THE H.B. TRIBUNE. MONDAY, DEC. 30, 1912. THE PANAMA CANAL.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume III, Issue 14, 30 December 1912, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE. MONDAY, DEC. 30, 1912. THE PANAMA CANAL.

OTHER VIEWS. As time moves on and Hie first feeling of indignation at what appears only as a repudiation of international treaty engagements wears off, the question of adjustment of differences between the United States and Great I Britain on the subject of diserhnina-; tory treatment of the shipping ox-j petted to use the Panama Canal is' receiving more dispassionate con-! sideraticn. Aspects of the case not! matters of general knowledge and! solutions such as can occur only to' those with more intimate information! are placed before us. The English > journalistic reviews are on the! whole adopting a distinctly temper-] ate. tone and are hopeful that the' irritation which has been aroused by ■ America’s blunt proposal to give, preference to her own vessels and; by equally blunt expressions of Bri-j tish resentment lias to an ex-: tent been allayed. An admirable article in the ‘-Nineteenth Century,” i written by one who claims the ad-i vantage of personal discussion will; i loading American statesmen and I military and naval mem places their: views and his conclusions before us. | While admitting- and quietly depre-1 eating the first breach of faith in-' volved in the proposal, he affords ns' an insight into the broader motives’! which in die first place led the! United Suites to enter upon the | great work now in course of comple-j lion. Foremost among these was. j

not the eommevem; <;;■ economic aspect which now almost exclusively < .ecupit-.; public atteut iom but the poll tico-r:i’lit arv aspect. The commercial aspect is, however, first dealt with, and with legal d to this we ar;- told that the construction of i lie canal was pint of the mercantile marine policy of the States. Wt are informed that, whiweris oi their ovoi'seas trade, exports and impo rts, in 1850 some 75 per ceri. was carried by craft American built and owned, in 1910. only some 9 per cent, was so borne. The fall has been coni muons and rapid, and is accounted for in the latter half of the period under re view by the much heavier cost oi construction due to the higher rates of wages obtaining in America as compared with those paid in European shipyards. It was the thougiit of American statesmen that, by bringing their . Ea-tesn industrial centres closer to tlie immense Oriental markets ot the world, cue di.widreinrippw in w>s~ '■>- bi’.ikling would to a great extent bo neutralised and a stimulus given to its overseas mercantile marine. Other means of reviving activities in tins respect have also been suggested, but. although recognised as matters of vital national importance, have so far taken no substantial definite shape. It is also to be borne m mind that the concessions of exemp lion from canal tolls is, so our writer assumes and believes, intended to be restricted to shipping exclusively engaged in what is known as coastm trade, that is between ports lying within tile .boundaries of United States territory, and that already all but American shipping is strictly excluded from that trade. It would, therefore, appear that the proposed preference lias not the full significance which the general reader would imagine, and would not operate to tire' disadvantage of other nations to ai’vthing like the extent that he would expect. At the same time, although the importance of the point in dispute is thus minimised, it is fully recognised that, unless cool counsels prevail, it may be the

i-ioiirce of an estrangement between! the two gieat Anglo-Saxon Powers; which would greatly gratify unlocking nations. With reference to the politico-mili-tary element of the I nited States policy, it is made clear that the canal hud come to be a practical necessity. Until the evolution of the Japanese navy, America had little anxiety about attack on her Western seaboard, and its fiist and only naval defence was required in the Atlantic. The arising of a new and threaten- ! ing power in the Pacific changed all this, and it became' essential that j the States should eitlrer estaolish a| means of rapid transference of her) warships from one ocean to tlie| other, or institute and maintain new Pacific fleet. The former alter-; native was adopted as serving the | dual purpose of reviving ouiside; shipping trade and obviating tne | building of further warships. The! protection of the new waterway in | tiine of war will, however, impose! a lu avy burden, and it is suggested j that, in this Britain and America i miuh; well form a combination which. ’ would serve to keep at arm’s length, the navies of the rest of the world. I The writer even goes further, and secs the possibility of ail canal dues, bi ing extinguished by an intern.-.-; liorrnl contribution to a lump sum o, be lin itl to tire I nited States in com-; mutation of anticipated revenue, and of the werking and maintenance <-f| t:m canal being shared bv them and .Britain.. . M'e fear, however, that; the eopsumination oi tins latter project is beyond the irws <-t the diplomacy of the present day. ■