Bob Falkenburg, 6-4 i 8-6. Miss Louise Brough. American women’s champion, defaulted because of illness.