THE P. AND O. COMPANY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18267, 7 December 1922, Page 7

THE P. AND O. COMPANY.

♦ J I NECESSITY FOR ECONOMY, j LORD INCHCAPE'S WARNING. fjFBOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDEST-] LONDON. Oct. 19. The pressing need for lower taxation and wagxss was among the subjects duscussod bv Ixird Inchcape, chairman of tho P, and 0- Line, at the annual meeting of the company yesterday. Incidentally he recalled a witticism of Sir E. decides, i "Recently." said Lord Inchcape, "in replv I to a question by Sir Eric Geddes, I said ' that shipping was doing badly. Sit Eric 3 j ! caustic reply was: ' Oh, I suppose you ■ j will be paying your dividends out of your I losses!" ~ ~ r . "It has not come to that, said Lord ' Inchcape. Their associated companies bad ! helped materially, their conservative ! policy had assured a handsome sum fo>m their investments, and the directs :a felt justified in proposing dividends <>f 5 per cent, on the preference stock, tax, and 12 per cent, on tho defenvd stock, tax free. Although there v;ere s-.gns of a break in tho clouds, they had apparently a poor vear or two ahead. Operating costs must come down to secure an equilibrium, or disaster must follow. "The Chancellor of tho Exchequer, continued Lord Inchcape, "is manfully grappling with public expenditure, and the country looks to him to bring down taxation- It is expenditure we want to see reduced, not national income raised by depleting the pockets of the people. The community wants to bo permitted to save again, to build up the wealth of the country bv leaving money to be invested in productive enterprises, and not squandered in Government offices or put into Government trading schemes involving disastrout loss." Commenting on tho wages question, Lord Inchcape said: "Distastetul as it is to have to ask men to accept lower wages necessity knows no law, and I am afraid there will have to be considerable further reductions before long if ships are to be kept running."