SERVICE TO BE STOPPED

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21760, 17 April 1936, Page 14

SERVICE TO BE STOPPED

MAIL LINE TO SAN FRANCISCO

DECISION OF THE UNION

COMPANY

COMPETITION WITH HEAVY STATE SUBSIDIES

[THE PRESS Special Service.]

WELLINGTON, April 16,

The Union Royal Mail Line shipping service between Sydney, Wellington, and San Francisco is to be discontinued. This announcement has been made by the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Ltd,, and the decision will take effect from the arrival of the Makura at Sydney next December.

“The decision has been made aftei' some years of heavy loss in this service, and emphasises that private enterprise cannot compete with high State subsidy.” the company says. “Under existing conditions, it, is not practicable to continue the present service or to make replacement, with more modern tonnage.”

The future of the Canadian-Austra-lasian Line between Vancouver, Auckland, and Sydney, as has already been stated by Its president, Sir Edward Beatty, is similarly threatened. The San Francisco service, which is to be discontinued in December, was started by the company in 1885. In that year the contract between the governments of New Zealand and New South Wales and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company of New York for the carriage of the English mails via San Francisco expired, and as the Pacific Mail Company did not seek a renewal, negotiations resulted in the Union Comnany taking the contract and carrying it on in conjunction with the Oceanic Steamship Company of San Francisco. The first voyage from New Zealand was made by' the Mararoa, 2598 tons, which had just come out from the builders in Scotland. Although the Mararoa was withdrawn after a few voyages to take her place in the intercolonial service for which she had been built, the mail service was carried on by the Union Company and the Oceanic Company with various steamers for rpany years with great regularity.

Debarred by American Law

In 1900, however, the Union Company’s connexion with the San Francisco mail service ceased. The Hawaiian group had lately been annexed to the United States, and under the shipping laws of that country foreign ships were debarred from plying between San Francisco and Honolulu, while recent legislation confined mail subsidies to vessels owned in the United States. The traffic between Honolulu and San Francisco and the mail subsidy which was being received from the United States were essential to the profitable running of the mail service, so that the Union Company was forced to withdraw and leave the service in the hands of the Oceanic Steamship Company, which, as an American concern, was not subject to the sa'me disabilities. Tire Union Company then turned its attention to the Vancouver service. The Canadian-Australian Line, founded by Mr Janes Huddart in 1803 to carry on a mail service between Sydney and Vancouver, had become financially embarrassed, and had passed into the hands of the New Zealand Shipping Company, which was running it with three steamers. In 1901 the Union Company bought a share in the service and eventually became sole proprietor of the line. By careful management and the substitution of new and larger vessels from time to time, it brought ihc line, now known as the Canadian-Australasian Royal Mail Line, or the “All Red Route,” up to a high stele of efficiency. In the earlier days of the Union Company's association with this line, the rout; was from Sydney to Brisbane. Honolulu, and Vancouver, and later Fiji was included in the route. In 1911 the New Zealand Government granted a subsidy for the steamers to call at Auckland instead of Brisbane, the Australian Government discontinuing its subsidy. In 1908 the Union Comnany placed the Makura, 8075 tons, on the Vancouver run, and in 1913 the well-known Niagara. 13,415 tons,which in size speed and equipment surpassed anything up to that time running ;o New Zealand or Australia. In 1925 the Makura was replaced by the Aorangi, 17,491 tons, then the largest motor-ship in the world.

San Francisco Service Resumed

In 1909 the Union Company began a monthly service between Wellington, Rarotonga and Tahiti, connecting with the Oceanic Company’s steamer running between Tahiti and San Francisco. The following year it was arranged with the New Zealand Gov-

eminent that larger and faster steamers should be put on and the service continued right through to San Francisco, thus affording a monthly alternative mail to Great Britain. The itinerary was later extended to Sydney For this service the Union Company purchased in 1911 the steamer Port Kingston, 7585 tons, which was renamed Tahiti, and which was placed on the San Francisco service. Since the loss of the Tahiti the service has been maintained by the Makura and Maunganui which maintain monthly sailings alternating with those of the Vancouver line to provide a fortnightly mail and passenger service. The discontinuance of the San Francisco mail service will deal a great blow to British shipping prestige.in the Pacific, and will mean the loss of a valuable trade to Wellington. It will deal hardly with seafarers, toe for .the withdrawal of the Makura and Maunganui will mean that the two crows, abc ut 350 men, will lose their regular employment. •

CONCERN OF ALL GOVERNMENTS

COMMENT IN LONDON

DECISION “HUMILIATING BUT

INEVITABLE”

(Received April 16, 7.20 p.m.)

LONDON, April 15,

“The Times,” commenting on the Union Line’s withdrawal of ships from the Pacific service, says:

“Humiliating as it is to see the British flag driven off from one of the great ocean trade routes, it has long been seen that it was inevitable unless British Governments bestirred themselves. Some of Mr Runciman’s replies to questions in the House of Commons almost seem to imply that the threat to Pacific routes concern the Dominions alone, although that is a position no one could seriously defend. “The probable explanation of the United Kingdom Government’s reluctance to give the lead is unwillingness to establish precedents which might prove awkward if applied generally. This is all the more reason for working out a policy of defence for British shipping as a whole against the danger threatening on every ocean.”

NO SURPRISE IN LONDON

REASONS FOR DECISION DISCUSSED

(ONITED PRISE ASSOCIATION — corrsioßT.)

LONDON. April 15,

The news of the Union Line’s discontinuance of the Sydney-San Francisco service caused no surprise in London, though the announcement at the moment is interpreted as an effort to hasten the inter-Governmental decisions regarding assistance for British lines.

The Associated Press is informed, however, that the company’s announcement is not likely to yield any immediate result.

PRIME MINISTER’S ATTITUDE

QUESTION OF GRANTING

ASSISTANCE

(DRESS ASSOCIATIOH TELEGRAM.)

WELLINGTON, April 16

“We are not going to be pushed into granting subsidies or taking any other action just because the Union Steam Ship Company suddenly decides to withdraw its service,” said the Prime Minister (the Hon, M. J. Savage). He said the Government had already indicated that it would be prepared to consider the granting of assistance to British shipping in the Pacific in a sympathetic manner. He made it plain, however, that if the Government decided to grant assistance by way of subsidy, it would require to exercise some measure of control over the service.

“Where Government money goes," said Mr Savage, "the Government will want to have some say.”

Mr Savage added that if the Union Steam Ship Company was not prepared to carry on the service, somebody else would have to do the job.

SOUTH ISLAND MAILS

EFFECT OF UNION COMPANY’S

DECISION

(PEES* ASSOCIATION TELBORAU.)

INVERCARGILL, April 16

When the Union Steam Ship Company’s decision was referred to Mr

W. A. Ott, chairman of the BlufT Harbour Board, he said that the withdrawal from the service would not really affect the South Island. It was regrettable that the British flag was in danger of being pushed off the sea by the American shipping lines. The South Island would, nevertheless, be prejudiced in the matter of mails were the Union Company to withdraw from the service, for the mails would not come to hand as regularly as in the past.