BRITISH SHIPPING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22643, 3 February 1937, Page 10

BRITISH SHIPPING

PROBLEM OF PACIFIC

v CONCERN IN ENGLAND NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE [from OVII OTVX correspondent] LONDON, Jan. 13 The interests of British shipping are closely followed by the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. The visit of the NewZealand Minister of Finance, Mr. W. Nash, to the northern port was, therefore, welcomed as an opportunity for an exchange of views. Those held by the New Zealand Government were given clear expression by Mr. Nash. He said: " We want to do what we can to maintain the status of British shipping in the Pacific, and we particularly want to do it with the least possible disturbance of our relations with tho United States." Liverpool opinions were given by Mr. T. E. Lesclier, chairman of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. Sea power and freedom and equal opportunity and treatment for British shipping was just as important an interest in New Zealand as it was at Home, lie saiil. When they learned what was happening in the Pacific —of how a trade route which had been covered by British ships for a very large number of years was in danger of being lost by the South Pacific being closed to British shipping —the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce was the first public body to raise tho alarm. Lower Empire Tonnage Referring to the report of the Imperial Shipping Committee, published in December, Mr. Lescher said if it did not give full satisfaction, at all events it showed the getting together of the Mother Country with the Dominions on the South Pacific question. "The question of the British Mercantile Marine is of great importance to New Zealand," he continued, "and •we cannot look altogether with complacency on the figures as late as July last year, which showed that the whole Empire tonnage was rather less than in June, 1914. What is also as disturbing is that foreign trade with the "United Kingdom has risen from 3-1 per cent in 1929 to nearly 42 per cent in 1935. The mercantile marine is, and. must be, the basis on which all naval rearmament depends. "New Zealand and Australia have one thing in common; that is, that between themselves they put no restrictions on inter-trading. What we in Liverpool regard as tho sine qua non of British shipping is equality of treatment and opportunity. To-day we see most nations taking for themselves all the advantages they can from trade with our own countries. They want equality in foreign trade and they deny equality in trade in their own ports.

View in New Zealand Liverpool wanted as much of New Zealand's trade as possible, concluded Mr. Lescher. They knew as well as he did the danger of concentration of trade in London. There were more dangers than possibly met the eye. They in New Zealand were not best considered by too much concentration upon one port, and Liverpool offered them the services of her ships, her docks and a distribution to the whole of the North of England, Ireland and Scotland. "The New Zealand Government feels that the Pacific area is just as important from the British point of view as is. the Atlantic, because the southern part of the Pacific contains Australia and New Zealand," Mr. Nash said. "But we must, as far as possible, keep in close association the Englishspeaking nations, the United States and Canada, and whatever can bo done to extend the friendliness of our relations with the United States Government, we will do." New Zealand wanted to maintain, as far as possible for all time, the tie that bound the centre of the Commonwealth to those in the Southern. Hemisphere, Mr. Nash added. Last year, in the first session of Parliament, the new Government passed a bill entitled the Protection of British Shipping Bill. In that bill there were clauses for the purpose of bringing the British conditions into equal relationship with American shipping conditions. Seeking United Poliqy After the pioneer M'ork had been done by the Union Steam Ship Company, in the New Zealand-United States trade, American shipping lines came along, and because their vessels were built at a comparatively low interest rate and in some cases no interest at all, the British line could not give the same conditions and comfort as the American shins were able to give. He did not think they could fairly compete with that. Investigations were taking place in the United States on the question of mail subsidies, which enabled American shipping lines to carry passengers and give them better conditions _ than could be given at the same prices in British shipjs. Negotiations were in progress between the Australian, United Kingdom and New Zealand Governments with regard to finding out a way of getting a united policy on the subject. "I hope we will be ablo to maintain British shipping in the Pacific area," added Mr. Nash, "without any antagonism whatever toward the United States."