The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-24
Queer Turn tn Politics Of
 Ausfralia- -Deakin Ls Out

considerable profit cut of it. The Federal Treasury officials estimate that this silvercoin in circulation represents s10,00o.000 Under the scheme the Imperial Mint will with draw this at the rate of s5o0.00o . year, and 1t is estimated that during the twenty years which the process will occupy the Commenwealth will reap an annual profit of between $250. 900 and s300.000. Discussing the new arrangement recently, Sir Will liam Lyme. the late Federal Treasurer. said: The British Mint will strike the coins for us, charging us the cost and no more. At present I do not feel disposed to recommend starting a mint ourselves. It seems to me that the most practical way is to accept the suggestion of the British Govern ment. We shall have the same de- nominations, but a, new coin of Aus tralian design. T have been making inquiries to see If We might not do away with the half-crown, but I do not think it Is possible to ~despense with 1t. There is no chance of deci- nal coinage being adopted. It will have to be adopted in Great Britain before Australia and the other do- minions can do anything.
 Governor Generals Levee.
 The first levee of the Governor-Gen- eral. the Earl of Dudley, was made the occasion of an organized pro test on the part of the foreign Con- suls against the rule which denies them official / recognition at these functions. As they could attend only in their private capacity, they pre- ferred to stay away, not of course, out of personal disrespect to- the new Goverhor-General but with the as- sertion of right which they hold to be theirs as the representatives, of foreign countries. According to the local newspapers, the abstention as- sumed the nature of an organized boycott. It has not transpired whether the Consuls. copying tradeunion me- thods, went so far as to establish pickets along the road to Government HouseI but 1t Is stated that more than one of their number, unaware of the movement afoot. was told something" on the way and turned back. The Consuls consider them selves sighted by the existing regu- lations They regard 1t as undig- nified to have to pay respects 10 Vice-Royalty as mere units in a crowd, and with no official standing.
 In Mornington Island, one of the w CtlcSiCy 6IOabg HI ttC 1Nse ON VI pentaria, K. B. Howard. Chief Pro- tector of Aborigines in Queensland, has found tribe which it is believed has never before come in contact with white men. After searching vainly for two days. Mir. Howard came upon a few natives, and after wards a considerable number were seen. The blacks, he says, were in their primitive state. They did not know the use of tobacco. and would not eat bread, meat or even sugar. although they readily tasted anything given to them. There was no sign whatever of any disease, and although emaciated in appearance. they were strong and agileA MT. Howard found the island to be about 235 miles long by sixteen miles across its widest point. A chain of permanent Geshwater lagoons exists a~fsw miles from the beach, and there .& an abundance Of wildfowL Apparently the natives do not build gunyahs, but place few bushes around camp to act as a wind screen. Their food consists chiefly of bulgeroo nuts, the fruit of the panda- nus tree, fish. and species of large yam.
 Startling figures with regard to pop ulation and employm6lt in New Zea- land have recently been issued by the Government Labor Department. OW- ing to the rapidly ly-dimlnishing birth rate. there is only too good reasons to fear, that before very long the Colony's industries will not only cease to expand, but will actually shrink through lack of sufficient workers. The report states that there is a real dearth of effective manual labor l@It what is far more important, thS> Do- minion itself will supply less and less, for some considerable time. The birth-rate feSi from 41.32 per 1000 in 1S76-SO to only 27.OS per 1000 in 1906.