AIRSHIP SERVICES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18040, 15 March 1922, Page 6

AIRSHIP SERVICES.

The Prime Minister has at length broken silence on the subject of the proposed Imperial airship services to say the right tiling in the wrong way. The finances of the country are so i straitened at the present time that a vote for the development of rouud-the-world flights, like a great many other forms of expenditure desirable in themselves, could not even be considered. On that simple ground the Prime Minister's adverse decision was thoroughly justified. j But that is no reason why the country should not be afforded details of the scheme placed before the Government. The facts are that the Imperial Conference, after receiving j an informative report from a com- ! mittee of experts, referred the proposals contained therein to the various Governments and Parliaments of the Empire for consideration. Under the circumstances it was only proper that a full statement, including the amount of the subsidy roquired from New Zealand, should have been placed before Parliament. Instead of doing this Mr. Massey maintained complote silence, did not even announce his decision, which reached this country throng l ! London, and even now has not stated the amount of the liability the Government was asked to assume. If there was little reason in keeping the country completely in the dark upon a project which at least was interesting, and under moje favourable circumstances would have beon inviting, there is even less excuse for attributing to the unreliability of airships a decision which is due to the condition of the New Zealand Treasury. Mr.! Massey may honestly believe that the two disasters which have recently overtaken airships prove the impracticability of establishing regu- j lar communication between London j and New Zealand—there were some people living 80 years ago who were ( firmly convinced by the early railway accidents that trains were a useless and dangerous invention— but expert opinion is against him. Accidents to experimental types of | airships in no way challenge the; established reliability of commer-j oial vessels or limit the possibility, of further progress. There is no' technical reason why an airship service should not be established between Auckland and London forth- i with, but many unknown fabtors are involved, including cost and ground organisation. To elucidate these would have taken several years and involved a fairly heavy expenditure. The governments of the Empire have declined to shoulder the liability, but there is still a possibility that private enterprise will fill the breach and prepare the way for the ten or twelve days' service I which will ultimately link Auckland ■ I and London. • j