dune. 20.
Lord Thomson's speech to the. Central Asian Society on the object of the development' of routes between Europe and the Far East sounded a distinctly pessimistic note in-so-far as the Secretary of State for Air was concerned with British achievements in that sphere. The pioneers of flight from Europe to the Antipodes have been, in the main, British; this seems hardly necessary to mention in the light of the recent triumph of Miss Amy Johnson, but it is perhaps just as well to recall some of the leading airmen who have made the trip from Europe to. Australia or tothe Far-East——- First of all there were Sir Keith Ross and his brother; later on came Sir Alan Cobham, From France there come Col. Pelletier a'Oisy, From America Messr Brock and Schlee made a wonder ful flight which took them from Newfoundland to India in the space of ten days, but they broke off their adventure in Japan owing to the prejudice then existing against attempts to fly the Pacific. A strictly commercial traveller came in Mr. Van Lear Black, who flew from Holland to Batavia by way of India. This does not exhaust the tale but mentions some of the chief exponents of air travel between Europe and the Far East, Now the Royal Netherlands East Indies Air Lines are vice between a, Port Darwin, B bane and' Sydney, linking up with the existing air service between Sourabaya and Singapore, which is to be extended to Boland as soon as negotiations with the Government of India are completed. The Dutch are to be congratulated on the enter prise which they have shown and Lord Thomson naturally regrets that British air services have not yet been able to open up the route to Australia, The Imperial Airways have now an excelteut service running between Croydon and Karachi but the difficulty Kies in extending the route across India.
Owing to the intrusion of Political prejudice the Government of India, with all the good: will in the world, have found their hands very much tied. For the development of the internal services of India is theoretically supposed to be a matter for indigenous concerns, the truth Ddeing that there are no sch cou-cers ready to take over the responsibilities of air travel an is unlikely that there will be any in the near future. This has retarded negotiations by the Imperial Airways for the extension of their route to India, Yet, paradoxically enough, foreign ines have been able more readily to secure rights to fly over this British Dominion in embryo, simply because under the International Air Convention. such rights cannot be unreasonably withheld. At the moment there hope that the Indian Air. Ma'! will be extended to Galex carly next year, and to Rangoon a. few. months later, but: the oficial "view of the Government of India is that meteorologic:), ground and. wireless arransements are not yet'in a sufficiently
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