BRITISH SHIPPING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 9 April 1945, Page 4

BRITISH SHIPPING

IMPORTANCE TO NEW ZEALAND TRIBUTE TO MEN OF MERCHANT NAVY Wellington, This Day The importance of shipping to New Zealand and the British Commonwealth as a whole, and the need for a united' policy to u.eet competitor* in the post*' war years were .stressed by speakers at| a farewell tendered by the Company of< Master Mariners on Saturday night, toCaptain W. M. McLeod, deputy harbour-j master at Wellington, win. ban pettatu after 26 years' service with the harbour! board. The mayor, Mr. Appleton, who pr*4 posed the toast to the Mercantile Manned •aid that New Zeeland awed u ®ry great deal to ships and to the men whoj sailed in them. The development of ma-T l'inc refrigeration furnished a romantic! story of the application of science toj trade. Demand and supply connoted] progress in many aspects of the world'*' affairs, and ir was largely to the enterprisp of the shipping companies and their . associated industries in marine refrigeration that the Dominion of New Zealand owed jts present state of development and prosperity. It was primarily lh* demand in Britain for greater meat supplies that called for the discovery of som« means for the safe delivery of those supplies from overseas. ”1 think we of the Empire cannot to* often remind ourselves of the debt w owe to the officers and men who have manned our ships throughout the years; particularly during the hazards of the last Great War and the present conflict,*" said Mr. Appleton. "The men of rho British Merchant Navy, facing j*crii* and horrors previously undreamed of, have taken their ships to sea without flinching. They have maintained throughout the long, weary years the sea commerce of the Empire and the sea ser\:ec* essential lo the winning of the war. Ther have transported millions of tons of foodstuffs. and munitions of war. and millions of troops. Every British soldier who fights has to be carried by sea. Thor keep the navy, the army, and the air force supplied with food, fuel and store* and ammunition; and have faced th« dread horrors of submarine warfare in order to save the British people from .starvation. "We owe a debt of gratitude al*o to those sturdy and far-seeing men of the past who founded our shipping companies and to their colleagues, both overseas and coastal, of the present dny, who have carried on their great traditions. Years ago, the lot of the men of the Mercantile Marine was a hard one, and many improvements needed to be made, and perhaps still need to be made. Our Marine Department here is to be congratulated for the interest it takes in the welfare of the men and for the good work it ha* done.” • Effect of Air Transport. Mr. B. W. Millicr. acting secretary ot the Marine Department, w ho replied on behalf of the department, referred 'o th* effects that the development of air transport must have on shipping, and said' that it behoved the powers that be to do something to protect the Mercantile Marine in the post-war years. lie said lie would like to see a series of conferences held in the various parts of the Empire to consider what was necessnry to develop «nd protect the Empire's shipping industry, culminating iu an Imperial conference, where representative* from all parts of the Empire and representing all the many aspects of the shipping industry should formulate a united front to meet competition. Mr. Millier also said he considered that the four methods of transport—sea, air, rail and motor —should he co-oruinnted under a separate Ministry of Transport, which would tend to eliminate the more uuoeonomic aspects of competition beCaptain S. Holm, who spoke on behalf of the coastal shipping, quoted figures to show Ih*> decline that had taken place in New Zealand coastal shipping over the last 30 years. At the outbreak of war in 1014 there were CM6 New Zealand coastal ships with a tonnage of 150,000, while at: the outbreak of the present war their number had dwindled to 41)2. with a tonnage of 93.000. a decrease of 20 per cent, in the number of ships and of B> per cent, in tonnage, and this decline, he said, was still going on. In 1914 the number of seamen permanently employed wqs 5477. while in 1930 the number had. fallen to 29*5. In 19RO the number of ••alls at port by coastal ships totalled 20.200. in 1035. 16.360 calls were made; in 11MO the number was 10.200: »bile in 1042 it had fallen to 13,600.