The Northern Advocate Daily TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1936. BRITISH SHIPS IN THE PACIFIC

Northern Advocate, 8 December 1936, Page 4

The Northern Advocate Daily

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1936. BRITISH SHIPS IN THE PACIFIC

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper.

Interest in the important Imperial question whether British shipping’ should be driven from the Pacific, or a determined effort made to place British ships in a position to compete successfully with subsidised. American lines, will be revived by the publication of the report of the Imperial Shipping Committee, an outline of Avhich is printed today. The committee is evidently of the opinion that if British shipping is to hold its own in the Pacific it must adopt the policy ; any business man who wishes to compete with a rival must put into practice : it must give equal, if not better, service, rather than rely upon the application of prohibitions to its competitor. That British shipping on the San Francisco (or Vaneouver)-New Zea-land-Australia run has been badly damaged by the luxury ships of the Matson Line is beyond question. This is due to the fact that the subsidising of the line by the United States Government has made possible the building of the big white ships, which have outclassed the British ships in the same service. The Imperial Shipping Committee, after very full consideration of the whole matter, favours the construction of two ships comparable with the Matson liners, which are now supreme on the Pacific run. It is estimated that each ship, which would have a speed of 21 knots, would cost £1,250,000, and it Is to be assumed that the Governments of Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji will be expected to subsidise these vessels, probably on the basis suggested some time ago when the question of British shipping in the Pacific was under consideration. It is realised that the establishment of the proposed line would be in the nature of a speculation, but. in view of the importance of maintaining British ships in the Pacific, the matter is one which will undoubtedly receive sympathetic consideration by the Governments of the Dominions concerned. Hitherto, the United States has imposed coastwise restrictions upon British ships, whereas New Zealand and Aus-j tralia have granted freedom of action to American ships. This!

Ihas been a subject of serious concern. and the New Zealand Government, during the last session of Parliament, took steps which would enable the Dominion, if it so wished, to take retaliatory action against the Matson Line. If the recommendations of the Imperial Shipping Committee are adopted, and two ships as attrac-1 live as the Matson liners are; placed in commission, there | should be reasonable hope for an j Anglo - American arrangement j which would obviate the un-i pleasantness that a retaliatory 1 policy would inevitably cause., Commonsense, we feel, would j move the .United States to cancel; the restrictions placed upon j coastwise trade by British ships, which at the present time are forbidden to carry passengers between Honolulu and the port of destination, and vice versa. If these restrictions were removed, and United States ships given freedom to trade where they wished in Australia and New Zealand it should be possible for the ships of both nations to promote the friendliness it is most desirable to' encourage between the great English-speaking peoples. It will be necessary to make very complete investigation of the committee’s recommendations before adopting them, but there will be general agreement that the proposals are in the right direction.