Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Thursday 29 April 1920, page 2


BRISBANE NOTES, y j

(For the 'Tost" and "Her

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i¡:c ricroert rigiu.

week'have been turr -A«-«y*s this bert; in fact it as d- >SLSw-r 5

district had-such . ,f <*?r the before. Hundrr prominence whom probab' .«* %\^°P'Vnjlny °í difficulty in toe had great on one of fc rAsmtmR ont the locality ed of t' . *T '°"'CIS1 Waps, have talkand th "* herbert and its elections, pr¡r .ecjuntccs oí the two candidates. jjC X 1» 'tills "wcelc nobody seemed to r Asx shout thc. election, taking it

tDir granted that a district which reÍWitted "a labour man for the last 12

Years, and with nearly 1,000 majority only two years ago, would be held by the same partv with comparative ease. But this election has put the Herbert on thc map, as thc Americans say. The general opinion is that thc Na-tionalist party has scored a great moral victory. Mr. Filtclly, when thc seat seemed quite safe, made some outburst, ab'out ¡ts being an endorse-ment for thc Government, hut even the members of his own party jok-ingly say that if it docs not get a

much more substantial "endorsement" at thc next election, there won't be mucli of thc party left. To tear down a majority of nearly 1,000 votes to 47 is regarded as a great feat for thc Nationalist candidate, and a very ser-ious indictment of the Labour policy, even if there has not been any infla-tion of the roll. Mr. Fihclly denied that any suggestions were made that the farmers might lose thc Cane Prices Act unless the Labour candi-date was returned, but an extract from the candidate's speech has been published, completely justifying the inference that had been placed on it by Mr. Vowlcs. Mr. Fihelly likewise denied that any railway men had been introduced, but the official figures show a great influence of thc roll, no I matter where the new people came

from . Needless to say the Nationa-list party is jubliant and thc Herbert is looked upon as good as won for thc I next S'atc election. It is claimed that I every Labor seat now is worth chal-

lenging in the light of the Herbert

contest.

The Vice Regal Vacancy.-The general impression in Brisbane is that a new Governor will be appointed to Queensland almost immediately. The late Governor, Sir Hamilton GooldAdams. was on six months' leave of absence when he died at Capetown, and his appointments did not expire until next July. If he had lived, it is Tery probable that thc vacancy would have been filled until the expiration of his leave, but the matter of official etiquette has been removed by his sad and sudden death. It is probable, of course, that the Imperial Govern-ment may be asked to stay its hand until the. arrival in England of Mr. Theodore. But by that time the Queensland delegation will have ar-rived in England with its request for thc; appointment of a new Governor. As Mr. Theodore is mainly concerned about getting money from thc Eng-lish financiers, it is scarcely likely that he will prefer any very urgent , request for a Jocal Governor, lest it I might militate against his principal mission. That being so. it seems proI bable that a Governor will be appoint! ed while Mr. Theodore is in England. That is the linc of reasoning most

often lijdrdJin the city this week on

the- suaject, and it is advanced by some constitutional authorities.

[ Retirement of The Judges.-Though

, the House is not likely to meet before I next August, it is stated pretty defini-

tely that one of thc Bills o be introI duced will be that providing for the

retirement of three judges of the Sup-reme Court. The subject was dis-cussed at one of the meetings of the Caucus prior to thc adjournment of thc House, and it is sáid that the party definitely decided on that .Bill, So certain are a number of thc sup-porters of the party on the subject, that they freely discuss it, and just as

freely discuss the probable successors, all of whom are very well known men.

Romance of an Earldom.-Brisbane society had its spice of romance this week when it was announced that the Honourable B. B. Moreton, at the age

of 86-years, had become heir to thc Earl of Ducie who is 93 years. The Moretons are a long-lived family and it appears to have been the death of the only son of the Earl, at the age of more than 60 years, wfiich brought the genial, kind-hearted "B. B." so prominently into the limelight. Everybody, of course, knew that he was a son of the second Earl of Ducie, and brother of the present Earl, blit interest in the Moreton family, and in the work of the Honourable B. B. Moreton in the Queensland Parliar ment, naturally provided an interes-ting subject of romance.

The Ferries.-The undisputed loss on the running of the Brisbane Ferry Service is between £5,000 and £6,000 per year, or about half of the capital value invested in them. Nothing, ap-parently can bc done to cut out that loss, though it is not.for the want of talking about it. Every year, and each year round, the ferries provide an evergreen subject for heated discus-sion at the City Council Table, but still the loss goes on. Aldermen arc very much divided over the proper solution of the trouble. Some favour free ferries, and others demand that they should be made to pay even if it required increased fares. There is, however, a good deal of the parish pr.mp business associated -with the whole system. It is significant at any

rate that those who want free ferries, are those who represent the special localities which the ferries serve. Just at the moment another movement is afoot to put the survicc on a busi-ness fooinfr. From'this week end the old Custom House ferry,', which has been running for something like 60 years, will not bc in commission on Sundays. It is only being/run on Sundays according to a civic dignitary to "give work to the staff and burn fuel". In future, therefore, it .will cease its expensive Sabbath trips, and Kangaroo Pointers, wishing to attend city churches will bc compelled to

patronise thc Edward * Street ferp-.

Of course tte said Kangaroo Poin-ters are nosing a rumpus, but the Council is going straight ahead with

the alteration. And apparently this is ¡ only the first lesson in ferry econo-mics as the bigger question of increas-ing fares all round in order "to enable thc ferry receipts to cover the dis-bursements, and also to provide a reasonable percentage to cover de-preciation ot plant;" is now formally before the Council.

The Trams.-The franchise of the Brisbane Tramways Company ter-minates : in September next, so thc announcement that the Government

is taking action with- a view to taking over.the system in October is signi-ficant. Government representatives, arc to inspect and report on the plant at an early date', and thereafter thc negotiations will proceed which arc expected to ultimately place the trams in the hands of the local authorities. First, however, under thc Tramways Purchase Act, they must bc acquired by the Government, ano it is contend-ed in some Local Authority Circles that further enabling legislation must be passed before the Local Authorities interested can take them over. Thc most interesting point to be decided, however, involving as it does hundreds of thousands of pounds, is thequcs-.

tîon of good will. lt.is a comparati-vely simple matter to estimate thc value of plant and machinery, but it will probably require thc assistance of the Law Courts to decide what the good will of thc system is worth in pounds sterling and what thc legal liability is of the acquiring authority to pay it. Meantime, however, thc City Council and thc Tramways Com-pany arc likely to have a tilt at each other in thc Law Courts on their own account. Thc company is liable to the Council under agreement for. the maintenance and renewel of, i8 inches of roadway on each side of,, and be-tween thc rails along the "'tramway routes. Thc Company, it is alleged, instead of putting tarred metal into some of these renewals, as demanded by the Council, are replacing thc old material taken out. The Council has,, therefore, decided to test thc position by taking a special section of roadway where thc Company has failed to com-ply, with the Council's notices, carry out the repairs themselves, charge the cost to the Company, and if necessary sue for its recovery. The Council has further decided to apply for an in-junction restraining the Company from renewing a certain section of the roadway at the Valley-at present in course of repair-with such mater-ials as are not in accordance with the Council's desires.-E. B. Dore, Ed-ward Street, .Brisbane.