THE SHIPPING POSITION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17065, 25 July 1917, Page 8

THE SHIPPING POSITION

difficulties of the producer. QUESTION OF A REMEDY. VIEWS OF SIR JAMB 3 WILSON. In tho course of his presidential address yesterday before the annual conference of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, Sir Jas. Wilson referred at some length to the difficulties of the present position in regaid to shipping. After touching upon tho riso in freights that was imposed shortly after the war began, he dwelt upon the excessive profits waich, he contended, were being made by some of the shipping companies. Iroceeding, he said that if one body of men could lay themselves out to exploit another body of men, the first remedy at hand was for tho latter to find the capital a u "° the work themselves. That was what had given the impetus to tho New Aoaland Snipping Company wheij it was formed, but as a result of competition its shares fell very low, and when the merger with tho P. and 0. took place they were mostly held in England. Tho producers of INew Zealand, however, could, with tho assistance of the Government, fight that monopoly if they combined. The combination would have to be complete—not as was usually the case, that some should find the money and the rest benefit, for that would end in failure to all. Not only must the producer oome in but if necessary the agents would have to do so too. That meant, however, that Government would have to be invoked. That was nothing unusual. It had been done in England some years ago in the case of the Cunard Company. In New Zealand the position was that the P. and O. Company had mopped up both our local shipping companies. Shares held in England enabled it to control any body of colonials, and he was told that the P. and 0. Company had got a bargain, and that the price should have been h:gher. Be that as_it may, the whole of thfl New Zealand snipp ng Company was governed by one man in London. The directors and managers here had practically no say in the matter, and by a judicious spreading among agents and shippers of eomm ssions and rebates, there was no one to make a fuss, except the producers. It was well known to every one what their position was. Nothing short of an Act ol I arliament would bring them together, and advantage was taken of them at every turn. First of all, there was a combination of all shipping , companies to exclude any other company coming in. Then contracts were entered into with freezing companies, dairy associations, exporters of all kinds as to freights. Care was taken that these contracts did not run out at the same time, and that was used as a lever when now contracts wero being fixed. They would, therefore, have to be all producers and exporters. They were up against a big concern, -and probably a bigger concern in the Meat Trust as well. 'I'ho only way, if they wanted to start an opposition company, was first to nobble the freights. The only way to fight such a monopoly was to do as it did. No sh : pping company could get on without freights in and out. Once control that, or even a large proportion, and trrms would be possible. Mr Vavasour _ had put before the public a scheme to raise money for such a company by way of levy. That levy had been, taken up enthusiastically in Taranaki, where the dairy people have found it an easy means of ra sing money for extension purposes. It required some thought to work out such a scheme, and to find out how far the Government was prepared to assist it. A committee had been set up to make a full investigation on this point, but it would be premature to disclose to what etago had been reached.

There was another increase which requ rod consideration, and which might be a solution. That was the one suggested by tae Dominions Royal Commission, which, after pointing out that cheaper freights could only be securcd by the' use of vessels of great length and draught, and that harbours should be dredged to admit of this, suggested as a means of improving the cost of sea transport that some measure of Government control was necessary. Reason? were given by the commission for this view, and recommendations were made for securing control, one of which was that boards should be set up for the purpose of inquiring into cases where a prima facie, case his bren established that the interests of shippers were being adversely affected bv the action of the stoamsh'p owners or confrronces. It was further recommended th-i those boards should be empowered at their discretion (and should conciliation fail) to order abolition of differential freight rates found to be inimical to Imperial trade. In concluding h ; _s references to this matter Sir James said that these, proposals meant co-op -ration _ between the Government in Great Br : tain and the Government hero. The people of New Zealand were, he was sure, in earnest, tlHr present temper was such that they would not tolerate a monopoly in London taking the cmam and leaving them tli" milk; but to remedy it united action would be required.