The Guildhall Banquet, which was held on Friday, the 9th,
was the occasion for speeches from the Prime Minister, Lord Beatty, Lord Cavan, and Sir Samuel Hoare. The Prime Minister devoted the greater part of his speech to the Imperial Conference. The most tangible thing that he could point to was that Mr. Bruce had stated that the preference that had been arranged for Imperial fruit would make possible the full develop- ment of the great Murray River scheme which will ultimately, it is believed, support three-quarters of a million people. The Murray River has been often described as "the Nile of Australia," but as yet it lacks that essential " locking " by a series of barrages that has made the Nile of such inestimable value to Egypt. Inter-provincial jealousies have long delayed the ex ploitation of the Murray, but at last Australia is united in her determination to utilize the precious waters that might make fertile so large an area of her land.
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