COMMONWEALTH CABLES.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 54, 2 November 1915, Page 3

COMMONWEALTH CABLES.

IjNiTEn Fkkss association. « (Received 9.20 a.m.) Sydney, November 2. The Xorth Coast districts are sufseverely from hush fires. A number of settlers’, homes have been burnt and much damage is reported in the district. Brisbane, November 2. When a prisoner was brought. pik for sentence, Mr Justice iCoopeiv remarked that the effectiveness of punishment 'ap a deterrent to crime depended upon the certainty of 'infliction, if left uncertain it would have little effect. A recent event, he said, has drawn my attention to the system in vogue in Queensland, dealing with sentences by the Executive. I feel great embarrassment in the performance of my duties until I am in a better position to judge. I do not propose to give th 0 sentences of imprisonment to the remaining prisoners. I There is a devastating drought m the West Country, which is in a distressful condition. Residents in some places are dependent upon the railway tank for their water supplies. Trains carrying water tor stock are running into the interior. Passengers arriving from Now Guinea charge the Commonwealth with neglect of the territory and state that almost the whole of the revenue is swallowed up hy the cost of administration.