A SURPRISING GIFT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15317, 13 September 1920, Page 8

A SURPRISING GIFT.

CHRIS'fGHURCH, thw day. The Sun says editorially: "The Defence Department has an amazing, capacity for doing the wrong thing, and its< latest per-, formance m giving away some 1 Govern* ment property worth about £10,000 is sufficiently sensationaL to attract something more than passing attention.- It appears that Mr Wigley, iof. Timaru,; recently I made a pilgrimage to Wellington; and un<> itfoldcd a scheme to: the .'Air " Board for an air scrvico fco Mfr. <3ook. :WhethexMr Wigley, -with /the assistance iof ; Mr nett, the member for the district, 1 hypnoti ised the Air BoUrd and' the -Minister of I Defence we cannot' cay,' but* probably ■ nx> one was more. surprised than Mr Wigley himself to discover that tho Department) was "willing to make him '''-a pk-esent : 'bf I five of the machines' sent -.but By* tH'e Ittipcrial authorities.' As 'soon as the 'sue--cess of Mr Wiglby's mission beoqmes'mbro generally known- we imagine . airush t>f 'pair transport compkny • promoferia to-'Welllhg-; ton will set m, and. it' w*li < be' - rafcher m s teresting to see wbat the Air Iteard..'will' say to them. Air •. transport '.istgr '&■ cemmcrcial enterprise is not tho soft of venture that anybody except a confirmed optimist is likely to put much money into under existing conditions m. New Zealand. Obviously there is no room for two aerial transport companies :. m ' Canterbu-ry. Aviation' Co., Ltd., "is already m .fehe field, having .spent some' £30,000 of FeaT -money m developing' aviation m this part of-tho Dominion. To tho lay mind it would"appear that the . company bod every right to expect considerate treatment from the Department, yet bf^Vt^:6t regarding, the company fhe. Government is -helping to establish a .rival concern next door with a gift of five airplanes-.*'— Herald Special.!