AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS

Evening Star, Issue 15554, 25 July 1914, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS

CANON FLOWER'S DEATH. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. SYDNEY, July 24, At an inquest touching the. death of Canon Flower on Wednesday evidence wae given that the deceased was found dead in his bathroom with a bullet .wound in. his right' temple and a revolver clasped in his hand. Ho left a note saying that there was " oniy cue way out." His brain had fone. As the result of 10 weeks' sleeplessness and utter weakness of body and mind he had scarcely power to attend to reading and. speaking. He had terrible pains in his head and neck, and everything was in a haze. The coroner foi.nd that deceased, died from a self-ii.flicted bullet wound, while suffering from iemporarj' mental derangen.'tnt. July 25. (Received July 25, at 11.55 a.m.) Canon Flower had juet returned from. a seven months' holiday in England. CUSTODY OF A CHILD. NORION~GIVES IN. SYDNEY, July 24. Mrs Norton was to-day granted a writ of attachment against John Norton for disobeying an ordor to yield tho custody of their child. Applicant stated that, respondent refused to give up the child, saying that the child was at present in Queensland, and respondent had taken passages under assumed names for Europe. He had only taken the child away to torture the deponent. Tho Judge ordered the sheriff to bring tho respondent before the Court, but that officer reported -hat he had searched Norton's house. 'Truth' office, and other places, and was unable to find Norton. Subsequently Norton appeared in court, and undertook to have, tho child returned from Brisbane to-morrow. MARGARINE. i ""SYDNEY, July 24. At the Dairy Conference to-day, the Minister of Agriculture stated that the Dairy Bill embodied compulsory grading and "the manufacture of margarine under such conditions as would make it impossible for it to be sold as butter. It was not intended to stop the making of margarine, and he thought the conference Wong in -carrying a resolution to Tjrohiblt the manufacture of margarine. Coloring and butter were not allowed in margarine. UNIONS AND STATE SERVICES. ENGIN EERS T ~DEMANDS. BRISBANE, July 25. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers have demanded an increase in tho pay of their members working on the railways and a reduction of their hours to 44 weekly, besides other concessions. A .strike'is .threatened. BOORABIL INQUIRY. OSBORNE AND JONES EXAMINED. SYDNEY, July 25. (Received July 25, at 9.50 a.m.) The Boorabil Commission has opened. Tho evidence of the agents for tho sale of the property to the Government for closer settlement, purposes was to the effect that, when it, appeared likely that the. sale would not go through, two M.L.A.s (Messrs Osborne and Jones) were, approached, the idea being that, in their positions as member and ex-member respectively of Parliament, they would have better access to the officials concerned for the purpose of pushing the sale forward than land agents, who are forbidden to interview officers of the Lands Department. A certain commission was promised them. . .Messrs Osborne and Jones, examined, detailed tho terms of the agreement and their interviews with Ministers and others. Mr Jones, in reply to the Commission's question whether it was through his influence that the estate was bought, said: " It may be that, or it may be the accoss to Ministers that we had." Mr Osborne, in reply to a question, said he did not think they had any more influence or pull, so far as the Government were concerned, than any other reputable citizen. Osborne admitted that it was an indiscreet thing to give his vote in Parliament on the matter when he was pecuniarily interested, but he was inexperienced in politics. EMPLOYERS DIVIDED OVER AFTERNOON SHIFT. "SYDNEY, July 25. Though some coal mines have conceded the abolition of the afternoon shift, tho bulk of the colliery proprietors have determined against its abolition, and indications point to a long struggle.