NATIONALISATION OF SHIPPING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17871, 28 February 1920, Page 9

NATIONALISATION OF SHIPPING

SURE ROAD TO BANKRUPTCY. Preeo Afleoctata'on —By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, February 25. At the annual meeting of the Chamber of Shipping tho newly-elected president (Mr W. Noble) scathingly criticised State control as extravagant and wasteful. It destroyed initiative, and had been a huge failure. Nationalisation of shipping was a wire road to bankruptcy. Owing to the congestion at the ports and the breakdown of land transport many steamers were doing only half their pre war work. It was a, fact that trades and industries which had been decontrolled were already recovering, whereas those still in the grip of the State were going from had to worse. With more shipping now than we possessed in August, 1914 wo were carrying only half tho volume of goods carried in 1913. Mr Noble said he had full faith in the Britisher as a shipbuilder and shipowner, but the present policy of tho United States Shipping Board, also of our own dominions, especially Australia and Canada, was unfair competition. Their policy appeared to be to build tip a mercantile marine at any cost, relying on tho national purse to make good any deficiency.—A. and N.Z. Cable.