ALL RED ROUTE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10266, 19 June 1911, Page 5

ALL RED ROUTE

CABLE NEWS

United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph — Copyright-

SiR JOSEPH WARDS MOTION.

THE PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES

(Received Last Night, 5.5 o'clock.)

LONDON, June lr

At the Imperial Conference to-day, Sir Joseph Ward moved his resolution in favour of an All-Red Main Route. He had, he said, the assurance of shipping men that they could give a twenty-knot service across the pacific, as the difficulties experienced for years back in the matter of coaling had disappeared. Although the opening nf the Panama Canal might considerably affect,the system, he desired that the All-Red service be instituted, as he looked upon Canada as a half-way house between New Zealand and Great Britain. ( Mr Morris, of Newfoundland, also presented a motion advocating a fastservice between Newfoundland and Great Britain.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier favoured Sir Joseph Ward's motion. Mr A. Fisher said that while much could be said sentimentally, the practical side must stand on its merits. He could not draw a distinction between the service from Australia, via New Zealand and Canada. The Suez route might have difficulties, but there was much to commend it from an Austral-: ian standpoint. The transhipment of goods across Canada made the proposal impracticable. He regretted that the Commonwealth could not support the proposal. The Right Hon. D. Lloyd-G«orge said that sentimentally an Ail-Red route was desirable. The practical difficulties, however, were great. Since the last Conference the question had been investigated. A committee had found that a twenty-one knots service was prohibitive, while an eighteen knot service would be enormously costly. The service was dependent entirely upon passengers. They could not hope to carry goods across the Continent. -There would be a considerable loss on the Pacific side, though the Atlantic might pay in after years. He thought the question might be referred to Sir Wilfrid Launer's Royal Commission. , Sir Joseph Ward said a scheme for merely carrying goods would be useless and impractical. He amended"his resolution to affirm that it was desirable that Britain should connect Canada and Newfoundland, through Canada, with Australia and New Zealand by ,the best mail sen*ice available. The amended resolution was carried.