OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 120, 13 February 1908, Page 4

OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

THE ELECTION 1 RESULT IN QUEENSLAND. THE CRICKET GUARANTEE. : WEST AUSTRALIAN.LAND SCANDALS. ' (l-'ROM OUR HI'H CI XL CORRESPONDENT.) SVdnay, February 8. Mr. Pliilp's party has been decisively beaten in the Queensland eleotions this week, and tho Labour party, which lost heavily at the polls in May last, now comes back materially stronger. The lnischiovous three-party system still prevails as. the result of Wednesday's voting, the division of forces, so far as tho counting has gone,'being about equal. Hence tho alliance between tho Kidstonites and the Labour party yrill enabld Mr. Ki.dstou to return to office as Premier. It is possible, of course, that Mr; David Bowman, the loader of tho Labour party, will bo invited' to form a Ministry, but' in any case, in tho ultimate result, Labour holds tho key to the position. .As. the' result;- of : ino counting of tho postal votes,, tho, position'is not so bad for the Philp party as it looked at_ first, but after all they return with only 25 seats as against 32 in tho last!. Parliament, whilst Labour, has, increased its, representation from 18 to 22, in a House of, 72 members. Two members of tho Philp. Cabinet have gone down—Mr. William Stephens, Minister of Agriculture, who has lost his Brisbane South seat, this electorate haying been carried by two Labourites, by . a majority of 408 votes, and Mr. P. J. Leahy, .Minister' of Works, defeated for Warrego by a new man, Mr. J. H. Coyne, who winsthq seat in the Labour interest.. Indeed, it was.thought at first that Mr. Philp himself was amongst the slain, but the postal voto for.Townsvifle gives.him and tho other Ministerialist, I Mr. P.. P. Hanran, a majority of 349. over; the two Labour candidates, .Messrs. Thomas Foley and Austin. Sir A. S. Cowley, formorly Speaker, who was defeated for Herbert in May last, contested Burrum'this time, hut again unsuccessful. Though it looked originally, as'if tho two Brisbane North seats had also gone to

the postal vote gives . Mr. E. B. Forrest, who headed th<j poll-,. Inst year, another commanding .majority... .The; second seat, however, has bean ;captured by a Labourite. Mr. James Tolmie, one of the Morganites who went over to Mr. Philp's party at .tho. end 1 of the session before'last, and uns'jccpssfully contestedj Drayton and Toowoomba at a Philpito, was again a candidate for tho sent on this occasion, bnt with no better rosult, for the member, elected in May, Mr. V. C. Redwood, who is, I believe, a re.lativo of tho Archbishop, of Wellington, has again been returned. :;,( : THE £10,000 QUAEANTE'I!!. Tho position'of tho £10,000 secured to tho Marylebone Cricket Club uiidcr the agree; ment on which tho English cricketers came out to Australia is interesting just now. -The responsibility for this guarantee, was assumed by tho Board of Control, .which in turn passed it on to the associations controlling cricket in New South Wales, 1 Victoria, and South Australia. Up to tHe end of the return match against Tasmania;; Maior Trevor, who roproßonts the Marylebone Club in tho matter, had.received £5389 of tho £10,000 guaranteed, and tho total sum required to meet tho indemnity, it' is stated on authority has now been ■ secured, sirico' the Now" South Wales and Victorian Associations have oaoh approximately £2000' in i hand, 1 while .South' Australia probably, has from. £500 to £600. Thus, as .tho Englishmen,; have still to play a Test match (in additionVto ,ono just begun) and a return match bach''against New South Wales and South Australia; the receipts frdiri thoso will' go ; to : tho: Associations. .Should the takings fall short ofi'tho sum' originally .estimated; it will moan,'hot an, actual to these organisations, but. merely, a loss of'expected profits.' . The net amounts or profits receivod by tho respective associations to.date are as follow!— . NEW SOUTH - WALES.. , Match against New South Wales £708 -5.11 First Test-jnatch ;872 16 8 ■: i ■' • £1,581 2 7 r < , : SOUTH AUSTRALIA. j Match against ,5...-Australia... . £222 s, 2 6 i VICTORIA. Second Test match . ...£I,GGO 11. 3.. Match against' Victoria '.;'." ... 483,18 1 V'.'- . £2,144 9 A ;, The figures relating toitho third Test matoli played-in/"Adelaide, aro not yet-available. There was a' loss on the match- played in Brisbane against an Australian 'oleyen- of £85. 2s. 10d., while the profit to tho Queensland. Association, arising out of .the match-,against Queensland,was only £70 17s. , 3d. The match now proceeding in-Melbourne will have to roturn £3000 gate receipts boforo the Aaaociation,.will' mako a profit. .This will indicate tho. cost of international, cricket ' in ; this In; round .numbers," it may -bo stated, in explanation of this, that tho Maryi lebone. Olub ■-will-take -60 ! -per' cent.;- and' tho Melbourne Club 30 per cent., and this will •leave 20 .per- cent. tor-=the Association,- anamount which .will , just meet tho expenses''of the match; £000, including £25.allowance to ' each of the, Australian ;team.

"•*. i THE SUPREME GOIJIIT BENCH, i ' ■ ■ The ' retirement of Sir William-Owen from : the' SupVcme Court Bench foreshadowed somo timo ago, was definitely announced this week, and it is also',stated that 'Dr; Sly, one of the familiar'figures of the' Sydney Bar, is to bo the new : Judge. ' Sir : "SVilHam Owen' leaves the Bench 'at : thcTnge' .of 73; after 'twentyyears ;of honourable service;/in the coursb. of which he ' brought' to the\ discharge of his duties a sound' knowledge of law, a senso of the dignity] of his 'office, and a vein, of'dry ; .humour which' he exercised .'on occasions, to the relief, of the monotony of Supreme Court procedure. The late Judge, who is a'Trinity College (Dublin) man, was called to the Irisli Bar in 1859, and came to Australia in the following year. •• Ho -was • made'' a" Q.C. in 1882, and_ appointed to the Bench in, 1887 as the Chief Judge in'. Equity,' an office now held by- Mr. Justice A; 1 . H. Simpson. He was the Royal Commissioner in' the famous Eddy inquiry some. years ago,' and last year conducted tho. celebratedjiiivestigatiori into' the administration of the Lauds. Department of New South Wales during the period when Mr. Crick was Minister. -Dr; Sly, the'new. Judge, is an Australian, 58 years of age, who was born in Sydney, where he has haa a distinguished: 'career iiat.ythe'./University. As the ranee of : the; Gilchrist Travelling Scholarship -in; 1872,'hoi'went' to'iondon,) and: studied law alt' one "of •'■pf J .Court, took "his degree of LL.B at the 'London "University, and .was ■ admitted to the Bari at the Middle Temple' in June, 1875.'"Drl Sly is not by any imeans one of : the, orators of the Sydney style of addressing the' Court in a legal,. argument ,- is •ftbatT- of'. a. - man; whose thoughts are: too ■; quick - for : ;his tongue—but he, is certainly <v very,'. able barrister, whose knowledge'of- law is 'second to that.-possessed by'rio ',other advocate in the city, or even in: the Commonwealth. In his school-days ho was an enthusiastic cricketer and -tennis-player;. and latterly has taken up golf. Wben be received tho letter from the Attorney-General offering him tho Judgeship he was at Lcura, in tne Blno Mountains; where he had gono to play golf on tho local links. Dr; Sly s courtesy on,tho Bijnch will gain ; him many friends. .

THE; CRAZE FOR RECORD-BREAKING. Can nothing bo,done to stop such' foolish efforts at record-breaking as those to which the Australian-.peoplo arc being treated by Burrows, the club-swinger? .This man recently performed the i'ont in Sydney of swinging the clubs continuously . for'-'threo days and two nights, and now ho has gone one better in Melbourne, at tho, Opera House, where lie has 'established .'another", new records beatiiig that which lie himself put up in Sydney, and keeping the clubs going continuously for. 61 hours. 39 .minutes. On Friday morning* oir tho 'last'day of his Melbourno attempt, .-lio nearly went: to sleep 0)1 hif feet, and had recourse" to strong black

coifco to keep him awake. As tlio time approached for! the end of. his task ho seemed to bcome fresher, but at 11 p.m. ho was very weary. At 18 minutes to 12, Burrows had passed his own record, and as Fred Graham, who was standing by, called '"Record!" the people who were in the audience — who are at least as responsible as Burrows himself for these displays—roso and cheered, while Burrows, with a greao ;.print, made the clubs fly for two minutes more, when ho sank back exhausted into u clmir, and dropped the clubs to the floor. The exhibition is interesting as a proof of what extreme strain this poor human frame of ours will sometimes stand, but it is slow suicide all tho same, and renders no possible benefit to humanity, or scienco, or anything.

AN UNEXPECTED . PRIZE. The Customs Department of the Commonwealth, exceptionally vigilant as it is just now, because of the prevalence,of smuggling, is making some interesting discoveries; but one of the most unexpected character was secured on Thursday last at Port Melbourne, when a senior constable was accosted by two officers of the Department and asked to submit to bo searched. It was suspected, from certain information given them, that the constable had been purchasing tobacco on which duty bad not been paid on board the White Star liner Afric. On tho search being made, about 51b. of tobacco was found : concealed in his clothing; The action, to bo taken in tho -matter by the Customs and Police Departments, it is stated, is yet to be determined. ' V THE PERTH SCANDAL. The Illingworth. scandal m Perth has had a sad sequel. This inquiry was conducted by a Royal Commissioner into, the conduct of Mr.'-P. Illingworth, lato member of tho Legislative Assembly for West Perth, and exColonial Treasurer, in relation to the purchase and transfer of , a block of land in King Street, Perth, and, a Savings Bank loan thereon. -Certain! charges> h» ; ' -n made 'in Parliament by Mr. Harry Brown, M.L.A., this inquiry, was'orderai.-,- 'lnoi.re-' port l of: tho Commission has found that the principal allegations against -Illingworth wero proved. : It appears that , an application was mado to the Savings Bank .iu the name - of ono J. Elliott for a loan of £4300 on Perth town lot G 14 and buildings to bo erected. Tho money : was : advanced.-'- The finding' of the Commissioner, Mr. C. S. Toppin, Audi-tor-General, is that Illingworth, according to the evidonco, realised an estimated profit of £1326 on transactions in connection-with this land, and that- up 'till" tho time the. block was sold' to -the Rev; T. Bird, Elliott was merely' a trustee, who apparently received a ■reward for acting in that capacity.' The inquiry so weighed upon the mind of tho Rev. '['. Bird that he has sinco committed suicido in King's Park,' Perth, by shooting himself. His only connection with the Vlllirigworth case -arose from tho- fact that ho became tho purchaser of the property.oh:which Illingworth, 'then Treasurer,"'had! obtained'the loan, but there was no suggestion :of, dishonourable conduct on Bird's; jiart, tho' purchase being, as the Commissioner' himself states, - a bona lido one. The notoriety:'arising from tho. inquiry evidently played upon Miv Bird's mind. For inoro than a quarter Of a century ho had been a proniinont mill-' later of the-Methodist Church, and sinco tho establishment of a separate West Australian Conference in 1901 ■-ho "hold office both as Secretary and President'.:'