FOREIGN SHIPPING

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 45, 17 November 1936, Page 10

FOREIGN SHIPPING

Menace of Extravagant Subsidies The uneconomic policy of foreign Powers who subsidise their shipping industries without regard to the law’ of supply and demand was strongly criticised by the Hon. Alexander Shaw in his presidential address to the Institute of Marine Engineers in London recently. One of the most deplorable features of the present situation, he said, was that vessels had been built by certain foreign Powers of a size, speed, cost and standard of luxury unsuited to the trade on which they were to be engaged. This had created a gap between expenditure and receipts which had to be filled by the foreign taxpayer. Another result was that British ships engaged in the same trades were at once outclassed by uneconomic competition. "Where the British Empire is faced by this form of menace an answer must be found,” said Mr. Shaw. “That answer, to my mind, is not given by a policy of drift. “An Empire whose life depends on its sea communications cannot consent to stand idly by while one British line after another is swept off the seas by uneconomic competition. The only effective answer is to demonstrate to countries which follow that course that such aggressive action does not pay and cannot be made effeetve against the British race. “Once the Governments of Britain and the Dominions adopt the policy of active support to their shipping, other countries will begin to realise how vain is their attempt at uneconomic competition.” Speaking of the effects of foreign competition, Mr. Shaw pointed out that before the war Britain owned nearly half the total tonnage of the world’s shipping. Now she owned not much more than a quarter. ( One of the most serious consequences of this had been the decline in the numbers of skilled men employed in the shipyards. The Government was now finding how awkward that decline had been.

“The Government,” he went on, “can not expect to experience the luxury of doing nothing for British liner tonnage except looking on while it fights its lonely battle against the growing resources of foreign lines, and at the same time expect, if a great emergency should occur, to find at its command the same abundance of technical men and the same multitude of ships to carry food and munitions as was at our disposal In 1914. “Fortunately there is more than one indication that our rulers are now taking a more active interest in the problem.” __________