The Press TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 1936. Pacific Shipping

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21746, 31 March 1936, Page 10

The Press TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 1936. Pacific Shipping

There is no simple and ready solution of the problem which confronts the Pacific shipping conference to be held in London within the next week or two. New Zealand will not be represented at that meeting by a Minister, but Sir James Parr will be well enough briefed to speak the mind of the new Government. The business of the conference is to find an alternative to the withdrawal of British shipping from the Pacific, a matter of paramount importance to New Zealand and Australia. It has been stated forcefully enough by the British shipping interests that they are no longer able to stand unsupported against the powerful opposition of heavily subsidised foreign shipping. The point upon which there must be agreement in Australia, New Zealand, and in Canada is that it would be disastrous if British shipping were to be swept from the Pacific, and not the least harmful result would be the blow to British prestige. There are obvious enough remedies, but to apply some of them might occasion unpleasantness. In these days it is important that Anglo-American relations should be maintained on amicable levels, and any severe or semi-punitive action would do much more harm than good. It would be possible to prohibit American shipping from carrying passengers and cargo between British ports in the Pacific, and it would also be possible to impose different scales of harbour dues on American ships. These, however, are not the proper solutions of the problem. There are subsidised American ships on the Pacific runs; they attract passengers because they are able to provide more luxurious travel than is obtainable at present on the British ships. The first step, and the one which must be taken if British shipping is to meet its American rivals on a proper competitive basis, is to have ships at least as good as the American liners. The statements of the British shipping authorities show that this cannot be done without outside assistance, and since that is so there need be no further cavil about deciding upon a subsidy and apportioning it among the countries benefiting most from the continuance of the service. It is estimated that a subsidy of £250,000 a year would be necessary to maintain two £ 1,000,000 liners on the Pacific runs. New Zealand's contribution, it is suggested, would be £25,000, which is not excessive considering the trouble that would be caused by the discontinuance of present services. There is, of course, the danger that the American vessels might be further subsidised to place them in the ascendant again, but on the whole there would be little chance of this if the British ships were equal in quality to the American. Still, if subsidies alone cannot remedy the present situation, one of the other methods would have to be tried, for British ships must stay where they are.. . ~