BRITISH MERCHANTMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 16, 19 January 1905, Page 4

BRITISH MERCHANTMEN.

A letter has just been published in the "Times," isigned by Admiral Hay, calling attention to the fact that the crews of British merchant vessels now largely consist of foreign sailors. The fact is sufficiently notorious, but public interest is, unfortunately, seldom attracted by information of this kind unless it has some definite practical bearing. It is easy to show that the foreign element in the British mercantile marine has been steadily increasing during the last 40 years. In 1860 the merchant shipping tonnage of the United Kingdom was 4,251,739; and in that year there were employed on British vessels 157,312 British seamen, 335 Lascars, and 19-280 foreigners. The foreigners and Lascars combined formed, therefore, only about nine!per cent., of the crews. By 1902 the tonnage of our mercantile marine had increased to 10,054,770 —a growth of nearly 150 per cent. But the number of British seamen employed had increased to only 174,538, or by less than 11 per .cent. The Lascars, however, had risen in number to 30,177, and the other' foreigners among the crews to 39,825; so that the alien element employed on our vessels in 1902 numbered 79,002, or 45 per cent of the whole crews. In view of the comparatively small growth of British element, this is a truly portentous increase, and discloses a state of things that may have a serious effect upon the future prospects of England both in peace and war. On the purely commercial side there is a -great and obvious disadvantage in filling our vessels with aliens, and thus depriving, our own seafaring countrymen of the livelihood which our national character and our historical traditions render peculiarly attractive to them. In the Welsh ports, the Greeks and Italians and Portuguese have cut down wages 10/ or even £ 1 a month below that paid to the British sailor. But there is an even graver peril latent here, which was indicated five years ago by Mr. Ritchie in the House of Commons in a speech, in which he declared that it was not only dangerous but practically impossible to call out the naval reserves. To do so, said Mr. Ritchie, would be to deplete British ships of British .seamen and leave them to be manned altogether by foreigners. This would certainly be a very serious situation, for the aliens who form the major part of our crews are as a class by no means well disposed towards England. Mr. Prank Bullen, whose long personal experience of the sea enables him to speak with authority, has descanted eloquently upon the fate of the British sailor, who "must needs listen all the watch and every watch to the alien abuse of England" from men who will live on the smell of an oily rag and work the clock round if only they can get out of the country that save them birth to silly old England, who will starve her own children to welcome them." A mercantile marine thus manned can never be a source of strength to the nation. and it can never contribute to the naval defence of the Empire; while it supersedes the men who under more favourable conditions might help to maintain Britain's naval supremacy against the foreigner.

The newspapers which have comment ed upon Admiral Hay's letter to the "Times" have urged that the conditions of life in the merchant service should be unproved so as to attract men of British nationality to the service. As to the danger of mutinies mentioned by Admiral Hay, this has been attributed by Mr Bullen largely to the fact that it is hard to keep discipline among alien crews who barely understand the "orders given—more especially when false economy allows an inadequate number of officers to our merchant vessels. It may also be pointed out that the Navy is comparatively more popular among British sailors than the merchant service, though food and accommodation are much better on the merchantmen and wages are 20 per cent, higher. The fact is explained by Mr Bullen as due to three causes—the strict discipline of the Navy, which raises the tone of the service and the character of the men, the certainty of promotion for conscientious and diligent seamen, and. the security of employment.. But always. Mr Bullen thinks the greatest charm of the Navy to the British sailor is the national spirit that pervades it; for "he never finds himself in a minority of one or two out of 12 or 14 sneering aliens who have only one congenial topic in broken English, and that, abuse of his country." From this point of view the question of the manning of our mercantile marine is only one side of the great problem of alien immigration; and it is held by many that no permanent good can be" done till England is prepared to ace that her sailors are not sacrificed to cheap foreign competition. Much might be effected by the formation of associations to include shipowners as well as seamen, for the purpose of improving the conditions of life on our merchantmen, and a closer connection with the Navy on the lines of the Royal Naval Reserve would probably help to render the merchant service more attractive. But the time has certainly come to make a bold stand against "the grave dangers of handing over the very vitals of the nation, the mercantile marine, to open and avowed enemies of our country."