AUSTRALIAN TO-DAY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15350, 13 January 1912, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN TO-DAY.

tFnou Oor Owk Connr.sroNDF.NT.)

~ .. DN'KV, Jauuarv 6. Mr Montgomory, who has char K u tho Aow /Zealand Agency in .Sydney, luisfought the .-iiit of the detective departinent in uuravi'l.lliß u mysti-ry. Some limo ago ho w,-i lS astomshed to (incl a tronieiidoiis number of I<*ltt-i-s arrivuig at the New Zeahiml Ageliey ollices addro-.'od to a Mr A . Tin- gentleman u> whom they wore nd-dr<K-eil called for fh.'iu from tuuo lo time, and they were handed over to him bv ow, ol llio oliioiaU Mr Montgomery himself did not m* llio man. Hut rcoeiiilv ho rn<<;iyed n note from tho mysterious individual with Iho lingo correspondence, asking Ilial any further letters arriving for Jinn should l>e forwarded to the Fninoro l'o:.t Olliee. Kmnoro is a suhurb attout three iiiillvs from Iho eilv. The letters con'liuued to eoino, and wero forwifrded, as .requot-toil. .ludfrinj by the hai»lwriting on it ho envelopes, they wore all from women or girls. It. would be incorrect lo say that .Mr Montgomery's suspicions wero arous.Hl, ho was merely curious; arid, hy an accident, sumo light was thrown on tlm nature of the oorresjxMidi.'iict;. Many of tho letters cauio hy fic«t.; others wore left mysleriously on Mr Montgomery's table, on flic counter, auywhere-ull addressed to Mr A . The other day one of I.lkno letters arrived l.v post, and thoro.was a post-mark right across tho namo of Mr A—. Mr Montgomery pickinl it im. glanced at it lim■riedly. saw Iho words "Now Z<',il:md Covpniinonl. Aijeney" on the envelope, and o|K'ti(!il it. He was astonished to reiwl: " Dear sir, I think I would suit you. 1 am young (only ?.l), robust, fond of fun, and not without good.looks. Will you make an appointment!" The girl's name and addrit- were, „f course, attached. Willi the notion that the N'cw Zealand fiovernmeiit Agency was being. iisrd fo r pur|xivs for whieli il wji* never intended, Mr Mont-gomery.'-larled lo turn over llio liaok files of the Sydney pn|iers. lie ran tbroiifih the .idvvrtisomcnts. and was reworded bv tin<ling an adyoiiisonieiit cotiehed soinowiiat in these terms: "Advwtisor desires to make the an|iinint.-ince of yotuip lady; must lv- yoiing, robust, and fond of gaiety. Addross, Mr A , rare Now Zealand Govenimeiri Agency. Sydney." In llio agencv ollicea a young lady is employed who hail a viisno recollection of something similar having occurred nine tnonlJis ago—that is. of a large number of letters in tho handwriting of girls having arrived thero a<ldrawl lo a genlleiiian. Thn lotlors filed in tho ofliec wero turned over, and sure ■enough ono was found written somo nine inoiitlis ago by Mr A . having reference to letters he was expecting to bo addrtwod to him, can) of tlio New Zealand Agency. It was apparently nil old game. Hut what does it moan? Is Mr A simply some gay I.olluirio. seekini: l3io best-looking and gayest girl ho ran find, with a view to rnntrhnony, or is he engaged in a more nofarimis pra<'tieo? TUii is liho opinion vlliich Mr MnnlgoniPry wauls lo solve, and ho lias accordingly placed Hie matter in the hands of the police. Kithcr way, it is clear Unit tho New Zealand fiovorn'ment Ageiic>- has other things to do instead of looking after correspondence of this kind. CiOVKKNMKNT lIOUSKS. "Government Houses" miglit, without esphuiation to the contrary, lie taken to moan palatial residences " for vice-regal represi'iitativcs; in this instance it uieatii nothing of the kind. Wn aro to huvo Clovernineill liousiS) of quite a different sort. Jmusw built, in fact, hy tlio Government for tlio peoplo This "is the sehemo of_ Mr Dacey, Trwumrer in the Now SoutJi Wales lialxmr Government. It is only ono more incursion into the realm of business and wiiunixrcialixm. I have previously referred to the astonishing gr.iwtii of Svdnev and its suburlt- 10 per cent, is 'being lidded to the |x)|X>lation every year- and to unsitislied deinniids for houses," with the natural corollary of Wgh routs. Tliu j Government's «heme is intended to provide tho necessary house aoooaiimodation! and at tho suuc time to bring rents down, l'oiir hundred acres nfland at Konsingtoii. lietwecn K-wdwick and Mr Dadiv's own j electorate of lioiany. are to be built ii)K>n. mid it is hoped lo put 5000 people there. If the o.\|h«riinont is sucuvsiul other liv.iluios will receive attention The sum of £18,000 is to bo spent immediately on houses at Kensington, and the Government architect, is hard at work preparing plans. There are to lie all manner of houses to sail all manner of tenants that is, in size and design; but tbey are all lo 1)0 of wood. This is rather humorous m view of the Government's launching out into the brick-iuakim: husimw. " As it is dill'tclllt lo get hricklavors and brick.-." explains Mr Dacey. " the idea is to putup m.ichino-nmdo \vix>dcii hou f es of hand>otue and suiiahle ih*ign. Thai is to s:iv. nil the timber will be cut and inoiticcd by machinery ready for erection the moment it i> taken to the ground, and we ho|v by adopting that meihod wo shall 'w able to gel a number of hou-es up jiuieh quicker than it would be |m.s<ible lo do iu brick. We rhall have an actuarial valuation made as to the cost and the value of the land, and the rent charged will bo as low as is commerviallj'. possible. Tenders will !>o e;iJ!od for the manufacture and ore,lion of the houses." As to the management of iho property. Mr D.uvv Imivs'to (lilt it Under a U.ill-polilicu! Uwrd. liverythiiit;. ho sa\>, is to Iv done on strictly busintvs lines. The houst<s are to Iv built on an area of about -15ft bv ISCft. >'o far, the landlords lave held' no indignalion iiii'otiin;, Tliev <v:isiiler ten.-iius will prefer to jwy. high vents nitl-.0,- rii.m live iu Government dwellings. TIIK SIH'TH AI'STUAUAN DKADLOCK. It is understood that Iho S'tilh Australian Parliament, oousoproiu upon ii:e deadlock between tho two l|ou<e.-. viil K> dissolvexl aKmt the middle of iki* tuonth. and that tho- ehx-tions will take place on February 10 or 17. It is a very pretty iliwirr-'l as it stands. Tile Government's :vp|v:il to t'.v.-ar—the lone cabb\.'ram tie .-patcJii.l through the Governor l>> the Sivretary of Staie for the rolnnics—«ii< of unique interest in itself, but it tailed i<> .-.iwmplisli ativtbiu-,'. " Kxtremely urc-n!. I.egisiative Council refuses to p-vs Appro priation Hill. No suplii-i to carry on Imsicos's." .-so it began, this doleftd .ip|viJ to the &vrvtary for the t'oh>:iics to help the Australian Government out ol" a, hole. Tiio Government received, in reply, the following cable messago: " 1 tvgret thai I am unable to ivmpiy with Ministers' request. Interference of Imperial Parliament in intonial affairs of a self-governing State would not l-«> justified under any circumstances until every constitutional remedy has been exhausted, ami then only in response to

requc.lL of overwhelming majority of people, and if necessary to enable Government of country to he carried on." So tho Cabinet, having carefully considered the position, lias decided to exhaust every constitutional remedy, and after that has been done, then, if no remedy has been found, it will make further representations to ti:o Secretary [or tho Colonies Mr Vcrran. tho Premier, is not having any very happy time of it; and to add to his discomfiture the Legislative Council has liad a message of its own transmitted to tho Homo Government, in which tho Premier's cablegram is character ised as incomplete, disingenuous, and misleading. A Supply Dill for £600,000. to carry the Government ■ over the period of tho elections, has been put through; and there the matter stands for tho present. To in tlio jihrase so familiar when strikes of other kinds aro on, both sides aie determined, and it is safe to say that the elections will cause an unusual amount of excitement in South Australia—<md it takes a Jot to excite tho jxjoplo of that State. AUSTKALLAX SCHOOL OF AVIATION. Tim Defence Department has decided to establish a- school of aviation in Australia, and the announcement Iws _ hc-cn received with general .satisfaction. The department is at present looking round for llie best man available to act a.i tutor, and it is not improbable that the appointment will be given to an Australian—-Mr W. E. Hart, of Penrith, who somo time ago purchased a Bristol bi-planc, anil has licomu so accomplished an aeronaut that he has sue-, reeded in gaining a pilot's certificate from the Aerial League. .Mr Han has made a a number of cross-country lights, mostly between Parrainatta and I'enrith, a:ul on Wednesday morning l',-> took as a passenger the Pa-tmastcrGciieriil, Mr I'Vazcr. Alkiiii. live mih* were covered in 10 minutes, and then Mr Frazcr returned lo eartli, declaring that it was a most delightful experience. Whatever qualms he may have felt alxwt the venture at first were speedily dL-i.cllod by tlio ealir. assurance and complete confidents) of tlw young aviator; indeed, he .slid he was so im-pio-sed with tie perfect control of tho aeroplane that he would Iwvvo no hesitation in making furl her ascents with Mr Hart. " I never lelt the least ncrvoiisiioss, and tho panoramic viows wore eiiiKTh," h-) addod. .Mrs Yru/.ci; fired by her husband's orithusJasm, then went aloft. 'Jlte maohino on this i«cu«inn iravcrsetl 10 miles, at an alti Hide of 600 ft, and when slio camo down agiun Jlrb r'razer faid she was sorry it was ail over, as it was u> very exhilarating. Mr Hart is the only man who has ncoived tho certificate from tho Aerial I.eaßiie in Australia, anil tho people of Parramatta, of wliioh town ho is a native, havo decided to prctwnt him with an address and a puise of sovereiens. TITK SIX DAYS' RACE. Something new to t-liits. jwrl o( the world is the six days' cycling race nn tho .Sydney Cricket Giound, wit-h such ciiampions as Ivor Lawson xiduiß in it. At the time of writing the race Ls still irnin>j on. It was .'United at 1 o'clock on M>julay morning by Mr I'red FSowers, M.1,.(;. (.Minister of liducalioti). and_ it will finish at 11 o'clock to-night. Wo have, had our longdistance'runners and walkers, wo havo had our champion elub-swmgcus and the men who break the piano-piayiug roof-rcls, but this is the l'n-*t lime we liavo seen a body of cyclists oliasing one ai:atl;cr around a track for six days without slopping. Here, however, an explanation is necessary. No sii:«le man is riding tho w'Jiok l six days nithnut a spell; that would be humanly iin|K>ssihle. They are ritlini; in lews ot two. LawsonV team-mate, for iitftance. is Mitten. There are six-and-twenty riders all lold. but oni, 15 are lo he seem on the track at a lime., Every now and again one or other of the riders is relieved by his partner, and this is jtist.wlial. lends interest to the rice. There is no fixed time for riding and relieving; that is jHirely a mailer for the team-mates. Jlul each pair have a metliod of their own. Take the cys> oi Uiwscn and Mitten. l«-iv*-on is a sprinter, .Mitten is a plodder. It is Law-son's business to be there when there is sprintiiiK to be done, lint how do they know when someone will start a sprint? They don't—they merely guess. As a rule, there is " something doini;" in the early morning, and the chances aro you will find Lawful tliero then. He generally starts a sprint, in (act, on his own .account, and the others shoot after hint like a IK'liceinai. after a getting away with his Ivioly. That is part of the gamie —lo play the thief, to slo.il a march on the other follows. Rut to tho sjHvtators it is not wildly exoitinir; ;;« likely as not. they will not l>e there when theiv is something to see. Thrfo mm have been riding for a big prize, and not lo plca«« tho public. Still, tliero have been good crowds on the ground. For one thing, it is a novelty; and for another there have been other cycling and athletic events in tho afternoons ami evenings, the grounds lioing brilliantly lighted up by elecl.ricitv at night. They have had a man out there riding a motor cycle at. 60 miles an hour round tho inside of a steel globo. and another, a one-legged man riditnr a bicycle down 100 steps at an incline nf 45 <!egre.-s— and these an' daredevil, sonsational events that the public like lo see. A CIiICKET SQUABBLE. A serious disagreement Jim arioen between the players ami tho Hoard of Control over tho decision of tibo latter bodv to send its own representative with tho Australian cricket loam to England. Somo members of the team resent this, and demand that the players shall select t'heir own manager, as heretofore. It is even rumoured that. there may be a. strike of cricketers if the hoard iwrsists, and that they will refuse |. accompany the team to England. Thcro is, liowover. no likelihood of l;ho board retreating, "I trust." says thehon.secretary, Mr Byd .Smith, jim.,'"(kit the players will look upon the matter in t'he right light, and show that (hero interest in tho good old game is really sincere, and not a matter of pounds, shillings, and pence." Rule 9 of the constitution says tlui the appointment of a manager of any Australian team visiting England- or elsewhere shall he made by tho players inlorfßlod, and stibmilled to tho ttoard of Control for confirmation; but unless the board directs that a manaj-r shall accompany the team, thoro is r.o manager for tho players lo tvdect, according to the secretinj\ It is the intention of the Itoard to inform the players when tliev are selected that in the opinion cf lliat body tlio atipoini.uiftr.t of a ma-ajr-.T is unnm'ssary. Whoi the last Australian team visilod New Zealand, it will I>< re-mem-bored, a of tlie board was uotit. in lion of a manager: and Ibis is what U now proposed to Ih' done in connection with the toim to v sit Ktisland. The trouble appears lo bo due to the failure of tlio manager of the hist town. Mr Liver, hiirself a cricketer c/f note, to keep books, with full pnrtienlais of the receipts, and disbursements. Mr Lnver took up the position that he was not a- servant of the Board of Control: but the Ixwd'-- reply to that is that unless his appointment had keen confirmed of by it he could not have g.mo Heme." "The fact is." ;ays Mr Smith, "that all thiough Mr Liver ha« tried to ignore the L>avd in every possible way. I.o'/t lour he divided an ei|tial_ shnro with tiie iduyrn in addition to his exrensv. Uiuler the rew arrangement only the ex(vnsi'i! of the lvard's repiorentative will I>> charged to the extionsrs of the tour. The £400 salary will come out of the lward's share of ilie preceeds.''