AUSTRALIAN MAYS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6624, 14 September 1908, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN MAYS

LAND BALLOTS. In order to give men who have been many limes di-appointed ia land haltin' box for ihe first time, the suggestion lias been made that each man shall Ij.-.vc uxio chance for each time he has been un.mcctssfui. As an illustration: Suppose there are ten applicants for tho sun:c piece of land. Five of these may have each tried three times lo obtain land, bui without success. But twentyfive marbles in the ballot-box, five for Ih»* five who are balloting for the first time, and twenty for the other five who can furnish certificates to tlie effect that they have thrice been unsuccessful at former ballots; that is, three chances each, in addition to the one they would then bo making.

SERIOUS STEAMER COLLISION. A serious collision occurred between the Ado la id o Company's steamer Colac and the collier Pareora outside the South Hoad of Sydney harbour a little after midnight on Friday, August 2Stli. Tho look-out on tho South Head heard a tremendous crash, following upon, tho sounds of steamers’ whistles. Tho pilot steamer immediately proceeded to the scene, but could find no traces of the collision, tho vessels involved having been able to proceed up harbour under their own steam. The Colac sustained a huge rent in her hull, several plates being torn away. *As siic was not taking in much water, the captain did not have to beach her, but was able to berth her at the C.S.R. Company's wharf. He did not know what tho other vessel was. It was, however, learnt later that it was the collier Pareora. A fireman on the Colac had a narrow escape from injury or death. He was asleep in his bunk when a warning 1 was called out, and ho sprang away from it just as tho plates bulged in from the impact. The Parcora’s stem was broken, in several places, and her bows were also injured.

MURDER NEAR PERTH. A few days ago Australian papers recorded the murder of a man named Shaw at West Murray (W.A.), by a Japanese named Oki, and the flight of the murderer. Loist week Oki was arrested in a houeo occupied by a man named Carruthers, who sent the information of Oki's whereabouts to the police. On the police entering the room which ho was in, Oki was not to be found; but search under tho table revealed him. Ho waa promptly hauled out, and quietly submitted to being .handcuffed. He was clad only in a pair of pyjamas, and was bootless and hatloss. Ho was shivering with cold, and look famished. Ho promptly said, "Yes, mo shoot him, tlie fool." Tho police ascertained that Oki had called there and asked for food. Ho said that ho had called at tho other Japanese places just opposite Shaw's house, and that his countrymen had refused to help him. Therefore, ho said, ho had com© in for food to Carruthers'. Ho said that after dark ho had crossed tlie river near Thomas' Hotel, and thou walked along the bank. He was 1 charged at the Pingarrah Police Court with murder, and was remanded, DEAD BABY IN A PARCEL. In the Sydney Domain a constable's suspicions were aroused by the actions of a man and woman, both carrying parcels, and he stopped them. On examining the man's parcel he found it contained the dead body of a child, and the woman’® some bloodstained clothing. Ho brought them to the Woolloomooloo Police Station, and the woman there said that she was the child's mother, and that it was born on Sunday, August 30th She added that it was born alive, but that she took it to bed with her. When she awoke on Monday morning it was dead. Bricks were tied to ! tho body in the ono parcel, and to the clothing in the other. Both tho man ana the woman have been charged with concealment of birth.

A post-mortem on the body of the child led the doctor to state that it had boon born alive, but had died of suffocation. In view of this fact, after the formal charge had. been made against the man at the police court, the woman being in. the hospital, the police secured, a remand to obtain further evidence. • ADELAIDE UNEMPLOYED. The unemployed difficulty is as acute as ever, despite the fact that a large number of men have been provided with work. The Labour members in Parliament are pressing the Government to push on with authorised public .works to relieve the existing difficulty. On Wednesday. Labour member Blundell called attention to the fact that it had been officially stated that beween 300 and 400 men were out of work, and asked what the Government were doing to absorb thorn. The Acting-Commissioner of Public Works replied that the Government never had so many men. working for them as at tho present time, they wore pushing on with every available work, and could do nothing more than they were doing. On the following day, the Premier having returned from Sydney, Mr Blundell asked him to try to find work for tho three or four hundred men who were out of employment. Mr Price said ho would communicate with tho oflicors of the Public Works Department in the matter. Mr O'Lough. lin informed him that he had already, instructed the engineers to proceed with; relaying works and the Pckina Creek waterworks, so as to give employment.! On Thursday the Government selected’ fifteen men to go to the West Coast' to construct dams in tho hundred of Poborts, and tho officer in charge of the bureau received 102 personal applications' for tho job. A SUCCESSFUL MINE. The pessimistic strain so noticeable in the address of Mr Darling at tho, recent meeting of the Broken Hill Pro--prietary Company was entirely absent from what Mr Hyndman, chairman of tho North Broken Hill Company, had to say. In moving the adoption of the ro-

port and balance-sheet at tho half-yearly . mooting of shareholders the chairman ] .‘aid tfia; tlie shareholders were to bo i congratulated upon the fact that the comoauy had been able to maintain during the period under review tho pay- 1 meat c£ regular quarterly dividends, and this notwithstanding the low metal values ruling during that period. The company was the only mining company on the Barrier that had been able to maintain dividends during the last six months, Iu June, 1934, the estimated tonnage of ore was 200,000 tons, and notwithstanding tho extraction of 353,567 tons since .lime. 1904, the estimate of tho ore now in sight was 1,100,009 tons. ‘While it was most important to shareholders to know that their mine was working at a profit, and paying dividends, it was of equal importance to develop the largo tonnage of ore. and to prcnerlv equin the mine to handle same in tho*'most effective and economical manner. When tho new mill was completed and brought into operation, it war* confidently expected that still bettor results would be obtained. The general manager had been instructed to carry to completion all work in connection with the new mill, and tho estimated time to complete this work was from nine to twelve months. It was also intended to resume the sinking of Un* main shaft another 150 ft. These works would entail the expenditure of a large sum of money, absorbing probably all the cash reserves. But given a continuance of fair metal prices they should soon bo able to again build up cask reserves. Meanwhile, they honed to continue the payment of the usual quarterly dividends. LEAPING FOR LIFE. Half an hour after the men in a fourstorey wicker factory in Adelaide (S.A.), had begun work on Friday, August 28, lucre was mi explosion on the ground floor, followed by several other reports. A volume of smoko emerged from tho doors and windows. Workmen scampered headlong 'into the street, while those in tho vicinity witnessed the stirring sight of several terrified men leaping for tho pavement from the second and third floor windows. Fred Sadler, aged j-1 was engaged on tho floor ground singeing finished wicker work with a gas jot when the flame came into contact with a tin of varnish. Three other tins immediately ignited, and flared up with such vigour that the internal fittings of tho building were soon wrapped ; iu flames. Saddler’s clothes also caught fire, and he ran out a mass of flames. They were not extinguished until he had been severely injured. Two men, Arthur Cook and Roy Wallman, made for the window, though it was a drop of close on 30 feet to the pavement. The first-named clutched at a telephone wire a few feet out, and was able to steady himself momentarily before the j wire snapped, and precipitated him to . the street below. That, however, broke > his fall somewhat. Wallman fell heav- ; ily, with his head doubled upon his i chest, and sustained a fractured leg and arm. The rest of the men determined to take their chances on the stairs. Although several of them sustained burns ami other minor injuries on the way, j they all gained tho street. The lose is • estimated at .£IOOO. A MAN’S BEIGE. Some extraordinary admissions were i made bv the respondent in an applicai tion before the Divorce Court, in Bydr ncy, to vary an ante-nuptial settlement : made between the parties in the divorce 3 suit, brought by Hannah Alexander 5 against Louis Alexander last year, when . a- divorce was granted. Under the settlement, tho respondent was secured <£2oo a year, and it was now asked by the petitioner, Hannah Alexander, that his interest under the agreement should b© treated as if lie were dead. The respond- . ent’s contention was that tho settlement I was for life, subject to certain contingencies, of which divorce was not one. } Mr Justice Simpson, intimated his prej sent view was that it would bo a scandal . to the administration of justice if .a man receiving .£2OO a year under a marriage settlement, immediately afterwards committed adultery, and. continued to benefit. Louis Alexander, the respond- ' ent, then -gave evidence, and referring ’ to the circumstances surrounding the settlement, said that he had told petition- * er’s solicitor, in her presence, that if * divorce was going to interfere with tho * settlement, there would be no marriage. ■ Petitioner's solicitor then advised her • not to go further. She, however, said : the settlement would be arranged her way, and not his (tho solicitor's way). There was some dispute about .£IOO, and respondent left the office while the discussion was taking place. He was , brought back by a, messenger, and peti- . tioner and her , sister agreed to pay tho L ,£IOO. i Petitioner’s Counsel: When you enlerL ed into this agreement, did you conteml plate being faithful or unfaithful? Respondent (after some hesitation); I told her she couldn't expect a young man like mo to be faithful to an old woman like she was. j Petitioner's Counsel: You did contem- ; plate then, that you might not be true , to her? 1 Respondent; Yes. : Judgment was reserved. 1 • LIBERAL AND LABOUR IN SOUTH > AUSTRALIA.

"The little rift within tho lute" between tho Liberal and Labour parties does not grow smaller by reason of the almost frantic efforts of the Liberal Party, to increase tbeir strength irrespective of Labour, and their avowed intention of becoming, if possible, the ruling power in the Legislature. The Treasurer seems particularly anxious to secure the Farmers and Producers’ Political Union, or, if possible, to get the whole crowd under the Liberal banner. To do this would mean that the Liberals would have to be less Liberal than, at present, as some compromise would be necessary, and in that case Labour would cither have further to trim its policy to suit tho less liberal organisation with which it would be asked to work, or else it must cut the painter and go to the country on its own. The present Government would probably give place to a Liberal combination, and for a few years nothing of a distinctively Labour character would have any chance. Bat Labour men think it would ultimately bring Labour to tho front, and give them the majority to which thev give them the majority to which they. claim to be numerically entitled. The present relations between the . Labour Party and the coalition or combination Government are not entirely satisfactory, and Mr Archibald, the late leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party, appears to have entered upon a fight against coalitions. At the annual social of the Amalgamated Society he said he hoped the workers would never go back on the principle of the representation of Labour in Parliament. Coalition Governments wero not wbat they were cracked ■up to be. The deplorable evils of the Crimean War were brought about by a coalition Ministry. Such Governments were dangerous. If the workers made the Labour Party strong enough to control a majority in the House of Assembly they would then have a right to expect 'a good deal more than they were getting from the present Government.

MYSTERIOUS SIGNALS. Several days ago new© was received in Sydney that signals had been made from Sydney Island, one of the Phoenix Group, to the steamer Willeeden, as she passed that lonely spot in the South Seas on her way from Puget Sound to Sydney. Captain Raeburn, however, did not stop to ascertain what the inhabitants desired to convey to him, as a night might be lost, and he was short of coal. The general impression, among seafaring men in. port was that a mishap had occurred in the vicinity of the island, and that the crew of some vessel had managed to reach th© chore. It wa© at ,once suggested that a warship from the

station or one of the Government steamers should be despatched to make an investigation, as tho Unolu which was then m the bolomou frauds, would not visit the Phoenix Group. No warship has been *»ent to the scene; but Captain Gibbs, of R.M.S. Marama, which sailed from Sydney on Mondav for Vancouver, has- been instructed to alter his course somewhat so that he might call off the island and clear up the mvst-erv. This news was received with satidaction by shipping men, more especially as fears for tho .safety of the Geamor Aeon, which is now considerably overdue from San Francisco, aro daily increasing.

AMERICAN SAILOR’S PURSE. An elderly man was charged at the Paddington Police Court, Sydney, on Monday, August 31, with stealing, by finding* a purse containing two ten-dol-lar bills, one two-dollar bill, with other property, valued at in ail about .£7. There is every reason to believe that the purse and contents are the property of one of the members of tho battleship Georgia's crew inasmuch that a card bearing the owner’s name and ship was found In tho purse, added to the fact that one of the battleship men had communicated his loss to the Detective Office. The finder had admitted that ho picked the purs© up in the lavatory of an hotel at Waverley. According to him ho had interviewed a number of sailor.-.—about 150—about the streets, but was unable to ad the owner. "Whilst in Miller’s Point he had the misfortune to notice a shop sign which indicated that the proprietor would change American money,- and in a moment of weakness some dollar bills wore converted into English currency. The police stated that they wore faced with tho difficulty that the owner of tlie money was with the fleet, which was hardly likely to return to Sydney. They could not proceed against the accused for having property in Ms possession reasonably suspected of having been stolen. Under the circumstances the magistrates discharged tho old man, but reminded him that he might consider himself fortunate that tho alleged owner of tho property waft not present to prosecute. A MISTAKEN KINDNESS. When it was decided to adjourn the South Australian Parliament to enable members to join in the licet festivities, the Government decided to regard members as representatives of the State, and to pay their expenses to tho extent of one guinea per clay, or eight guineas in all for each member. This offer could not be regarded as a bribe to the Opposition, because practically there is no Opposition. Neither was it an extravagant waste of public money, because the .share of the individual taxpayer would not amount to more than a small fraction of a penny. Tho object appears to have been to place all legislators on an equal it is well-known that the .£2OO a year, which is paid members, less income tax and loss the thousand and one demands upon their miserable pittance for private charities, their travelling expenses when visiting country districts, and other items, does not leave them much to squander on pleasure. Some are wealthy and can do without help, but others’on both sides of the House are not, and tho Government wished all to be able to enjoy themselves. The proposal was not objected to - by the wealthier section of Parliament, some of whom promptly drew the cash. Many Liberal and Labour members . did not do so, and some of them refrained from taking part in tho fleet business. At once there was an outburst of howling protests from anonymous scribes in the newspapers against tho members, as if they had had boon- robbing tho State coffers, although they had not cither taken tho money or consented to take it. Une result of the newspaper fusillade has been that the Opposition, members, or some of them are said to have hurried back to the Treasury with the eight guineas they had drawn, and probably no on© will now' participate in the provision of tho Government. Probably, had the matter been openly laid before tho members it would never have been accepted, but as no serious objection was made by the two or three members consulted by the Government the proposal took form and ended in a fiasco.