"LEAVE US ALONE"

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 28, 1 February 1917, Page 7

"LEAVE US ALONE"

LORD INCHCAPE ON SHIPPING

l/ord Inchcape, presiding on. 14th December a,t the meeting in London, of the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company, said that it-he project had been mooted iv New .Zealand, for a Government line of steamers of 20,000 tons each, with a speed of twenty knots, but he did not think he would bo disposed to invest in that line unless it was supported by i\. good Government -guarantee both for tho payment of interest and for the repayment of capital. Tho Commonwealth Government o! Australia had recently bought some tramp steamers at high prices to engage in the carrying tra-de. While the war lasted these ships might make money, especially if they were free from income-tax and excess profits duty, 'to which private shipowners were subjected, but when things once more became normal 5-he position might bo altered It was only by paying moderate dividends in good times, and husbanding the resources for bad, that .British shipping 'had been able to hold its own and develop :ib it had done. Except lor special services rendered, not a farthing had been contributed by the State to the shipping- industry of the British- Empire which was the greatest ir> the ' world, and the envy of other nations. In his humble judgment Governments would do well to leave ship; owning alone, and to avoid embarking on schemes which, if persisted in. could only have one end, and that was to kill private enterprise. If his voice could carry to the Antipodes, he would suggest for consideration there that the wealth and power of Great Britain had been built up, not by State-managed institutions, but by the enterprise of individuals. (Cheers)

He was no advocate of excessive rates c-f freight. He could recall the time, not so very long ago, when freights were at a level which was. insufficient to pay even the dues of the Suez Canal, to say nothing of the expense of loading-, discharging, and. running the ships. He made no reflection on their merchant. friends, though he thought they would admit that when they were top dog they had little- compassion on shipownars. (Hear, hear.) On the contrary, they squeezed them to such an. extent that ships had to be laid up to avoid bankruptcy. A. very large amount of British tonnage was now employed in the service of the Admiralty, and was being paid for at pre-war, and in some cases at less than the pre-war, rates.

There was an agitation in some quarters for the nationalisation of shipping and any number of other enterprises. He sometimes wondered what would happen to this country if all these outcries .resulted in British capital being withdrawn from shipping-, and if our carrying trade and that of the world— which was for the most part at present in our hands—were in consequence to get into the' hands of other nations. He had no hesitation in saying that in a few years' time wo would have an agitation, not only for a Shipping Subsidy Bill, but possibly for a Bill under which British ships would be paid so much for every mile they covered, and also for a measure by which a bounty would 6% given for every ship built in this country. We had examples of this not very far away. It would then be too late, our sea p supremacy would have gone. But for those who had placed such a magnificent merchant navy as our own in commission, the aspect of the war and tho conditions of life fh this country would have been very different from what they were to-day.

Shipowners were, however, content to leave that {act to the statesmen who wore at the head of affairs, and who were able to form a true appreciation of the. position. 'Die destruction of merchant ships and their cargoes was doubtloss a serious matter for this country, as it was reducing our wealth in the shape of property and our earning power; but submarines were not built for nothing, ff all stories were true, they were constantly being sunk, cind, after all, there was not an enemy merchant ship on the sea ; our enemies' trade was completely strangled, and ou balance we were miles to the good. We were confronted with, a problem at tin's moment which had its difficulties, but he had perfect confidence that, with patience, these would be overcome by the Navy and Sir John Jellicoe. (Cheers.) Although thera were strenuous times ahead, lie liad no.fear as regarded the future of British shipping if it were fairly treated. Despite the considerable reduction which om shipping had guttered by enemy attacks during thu p;isfc two years, he feU confident that with careful management and the distribution of moderate dividends we should bo iib'.u to maintain ouv jjromiev place iti ih» world, if we were aalv left alone.