AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS

Evening Star, Issue 17483, 14 October 1920, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS

Egress Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.

, SYDNEY, October 13. Lord and Lady Forster have arrived. They had a great public welcome at the Town Hal’,

The Sydney University Sports Union have decided to award 10 swimming Blues annually, one for each State swimming championship. The decision to recognise swimming is without precedent in the British Empire. In the Legislative Assembly the Premier announced that the Government proposed to fill the parliamentary vacancies by the election of the next highest defeated candidate from the particular party losing tile seat, thus maintaining the strength of the parties determined at the General Elections.

Owing to dissatisfaction at the recent award, the Masters and Engineers’Branch of the Merchant Service Guild have decided to affiliate with the Transport Workers’ Federation.

A Royal Commission has commenced an inquiry into the control and administration of the New South Wales railways. It has been asked to make recommendations regarding commercial and profitable administration, fares, rates, and the indusconditions of the employees and their bearing on industrial unrest; also the dismissal of employees as the result of the 1017 strike.

In connection with the Chief Justice’s refusal to appoint a Judge to deal with tile question of members’ salaries, Mr Storey (Premier) stated in the Legislative Assembly that the Chief Justice had no control over the other Judges. If any Judge was elected to fill a position at the request of the Government, the Chief Justice had no voice in the matter. MELBOURNE, October 13. Mr W. A, Watt (ex-Pederal Treasurer) was demonstratively welcomed by a big gathering. After spending £640,000 on the Flinders naval base, which was approved in Sir Reginald Henderson’s scheme of naval defence, the Commonwealth Government find it unsuitable for submarines and destroyers. VICTORIAN ELECTIONS. MELBOURNE, October 13., The nominations'for the State elections on October 21 include seven Labor, three Liberal, and one Farmers’ Union candidate who have been returned unopposed. The vote-splitting between the Liberals and the Farmers’ candidates threatens to enable the Laborites to win several seat*.

QUEENSLAND ELECTIONS,

BRISBANE, October 13.

Several seats art) still in doubt, and, though the Government are still credited with 40 seats, the Country Party 20 (not 21 as previously stated), and the Nationalists 12, there is a possibility that the Government majority will he reduced to a narrow margin? The Nationalists claim that plural voting is rampant, and state that in some cases a vote was recorded four times. MARITIME DISPUTE. SYDNEY, October 13. The secretary of the Labor Council, in an official statement regarding the maritime dispute, says: “ The workers have no intention of starving themselves. They had enough of that during the 1917 strike. The present dispute will not take the form of a general strike, but_ydl the unions in the Transport Workers’ Federation will act in a concerted policy. This move is only one of many. If the shipowners want industrial peace they can have it in five minutes by the abolition of the Labor Bureaux.”

SYDNEY, October 14. (Received October 14, at 9.45 a.m.)

_ The shipowners are contemplating establishing a labor bureau at Newcastle and Brisbane, with the object of fighting the harassing strikes. It is hoped to enrol the moderate element among the transport workers, to whom preference is guaranteed, OVERSEA MAIL SERVICE. SYDNEY, October 14, (Received October 14, at 9.45 a.m.) The Chamber of Commerce have received word from the Postmaster-General, London, stating that the Peninsular and Orient Compandee have agreed to establish a regular fortnightly English mail service from January. BAD OUTLOOK AT BROKEN HILL. SYDNEY, October 14. Mr ’ Willis, miners’ secretary, visited Broken Hill. In regard to the resumption ,of work, ,he stated that the outlook is gloomy, the miners being dissatisfied with the award, especially the surface men, whose demand for snorter hours was rejected. BRITISH RIFLE TEAM. BRISBANE, October 14. (Received October 14, at 9.45 a.m.) The British rifle team defeated a Queensland team at Enoggera, at a special meeting, the scores being 1,173 to 1,114. The Britishers averaged 97.75.