BRITISH SHIPPING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22269, 23 May 1934, Page 12

BRITISH SHIPPING

NEED FOR ASSISTANCE, Mr Edmund Watts, chairman of the Britain Steamship Company, discussing the need for Government assistance to shipping at a meeting of the company on May 12, said there were 40 countries that had an advantage over Britain, either by assisting their shipping with reservations of trade and direct or indirect subsidies, or by undercutting her owing to their low standard of living and cheap manning. Some had an advantage under more than one of these headings. On the other hand, only 12 countries competed with Great Britain on equal terms, and of these only one was eminent in shipping—Norway. He suggested that the Government should give British ship owners relief, supply the enormous resources of the British Empire as tho world’s market and insist on the British mercantile marine being employed in carrying British purchases. It should even go a step further and require those numerous countries which had favourable trade balances with Britain to rectify those balances by employing British ships. He was convinced that if the Government energetically pursued the navigational policy dictated by these _ considerations they could hope for a revival of British shipping on a sound commercial basis.