SHIPPING SUBSIDY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 11 May 1939, Page 8

SHIPPING SUBSIDY

REVERSAL OF "SCRAPPING” POLICY IHy Air Mail-Own Correspondent'' LONDON, 6th April. Rarely has a Government grant been received by the non-recipients—if one may be slightly “Irish”—so favourably as the recently announced shipping subsidy. This is because the general public, acutely aware how hard pressed our food supplies were last time by the U-boats, has felt that our merchant shipping tonnage was becoming our Achilles heel. With many times more potential “pirates” now in being, we

have many hundred thousands of tons less shipping. Now that the Cabinet’s intentions have been declared beyond doubt, it is estimately expertly that about 300,000 tons of new ocean-going boats will be laid down. Owners have been holding back until the situation was cleared up. It will be important, however, that the forthcoming orders should be spread over a period, and not suddenly dumped on the yards. Otherwise it may be impossible to keep building costs from a sharp upward curve, which is what everybody with any real foresight wants to avoid. Particularly sound is the reversal of the former “scrapping” policy. We may need every keel we can command.