COMMONWEALTH CABLES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIX, Issue 37, 5 June 1914, Page 6

COMMONWEALTH CABLES.

(Received 9.25 a.in.) Melbourne, May 5. The Federal Government has applied to the Governor for a double dissolution owing to the .rejection by the Senate in two successive sessions of a Bill to prohibit preference to Unionists in the Commonwealth. The Governor’s decision will be given today, and it is believed it will favor the request. A deputation representing the unemployed interviewed the Prime Minister. It was stated that therp were 6000 unemployed in Melbourne and Ballarat suburbs. Mr Cook said the existence of this unemployment in a country of such resources and capable of supporting millions of people simply meant that the system of organisation relating broadly to the social system was wrong. Melbourne, June 5. In the event of a double dissolution, the selected Liberal Senate candidates are; Gould, Millen, Oakes, H. E. Pratten (president of the New South Wales Chamber of Manufacturers), A. K. Trethowan (vice-president of the Farmers’ Association), and F. Coen (barrister). The Minister of Defence has received the report of Mr "King-Salter, the new general manager of the naval dockyard at Cockatoo Island, disclosing sensational facts regarding the existing state of affairs. Under present circumstances the building of warships was very largely futile. The vessels under construction cannot be completed until half their effective life is concluded, as they take five years to build instead of two. Money was wasted wholesale. The supply of labor falls short in urgent experiments by several hundred men. The present system of payment adds thirty per cent to the cost. The construction of the dockyard and the equipment were so deficient that vessels could not be launched if ready. The matter will be raised in Parliament immediately. Newcastle, June 5. The Waitemata arrived from Auckland with two stowaways aboard, and they were given into custody. Sydney, June 4. The Sun Newspaper Co. has authorised au increase of capital to £15,000 by issuing fifty thousand new £1 shares, principally to provide for the completion of new buildings.