COMMONWEALTH.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLI, Issue 25, 16 December 1908, Page 6

COMMONWEALTH.

Aiderman Allen Taylor has been elected Lord Mayor of Sydney. Bush fires are raging at Kaneira, where a. number of settlers have been burned out. f , » After a long stonewall, the Senate finally passexl the Yass-C»nberra site by J 7 votes to 11. 'l'he s.s. Perthshire, the pioneer vessel of the new monthly 'l'orrcs Straits steam service, ha sarrivod at hrisbane from London. Official inquiries indicate that «, well organised system for the introduction of Chinese* into Australia has been in operation for a <*onsiderablc time. Paymaster Moore, of 11.M.5. Encoun.** ler ; was found dead, shot through the head, in National Park, on Wednesday, last. He suffered from ill-health lately.

The Press gallery at the Weslraltan House of Parliament went out on strike because the accommodation was so poor, but went to work again when the House Committee promised to provide properly for them. A return lias been presented to the [Federal House of Representatives showing that the Commonwealth employs '12,452 permanent officers, with salaries ary hands receive £183,000 in wages. The Mt. Lyell returns from November 5 till December 2 (inclusive) show that 30,492 tons of ore were treated, and also 24 tons of purchased ore. The converters produced 742 tons of blister copper, containing 731 tons of copper, 59,9220 z of silver, and 13040 z gold. Mr. Jack London, the American novelist, who underwent an operation a few days ago, has,owing to his recovery being likely to prove a lengthy one, abandoned his projected lecturing tour. His yacht, the Snark, has been ordered from the Islands to Sydney, where she will be sold. The Federal Government hus received the terms on which Mr. Louis Brennan is willing to concede the use of his monoTail. If the Government will pay £6OOO before the end of the year towards the cost of the final experiments, they will be granted the use of the mono-rail in ‘Australia on a five* per cent royalty. Captain Collins, Federal Agent, will represent the Commonwealth at the Paci lie cable conference in London. His instructions arc not to commit the Commonwealth to any particular scheme, but to state in general terms that the Federal Government, as some of the partners in the Pacific cable, favours co-operat-ing in any effort to secure the laying of a State-owned Atlantic acquiring a State-owned land line across Canada connecting with the Pacific cable, also that the Government will support any cheapening of cable rates wherever practicable on commercial lines. Smash on the Zigzag. A railway smash occurred in the Blue Mountains last wtjek. A portion of a goods train broke away on the. Zigzag, and, running back,-collided with a goods train standing at the Clarence siding. The engine ami twenty-five trucks were derailed and badly smashed. A portion of the wreckage caught fire, but was soon extinguished. The two guards, the engine-driVhr and a passenger were injured, but nene seriously. Costello, one of the guards, subsequently died from injuries received. The passengers had a miraculous escape. The runaway vehicles dashed down a grade of one in 40 at a terrific pace. When the breakaway occurred, derailment of the wagons following, the onward progress of the passenger car was stayed, and the lives of the passengers thereby saved. The train was laden with copper, wool and chaff, and the wool burned fiercely when the fire broke out. Hundreds of men employed on the deviation works threw earth on the fire, and thus extinguished it. A Good Suggestion. The N.S.W. Inspector of Stock, in a report presented to Parliament, strongly deprecates short-distance racing as detrimental to the horse-breeding industry, sincos it encourages the breeding of animals devoid of the stamina and quality which had gained for Australian horses a reputation among foreign buyers. He recommends that the standard height of animals allowed to race at unregistered meetings should not exceed 14J hands, the recognised pony stand , a rd. This would compel horses to compete in their proper class and act as an incentive to stopping the breeding of weedy animals. Thirsty Mildura. Mr. Wilson, a Lab >ur member in the S.A. House of Assembly, made a sensational ■statement in regard to the amount of drinking at the “temperance” township of Mildura. where there are no hotels. He stated that he found four clubs there, and in the Workmen’s Club there were 200 mon drinking. He saw more drink consumed in an hour than he ■over saw in one place in liis life. He thought the drinking in the foul dens iu

San Francisco, before the fire, could not have been worse than what he saw at the Mildura Workmen’s Club. N.S.W. Politics The NS.. Assembly passed th<* Ks. iinaf -s after 30 hours’ continuous sitting. The Premier (Mr Wade), in warning Labour members against opposing the Govern - ment immigration proposals, dwelt on the necessity of Australia being prepared to resist the influx of Chinese ami Japanese.. The House passed the Stowaways Bill, the main provision of which is that when any vessel comes to Australia with alien stowaways aboard, the master, owners, agents and charterers shall be jointly and severally liable on summary conviction to a penalty of £IOO per alien. End of the Session. The Federal session has ended, and a proclamation will be issued in a few days proroguing Parliament. It is understood that the recess lasts until May. Efforts will be continued during the recess to secure a fusion of the parties opposed to the Government, which have, so far, proved unavailing. Democratic. Earl Dudley was on route to a review at Ballarat on Saturday when his motor car broke down. His Excellency hailed a ballast engine which was passing at the time and finished the journey standing on the footplate with a number of workmen. A Mysterious Sect. The yacht Coronet, with the American religious sect •'The Holy Ghost and Us” aboard, slipped into Hobson’s Bay unobserved on Sunday near Melbourne. The crew maintain the same reticence as they displayed in Sydney, and refuse to give any information concerning the cruise. Australia's Navy. The annual report of the Dirdbtor of Naval Forces, which has been submitted to the Senate, sets out that until an understanding has been reached with the Imperial authorities as to a clearly-de-fined defence sphere, preparations for war is chance work, and complete replacement and reorganisation must be effected before the naval forces can take their due share in defence. As at present constituted, the forces are, he says, rapidly nearing vanishing point in war value. Designs for Australian vessels had been submitted by Professor J. H. Biles, naval architect to the Indian and other governments, and a member of the Admiralty Committee on Designs. The vessels he recommends should be specially constructed to meet the Australian weather conditions, and an extensive radius of action i» necessary to suit the great distances. The proposed vessels are said to mark an advance in the radius of action and in the number of tubes and gun armament. They have two or three knots less capacity in speed than the latest ocean destroyers, but excel the original river class. The adoption of the lower speed will allow an increased strength of hull and armament. ‘•The only danger to which Australia is exposed,” -adds the report, ‘‘is from unarmed raiding cruisers up to four in number with a landing strength of 1000 men.” Cardinal Moran Condemns Freemasonry . Cardinal Moran, in the course of a speech last week, made an attack on freemasonry. Everyone knew'. he said, the terrible results of freemasonry in the Home countries. He was told that great efforts were being made at the present time to try to introduce this silent agency into the administration of affairs of the various States. H was the fre masons’ boast that the State Governments were already in their hands. He believed that great efforts were being made to secure the municipal administration. During the recent visit of the American fleet Roman ( atholies had had. he remarked, some experience of the sinister influence of freemasonry in trying to prevent them from giving a welcome to their brothers from beyond the Pacific,