IN THE BALANCE

Evening Star, Issue 23438, 1 December 1939, Page 10

IN THE BALANCE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S FATE POLITICAL CRISIS DEVELOPS SYDNEY, December 1. (Received December 1, at noon.) The ‘ Sydney Morning Herald’s Canberra correspondent says the stability of the Federal Government is threatened as a result of a crisis that developed over the rates of pay of the military forces. After the Government had been threatened with summary defeat last night draamtic efforts were made to reach a basis of compromise. When the meeting of Cabinet ended at midnight, however, it was unofficially stated that the Ministry had decided to continue to resist the demands that the rates should be increased. This will probably be announced when the debate is resumed to-day, and the fate of the Government will then be determined. AUSTRALIAN TROOPS CANBERRA, December 1. (Received December 1, at noon.) The members of the second A.I.F. while abroad will be paid in sterling, and the allowances and allotments to dependents will be paid in Australian money. This was announced by the Minister for the Army (Mr Street). NO FURTHER TAXATION AVSTfiALA'S FINANCE MEASURES CANBERRA, November 30. Contrary to expectations, no further Commonwealth taxation is proposed during the remainder of the 1939-40 financial year. The Acting Treasurer, Mr P. C. Spender, making this announcement in connection with his supplemetary financial statement to-day, said the Government’s policy was to finance the war effort by a balanced programme of taxation and borrowing from the public and banks. He estimated the receipts from the revised financial proposals of last September would be £101,490,000, and the expenditure £101,452,000, of which defence expenditure would be £62,104,000. The Minister of Customs (Mr J. A. Lawson) announced that licensing for the importation of goods would bpgin to-morrow. This had been brought about by a shortage of foreign exchange in non-sterling countries. SCHEME FDR FOLLOWING YEAR CANBERRA, December 1. (Received December 1, at noon.) Following his announcement last night that no further Commonwealth taxation was proposed during the remainder of the 1939-40 financial year, Mr Spender said that in 1940-41 the Commonwealth Government will impose a comprehensive scheme of war taxation, the details of which will be revealed early next year. MORE MALES THAN FEMALES BIRTHS IN FIRST THREE WAR MONTHS PARIS, November 30. (Received December 1, at 8 a.m.) The Health Services report discloses the usual wartime excess of male over female births in the first three months of a war.. Three girls to one boy were bom in Paris before the war, and now the ratio is two boys to one girl. No explanation is forthcoming. SERBIAN AND BOSNIAN LOANS GERMANY FORGES YUGOSLAVIA TO PAY BELGRADE, November 30. (Received December 1, at 8 a.m.) It is reported that Germany has forced Yugoslavia to agree to repay the Serbian and Bosnian loans cancelled by the Versailles Treaty. The markdinar exchange has been fixed, and the interest and funding charges will be allocated to exports to Germany. Thus Germany will virtualy be getting suppies gratis. TRIANON TREATY RUMANIAN-HUNGARIAN EXCHANGES BUDAPEST, November 30. Count Csaky, replying to Dr Gafencu, declared that Rumania was alone in her stubborn contention that the Trianon Treaty affected just the Rumanian-Hungarian settlement. He added that modification of the treaty was not only urgently desirable for Hungary’s good, but necessary for the preservation of. Central European peace. AUSTRALIAN MILITIA CANBERRA, December 1. (Received December 1, at noon.) A proclaamtion has been issued calling up unmarried men who will be 21 in the year ending June 30, 1940, to serve with the militia. DEFINITE CHANGE IN RELATIONS LONDON, November 30. The Budapest correspondent of ‘ The Times I comments that this sharp exchange marks a definite change in Hun-garian-Rumanian relationships, which hitherto have maintained at least a surface appearance of