AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8238, 17 September 1906, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

PREFERENCE TO BRITAIN, MELBOURNE, September 15. Sir William Lyne, iu explaining the preference proposals, said Australia bad not aalsod for any reciprocity from Brltaiu. He olaimed that nothing could '"more help to bring n white population here thau trade treaties. Mr Joseph Cook declarer] that the tioaty was nothing but a cunn-ingly-devised syntem of protection to Australia without giving the slightest benefit to Britain. Sir William Lyne's general resolution testing the feeling of,the House in favour of preference was carried on the voices. BURGLARY IN MELBOURNE. MELBOURNE, September 15. Burglars visited King's warehouse, on the Australian wharf, and made a largo haul. The stolen goods consisted chiefly of plate whicbj had been stored pending the payment of duty. The valuo of tbo stolen goods will not bo known until an inventory has been taken, but it is very large, the officials estimating it at £IO,OOO. DROUGHT IN NEW GUINEA. SYDNEY, September 15. New Guinea is suffering from a drought. Last year the oountry was burnt uo, and the crops failed. This year it baa been almost rainless, and there is little hope of any rain falling before December. 'i'ho natives are farrmie-strioken, and some have died from starvation. The teachore and soholars at the mission stations are living on rice. F«ver is increasing on tne coast. Several deaths have ocourred among the South Sea Island missionaries. TRAGEDY NEAR BRISBANE. * BRISBANE, September 15. A tragedy is reported from Ilfracombe. Muldoon, a butobffr, was serving a customer, when a man ruohed in and struck Muldoon with a cleaver, killing him. Neither the name of the murderer, nor the reason of the is stated. The murderer escaped. ACCOMMODATION FOR CONSUMPTIVES. SYDNEY, September 15.™" At a meeting held in the oity it was decided to uvge the Government to provide accommodation for incurable consumptives. Dr. Kelmar stated that over 4,000 persona in New South Wales suffered from consumption, exclusive of those suffering from other forms of tuberculosis.