LATE MESSAGES

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 June 1923, Page 2

LATE MESSAGES

SYDNEY, June 22. Major General Lestrange Eames, addressing the Society of St. George, outlined a scheme for settling a hundred thousand British men and women in the Northern Territory by a combination of Government and private enterprise. White settlement, he contends, should be practicable if the Government will guarantee a portion of the money for the construction of the railways, as the British Government did when the railways were constructed in parts of India. SYDNEY, June 23. A meeting of merchants passed a resolution requesting the Prime Minister to cancel the dumping duty on maize, or exempt contracts already made. The Graziers Association sent a protest against the duty to Mr Chapman, as it will be prejudicial to sockowners, the drought not being sufficiently broken to obviate tile, necessity fod hand feeding. MELBOURNE June 23.

Mr Chapman, replying to the. Sydney protests against the maize duty said the Australian farmer had been placed at a disadvantage owing to competition by South African maize growers by black labour. In consequence of freight reduction it cost less to ship maize from South Africa to Australia than to bring local maize to the madket. When relaxing the law during the height of the drought, he warned intending importers that any orders placed in South Africa would be at their own risk, es-

pecially when the operations were of a speculative character. At the time South African maize was sold locally at 6/6 to 7/- a bushel, it was now 5/-. The Tariff Board was advised that South African maize was being dumped to the extent of threepence a bushel, hence the necessity for the dumping duty. WELLINGTON, June 23. The Director of Education, Mr. Caughley, brought before the Council of Education the question of the appointment of seats on Education Boards, as being town and country dis* tricts. He moved that the Council of Education is strongly of the opinion that the present method of apportioning seats on Education Boards is quite inequitable and undemocratic, and as the result of the working of the present Act, urban areas profit largely in representation _ at the expense of the country districts. For instance, in one urban area; the population of 6000 has the same representation on a Board as i.aryb country districts of 30,000. Ano-

raalies m ether districts are equally obvious, and indefensible, and in the opinion of the Council, representation so disproportionate and unfair to the country districts that it calls for the attention of Parliament. The Council desires therefore to urge again upon the Government, as it did in 1916, the necessity of an amendment to the iaw which will give justice to the districts. Further, it should be noted that in Parliamentary elections the Legislature was provided for a country quota which gives 28 per cent advantage to country voter whereas under the present system of Education Board elections, a very heavy quota is given in favour of the town. For instance, there are cases where an urban elector has the electoral advantage of 300 per cent over the country elector, if any special portion of educational district is to have representation advantage, the Council is of the opinion that the principle is obtaining in general elections should be invoked. Mr. Caughley added that the Department- was quite prepared to wait until the. Boards had thoroughly considered the matter and forwarded their suggestions to the Department. ■' The motion was agreed to.