EMPIRE AIR MAIL

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21414, 5 March 1935, Page 10

EMPIRE AIR MAIL

RECENT CONFERENCE IN AUSTRALIA DOMINION DELEGATES RETURN PROGRESS OF DISCISSIONS (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM .1 WELLINGTON, March 1 4. "Until I submit to the Government and to Parliament the report on my recent mission to Australia, where I conferred with British and Australian delegates on the question of the Empire air mail service. I am afraid I can add little to what has already been cabled," said the Hon. Adam Hamilton (PostmasterGeneral) when interviewed on the arrival of the Monowai to-day. The Minister for Defence and Administrator of Civil Aviation (the Hon. Archdale Parkhill) presided at the conference, the other Australian representatives being Senator the Hon. A. J. McLachlan (PostmasterGeneral for the Commonwealth), Mr H. P. Brown (Director-General of Postal Services), Mr H. B. Harry (Chief Inspector of Postal Ser-

vices), Captain Johnston (Controller of Civil Aviation), and Mr M. L. Shepherd (Secretary to the Defence Department). ' The British delegates, who had made the journey by air from London to Sydney, were Mr Francis Bertram (Deputy-Director of Civil Aviation), Sir Frederic .Williamson (Director of Postal Services), Sir Edward Campbell, M.P. (Parliamentary private secretary to the Postmaster-General), and Mr Noel Guinness, M.P." (Parliamentary private secretary to the Under-Secre-tary for Air). Mr G. McNamara (Director-General of the Post and Telegraph Department) was the other New Zealand delegate. "Friendly Deliberations" "The Empire air mail scheme, which envisages making compulsory the carriage in 1937 of all first-class mail matter by air, was fully explained by the British delegates," said Mr Hamilton, "and the whole of the deliberations were conducted in a most friendly spirit. It was but natural that many points of

difference arose on which it was not possible for the conference to reach finality until further information was obtained on essential matters that were brought out in the discussions. On the broad issue, however, both Australia and New Zealand agreed to the principle embodied in the basis of the scheme, and the delegates are now reporting to their respective governments. Messrs Bertram and Guinness will return to England by air, and they anticipated being able to leave Sydney to-morrow. Sir Frederic Williamson accompanied us on the Monowai on his first visit to the Dominion, where he hopes to remain for about a fortnight. He will be joined next week by his colleague (Sir Edward Campbell). Tasman Mai! Service "Subsequent to the conference." added Mr Hamilton, "1 had a meeting with the Australian delegates, when we went fully into the question of initiating mail services

across the Tasman Sea, before the inauguration of the 1937 scheme. On this proposal, as with the larger scheme, much data will be required before finality can be reached, and the necessary particulars will be immediately prepared for submission to the authorities of both countries." TASMAN SERVICE COMMENT IN AUCKLAND [THE PKESS Social Service. I AUCKLAND, March 4. Now that the carriage of mail by air between England and Australia is a reality, the opinion was expressed in Auckland that it will not be long before the remaining link in the Imperial scheme—a service between Australia and New Zealand—is established. Not only is a trans-Tas-man air mail commercially practicable, it is considered, but it would also be of inestimable value to business firms in the city. "With the existmg type of machines, 1 am of the opinion that the mail across the Tasman is a commercial poss : bility," said Mr Spencer R. Mason, president of the Auckland Aero Club. "At the same time. I do not think the same possibilities exist at present for a successful passenger service." "A trans-Tasman air mail, in conjunction with the speeding up of the England-Australia service, as is contemplated, would be of enormous importance to importers," said Mr Gainor Jackson, president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce.

The damage caused by lightning to electrical equipment was mentioned by Mr L. B. Hutton in the course of a paper read at the Engineers' Conference in Auckland last week. Mr Hutton said there were in New Zealand 2400 miles of transmission lines, 11,000 miles of primary distribution lines and 8000 miles of secondary distribution lines. Approximately £12,000.000 had been spent to provide transmission lines, distribution lines and transformers, which were jut as essential as power stations, and probably far more vulnerable to the forces of nature. For each transformer which became ineffective a corresponding amount of revenue was lost, and an appreciable proportion of stoppages was directly traceable to the effects of lightning. "It is probably safe to say," continued Mr Hutton. "that most distribution systems in New Zra'nni were built without any particular regard to lightning: and that, having been built, an order was placed for a number of arresters and fuses." He added that the incidence of lightning in any particular locality could be accurately ascertained by systematic observation.