MORE SPACE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 148, 24 June 1915, Page 5

MORE SPACE

SHIPPING DIFFICULTIES UNFAIR ALLOCATION ALLEGED DEPUTATION TO PRIME MINISTER. THE FUTURE OUTLOOK. That exporters in the Auckland province should have more space allotted to them on the insulated cargo steamers v and also representation on the Overseas Shipping Committee, which allots the space, were two representations brought under the notice of the Prime Minister (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) yesterday afternoon by a large deputation of meat expoit, dairy industry, and commercial representatives from the Northern disi trict. Mr. 0. J. Parr, M.P. for Eden, who introduced the deputation, .characterised it as the most representative- that had ever come to Wellington from Auckland on such business. It desired that reconsideration should be given to the allotment of cargo space for July, as the Auckland province had only been apportioned space for 9500 carcases out of 670,000 — one-sixtieth of the total space allotted. Naturally Auckland thought that some explanation was due, and desired also to be represented on the Overseas Shipping _ Committee. Mr. Robert Burns, chairman of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, who acted as chief spokesman, explained that the deputation had no-desiw-*"- 11 ' o '^?:' . -il^r^S^nnerTmrencp but thought that the personnel of the Overseas Shipping Committee should be altered. Three of its members were associated with the New 'Zealand Shipping Company, two with the Shaw, Savill Company, and one with the Commonwealth and Dominion Line. It was curious to note the intertwining of the freezing companies and the shipping companies. Sir George Clifford, who was a director of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, was also a director of the New Zealand Shipping Company, and Mr. A. E. G. Rhodes, who was closely connected with the Christ-, church Meat Company, was also a director of the New Zealand Shipping Company. He thought the constitution of the committee should be altered and at least two Auckland representatives appointed. No insinuation was meant that the committee unfairly allocated the space, but it was thought that the time had arrived when a Minister of the Crown should be appointed on the personnel. Although Canterbury had to be considered on account of the drought, it' must be remembered that the South Island people had made much larger money out of the increased price of wool. x NO BLAME ON GOVERNMENT. Mr. Jos. Barugh, representing < the Auckland freezing companies, said he wished it clearly understood that the shippers did not wish to blame > the Government. He understood that some of the ships had a certain amount of surplus freezing power which would allow them to be more completely insulated, and perhaps there were some tramp ships which could be insulated. Up till March Auckland had very little trouble with its shipping space — in com- ' mon with the rest of New Zealand (he took it) it ' got nearly all the space it required — but directly _ the Government ! took over the allocation of space the trouble began. The Auckland people desired that the, shipping companies should allot the space again. Mr. Stringer, another representative of the freezing companies, admitted that up to Christmas time there had been ample space. The dead end of the season, however, _ should not ':e taken into consideration in the present allotment of space. If the committee was not going ' to take into consideration the enormous '• increases in Auckland, then the companl ies would have to go out of business. Replying to a question by Mr. Massey, Mr. Stringer admitted that so far Auckland had not been unfairly treated. Major Lusk, ex-president of the Auckland Farmers' Uiion, said that it was 1 considered by some that Auckland had j not had ( a fair allocation of space, andthat was one reason why Auckland should be represented on the committee. • Mr. N. G. M'Gregor, chairman of the i Graziers' Vigilance Committee, urged ■ that unless space was provided, he could ! see disaster ahead, not through any fault ' of the Government, but through the disastrous war and the shortage of ships. Mr. A. Morton, chairman of the National Dairy Association, said that the dairying industry was "up against" a very serious proposition. Butter had to be carried on insulated ships, but possibly ships could be partially insulated to carry cheese. Unless some steps were taken to deal with the problem the dairy people were not going to get their produce away this season. He suggested i that if the position were placed before the Imperial Government it might lend the Overseas Shipping Committee a helping hand. It was desirable that the dairy people should be represented on the committee. Mr. H. E. Pacey, chairman of the Auckland Dairy Companies Committee, suggested that some of the interned ships should be brought into use. Mr. Massey : Where are they ? Mr. Pacey replied that he understood there' were many of them in British ports. The Prime Minister replied that it was inadvisable to spend £30,000 or £40,000 on insulating such ships, when there was a chance, under the international law, that they would have to be returned after the war to their owners. ' A "ONE MAN" BOARD. ' ,Mr. J. Gribble (Waikato Graziers' Association) said that Vestey Bros, were providing space for 150,000 carcases, and the Auckland Farmers' Freezing Com- , pany space for 2000 more, and he hoped 1 the "Overseas gentlemen would take J these figures as read, and base their alloj cation accordingly." He thought reprej sentations should be made to the Imperial authorities with a view to placing the surplus meat in Australia. "Have you a Department called_the Meat Supply Board?" he asked of the Prime Minister. 1 Mr. Massey: "I am the Imperial Meat Supply Board." (Laughter.) The Minister added that the duty would make it impracticable to send meat to Australia. Mr. Gribble : Prices there have been raised 75 and 100 per cent. Mr. Massey : "In Queensland they have more meat than they know what to do with. At the end of June there were 22,000 tons of meat in Australia awaiting shipment." The Prime Minister further remarked that there were seventeen insulated ships on their /way ' to New Zealand at the present time. Mr. G. W. Luxton (President Auckland A. and P. Association), Mr. C. Johnston (Waikalo Graziers' Association), and Mr. Rowlands (North of Auckland freezing companies) drew attention to the growth of the stock industry in their respective districts. | MR. MASSEY IN REPLY I The Prime Minister, in replying, said there seemed to be an impression that the Overseas Shipping Committee had been set up by the New Zealand Governi ment, whereas it hud been set up by

the Imperial Board of Trade through a sub-committee termed the Tonnage Committee. The committee was representative of the shipowners and the object for which it was set up was to prevent overlapping. Personally he would be very pleased to see an Auckland representative on the committee, but the difficulty appeared to be that Auckland was not the headquarters of any of the shipping companies. At his request a representative of the Government — Mr. Triggs — was added to the committee. When the allocation came before him (Mr. Massey) he had pointed out that Auckland was entitled to a little more space, and the number of carcases had been increased from 9000 to 17,000. There was no such body of men as the Meat Supply Board. When the Imperial Government commandeered the space in the ships trading to New Zealand it had asked for New Zealand to be represented, and as there was no organisation to fufil such a position he had made a little department of his own and Mr. Ttiggs had come forward and volunteered to act for the Government. Mr. Tavlor was another expert who had offered his services, and he was going to the Waikato to make full enquiries into matters there. A REVIEW OF FACTS. The Prime Minister then reviewed in detail the history of the shipping facilities available 6_Thce the of the war after pointing out the shortage that had been caused through the commandeering of cargo vessels for the conveyance of Australian and New Zealand trcps. He quoted several instances in which he had personally induced the Imperial Government, the Canadian Government, and the Australian Government to release for the use in the New j Zealand export trade ships .which would i otherwise have been diverted to other uses. He also explained how the Board of Trade had paid £15,000 required for bringing the Delphic and the £5000 for the Muritai in ballast. " The Board of .Trade J ,had,..had"to"pay 40 per cent. | ■*Hgfter«rat>es3"~ouWie Nad induced it not to call upon the dair^producers to pay higher freights until after 31st May. He added with vehemence "This business has been used for party purposes by the Opposition organ in Auckland!" Mr. Burns explained that the Auckland Chamber of Commerce had specially stated that it was , not a matter of party politics. GRAVITY OF SITUATION REALISED Mr. Massey, proceeding, stated that he wished to show that the Government fully understood the gravity of the situation. As far as utilising interned ships were concerned, there were none of these in New Zealand, and the three in Australia ' were ' being used by the Australian Government. Objection had been taken by Auckland to the, small amount of space allotted it for 'July, but he wished to point out that if it was not getting a fair share for a month or two it would get a fair share in the succeeding month or two. As to Canterbury, he had seen the position thsre for himself, and it was so serious that he had arranged for starving stock to be railed (ono way) free to the Otago and Southland districts, and fodder was actually being railed free of charge to Canterbury. There had been an exceeding shortage of ships during the past two months, and Canterbury had apparent ly had more than its share, but it was only right that Cahterbury should bo helped while the drought lasted. A member of the deputation : Do yoa know how the space is allotted? Mr. Massey: "The allocation! has bet>n made by the Shipping Committee xn proportion to the number of carcases in store." Personally, he did not agrue with this method. Up to the present Auckland had been lamentably short of storage space, and he much regretted that instead of having a nominal storage for 55,000 carcases, it had not — in view of the expansion of the flistricl-^-storage for half a million. When it had plenty of storage it could stand a (shortage of ships. He hoped the Auck land people concerned would set them- . selves to provide as much space for 'frozen meat as they possibly could. A member of the deputation : The Auckland works have storage for 20,000 carcases. ' Mr. Massey pointed out ' that up to 31st May the total increase in freight carcases for the North Island for the season was 168,471, and of that total /Aucklnd had given 116,023. 1 Mr. Burns: A great proportion of that increase came in the off months. Mr. Massey: "There are no such things as off months. We are going to keep the evpoit going for twelve months instead of nine 'months." When the war commenced, the shipping companies had a number of .ships building, but there was little prospect of getting theso until after the war, because the artisans and mechanics were required by the Imperial authorities. STEAMERS AVAILABLE ' Mr. Massey, dealing with the present outlook, said that as far as the dairy season was concerned, the export season closed on 31st May, and there was not a single box of butter left. Mr. Pacey admitted that' as far as the past season was concerned, the butter people had no rea-son for complaint, but their anxiety was for the future. Mr. Massey, continuing, said that the cheese set down for export for the <-ud of the present month was 40,000 crates. This was a very small amount, and would be lifted at the earliest possible moment. As to future, sHps available for July, there would bb the Opawa, jKemuera, Tongariro, Athenic, La Blanca (114,000 carcases), Delphic, Waiwera, Corinthic, and Somerset (which would lift approximately 784,950 carcases) ; in August the ships available would be the Tainui, Ruahine, Hiirunui, Otaki, Waikato, and Makarini (lifting 582,000 carcases) ; and the ships available for September would life about 522,000 carcases, making in all a total of 1,889,450 carcases. That was the position at the present moment, and instead of being scared and frightened at the outlook, New Zealanders ought i to realise that fairly satisfactory provisions were being made for their requirements. The Government and its officers were doing their best to secure a Buppiy of ships. "Let me impress upon you two points," concluded Mr. Maesey. "One is the necessity for 'providing morn storage space, and the other is an evening paper that will print statements which the public of the country will be able- to believe."