COMMONWEALTH CABLES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 28, 26 September 1912, Page 5

COMMONWEALTH CABLES.

SERIOUS SHOOTING AFFRAY

Sydney, September 25

Tamos Egan has been arrested on a charge of shooting his wife, Ruth Egan, who had left him, Mrs Maria Johnson (her sister), with whom Mrr Egan 1 had been living at Alexandria, and Charles Waite, who was bomrdin? witii them. Mrs Egan was shot it: the right breast, and her condition if. serious. Johnson was shot in the neck, and it is ,not likely that this .wound is dangerous. Waite had two wounds' in the hip, and is likely to recover.

REAR-ADMIRAL ROSS. Sydney, September 25. Commander Grose states that Rear Admiral Ross, ai retired American officer, is' unofficially touring the Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand. Admiral Ross is at present , visiting Samoa. Everything has been quiet there for a long time. LOAN RAISED LOCALLY. (Received 9.45 a.m.) Sydney, September 26. The city loan.; which was limited to a million and a half was raised locally through the A.M.P. Society and half in London. WILLIS AT IT .AGAIN. In the Assembly, Speaker Willis adjudged Messrs Cohen and Fitzpatrick guilty of insolence. Mr Cohen warsuspended for the sitting, but'jMr Fitzpatrick left before Speaker Willis was able to take action, defying them to bring him back. When the Chairman of Committees displaced Speaker Willis, Mr Fitzpatrick triumphantly reentered.

GOVERNMENT HOUSES. Mr Griffith announced that the Government proposed to meet the shortage of houses in the city by erecting one! hundred wooden dwellings. The House granted two months' supply after strong criticism upon the Gov-, ernment's ever-increasing expenditure, j I LEGISLATIVE INTERFERENCE, j At the Interstate Conference of the Associated Employers the persidential address attacked recent industrial legislation and attacked State rights. The President hoped the Premiers would give no further industrial powers than those already possessed by the Common wealth. He warned them that the present position was due to extraordinary Governmental expenditure. Resolutions were adopted against legislative interference with private enterprise, and against the daylabour system in public works, and preference to unionists..

THE COLONIAL MUTUAL

(Received 10.10 a.m.) Melbourne, September 26

In the Assembly, the Prem'cr, introducing a Bill providing for an investigation of the affairs of the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, saiid the charges against the Society werej grouped into three headings—gross irregularity, fraudulent practices w'th regard to an election, and that the So-| ciety had got into a financial position amounting almost to insolvency. The proposed procedure was' unparallellcd, hut tire position was unparallelled. The directors of the Society, without legal authority, had been administrating affairs'wherein upwards of 100,000 people we're interested, and involving assets of over three million. The Bill provided for a special inspectorial investigation, and the suppression 'of the Board of Directors, a temporary hoard being appointed while the inqu'ry is proceeding. He promised, provided the Society laid before the Government representations which were considered sufficient, he.'would move that the di-

rectors be heard at the 1 bar of the House. MATERNITY BONUS. In the maternity bonus debate, the Oppositionists argued that the Bill was a political placard to help the elections. DEFENCE IN r IHE SOUTH PACIFIC Mr Fisher, in reply to a question, expressed delight at Mr Allen's (New Zealand) reference to the Pacific. It indicated that his state of mind and policy were very closely in touch with Australia's naval defence policy, and an evidence of the desire for full cooperation in the South Pacific, and which, he believed, expressed almost entirely the mind of Australia. Mr Fisher added that the Imperial Government was desirous of seeing a strong naval force in this part of the world, leaving them to amend .matters more near to them and near to us all.