ENGINEERING

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 121, 19 November 1934, Page 7

ENGINEERING

THE BASIC INDUSTRIES

i DANGERS AHEAD

SUBSIDISED SHIPPING

A. social gathering in connection

ith the annual meeting of the 3STew

Zealand Institute of. ■ Marino and Power' Engineers was held on Saturday night. There was a largo attendance of delegates from various centres. The president, Mr. H. M. Neilsen, occupied the chair. Amongst those >present wore Messrs. J. Cable, J. W. Matthewson (general manager Union Steam Ship Company), W. H. Price (Wellington manager Union Steam Ship Company), O. B. V. ■Wheeler (Jiief traffic manager), G. I'i. Breeze (chief suryeyor of steamships), G. H. Unsworth (chief examiner of engineers), Mr. O. C. Mazcngarb, and Messrs. Sturrock and Edwards (Auckland branch of the Institute).

' In a letter apologising for his unavoidable absence, the Mayor (Mr. T., C-A. Hislop) said that although the members of tho institute were con- j nected with a most important industry the very nature oi 1 their calling caused them not to come much before the public eye. The great value of their services, and .the high ' standard of efficiency and character which dis:tinguished them, merited, in his opinion, public recognition. On behalf of Hie citizens of Wellington Mr. Hislop said he desired to express to them appreciation of the very high standard of their work and the great value of their services. In proposing the toast "The Engineering Industry," Mr. .P. MaoKenzic said that that industry was the mainspring of the world's activities. Aviation, refrigeration, wireless, mining, agriculture, and other industries were all largely based on the engineering industry—to the foundries and wprkshops. Wonderful, almost .miraculous advancement:had beemmade. Tho electrical engineering industry had revolutionised the world in tho last 40. years. With, respect to marine engineering, it was ndt a hundred years since the first; steamship crossed the Atlantic; let them compare such a vessel with the recently launched liner, the Queen Mary. TRAINING OF YOUTHS. Mr.' D.. McLaren remarked-that engineering s comprised' basic industries, and was the foundation of .many material enterprises. The speaker sketched the wonderful advance made in marine engineering in tho last halfcentury. ; .. ; ■He emphasised the importtance of giving youths the best training, and drew attention to a valuable invention.made by Mr. A. G. M. Mitchell, a of Melbourne University. - i Bcplying to the toast, Mr. .. G.. E. Breeze, chief surveyor of ships, said this year marked the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of the inspection of machinery department. He referred to some of the earlier heads of the office. Whereas iv early days going a-sea voyage was a great adventure, now sea travelling was the safest moans'of transport. Statistics showed that it was four times safer to go to tea now than it was sixty years -ago. Mr, J. .Pearco Luke also replied to the toast. There was, he said, no more resourceful man than tho engineer; that was proof of the vnlue of his training. We had failed to recognise that indusliy could not be divided into watertight departments. Unless opportunity wa» given to our youths in the widest possible field, of our secondary, industries^ jt would be a poor look-jmt for tlfe"young 'people of this country. New Zealand, unfortunately, was tho only country in the world in which engineering was not recognised in its true sense as a foundational industry. Those who were conducting the industry today were doing so under great 'difficulty. In fact, in some cases, it was almost impossible to give to the rising generation' an i opportunity' to acquire tho. knowledge which would enable them to ■become efficient in this important industry by reason of the- fact that in many cases-'we had denied to engineering establishments ■ the opportunity of oxpandingi Ho did not know how the difficulty was going to be remedied, but it "must bo overcome. A country with the natural advantages of New Zealand rould not remain stationary with a . population of a million and a half. The engineering industry, must not only be maintained, but it must bo expanded. FOREIGN. SHIPPING SUBSIDIES. • The toast •of . "The Mercantile •Marine" was proposed by Mr. W: Sommerville, secretary of tho Wellington branch. He expressed the opinion that in regard to her shipping England stood on the threshold; of a crisis. • She was being forced more and more- off the seas by highly-subsidised foreign vessels. Tho Hon. Alexander Shaw had brought homo to Now Zealand the seriousness of the heavily-subsidised American intrusion in the trans-Tasman shipping trade. Another authority estimated that £30,000,000 was expended annually by Britain's foreign competitors on subsidies., It had been pointed out tha.t there was room for improvement in the scientific training of engineers;, i ' Responding': to the toast, Mr. W. H. Price referred to the' rapid advance in ship design, and said that public interest had been aroused as never be- " fore in timo of peace in the shipping industry by reason' of its peril—a peril caused by the reduced quantity of goods parried by sea—by the development of foreign shipping, by the change of trade flow, intensified on account' of the instability or*the international 'monetary standards, and by direct political action of' other'nations in favour of their, own shipping. But the British nation was a maritime nation. It had experienced perils before and knew how to weather the storm. "Let us be loyal to the Empire," he exhorted. "Let us pull together and tho Bed Ensigns will again bo as numerous as before over the seven1 seas." Captain G. Knowles, president of tho Merchant Servico Guild, also responded to the toast. Other toasts honoured were "Our Guests," proposed by Mr. iT. Banlrinc, and responded to by Mr. O, O. Mazengarbj and "Absent Members," proposed by -Mr. A. Basirc.