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UNITED KINGDOM CIVIL AVIATION MISSION To the Hon. the Minister in Charge of Air Department, Wellington. Sir, — We have the honour to present the report of the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Mission which was invited by the New Zealand Government to advise on certain matters concerning civil aviation. The Mission arrived in Auckland on 24th August and in Wellington on 26th August. The terms of reference, which are reproduced on page 3, were the subject of discussion between Ministers, Departments, and the Mission, before they were finalised and issued to the Mission by the Hon. the Minister in Charge of Air Department on 3rd September. This discussion was aimed at ensuring that the scope of the terms of reference was clearly understood. It was evident that the terms of reference could be interpreted as requiring a completely detailed and exhaustive examination and report on every aspect of civil aviation organisation in New Zealand. It was made clear that the principal purpose of the Mission was to advise on the over-all organisation and principles which should govern the administration of civil aviation, with such particular attention to specific problems as might appear to be justified by the investigations of the Mission. Under the second paragraph of the terms of reference the Mission was not expected to advise, for example, on the types of aircraft which should be operated by the New Zealand National Airways Corporation or Tasman Empire Airways, Limited, on the specific air services which they should operate, or the detailed organisation necessary for their programme of operations. An investigation and report of such a nature could not have been accomplished in the brief time during which the Mission was expected to be in New Zealand, and it has not been attempted. It was confirmed by discussion with the Minister in Charge of Air Department that, in spite of the fact that the Mission had been set up as a result of certain allegations regarding governmental control of civil aviation, the Mission would not act in any sense as a court of inquiry, taking formal evidence and otherwise proceeding in accordance with court practice. The Mission was not constituted in such a way as to be competent to carry out such an inquiry, and the field covered by its terms of reference was far too wide to lend itself to an inquiry of this nature. Consequently, this Report does not record the evidence on which any