AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8446, 20 May 1907, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

THE PLAGUE.

MELBOURNE, May 18,

There is a case of plague in the Melbourne Hospital—a steward on a steamer which arrived from Sydney a couple of days ago.

STATE ELECTIONS. Received May 20. 12.47 a.m. BRISBANE, May 19. The elections for the State Assembly, yesterday, were favoured with fine weather. Interest ran high, a feature being the excellent service done by women workers for the various candidates. The returns up to this morning show the state of the parties to be, approximately, as follows:—Ministerial 24, Opposition 28, Labour 28. There are, however, a lot of postal votes still to come in, and one or two seats remain in the balance, notably Herbert, where Sir A. S. Cowley, Speaker of the late Assembly, may be defeated by a • Labourite, and Flinders, where ;Mr Airey, Home Secretary, may. give place to a Labourite, All, the other Ministers are apparently safe. _ ..^,, WMr .. v » ,:,, ReccivedJMay 20, 12.57 a.m.™

"■••"•* rm; BKISBANE, May 19. The Hon. W. Kidston, the Premier, was returned by a big majority. A surprise of the elections was the defeat of Mr Tolmie (Morganite), who went over to the Philp Party. Ex-Senator Drake, who contested North Brisbane, will forfeit his deposit. The Opposition secured ten out of the thirteen seats in the Metropolitan area, but did not do so well in the country.

An outstanding feature is the loss sustainedjby the Labour Party, which in the last Parliament numbered 35.

Generally speaking Mr Kidston's Party is stronger, mostly at the expense of the Labour Party. The continuance of the three-party system is imperative, as it is impossible for Mr Kidston to carry on without the support of the Opposition or Labour. BOATING FATALITY. THREE WOMEN^DROWNED. Received May 20,'1 a.m. MELBOURNE, May 19. A boat capsized crossing the bar at Inverloch, andtnree ladies, Misses Bradley, Newman and Miller, were drowned. Four other occupants were rescued.