SHIPPING FREIGHTS AND IMPERIAL TRADE.

Evening Star, Issue 12866, 16 July 1906, Page 3

SHIPPING FREIGHTS AND IMPERIAL TRADE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir. —I shall be extremely obliged if you will be good enough to allow me space to bring before colonial importers and buyers a matter which is of importance both to them and to shippere on this side. At the Ust meeting of the Association of Chambers of Commerce of the United Kingdom, held in March, 1906, the following resolution was passed on the motion of this Chamber : “That this Association are of opinion that the preferential treatment accorded by British steamship companies to foreign freight —particularly in connection with shipments to South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand—is injurious to the commercial interests of the United Kingdom, and that the President of the Board of Trade he asked to receive a deputation on the subject to urge upon him the necessity for some steps being taken to secure equality of treatment for British shippers." On the Bth May Mr Llovd-George, M.P., President of the Board of Trad?, received a large and very influential deputation, and after hearing the facts and arguments advanced to h’m, he admitted that a prima facie case had been made out, and that if the Board of Trade could be furnished with particulars of further specific cases of preference to f oreign freight he -would have inquiries made iitfo them. Mr LloydGeorge a.ho said that if a substantial case were made out that British trade was suffering to any considerable degree in consequence of the action of the ship owners he would not shrink from legislation. The following were among the facts and arguments laid before him by the deputation T In 1903 the Birmingham Cliajnber received complaints as to a serious preference given by Engl sh steamship line* to goods shipped from Antwerp and Hamburg to New Zealand, with transhipment at London. A firm of merchants in New Zealand reported that they were receiving goods from the Continent bv the Truer Tine at lower than they could get them from Tondon Th* goods were lamp chimneys—light, bulkv articles. The rate from London direct was 37s 6d. The rate from Antwerp and Hamburg vt-t Ixmdon was only 29s 6d Tn th?s case the actual weight of the con signment was three tons, but the measurement weight watt over twentv tons, so th-’t on a weight basis the difference would he between 262s and 157s (approximately), which represented over 5 per cent on the f.o.b. value of the goods. In another instance complained of the goods were le,mr>ware. The Tyser Line rate from London ■was 37s 6d. and from Hamburg via I/m----don 28s 6d_. Specific statements were made that in consequence of these discrepancies in rates goods formerly purchased in Birmingham were now brought from lh’ Continent. The question was taken up with the Tvser Line mud the Rhaw, Ramil and Albion Co The Tvser Line replied that their object in fix ing lower rates from Continental ports was to take it out ref the power of Continental steamship companies to run a service from the Continent direct to New Zealand, and this could only be done by competing with the Germans, which they were doing at

considerable cost to tbe New Zealand steam ship lines. They further stated that a few years previously their rates from London were considerably lower than from the Continent, but that at that time British mannlac turers evid.ntly did not see the necessity for holding their trade, whereupon the Qcr-, mans entered into keen competition, and so built up a large trade, which compelled the New Zealand steamship lines to reduce their rates to the low level they had reached. The company did not say whether ft was the German manufacturers or the German shipping lines who were building up a large trade with New Zealand, but the Birm ngtwm Chamber of Commerce could find little or no evidence of either, and it appeared to him that the reply of the comp, nies ■ was a, jkxji excu.-e It was pointed out to the company that whilst the exports from the United Kingdom to New Zealand were of the value of £7.500,000, those from Germany and Belgium were only of the value of £407,000, so that with , the' view of snatching small s-craps of Continental trade the shipping companies were pursuing a policy detrimental to considerable portions of British trade. In December, 1903, the Chamber received a letter from a member of the Auckland (New Zealand) Chamber of Commerce. from which the following is an extract ;

I am especially interested in the manufacture of bottles. Recently my eyes have been opened to a few facts of a startling and alarming nature. I find that although the f.o.b. price is, in both oases, practically the same for a certain class of bott.es, yet these bottles can be imported from German via London at a much cheaper rate than they can direct from London. Why? This is the point of my letter. Because British shipping companies actually carry these bottles made in Germany for 22s 6d per ton, but they refuse to carry bottles made by workmen for less than 42s per ton. I his, in itself, is a startling difference, but when we consider that the freight from Hamburg to London is ss, and the transhipping charge 2e 6d per ton, we find that the British shipping companies only receive 16s per ten for freight on Continental goods brought to New Zealand. May we not ask : Do not such facts convey a serious menace to British traders?. And they are facts. Seven gross of the class of bottles referred te occupy a ten of space, and the f o.b. price both in London nmd in Hamburg is 12s per gross, or 84s for the seven cross. Mark, t'h n. the German botiie starts from Hamburg at 12s per gross, the British-made bottle starts from London at 12s per gross, yet the German bottle when landed in Autkand costs 15s 2d per gre-ss. and the Biiti hj -made bottle Kindl'd in Auckland costs 18s per gross. It is to k presumed there are reasons for this, although they are not very apparent. Competition does not Surely necessitate such a wholesale cutting down of rates, for the through freight to New Zealand charged by German bountyfed steamers is something like 45s per ten. The only reason I can guess at is that rather than lose a little foreign custom they carry goods at these ridiculously reduct'd prices, surely, at least a very short-sighted policy. A few yeare ago most of the bottles imported into this colony were made in Britain, and the shipping companies received fair freights on _ them; now foreign trade, with low freight rates, is steadily increasing, while ♦ tra^C ’’ high freight rates ,1s steadily c It i s needless to foreigner to the The following are further instances which be T f ° re Mr Llo.vd-George :~Tho White Star Line, winch forms part of an American combine (the International Mercantile Marine Co.), but which is nevertheless under British management, recently conveyed merchandise from New York to Sydney, with transhipment at Liverpool at rates varying from 15s te 20s per ton: wlnle by the same steamer British goods shipped at Liverpool were charged at rates varying from 30s to 42s 6d per ten, which gave a material preference to American goods and inflicted an injury on British trade As a consequence of the lower freights quoted from New York, many orders were lost to this country. The preference was more serious whesn it was mentioned that the rates per ton did not, in large numbers of cases, relate to consignments of the actual weight of one ton, but to 40 cubic feet, which was reckoned ns a ton Ihns, a consignment of light goods might only weigh half a ton, and yet, bv measurement, be charged as weighing two tons, and then the actual .difference in freights would be as between 30s or 40s and 60s or 8 s. The effect of that might be to enhance the price of the British article by 2j per cent, or 3j per cent., or even more. It will be generally agreed that this is u serious matter, and tnat a continuance of such a large preference to American freights must be detrimental to the trading interests of the United Kingdom. It should be pointed out that the International Mercantile Marine Company are under agreement with the British Government, and that the latter have the right te terminate the agreement at any time if the company pursue a policy injurious to the interests of British trade, so that in the present instance His Majesty’s Government would appear to have a weapon ready to hand. The following instance would show how the British shipper fared as against the Germans in theft shipments to New Zealand. A short time ago a consignment of acetylene cycle lamps was shipped from Hamburg to New Zealand via London, where they were transhipped into the s.s. Corinthic. The through rate from Ham burg was 31s per ton. If those goods had been manufactured in Birmingham, and shipped from London direct to New Zealand by the same steamer, the shippers would, in pursuance of the stringent classification in force here, have had to consign them as cycle lamps, and the rate would have been 60s per ton, or 29s more than the Hamburg rate, which included the cost of transhipment at London. 'I he shipment referred to measured a little over 85 cubic feet, which was equal to about two tons 3cwt measurement. The actual weight of the consignment was only llcwt Iqr 51b. The actual freight paid from Hamburg was £3 los lOd. If the goods had been shipped from London direct, the actual amount of freight would have been £7 3s. and the difference between the two—viz., £3 9s 2d —represented about 2£ per cent, on the value of the goods. It will be clearly apparent to your readers that the development of Imperial tr ding relations is be ing seriously impeded by the unjustifiable preferences which are being accorded to foreign freight by British steamship companies, and that it is desirable that colonial importers and buyers on the one hand and British merchants and manufacturers on the other should place at the disposal of the President of the Board of Trade any information they may have bearing on the question. My object in writing to your paper is to give publicity to what is being done on this side, and to invite our friends in the colonies to supply me with information relating to any specific cases of preference, with details showing actual weight, mea-

Enrement weight, freight paid per ton from foreign port,- with - comparative freight, figures from British port, and value at port of shipment. Communication should be addressed to the Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham, England.—l am, etc., G. Rknrt Wbi&ht, Secretary., Birmingham, May 26, 1906.