THE MERCANTILE MARINE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16572, 22 June 1917, Page 4

THE MERCANTILE MARINE.

SERVICES DURING WAR-TIME.

An interesting lecture on "The Merchant Service and the War " was given by Mr. C. H. Poole, M.P., at the Leys Institute last night. There was a large attendance. The speaker, who received an attentive hearing, traced the history of the merchant service from the day of the old-time sailers. He dealt at length with the operations of the East India Company, and said it was in 1832 that England broke into and opened up the Eastern service. With the advent of steam power the service expanded to such an extent that it could be fairly claimed it was responsible for the building of the great British Empire. He said the present war served to illustrate the inestimable value of the service Mr. Poole paid a striking tribute to the sailors, and commented strongly .on the wages and conditions existing. When the speaker was in England in 1913 the masters and officers, members of the Merchant Service Guild, refused to take the great western leviathans to sea on account of what the speaker termed the disgracefully low wages paid. The stand taken by those men and the coming of war had revolutionised the service, and better wages and conditions resulted. Referring to the men, he said 'if the crews of these large steamers were to receive the same treatment as the prisoners in the gaols of the Dominion nothing could ever persuade them to leave their ships."