Five New Ships

On American-Australian

Service

rr\HE American “Journal of Commerce”

J. on July 8 stated that two Danish ships, the “Nordhval” and the “Nordpol”, together with three new Mat son Line vessels, “Hawaiian Planter”, “Hawaiian Shipper” and “Hawaiian Mer chant”, will constitute a speedy service on the strategically important run be tween the American Pacific Coast and Australia It is understood that the Matson Line subsidiary, the Oceanic Steamship Com pany, will take over the control of the Australia-Pacific trade, and the offices of the Union Line in America, Australia and New Zealand will act as agents.

The three new Matson Line vessels are of identical construction. They have a gross registered tonnage of 7,200 tons and J are 465 ft. in length with a beam of 70 i ft. Powered by two steam turbines, they are believed to have a speed of 17 knots ; or more. The “Hawaiian Merchant will i leave Honolulu early in August for Aus- ■ tralia, via ports, but will not call at New Zealand.

The Danish twin-screw steamers i “Nordpol” and “Nordhval” are also simi- lar in construction. The “Nordhval” was s built at Copenhagen in 1924 and the £ “Nordpol” in 1926. They are 4,480 tons a gross, 380 ft. in length, with a beam of i 53 ft.

Position In Sydney

THE replacing of Union SS Co. cargo c vessels in the Pacific trade by Mat- son boats is still under consideration r between the British Government, the s American Government, the Union SS c Co, and the Matson Line; but, as yet, ,c no definite conclusions have been c reached. , It is suggested that there will be one 9 service from Vancouver and San Fran- cisco to New Zealand ports, and that, j these vessels will make a call at Fiji on n their return journey and pick up sugar x for Vancouver; and that a second ser- -• vice, with larger vessels, probably will run n from Vancouver to San Francisco, Tahiti, ,l New Zealand, and Australia. Their ti northbound itinerary, it is hoped, will II include Suva.

Ministerial "Impressions"

rRRITORIES’ residents will be enter--i tained by the Australian Minister’s a”

“impressions” of his tour, as given m to a Melbourne reporter, after hear returned on August 12. Here they are,,9' taken verbatim from a Sydney news-a’ paper;— . ,, “My outstanding impression as thesri result of my New Guinea tour is thesn happy and healthy appearance of .then natives,” said the Minister. He praisedbe the efficiency of the administration ofio the Mandated Territory by Sir Waltengj McNicoll. . ..

Yet, as a matter of fact, the Man-n, dated Territory echoes continually toJ criticism of the Administrator, and hisiri native-control policy; while in Papu8i/< (which the Minister does not even men-n< tion) the natives are contented and well-h disciplined, and the people appear to bed on increasingly happy terms with thenej new Administrator, Mr. Leonard Murray^ M. Sammarcelli, formerly Public Prooi secutor at Noumea, who joined the FreeT French forces in Africa as a lieutenantm is officially mentioned for brilliant concro duct during recent fighting at Forrc Koufra, in the Libyan desert.