CIVIL AVIATION

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23113, 30 January 1945, Page 5

CIVIL AVIATION

Compromise Suggested Job Must Be Completed

British Official Wireless RUGBY, Jan. 28.

The functions of the Minister of Civil Aviation (Lord Swinton) will include all international and Imperial negotiations, and the formication of a policy at home and overseas, subject to the War Cabinet’s approval on broad lines of policy, Mr C. R. Attlee told the House of Commons when opening the debate on civil aviation. Statutory control of civil aviation and the British Overseas Airways Corporation, so far as it depended on statute, was vested now in the Air Ministry, he added, and it would no doubt be convenient at some stage to vest these powers in the Minister of Civil Aviation. Mr Arthur Woodburn (Labour) said that the United States did not seem able to make up its mind as to the solution of world co-operation, and without co-operation in aviation there would be chaos. Sir Alfred Beit (Consei-vative) said that the United States attitude indicated that it was not likely to surrender the fruits of successful private enterprise, but the Chicago conference had cleared the air and left scope for future agreement. Other members said that a great deal had been achieved in Chicago, and they complimented Lord Swinton on the work he had done there. British Rights Stressed Sir Jocelyn Lucas (Conservative) said that the United States newspapers indicated that American air domination was aimed at. but the British Empire also had rights. British ships could not pick up freight or passengers between American ports, and if the Americans were going to apply that, then it should be applied to American airways over any Empire route.

Sir Stafford Cripps, replying to the debate, said that in all but one aspect the Chicago conference had been a success. The first step had been taken, and Chicago was not the end, only the beginning. The Australian and New Zealand proposals for the internationalisation of the main trunk routes of the world had been tackled, but the committee to which they were referred did not accept them. Britain had not been able to get the international agreement desired at Chicago, but that cjjd not mean that she would not stick to her desire to get what was in the White Paper on policy. Sir Stafford Cripps added: “We must get on with this job. We cannot, just because we do not see eye to eye, let it wait over. Pressure of competition from the other side of the Atlantic is far too strong to allow us to stand still, and that means that we will have to come to some sort of compromise or another.” Canada Accepts Right of Transit It is reported from New York that, follow’ing a conference between the United States and Canadian air delegations, Canada has announced her adherence to two freedoms of the -air; which provide that aeroplanes of one country may fly across another without stopping, or they may stop at designated airports for re-fuelling or for emergencies.

The Canadian Minister of Reconstruction (Mr C. D. Howe) also announced that Montreal will be the seat of the world aviation interim organisation.

The Associated Press points out that Canada’s adherence has given United States aeroplanes the right of transit on the way to Europe and Asia.