IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23221, 19 June 1937, Page 19

IMPERIAL CONFERENCE

SHIPPING SUB-COMMITTEE MR NASH PRESIDES AT FIRST MEETING (Prom Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, May 19. Mr Waller Nash, New Zealand's Minister of Finance, presided at the first meeting of the sub-committee of the Imperial Conference dealing with shipping. An official communique stated that a general discussion took place on shipping and it,s vital importance to the British Commonwealth. It was added that the discussions would be resumed at a second meeting to be held at an early dale. The threat to Empire communications of foreign shipping subsidies and flag discrimination was among the subjects reviewed To acquaint the various delegates with the fullest information on this subject, it has been decided to collect certain relevant statistics concerning shipping and to circulate various documents dealing with the menace of foreign competition. An opportunity will be taken to compare the present position of British shipping with that existing before the war. As the Liverpool Steam Ship Owners’ Association has pointed out in its last annual report, only about, two-fifths of the world’s international overseas trade is now carried, as against one-half before the war. British power vessels of 2000 tons gross and upwards (excluding those registered outside the United Kingdom) increased from 17,000.000 tons in 1914 to 17.600.000 tons in 1929 and declined to 13.000.000 tons in 1936. Foreign ships, on the other hand, increased from 16.000.000 tons in 1914 to 34,000.000 tons in 1929, at which figure they remained in 1936 To counter discrimination against British shipping it has been urged that the Government should put to the forefront of all trade agreements the -interests of British vessels A fair opportunity should be given of participating in the transport of all traffic with the country concerned Lord Essendon discussing this sub ject, has stated that the only fiber method of relieving the shipping industry is that subsidies and discrimination should be met by counter-subsi-dies and counter-discrimination. It must be made apparent to foreign competitors, he has urged, that British shipping cannot continually he ousted from trades which it has served for generations without effective measures of protection being taken.