OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2905, 17 November 1909, Page 38

OUR MELBOURNE LETTER.

IFboh Ouk Own Co»besp okdent.l MELBOURNE, October 27. Weak leadership threatens to land the Commonwealth Government with all its ■jig majority in difficulties. There is a lection of it« followers which declines to accept the financial agreement arrived at as a substitute for the Braddon clause. The agreement, as r you may remember, provided for the payment of 25s per head to the State out of Customs and excise revenue. The Government followers do not object to this payment just for the present, but they object to the proposal - to put it into the constitution, and thus make it perpetual. On the other hand, the State Premiers would never have accepted it if it were not to. be embodied in the constitution. The one' thing they objected to is having their annual income co largely dependent on a chance majority in the House of Representatives. The Age is fighting very strongly against the acceptance of the agreement, and is trying to force matters by talking of deadlocks and crises. Mr Wade, from New South Wales, and Mr Peake, from South Australia, have both had interviews in Melbourne with the Prime Minister. •Both have said that no suggestions were made for a new agreement, and Mr Deakin said the same thine. But the worst of the matter is that Mr Deakin said it in such a way as to lead people to believe that he will accept anything that will satisfy the opponents of the agreer, < men*. His attitude is an incentive to,the malcontents to stand firm while- af little firmness on his part -would -bring his followers into line.- For the difficulty . the malcontents are in is that • while • several of them are opposed to the agreement each has a different substitute, and they cannot agree among themselves as to anything. j Meantime the Government is making rather slow progress with its measures. /The Defence Bill was supposed to be ' non-party in character, but the Labour opposition is keeDing up a pretty consistent attack on its details. The In- j terstat-e Commerce Bill, which was to provide for the appointment of a chair- 1 man at £2500 a year and two members ; at £2000 each is making heavy weather. : The fact ie that ft provides a very cumbersome individual tribunal* to deal with labour matters that other existent ; tribunals could better deal with if in- | vested with the authority. It got through the House of Representatives, but it is believed that th« " numbers are up " against it in the Senate. | The Hi^h ComniKsion Bill is likely to < ; =-t tiinwah. and th«» current idea now 5s that Mr O H. Reid will be the first Hieh Commissioner. H« has stood aside ' ir.it. of the present fusion arrangements. and that he should be ignored while his U&rtv i-- in power seems to portend somelfiinc. Mr Reid has many qualities that should fit him for the position. He /has been a leading figure in the State or politics for over 20 years. He thas a fifift of oratory' pomewhat on the fctyle of the Americans who within the past (generation have- made such a success as ambassadors in London. He can blend the honours with the lofty in a way that no other Dublic man in Australia can. When ■ jto this is added the fact that lie is probably the most popular man in l^tfie Australian Parliament today it will ,

be seen that he ought to run a very good chance of being selec«2d. THE UNLUCKY THIRTEEN. The superstition which associates ill luck with the number 13 will receive strength from an unfortunate tragedy which occurred near Bendigo on Sunday laat. Mr Ernest Mueller, the son of a well-known mining inventor, had recently married quietly, and a group of his friends decided to make him a presentation in honour of the occasion. Mr Mueller has a country house 13 miles out from Bendigo, and the party got out there about half-past 11. When they sat down for dinner at half-past 1 it was found that the party numbered 13. The distance from the city had already been noted, and someone observed : " There's a lot of 13 about this outing." As it was a wedding function- two of the party yielded to the popular superstition so much as to Tetire from the table, and they had their dinner afterwards. It was a warm day, and after dinner, while some .of the party listened to Mr Mueller on the piano others went to lie down. Mr Charles E. Brown, traveller for a Melbourne firm, and Mr J. J. Ryan, a mine manager and secretary of the Mining Managers' Acsociation, went out to the kitchen, where Mr Brown had left a Winchester repeating" rifle which he had brought out. A few minutes later the company in the front room was startled by Mr* Ryan bursting in with the exclamation, ," Brown's sHofc." They rushed out and found him apparently dying. H-e was put into a motor car of onejof the company and hurried to Golden square, 10 miles away. There he was seen by a doctor, who pronounced him dead. Mr Ryan's account of exactly what happened is that he and Mr Brown had arranged to go for a walk. As they went through the kitchen Ryan picked up the rifle, which was standing near the door. Brown said " It's all right. Jack : it's not loaded. I've got no cartridges." Ryan tried to open the breech of the rifle and it went off. Brown called out " Jack. I'm hit," and fell to the ground. Ryan bent over him and called to him. but he never spoke again. Ryan called loudly for the others, but in the merriment of the front room they did not hear him. The bullet went' in at the right side, leaving only a slight puncture. Police evidence at the inquest indicated that the rifle was defective. The coroner inreturnins a verdict of accidental death, ]=aid that a.ll the evidence seemed to show that no blame attached to Mr Ryan.