AUSTRALIAN NEWS BY MAIL
TflE COMING FEDERAL ELECTIONS MR. RYAN'S BID A BAD DROUGHT Sydney, October 15. Federal Politics. The Federal .Ministerial Caucus, after its talk this afternoon (states the "Age" of October 11), assented to the Government's propoittl.to close down the business of tile bessiuu by the end ol next, week. The l'rime Minister is reserving his public prouuuna'iiieat of policy until lie meets his constituents at Beudigo on October 30. As there is unlikely to be another caiicus biloiv Pariiaini'iu ,n... solves, iie has iliscius.nl as much as he has been able of (he mind of the Guvernment, wiiicn. on certain matters of public policy, appears to be somewhat unsettled. The mum issues of the election will, of course, be the extended powers, which the Government is seeking under the referendum proposals, to enable it to cheek profiteering, control monopolies, and deal with the industrial unrest. Mr. Hughes has abandoned the revision of tho Urilf until the party returns from th® elections, and it is not unlikely, in view of the costliness of any war gratuity scheme that would prove acceptable to the soHiers, that he will await a mandate from the country before committing the pi.ople to un expenditure of millions in this direction. Mr. T. J. Ryan, Labour Premier of Queensland, is making iv strong bid, with 4 large following behind him. for Federal political honours. His supporters regard him as the only man on the La ha itr side who can oust Mr. Hughes from the Federal Premiership, and have Already secured for him what is regarded as'a safe feat-West Sydney. The successful Labour nominee at thsfbnllot. after a. handsome win, calmly announced that ho proposed to present his nomination to Mr. liyan. a method of proceeding which has evoked considerable comment by no mentis favourable to Mr. Ryat. Tne advent of the Queensland Premier into tho Federal political arena has given a distinct fillip to the political situation, and the result will be waited for with interest. ' Australia's War Gratuity. Tho Prime .Minister will make nn announcement at an early date as to the manner in which the Government proposes to meet the demand, which has been made by the soldiers and sailors for a gratuity'. That a gratuity in some form or other will be conceded seems to bo accepted, as Mr. Hughes has promised to see that the, Australian soldier is not less favourably treated than Ihe 'fighting forces of other parts of the Empire. Tho Prime Minister has had several conferences with the soldiers' executive, and it is understood that the outcome is a scheme, which is now undergoing review, and which is to be considered by the Cabinet at. the earliest possible moment. It is recognised th.it inly scheme involving gratuities wortn while collecting to a fighting force of 300,000 men will be a costly affair, but it is believed that a proposal lias been made and tentatively accepted, which although likely to run into many millions, will not prove a.? burdensomo to the general taxpmer as might otherwise bo supposed. I'ho original request m.ido was, it is stated, for a gratuity at the rate of Is. Gd. a day from the date or enlistment to the signing of the armistice, with necessary deductions in cases where men had served for a shorter period. This is the rate fixed up&n in 'New Zeainnd. Its adoption in Anstraiin would have.involved on ofttlay of bjtween and ,£25,000,000.
Railway Fares Incroassd. As the' result of mi agreement amongst the liuilwa.y Commissioners of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, ami South Australia, inter-State railway 'fares have been increased by from 6 per cent, lo 14 per cent., and parcels .rates'by' about 10 per cent. The principal 'ileiv . inler-State fares, compared with those at present prevailing, arc as follow:— . . New Existing fares. fares. Ist. 2nd. Ist. '2nd. Clss.Clss. Clss.Clss. Sydney to Mel- . 'bourne 70/- 47/- ' 63,'- 42/Sydnev to Adelnidc 110/- 73/- 01/0 CH.,Sydney to Brisbane 72/'- 45/- 63/- ■)'-/- Brisbane . io Melbourne 133/- 89/- 120/- 84/Bri.sb.tnß to Adelaide 173/- 115/- 157,6 105,'Last of 'the Hurts Deported. A batch of deportees to Germany, numbering about 'JOO, ajid probably _ the last, left Pynnont in the steamer li.ugia on October 14. The vessel will proceed to l!«t----terdam, and the passengers mil 'there entrain, for their various destinations. The embarkation of the families proceeded smoothly. By 2.30 p.m. the luggage was all on hoard, one of the last packages being a cage containing a beautiful white Australian cockatoo. "It seems strange," «iid an Australian wommi, "they will allow a bird, but not. my dog." She had to leave her dog bohind. . The. passengers include E9 internees from Holdsworthy, 40 men on parole, and the balance women and children. There were about rixty children, and wore pa. e 6en?ers will be put. on board before she finally leaves Australian waters. One family proceeding to Bremen had never been interned, and could have remained, but. speaking, bad Engl'sh, they considered it better to leave Australia, whero they had resided for 11 years. On the rear top-deck of the stealer a collection of children waved flags, chiefly Australian flaas, but there were olio or two red ones amongst them. They also held bmwueta of (lowers, which they plated on the railing in front of them; and in this way, in a drizzling rain, they an.iled away from Australia to the uncertainties of lands beyond, Tiie Drought, A. rainfall that to be sufficient for the needs must lie abundant, is most urgently needed in practically the whole of the eastern half of Australia at present (states the Melbourne "Ago"). Upon th/:s both weather experts and pastoral representatives are agreed, and the tendency is to take a gloomy view of the piospects ahead. Victoria is more happily situated than New South AVales and Queensland, but oven in this State, save in the southern and south-west coastal districts, the rainfall has been far below tho average, and relief was not obtained durin,? September where it was most needed. A representative of a leading pastoral company points out that the shortage of rains in .Tune and July was especially to be deolored, as these were looked upon as the most important months for rain. The Western districts wore now lookinrr better owinc to recent rnin, and there had been good Mis in Queensland and Western Australia, but in New Senth Wales the outlook was gloomy, and in Queensland it was bad, although that Stato might receive monsoonal rains; while the position in the northern mnlleo district was also "bad." Southern Victoria. he thought, would pull through all right, but for the rest he fully agreed ■vitli the need for a hmv.v contritions twin for three or four davs. As far at Victoria is concerned, the September slock renort- issued by the fommomvea'th AVe'il.hfr Huiww ind'cnt/vl tbat th« renortw received were t'i"ii f»v from lwol"=s in tone, nn>l su!r' T "=ted 'liat improved fnmi'ii" iti"t l 'od= lw' "rcdered droiu-hts miHi Ims formidable than fhey were a few years a?o." N'"V Construction. The completion of the cruiser Adelaide and the naval collier Biloela, 7000 tons, is the only new work in ship construction contemplated by the Navy Department for the current financial year (says the Melbourne "Age"). So much is apparent from the sst'inates of expenditure submitted to Parliament, which include a vote of .£350,000 for ship construction. Tlio vessels named nre being built in Svdney Harbour, and their completion will easily absorb tlio construction voto. Naval expansion depends, firstly, oil the extent to which the Government is prepared to find money foi carrying out tho recommendations ol Admiral Lord Jellicoo; and, secondly, on
tho ability of the Depnrtment to find crews to man new ships. In this connection it is interesting to note tlmt the cruiser Melbourne and the Admiralty's six gift submarines have not been in active commission since their arrival from England, an-J no information, has yet been received of the dispatch to Australia of the six modern torpedo destroyers which aro a further sift to the Commonwealth by the British Government. No doubt other and larger vessels of war could bo had from the Imperial authorities for the mere asking, but the cost ,pf upkeep and the provision'' of sufficient crews are factors that: would caiwe the Federal Government to hesitate in making such a request. International Labour Delegates, The Federal Government is experiencing considerable difficulty in the selection of a delegation to represent the Commonwealth at Ihe International Lubn"." TnTifeifnce, which is to be opened at Mni»t«n on October 29. The trade.? ip-iin n'ul Labour organisations in Vic--1 New South Wales:, and Que?"'-*-V>il hnvp refrained, nominntin'T re-fiv-cs for enlnei'nn a" menilmr-- of ! I,n Australian delem'tinn. although inv:ted to do r 'o by th» o"vonimout. A Labem' nomination bas b-en 'eceiwl fiw Australia. and the National Tibnur Party hao !\l c n nominated a candidal". The Prime Minister, when ourst:oned Inst night: regarding Australia''' renrenmlatiwi at the conference, snid the task of appointing the d nl egation bad been rendered extremely rfifSeu'.t by the action of the labour organisations in the sevral States. It would be an anomaly (says the. "Aire" of Melbourne) to send a eornmiss-'on to America which did not include a represent" f ive, of ihe great section of people eomr"icing more than two-thirds of the nnp'ilation of the Commonwealth. Although no official announcement has h»en made on the sublet. it is understood that if a deleiaHon bo )-v will choo=e Mr. F. V. M'Tvay. of Yieto r ia. to renresent the einii l oyc<.' of Australia at t*'e conference. ."Ir. M'Kay is at prf=ent in America. In anv ev»nt it is not now that n d"' r !'ation fro-n Aiwtrr'ia oould reach Washington in time for the opening of the conference. "Aruac Tweeds" Trust. The Federal Repatriation Department has announced a definite policy for the future control of Hi? Anane tweed indusItv. Having fremarku Ihe Melbourne "Asre") done its best to strangle the industry, and been balked in its endeavours only by the strong force of nubb> opVon and the efforts of the Upturned Soldiers' Leaene. Ihe Deoartment .pronos"s now to ivash iva hands of the whole business. It propo=es to hand over the futnr" eontvol of the industry to n "trust." If the trwt bo left to >tself it will no doubt soon put the business on a rolid footing. but in view of the lio'd that powerful vested int«rests have "ot nnon the Government, it is to b» feared the Anzac tweed industry is not yet clear of its enemies. An official announcement has been made that a decision had be n n readied to hand over the Anzac tweed industry to a. trust, to be nnp"int"i] from nominee" of tho Hot'iv*l- - So'diers and Snilors' _ The ordinal intention was Ihnt the industry should be mannued by a trust or board of mnna"eni'.nt selected from the lea Tim and. the Solders end Sailors' Father*' V«wintion. The league, however, raided obiection to tho representation on th° trust the Fathers' 'Wocivtino. and th" Minister subsequently decided tn hand fie industry over to the league. The conditions'under which the trust will work have not yet been disclosed.
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 22, 21 October 1919, Page 7
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1,864AUSTRALIAN NEWS BY MAIL Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 22, 21 October 1919, Page 7
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