WELLINGTON’S CLAIMS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 2, 28 September 1937, Page 8

WELLINGTON’S CLAIMS

Having attracted public attention to the need for emphasising the importance of the port of Wellington as a terminal and distributing point for trans-Pacific shipping and air-mail services, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce should pursue its agitation with vigour and persistence. The chamber has presented an excellent case, but the effort will be lost if the question is allowed to drop from the public mind. In this matter the chamber has the support of the Harbour Board, and, it may safely be assumed, of the general community as well. Organised action, however, is needed. The question is of such importance that the points made are worthy of restatement. Wellington is the geographical centre of the Dominion. It has the added advantages of a spacious and wellsheltered harbour, and splendidly-equipped wharves and other facilities for the handling and distribution of mails, passengers and cargoes. It is illogical, and unnecessarily costly and inconvenient to the public, that the bulk of this traffic should have to be distributed as at present, from a terminal at almost the extreme end of the country when it could be handled better from a central terminal such as Wellington. More than that, it is unfair to the South Island, which has to suffer the worst delays and inconvenience. The Chamber of Commerce should not be content with having presented a convincing case. As we have already pointed out, three of our representatives in Parliament are members of the Government and steps should be taken to keep this question prominently before them. The Government has a deciding voice in regard to any arrangements that may lie concluded for the inauguration of the new subsidised trans-Pacific liners,, and also of the proposed air-mail services. The question should be decided on its merits, and on the facts of the case the merits are unassailable.