AUSTRALIA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12701, 9 March 1904, Page 3

AUSTRALIA.

AUTOMATIC TELEGRAPHY. (Received March 9. 1,15 a.m.) MELBOURNE. Tuesday. Mr Cell's automatic telegraph apparatus was demonstrated before the convention of Commonwealth telegraphic engineers. The convention reported to the Postmaster-General recommending its installation between Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The leading engineers spoke highly of the merits of the invention. THE UNEMPLOYED DIFFICULTY. SYDNEY, Tuesday.

A deputation, who stated that they represented 7000 genuine unemployed, waited on Mr Wise, acting-Premier, and asked that the reproductive works sanctioned by Parliament should be started and those shut down resumed. They declared that the stoppage of Government works had thrown idle thousands, while thousands were still being discharged. Mr Wise, in the course of his reply, said the utmost money the Government expected to get during the next two years would be barely sufficient to carry out works already started, and they must look forward in the near future to an almost cessation of the expenditure of borrowed money. He could promise the unemployed nothing, excepting land settlement and subsistence work. FEDERAL ELECTIONS. MELBOURNE, Tuesday. The recent Federal elections cost £46.000, as against £56,000 at the first election. COALING RECORD. SYDNEY, Tuesday. IF.M.S. Tauranga made a coaling record for a vessel of her class. She stowed at the rate of 82.2 tons per hour from the Union Company’s steamer Karori. EARTHQUAKES. SYDNEY, Tuesday. Several slight shocks of earthquake were felt in the Goulburn and Gunning districts.

PLAGUE. Received March 8, 10.16 p.m.) SYDNEY, Tuesday

In consequence of the capture of a plagued inuqv- (the nmrlher of) ' : rat catchers has been increased and other precautions aro being taken to check any spread of the disease. BRISBANE, Tuesday.

Tho serum from a supposed case of plague at Cairns, also from rats, failed to disclose any trace of the disease.