AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 24 November 1916, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

THE COAL STBIKE. WHAT WILL THE GOVERNMENT DO ? SYDNEY, Nov 23. The Miners' general secretary savs there is absolutely no hope of a settlement being reached unless the employers give an eight hours bank to bank. The miners have waived all other claims, but that stands. Train services everywhere have been reduced to a minimum.

Tlie public are anxiously awaiting the result of to-morrow's compulsory conference. It is freely stated that it is time the Government intervened, as unless Mr Hughes has a reserve offer from the proprietors there are no prospects of an early settlement. Meanwhile the public continues to suffer. Domestic conveniences are being curtailed daily, and unemployment increases. Rumours of industrial dislocation are spreading throughout the country. AUSTRALIA HAS NOT PLAYED THE GAME. ADELAIDE, Nov 23. Lieutenant-Colonel Dollman Weir has returned from the front. Speaking at a luncheon, Lieutenant-Colonel Weir said it was almost impossible to conceive the magnitude of the war in France. The casualties were so great that it was imperative that Australian reinforcements should be continuous. He declared that when he heard aboard a transport the result of the conscription referendum he felt he could heap ashes on his head in misery. Australians had not played the game as British soldiers and men. He thought the visit of a few Zeppelins to Australia would do good.