SHIPPING SERVICES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17088, 17 July 1926, Page 5

SHIPPING SERVICES.

. NECEECTED SOUTH ISLAND. CONSIDERATION PROMISED. (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. A Ministerial undertaking that South Island claims for improved direct shipping facilities from overseas will he uonsiclered by Cabinet was given in the J House yesterday when Sir .Joseph Ward again raised the question of the inadequate steamer services for the South Is 0 land. c | Sir Joseph Ward pointed out how t every subsidised service centred on the 1 North Island. Not a passenger had t Wen landed from the Old Country direct 3to the South Island. When he was in - Duncdin last week several important i business people complained of the Gov- . ernment's lack of consideration in this ■ respect. A similar complaint was made , to him in Christchurch, where the importance of direct fruit importations to | the South Island was mentioned. Every South Island member should force the position until it came to an end. Though the Government had a large majority it \ could not ignore the rights of minorities. : The people of England ami other c.oun- '. tries seemed to think that there were • only two ports in New Zealand. : Mr. .!. S. Dickson : One. Auckland. Sir Joseph Ward added that if tin's i was'the idea, why not knock off one I port and use another more central, which (would be Wellington, with no steamers > going to Auckland. But Aucklandetrs Ij would not stand that for 24 hours. It .! could be done economically and immi- .. grants radiated around New Zealand by i rail. How long would Auckland .stand , that? ! Mr. V. H. Potter (emphatically): Not ! five minutes. Sir Joseph Ward concluded by describing bow large shiploads'of immigrants , landed in the North Island and only one or two went to Christ church, Dunedin. or Southland, though the people of those districts nut their hands into I heir ; pockets for the benefit of immigration just as much as anyone else. | "A MATTER, OF POLICY." ! Mr. W, Nosworthy, Minister of Immigration, replied that all the immigrants came to Auckland or Wellington, hut they were sent .to their destination without charge. In former days, when much was done to help the South Island, Southland was a tremendous exI porter of oats and a good deal of shipI ping was done to Australia. This had ! coased on the advent, of motor cars. The matter raised by the member for Invercargill was one of policy, and he would promise on behalf of his colleagues to look into it. "We will look into the whole position in regard to postal facili- ' ties, shipping, etc., and see if anything 'can be done' on tho lines mentioned.' 1 I 'IIWI