AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Hokitika Guardian, 21 August 1928, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

(Australian Press Association.) SYDNEY GRAFT INQUIRY. SYDNEY, August 20. The civil coal contracts commission to-day continued its sessions. Knox Macafce, outside manager of Byrnes, Limited, gave evidence that lie was asked by Johnston, a former manager of the firm to sign vouchers for the payment of special commission on coal contracts with the City Council. Witness never received a farthing of that money. Johnston appeared to be living far above his income. SYDNEY WOOL SALES. SYDNEY, August 20. The first of the season’s wool sales opened with a catalogue of 8904 hales, whereof 0874 were sold. I here was lather less burr evident, though staple wools were somewhat deficient. The best fleece wools of all descriptions and skirtings were on a par with the opening sale rates a year ago. Ordinary to inferior were five per cent lower. The market generally for fleece was 5 to 7} per cent lower than the June rates while skirtings were firm and unchanged. The Japanese and Yorkshire were too principal buyers. Greasy merino fleece sold to twenty and quarter pence. COUNTERFEITER. SYDNEY, Aug. 20. Reginald Mver s was to-day sentenced to three years imprisonment, for uttering and possessing counterfeit coins. The prisoner denied a police statement that ho had admitted making £IOOO worth in the past two years. The prisoner alleged that he had been subjected to "Third Degree” methods. The Judge remarked that the prisoner had a had record, and that the counterfeiting was evidently the work of an expert, A DEPRESSING PICTURE. ’’Received this day at 8.50 a.tn.) SYDNEY, Aug. 21. A depressing picturo of life in Northern Australia is painted byrE. Connclier, Attorney for Vestey Bros., meat exporters. There was absolutely no productive industry in Darwin. At the Hinterland, ho said, the pastoral industry was literally bleeding to death. Many big firms had lost nearly all the original capital. The only thing that kept them there was the hope that these conditions, largely due to Governmental nuil-administration and entire lack of knowledge of local circumstances and adverse labour conditions, would improve.