AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume IV, Issue 960, 9 March 1917, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

SHIPPING CHANGES. IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS. By VobU. — Press Association. — Copyright. (Received March fl, 0.35 a.m.) SYDNEY, March 9. Important changes in the local administration of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company are announced, in accordance with Lord Inch cape's forecast of a policy of co-ordination of the management of the British-India service. The loc;;l superintendent, Mr Weschc, will retire on March 31, and will become a partner in Macdonald, Hamilton & Co., who will thereafter watch the P. & 0. Company's interests. PROFITS ON SUGAR. MELBOURNE, March 0. The Federal Treasurer (Sir John Forrest) estimates that the profit on the Government's sugar transactions for the two years ending on June 30 will be £500,000.

"VIEW TO ABOVE." SYDNEY, March 9. The Government issues a warning against matrimonial advertisements in the local papers. Investigations reveal that they originate with white slave traffickers in Hie Malay Stales. PRICE OF TALLOW. MELBOURNE, March 9. The Federal Government has revoked the order fixing the price of tallow. FLOODS IN QUEENSLAND. BRISBANE, March 9. Further floods are disorganising traffic and seriously damaging properly. * THE WAR DEBT. (Received March 9, 10.15 a.m.) MELBOURNE, March 9. Mr Poynton (formerly Federal Treasurer) during the debate on the Financial Statement, said the loan just floated would only carry the Government on till the end of nexl year. The indebtedness to the Imperial Government had been underslated by £7,000,000. Before he took office had he known that he would have raised the last loan to £25,000,000. The total increase in laxalion would amount to £17,299,000. Australia's war bill at the present rate of increase by the end of 1918 would amount to £125,000,000.

PRICE OF SUGAR. (Received March 9, 10.15 a.m.) MELBOURNE, March 9. In the House of Representatives, Mr Hughes slated that the Government was not prepared to raise the price of sugar but would give the industry all the profits, charging only the office expenses of the Government managers, which will mean that growers will receive £22 llper ton for raw sugar for the period of the war and the season thereafter. This would not apply to New South Wales growers, who were working under an agreement with the Colonial Sugar Company, unless they were prepared to sell the raw sugar to the Commonwealth at the same price as did Queensland.