STATE WELCOME

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24760, 7 December 1943, Page 4

STATE WELCOME

CANADIAN PRESSMEN PACIFIC NATIVE PROBLEMS (P.A.) WELLINGTON, Mojiday New Zealand's appreciation of the hospitality extended by the people of Canada to airmen from this country who were trained there under the Empire air training scheme was expressed by the deputy-Prime Minister, the Hon.'W. Nash, in his welcome to the Canadian press delegation at a State luncheon in its honour to-day. The members of the delegation are Messrs. A. R. Ford, B. T. Richardson and L. Pare. The other guests included Ministers of the Crown and representatives of the press and allied organisations. Reference to Canada's contribution to the cause of the United Nations was made by Mr. Nash, who said the hospitality" received by New Zealand airmen training in Canada had been shared not only by the Canadian Federal Government and by the provincial Governments, but by every Canadian. Mr. Ford said New Zealand had something worthwhile to contribute in any plan for raising the standard and conditions of the islands of the Pacific and could probably solve the problem of relationships with native peoples better than others, for she had done it in her own countfy. Mr. Richardson said that if anything in the world demonstrated the extent to which the Allies had taken the initiative it was the meeting in Persia of Mr. Winston Churchill, President Roosevelt and Marshal Stalin. Last August Mr. Churchill and President Roosevelt had met in Quebec and he had attended the very last press conference on that occasion, when it was said there would be another meeting before the end of the year, while the hint was given that the Russians would be there. This conference in Persia had been according to plan. He believed that at the Quebec conference the strategy of defeat of Germany was pretty well settled and that the finishing touches were added to it at the conference the other day.

TRAMWAY SERVICE CONCESSION TICKET URGED A renewed request was made to the Auckland Transport Board yesterday by the Auckland Labour Representation Committee that a transferable weekly concession ticket should be granted to workers at a maximum price of 4s 6d, tickets to be used by 8.30 a.m. and the home trip completed by 7 p.m. In his original report on the subject to the board in June of last year, the engineer and manager, Mr. A. E. Ford, said that a transferable ticket, issued at 3s 6d, had been introduced late in 1935, and had been withdrawn in the following September owing to abuses. Its reintrodnction would give additional work both to conductors and to the revenue office staff. Mr. Ford will now investigate tho possibility of some alternative issue. The Westmere braflch of the Labour Party forwarded a petition bearing 269 signatures asking the board to review a request that the Garnet Road section, 54 chains from the terminus, should be eliminated. No action was taken.

BOMBING IN MARSHALLS NAURU OIL DUMP HIT (8.40 p.m.) PEARL HARBOUR, Dec. 5 Liberator bombers yesterday raided the Mili atoll, in tho Marshalls group, and Nauru Island. Admiral C. W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, reports that 50 tons of bombs were dropped on the Mili atoll, starting several fires and destroying one grounded medium bomber. No enemy fighter opposition was encountered. All the Liberators returned, but five were damaged by anti-aircraft fire. Another group of Liberators set fire to an oil dump on Nauru Island. There was no enemy air opposition, but three Japanese planes departed from the area as the American planes arrived. All the bombers returned. One was slightly damaged by flak. The United Press correspondent at Pearl Harbour says the Mili bombing is interpreted as an indication that this a toll on the southern fringe of the Marshalls will receive a heavy aerial pounding similar to that preceding the landings in the Gilberts, and that the Marshalls might be next on the invasion list. TOKYO RADIO CLAIM SMASHING SEA VICTORY (Reed. 7.30 p.m.) NEW YORK, Dec. fl Another smashing sea victory lias been claimed by the Tokyo official radio. It says that Japanese naval planes on Friday night south of Bougainville. Northern Solomons, sank a United States battleship, three aircraft-carriers and two cruisers and set fire to another battleship and probably sank one heavy cruiser and one destroyer. The Japanese losses were given as six planes. Last month the_ Japanese claimed to have sunk 10 carriers and three battleships when, in fact, they sank only one baby flat-top.