MR. NASH ON DOLLARS

Chronicle (Levin), 23 February 1949, Page 7

MR. NASH ON DOLLARS

Press Assoclation)

Britain Must Be Helped To Recover First

(Per

AUCKLAND, Feb. 22. "Since I arrived here aud it was only about 20 minutes ago, everyone' has said sometliing to rne about dollars, "| said the Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash, ' amid laughter, when addressmg guesta of British Conmionvveaith Paei'fic Airliiies at Whenuapai. The Mayor, Mr. J. A. C. Alium, .and representative citizens, liad asseinbied at the company's invitation to witness the departure of the new DC (5 aircraft on the first northbound flight of the faster British Bacific Bervice. Mr. Nasii, who had arrived from Wellington only a few minutes before the aircraft took • off, spoke shortly after the Minister m charge of civil aviation, Mr. Jones, had expressed the hope that the new service would be weil patronised by New Zealanders. There was a distinct murmur ot "what about the dollars when Mr. Jones was speaking and the point was obviously not lost upon nis colleague, Mr. Nash. ' ' I wonder if we could. think this dollar business out for a moment, " Mr Nash continued. He said that the new aircraft that had just taken off had coine from a country which, last year, had given Britain 1,000,000,000 dollars j yet there was still not enough to en- j sure that Britain and the Conimon- j wealth could pay for goods and servn-esj beiug sent out by the United Blates. lle did not kiiow' whether- the- new aircraft, for the British Pacific , service I wcre included in the arrangeinents for j the European recovery plan but in Ihe. lung run they must be because tho | United tttates 'could never bc paid for! tlie vast quantity of goods aud services i she was sending to enabie the world to recover. The United Xingdom had inade a reiuarkable recovery up to the present and it was s'aid that, if all weut well, 1 1 was likely that by 1052 she would not be short of dollars. When Britain was not short of dollars Xevv Zealand would not be short. "We are very short of dollars be- , cause we seud evorything we can to Britain," ilr. Nash said. Lf New Zealand cliose to pick up luarkets who ro she was al)le she could earn a fair number of dollars but this would have tlie clh;cL of delayiug world recovery which dependod upon Bxltain's reeoverv. Doubt whether Britain could overtake the U'nited Btates in .the firoduotion of transport aircraft, was exp.tessed by Mr. Nash. He said that Britain had got beliind duriug the war when she was developing other types ot planes for war work. There was the story that, in a yen-r .,or » tvvo. JJr.itain could be ahead but he did not knovv whether she could eatch'up with . Skvmasters, Constellations aiul DU (5 's. "This plane is the best. example of tjhe lact that there are three parts of the British Commouwealth . delorminod to link togethei and keep the. United Kiiigdom ,in tlie Pacilic," he said. it would be bad for Australia, New Zea1 land and the Connnonwealth if Britain did not have a major interest in the Pacilic. He was proud to think that the service had conie about through the cooperation of Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Canada proposed to run her own Pacific service 011 the private enterprise basis though he did not know whether this could succeed without being subsidised. "This new aircraft is an amazing triuniph of human genius," the Minister concluded. Meu still had a long way to go before their mental, eultural aud •spiritua.1 sides caught up vvith their scientilic achievenients axul, he added, with a smile, when this had been

achieved, it would not matter whether or 110 we had dollars. After brief addresses had also been given by Gir Leonard Isitt, New Zealand director of the company, and Mr. Alium, the big monoplane taxied out aiul took off. Spectators were especiaiiy iinpressed by the rapidity with which the Douglas reached flving speed and gained height in a circuit of the field, before a course was set for Nandi.