BRITISH SHIPPING GOING DOWNHILL

Northern Advocate, 10 December 1936, Page 8

BRITISH SHIPPING GOING DOWNHILL

PRESENT TONNAGE UNEQUAL TO WARTIME

TASK

tUnited Press Association. —By Electric Telegraph. — Copyright .] (Received 10 a.m.) LONDON, December 9. At the annual meeting of the Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., the Hon. Alexander Shaw, who presided, said that, in the board’s opinion, the uncertainties of British shipping were such that they did not see a prospect of a return to larger distributions; indeed, the figures available for the current year were not so good as those of last yeax^ Referring to the Canadian-Aus-tralasian Line, Mr Shaw said: “If it is wiped out by wholly uneconomic competition, an example will be given other lands of how easy it is to extinguish the process. Do Not Play Our Cards. “It would be surprising if the public here,'and in the Dominions, will quietly tolerate the wiping out of the last British link in these waters.

“Britain’s merchant tonnage today i about equal to carrying our trade i

peace time, but it would be unequal to the task in war time.

“Japanese ships increasingly invade the coastal trade of the British Empire —to Hongkong, Singapore, Penang, Colombo, Indian ports, the African territories and South Africa. All Japan’s doors are closed to us and all ours are open to her. The cards are in our hands, yet we do not play them. Going Downhill. “For years British shipping has been going downhill, and it will continue to go downhill as long as the responsible authorities do nothing to save it.

Mr Shaw warmly applauded Australia’s and New Zealand’s legislation to secure their own purely local trade.

He suggested that the Government of India should be pressed in negotiations with Japan to make any concessions to Janan dependent entirely upon fair play to British ships; and, secondly, that the broad aspects of Britain’s shipping position in the Far "East should be referred to the Imperial Shipping Committee for examination and advice.