ide From Our Own Melbourne, Feb. 14.
There is little to add concerning the shipping hold-up, except to say that matters seem to get worse instead of better. Recently the Seamen's Union elected its new executive, and though the actual mumber of votes polled seems absurdly small the extremist leaders were elected to the chief offices by large majorities. It is one of the curious features of extreme indus-/ trialism and revolutionary pro-Waganda that while they defy existing laws, and see in govern-! ments elected by great majorities of the people mere obstacles to be thwarted at every turn, the moment an_ extremist by a few score votes} gains a Presidency of a union he is regarded as the choice of all, and to oppose him is treachery of the deepest dye. The new representatives of the maritime unions refuse to forgo any of the advantages they have won during the last few months by detached strikes or threats, and the shipowners refuse to untie their ships until they get an assurance that the unions will in future abide by constitutional methods, The unions have made a further appeal to the Prime Minister to establish a tribunal to say amongst other things whether or not they should continue to enjoy the proceeds of recent raids.
The! thi shipowners contend that this; analogous with the burglar, who demands arbitration as, Correspondent. ment sits until the Australian capital is built and made habitable, a rather wild newspaper economy campaign. It is not very convincing, because the agitators really know very little of their subject. The Government is mainly attacked for things which were done by its predecessors, or which it might do itself during the course of the nest few years. It is noteworthy that some of the very politicians who might be expected to attack the Government while it is led by Mr. Hughes are actually defending him, and stating that the Governmment is being as economical as it is possible for it to be. It is true that largely increased revenues have been received in excess of anti. cibations, especially through Customs and Excise duties, but these increases must continue the Treasury is to receive the tot. estimated revenue of £63,000.000. For the first six months ending last December it has barely cvilected one-half that sum. On the expenditure side it was estimated by the Treasurer, Sir Joseph Cook, that the increase, largely due to items arising out of the war, would be £18,000,000, but for the first six months the increase has been barely £7,000,000.
An economy campaign against an expenditure which is so much belo the amounts approved by Parliament is, as I have said, not_ very convincing. Senator Millen, Minister for Repatriation,, who has team was undoubtedly quite outclassed. It was practically a professional team, and there is some reason to think that it did not pull too well together. It started rather badly with some inexcusable fielding blunders, and its position was not made better by the fact that some of its members were unburdening themselves by cable ito the English newspapers, and their candid criticisms both of themselves and the Australian terowds, the umpires and their opponents, did not make for that complete accord and harmony which can alone win matches brought up to such a degree of scientific and cathletio perfection as modern But if the visitors were not quite a happy family it is certain that there is some strong ill-feeling Australia between the playing cricketers and the body controlling Australian cricket. This took the most extraordinary form the other day. Armstrong, the Australian captain and quite possibly the best all-round cricketer in the world ti-day, was not picked for a match between the Victorians and the Englishmen. It was not a match of first-class. importance, but {Armstrong is a Victorian, The selectors gave no explanation. At once the Melbourne newspapers forgot the shipping strike, the economy campaign, and the evil deeds of the Commonwealth, and.twned upon the selectors. The papers published columns of excited comment and indignant correspondence. Armstrong had been insulted, ignored, driven out of cricket, and so on. He declined to {make a statement except to say that what he was charged with was not true, For days on end there was no to whether or not he should) retain his loot. After some delay the Prime Minister has stated: definitely that he will not interfere, adding that already the Commonwealth ships have been mulcted in £250,000 by the extreme methods, and further that no promise or been representing Australia at the League of Nations Assembly at Geneva, has carried out one important financial transaction, which was left unattended to by his predecessor, Mr. Watt, who suddenly threw up his brief when in London carly last year. During the war other subject talked of in train, tram, home or office. The war hardly aroused as much interest in the Victorian capital. One might strive to find out what it was all about, but no-one seemed to know.
was sufficient to say that the selectors should be compelled to assurance. given by the extreme the Imperial Government incurred, resign, and that this sort of thing can be accepted as extending a great deal of expenditure on Aus- had been going on for 20 beyond the time when it suits them tralia's account, chiefly for trans- years. At last delegates from the to abide by it. 1 port, equipment and maintenance various clubs in the Cricket As-So blunt an assertion that the of troops in the field. The total of sociation met to hear the report of leaders, just chosen, are not to be this unsecured overdraft in the Imthe Board of Control. The first trusted to honour their promises perial books amounted to no 'e: s thing they did was to exclude the has naturally made the leaders a sum than £92,000,000. Senator reporters on the grounds that the furious, and they declare that the!
Millen has reached an agreement newspapers could not be trusted to men are furious also, and will re-with the British Chancellor of the give an unbiassed report. Later main on strike indefinitely, and Exchequer by which this sum will.on we were officially told that possibly even extend the area of be funded on the basis of 6 per Armstrong's explanation had been disturbance. On the other hand, cent. to be paid annually for in-accepted, but it was regretted that it is certain that the men want toi terest and redemption. This pay-on some previous occasion he had get back to work. They have not ment, which will aggregate about not allowed the manager of the yet fully appreciated the real £5,000,000 a year, will extinguish Victorian team to know that he meaning of being hard-up, nor _the/ the debt within 37 years. Lit#Hle could not play until a few minutes terrific pressure which the thou-! attention has been raid in the press before a match.
Less than 50 sands who are-being thrown idle, (0 this important transaction, the years hence the student of sport apart from the maritime unionists, can bring to bear on them. When they do this the simple desire Es return to the ships will take the form -of insistence, even to the extent of breaking away from the anions.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.