AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9039, 24 January 1908, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

THE LAING MAIL SYNDICATE. WRIT FOR £25,000 ISSUED. Received January 23, 10.38 a.m. MELBOURNE, January 23. The Federal Government has issued a writ to recover the guarantee of £25,000 made in connection with the Laing Syndicate for the mail contract. A STEAMER ASHORE. CREW SAFE. Received January 23, 6.10 p.m. SYDNEY, January 23. The Norwegian steamer, Thode Fogeland, from Adelaide to Sydney, in ballast, is ashore on Cronulla beach. She lies hard and fast on the rocks in a bad position. The crew are safe, and a tug is standing by. BUSH FIRES IN TASMANIA. MINING CAMPS DESTROYED. Received January 23, 10.38 a.m. HOBART, January 23. Bush fires have isolated thi West Coast for some days past. A number of mining camps round Zeehan were destroyed. RAIN WANTED IN NEW SOUTH WALES. FARMERS IN DIRE STRAITS. , Received January 23, 10.24 am. SYDNEY, January 23. South Coast farmers are in dire straits though want of rain. Sydney's milk supply is threatened. The price has been raised to 6d a quart. SHOCKING "ACCIDENT. EXPLOSION AT A MINE. Received January 23, 10.38 a.m. PERTH, January 23. A premature explosion at the Associated Mine, Kalgoorlie, badly injured two men. One, a contractor, named Watson, had both eyes blown out. CONFERENCE OF RACING DELEGATES. THE NEW GAMING ACT. ALTERATION IN -THE RULES OF RACING. WELLINNGTON, January 23.

A conference of representatives of, the New Zealand Jockey Clubs was held, to-day, at the Chamber oi Commerce, Wellington. Sir George Clifford, the president, was in the chair. The meeting was called to consider five notices of motion relating to alterations in the rules of racing, arising out of the operation of the new "Gaming Act. The President explained that this., special meeting had been convened in accordance with the powers vested in him. It was inadvisable to call it earlier, because then the Conference would have had no experience of the working of the Act to guide them. Since the "Act had been enforced several important race meetings had been held. These furnished much valuable data for the delegates. It was the duty of the racing clubs to conform to the spirit of the Act, which m many of its details had been drawn up without sufficient regard to the practical workings of race meetings. He regretted that !no steps had been taken to obtain the opinions of th«* conference prior to introducing the measure. Tb.e experience acquired during the holiday meetings pointed to the great distinction between the large and small club. He considered that the large meetings would not be prejudiced by the Act, but on the other hand the small clubs are bound to suffer severely. He instanced the recent Whangarei meeting, where the bookmakers offered a lump sum of £IOO for the privilege of betting, and when this was refused, nominated two of their number to do the betting. He directed the attention of the framers of the Act to this incident. The president stated that he had drawn up a memorandum embodying experiences acquired at the Manawatu, Dunedin and Christchurch races in connection with the Act, which might assist members when in committee. The conference then went into committee. The following alterations to the rules of racing were agreed upon by the conferenc: —Part VI., rule 7, That the word "unlicensed" bo inserted before the word "person" in the twenty-third line. This amendment gives the Metropolitan Committee power to refuse to pas the programme of any club that per" rnits an unlicensed person to carry on the business of a bookmaker; part XXX., rule 14, that the words "a shilling" be struck out and the word "sixpence" be substituted. This amendement provides for the payment of dividends to the sixpence; part XXX., rule 19, this rule, which stipulated the penalty which was incurred by any racing club official, who delayed the start of a race to allow jnore time for the investment of moneys on the totalisor, was struck out entirely; part XXX., rule 18, this rule provided that the totalisalor shall be closed immediately after the start, and no moneys be accepted or investments permitted after the totalisator has been closed. The rule was struck out.