AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 May 1925, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

AUBIRALIAN AND N.Z. CABLE ASSOCIATION. MOUSE DISEASE. SYDNEY. .May 20. C'onoident with a miie plague- in tho wheat areas of the Kivorina, along flic Murray River, a disease has become prevalent among the children, known locally as the mouse disease. Tho City Health Olliccr states that it is scientifically known as “favtis." and is duo to a fungus which aliens the hair follimals. causing sores on the body. Cats and mice are both spreaders of the disease. MAN SHOOTS DAUGHTER. (Received this day at 12.30 p.m.) BRISBANE, May 21. A grim tragedy was perpetrated near Rockhampton when Oliver Johnson Duck, aged thirty-nine, is alleged to have shut his illegitimate daughter Olive Violet Duck, aged thirteen. He carried the body about on horseback all night and buried it at dawn in the saml and then late in the afternoon surrendered to the Calliope police. The girl had been reared by her grandmother ami Duck laid lately expressed a wish to claim her and put her in a Convent.

Accompanied by the police. Duck showed where he hid the revolver with v.liiili the deed was committed. The body has i.ot been recovered. N'.S.W. STATISTICS. SYDNEY. May 21. A< cording to the annual report of tin* Government. Stat istieian the population of X.S.W. at the end of Deceinlier last was 2.2.!<;.ni!). this being an increase during the year of lu.fi 13. The males number I. 1 T2!lu7 and females 7.101.092. The number of children under one ye who died was 3191 or o!>.u per thousand, which is seven per (cnl below the average for live years. Cancer accounted for 207 S deaths or .93 per thousand an increase of nine per cent above tho average for the preceding live years. UNION DEI! EG I STRATI OX. MELBOURNE, May 21. The President of the Seamen’s Union. Mi V. ic-li. st ti. d that thi' Management Uonnnit lei' Was at present in session and the general consensus of opinion was the application for deregistration would not he opposed. Final decision, however had nut yet been reached. The application is to he heard by the Coininniiwenltii Arbitration Court today . LISTENING-IN LICENSES REDUCED MELBOURNE. May 21. The I’o.xtniasicr-Gencral has aimoini:j cl a reduction, of 7s (it 1 a year in tho ' fee charged for listening-in licenses. A I’I’IJCATTON REFUSED. Al Ed,BOURNE. May 21. The Arbitration Court refused the Employer-''’ application to deregister 111 Caterers Employees I nion on the grounds that reforomv to the Court by the Union was still pending. The employers' counsel said the reference was three or four years old. The aetiiig-Presideni sail! thi' referent <• must not he deemed abandoned in view of the ((ingested slate of the Court's business. 1.0 A KING LABOURERS. SYDNEY. May 21. \Y. .1. Russell, a well-known. Eng-

lish salavage export, in a serious indictment of Australian labour engaged in the ship-building industry, cited figure - showing the work done and eo-ts in the salvage -leamcr City of Singapore. “ Temp nary repairs." said Mr Russell. " should have been finished in a maximum of 2u days, hut .they actually (lasted scventy-tun. Good uieii, some Australians and some Eneli-h. gave t 1 their best throughoi l l. and work 'd loyally. Others played a part unworthy of the | radii ions of well organised labiur.” Russell riled tin* ease of one man who .1. ill. .1 thirty -seven holes, -"len-eigh- : l,s ot an ini'll in diameter. through i shell-plating three-quarters of an inch | thick in two hour-, whilst another j 0,1 the opposite side of the steamer drilled forty-two similar holes in 21 days. The implements tired and conditions of labour supervision were identical in fitch case. In another case, a plat"!’ made a dozen awkward templates in -11 hours and another took the best part, ol a day lo make three small ones. This was ail ri'llcrted in the heavy costs. For example, rivets worth to shilling- a hundred in England cast nine shillings each ai Port Adelaide. Drilled holes worth a penny each cost Is ■_>',(! each. This incidentally was keeping contract work away from Aus-