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On this Page 16
THE
WESTERN ARGUS
PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY.
KALGOORLIE, FEB. 21, 1911.
STRENGTHENING FEDERA-
TION.
Mr. Wade, ex-Premier of New
South Wales, has started the cam-
paign in opposition to the referen-
dum proposals of the Federal Go-
vernment. It is told of a great law-
yer of history that, when he started
to address the jury in a celebrated
case, he actually mistook the side
on which he was engaged, and went
on making out a strong case for the
other side despite the hints and
nudges of the solicitor who had
briefed him. The warnings of the
solicitor, however, had their due
effect, although he appeared not to
mind. "And now,' said Curran,
"having put forward all that can
possibly be said on the other side, I
will proceed to demolish the argu-
ments that are to be expected from
my learned friend" — which, accord-
ingly, he did very effectively. Mr.
Wade has started in just the same
manner, by deducing most of the
best arguments to be used by those
who approve of the proposals of the
Federal Government, but, so far, he
has made no attempt to refute them
— he has not proceeded to demolish
them. He says that "the immense
strides that would be made in the
direction of unification would mean
that the State Constitutions would
to reduced to impotence in order to
strengthen federation." Just so !
Anything that will tend towards the
strengthening of federation is of all
things desirable, especially when it
weakens the State's power to go
wrong. Mr. Hughes has repeatedly
intimated that the immense ad-
ditional powers asked for by the
Federal authorities will be exercised
only when the necessity arises, if
and when it do arise. Mr. Wade
quotes Mr. Fisher and Mr. Hughes
as having said that these extended
powers "were not intended to be
used," and wanted to know, there
fore, why they should be demanded.
Neither Mr. Fisher nor Mr. Hughes
said anything of the kind. What
they did say was to the effect that
they would not factiously interfere
with the States, but would allow
them to go on as they were doing
as long as they behaved reasonably.
Some of the States may need super-
vision more than others, and, when
any of them go too far, power should
be vested in some supreme authority
to pull them up and force them to
go ordinarily straight. As was
fully anticipated, the objections to
the referenda are coming chiefly
from members of State Governments
and State politicians and members
of Parliament. The general public
should be glad of the prospect of
fairer treatment than they usually
receive from the State authorities.
One incalculable advantage that
would come to the States if the
people say "Yes" on the referendum
papers will be visible in the check
that would thereby be given to cen-
tralisation. This is the lion in the
path of Australian progress. As re-
gards most of the States, self-go-
vernment means at present govern-
ment, by the capital and not by the
State generally. Such a state of
affairs could never exist under uni-
fication. The scheme of neglecting
the best industries of the States for
the sake of the capitals, of develop-
ing the capitals instead of the coun-
try lands, and all in the interests
of' the city prpoperty-owners, has
been one of the chief hindrances to
the advance of Australia, and any
means are desirable that will help to
reverse this suicidal policy. It has
been noticed that in New South
Wales, although a Labour Govern-
ment is in power locally, the Labour
party show some disposition to set
themselves in opposition to the
policy of the Federal Labour party,
and the members of the local Parlia-
ment particularly do so. Even mem-
bers of the Labour Government of
the mother State, possibly in some
fear lest their powers may be
diminished, or afraid of losing the
support of some of their fair-
weather friends, are disposed to act
against the wishes of the Federal
Government. The strife for the ac-
ceptance of the Federal Govern-
ment's referendum proposals is ex-
pected to be strenuous, but the will
of the people themselves should
prevail, in spite of the op-
position of some of their self-inter-
ested representatives. Mr. Hughes,
the Federal Attorney General, re-
ferring briefly to Mr. Wade's
arguments, evidently does not con-
sider them worthy of much serious
notice. Mr. Wade has been for a
long time threatening what he was
going to do when he opened his op-
position campaign. And now the
blow has fallen, and nobody hurt,
except perhaps his own side. The
mountain has laboured and brought
forth, after much bluster and threat-
ening, nothing more harmful than a
ridiculous mouse.The argument that
to vote "Yes" on the referenda
papers would mean a strengthening
of the Federal power is certainly not
one that is likely to cause the majo-
rity to-vote "No." Throughout the
whole Commonwealth to-day federa-
tion is probably more popular than
ever since its inauguration, and the
inclination of the people seems to
be growing stronger in the direction
of giving the Federal authorities
more power. The rejection of the
Financial Agreement showed, that
the electors of Australia desired
that the Commonwealth Parliament
should have a perfectly free hand as
regards the Customs and excise re-
venue, and the coming referenda
will no doubt clearly prove that
freedom of Commonwealth action.
These referenda may, however, be
but the forerunner of other and
even still more important re-ferenda.
"Public Health Very Good." —Dr.
J. G. :-Macmillan, medical officer,
states, in his report to the health
committee of the Kalgoorlie Coun-
cil: — I am pleased to be able to re-
port the public health of your dis-
trict at present as being very good.
During the month ending to-day we
have only had three cases of noti-
fiable infectious disease reported,
these being of typhoid two and one
of diphtheria. The diphtheria case
occurred in Butler-street in a family
previously affected, and the typhoid
cases in Hannan and Egan streets
respectively. Since the first of the
present month no cases of notifiable
disease have been reported at your
office. The Infectious Diseases
Hospital at present has no patients
in residence the last admission being
the diphtheria case mentioned.
Routine matters in connection with
the health department have been
carried on as usual. The district I
consider generally to be in a fair
sanitary condition."
Town Hall Lime Light.-Mr. D.
Curle Smith, municipal electrical
engineer, states in a recent report
to the finance commnittee of the Kal-
goorlie Council :-"It would be ad-
vantageous to install limelights with
necessary gas generator in the Town
Hall for stage lighting purposes.
Most theatrical companies use this
light, to produce which they have to
bring their own plant and special
man, at an average cost of 27/ per
night per lime light. An expendi-
ture of £50 would install a suitable
plant, and the average cost of run-
ning would be 12/3 per lime per
night. The council could therefore
afford to supply limes at, say, £1
per night each, and make a profit of
7/9 per lime; this on the basis of
last year's limes used by companies
would yield a profit of over £50 per
annumn. The actual amount of pro
fit is not very great, but anything
tending to make the hall more popu-
lar with companies is worthy of at-
tention, and I therefore recommend
that the work be carried out." The
committee have recommended the
adoption of the suggestion.
Death of a Pioneer Bandsman.-
On Saturday morning one of the
identities of Boulder, and one of the
leading pioneer bandsmen of the
fields, in the person of Mr. Richard
Thomas, passed suddenly away. He
went to work on the Australia mine
as usual on Friday, but feeling his
throat sore he returned home. He
did not regard his case as very seri-
ous, as he that afternoon asked his
wife to attend the funeral of an old
friend, Mr. Joseph Knuckey, as he
did not feel equal to going himself.
On the Saturday morning he took a
bad turn, heart complications super-
vening on diphtheria, and he passed
away quietly and suddenly. His
son, who also works on the Austra-
lia mine, left home that morning
feeling satisfied that his father's
condition was not such as need cause
alarm, and the first he heard to
the contrary was when a message
was sent to him that his father was
dead. The deceased came from
Broken Hill to Coolgardie in 1893
with the reputation of being
amongst the leading cornet players
of Australia, and he justified
his reputation. He then came
to Boulder, where he became
associated with the Boulder
Mines Band, to which his
Services proved a source of strength
and enabled the band to show
marked improvement. He then
threw in his lot .With the A.W.A.
Band, which, quickly rose to the
leading position amongst the bands
of the State, finally winning one
year's championship at Ballarat.
Mr. Thomas then took over the
Boulder Boys' Band, and proved
himself as good a conductor as he
was a player, and under his charge
the lads made great progress. The
deceased had a very happy disposi-
tion. and, in addition to his quali-
fications as a player, he had a good
style of dealing with young players
in the ring. The deceased bands-
man's remains were on Sunday re-
moved from his late residence to the
Boulder Cemetery in the presence
of a large crowd of people, to whom
Dicky" Thomas was a well-known
figure. About eighty members from
the three bands of the district led
the funeral procession playing "The
Dead March in Saul," and imme-
diately behind them and in front of
the hearse marched a dozen ex-
bandsmen, who in some band or
other had been associated with the
deceased player. Behind the hearse
came the Iron and Sheet Metal Lab-
ourers' Union, of which deceased
was a member, and then came a long
array of private vehicles containing
prominent citizens and members of
deceased had come in contact during
his long.and honourable career as a
Boulder' bandsman. The Rev. A. W.
Bray read the burial service, and at
the close the Boulder Band played
"Lead, Kindly Light."
An Act of, Delirium.-Keen regret
was expressed in Boulder on Satur-
day when it became known that Mr.
T. J. Brett was in a critical condi-
tion. He had been found with a
serious wound in his throat. Dur-
ing the morning he had become light
headed from the combined effects of
pneumonia and fever, and during the
tempaorary absence of his wife, he,
in a fit of delirium, is supposed to
have made an attempt upon his
life. Fortunately Mrs. Brett was
on her guard, lest he should do
something calculated to aggravate
his complaints, though she did not
anticipate such an act as he at-
tempted, and she was in time to
summon assistance. Medical aid
was quickly available, and the
latest report is that the patient's
condition is decidedly hopeful, and
that the fever has considerably abat-
ed. Mr. Brett is a highly esteemed
resident of the district, and has at
all times been closely identified with
cricket and football on the gold-
fields.
New Reserve For the Kalgoorlie
Council. —The Governor-in-Council
has acceded to the request of the
Kalgoorlie Council to grant that
body fifty acres of ground lying close
to the sanitary station. The land
has been set apart for a paddock for
the local board of health, and num-
bered "Reserve 13195." Dealing
with the question of utilising this
paddock the sanitary manager says
in a report to the health committee
of the council:-"In reference to
the matter of fencing in the new re-
serve of 50 acres at the sanitary
stables, I would advise that the
whole be fenced in immediately; the
cost would not exceed £60. The
greater part of this amount would
be saved in horse feed during the
coming winter and spring. There
are 10 acres of ground at the depot
which could be used for cultivation
purposes; it would cost £15 to put
in the dividing fences and to make
the outside fences goat-proof. It is
too far away from the stables for
us to use to the best advantage, but
if fenced would, I think, easily let
for £1 per acre per year. This sum
would soon cover the cost of the
fence, and if the ground was culti-
vated for two or three years, would
be the surest way of rendering it
inoffensive. The report was adopt-
ed, and the committee recommended
that the fencing of both blocks be
carried out."
Death of an Interesting Old
Pioneer.-- On Friday afternoon a
grave in the Boulder Cemetery
served to close the last chapter in
the career of an interesting old
pioneer and personality, in Mr.
Joseph Knuckey, who, it is stated,
was for four years past the oldest
trades unionist in Australia. His
early days were spent under circum-
stances calculated to develop self-
reliance, as he was one of the now
attenuated band who sought at the
Eureka stockade, to gain that re-
dress of their grievances which was
not forthcoming from appeals to
Constitutioal resources. He was a
member of the Miners' Union in the
easterrn State, but on coming to the
West in the early days of the indus-
try he secured an engine-drivers'
certificate, and thereupon became a
member of the Engine-drivers' Asso-
ciation, He was a regular attendant
at the meetings, and was present at
the last one held a few days before
his death. His end was peaceful.
While sitting in his chair, he sud-
denly felt the stream of life was
ebbing fast, and he remarked to his
wife that he could not see, and that
he was done for. A few minutes
after, he ceased to breathe. He was
79 years of age. The deceased al-
ways kept well abreast of modern
trades union ideals, and was always
a prominent figure in political cam-
paigns in the Boulder distiict. He
leaves a grown-up family. His re-
mains were interred in the Boulder
Cemetery on Friday afternoon. The
general executive and members of
the Boulder branch of the A.C.E.
D.A. marched in front of the hearse
from the deceased's late residence
to the grave. The Rev. A. W.
Bray read the burial service.
Postal Employees' Association.
Mr. W. H. Coombe presided over a
large meeting of the goldfields
branch of the Postal Association
(General division). Eight new mem-

rhom were telegraph messengers.
The saecretary was instruoted t' 'in
q.uire from Perth if provision is
made in the rules for compensating
the telegraph boys for using their
own cycles for official duty. The
long-standing promise that the 5
per cent. increase in district al
Jowance, granted to the coastal dis
tricts, would be ertended to .the
fields, not having been fulfilled, it
was agai n' brought up for discus
sion- The speakers considered it
was scandalous that a matter of so
much importance to the goldfidds
offiers should be delayed so long
by the authorities. One speaker
pointed out that' while a proeras
iinating policy was pursued in grant
in¶ the increase to the officers, £200
per year had been added to the
Commissioner's salary. .which he
ooasidered was decidedly unfair to
the -officers. A motion was carried
that letters be sent to Messrs.
Mallon and Lynch, and the Post
slaster-General, reminding them of
their pro'mnies revardina 'the 5 per
cenit, and urgently requesting that
something definite be done in the
matter before members leave for the
coronation. Mr. Thomas O. Davies!
was elected unoprosed to the vacant
secretarship. The new secretary
is an energetic member, and as
secretary is likely to prove an ae
guisition .to the associatioi . Mr.
WV. J: Trusootit was appointed as
sistant secretary.. As no. reply to
the protest sent with reg'ard to the
new. uniforms was received, no ac
tion was taken, but the officials ex-'
e-ct a definite anewer 'before tie
nextt neetin.' .
' The Weeks Weather.-Thie 'Fed
eral Weather Bureau, Perth, sup
plies the following notes for the
w'eek ending bebruary t5 :--A some
what unueual type of weather, mark
ed the opening days of the week.
A "high" pressure area was shown
on the, smouth coast, while the de
preasion which had caused the
severe weather on the north-west
.coast was oueasrng oat at sea. This
affectced west eoastal areas, and
outLh-west and southern districts,
and nlnsetted cloudy weaLther, with
cool easierly winds predominated,
while a' few oatened shocweri wern
reppoted f<rom west coastal stations.
These eonditions slowly diapensed as
the depression moved southwards..
and rwitha the a'dvent of a slight
"hh" .pressure on the stuth-west
oast.: pleasant summer weather was
experienced tIhe following two
days. On tse 'i3th, however, tem
.per'atures .cs3mnence4 to rise as the
"high" nmoved round to the south
coast, and _allowed all south-west
era "districts to come within the
influence o<f the tropical weather. On
the fields the eonditions have Been
controlled during the week' by the
"high" on the south coast, the re
aul~ug weather being fine, with
cool to moderate temperatures for
the most; part. In the'tropics and
oa the Murchisan the usual sum
naer weather has been in eridence,
Iigh temr?erlatures with scattered
thunder~terms, chiefly in teid Kim
bherly, being reported.
Unimproved Laud Values. - At:
Thursday's meeting of the Boulder
Council, the acting town clerk (Mr.
'H. L. Edwards) reported, in reply .to
a request by Cr. Daw, that it bhad
been estimated qrane years' ago that
the unimproved value of th-e land
of the mun~Icpailty wa~s ,£142,0i).1 . To
get a more up4?,-da?.te 'est!imate it
would 13be neceary to have a spe
cial valuation made. Cr. fDaw said
that even the esth~ate given by l!-e
acting town clerk was interesting
'The present volalation of the town
was £9i4O0, w'hieh t a 1/6 in the £
returuedL £ntt. He (Cr. Daw)
esiiitaed the eapital land vahles at
£1:ss,o000o, which on a rate of ,J6 in
the £ would return £10,125. The
present revenue from the general
'.ate could be raised onl a rate of a
trifle over. 3lid. in the £. It would
therefore be seen that a change to
a rate upon the unimproved values
would give. an increase in rates of
£4125, whilst the council, if they
did not. desire to raise so much,
could get in the prese:nt sum of
£6000 on a rate of hd. less than va.s
now fixed. Cr. Beston said he could
not quite follow Cr. Daw, and lihe
wouldrequire a deal more explana.
tion before he could consent to -atiy
change. To his mind Or. Dw ia
idea simply was to remove a por
tidia of the rates from the business
houses, which were able to pay their
present rate and transfer the same
to the landholder on the outsdle
areas, who was not so well able to
bear the rate; If a couple of
hundred pounds was taken 3ff a ig
hotel in the centre of the town, it
Mad to be put on to someone else

if the council were not to lose, and
be for one .'would. not 'consent to I
'having an'extira tax placed upon the
residence areas to make, up for it.
Cr. Daw would require to . go n;ore
fully into the question before he
would feel convinced that the
change was desirable. As there was
nothing formally before the cthrr, 1
the mayor blocked further discus-,
sion.
The Federal Referenda.--Mr. C.
M. Jordan, Br.omehill, writes to f
combat the letter from the Farm
ers' and Producers' Political Union
of West Australia asking .the elec
tors to vote "No" at the coming
federal referenda. Mr. Jordan
urges the electors to vote "Yes,"
and adds:-"The Deakin Govern
ment said that the Excise Act was
necessary. It passed the measure,,
and then the High Cpurt, said that
the Constitution didn't give it the
power to pass the Act. which the
Deakin Government said was neces
sary, Then the DIeakiu Government
said anothe' commercial measure
was necessary, and passed that too,
and again the High Court said that
the Constitution didn't give the
power. to pass the law w hich the
Deakin Government said was neces
sary. Finally, the same Govern
imeLt passed the Seamen's Compen
satioi Acit, and the High Court said
that .. the Constitution didn't give
power to pass that measure, though
the same Liberal Government said
it was necessary. Now, Sir. the
Farmers . and Producers' Poli
ticali Union support the Libe
'ral party who passed those
measures, .and said they were
necesesar, ..and are yet asking thie
Commonwealth electors to rote
"No," and stop those measures
from becoming law. It is true that
In the Commonwealth Constitu
flion shaped and approved 10 years
ago, National interest and powers'
were delegated to the Common
wealth.' That was 10 years .ago.
But since that time the Liberal
party, which the Farmers' and Pro
ducers' Political Union support,
have found that the present. Consti
tution is a. bar to progressive legis
ation ; and y-et we are asked to vote
"No" against the Acts nassed by
the Liberal party, and prevent tem
becoming Cons'titntional."
? Rechabitim.=_-The lodge-room at!
the i3oulder Friendly Societies' Hai
v?as crowded on Wednesda y night,
when the local tent held their meet
lug to. welcome the High Chief
I?tler of the Order. Bro. John Phil
]ipson, and ~1so the district secre
tary, Bro . W. Simpson. The local
C.R., Bro. W. Johns, occupied the
chair,l ,ail warmly welcomed the
visitors. l)Mri:ng the evening. the
High C(hief Riuer conducted the ini
tiation of several candidates intoi
the order, at the conclusion of which i
o-reumony his encouraging and in-r
s"stractive remarks were much appre
ciated. Eividence of the 'interest
aroused by this official visit was
shopwn by the close attention given
by the large number of muembers and
visitors present to all the infoarma
tion oh the order and the various
plans for a continuance of. its suc-;
cess that was given by the official
iisitors. At the close of the-lodge~
business '-a social was held, in' con
ircction -with which a musical pro
gramnme was contributed by mem
bers and friends. :
Presentatfin.. - On Wednesdoy
evening the members of the Boulder
Dors and Poultry Society met at the
Railtway i otel for the purpose of
makin~a a presentation to tbe secre
tary. Mr. Jas. Harris, who Ihas held
ofice for four years. Mr. 1Ncans,
rho presided, in presenting Mr.
Harris with a handsome framed
g.rinq of menihbers, said ltha
wLile he had acted as secre-tary the
society had made great progress,
and was now one of the leading so
ci-ties in the State. He had prov
ed a most energetic man, and man
aired to keen the outside public in
ter-ested in the doings of thle society.
Mr. Nedwell said he had been asso
ciated with Mr: Harris in the so-'
cietv for mnnuv years, and had found
thrt :n addition to being an enthu
nians Mr. Harris had displayed great I
y'dgn-ent in selectirn~ the men for
the different positions which htad to1
be filled on show day. Mr. Harris'
health was drunk with enthusiasm.
Mr, Harris said he would always 1
treasurhethe ha.ndsome presentation
which the men?bers hand seen fit to
make him. He might say that all
the members of the society were ei-I
thusiastic fanciers, and the commit
tee' in particular. They did a vast
amount of detail work during shows,
and lent him material assistmrde, for
which he had to heartily thank
them.- He was3 sorry that the Gov

crnment had cut down the maximum
i subsidy froim £25' t.' £L5, as the re
duction was a Abrious handicap to
the society. The toast of the visi
tors was also honoured. During the
evening songs and rlcitations were
rendered by Messrs. Jones, Ned
well, Mallion, Newman and }lutton,.
I Kalgoorlie Electric Tramways.
The statement of the traffic re
ceip's of the Kalgoorlie Electric
Tramways, L'd.4 for the morith of
Ja.nuary, shows the laki, gs w-re
£3244, and the estimated working
Iexpenses £2170 15/1, leaving a net
revenue of £1073 4/11.
Federal Land Tax Defaulters.-It;
is officiatly notified that Federal
I'land tax returns are due on Wednes
I day week, March' 1. These returns
a:e required frcm resident owners
of unimproved land values amount
ang to £30oO or over, and from
agents of absentees, whatever their
holdings. In view of the impression
which he considers to be gaining
grounmd in the Commonwealth4that if'
a person or company liable to make
thes.e returns fails to do so no
greater penalty is involved than a
fine of £100, the Federal Commis
sicner of Land Tax warns the public
thiat while, in cases where it is as
certained that returns have been de
liberately withheld by persons in a
positiob to furnish them, defaulters
will without exception be prosecut- I
ed: such prosecution will not re
lime them from either the 'obligd
tion of furnishing the returns in
question (since the Commissioner
can repoet his request at any time
and again subject the defaulters to
the 'penalty) or from liability
to assessment and payment of any
tax for which they would otherwise
be liable. Perois' aiding and abet- I
tinu in the' neilect to furrish the I
returns are similarly liable to a,
peenalty of £10o.
• Possession of Battery Plates.
The further hearing of the adjourned
case of John Thompson and Her- I
bert Heather, who are charged with I
.having on February 11, at a yatd in.
Egan-street. Kalgoorlie, had in their
possession in a cart about 5 cwt. of
copper, which might reasonably be,
su.posed to have been 'unlawfully
obtained. took place in the :Kal
goorlie Police Court Friday mrn
ing. before Messrs. H. W. Davidson
and R. G. Ardagh, J's.P. The case
for the prosecution was cdosed on
Wednesday. Thompson gave evi
'deuce that he' had been dealing with
h"eather around Williamstown and!
other places. He admitted that'
Heather .and he bon?dht the plates,
and that the explanation that the
detectives had said he had given
was correct. He bouL , the plates
honestly, and did not consider it
ercssary to obtain a receipt. The
man who sold the metal ti him said
that it weighed' about 3 cwt. Heather
gave evidence of a corroborative
itture. He said be was 18 years
of age, had not been in trouble he
fore. 'and supported his mother. •
Emily Heather said that she -ave
her brother ' q on the day that the i
plates were bounht. This closed
the case foi the defence; and, at the:
~eque.t of the vrosecutioun,a remand
ai'lt 3 ti:? on Mondat 'which was not
obji.eted to 'ty N: Norris, who ap
peared lolt t:ie aceused, was granted,
so that rebutting eridenca could be
s ecred.( .
'btessrs. J. Wills 'and 'CO. of Boul-8
der, are making a speciax display in
their shop of Standard milk,' ili
Australian rival of Nestle's, which
is taking the form of somne nea'ly
arranged groups of tins of the milk,
.Four prizes are being off red for
the persons who succeed in guessing
Ithe number of tins in the window,
the onl-" condition of entering being
that the guess must be written upon
a "Standard" milk wra-per. The
competition will open this mornuing.
State Labour Party and Federal
Proposals.-~The leader of the State
Labour party, Mr. Seaddan, in a'
recent interview, stated that the
party had decided to urge the ac
ceptance of the proposals of the Fed
eral Government at the coming Fed
eral referenda. The central execu-'
'tive of the A.L.F. would probably
deal with the matter on Saturday
night, and there was every reason to
believe that they would take up a
similar attitude. "Recognising. as
we do," added Mr. Scacddan, "that
the possibilities of reform from tlhe
.standpoint of the State Parliaments
are renimote under the dPisting Con
stitution in which one Chamber is
representative of property and privi
lege as- againsrt the Federal Parlia
ment which is representative of the
people, we expect that the people'
will turn to the Parliament in vhich
they can aet control of the Legia,

ture by their vote. The existence
of sweating conditions in some of
the irdustries in the East is detri
ainental not only to the workers en
gaged in similar. industries in this
State, but also to the expansion of
the industries, and we believe that
if, the. Commonwealth Government
are given the powers .which they are
seeking the result will be beneficial
both to the workers and the indus
tries alike. The, question of the
nationalisation of monopolies is one
upon . which the party has been
unanimous throughout the Common
wealth almost ever since its exist
once. Undoubtedly. monopolies
exist in Australia to-dcay, which it
permitted to continue may grow in
to trusts similar to those of Ame
rica, and we would then be faced
with a kreater difficulty in respect
to their control than exists at the
present time."
i Government Hospital Additions.
-As previously announced, a con
tract has b'een let to Mr. J. Eits
patrick to make additions to the
Government hospital buildings- at
Kalgoorlie. These include the
erection of an anaesthetic room in
connection with the operating tbeai
tre. The internal dimensio?s -Af
the room are 12 by 14. The walls are
to be of brick. An X-ray room of
Isimilar size and materials is to be
built in a position handy to the
surgiaol ward. The prsenut staff
dining-room is to be extended so as
to give a length of 25 ft. 6 in. b7 a
width of 15 ft.
Protest by a Solieitor.--The case
was mentioned :- the Kalgoorlis'
Police Court NMonday morrning, be
fore Mr. W. A. G. Walter, R.M., of
a man who was arrested on the pre
vious day on a charge of having been
wandering about in an unsound
Sstate of mind, and Corporal Blattery
produced a, doctpr's certifiba-te that
the man was fit to be diseharged.
Mr. 0O. E. Norris said that he ap
peared on behalf of the man, whop
according to his instructions was
not wandering about the streets. but
was in the private house of a re
spectable citizen in Hannan-street,
lwhen a constable called, and ..ask
ed him to go with him to the police
station for a few minutes, to which
he agreed. The officer in charge
asked the coontable to eign a
Scharge .of lunacy, but he, knowing
the condition of the man from hia
coiiversation on the way to the pe
lice station, refused to do so. He
was instructed that l)r. Barber,
I).M.O., examined the man about
11.30 o'clock on Sunday morning; as
a certificate mit in by the police
bore out.- His client then tried to
get out, as he was entitled to do,.
seeing that the certificate said he
I was perfectly sane. The officer in
charge refused to allow him out,
although it was brought under his
knowledge ihat Dr. Arkle examined
the man next morning, and found no
evidence of his being of unsound
mi-nd. ". The. R.M. said that if the
lets; were as sta.ted, the man should
have been released after the medical
e·varination. Corporal Slattery said
tha: h!e doctor himself was not sure
that the certficat' ?et dated on
the previous day. Corpýea . SiLr tery
said .that the facts were. q't. diE
ferent from thbse stated by Mr.
Norris, who, ro doubt had been
misinformed. .. Although the doc
Itor gave a certificate on Sunday. he
asked him to inquire and let him
know next morning 'the niture of
the man's conduct' prior to his
apprehension. The R.M. said that
the action of the police was not a
matter for him to deal with. All
that he could do was to dis
charge the man from custody.
it appears that a stir wias crea.ted
on Saturday evening near the in
tersection of, Hannan and Porter
streets, when a man attacked a
woman, whose daughter intervened
to save.her mobher. The police
were subsequently informed by the
I girl, but the man oould not be
found when they appeared on the
scene. This incident is-.supposed
to have caused the man to come
under the notice of the police, who
were unable to find him till next
day..
Kalgoorlie Warden's Cour'-.-War
den Finnerty, who st at the Kal
goorlie Courthouse Tuesday morn
ing, dealt with the undermenlioned
app!ications:. - For. gold-mining
lease 4471E, by J. M. Hartigan,
recommended: for min-r's home
stead lease 197E, by M. Treloar, re
commended : for prospecting area
' 484E. by Charlrs W. Pratt, r'rant
ed; for prospecting area 485E, by
0. W. Simmens granted

-Broome Sub-Inspectorship.--Ser
geant Houilah n, who has been in
charge of the Kalgoorlie police star
tiin for five years, a~d is.at present
relieving Inspector Brophy' at Kal
goorlie, has been oflicially .notific.1
of his appointment as acting sub-in
specto: and transfer to Broome.' It
has been explained 'to him that at
present there is no. provision for the
position, and that when it is passed.
o?! the estimates, a permanency will
b- 'made. Sergeant ,Pilkington, of
Subiaco who had not been spoken
of locally, has been* transferred to
Kalgoorlle to, take charge of the
station, and when he arrives Sub
Inspector Houlahan' will leave Kal
goorlie.
Water for Broad Arrow. - The
municipal authorities "of Broad
Arrow have made representations to
the traffic headquarters, in Kalgoor
lie that the present price of 25/ ner
tank charged' iy the Railway De
partment for water should be re
duced to 16/3 per tank, .in accord
ancne with a promise the :Minister for
Railways is reported 'to have made
the residents of "the town a year or
so ago. These representations have
been referred to Perth for. decision,
and this should be. fortheoming ere
long. The charge of 251 now made
for supplying scheme water along
the line is the regulation price, and
it is imposed at Paddingto'n' and
other places as well as at Broad
Arrow, when supplies of water are
ordered.
Collie Coal Field.-The inspector
of mines at Collie (Mr, T. T 1.
Briggs) has recently reported to
the Mines department in the follow
terms :-"The coal trade thbrough
out. the year 1910 on the Collie. coal?
field has been in excess of that for
any similar period, the total output
of coal' being 261,587 tons, an in
crease on the previous year's out
put` of 47,207 tons. Of- this
total the Co-operative Colliery con
tributed the largest quantity, 75,773
tons, the next in order b -ing the
Proprietary, 70,680 tons; The Scot
tish, 67,127 tons;- Cardiff, 40,122
tons; anid the Westralian 7884. ons.
Very little development work has
been done in the Proprietary, Scot
tish' and Cardiff workinps during the
year, but the Proprietary coan
menced operations with the object
of. opening a new colliery about a
mile further east than the present
workings. The- main tunnel has
keen driven about 85 yards, `but a
further distance of 115 yards will
need to be driven to strike the
seam. The Westralian mine has
not improved i'.s position as a loc t
producer during tie year; the trin
cipal drawback appears to be the
want of necessary capital. On the
Premier Company's property a tun
nel has been driven on a 7 ft. seam
of coal a distance of about 105
yards. An air shaft has been sunk
and a commencement made with
the colliery railway siding, so that
the company should be putting c-al
on the market in a few months.
The total number of men ,emp:o e1
during the year averaged. 518, exclu
give of those employed on prospect
ing areas."
An Ora Banda 'ase.-A case was
heard by Mr. W. A£ G. Walter,
R.M., in the Kalgoorlie Local Court
'Monday, in which. Alfred Edward
Garnet, licensee of the Ora .Banda
Hotel. sued Charles Abbott for £18
8/3, balance of hotel account.:. .Mr.
P. F. O'Dea appeared for the plain
tiff, and Mr. O. E. Norris for the de
ftindant. The*plaintiff gave evidence
of the debt, and e?ad that 'he
"bumped him out" as soon as he
found 'who the defendant was. He
said that the money was due for li
quor and refreshment (£24 19/), cash
lent (£9 18/6), and meals (10/). "Re
freshnients meant liquor consumed
at th.e bar, but the other stuff was
taken away. He had received £17
off the amounts mentioned. The de
fendant did not appear in court. Mr.
Norris contended that the defendant
was not liable. for the liquor 'drunk
at the bar, according .to the Licens
ing Act, which said -that no person
could sustain an ao~tin for any
liquor delivered ini any quantiti less
than one gallon, but it did not ap
ply to bona-fide lodeers, travellers,
or passengers: The R.M. gave judg_
ment for £10 18/6,-which - included
the meals anl cash lent, with costs
The amount for liquor was 's·truck
out.
,Kalgoorlie Oval Accident. - Fa
vourable progress is reported at the
Kalgoorlie Government Hospital in
the case of the young man Angus
McAtee, a- cyclist, who infured his.
'-ead by falling on the bicycle tracxk
.*at the Kalgoorlie. Oval on Sunday,
"aun?am A ]e wEas in a semi-un

conscious condition for nearly a
week, during which time his life was
almost despaired' of, but lhe is now
completely conscious. T-he patient
was a resident of Richardson-street,
Boulder, prior' to the accident.
FUNERAL.-The esteem in which
the late 'William Lockton was held
was evidenced by the large con
'course of friends and sympathisers.
who assembled to pay their last re-.
spects to the deceased on Sunday
afternoon. The cortege left the de
IIceased's residence in Johnston
street, Boulder. at 3 p.m., headed by'
about one hundred of his fellow em
ployees and members of the Ancient
Order of Foresters, followed by the
hearse containing the remains of the
deceased, after which followed two
mourning.coaches, occupied by the
chief mourners, and a large proces- ,
sion of vehicles. After a service at
St. Mary's Church. Kalgoorlie, the
procession moved to the Kalgoorlie
Cemetery, where an impressive ser
'vice was held by the Very Rev. Dean
Brennan. The pall-bearers were
Messrs. T. Scott, F. Backman, J
Kundy. T. Easton, L. Polock, and
W. Coleman. Wreaths and floral
tributes were received from the An
cient Order of Foresters, engineer
ing and carpentry departments of
the Kalgurli G. M. Boulder Second
rate Football Club. mill, employees
of Kalgo0lie mine. Messrs. Brennan
Bros.' employees, Boulder, Mr. and
Mrs. Beaumont and staff, Mr. and
Mrs. Richards, . Mr. and .Mrs..
Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Paull, Mr.
and Mrs. McGee, Mr. and -Mrs. J.
B. Ryan. Mr. and Mrs. May. Mr.
and - Miss McCormick, and. others.
The deceased, who came from. Black
Rock, South Australia, twelve years
ago. had been working at the Kal
goolie mine since his arrival in the
State. He leaves a' widow and five
children to mourn their loss. The
funeral arrangements were in the
hands of Messrs. Mannion and
Cruse.
Police Chanaes.-Sergeant Pil
kington, of Suhiaco, arrived in Knl
goorlie on Tuesday to take charge of;
the Kalgoorlie police station. Sub-;
inspector Houlahan, who has just
attained his present rank, expec s
to leave for Broome at an early
date to take charge of his enormous
district in the far north-west. The
latest sub-inspectorship is the first'
one that has been created for a
number of years, and un.il Parlia
ment makos provision for the pozi- I
tion, it will be an acting one, al
though that will not aff ct the sal
ary in connee ion with the new ap
pointment, which, with allowances,
amounts to almost £600 a year.
Constables O'Keefe and Styants,
from West Perth and Perth respec
lie under transfer.
Proposed Municipal Dairy.--A
member of the Kalgoorlie Council
has been busy of late in collecting
information concerning the working
of the system of municipal dairies
which obtains in many cities and [
towns of older countries. His ob
ject is to forward the establishment
of .a municipal dairy in Kalgoorlie
in order to ensure a supply of pure
milk to the public. He has received
a certain measure of support from!
some of his fellow councillors, but a
proportion of these will not: commit
themselves any further to the
sdoheme than to agree to a proposal
that the matter should be referred to
a committee of the council for in
vestigation and report One of the
chief contentions in regard to the
advisabilit.v of founding a municipal
dairy in Kalgoorlic is tlhat present
supplies are sent forward from
places outside the municipality, and
that it would be better for the local
health, authorities to exercise con
trol over dairy herds and premises,
as well as over the milk that is put
into consumption.
SPrice of Water for Gardening.
SAt Wednesday's meeting of the Con
I ference of. Local 'Bodies, Cr. Wal
lice brought under the notice of the
meeting thle paragraph in the "Kal
goorlie Miner", of Saturday last, in
Which Mr; Neil McQueen, the local
engineer, was reported to have stat
ed that the price of water for gar
dens- would probably be increased,.
and that it was not, therefor9. ad
visable for persons to make elabd
rate preparations for extenisive gar
dening opei'aftions. It was decided
to'. write: to the Minister and ask
,what foui?dation thpre was for Mr,
McQueen's statement.
The . Northern Territory. --A
rumour is in circulation th.t· Mr. J;
C. Watson is to be appointed ad
ministrator of the Northern Terri
·r?rtL ? L .... -

Alleged False Pretences.-Anotlhr
'reniand was granted in the Kalg, r
'lie Police Court on Wednesday
by Messrs. H. W. W. Davidson and R.
. 'Ardagh, CJ's.P., in the case of
Polly Cassidy, a young woman, who
stands charged with having, on
Ja.nuary 14, at Kalgoorlie, by zals.ely
.pretending to Patrick Brennan that
a. sumn of money was being left to
her, obtained £15 from him, with
intent thereby to defraud. The
hearing was fixed for Moiday.:
Possession of Battery Plates.--' ne
case was, partly heard by Messrs.
H. W. Davidson and R. G. Ardabh,
J's.P., in the Kalgoorlie Pohoe
Court Wednesday morning, in which
John Thompson (26) and Herbert
Heather (19) were charged with hav
ing, on Saturday morning last, at
Kalgoorlie, had' in their possession
in a cart in a yard in Egan-street
about 5 ewt. of copper which might
reasonably b.e supposed to have been
unlawfully obtained. Before the
evidence was commenced, Mr. O. E.
Norris, who appeared for Heather,
took exception to a paragraph that
appeared in the "Kalgoorlie Miner"
on Monday, February 13, which re
ferred to the circumstances imme
diately surrounding the arrest of
the accused, and suggested that
Ipapers should be warned against
publishing full accounts of alleged
facts before the trial. Detective
Sergeant Walsh said that he had
not given the information to the
press, and he would like to know
who supplied it. .The information
was substantially correct. He re
garded it as unfair' to both sides,
and he asked the bench to express
their. disapproval of such para
graphs . Mr. Ardagh, J.P., ,said
that reporters went out looking for
information, and it was not alto
gether their fault if they used it
when it was given to them. 'He
thought it was more the fault of
a those who suuplied it. The Chair
Sman of the Bench (M-r. H. W. Da
vidson, J.P.). said he did not think
the' paraMranh would influence the
bench. . Evidence was tlhen given by
Plainclothes-constable Mackiehan, of
his having found the accused in
possession of the copper at Abadee
& . Levy's marine stores yard, and
taken them to the police station.
They said that they had bouaht the
conper for £2 from a man who lad
it in a dray in front of the Williams
town 'Hotel. The witness s?id -that
he had reason to suppose that tie
copper was stolen prouerty. At: the
close of the case for the prosecution,
Mr. Norris secured an adiournmecnt
on the grounds that he ha'd not had
an opportunity of consulting his
clients.'
The Labour Party anct the Conm
ing Elections.-A Perth correspon
dent writes :-"The Labour party
intend making vigorous 'efforts to
defeat the Government at the polls
during ' the general elections this
I year. The leadeirs of the party are
convinced that the bulk of the elec
tors in the metropolitan and agri
cultural. districts have completely
lost confidence in a Ministry cap
able of doing the many disgraceful
acts that its members and Parlia
mentary supporters have perpetrat
ed. There is, however, in some
localities a dearth of suitable Ls
bour. .candidates, and consequently
several members holding safe seats
on the goldfields will stand for elec
torates in other parts of the State.
This course is ceritain to be adopted
by the strong men of the party. For
instance, Mr. Bath will be a candi
date for the Avon constituency Mr.
Troy will leave the MIurchison and
stand fdr Geraldton; Messrs. Sead
dan, Hudson, O'Loghlen, Walker,
McDowall, and Collier will probably
contest seats in Perth, Fremantle or
the vicinity. The success of these
candidates may be regarded as as
sured. All that is felt to be neces
sary to make victory certain, is that
the recent actions of the Govern
ment and the true aims of the Op
position should 'be laid clearly be
fore the electors, and this can be
done by good platform speakers
possessed of that inner knowledge of
the work of the last Parliamerit that
sitting members acquire. An ar
rangement must, of course, be first
come to similar to that under which
'Mr. O'Loghlen resigned his seat to
contest the federal representation
of Swan against Sir John Forrest,
namely, where a member lea.ves a
safe seat to contest in the interests
of his part~y, another constituency
elsewhere; tihe occupant of his
original seat should be prepared to
resign in the event of the former
member's failure to secui'e election
for the doubtful constituency, that
he sought to win. Indeed. the re
signation of any Labour candidates
is safe seats abandoned by 'sitting

members under such circumstances,
should? it is thought, be held by the
executive of the Labour movement.
If this jlan of campaign can be car
ried out, the Labour party are cer
tain to be returned to power ,it:h
substantial majority."
Boulder Horticultural Society.
The tri-weekly meeting of this so
ciety wa.s held at the Workers' Hall,
Boulder, Cr. C. M. Graham presid
ing.over a large attendance of mem
bers and visitors. After the prize
moneys won at the late show were
paid out, Mr. A. W. Ridge delivered
a paper on "Pot Culture;:' which
was greatly appreciated by tfhose
present. Mr. Ridge recommended
all gardeners to tby pot plants, espe
cially so during the hot summer
months. - The lecturer received a
hearty vote of thanks for his paper.
Eight new members were proposed.
The cut blooms were extremely good
considering the weather experienced
lately. Mr. H. Ferguson and Mr.
A. W. Ridge made the following
awards :-Display of flowers, Mr. A.
Spangle, 20 points; Mr. A.. E. Hop
good, 18 points; Miss J. Graham,
10 points. Rose display, Misses P.
and J. Northey, 20 poilts.

$