AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume L, Issue 15374, 8 August 1913, Page 4

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

PACKED HUMANITY.

[from oitr own CORRESPONDENT.]

Stdnbt, August. 2. •One hears from time to time about unhealthy and unnatural overcrowding in the few large cities in this young and spacious country. Ono has, perhaps, doubted whether matters were really bad in this respect and whether some over-zealous .folks had not allowed themselves to speak more or less at random. However, some evidence just given before the Royal Commission of inquiry into the Greater Sydney question shows that there is woefully acute congestion in Sydney. f Mr. C. H. Northcott, representing the University Christian Union, which has made special investigations, said the worst of overcrowding in the metropolis lay not in an enormous number of people living on a certain acreage, but in the number of families who crowded into one house, with results disastrous to morality and to family life. It had been found that 17 people were living in one four-roomed house. In another case si six-roomed house was occupied by five families, who had a common water service of one tap and very limited common sanitarv conveniences. There were instances in which two and three families were living in houses of three or four rooms.

Drill Shirkers, Statistics do not altogether support previous optimistic declarations from official quarters* as regards the working out of our system of compulsory military training. It is shown in ,i return prepared by the militarv authorities that up to the end of May 12.373 prosecutions in courts of summary jurisdiction, were instituted for failure to oomph/ with the compulsory training law. This 'does not give the total who failed to comply. It represents only the number of cases in which it was considered necessary to/ prosecute. The view is expressed by military officers that it is desirabh that t'/ie compulsory system should be made more popular by new administrative methods, the erection of attractive drill lialls, district, organisation, and co-ordina-tion of defence and sport. While the Minister for Defence is having matters carefully analysed, a decided movement has been begun in the direction of associating sports, in which, inter-district and interState rivalry is strongly brought out, with the military training" of the Australian male youth' who will put up with a lot provided sport is connected with it. Restoration of the Kilt.

Great is the rejoicing amongst the Scotsman of Australia over the prospect of & restoration of the kilt as a recognised uniform in the Australian army. Although himself a Scot, the ex-Minister for Defence, Senator Pearce, decreed that the kilt must go. You can imagine what indignation this decree aroused, and what Highlanders had to say about the Minister. To read some of the speeches of protest made one disposed to regard as imminent a serious conflict which might have all kinds, of dreadful consequences. The new Minister for Defence is not so strongly imbued as is Senator Pearce. with a necessity for very plain drab, or khaki uniformity in the clothes of our soldiers. Ho was cheered to the echo by Scotsmen when he said at a public gathering the other day that, if a considerable portion of the commtunity favoured the retention, of the kilt for certain regiments, he saw no reason why the kilt should not be restored. Needless to say, the Minister will' be quickly assured that it is of the greatest importance that the kilt should be restored, and that there is no need to hesitate on account of those who do not qare whether some of our soldiers wear kilts or not. Progress of Aviation. Somehow we seem to be very slow in getting into line with other countries in the matter of aviation. True, some clever young Australians have devoted themselves with every., promise of distinction to the art of flying, but they get away to Europe and America as soon as they have reached a certain stage. The Commonwealth authorities possess several aeroplanes, which were bought in Britain for military purposes. These machines are stored somewhere in Sydney, and the experts who were brought out from the Old Country to \ give the Military School of Aviation a start have not been heard of since their arrival in Australia . was paragraphed. Enquiries made a few days ago obtained the/official explanation that there was some difficulty in securing a suitable site for the aviationschool. This explanation is being commented on as a surprising revelation that Australia, which is supposed to have millions of acres of land unused, everywhere is really so overcrowded that it is difficult to find a patch where aeroplanes can be worked without danger of knocking over chimneys or breaking up fowlhouses.