PACIFIC SHIPPING QUESTION

Northern Advocate, 18 July 1936, Page 8

PACIFIC SHIPPING QUESTION

MORE COMMENT BY MR SAVAGE [Special to “Northern Advocate.”'} WELLINGTON, This Day. Asked yesterday to comment on the cabled report from Sydney that the British Government was planning to support shipping in the Pacific to meet American competition by a form of capital assistance from Britain in the building of ships, and an annual subsidy, with the co-operation fi’om the Dominions concerned, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage said that Mr Lyons’ statement that nothing was likely to be done until any possible decisions were placed before the Governments concerned ■ summed up the position fairly.

“For our part,” he said, “we have no knowledge of any final proposals for British shipping subsidies, and, until those proposals are received and examined, we can hardly carry the matter any further.” The Prime Minister added that some form of assistance appeared desirable, but the Government would be concerned with ensuring that the best terms and conditions on which that assistance was granted were acceptable.

“As I have stated previously,” Mr Savage said, “we do not want to grant subsidies if the conditions of work on the ships operating under those subsidies are not satisfactory. It would also be necessarry to ensure that, with the granting of subsidies, the British steamship lines involved would be able to provide service and facilities at least equal to those offered by their competitors.”