WAR NEWS.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5361, 19 February 1916, Page 6

WAR NEWS.

AIERCHANT TONNAGE

CONFLICT WITH WAR NEEDS

Electric Tel extra Dh —Press Association Copyright. London, Last Night. Jn tihe House of Commons Air B. E. Peto moved an amendment to the Address in Reply, regretting that measures had not. been taken to utilise economically the merchant tonnage by placing it under the control of a central expert authority with power to requisition the direct movements of vessels and to lipiit the remuneration for transport service. Every ship in our mercantile fleet should always make a full vovagp out and home. The transport of coal, wlieat and ore. and the transport of munitions and troops should all be under this control. Mr Balfour said that the transport department of the Admiralty had done its work with great skill. It would luive been impossible to carry out many duties hut for the assistance and advice of distinguished ship owners. If the proposed requisition of British shipping were adopted, neutral shipping would be able to continue to earn the open market rate. There was now a perpetual oonflict between the needs of tonnage and the needs of war. Mr I{. P. Houston instanced the 'enormous freights earn«>d by neutral vessels, while British ships had to be content with a Blue Book rate. Itfilv and Portugal were consantly applying for more tonnage. It was not exactly playing the game, for Italy was using Austrian ships and was n#t using German vessels now interned in Italian ports. If Italy asked for more tonnage ■she would be asked to utilise the ships in her harbours.

Air Runeiman said that even now the Allies were clamouring for more tonnage. They would not have got tonnage at all but for the fact that nearly half the merchant service of the world was under the British flag. Not a single sailor had refused to sign on because of the perils of the sea. It would be calamitous to take any step in war time which might limit the reproductive power of the merchant service, or cripple us adding to it immediately the war was over to enable us to compete with the foreigners. „

Mr Mcnamarn said that the Ad npraltv was doing its utmost not t< hold iij) tonnage which was not want ♦id for naval and military senior The amendment was negatived.

In his speech Mr Runeiman said that the reason they did not regard every ship as a controlled establishment like factories ashore was that shipping was subject to i-ompetition with neutral-. The Government had asked that Blue Book rates should be taken as maximum rates. They hii<l requisitioned 172 vessels for the damage of sugar, meat. etc. There was not a single Bri f ish vos-el with refrigerating space that was not working under those rates.

The congestion in our j*ort' was being relieved by giving the Port Transit Committee greater powers far increasing the labour available for merchant shipping, which had been delayed because the Admiralty had the first mortgage on shipbuilding yards, hut about forty-five merchantmen had been hurriedly completed and HO others which had been declared unnecessary were being pushed on STIRRING NAVAL FIGHT. Capetown, Last Night. Stirring details of two British motor boats gallantly fighting a German gunboat on 1 -ike Tanganyika on Box ing Day are refitted by a port ref pator. He says: We sighted a great blot on the horizon steaming towards the coast. Off we went though she was five (fold our combined tonnage. We were ho small that she did not see ua until wo were four thousand yards off. Then she turned on us doubtlew expecting an easy capture. We steamed right at her and opened fire at 1000 yards. She replied, her shells falling all round us, but not hitting us. Our second shot destroyed her wiro. 1 less, and a third hit her on the wut<wline She turned and fled, but wo were faster. Our fifth allot killed the captain and two of the crew She hoisted the white flag and we captured, after twenty minutes’ fighting, a powerful vessel protected by huge steel shields .We hit her in ton places hut we were not hit, though thin enemy’s gunners war the 9oonigberg’s.