OVERSEAS CLUB.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15750, 17 November 1916, Page 7

OVERSEAS CLUB.

EMPIRE QUIuSTIONS DISCUSSED. There was a large attendance of members of the Overseas Oluli last night upon tho occasion of tho first of the Empire Interests Symposia meetings. The Mayor (Mr H. Holland) presided. Tlie Mayor stated that the club's membership totalled 3-K>. In October it was 275, iu. September 210. and izi August 00. The club was aiming at providing an aeroplane for tho forces at the front, which it was considered would bo a splendid encouragement to our men in the firing line. It was estimated that the machine would cost £1500. A start to collect funds had been made, and £50 was raised aurmg Carnival Week. His Worship urged that donations be given to the fund, and concluded his remarks by quoting a letter from the Rt. Hon. D. Lloyd George to the organiser of the Overseas Club, thanking the club for Uui 7-1 aeroplanes it had presented to tho air se-vice and hoping that- the club's ambi!~on to provitlc an Imperial air flotilla of 100 machines would bo realised.

The Hon. 11. F. Wigram. M.L.C., spoke on '"The Dominion and the Air Service." Last session, ho said, he had succeedcd in inducing tho Legislative Council to pass a motion recommending the Government to start an aviation school, but tho fiovernmont said they wore too busy at present. Tho local scheme was not an'attempt to try to teach the Government how to do 'ts ■work, but one to hold tho fort in. thjO meantime. Several local influential men were associated with him in the scheme, and the success of tho school was becoming more and more apparent. Several applications for tutelage* had been received from a splendid typo of young fellows, and an ox(ce.llent sit*> adjacent to Plumpton Park, just outside tho city, had been secured. Th'o objects of the project were threefold. First, they wanted to help to win the war by training aviators for the ltoyal Flying C'orps. Three aeroplanes had been ordered, and £7000 subscribed towards the £20,000 asked for. rfo _ appealed for assistance towards raising the extra £13,000. and stated that more aeroplanes were also wanted. Hie second obicet was the defence of New Zealand after the war: and the third was the encouragement.of aviation in New Zealand after the war. When the war wa s over he'felfc certain that the Government would take up the question of aviation, and would cither take over the Christchurch school or tun a school somewhere else. If the Government did start its school elsewhere, two courses were open in regard to the local school. It could be run as •i private school. There was ample scope for this, because as time went on mails would be brought from Wellington to Clvistchiirrh by aeroplane, and he pictured the San Francisco mail arriving in Christelwrch two hours after its arrival at Wellington. The aeroplanes could not land in Cathedral square, they would have to go to a place lileo the aviation ground at Plumnton Park. "In any case." said Mr Wigram, "we cannot lose because our land along with Plumpton Parkwill make a first-class snorts ground.

Mr J. B. Laurenson stjoko "On Our Resource?. and After \Var Bevelpnment." _Ho pointed out the magnitude of our imports, and tlio saving that would be effected by thr>ir manufacture and production hero. "As a matter of fact." lie said., "we have not the disease of importing, it is in our blood." Mr Laurenson asked whether it was laziness on our part that made us import nearly half a million pounds wortli of fruit. Then we imported -thousands of pounds worth of preserved milk and crcam, and half a million pounds worth of confectionery. Another extraordinary thins was that wo imported worth of jam every year. One day had it not been for the war we would have been asked what wo had done with the natural wealth gjven ns. and we would have h;'d to confe.ss that, we did nothing with it but imported all we wanted. New Zealand, Mr Laurenson contended, must not rest until she was a self-eortainini eountrv.

Mr K. I). Holx>n srxikf> on "Facts of the War," and musical and vocal items were given bv Messrs T. M. Charters. M. W. Gillmoro. A. Harold Rotto, and Bloy\- Banjo Band.