IN NEW SOUTH WALES

Evening Post, Issue 51, 2 March 1931, Page 9

IN NEW SOUTH WALES

IF LANG DEFAULTS

NEW ENGLAND AND RIVERWA

United Press .Association—By Electric Telt« graph—Copyright. SYDNEY, Ist March, Plans lo form a new State named . New England, and set up a provi- j sional Government should tha State Premier, Mr. J. T. Lang, default, were approved by a conven* < tion at Aimidale yesterday. Mere* ' hers of the Federal and Stata'j Legislatures were among those participating. A suggestion to hold a l referendum before giving the pro- , visional Executive a free hand found few supporters. ' , The meeting affirmed its loyalty t» \ the King and the 'Commonwealth. Th« j mover of this resolution, Mr. Drum- ■ inond, a member of the Assembly, sail ' that tliis was to counter, any sngge*- j tion that the new Slate- movement was | a disloyal conspiracy. ■ J The decisions are regarded, as a p«r- , sonal triumph for Dr. Earle Page, wlio, ; in the course of a vigorous speech, de- . clared that if the country 'a assets wer« ] secured with loans which were not xc-, | productive,-it was not the fault of thos« j who lent Australia money, but of th« • rotten Governments she hid had. IN THE BCVERINA. Eight thousand farmers from, all quarters of the Kiverina met at "Wagga , and unanimously ; osolved that unless ■ the Federal and State' Government■ i take steps before 31st Hatch to secure j a drastic reduction of Government costs and give relief to the primary and secondary industries, a referendum will be : taken on the Eiverina's right to «on- ' trol its own affairs, and, if aeceisary, t» | secede from the Federation. • ■ , Addressing the gathering, Mr. Charlei Hardy,l leader of the movement for reform," said: "If by "telling tlpe people the truth I am guilty of sedition, and , if Mr. Lang proposes to prosecute, then ; prosecute and be damned! "v He said that many farmers were "broke," but the Eiverina men would j never stand for repudiation. ■ All they ; wanted was justice and relief from tYe unfair burdens of, higher costs which were squeezing them against .the millstone of Teduced income. T?he Govern- ! ment was to blame, because it watr' dividfed into cliques whose intrigue* gave rise to .various ideas of finane% each more fantastic than the other*