1914-10-16 6 1 0 SENATE 240 0 Senate. 1914-10-16 The President took the chair at 11 a.m., and read prayers. 240 Questions 240 240 K18 0 0 BAKHAP, Thomas Senator BAKHAP - Arising out of the answer given yesterday to a question by Senator Ready, can the Minister representing the Minister of Home Affairs tell me the date of the contract entered into with the Tasmanians who were to supply sleepers for the transcontinental railway? 240 K3E ALP 1 0 RUSSELL, Edward Senator RUSSELL - The 28th August, 1914. 240 240 KPE 0 0 KEATING, John Senator KEATING - Arising out of the reply given to my question yesterday, on the subject of deferred pay, will the Minister of Defence take into consideration the advisableness of encouraging members of future Expeditionary Forces to concur if it is necessary with the Government in a system which will defer a larger proportion of their pay in order that it may be available to them at the termination of their service, the advantage of such a course being obvious both in the present and in the future? 240 K0F ALP 1 0 PEARCE, George Senator PEARCE - Yes. I may say that the honorable senator has put his views on this subject to. me, and I think there is a great deal to commend them. I shall take them into consideration. 240 Reports on theTariff. 240 JZ9 0 0 O'KEEFE, David Senator O'KEEFE - I ask the Min ister representing the Minister of Trade and Customs whether the Government have yet received any progress reports from the Inter-State Commission, concerning their investigations on the Tariff, and, if so, whether honorable senators can be supplied with printed copies! 241 K3E ALP 1 0 RUSSELL, Edward Senator RUSSELL - I have no information about this matter, but I shall be pleased to make inquiries and let the honorable senator know the result at a later stage. 241 241 K2D 0 0 READY, Rudolph Senator READY asked the Minister representing the Minister of External Affairs, upon notice - In view of the action now proposed by the American Government to establish a governmentally-owned line of steam-ships, has the Commonwealth Governmentyet considered the advisability and practicability of using captured German steamers for general overseas trade purposes} If the proposal is entertained will the Government consider the necessity of using such steamers for the carriage of fruit and other perishable products overseas? 241 KKZ ALP 1 0 GARDINER, Albert Senator GARDINER - The question of using the interned ships is under consideration. 241 241 KPE 0 0 KEATING, John Senator KEATING asked the Minister representing the Postmaster-General, upon notice - Relative to the offer made by the Government for the establishment and maintenance of wireless communication with King Island by means of the existing privately-owned installation - Is the Government aware that all efforts to get into communication with the private owner or owners have failed, and no acknowledgment or response of or to any letter or telegram bearing upon such offer, and , forwarded to the supposed owner, has been received? Will the Government ascertain from such owner or owners, whether the proposals contained in the offer referred to will be agreed to by him or them? Failing agreement, will the Government provide its own wireless installation for use by the public? 241 KKZ ALP 1 0 GARDINER, Albert Senator GARDINER - The answer is - The offer made by the Government referred to in my reply of the 14th inst. does not apply to the existing privately-owned installation on Sing Island, but to a station which the Department is prepared to erect and control, provided the persons interested are prepared to guarantee a revenue of £150 for, say, seven years, make a deposit of that sum, and provide the necessary building. 241 bill Motion (by Senator Gardiner) agreed to - That leave be given to introduce a Bill for an Act relating to Bankruptcy. Bill presented and read a first time. 241 miscellaneous Motion (by Senator Russell) agreed to- That Senator Senior be appointed a member of the Printing Committee, in the placeof Senator McDougall, discharged from attendance as a member of such Committee. 241 miscellaneous Motion (by Senator Keating) agreed to- That a return be prepared and laid upon the table of the Senate, showing - The recommendations of the Royal Commission on Postal, Telegraphic, and Telephonic Services. The action taken to date in respect of each. 241 adjournment Bankruptcy Bill: Date Stamp on Letters. 241 K0F Western Australia ALP Minister of Defence 1 0 PEARCE, George Senator PEARCE . - I move - That the Senate do now adjourn. I regret to have to take this course, but honorable senators understand the reason. There has not been time to get copies of the Bankruptcy Bill printed for the Senate, but there are printed copies which were prepared for another place. The Bill has been withdrawn from that House, and the attendants of the Senate have the printed copies, so that every honorable senator will be able to obtain a copy to-day. Fresh copies are being printed for the use of the Senate, and will be sent to honorable senators with their papers. 241 JYT Queensland 0 0 FERRICKS, Myles Senator FERRICKS . - In the interest of honorable senators generally there is a little matter on which I desire to obtain some information, and it is one concerning which I was questioned several times during the recent campaign. If the Vice-President of the Executive Council, who represents the Postmaster-General here, is able to tell me; I would like to know the reason why the date stamp is not now put on letters at the offices of destination. Previously it was the custom to stamp letters at the office at which they were posted, and at the office of destination, but for some reason or other the date stamp is not now used at the latter office. The disuse of this stamp did not appeal to me until the recent campaign, when the inconvenience was brought under my notice. I was questioned on the subject several times then, and it was brought home' forcibly to me the other day when I returned from Queensland, after an absence of a few weeks'. My complaint has not much application to letters to or from capitals, because honorable senators generally, and I suppose business people too, know quite well how long a letter takes to reach a capital or other place of importance by the regular means of communication. But the position is somewhat difficult when one receives a letter, say, from Papua or from the Northern Territory. In my box the other day, after an absence of a fortnight from Melbourne, I found two letters, one bearing the postmark of Darwin and the other that of Port Moresby. I had no way of finding out how long the letters had lain in the box. This is a matter of some consequence to honorable senators, because sometimes letters contain requests to do certain things which they would do by wire if they thought that the letters had lain in the box for any length of time. I dare say that there is a good and sufficient reason for this omission, and if the Vice-President of the Executive Council can re-assure me on this point, he will satisfy the curiosity of a number of electors throughout the Commonwealth. 242 KKZ New South Wales ALP Vice-President of the Executive Council 1 0 GARDINER, Albert Senator GARDINER . - I have in my possession the information which the honorable senator desires, and I am happy to supply it. I am informed that - Letters posted within the Commonwealth for delivery therein are not date stamped at office of destination, unless they remain undelivered at the office twenty-four hours after receipt. The system of date stamping letters at time of receipt at office of destination was discontinued by reason of the considerable expenditure of time and labour thereon without any appreciable benefit. The system of date stamping correspondence at offices of destination has been discontinued in America, New Zealand, and other places. Question resolved in the affirmative. 242 23:12:00 Senate adjourned at 11.12 p.m.