AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 122, 8 February 1923, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

LATEST BY THE MAIL

As might have been expected the Australian mails which arrived in Wellington yesterday were full of the Federal political crisis, the end of the deadlock, and the resignation of Mr. Hughes, who retires with full Press and public honours. The Australian Workers’ Union Conference has given out a significant prophecy regarding the development of the One Big Union idea. As the result of the announced freight reductions the Commonwealth State liners have been rushed by consignors. Of more than usual Interest is the award by the Arbitration Court in a huge compensation claim, approximately £20,000. The new states movement appears to be losing ground. A buoyant revenue is the result of the first six months’ financial policy by the New South Wales National Government. The prickly pear pest has assumed the dimensions of a State menace, and the New South Wales Government has been aroused to the necessity for action. Other matters of interest relate to the hold up of the Manama in Sydney, the saluting of the flag in the State schools of Queensland, the reopening of the Newcastle steel works, and the breaking of the SydneyMelbourne motor record by 55 minutes. (From the “Sydney Morning Herald.”) Sydney, February 3.

EXIT MR. HUGHES End of Federal Political Deadlock. As expected, Mr. Hughes’s announcement at the Nationalist party meeting followed with dramatic swiftfcesa the breaking off of the negotiations between the Nationalist and Country parties. The Nationalist party meeting had ended at noon, and Mr. Hughes said that he had. no statement to make. He left shortly afterwards for Federal Government House, where he lunched with Lord Forster. 'An official interview took place afterwards, and the following announcement was made later by the secretary to the Governor-General, Mr Starling:—“This afternoon the GovernorGeneral received the Prime Minister, who tendered! hie resignation, and advised His Excellency to send for Mr. Bruce. The Governor-General accepted Mr. Hughes’s advice, and requested him to retain office until his successor was appointed. Later in the day the Governor-General sent for Mr. Bruce, ashed him if he could form l on Administration which would satisfy His Excellency as to its prospects of stability. Mr, Bruce asked for time before giving a definite reply.” Though Ministers previously wvre forced to recognise that their position had become untenable, the decision that Mr. Hughes should tender hfa resignation wag not reached without some difference of opinion. Sena<tor Peafee, it is stated, urged Mr. Hughes that as negotiations with the Country Party had broken down when the Nationalists .desired that they should continue, he should recommend to the party that Hie Ministry be reconstruoted and meet Parliament. Senator JOl. D. Millen, on the other hand, urged Mr. Hughes that he should resign immediately. This fact, when it became known ainong members, created some surprise. Mr. Hughes / eventually agreed to resign, and, if asked for advice, to reepmmend that Mr. Bruce be sent for. The result of this meeting when, it was announced came a? a surprise to members. When the .party meeting adjourned previously many members had the impression that Mr. Hughes would not resign. Mr. Hughes made a dignified speech at the meeting. He referred to the brentejrown in we negotiations." and deelarad thh/ti tha blamo for it rested with the Country Party, for they had shut Hie door after the Nationalists had passed a resolution favouring a resumption of the negotiations. He pointed out that, as a result of the ©lections, the Nationalist Party had been reduced in the House of Representatives from 38 to 29 members; seven seats had been lost at the elections. and in addition Mr. Watt (Victoria) had definitely left the party and Mr. Atkinson (Tasmania) had joined the Country Party. The Nationalist Party, therefore,. was in a., minority, and, in the circumstances, could not be expected to carry on the work of the Government unaided. Mr. Hughes said that he proposed to tender certain advice to tho Governor-General if he were asked for an opinion, but that obviously it would be a breach of etiquette on hie part to indicate to members what the purport of his. communication would be.. He appealed to members not to discuss the advice and embarrass him. ,There was a tense feeling at the meeting, and. members afterwards gave expression to their, admiration for the splendid manner in which Mr. Hughes had retrieved an almost impossible position. Even those who had been opposed to him were not without admiration, and all were relieved at the outcome of the meeting. Three cheers were given for Mr. Hughes and it is stated that the last thing that occurred was the telling by Mr.' Hughes of‘one of the best jokes that his colleaguos.had ever heard from hin\. The proceedings' were not without humorcup incidents. Mr. Hughes sent a message to have" some morning tea brought to the party room. When the attendant knocked at the door with the tray the door was opened by Mr. Francis (Victoria), who solemnly presented the refreshments to Mr. Hughes, who received them with equal ceremony, and the accompaniment of a low bow, much to the merriment of members. Already Mr. Hughes’s future is being discussed among members. It is known that he proposes to take an extended holiday, but it can be stated with authority that he will be at Parliament when the session opens, and that he will sit with the Nationalists as a. private member. There is no doubt that all parties in Parliament would support Mr. Hughes’s appointment as High Commissioner at Washington, U.S.A., but no indication lias been given by Mr. Hughes that he would accept this or any other post. While it is expected that a composite Ministry will be the outcome of the negotiations with the Country Party if they are resumed, fears are expressed among some members that Mr- Bruco might be persuaded to form a Ministry from among the members of the Nationalist Party. Mr. Bruce’s personal view is known to be in favour of tho inclusion in the Ministry of representatives of all tho forces opposed to Labour. He consistently advocated during the election campaign a rap* proobement between the ' Nationalist and Country Parties. It is known that Country Party members are willing to reopen negotiations with the Nationalist Party now that Mr. Hughes has retired. When asked whether they will support Mr. Bruce or a composite Ministry, they recall tho offers made in their final memorandum, Which set out that both these courses would be

JcceptaUe to them subject to Mr. Hughes’s retirement and to certain other reservations. The “Sydney Morning Herald,” in an editorial' eulogy of Mr. Hughes, refers to him as “a great Imperialist.” “He did his duty to the country and to his party. There was no other honourable course left to him, and he makes it possible to-day for every good Australian to pay a tribute to him. at the end of a long period of service, with unalloyed gratitude. He would be a bold critic who would say that Mr. Hughes’s work for Australia is yet finished, and a mean and ignorant one —even .among the bitterest of his political enemies —who will not spare a moment of reflection upon what the little man from West Sydney has done abroad for the honour and the proud name of Australia. His life’s history is well known to great numbers of men and women, who can recall him as the umbrella-mender and the wharf labourers’ leader of little more than a generation ago. They will tell. all their stories over again, and discover an admiration that cannot be denied for his sheer dogged pluck during a long political fight, from the day when some of them bought him a pair of boots to grace his appearance as an election candidate in Sydney to the day when ho stood up for jus-' tice to Australia before all the Powers of the world at Versailles. The peace negotiations of early 1919 marked the zenith of his career. He believed, and with good reason, that the. earlier proposals of President Wilson meant, but a tempered chastisement of Germany. and a denial of their just rights to those who had fought Prussianism from tho beginning of the war. Ho won his point, and thafe i>oint was the adequate recognition of the Australian effort. . . . Whatever his future may be, his countrymen will remain under no illusion that such a man, just turned 58, is about to retire for good and all into obscurity.” A.W.U. CONVENTION 0..3.U. Expected This Year. At- the annual convention of the A.W.-L. it was reported that during the year the • Executive Council and those-members appointed at the last 0.8. U. convention, had been busy in completing' the merging of tho three unions taking part,, namely, the A.W.U., the Coalminers’ Federation, and tho Waterside Workers. Owing to constitutional difficulties, it ■ was pointed out that it was impossible to launch the new. union, but it was expected that those difficulties would be surmounted during this year. Mr. Arthur Blakelpy, M.P. (the retiring general president of tho A.W.U.), in. his presidential address to the convention, made reference to the 0.8. U. He" said that upon the printing of the tickets it was seen that, unless the three' unions wero dissolved, as provided by their respective constitutions, and the necessary authority procured from the members to transfer the assets, those assets would be forfeited, and; so far as the A.W.U. was concerned, it was only necessary for any 15 members to meet to elect officers, and take charge of the whole of the assets. That position also applied to the other two unions. The position now was that each union must be ?“ssolved, as provided by the respective constitutions, and tho necessary authority procured from the members for the transfer of the assets to the new union. An alternative to that was for one of the three unions to retain its identity for the time being, and for' the other two unions to seek the necessary authority_ to amalgamate with the remaining union.. The name and constitution of that union would then have to be altered to embrace tho constitution of the new union. The difficulties wore many, and great care must be .exercised, so that no false stop would b-s made. “To make a. mistake at this juncture,” he said, in conclusion, “would jeopardise the consummation of an industrial union for many years to come. I, therefore, urge care and wisdom in every stop in order that our ideals may be firmly established.” LOWER FREIGHTS State Liners Rushed. In addition to its. regular sailings from Australia, the Commonwealth Government Line of steamers has announced that three of its steamers were being recommissioned for participation' in the exp.ort wool trade. The most important feature of this development is that one steamer is to load wool for Boston ami New/York, thus extending to America the. trading of the Commonwealth Line for the first time in its history. The steamer Eudunda, is to load at Adelaide and Melbourne, and will complete in Sydney, leaving on February 21. for Atlantic ports of the United States, via Panama. The Endunda has been laid up in Melbourne since October 6 last. With the concession of one farthing per lb. as against tho rates offered by other lines, wool buyers acting for. American principals are in a very advantageous position to compete in Australian sales. Tho concession indeed serve? somewhat to counteract the unfavourable effect suf-

fered by the United States tariff on Australian wool, among other things. Since the reductions wore announced tho Commonwealth Government Line has experienced many inquiries from shippers both in England and in Australia, and in order to cater for tho increased volume of trade an extension of services has been announced. Sailings front tho West Coast of England ports to Australia have been doubled, and fortnightly sailings will be made, commencing almost immediately. A large increase in cargo bookings has taken place in Australia during the past week. Officials ol the private lines point out that the present rates of freight charged by them are bedrock, and that- for a further reduction reduced running expenses are necessary- It is alleged that th" Commonwealth Line is running al a loss, if proper allowance is made for depreciation and interest, and that the reductions announced are only going to increase the lossA BIG COMPENSATION CLAIM

A Sheep Dip Case. Compensation amounting to £19,045 was awarded recently by the Arbitration Court, under Mr. Swinburne, in a claim by Messrs. A. V. Leggo and Co., of Melbourne, chemical manufacturers, arising out of the manufacture of sheep dip in Australia during the war. This was the second of two claims against tho Commonwealth, a Sydney firm having been awarded a similar sum as compensation in somewhat similar circumstances. About the end of 1917 there was a prospect of a great shortage of importations from Great Britain of arsenical sheep dip, and the British Government was very anxious to conserve for munition purposes its supplies of arsenic. Negotiations were then entered into by the chairman of the Central Wool Committee (Sir John Higgins), and the then Director of Munitions (Mr. Leitch), for the manufacture of sheep dip in Australia, Arrangements were made with Messrs. Leggo and Co., as large producers of arsenic, to undertake the manufacture of shoep dip upon an adequate scale, on the understanding that recommendations would be made to the Commonwealth .Government tp prevent the importation of sheep dip during toe war. Messrs. Leggo and Co. spent a largo sum on plant, materials, etc., and manufactured a considerable quantity of sheep dip. The British Government was advised that no further importations of sheep dip would bo required during war conditions, it was thought that this -would be sufficient, without the formal prohibition of importation. Notwithstanding this, however, large quantities 'of sheep dip continued to arrive from Great Britain until an embargo was imposed. This importation interfered seriously with the sale of the Australian 'product, which had been on a scale which did not contemplate any importations. Messrs. Leggo and Co. thereupon made a claim against the Commonwealth for the sum of £40,118, as representing losses and damages incurred under tho arrangement. NEW STATES Movement Losing Support. A letter has been received by Mr. George Nesbitt, M.L.A., from Mr. W. Benaud. Mayor of Coraki, and at one time a leading official of the New State movement on the North Coast, stating that he is now “quite satisfied that extension of. the County Council principle is the solution of tho centralisation trouble and tenders wholly unnecessary the creation of new States.” Following upon the declaration of Mr. W. Green, tho late president of the Tamworth New 'State League- and an ex-Mayor of Tamworth, that he is now of opinion that the country’s prosperity does not lie along the lines of New Stateism, - combined with the meagre attendances at the meetings of the league, this indicates a loss of faith and lack of interest in the New State ideal. Observers of public opinion in the North Coast district, especially for some time past, have stated that there has been a tremendous falling-off in th© support of the New State movement, and that there is a. steadily growing belief that the creation .of new States will not make for any improvement in tho existing method of. government. . On the North Coast the New State question was made an issue at the last State election, yet those opposed by the New -State organisation more than held their own in the voting. Sir Joseph Carruthers says that the real remedv for the evil is population. “Increased population will prevent its spread, and providing we can get sufficient people to settle here we can stamp it right out.” NEW SOUTH WALES FINANCES Buoyant Revenue and Bright Outlook. For the first six mouths of the cur-' rent financial yefir the totaj revenue received by the State of New South Wales shows an increase compared with the corresponding period last financial year of £564,0CX). The expenditure in the same period shows a reduction of £759.000. Thus the first half of this financial year compared with the first half of tho last financial year shows a total bettermon in the State’s finances of £1,323,000. This, it is stated, is the most satisfactory condition that the finances of the State have been in for many years past The National Government assumed office on April 13 last. The State accounts at that date were in a very unsatisfactory condition, and the financial year ended June 30 last (the last year of the Labour Government) closed with a deficiency on the consolidated revenue account of £1,329,000, which, with the deficiency of £2,250,000 brought over from the previous year, raised the accumulated deficit to £3,579.000. PRICKLY PEAR MENACE Six Million Acres Infested. The growing menace of the prickly pear in New South Wales is causing grave concern to the Minister of Lands (Mr Woanie), who said that it represented the greatest problem with which the Government is faced. Some of the finest land in the State is infested with prickly pear, and as the spread of the pest is taking place at a- rute of nearly half-a-eiiHion acres a. year the seriousness of the position is apparent. Mr. Woanie said that the pear and its rji-pid spread constituted a serious menace to the settlement of the State. He had brought the matter forward at. qverT conference of tho Farmers and Settlors’ Association that he had attended, and since lie had been a member of Parliament, there had not been a session in which he has not raised it. He had now determined to introduce a Bill during the next session to provide protection for noninfested areas to assist owners of partly and heavily infested areas to eradicate the pest, and place Crown

lands under occupation, giving the occupants a freehold title to the areas upon the clearing of tho pear where the cost of the eradication is equal to the value of the land. “There aro .10,000 acres of pear-in-fested land within tho County of Cumberland alone,” said Mr. Wearne. “In tho State there are 6,000,000 acres of infested land, but the seriousness of tho position does not stop there. The pear is daily becoming more dense, nnd spreading at an alarming rate on to good lands. Much of our valuable lauds aro to-day absolutely ruined because of it, and it is only by killing tlie pear and placing land under cultivation that we can overcome the menace. The best way to destroy the prickly pear is io bring the land bearing it into profitable occupation.” THE MARAMA’S DELAY Trouble Among Crew. Owing; to a dispute which arose among members of the crew of the Union Company’s steamer Marama as she was passing down the Sydney Harbour, the vessel was delayed. The Marama was recently recommissioned at Wellington by the Union Company with a volunteer crew, and since then some of the volunteers have left, and their places have been taken by unionists. The vessel left her berth in Darling Harbour and was opposite Athol Bight when the dispute took place. It is aliened that during a heated, quarrel, in which fisticuffs were freely used, Joseph Hill, 35, a trimmer, was assaulted by other members of tho crew. He was conveyed ,in a police launch to Fort Macquarie from where he was removed by the Civil Ambulance to Sydney Hospital. He was admitted in an unconscious condition, suffering from a probable fracture of the frontal bone of the face, together with minor injuries. Later two men were arrested and charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. As the vessel was unable to proceed with three men short, and it was impossible to secure men immediately to replace the seamen ashore, she was held up. (She sailed next day.) |

FLAG IN QUEENSLAND SCHOOLS Minister’s Explanation. The Minister of Public Instruction (Mr. Huxham) stated recently that flags will continue io be flown at the public schools each school day, but added that he had decided that there shall be no ceremonial or the reciting of any ritual. Mr. Huxham declared that the A.W.U. had -nothing to do with the decision, which, as a matter of fact, was made a month before tho A.W.U. deputation waited upon him on the subject. The Department, he said, had been written to from several quarters to the effect that teachers were going “over the odds” with their jingoism. To his mind it was a bizarre and theatrical display that went on in certain schools. He took the matter in hand, and his colleagues inproved of the alteration. The flag will be hoisted each day. He had merely stopped the going around the flagstaff and tho reciting. “The ritual and ell jingoism that has gone on,” ho added, “is not understood by the young people-who attend, and it becomes merely a matter of form and very little else. It does not inculcate loyalty in the youngsters,, as they aro not capable of understanding its meaning.”

STEEL WORKS TO RE-OPEN

Announcement by the Company.

The Newcastle Steel Works 'are to resume operations immediately. Mr. Essington Lewis, generau manager ol the Broken Hill Proprietary Co., Ltd., has stated that arrangements had been made with their coal contractors which would enable the company to resume operations forthwith at the “ewca-stle Steel Works. The colliery proprietors, owing to the condition oi the small coaTtrade, have, it was stated, met the Proprietary Company by making certain concessions with regard to smaijl coal, pending the final decision of the Coal Tribunal that is now investigating generally the condi.tions of the tra'de and the wages of the miners. The company, on the strength of these arrangements, has decided to reopen the works at Newcastle, relying on early future developments as to the price of coal being of such a- character as to admit of a continuation of operations. It will probably bo some weeks before tho steel works will be in full operation, as preliminary work will have to be carried out in order to prepare the way for a general resumption. The Newcastle works have been idle for more than eight months. When in full operation they will give employment to nearly 5000 men. The resumption will also mean work indirectly for nearly 30,000 employees when the subsidiary industries are taken into account. NEW MOTOR RECORD Melbourne-Sydney Time Cut by 55 Minutes. The Melbourne to Sydney record was broken bv Mr. S. C. Ottowav in a SO--98 h.p. Vauxhall car, accompanied by Mr. B. W. Webb, reducing tho previous best time by 55 minutes. Mr. Ot-toway left Melbourne at 4.30 a.m. mid drove to a schedule of 13 hours 36 minutes for the 570 miles. Ho covered the first 198 miles to Albury in 5 hours 15 minutes, but was delayed there bv a slight mechanical trouble, and left again 35 minutes behind schedule time. On the good road up to Holbrook, a distance of about 38 miles, some of the deficiency was regained : but nevertheless at Gundagai. 31S miles, ho was still 23 minutes behind, his driving time being 8 hours 5 minutes. The car reached Goulbiirn at 3.50 p.m., 52 minutes behind schedule, 'and, after a good run down from there, reached Sydney at 7.13 p.m. tlic driving time being 14 hours 43 minutes, as compared with the previous record. 15 hours 38 minutes, by Mr. N. Smith. 'Hie times done on the road from Melbourne to Sydney during tho past few years have very materially reduced that of the fastest "xpresr trains between the capitals, in spite of the hundreds of miles ol ii.ferior roads over which motor-cars and motor-cycles have to travel. With the exception of the slight delay at Albury, tiho pros cut. record breaker made'the trip faultlessly, and but for the delay would probably have done ihii trip about 45 minutes faster; that is to say, he would have lowered tho (line nit'which the limited ‘ express i» scheduled to make tho journey by fr.llv three hours. Even the motor evilists have now; considerably redne'l he express time.