The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. MONDAY, MAY 7, 1934. SIR HENRY WIGRAM.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20298, 7 May 1934, Page 6

The Christchurch Star PUBLISHED BY New Zealand Newspapers Ltd. MONDAY, MAY 7, 1934. SIR HENRY WIGRAM.

lias never been more fortunate in the long record of its public men than it was when Sir Henry Wigram’s activities led to the amalgamation of the local bodies comprised in Greater Christchurch. Those Mayoral years were not, however, the culminating point of his services to the city or to the Dominion, for throughout a long life in local and general government, in literature, journalism and business, he attained to that \ery high standard by which the people set their ideals of public men, and his good citizenship was also reflected in the wide generosity to which the Major and others pa>’ tributes to-daj\ Rut it was as tile leading spirit in the founding and development of aviation in New Zealand that Sir Henry Wigram’s name takes a permanent and honoured place in the history of the Dominion. His foresight had been focused on the possibilities of aviation as earlj r as 1908, and bis speeches in Parliament, which in themselves are a notable contribution to the historj- of aviation in the Dominion, were followed by action of the most practical value during the earlj' years of the war, when he planned and launched a movement that sent 200 trained pilots abroad, and at vorj' great expense to himself, gave Christchurch the famous airport that bears his name. Without the Wigram Aerodrome Kingsford Smith’s trans-Tasman flight would not have been possible, and the Aero Club movement would not have received the stimulus that carried it, again with the very generous help of Sir Henrj- Wigram, to the healthj’ position in which it finds itself to-daj*. A COMMON DESTINY. IT IS TRUE, as Mr Bruce sajs, that'Australia and New Zealand are facing common difficulties in respect to primarj' products for the. I.ondon market. He might have added that they have also a common destinj". He takes the view that ii is better to accept the basic principle of regulation or quotas than to take low prices and continue to storm the market until even margarine goes down before the price of Dominion butter. There is a slight danger, as far as negotiations with Britain are concerned, of assuming that Australia’s case is identical with New Zealand’s at the moment, for if marketing terms with Britain were to be decided by existing tariffs. New Zealand would be in a most favoured position, as a reference to a comparative table of New Zealand and Australian tariffs in this issue will show. Under the reduced tariff adopted to comply with the terms of the Ottawa Agreement, Australia announces that all requirements have been satisfied with a schedule that, in respect to a large number of items, is anything from 100 to 150 per cent higher than the existing New Zealand tariff. A quota based on these tariffs would be altogether to the disadvantage of Australia. Nevertheless, we cannot disregard the fact that Australia’s encouragement of her secondary industries is plaj'ing an important part in the creation of a healthy national sentiment, and from this point of view the figures are wortli careful study. OPERATIC SURVIVAL. qpHE SURVIVAL of the legitimate stage in music in New Zealand rests with the local amateur organisations, but the enthusiasm of these societies for their art will not keep dramatic music alive in tfie community if the members of the public do not encourage them in their performances. The season of the Christchurch Operatic Society is a case in point. The society has spent £7OO on the production of “ Les Cloches de Corneville ” and attained a high musical standard, and it would be a grave loss if the musical societies which have struggled for their existence through the slump should dwindle to a sad end through lack of public support.