BRITAIN’S RECOVERY DEPENDS ON DOLLARS. SAYS MR. NASH

Wanganui Chronicle, 23 February 1949, Page 5

BRITAIN’S RECOVERY DEPENDS ON DOLLARS. SAYS MR. NASH

AUCKLAND, Last Night (P.A.)“Since I arrived here, and it was only about 20 minutes ago, everyone has said something to me about dollars.** said the Minister of Finance (Mr. Nash), amid laughter, when addressing guests of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines at Whenuapai. The Mayor (Mr. J. A. C. Allum) and representative citizens had assembled at the company’s invitation to witness the departure of the new DC-6 aircraft on the first north-bound flight of the faster British Pacific service. Mr. Nash, who had arrived from Wellington only a few minutes before the aircraft took off, spoke shortly after the Minister in Charge of Civil Aviation (Mr. Jones) had expressed the hope that the new service would be well patronised by New Zealanders.

There was a distinct rumour ot "What about the dollars?” when Mr. Jones was speaking, and the. point was obviously not lost upon his colleague. Mr. Nash. “I wonder if we could think this dollar business out for a moment." Mr. Nash continued. He said that the new aircraft that had just taken off had come from a country which last vear had given Britain a thousand million dollars, yet there was still not enough ’to ensure that Britain and the Commonwealth could pay for goods and services being sent out by the United States.

He did not know whether new aircraft for the British Pacific service werh included in the arrangements for the European recovery plan, hut in the long run they must be because the United States could never be paid for the vast quantity of goods and services she was sending to enable the world to recover. The United Kingdom had made a remarkable recovery up to the present and it was said that if all went well it was likely that by 1952 she would not he short of dollars. When Britain was not short of dollars New Zealand would not be short. "We are very short of dollars because we send everything we can to Britain " Mr. Nash said. If New Zealand chose to pick up markets where she was able she could earn a fair number of dollars, but this would have the effect of delaying world recovery which depended upon Britain's

recovery. Doubt whether Britain could overtake the United States in the production of transport aircraft was expressed by Mr. Nash. He said that Britain had got behind during the war when she was developing other types of plane for war work. There was a story that in a year or two Britain could be ahead, but he did not know whether she could catch up with tlie Skymasters, Constellations, and the D.C -6's. “This plane is the best example ot the fact that there are three parts of the British Commonwealth determined to link together and keep the United Kingdom in the Pacific.” he said. It would be bad for Australia. New Zealand and the Commonwealth if Britain did not have a major interest in the Pacific, He was proud to think that the service had come about through the co-operation of Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Canada proposed to run her own Pacific service on a private enterprise basis, though he did not know whether this could succeed without being sun"This new aircraft is an amazing triumph of human genius,” the Minister concluded. Men still had a long way to go before their mental cultural and spiritual sides caught up with ’ their scientific achievements, and he added, with a smile, when this had been achieved, it w<tald not matter whether or.no we had dollais. After brief addresses had also been given by Sir Leonard Isitt, New Zealand Director of the Company, and Mr Allum. the big monoplane taxied out and took off. Spectators were especially impressed by the rapidity Lith which the Douglas reached flying "peed and gained height in a circuit of the field before the course was set for Nandi.