COLOURED CREWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 914, 6 September 1910, Page 5

COLOURED CREWS.

A MERCANTILE MARINE GRIEV- '" ANCE. '■'■''; DANGER OF UNFAIR COMPETITION. LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANCE SOUGHT. The unfair. competition to. -which New. Zealand steamers can be. exposed in the matter of coloured crews was voiced ;.•. by a deputation .introduced to the. Prime; -.',.■!: Minister yesterday by Mr. A. i. Herd- ' man, M.P. '-..:• ■■.'■ / . Mr. Herdman, in introducing the deputation, said he had been.;asked, by the •' Merohant Service Guild and the Institute/ of Marina Engineers to bring,under,the . notice of the Government- a subject', of :, far-reaching importance. 1 ';' Becently-.-•-,the P.. and 0. Company: had be«n bringing;its :, -Boats' to' Auckland from Australia, t.nd ; had entered into competition -with New, ..'. Zealand companies as far as the inter- '' colonial trade was concerned. The depu- .-' tation was of opinion that if the P. and .* : 0., and possibly other companies, were ..-./; permitted in the future to trade : between .'■ Australia and New Zealand without having to comply with: the local .regulations.. 1 ■.-.'; as to the crews, 'wages,':"etc';,:.:it would/i - ; seriously affect the officers, ongineers, :; ; and,crews of ..thei New .Zealand; vessels,... ■>'■■'. Thero was no desire on the part of--the v "/ deputation to.prevent tho ships-iooniing.. to New Zealand, but it was urged "that:.;.'•': it was only fair, that when thqy. do come ■;.'.-/ and run against 'our vessels they should :,. r ; conform ,to the same conditions that •vr6'. ,: .--} ■•'-. have to comply with.' The principal:ob--.;,'■';', jection the deputation had to these.com-. : . , panies competing in'the. New Zealand ..,'/ trade was that their vessels were.vvery '■ ' often manned by Lascars, who; were paid : - a low rate of wage. If this was : allowed :"- to,continue it was: felt thatit. would: be ... . 'almost .impossible for the New Zealand' ':■ and Australian companies'to compete : against the outsiders. Further, although-.-V there was only the P. and 0. Company at. present to contend 'against, no . one .■ ..; knew. that the; movement .would not grow V >':- until companies like the Orient Company,',./,: the French and German lines,: and the ;' Japanese steamers' entered : the lists, v.The / deputation recognised the difficulty '•.; of '■■■' ";. the position, ..and that any. alteration such .:■ as was needed could not be made .without '. the assent of. the King,'although/it might . -,' ,be pointed but that Canada had.-.i'tho-;'--;'.-;-. power to legislate in the above direction;/; .without the .intervention: of the./ Home v authorities.. ."; The deputation thought ./;.: something might be done, to force, vessels // y trading between Australia/and New Zear/-;/: land-and vice/ versa to .conform; to .'the/'/ ' local conditions.-. Only :by such regula- :'/;' tions would it: be possible. to/put.;the^',.. : New Zealand, and Australian mercantile'-'. marine, on. a- fair -footing. .The ...,;local •'■'; ',--. marine might perhaps be assisted by sub-. :- sidies to make up the.difference in. 'the//'-■ rates of pay if New Zealand .vessels bad ■>- to .compete' with the coloured crews. : .'■. : ~ -' ■■;

' : Some; Interesting Points.; ~ Tho Hon. V. M., Luke said,that .witli : i ■equal conditions New Zealand could hold; : : her own with any'people, in the" world. '-..". He. thought'the Government should take;; some steps to protect New.Zealand from.:.,/ unfair competition. This competition ' ; would not only affect- those..engaged:'on:V" the steamers, -but. also, the industries V ashore. Probably the local mail. service ,' could be subsidised on c 'condition -that :.. only- white labour ' should'; be employed. .'", There .were many difficulties, but he felt.- ; .v* sure the Government would' see: that New :. Zealand : was ' protected. '•■• ,-We should':■■ en- ;" joy the same legislative, powers a? Canada.;>;'■ -Mr. A. B. Hislop, secretary of.'.jh.e'; In-'■-;.-. stitute- of Engineers,- remarked V pn- .the. great discrepancy- between ;,the-'< wages, paid by, the New-.Zealaiid com- .;';' panies .and' outsiders, ■;.which difference- •,' might -. force New Zealand shipowners \ to :•. register outside of Now Zealand'.: The.; . Maheno,: - belonging to the Union , Com- f pany, r a-vessel of 5282 tons,' running be- : tween- Australia and . New. Zealand, paid,;', her engineers 10s. (per -month;,,the i. Omrnh, Orient, Line,-8130 tons, paid her:'i .engineers ,£7O a month, whilst the Fred-,..-eric der Grosse, 10,695 ;tons,, : onlypaid iiol .:' 14s. per .month., .Ho thought, pressure M might be : brought '.to. bear on \the Im-.: ..perial Government by New.-Zealand.'and ■."■' the .Commonwealth, so as to get'something done to'meet :the.case, ."< .-"'■;:'. -..'.•.».-. ,- : -..'■ Captain D. J. Watson, Secretary of the;".' Merchant Service Guild, thought tihat if. the. outside' vessels were' to ibe allowed to come, to New ; Zealand without / the -, : . restriction placed on 'local .vessels, ~it>' was only a matter of time and the local :,:>■ shipowner must go to.the:wall. The'pos,i- ':-, tibn. was .a difficult' one, ; -but. something.-,;'-must be done,; and the' combined efforts - of. Now Zealand; and. Australia. mighty have the desired effect..,; ;':•?!

- PRIME MINISTER IN ;REPLY.; ; ;/ ",- The Prime. Minister said? he was./: 'familiar with, the .position, and recog-'r,-nised the enormous importance of ! thfe' ■; situation to the locally-ow'ned ; ships.-His'", .sympathies were with the -local ;.- owners, and if it were only a matter, for;;: .New Zealand,/the/ Government... would v legislate, but, as.had been/ pointed, out,., the consent of the Home/authorities was ; ; exceedingly difficult to adjust. In/his; - opinion, however "anxious, we might he; .• to.have matters remedied, we would never,.-,, get the necessary assent/ to enable ;us/to/./. control vessels trading away, from bur./ ! ; coasts.' .We did riot want. to' ..prevent. ;;V ships coming . here; but' w. did want -. t0'.../'-'.' see that, they did: not:■ come here and;/ compete with .New/Zealand vessels under''.'unfair conditions/ The matter would / be considered in all its bearings, with a- - . ' view, to- seeing : if ; anything, .could '/; be ■- done. Naturally- he-; was. anxious' ■.<. to" ; see/ white: -crews, on all I ships.-../-' -At the sametime it must/be '.'recognised';.- ■ that the; British Government had its In- • dian Empire to think' of, and : there lay *.; : : -;. (great difficulty. "The -question, of'/:sub- :, sidising steamers-trading .between-; Aus-.-.y tralia and New Zealand, in order to ehr, '■■■ able them to compete with'\tho P. and:o. ' line, was a pretty big order. - To; subsidise .: a line of vessels between v New/Zealand: V and Australia would necessitate, the in- /-; traduction of "steamers/ as .' large as any'; " of the great liners now coming- here ..and • ; . very much-faster, and would - also mean'•■ 'the displacing of many .of the' steamers. /' now. trading between Australia,and New' o' ■ Zealand/ He had; gone into the question very, fully. It meant a/very: heavy / sub- ':■-. sidy. He was not prepared to' name the /. amount 'because it had been ,the subjeot / of confidential interchange. of ideas ■/■ be- :■,■/ tween the .Government and those ' con- ■-.; nected with shipping interests.; : All, he "•. could say to the deputation was that;ho'//, would discuss the whole,matter with his, . colleagues, but before doing this ho would "■. discuss the subject further with people who had a wide.knowledge of tho wh01e...;-.'■ position. Any movement,that,was.made ■..-■ must bo on safe lines, and.not disturb / the:. regularity of - the services,'. between .'/ New Zealand and Australia. One of.-the' /-; best remedies would be for our own peo-' plo to travel.by our own .steamers.., If' >// this were done we might bo in .tho pbsi-'./; tion that it would; not bo. worth while'/' the larger companies coming- down to/this ;..'.' country. The Government would make.->" what representations it could.in.the mat-. "•■■- ter.- - .;'■• '/ ' < .'.'■■■ ;-'.'-/■" ; /'" TKe Imperial Conference. \ Mr! Hislop: Is the subject likely to be • considered at the next Imperial, Confer- .;..' ence? • ■;'•-'■ "■,;■.-," ..'; ':.-.- ;■:■.-■•"/' Sir Joseph Ward said tlie matter had ./ been, discussed at the Naval'. Conference /• in England-in-connection witli tho pro-, -posed Commonwealth . Navigation bill. The point arose at the conference as.-; to '"; whether wo could control the pay and officers.and seamen of ships/as. between ;/ New Zealand ad the Pacific Hands and Australia and. tho; Pacific .Islands. His' ■ . recollection of tho decision at tho. con- ~ fcrence was that we could not. We had the regulation,, and control on our.. own / coast, but when it came to outside trade'. we got into difficulties. • '■ Mr. iM'Larcn remarked that Sir Joseph'.-■/ had not given a reply to Mr. Hislop's : question as to whether tho matter would' '; come forward at the next Imperial Con-/ fcrence. ■• •' ; "' - '.-.-' / ; The Prime Minister said whoever re- ■"-:..-■ presented New Zealand could give notice " of the matter and bring it up. Ho ■ thought this . was . the,. proper.. thing for - the Now Zealand representative to do. Our Shipping and Seamen Act was, ho '■;■-.'■ thought, the most advanced measure of its kind in; the world, but unfortunately it did not get over the"/particular...point the deputation had been discussing.-.■.>"".'•;'■;