STRONG COMMENT

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 114, 15 May 1936, Page 7

STRONG COMMENT

PACIFIC SHIPPING. Plight of British Vessels Stressed in Commons. SUPPORT OF DOMINIONS. United Press Association.—Copyright. ) (Received 12.30 p.m.) LONDON, May 14. Strong comment on the shipping position in the Pacific was made in the House of Commons by Sir H. Cavzer (Con., Portsmouth), who urged the Government to give a definite lead to the. Dominions and to act in concert with them. He added that the United States was wiping out Britain's mercantile marine in the Pacific with unfair subsidisation. Ihe All-Red route was threatened with severance. It was impossible for private firms to compete with a Government like the United .States, which was willing to spend millions to wrest trade from Britain. The United Kingdom was the biggest buyer in the world, and there was no reason for not using this purchasing power to secure a fair share of trade for British ships. "We are the biggest buyer of Dominion products," lie said, "and the Dominions should rely on British ships for marketing their products." Major Lloyd George: Is the Government satisfied that everything is being done in view of the urgency of the problem ?

Mr. C. M. Barclay-Harvey (Con., Aberdeen and Kincardine) said he was not sure whether members of the House realised the position in the Pacific. Any ship could take a cargo from an Australian port to New Zealand, although they were part of the British Empire. It was no good expecting comparatively small countries to stand up and fight the United States. Pacific routes would be most valuable in war time. Mr. D. P. Fvfe (C'on., Liverpool) : No one can say that what has happened in the Pacific has not justified action.

Mr. Walter R unciman, President of the Board of Trade, said the Government intended to make shipping one of the most efficient and most attractive of British industries.