COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3200, 22 April 1911, Page 7

COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS.

THE DONALD HARPER. CASE. (.UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.} MELBOURNE, April 21. Under a bond of £IOO to be of good behaviour for 10 years, Siddley, Ballingall J Patou. Bartling, Bredon. and Batchelor, six of of the seven men sentenced to two years’ imprisonment m collection with the Ronald Harper perjury case, have ben released. VICTORIAN OAT HARVEST. The Victorian oat harvest is 9,699,000 bushels, from 392,681 acres. FATAL SKYLARKING. A number of employees at the Stockport dveworks were skylarking at the top of the dye vats. Two youths, O’Donne 1 and Sandwell. fell into a vat of steaming dye. They were rescued, but died in the hospital. BRISBANE. April 21. The death sentence on Denton has been commuted to life imprisonment. A WATER FAMINE. PERTH,ApriI 21. There is a water famine at Menzies. Water is selling at £1 per 100 gallons, after 50 miles cartage. TO ENCOURAGE LOCAL INDUSTRIES. SYDNEY, April 21. The procession in connection witli the manufacturers’ week was a successful function. There was an excellent, display of all classes of locally-made articles. AUSTRALIAN NATIVES’ ASSOCIATION. The Australian Natives’ Associations’ Conference approved of the referenda, also of a uniform gauge for trunk railways for defence purposes. STATE FIRE INSURANCE. Mr Carmichael, advocating State Insurance scheme, declared that New Zealand’s State insurance, taken from the point of view of the general public and insurers, was an emphatic success. They might hot have had much distributed in profits, but tho effect had been a reduction of premiums by tho whole of the* private companies. They could hardly call an institution which saves the general public nearly a quarter of a million per annum a. failure from the point of view of the general public. A GRAZIER'S ESTATE. The estate of Mr John Clark, grazier, of Boggabri, has been sworn at over £197,000. Captain Clark, private, secretarv to Lord Islington, is one of the executors. Tlie whole estate has been left to the widow- and children.