Division of Big Contract

WfE understand that the transport con ™ tract let on behalf of New Guinea Goldfields Limited for the current year has

been divided among the aerial transport companies as follows: 50 per cent—Carpenter Airways per lb., less 5 per cent.) 30 per cent —P.A.T. Company (2d per lb.) 10 per cent —Stephens Airways (1.87 d per lb.) 10 per cent —Floating.

The interesting feature of this is that two major companies—Guinea Airways Ltd. and Holden’s Air Transport Services Ltd.—have not received any portion of the contract. It is not known whether their prices were too high, or whether this method of parcelling out the business is in some way connected with the recent public agitation against the proposed aerial transport merger.