AUSTRALIAN.

Hokitika Guardian, 15 January 1920, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN.

| AUSTRALIAN & N.Z. CABI.K ASSOCIATION J FEDERAL CABINET. MELBOURNE, January 14. The Federal Cabinet is considering a rearrangement of the Cabinet which is necessitated by the defeat of certain Ministers, and i s also considering constitutional alterations that may ue necessary owing to the defeat of the referendum proposals and an amendment of tariff is also being discussed.

NEW RECORD BY ROSS. SYDNEY, January 14. Ross, the American swimmer, in a scratch race at Newcastle, swam 330 yards in 31( secs, beating B. Kieran’s Australian record by three-fifths of a second.

MINISTER RESIGNS. (Received This Dav at 8 a.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 14

Mr Graham, Minister for Agriculture, and Administrator of the State Wheat Board, has tendered his resignation from the Ministry. The Executive Council accepted his resignation. Prior to the appointment of the Wheat Commission, when the wheat question was under discussion, Mr Graham offered.to resign, hut Government then declined to accept it.

MAIZE RECORD. ' SYDNEY, Jan. 14. Maize was sold at 10s per hushed wholesale, a record.

POTATOES PRICE FALLS. MELBOURNE, Jan. 14. There is a heavy slump in potatoes. Sales of best were made below £lO per ton.

SAVED FROM AFRIQUE. LONDON, Jan. 13

The steamer Ceylon has landed a considerable number of the Afrique’s passengers and crew.

MARINE ENGINEERS’ STRIKE CONFERENCE A FAILURE. (Received This Day at 8 a.m.) MELBOURNE, Jan. 14.

A conference of shipowners with marine ngineers, with a view to settlement of the engineers’ strike proved futile. ' The Shipping Controller informed Mr Hughes that the engineers declined to compromise on their original demands. Mr Hughes then spent two hours in talk with the members of the executive but his efforts to reach an agreement failed. Tlie representatives leave for their homes to-night and tlie strike continues.

INDIAN TRADE TROUBLES. (Received this day at, 8.40 a.m.) ' BOMBAY, Jan. 12. Tlie cotton workers’ strike is symptomatic. of the urgency of economic readjustment throughout India. The cost of food has increased 102 per cent, compared with pre-war prices, while mill wages have only gone up fifty per cent. Profiteering and land speculation aggravate tlie situation. Middle class peoples lives have become desperately hard. The Nationalists may, possibly foment unrest, hut in this they could not succeed, if genuine grievances did not exist. The mill-owners, while favouring it. are anxious to postpone the introduction of a ten-hour day, with a. view of the need of meeting the abnormal pressure of orders. The present is tlie greatest trade boom since tlie ’6o’s. Tlie profits of some mills are four hundred per cent. There is an unprecedented demand for imports of goods, to which the Americans are largely contributing.

WHEAT ENQUIRY

(Received this day at 10.10 a.m.) SYDNEY, This Day

The report of the Wheat Enquiry Commission dealing with the sale oi 1915-10 guaranteed wheat stated through Hon. Graham's failure when the pool was formed to protect his own contract with one firm, "New South Wales was mulcted in a direct loss of eight thousand sterling. It appeared that Mr Graham prior to information of the pool, agreed with the firm to sell wheat which it proceeded to do. When the pool was formed this wheat was not excepted from it therefore Graham was unable to fulfil his agreement. The eight thousand referred to represented portion of the firm’s commission.

LOW GOLD YIELD. (SYDNEY, This Day. The gold yield for 1919 the lowest on record and was valued at £219,666, a decrens of £90,077 compared with the previous year. BREWERY STRIKE ENDS. SYDNEY, January 13. The brewery employees have declared the strike off and are returning to work on the employers terms.

BUILDERS HOURS. SYDNEY, That Day. Building trade employees have decided that from first February they' will work only forty hours per week. BAKERS HOURS. •SYDNEY, This DWy, A meeting of the bakers union resolved iu future not to work on Sunday.

SYDNEY, This Day. •Arrived—Tarawera from Wellington. SITTING CONCLUDED. (Received This I)a.v at 10.35. a.m.) DARWIN, ini= uay. The Commisison has concluded its sittings and has departed from Darwin. SOLDIERS HOMES. . MELBOURNE, This Day. The War Service Homes Commission decided during the next ten years to erect twenty thousand homes in the Commonwealth.

A PROHIBITION. MOLBORNE’, This Day. A proclamation prohibits all trade relations with German merchants. (AIR BOARD. (Received this day at 10.1" a ' MELBOURNE, This Hay. Government is forming an Air Board comprising representatives of the Army and Navy to administer the air service.

PRICE OF TEA. MELBOURNE, This Day. An increase in the price of tea of three pence per pound is announced. A SERIOUS FIRE, ADELAIDE, This Day. A fire in wheat yards at Wallaroo, destroyed Pinrosg Bag Factory and the Brititsh Government’s sterilizing reconditioning plants. The wheat stacks were saved, but it is estimated the damage will amount to scores of thousands. About three hundred employees are rendered idle. The origin of the fire which is the latest of a number of mysterious outbreaks, is unknown, The damage is covered by insurance.