COMMONWEALTH ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2279, 13 October 1914, Page 6

COMMONWEALTH ITEMS

s NEWS BY MAIL t WORK OF THE FIGHTING SHIPS * TRADE, CONDITIONS ' ■— : — \ • NEW SOUTH WALES' ACTIVITIES ;. THE PRICE OF WHEAT , Now that the prices of wheat in Eng- • land nave shown a marked tendency ' be p ome lower, according to the Herald," it is unlikely that more w e i at; r/ 11 bo seizcd °y the New South Wales Government at tho proclaimed price of 4s. 2d. a bushel. - the State Attorney-General 'intimated on Tuesday last that the seizure of some 140,000 bags recently had had a wholesome effect m preventing the price' of wheat, bread, and flour from mounting. On Tuesday (October 6) the Government sold small lots of wheat to millers and ; the supply on hand is steadily diminishing; Although there. have been numerous protests against tl?e action of the Government in-fixing-the. price of wheat, this attitude is by no means universal. One _ newspaper correspondent, in supporting tho Government's action, contends that the effect will be to extend the areas of wheat cultivation, and remarks:. "Practical,iarmers throughout the drought-stricken areas know only too well that the area of wheat sown next season will be ruled by the price of seed.wheat—the higher the price the smaller the area sown. There aro tens of thousands of acres which will not yield even a bushel of wheat in the aggregate, and in order to saye their horses farmers have, turned them on to the dying 'crops. All this land will be really fallow, and can, in a normal season, be expected to give enhanced returns.' Surely these farmers aro as' deserving of consideration at the hands of the Government as those who, in more favoured districts, will, lose merely a few pence per bushel on their wheat?''.. ■'■ /■-."'•. The same correspondent, strongly' advocates regulation of the price of hay, chaff, and other fodder. He states that there will be a great shortage this season, Losses of horses in the' interior, will entail a great shrinkage/ in the .areas sown, and unless' action is taken, he contends,;holders of fodder stocks will be enabled to derive enormous profits, and hundreds of settlers will - bo brought to inevitable ruin. ..Another view is taken by a correspondent who holds that the action of the New South Wales Government-will discourage wheat-growing and that it is tantamount to depriving farmers in the' State ,-of. Is.; a bushel on their' wheat since, in his opinion, they would in ordinary,circumstances have got ss. 2d. per bushel for the wheat they were able to harvest. One correspondent suggests that the Government, having fixed a maximum price should also fix a minimum price' for wheat of not less than 3s. 9d. per bushel in order to ensure afair return to. the. farmer. THE STATE AS FARMER. The. New South Wales Government has in contemplation the extension of the wheat area of the States under direct Government auspices. .' A state-" ment on tho subject is to be made in the' Legislative Assembly to<lay. The general idea' is., that certain _ Crown lands (in' the Wyalorig-Cudgellico district) ' should be worked by the Government as a,,huge wheat-farm. The scheme is being considered from two main standpoints. First, that of extending the grain-producing, capabilities of the State, and, secondly, providing a number of workmen : with steady employment during the present period of industrial stress'.Several Ministers in the New South Wales Cabinet havo a practical knowledge of agriculture and have been giving their personal attention to the scheme. In support of the Government proposals Ministers state that the land .proposed to bo worked could not bo "developed by individual'settlers as rapidly as the Government can develop it. Government officers have gained experience in ploughing on'a large scale in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area; and no doubt is entertainedthat, as a Government 'industrial enterprise, with the land costing nothing, and only needing clearing, the whole undertaking can be, made successful, The scheme involves the working of an immense area of land—almost a whole countryside. It 'is considered) that the cost of administration need not be heavy, inasmuch as at the vari 7 ous. experiment farms there are a number of Departmental officers skilled in growing cereals. In. all probability tho project will also be made a means of founding the State agricultural implements works that Mr. Ashford (Ministor of Agriculture) inquired into while in Western Australia, a few weeks ago. Tho scheme will necessitate the use of a large'number of farming implements, and it is contemplated making at least some of them, if it be deemed feasible to incopontte the State implement works in the newer scheme. The main idea underlying the State implement works is the supply of ploughs and harvesters to farmers at cost' price, but, with the State acting for the time being as farmer itself, the works would be used primarily to supply its own wants. In addition to charges for clearing.tho land and making or purchasing plant, the initial estimates include provision for the erection of a number of accommodation houses for the staff and workmen. ■■■■;.

THE DROUGHT IN VICTORIA | An interesting . scheme has been I drawn up by the Victorian Director of Agriculture (Dr. Cameron) to give effect to the desire of the Ministry that settlers in the Malice and other districts of Victoria where the season has been unprofitable shall be assisted to tide over their temporary difficulties, and be encouraged to spare no effort to secure a record yield should next year's conditions prove favourable. The Min-' istry is asking Parliament ' to vote £100,000 of loan money for advances to these farmers, on mortgago, to be paid back in easy instalments. If this proves insufficient, the Ministry has declared that it will not hesitate to ask for further supplies for the purpose. When tho wheat-growers had been impoverished by the severe drought of 12 or 13 years ago, the State voted them a similar sum of £100,000—in 1902. Practically every penny of it hasbeen paid back. : This former money was for seed wheat only. Tho vote of 1914 is to cover more than that. It will be available for the whole State, but will bo needed chiefly for tho Mallee and the Goulbum Valley. , The idea of Dr. Cameron and his staff is that something more than seed is needed to help settlers who have suffered severely from the dry seasons to get properly on to their feet again. In tho Malice, for instance, whore the i conditions are felt most keenly, there are many settlers who have run right to the end of their tether, and who, having practically gained no crop this year, can kcop their teams alive only by employing them upon road works, or any other work procurable, in their district. They, have nothing to feed,!

them with on thoir own farms. To givo seed wheat to men like these would he nearly as had as giving sovereigns to men who are starving on a desert isThe Department realises this, and it is to .meet such circumstances that tlio present schomo has heen drawn up. .A committee of land experts, three representing the headquarters of the Government in Melbourne, and threo others selected from the State land bailiffs in the Mallee districts, are to travel through the Mallee and advise as to the best means of granting assistance to the farmers there, giving consideration to the 'special conditions of each case. It is proposed, for instance, to help some farmers by paying them, say, 6s. an acre, to plough their own land, in order that they may be ablo to maintain their families and their teams, while putting considerable new areas under fallow, and in ploughing over and preparing for seeding land which has been under crop this year, but has failed. In other cases, if found advisable, farmers will be engaged by the State in sinking dams for the conservation of water in future years, and perhaps even in useful road works and improvements.' Settlers with teams may also be employed to work on other men' 3 properties.

THE AUSTRALIAN NAVY Some day, says the Melbourno correspondent of the Sydney "Sun," the fine story of the Australian Navy's part in the war drama will be written. But not now. Already too much has been said, according ,to officials, who claim Jhat information published in New Zealand might conceivably help the German Pacific fleet to evado us. Tlio wrecking of a Gorman wireless station, for instance, must be kept secrot. Germany has studded the Pacific with wireless stations, but the disappearance of even ono should not be announced, for it saves the German captain from .the temptation of trying to communicate with jt..' The more stations ar.d ships he trios to communicate with, the more does he advertise his -whereabouts. So the censorship,has become, stricter than ever, and together with the few dangerous facts much harmless. and interesting news is sacrificed. Somehow hews gets out of -Australia. Despite widespread official precautions and a great many arrests, information leaks out from theso shores. •. , The result is that we shall have to wait til! oil is over before we.hear of the exploits of our seamen—their fine behaviour in tho greatest adventure and most exhilarating task that Australians have enjoyed. There is only ono fate for the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Nurnberg, Leipsig, and the smaller craft of tho enemy/s Pacific squadron—if the Austra-' Han Navy gets,its way. ,Wo are stronger than they in every particularstronger in gunfire, stronger in armour, and stronger, we all believe, in personnel. No doubt the. Scharnhorst and 5 Gneisenau are powerful ships—no doubt the speed of the Germans, even in these days of remarkable naval speeds, .is extraordinary. But in power and speed we beat them, and unless they have ! vanished.from the ocean—sought temporary security in-some little-used sea— we shall get them'in, our own time, and at little or lio expense. ; - Meanwhile our naval mon in the Pacific,(delighting in the war- tasks assigned them, are showing seamanship and fighting 'qualities that mako for. all time' a great'tradi-' tionfor the Australian Navy.

INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE ' Federal headquarters' (according to Hie "Sim") is still doubtful about the employment problem. Apart from the unification of railway gauges project, which lias had a mixed reception, it has no cohesivo scheme for relieving unemployment. But, on tho other hand, it lias surprisingly, few ■■reports telling of slackness in trade.. No State-Govern-ment has appealed to it, no unions have asked for relief works, no factory managers have threatened to close down. It is small comfort to the men out of work, but it is a feet that so far as Federal departments can see, unemployment is not as yet seriously abnormal. The Federal Government ihasj therefore, done nothing more than decide' to keep as many of the Federal works as possible going at full time, to assist tho States financially through the notes issue, and to take early tariff action.. The new tariff, on which Mr. Tudor is already at work, may not have immediate effect on the- labour' market, though it will provide' for particularly high duties. .Several Victorian Ministerialists arp even urging total.prohibition of German and Austrian goods, ond the Chambers of Manufactures have asked that there bo-three scales of preference—one directed against our present enemies, one against other foreign countries, and the third against the rest of the Empire. Mr. Tudor has 6hown no enthusiasm for this project, nor has he expressed approval of any special tariff war against. German and Austrian goods. The Government seems to think that that ,should be' left to the less dangerous method of trade boycott, but the temper of the House may prove sufficiently belligerent to ensure very drastic action against German trade. AVith regard to direct relief of employment, the Government has various schemes before it, including one whereby a great.extension of secondary metal uidustrio3 could be financed by Federal money, but it pins its faith to the -standardisation of railway gauges. Mr. Fisher is discovering whether he could got the money. * There is good ground for saying that if he can find the gold there will be little trouble about apportioning the contributions. Ho will be satisfied if they will agree to the 4ft. Biin. standard. EVENTS AT NEW BRITAIN Writing at Rabaul on September 12. Mr. H. ,S. Targett, the Sydney "Sun' ! correspondent, described tho capture of the German, wireless station at New •Britain:'— Captain Travers, of our brigade staff, arrived from the wireless station to-night. The troops, defending it surrendered last night. Captain Travers has little to say of his own experience, but with him he brought 26 natives and seven German prisoners— Lieutenant Kempf, who commanded the troops in the first trench defending the wireless station, Non-commissioned Officers Duns, Von Zerssen, Von Sigritz, and Wahlmann, and Micke, a road contractor, and Behr Land,, a land surveyor. I have, however,-been able to get information of what occurred from other sources. It seems that Captain Travers sought permission- to go ashore 'from the Berriraa, and having obtained it immediately joined the troops attacking the wireless station. _ At 4.15 p.m. the defenders of the wireless station surrendered, having come out under a flag of truce. Twenty natives and three Germans were taken from the first trench. This was done still under the white flag. From the second trench 20 natives and three Germans were also taken, and their arms and ammunition were being collected when one of tho Germans made a bolt into the'bush, and immediately tho British party, still under the white flag, wore fired on from natives in the palm trees. Lieutenant Kempf waved his arms wildly and cried out in German, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" ' But the firing went on, and three of our men fell. One died from his wounds, and was. buried in tho trench where he fell. ' As soon as the firing commenced one German named Eitter and the natives who had been captured from the second trench took to their heels—the first lot had been taken back under a guard. Ten of tho natives were shot. Ritter was shot dead before he had moved 10 yards. The rest escaped. As a precaution their arms were destroyed. Then followed something that sounds like fiction. Notwithstanding that tho t whit© flag had been yiolatea, TravErs

i started off to the wireless station, taki ing with him Private Eitel, of the ma-chine-gun section, as an interpreter. ■ Eitel, by the way, is a pressman, who formerly was on the "Daily Telegraph," and who was secretary of the Mawson expedition. But, Lieutenant Bond, of the naval forces, was not to bo left out of it. "What's the game?" ho asked Travers. "I'm going to the station," said Travers. '"the devil you are," said Bond; "I'm in this " So on the three went. At tho station'were seven Germans and 20 natives. They were told they were prisoners. They submitted to being disarmed, and for moro than an hour and a half the two officers and interpreter Eitel held that force until reinforcements arrived. The operation was done so quickly that after the occupation was made a further attack was made with rifle fire by the British upon the station. Travers came out with a lantern, and yelled out, amongst other things, "Cease fire I Berrinia! Berimma!" At the present time it is not known exactly how many of the enemy were killed. I saw Captain Travers after he arrived'on the Berrima. All he had to say was, "Bond is the man for me. He is great.'.' Travers, however, seems to be great too. Full details have already been published of the death of Surgeon-Captain Pockley, who had given his Red-Cross coat to an orderly, and was afterwards shot while attending to a wounded man. The remains of this bravo officer were buried in the Herbertshohe Cemetery. He was buried in his uniform, and a bugler blew "The Last Post." : He was lowered into the grave with his head pointing in the direction of-Syd-ney. A stone will be erected over his grave. Every man of the Army Medical Corps asked to be allowed to contribute towards its cost. Colonel Howse,. V.C., tho P.M.0., was profoundly. moved. Pockley had already ingratiated himself in his heart. "Let the boys," he said, "give a trifle each. We will attend to the rest." Regarding the death of LieutenantCommander Elyell, Mr. Tareett writes: "Lieutenant-Commander El well, who came from England, was a quiet, reserved man. On the BeTrima he did not talk much. But those who knew, him said: 'This'fellow knows no fear. He will not/ ask men to go where he will not go himself. Instead he will lead them.' That is .precisely v what happened. ; Ho scorned to take cover. He advanced" along the road —a conspicuous figure—and when within twenty yards of .the trench .drew his .sword and cried out, 'Men, fix bayonets and charge.' The 'next moment he fell; .stone dead, ; with . three' bullets through ..his -head." ■■ . ,' ; ' FOOD FOR THE'-TROQPS Arrangements, are being completed, in Australia'for. tinning large quantities/of meat for export.to the' Allies' armies. Just before the war broke out the Dofence Department was lucky, in securing a-large contract at low prices, but much /lore is required,' and the object of Mr. :Tudor's proclamation prohibiting ' the export of meat .was largely to conserve supplies for our. armies. At the. Customs House the Minister is continuously busyvoxamining special requests for. permission to export, many of those being from representatives of American ,

firms. Ho has, however, shown even greater strictness with exports of meat than'exports of wheat, and all Australia's meat resources,. after tho provision of our local wants, are to be used for feeding the Allies' soldiers. So far aa Australia is concerned, thero will bo no lack of effort to keep, the armies properly supplied in tho field, and no lack of care to prevent meat and grain from tho Commonwealth travelling, even by circuitous route, to tho enemy's mouths. In all cases of moat export to Great Britain tho Customs Department is now demanding a guarantee that tho shipment shall arrive there. In a fow other cases export has been allowed, but these wero all contracts made before tho war. It is expected that when accurate information is to hand concerning stocks of wheat in Australia and tho likely results of this year's crops, tho prohibition of tho export of grain and Hour will bo loss severely enforced. Mombers of the Now Zealand - Expeditionary Force assembled in U Shed last evening for the purpose of .enjoying an entertainment by tho Salvation Army authorities. The programmo was a lengthy and varied one, and it included several selections by tho band. Items were contributed by Sisters Collins, White find Cunningham, Adjutant Bladin, Bandmaster Golfin, Bandsmen Greenfield and Judd, Band Sergeant Collins, Mrs. Collins, and Miss Cunningham,