MERCANTILE MARINE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18310, 29 July 1921, Page 6

MERCANTILE MARINE

MR, MASSEY: ENTERTAINED AT THE BALTIC. SHIPPING AND THE PACIFIC. (Fbom Ouk Own Corrkspondent.) LONDON, June 9. Mr Masse}' was given an opportunity of meeting a number of prominent shipping men at a luncheon given to-day in his honour by Mr R. J. Turner at tho Baltic Exchange. Mr Turner is a member of the firm of Messrs Turner, Davidson, and Co., ship-brokers. Other guests present were Sir Robert Stout, Sir James Allen, Sir James Mills, Sir William Herries, Sir J. G. Findlay, and Captain Hugh Monro. Sir- Joseph Ward was to have been present, but this week he is in the bands of his doctor, and so was unable to attend. The remainder of the company was made up of representatives of all the principal shipping firms of tho city. In welcoming the Now Zealand Prime Minister and the other dominion guests, Mr Turner referred to the munificent gifts that had been subscribed by tho people of New Zealand for the benefit of the dependents of the men of the Royal Navy and of the Mercantile Marine of this country. His experience of New Zealanders over a great many years was a most pleasant one, but he had always found them a-com-pelling people who asked for what they wanted and saw that they got _ it. He knew of no better advocate for his country than Mr Massey, who. however, always coupled his demands with justice. Finally, he referred to the great sacrifices New Zealand had made in the cause of the Empire during the years of war, , MR MASSEY’g SPEECH. Whatever New Zealand may have done during the war, said Mr Massey, they had merely done it as their duty us port of tho Empire, and it over troubles came again —and lie trusted they would not —tho dominion would be prepared to play its part just* as it had done in the last war. He was pleased to see so many representatives of Australia present. That country and his own would have to tvork together in their own interests and of the British nation in the Pacific far more than they had done up to the present. The war and the period tnat had elapsed since the signing of the Armistice had brought it homo to them more clearly than ever before that the Empire and its countries could not prosper without proper sea communications. It was a matter of history that time after time tho nation had been saved by the navy. The achievements of tho navy in the time of the Armada, Nelson’s famous sea fights, and later in our own time the battle of Jutland—which at first we were inclined to think littld of—were glorious pages in. our naval history. Over and • over again he had been struck with tho wonderful confidence in this counthy. During the war they had been confident that \ they would win in the end. Since hia arrival in London this time he had mot old friends and had sympathised with them on account of the industrial state of the country, but they invariably pointed to the blue sky or spoke of other pleasant things, and were confident that all would come right in the end. And he believed they would just as they had done before.

EVENTS WHICH I&AKE HISTORY,

They were to-day more closely concerned with the Mercantile Marine. lie was sure that all would agree that they owed a deep they could bo built, the men of the Mercantile Marine for the splendid services they rendered the Empire during the period of the war. At its most critical period, when ships were being sunk faster than they could be built, tile men of the Mercantile Marine boro the hardships and dangers of the enemy submarine campaign with the greatest fortitude and heroism, and when disaster occurred our seamen were only too anxious to find new ships in order to go to sea again. Some of the brightest instances in the history of the war were the fight put up by the s.s. Carmania (in which steamer he had travelled recently from New York to Liverpool), in her victorious battle with the Cap Trafalgar. Mr Massey described the event, and also the gallant fight made by Commander Bisset-Smith in the Otoki, and the exploits of the Clan M'Tavieh. The New Zealand people, he said, were very proud of these exploits. They were the things that made history. He sincerely trusted that the time would come when all ships trading to the different parts of the Empire would be built in British shipyards, by British mechanics, manned by British sailors, and carrying British products and British manufactured goods. THE PACIFIC. “I think the time has now arrived,” continued Mr Massey, “when people in the Northern Hemisphere realise that there is a little more room in the Pacific than there is in the North Sea, and that the British citizens living in the islands of the Pacific naturally take a keen interest in the questions of naval defence and shipping. My own country, New Zealand, is distant some 12C0 miles from Australia, and our nearest neighbour is Fiji, a thousand * miles to the north. With our environment and our traditions, we cannot bo other than a maritime people. In this connection I may remind you that New Zealand has, as the representative of the Sovereign, one of the greatest sailors in the Empire. I refer, of course, to Admiral Lord Jellicoe. Wo all hhve the salt of the sea in our blood, and even cur Native race, the Maoris, are a seafaring people. They have their traditions which have come down through the centuries, and I would remind you that they originally sailed from Hawaii to New Zealand, making the voyage of at least 2000 miles in their canoes. “The sea communications between the different countries of the Empire are so important that I trust this subject will receive the serious attention which it deserves from the Imperial Conference which is about to meet in London. I am very glad to know that some members of the Imperial Shipping Committee, including its chairman, Sir HolfoiJ Mackinder, are present to-day. It - will not be out of place if I remind then) that in connection with the matters which will come before the Committee they have very great responsibilities, and I trust that as a result of their deliberations on improvement will take place in Imperial shipping services. I am not going to suggest subsidies at present; hut it is urgently important that substantial improvements should be made in the transport of mails, passengers, and etyrgo. The naval policy of the Empire is under at the present time, and whilst noone is opposed to war more than I am, it must be the business of those entrusted with the management of tho affairs of the Empire to see that tho trade routes of the Empire are properly protected. The people of New. Zealand are. whatever happens, a nation of sailors. Tho country is comparatively in its infancy, and we are as it were, laying its foundations; but I have no hesitation in saying that in the years to come it will be one of the greatest maritime nations of the world.” A statement which caused some amusement was made by Sir Owen Philippa, M.P. (chairman of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.), in proposing tho health of Mr Turner, whose firm are tho brokers for (lie Commonwealth Government Line of steamora. Ho had to''congratulate New Zealand, he said, on (he fact that they had not. made the mistake of trying to run a Government line, and finding their Chancellor of the Exchequer having to melt the enormous cost of their failure, as some other great dominions had done.