The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. "Luceo Non Uro." MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1934. THE SOUND COURSE

Southland Times, Issue 22417, 3 September 1934, Page 6

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. "Luceo Non Uro." MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1934. THE SOUND COURSE

With the return of the Maheno to the Bluff-Melbourne service in connection with the centenary celebrations, the time is certainly opportune for a further move in the direction of linking Tasmania and the southern part of New Zealand again. It has been said with much truth that the trans-Tas-man service with Bluff as a terminal cannot be run unless sufficient trade is developed to make the service profitable, and it would appear that a long time would elapse before the BluffMelbourne business would be large enough to yield a fair return to the shipping company responsible for the time-table. But with the inclusion of Hobart in the itinerary the possibility of adequate business no longer becomes remote, and it is through this door that the way to the resuscitation of the service to Bluff lies. -Mr J. M. Fisher, who has been working away assiduously and with a patience that deserves success, is in New Zealand as the accredited agent of the Tasmanian Government, which now is officially behind the movement, and he is armed with the hope, based on official assurances, that the clauses in the Australian Navigation Act which have stood in the way so far will no longer prevent vessels on the New Zealand register carrying cargo between Hobart and Melbourne. This was a vital section of the trade, and when the Federal laws put it out of bounds to all but Australian companies the Union Company’s ships on this run were cut out of a trade which assisted materially in making the service worth while. Mr Fisher is tackling the problem in the right way. He wants to see a service which will not need subsidies. Artificial barriers have been standing in the way, but artificial aid, unless it is to be limited to a very brief period, means that the business is unsound. With the inclusion of Hobart in the itinerary Tasmania will be linked with the southern part of New Zealand and will have a better connection with Melbourne. A reciprocal trade can be developed again. This, Mr Fisher knows, and this is one of the strongest of his arguments for the restoration of the Bluff-Mel-bourne service on sound lines that will make it a permanent part of the trans-Tasman business. The inclusion of Hobart will be appreciated by passengers who are not in violent haste, and the inclusion of the call into the Sounds on occasions will further enhance the popularity of the service; but it is in the development of a reciprocal trade that the two countries

can obtain mutual advantage, and the Tasmanians sympathise with the plaint of the Southlanders because their case is similar—they, too, were the victims of an interference in trade which had effects that were not fully estimated by those'who were responsible for the change. Mr Fisher deserves the active support of all Southlanders in his mission, for his success will mean much for the province.