AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 565, 21 July 1909, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN LETTER.

- .SECRET MUNICIPAL COMMITTEES., Sydney, July 14

Commenting 011 the apathy whicli.obtains in Melfcourno with regard to municipal' affairs, the. "Ago 1 ? says ,-that.<"in',the . Melbourne City Council the i abuse of the secret committee ■ system is becoming serious. The example is now being followed by that enormous and 1 extravagant body, the Metropolitan Board of Works. The, business sheet for'-ihe .'test' meeting 1 , of. the. council consisted of 110 fewer than 35 reports and recomthehdations from committees,'.'-.each of, which had made its, arrangements in private;'./- Most of .-these .'reports were .adopted as- niiittsrs of course. 'All, in favour, Aye: contrary, No,' said the .Lord Mayor,' and the report was adopted, in a twinkling. A sample of the possibilities .of this method of. doing business-was forthcoming in connection ..with- ..'the '. report' of the Public Works/ Committee, No., 90.' It recommended tlio- importation of- a simple tar-spraying machine,, at a cost of £210. The recommendation was-on the - point ' of 'being adopted .when a oounoillor, casually 'inquired wihotiher; the - machine ! could riot be - made in Victoria.. ■ 'NO notico was taken of, the question,: and tho 'ayes' nearly . it' a sec-ond.-.fcimo. 'But, my- Lord: Mayor,', interrupted a second counciUorV .'is 'there, no aiiswef to tho ■ question,?'; : The ■ chairmani of .the; committee, was! compelled ito .rise to his feet, '-and evidently he- resented .' it. ; ,; The committee was 'told' that the;;raachine could not■;bo made here, .and the : council was expected to accept tho lame excuse and sit dumb'..',-This; gives a true -illustration; of the way in. which important municipal 'business is.managed." , / v-. : VICTORIAN ELECTORAL; REFORM. \ Tho. new -Electoral . Bill; contains . 120 claVises, and. introduces quite a new electoral .'system. Tho ; present' method of enrolment is completely, abolishoi. -An electoral . canvass ot '.every ■ electoral ; district is to bo made from time .to, time,, and in; this way a list is .to..be , compiled, ' contwriin'g the names' of persons 'qualified to vote.. This list,-.after tho. Revision Court, will'--bcoomo a roll 'for;-; the A, gerioral.roll made in, consequence, of an ; electoral ■. canvass' is: described 'as .a. special' gen-eral-roll. ■ , is made for .preferential., voting .at.-election's- for .'the Assembly.' '.Instead;, of striking 'out from . the • ballot paper,, j/ho names -of: candidates for .whom,.he;;does - riot wish to- vote, ;as hetetofore,- an . elector . will be required under this new law to .place ••the;'-.number ■ 1:/oppositethe -- name of .the, candidate'; 'for-;: whom;, he., .votes -his .first preference";' and.,'he may, ./if 110 so desire's, place the numbers 2,-3, 4,. 5, and so on, opposite tho' name's, of tho other "candidates, or any -of them, * to,indicate tho order of his.prefere'nce.'.-Where/there ..are; only., two candidates, the - candidate. having' 1 the, greatest number of first preference, votes will be declared'.. elected,;.,; >Vhere ;are', more than two candidates, if it is found that the candidate who hasreceived' tho greatest number, of v. first preference ; votes \ has,, also an' absolute majority, -of ' .votes,/ that candidate is to be deolarOd electod. ..If r . however, no' candidate ./hasr'air'.absoluto majority 'of •^:6tes;^,^S.;^d^&ti4•-. l TOi®; : .'tte:'few«st : ' l firßt preference'votes is to/be" declared-a':defeated candidate,, and ■ the'.' ballot papers,'-. counted toi hun ' are (unless ,exhausted) to. be,,distribiited V.a'mOrig tho; non-defeated' candidates next '-in .; order,,"of -'tho; voters'/preference; arid'- •the'. ■ number '.of.; given. .to '•; each ..candidate is ? to,- be- again ascertamed.': ,'This proccis' is; "to '/be, repeated; .if ncqessto, : viiritil .it is found ,that."ijne'farididato has obtained an absolute, majority of votes,-' and .that candidate is. to'be declared elected. But if only two candidates remain undefeated, and neither has- an absolute majority of votes,-owing to the electors not having fully, exercised their, preference, .the candidate who has obtained -tho greatest number of votes is to be declared -elected. 'REDEMPTION OF POSTAL"NOTES, i. : Vln,-connection 'with',, the proposaVof the bauks to charge ,customers for - collecting Values.- Of. postal -notes and .post; office-orders paid-by tno customers into thoir accounts, a -suggestion mado by the "Ago" has been very favourably received • in commercial as well, as in political circles. It'was pointed out that the great expansion, that had ;takeni placein- ..the,,postal 'note.' arid, post office order business had routgrown the machmeiy for their redemption,. and greater facilities would have to 00. provided lor the 'purpose.. -, > The,. simplestway ; was? for ? the Postinaster-Genoial to'' be; represented .in the bankers' clearing house, either m the person of one of'his officers or by one of the asso-ciated-banks.' Such a courso would remove all ireasonablo grounds - for complaint by tho existing-institutions as to the clerical:labour required: over that entailed- by other forms of .paper currency>' Sir John , Quick (Post-master-General) . considers tho idea an admirable one;, and lie had/already given it attention.; \ "If;-it .can; possibly', be, done,' I think -it should be," remarked the Minister, "provided there are ,110 banking difficulties in the way.". ••

THE DESERT RAILWAY. • The survey., of ■ the . Transcontinental or "Desort railway,"■•. to . which the • Federal Parliament has committed itself,- is completed. , . Mr. Deane, .the.; Commonwealth's consulting onginoer for the enterprise, ;.hai returned to Melbourne from' a /visit, 'tothe South Australian section •of the route/; and reported verbally to tho Minister for Homo Attairs. -\The route traversed by the two parties of officials ho accomplished : the survey provides for a railway lino_ll7o miles long, of, as I the, officer/.,reported- vaguely, • "a comparativelyV mexpensivo character." The South Australian ; Railways . Commissioner, A. B. Moncneff, has- also; signed the drawings and: plans for making 604-miles-of dine on the South Australian side. • The survey, for,.the -Western. Australian -,portion haying - been , already completed,- ,the/ drawings/.- both.---from 'Western and South - Australia, will boforwarded -to Mr. Deane .-in' Sydney, where they, will 1 be /carefully considered. After that-a meeting jvill be.arranged, in Melbourne,- between Mr.: Deane, - fate -Engineer 111- Chief of - New South Wales; . Mr; : . A.: B. iMoncnoff, South Australia and Mi.:, J.- Thompson,. Engineer-m-Chief of Weetern Australia. At.that conference 1 the designs... and : estimates - will bo nnally revised.

ITEMS OF INTEREST. •• ,A>. conference -wis held in Melbourne recently .between representatives of; the Australasian Steamship '.Owners' Federation : and the Waterside -Workers'; Federation..' Its •purpose. was -to, consider, tho -terms and conditions. of employment' of waterside • workers throughout/ Australia, / and with, particular reference v to-Queensland coasts. An- agreement/has'.now'.been signed,' and the, workers' representatives'.regard its terms-, as materially- improving.' the - wage-rates and labour conditions;o.wages I ..having,-'.been raised, -and hours reduced in-, every.-case,- besides, the fmng, of. extra rates for special- cargo. -TJniform./hours 'have been, fixed -for, tho- whole- of Australia,-and, in this .way- alone,•-it is estimated.. that the : Queensland 1 workers- will benefit to , the extent of ,2s. . 6d. .to ss. pet week. Considerable elation, is felt in labour circles over the. provisions of Clause 17 of tho agreement, wnich is to ■bo applicable throughout the Commonwealth.,-The clause is 'regarded.,-as _ an: unqualified preference to unionists, and . as • a settlement of - one •of the?most-,ipr'olifio' causes, oftrouble.; '~ ' ; /-A.few. /days.ago an outgoing, mail steamer, drawingv2o foot 18-, inches-of .water, took the mud, at Port-Molbonroio railway. pier, and remained fast for/an.hour.;--Melbourne seems content (comments the "Ago") to lag-behind most, disgracefully,, as far. as hor jwrt accommodation is 'concerned, and 'to? accommodato new/mail steamers of 12,000 .tons gross register- ib.'is'proposed'to build a new;pier at Port Melbourne! miles distant from the city. Docks are urgently heeded, a'nd;if they are not built Melbourne'is:going to, be loft far. behind, by other ports- in the struggle' for shipping supremacy; ' Tho, ."straight cut" scheme is.the .only one.of- all' those, advocated for'- Melbourne; /port ■ impfoveihentwhich ,would ; last' for all' time, 'and provide, ,up-to-'„ date l .accommodation- on' a' par'with-that v of other.'commercial? cities'.. '.

News Jias boon received br tho PoitraMtorG oiwiiftl (Sir Joha Quick)- that tweire: jafiiU.

bags, forming part of the Australian mails, have been missed from a train in England. An accident, of which no particulars are available, occurred in connection with a mail train, and twelve bags containing mail mat-,-ter from Manchester and Liverpool for Melbourne and Sydney, woro subsequently found to ;bo missing. The ,cable message received by Sir John Quick from the Imperial Post-master-General reads"Railway . accident, twelve bags Manchester. Liverpool for Melbourne Sydney missing last mail dispatched."

After an absence of about four months H.M.S. Pioneer has returned-to Sydney from New Zealand. Since her last visit to' Sydney the term of'five years' service of many of-the'New Zealanders expired, and they were paid off.. Others who have but a few weeks yet' to. serve were to the Challenger. It, is a somewhat remarkable fact that not one of the New Zealanders signed on for a-second term.

The Melbourne City Council has drafted regulations for tho licensing and control of taxi-cabs. Generally, the regulations will be on the .'same lines ,as .those in New , South Wales, which are identical with those for horse-drawn vehicles, except in one or two particulars. In, the case of a. motor-cab, for instance, there must be a,lamp, at the rear which wijl render ,the number plate 'distinctly 1 visible.' Motor cabs must have a taximeter, with, an . intact seal, and kept in perfect: adjustment. The-license fee" is fixed at £1, per. annum for the cab, the. same as for an-ordinary. ■ oab n and at ,ss. for the : driver... Tho table of general fares fixes Is. for...a distance npt exceeding one mile, or for a . period of time not exceeding 10 minutes, and 3d. for each quarter of a mile or each period of;2J minutes exceeding the first mile or 10 minutes. For luggage 3d. is charged for each package carried outside. For each additional ,'person beyond twoj onethird, of,the above .fares is charged. '

i-The matter of .the federation.of the whole of the miners' unions of Australia will shortly form the subject of a conference, the details of which-are not yet arranged.

Among, the measures for the session of tho New South Wales Parliament is "a Bill to, alter, the constitution of the senate .of the University >of I Sydney.", . The • provisiona .of. the' measure: .have, yit been disclosed, though. it .'is uriderstooa. that it deals with the 'question-, of the curtailment of the life tenure, of members of the senate. In view of .the fact that the senate has decided against'.'any..-curtailmeilt, and also - against the proposal to create the office of rector to govern the university, the New South ..Wales Pretriier was asked if he proposed to make any;change in the Bill-to he intro- -. Mr..AVade's reply. was; laconic: "We will-carry out our, programme. 1 '