Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld. : 1907 - 1954), Tuesday 12 April 1927, page 6


TUESDAY. APRIL. 12. 1927.

The farmers on the Lower Burde- kin, all of whom are. compelled to ir-rigate or lose their crops, are highly Indignant at the new Water Tax which penalises them for turning a wilder-

noes, Into one of the most productive agricultural districts In Australia, And tbls too, after a stretch of the driest, year* ever experienced since white settlement has existed. Were It not for tbe irrigatlanlsts ot the Lower Burdekin, there would only be about four cattle stations in that area employing a round total of say ttventySve while men and a few aboriginals, To-day there ore probably about 7000 people on tbe Burdekin, end the ports of TownsvfUe and Bonen would have many leas people, were It not lor the , work provided by the exports and lm- ports of our great sugar centre. Those 7000 people pay land taxes. Income taxes, railway freights, hotel license fees, and io otber ways contribute tens ot thousands of pounds to the State and Federal revenues. All this has been made possible by tbe practice of Irrigation, which has not cost the Government a single farthing. The' farmers have spent money, hundreds of thousands ot pounds on pumping plants, and are entirely responsible for the development ot the Bdrdekln. and to tax thtsni for their enterprise, appears to be the meanest political action recorded for some time. It almost seems that the tax has been Imposed to bring the irrlgators to something like the same cost for water, as applies In the Home Bill section, wbere tbe State Government pumps and sells the liquid, at a high cost to tbe user, and the taxpayers; the latter having to make good the losses. There is a general determination on the Bur-dekin not to pay the tax, which also applies to artificial watering places all over the State. Certainly such a unanimous resistance as that pro-posed by the Burdekin farmers, would draw useful worldwide attention to the way in which Loan spoilt and sup-ported Australian Governments, are inflicting taxation, to meet the interest on these all devouring borrowings. Australian politicians are eagerly Intriguing, to get a big share ot the thirty odd millions, which Great Britain has promised In order to settle grltlsli I people in Australia. These millions of 1 pounds are to open up and -J»velop i Australia. If these enormous sums ' do come here, and are devoted to development, what will U benefit the British migrant, who settles on the land, and Is promptly taxed and arbitration awarded off Jt. One tiling the Lowrr Burdekin neoplo could do, Is to send full details of the Water Tat to the Migration Commission In London, pointing out what Is happening In overtaxed Queensland to those who

oi producers, almost entirely rnrry the loan-monterlng money-wasting governments, which misgovern Au«iralia. and who by their overwhelming taxation, are steadily limiting the production of the countrv. A grand musical moonlight cgcurdon to -Picnic Bay. In aid of the Railway Ambulance Corps, will leave Hayles's' landing to-night at II o'clock. Special Easter holiday -trips to Magnetic Inland by Rayles' I lunches Malando. Mngneta, nnd Mandalay, are advertised. Competitors In own choice Items at the Eisteddfod are required to hand coplea of their music to the secretary not later than Thursday. McKlmmln'A Easter Week Shopping Hours. Tuesday and Wednesday 8.85 a.m. until 6. SO p.m. Thumrtny 8. !-& a.m. until 9 p.m. Cloned -all day Friday. Baturrtny. and /Monday,' business as usual, Tuesday 19th.* The Past Brothers' Football club 'dvertlse n monster football excursion | '?» Home HJ11 on Rondny, AMI 84th. ''trlies have heen arranged between ' * Club's «snlor 'and Junior grade i -?'» and Ayr. ' An onen-alr pubilft meeting «f the Fnlrfleid and Malta Progress .AssoclaOfflclal Trustee, ana the .first muting

tion, at which Councillors Brookhouse and Cordlngloy will make addresses, will be held at Oonoonba to-nigbt at 8 o'clock. A programme of thrills Is announ- , red for to-night by the Show Grounds Speedway Committee, Including s six up all powers scratch race tor the Golden Helmet. The first event com- ' menced at I o'clock. 'Buses return to town from the Speedway. The TownBVllle Cricket Association present a dance and bridge evening In honor of the New South Wales cricketers, in the School of Arts on Saturday night. The proceeds of the evening will be donated to the Ambulance. -The work of emptying the bunker of the steamer Macedon, In which there was an outbreak of fire last week, was completed on Sunday night, and the vessel Is now coaling again. It Is expected the Moeedon will sail to-night or to-morrow morning for Cairns, en route to Ocean Island. The Railway Manager (Mr A.' J. I Crowther), on Monday reported all clear on the Townsville— Calms line. The malls'whlch ran on Sunday, euffeerd some delay at Tully waiting for tbe flood waters to subside sufficiently for them to ctosb, but on Mondav there were no such obstructions, and the train from Calms reached Towdbrllje according to schedule. At the conclusion ot a Cabinet meeting in Brisbane on Monday, (telegraphs our correspondent), It was announced by the Minister tor Education that In accordance with the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Tork. It had been decided to give a week's holiday to State school children of Queensland, In honor of the Royal visit This would commence on Tuesday, April 18. Immediately after Easter, and the schools would re-open on~ Tuesday, April 28. . A man named William Douglas Ferguson appeared, on remind, at the Police Court on Monday, charged with having, on 2nd April, tt South TownsvlUe, unlawfully done grievous bodily harm to one Robert Owens. Mr J. P. A. Qulnn (Instructed by Messrs Wilson, Ryan, and Orose), appeared for defendant. Sub-Inspector O'Sutllvan asked for a remand until Thursday, stating that the man was not yet out of danger. The remand was granted, ball being extended. A number of rail motor cars are being constructed In the Ipswich railway workshops, and It Is the Department's intention to place the first of these on fines where they have to contend with road motor competition. Tbe line from Cairns to Qordonvale and Aloomba. Is the northern one, which is suffering most from road competition, and It is proposed to send one of the motors there when completed. The cars are- etronidy built and of attractive design, and with tbe attached trailer wJU be capable of carrying 60 tassengers. Industrial trouble Is pending on. the Duchess to Mount lea railway construction works, over the delivery ot incat and bread to tile ranches. It has been the custom on most railway construction works for the Government to erect stores and butcher shops, for the convenience of the men employed. The men omployed on the Duchess— Mt. Isa l:ne requested that this be done, but the Department could not see Its way to do so. Now, It 1b undnrstood, tbe private butcbens at Duchess have placed Id per lb. delivery charge on their wares, and this the men refuse o pay. and consequently hove been cut oft from their supplies of meat. Word was received by tiie District Sccrotnry of the A.W.U. (Mr- P. J. Colllll) on Monday, that the men were going to cease work to-day. It the Railway Department does not see that- the goods are carried free frnm the Duchess to the railway camps along the- line. The Union officials here are in touch with the Department In Brisbane on the matter. A petition (or liquidation by arrangement or composition with credltnm was filed with the Registrar (Mr J.i s. Comer ford) at the Supreme Courthoune on Monday, on hehslf of Arthur Wlllesley Cowley, of Ay.-, farmer. The petitioner estimates his Indebtedness as CS7E4 15s -0d. The list of creditors Include the following: Pioneer Mills Ltd. £1677 11s lOd: A. J. Green, Brandon, £667 Is 7d: K. Q. Mortgage and Investment Co. Townsvllle. £426 Us: estate Albert Seldon. deceased. £101 0s 6d; Coutts Ltd., Ayr, £291; Smellle and Co. Ltd., Ayr. £174 2s 7d: A. S. Wight and Rons. Ayr. £57 12» 6d: McKlmmln and Richardson. Ayr. (.45 7s 6d: DevereuK and Douglas. Ayr, £*7; Carter and. Co.. Ayr, £i2 6s; Lennons Ltd., Ayr, £10 17s 6d: ana 10 others for lesser amounts. (Mr A. E. Dean, solicitor for petitioner) . The first genersl meetIng of creditors hss been summoned to be he)fl at the office ot Mr C. Q. M. Boyce, Ltd., Ayr, on Tuesday, 3rd May. At the Supreme Courthouse, before Mr Justice Pouciad. In Chambers, on Monday, Vlttorlno Mnrlo Marco Zavattoro, of Inghara, storekeeper, was adjudicated Insolvent on the petition of Frank FYaser Ltd. The creditors' petition showed Znvsttaro was Indebted to the Company In the sum of £186 10s lid, end had committed an act of Insolvency, In that whilst at a creditors* meeting he was offered A composition, and was requested by. « majority of creditors tc present an insolvency petition he failed to «o «o for 48 hours, without excuse. (Messrs Connolly and Suthers, as town agent* for Men«r« ChaiianAs and Swayne, nollMtors for petitioning rredltor). Th» Tuhllc Curator was appointed Official Trustee, nnd the first mpftlnr of creditors flwd'for !«tb At-rO.— Hetnetrlns Venconoulon. of tnrfiiiin, oafepronrletor. war nfliufllrntud Inmiifpnt on bis own ttetltlon. -Me»w« .Wilrnin. TCvon fintl nrnne, a* town ftffepufjror Mr R. J. w»l«1i. w-1lc!tor for petttlanerX. The Public Curator wtt« annotated ol creditors fixes tor «lh AprU. \