SHIPPING PROBLEM

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 24, 30 January 1933, Page 7

SHIPPING PROBLEM

STATE-AIDED LINES

THE MEAT QUOTAS

(From "The Post-" Representative.)' LONDON, 15th December.. Lord Essendon, chairman of the Fur* ness, "Withy Line, was the chief guest at a luncheon given by.the Royal, Empire Society, and spoke on the present .difficulties. of shipowners. x He said that the shipping problem. was not the old-fashioned one of how to put a quart into, a pint pot, but how to find pints to put into' the quart pots. While it was perfectly natural and proper that everything possible should be done by "tariff preferences, etc., to encourage Empire -trade, unless by these means the oversea trade of the world could be increased, shipping would not reap any real benefit, and the result might be merely a.transference from one channel to another, carrying with it inevitable dislocation. Out of the Empire ' tonnage of 22,500,000, it was estimated that about 3,500,000 gross tons were laid-up, or rather more than 15 per cent. Our geographical position, our need to import raw materials and food, our protection in time of war, and even the balancing of the national balance-sheet, all demanded the maintenance of a large and prosperous mercantile marine, and, therefore, it was of the utmost" importance that every possible measura should be taken to bring about a restoration of world trade. The problem'could be solved only by concerted action. One of the chief troubles with which' the shipping industry had to contend was State-aided competition. Thelogical result of State-aided competition would be that the trade of1 the world would gradually tend to be centred in the hands of the countries giving such support to their mercantile fleets.-Could they imagine the .British Empire de-. pending for_ its oversea trade: ou; French, Italian, Japanese, and American ships? If they said that such a possibility was unthinkable, and that a British mercantile marine was essential to the Empire, it seemed that either the nations which subsidised their fleets must-be persuaded, to alter their.policies, or the British mercantile marine must seek to invoke some of the many protective measures which-, were open to it. It was estimated that the countries which were subsidising; their shipping were spending -about £30,000,000 annually in so doing. Based on the amount of tonnage under the British flag, our Exchequer, or taxpayers, would have to provide £21,000,000 to put British shipping on an equal footing, a not very alluring prospect in existing conditions. 1 The shipping companies had been called npon to make a very serious contribution toward the solution of the problem of carrying out the Ottawa agreements and also giving aidto the agricultural industry. The solution of the problem had required the restriction of meat importation from Argentina and other sources-by means of a quota. Those companies which, 7 had . built ships specially suitable for the carriage of meat and other refrigerated produce and had spent very large amounts in the development of that trade had had to recognise that their interests were of secondary importance in relation to the Empire's general: welfare, but it meant that a large"percentage of that tonnage would- remaia idle during the period of restriction. Tie hoped that the sacrifices thus entailed would result in the full achievement of the hoped-for benefits. In the meantime oversea shipping must suffer andmore seamen would be out of employment. He .suggested that by international; agreement the supply of tonnage should be regulated'nntil' it '.bore some reasonable relation' to .the" demand, an object, which could-be achieved by each shipowner agreeing to lay up a percentage of his tonnage for a certain peroid, and, of course, subject to safeguards which would at all time's ensure an ample supply of tonnage to t_ke care of any expansion of world trade. In spite of all their problems, he still maintained an"■".; pptimistie - spirit, if "one could look" sufficiently far into the future. -"- '- ■ . '" ~.