AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS

Evening Star, Issue 15478, 28 April 1914, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS

THE BEEF TRUST. REPRESSIVE LEGISLATION POSSIBLE Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. MELBOURNE, April .28. (Received April 28, at 9.15 a.m.) The Commonwealth Prime Minister (Mr Cook), during a political address, declared that the Government were watching- the Beef Trust, and meant to prevent it from getting hold of Australia.’ A Bill had already been drafted to deal with this and other'trusts, but as long as a trust did. not rob the public it would not be interfered with. Big business was not necessarily corrupt business. _ ' BOXING • AS A BUSINESS CONCERN. SYDNEY, April 28. ' The Stadiums, Limited, has been registered as a company It will control boxing ’in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Mr R. L. Baker (“Snowy”) will' be managing director. COAL FOR MEXICO; CONTRACTS CANCELLED. SYDNEY, April 28. Several contracts for Newcastle coal for Mexico have been cancelled owing to the crisis in that country. EXETER RAILWAY DISASTER. ENGINE-DRIVER ON TRIAL. SYDNEY, April 28. (Received April 28 at 10.25 a.m.) The trial of Peter Erwin, engine-driver of the Tcrnora mail train in the Exeter smash, on a , charge of feloniously slaying Mr Bray, one of, the victims, has commenced. Accused exhausted his right of challenge in empanelling a jury. The case hinges on the signals; and Erwin’s counsel intimated that his defence would be that the distance signal showed green, and that the fog was too thick for the driver to sec the red light at the homo signal. A night officer on duty at Exeter gave evidence that there was no fog, but it was misty. Ho could see the back lights on the semaphores, indicating that both signals were at “danger,” for if, a sign?.! showed a green light no hack light could show. Other witnesses gave evidence that a dense fog prevailed. The trial stands adjourned. LABOR DAY IN MELBOURNE. MELBOURNE, April 28. Eight-hour Day was celebrated by the usual procession. It took an hour and forty minutes passing a given point, and 20,000 men inarched in it.