COMMONWEALTH.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 6, 10 February 1909, Page 6

COMMONWEALTH.

A fire at Baliina destroyed a block of six shops, the damage being estimated at 16000. The steamer Marooma has been wrecked near Barrenjoey. The vessel is breaking up rapidly, but the crew have been landed in safety. The Treasurer has introduced a Loan Bill of £1,445,000 into the West Australian Parliament, to meet expenditure on public works till March, 1910. A man named Shepley has been sentemed to six months’ imprisonment at Broken Hill for having assaulted one o£ the Proprietary mine officials on January; 4th. The Marama, which touched on a submerged obstruction at the Bluff, has been floated into dock at Sydney. It was ascertained that the vessel had sustained no damage. r Loss of the Clan Ranald. The Marine Board of Inquiry concerning the loss of the steamer Clan Ranald in the St. Vincent Gulf, sat at Adelaide last week. .

r Mr Rose, the chief officer, handed in a teport to the effect that the vessel suddenly listed to about 45 degrees, and became unnavigable. She was allowed to drift inshore to within a mile of the land, .when the starboard anchor was let go in 13 fathoms of water. Eventually the No. 5 hatch started, find was washed adrift. The vessel settled down on her broadside, and sank stern first. He had no idea what caused the ship to list over and eventually founder. Examined by the President, witness said that the ship was on the bottom the day before leaving port, and had a list of three or four degrees to starboard on leaving. When the pilot left the ship, the captain asked witness to look after the navigation, as he was not well. Pressed on the point, witness said he thought the captain had been drinking heavily. There was no indication that the vessel struck anything. lie, with the second officer and a Lascar, tried to clear the boat in which the captain had been placed, but she fouled the rigging, and they had to abandon the attempt. The vessel had not collapsible boats or service rafts. The best behaviour obtained among the officers and crew.

The President: “What was the captain doing *” Witness: “We found him lying on the floor of his cabin in a dazed condition. Evidently the sudden list had jerked him out of his bunk. He was sensible, but seemed frightfully weak. I helped him on deck, and put him inside the boat abreast his cabin. He was too weak to take command, but said he believed the vessel would have ridden through but for the hatch coming off-and letting the water below."

All the boats were free when the steamer sank, and witness could only account for the accident, by the vessel being top-heavy in the sea-way, through carrying 70 tons of coal on her turret deck. The inquiry was then adjourned, a diver having been dispatched to examine the hull of the sunken steamer. Sensible. The Sydney Wharf Labourers’ Union has decided to secede from the Labour Council owing to the power the latter have taken with regard to declaring a general strike. Discredited. The Colonial Sugar Company is inclined to look with suspicion on the alarmist reports cabled from Auckland with respect to a possible Indian rising in Fiji. The company is in daily cable communication with Fiji, and so far have heard nothing of any trouble. The Sydney Agent of the Fiji Government also states that he has no official information on the subject. The Broken Hill Dispute. The Federal Arbitration Court has commenced an inquiry at Broken Hill into the dispute between the Proprietary mine officials and their employees. How the Chinese View It. Kwang Yung Liang, Chinese Consul for New eZaland, arrived at Fremantle last week by the R.M.S. China, accompanied by his Wife and daughter. Interviewed on the subject of the Australian restriction of Asiatics, he said the Chinese did not like it, but he desired to make an investigation before expressing an opinion. China was developing rapidly,- and paying ! more attention to foreign affairs, as evidenced by the institution of the Australasian Consular service. Some leading Chinese residents waited On Mt. Liang and informed him that the Australian laws were not so vigorously enforced against : Japanese as against Chinese. A Reckless Master. The marine inquiry respecting the ship Iverna'find the tug Advance collision, roeulted in the Court finding that the master of the tug brought about the disaster by bringing his vessel round from a position on the starboard bow of the Iverna to a reversed position on her port bow. The Court stated that everything that Was reasonable and proper was done by the master: of the Iverna to save the ©rew uof the tug., , , The judge commented on the. Recklessness of the master of the tug in coming alongside the ship.

On the night of December 25 the tug Advance went out from Newcastle to take the ship Iverna in tow, when she was struck by that vessel and sank. The Iverna was doing llt knots at the time, with a southerly gale behind her. The eight members of the crew of the Advance were drowned. A Threat. The Treasurer of the New South Wales State Government, in a speech at Grafton, complained that New Zealand and other States were exploiting the London money market by selling their stocks up to 4 per cent. The N.S.W. Government had not increased the rate interest paid on stock issued by the Treasury, realising the vital importance of traders and others keeping the interest rates low. If the neighbouring Governments continued to exploit the market by outbidding in rates of interest, N.S.W. might be forced, in self-defence, to raise the rates. Imperial Defence. Lord Dudley, the Governor-General, speaking at a yachting luncheon, referred to the value of sailing as a pastime and to keeping alive the love of the sea. He hoped to see a larger number of Australians wearing the British naval uniform. It was his wish that they should bo part of the general defence forces of the Empire. He would like to see absolute equality in all services of the Crown between all British citizens wherever they were born, and believed they would never get the idea of Empire until that was accomplished.