The Press. MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1908. THE PORT OF LONDON.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13083, 6 April 1908, Page 6

The Press. MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1908. THE PORT OF LONDON.

The necessity lor doing anything to faster tho trade of the Porfc of Loudon, probably strikes tho average reader as strangely curious. For tho Port of London is, to most of us, the. port of all the world. Its sliips furrow every se-a., and lie in every harbour where trade ie to bo found. Most • of the world's waterways lead thither; it is still, as it has been for two centuries or more, the greatest and busiest Of ports. Tho yearly value of ite trade is reckoned at 285 million pounds, sixty-four million more than that of New York. More than twentvsereu million tons of cargo shipping entered and left the port in 1900, and this enormous total takes no account of the extensive ba-rge traffic, Tetssojsin ballast, passenger vessels, boits UJider 45 tone, and other local traffic. Under these circsimstances, it will seem, to the average reader that to takt> measures to "footer the trade of tbo Port of London" is as unnecessary as gilding refined gold. But, as a fact, London ie hardly holding her own as a port with come of her great competitors, and unless the administration its reformed her supremacy may pass away. It is now somo eight or nine years since tJie necessity for taking action in this direct-ion was first soriously considered by tho British (Jnvcrnment. but discontont with existing conditions hid been growing for years before that, and tho Royal (kminiibsion which was appointed in 1000 to enquire into tho subject, had presented •fee Lfc a. mass of ovideiic© from shipping experts and ofchors, -vrhidi stowed coiiclusiveJy that BOino comprehensive measure of reform was a matter of necessity and urgency. Following the publication, of the- Commissioner's report, Mr Gerald Balfour introduced a Bill which ombraced a good many of tho Commissioner's recommendations, but it did not get beyond the committee stage, and there the Government's efforts ceased. The London County Council promoted a Bill three years ago which was rejected, and then, in 1906, Mr LloydGeorge promised to bring in a measure ♦luring this session. That promise he has redeemed with a Bill which "Tho Times" jyronou-nces to be a conspicuously practical and common-sense measure. Before referring further to this Bill ~ it may be well to point out briefly the disadvantages from which the Port of Tendon Buffers, and from which th<> i iew - rneoemro offers relief. Tin* former were practically summed up in a paragraph by tho London "Spectator ,, some

months ago. '"The disabilities," it I said, "aro partly physical and partly J " imposed by authority. The depth of *' water in the river is insufficient for * the increasing size and tonnage of " ships. The tide keeps outward and • inward bound ships waiting for ebb '' and flood. The port dues are heavy. " The restrictions iuevitabie with con- •'• flic-ting or over-lapping authorities ■'are vexatious. Navigation, owing "to strong tides, bends in ""tho rive>r 4 ships crowded in a narrow " channel, and fogs, is often dangerous." Tlie Royal Commission to which we have Tcferred found one of tho greateft necessities ot" the situation to bo the deepening of the river. Owing to the increase in tlie size and depth of steamers, far more dredging was needed than had been done. Sir Edwyn Dawce, then chairman of tho New Ze:_land Shipping Company, told tho Commission that the company's bifc steamers, drawing 28 feet when fully loaded, were '"frequently resting on tho mud in "• the docks when loading, and havo to ''be restricted in weight of c;irgo and "coals." Tho Thames Conservancy, on whom rested the duty of keeping the chnnnels up to the lovel of tho requirements of modern commerce, wero found to have done little to satisfy r.he urgent demands of tho shipping trade in this respect. Tho Board liad! admittedly insufficient revenue for tho purpose, but it hadi not tried to secure further financial power from Parliament. The whole law regarding pLk.t-.ge, over which tlio Trinity House is tho controlling authority, was reported to bo " in a chaotic condition," and a fruitful source of litigation and trouble. The. existing quay and berth nccommodatioJi for shi]>s was inadequate, as wero the facilities for the sortiug and delivery of cargoes, in consequence of which undue delays in loading and unloading occurred, and another largo deep-water dock, fitted with a'l modern appliances, was required. Wo havo not yet sufficient details of Mr Lloyd-■ George's Bill to enable any close comparison to bo mado between its provisions and the reoommend'atiions of tho Royal Commission. They both provide, of course, for the creation of one central port authority having control of the river below Teddington Lock seawards. Tho report recommended a membership of forty nominated and elected representatives, the Bill provides for twenty-five, certainly a mono convenient number. Tlie Commission proposed that tho ».cck companies should l>e bought out, tho prico in default of agreement to bo fixed by arbitration, and to be paid for by the issue to tho shareholders of each company of specially . created Port Stock bearing into, est at a fixed and guaranteed rate. It may he mentioned that tie capital invested in the docks amounts' to twer-ty-fivo million sterling, besides another thirteen millions invested in private wharves. According to tiho cable message, all the dock companies havo agreed to eomo under tho new jurisdiction without compulsory purchase, so that tho troutue which some expected in this connection has apparently been averted. Tho cost of deepening tiho channoLs, improving the docks, and constructing new ones was estimated by tho Commission at soven millions, and as tho members agreed that it would bo unwise to raise tho extra capital by additional charges on shipping, they suggested that it should bo provided by the London County Council and tho City Corporation, either jointly or soparateSv. It is no easy tusk to substitute one cemfcral authority for innumorablo other authorities, to chancre methods that oro tho growth of centuries. for others better Adapted to the needs of tho day, and to reconcile tho many conflicting interests that aro concerned in such a huge matter as the shipping of London. Mr Lloyd-George's Bill, however, has mot with a good reception; it is the result of many months of careful study of tho problems involved, and it may prove that ho has succeeded, where others have failed, in providing a thoroughly workable scheme for reforming tho administration of the Port of London.