AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 31, 6 February 1913, Page 2

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY

NOTES ON CURRENT EVENTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, Ist February. ALPINE GOLF. Golf has attained to a considerable height here— to 6000 feet above sea level. This ia at the tourist resort on Mount Koscitisko in what are called the Australian' Alps. The Premier of New South Wales, Mr. M'Gowen, has just officially opened the Mount Kosciusko golf course With a fairly long drive. In making this drive the Premier did not follow orthodox rules as regarded his stand, but he managed well enough, and j showed that lie has not lost his strength of arm which he acquired in the occupaj tion of boilerrnaker. Large numbers of i visitors attended the opening ceremony, nnd the Tourist Bureau authorities say it is certain that their provision of ; facilities for ilio enjoyment 'of Alpine golf will prove highly popular and profitable. Golf afc 6000 feet above sea level amid Alpine surroundings, in a delightful raritied atmosphere, appeals strongly to players, even such as are : not ordinarily great enthusiasts. It at any tamo affords doctors a chance of introducing a new element in advice to nerve-racked city folks as to how they can recover a healthy tone. For the initial series of competitions on the Kosciusko links forty-eight entries have already been received. Is there not in this a possibility of instituting an Australasian Alpine golf championship? CASE OF "BROTHER" CHINN. You were told a short while ago that considerable stir was being made in the Federal Parliament over "Brother" Chinn.| Opposition members clamoured for information as to why Mr. Henry Chirm had been appointed to the highly lucrativeposition ot supervising engineer of the West Australian section of the East to West transcontinental railway. It was more than hinted that Mr. Chirm owed his appointment not so much to his engineering capabilities as to the fact that he Was considered to be worthy of reward for mpch work done in the interests of tho Labour Party. It was ascertained from official files that Mr. Chirm' was * strongly recommended by Labour members of the Federal and the Western Australian Parliaments, whose recommendations referred particularly to good work done by Mr. Chirm to "the cause." By what inadvertence those recommendations were put on official files and how Opposition members got to know about them have not yet been explained.' The Commonwealth Minister tor Home Affairs (Mr. King O'Malley) was chiefly responsible for' the appointment He replied to the interrogations of Oppositionists with a bigger flood than usual of grotesque Americanisms, and indulged in allusions to blow-flies and, muck worms, which made even his" Ministerial colleagues gasp. He declared that "Brother" Chirm (Mr. O'Malley calls everybody "brother") was all right, He was quite satisfied about that, because he knew a good man directly he saw him. Besides "Brother " Chirm had graduated in engineering at the Meloourne University. The discussion had not proceeded far before it was shown that Mr t Chirm had not graduated as alleged. But Mr. O'Malley was not disconcerted. What, he asked, was the value of University degrees anyhow? Had not " Brother " Chirm a lot of testimonials as a practical man? Members' became greatly interested in those testimonials, especially Mr. Fowler, of Western Australia. Mr. Fowler applied himself to extensive investigations, and followed' *up with a series of allegations which, if true, left doubt as to the fitness of Mr. Chirm for ttie responsible post given to him. It was alleged, in offect, that certain of the testimonials put forward by Mr. Chirm were forgeries if they Were not his own composition. Reference was also made by Mr. Fowler to some dealing in gold, ( or attempted dealing, _ to alleged negotiations for a commission to be paid by a timber company in connection with material supplied for work to be done in relation to the transcontinental line, and to other things. Incidentally he asserted that Mr. O'Malley could ' not fairly, plead ignorance. Then the Prime Minister took a hand, and said there should be a Royal Commission of Enquiry into Mr. Fowler's Charges. Mr. Justice Hodges, of the Victoria Supreme Court Bench, is now holding the enquiry, v.iu'ch is confined to the charges made against Mr. Chirm. All the evidence has not yet been heard, and it would be improper at this stage to attempt a forecast of the outcome. POLITICAL LABOUR CONFERENCE. As regards matters political the topic of the hour is the New South Wales Political Labour Conference now in session in Sydney. For some time past theTe have been indications that the conference might lead to a sort of revolution in Labour politics. Some Labourites are in decided disagreement on the question of making further extensive transfers of legislative and administrative power from the States to tho Commonwealth. Others have been complaining that ,the present Labour Government of New South Wales has, by a number of ill-complexioned deeds, spoilt what seemed an excellent chance of a long term of Labour administration with the aid of peopl© not in the Labour ranks who turned down the Liberal Party at the last elections. Others again have declared that Labour members, including Ministers, have_ allowed personal and other considerations to divert them from tho. ■whole-hearted maintenance of thorough Labour principles. Only the representatives of the accredited Labour press are being allowed to report the proceedings, whereat non-Labour journals have declared that it is a pity that Labour is doing itself injury by such discrimination.. Notwithstanding the restriction, however, the general press has been able to record a great deal of the proceedings apart from the brief summary reports supplied to it by conference officials. The first attack upon the M'Gowen Ministry was in connection with the special legislation,' introduced by the Minister for Works, to enable the Broken Hill Proprietary Company to establish big iron and steel works in the Newcastle district. The underlying contention was,, of course, that the Government instead of starting State ironworks had cut the ground from under its own feet and deliberately let in private enterprise. Conference carried, by a big majority, about the mildest of the motions of censure in this connection— one describing the action of the Government as in spirit against the principles of the Labour movement, and a violation of a plank in the fighting platform. Everybody was anxious to see how the Government would take this rebuke. The Premier surprised most folks when he said next day that it was only a matter of difference of opinion j a slight disagreement between members of a family who would, however, immediately join forces against an outsider who might attempt to say to one of them what they no id to each other! The Government is to be farther dealt with by thej conference on the charge that at the recent by-election for Blayney ifc made only a sort of make-believe effort at supporting the Labour candidate -who was' defeated by Mr. Beeby, ex-member of the M'Gowen Cabinet. ,Mr. Beeby resigned from the Ministry and the Labour Party, to xecoAket tbia.

seat as an Independent. The case of Mr. Nielsen, ex-Minister for Lande, who was sent abroad as a kind of special commissioner drawing substantial allowances while receiving pay for Parliamentary work not. done, is also to be made the subject of an attack upon the Ministry. JAPANESE VISITORS. t With remarkable regularity two or three Japanese war vessels, which are used as training ships, call in at different ports in Australia, bringing on each occasion a fresh batch of naval trainees. All the main ports are visited, and wherever they go the Japanese diligently explore the place and its surroundings. The senior officers are otficially entertained, and are in some cases the guests of private citizens. The others and the men roam about restlessly, but without fuss, taking stock all round in a businesslike fashion. There is no visiting of hotels ; nothing but exploration. Every one of the explorers is provided with a map of the place being visited. The ostensible purpose of the present visit of the Soya and the Adisuma is the training of 140 midshipmen. It seems to be an essential part of the training of a Japanese naval officer that he shall have personal acquaintance with the principal Australian cit ies and their ports. No Australian pilot shows greater familiarity with the features of our harbours than is displayed by the Japanese navigators. Some Auslians shake their heads and say they ' don't like this kind of thing ; the majority of folks don't worry. LYSOL POISONING. Some time ago Coroners and medical men pointed out that caes of poisoning by lysol, self-administered, were be^ coming too frequent altogether, and that something ought to be done to make it a bit more difficult for would-be suiciders to obtain the poison. But only temporary attention was paid to such representations, and the deadly lysol, whose legitimate function is that of a disinfectant, can bo obtained with the - greatest ease anywhere. At ' the Melbourne Hospital alone the average of lysol victims admitted to the institution has been nearly three a week for a long while past. Seventy-five per cent, of the victims succumb. The fact that excruciating pain instantly follows the swallowing of the smallest quantity of lysol does ( not seem to be a deterrent. It can be assumed that the ease with which this corrosive poison can be procured, added to the imitative propensities^ of mankind, .helps to make the number of 1 successful Attempts at seli-destruction greater than would be the case if an impulse to end life could not be carried into effect so quickly. At first lysol was taken mostly by women, but now men prefer it to other means of ending their lives. Suicide by drowning is now comparatively unfashionable. EVADING SUBSCRIPTIONS. Members of Parliament are grateful to Mr. Ozanile, M.P., of Victoria, for having reminded them "that under the Commonwealth electoral law they can, for a time at any rate, secure immunity from the subscriptions which are constantly asked, of them. When asked for a subscription to a sporting club, Mr. 'Ozanne pointed out that under the electoral law no candidate may giv& such subscriptions within three months of an election, under penalty of losing the seat (if elected). As the dato of the General Federal Elections has not been fixed, Mr. Ozanne is not sure but that we may be within three month* of them. He proposes to keep on tb"3 safe side. This has again directed attention to what is a genuine gripvanne amongst members of Parliament.- While they publicly proclaim their pride jn being patrons of concerns to whose funds they contribute grudgingly, they secretly regard tho solicitations of sporting bodies as a mild kind of blackmail. They know that they incut' enmity if they refuse donations, and the hostility of an active sporting club has to be reckoned with at election time. Although it ia not explicitly stated, members regard the perpetual demands made upon them for subscriptions to this or that affair as justification for the increase in their salaries, which they vote themselves. Thus we have another illustration of tbe great national policy of "pass it on."