MEAT SHIPS AND MUNITIONS

Southland Times, Issue 17533, 9 June 1915, Page 6

MEAT SHIPS AND MUNITIONS

PRIME MINISTER INTERVIEWED. The Wellington correspondent of the Dunedin Star telegraphed yesterday:— "People who complain about the Govern-, ment bringing ships out to New Zealand in ballast when importers are anxious to get shipments of merchandise have not realised tire facts of the situation,” said the Prime Minister to your correspondent this evening. The mattor had been mentioned in connection witii the complaint of a Wellington firm in a letter to the Chamber of Commerce. "W'e are bringing the Delphic out here in ballast,” added Mr Massey, ‘’because she is urgently needed in connection with tlie meal trade. If we had not intervened the chances are that the ship would not have come to New Zealand at all. If sho had come there would have been a delay of at least six weeks or two months before sire could have got a cargo at Home owing to the extraordinary congested state of tlie docks. By compensating the owners for tlie loss of freight, we have been able to get tlie big ship quickly, and she will take away something like 1 ”0,000 carcases of mutton, a very important consideration from the point of view of the producers and tiie exporters. II may seem strange at first glance that the • Government should have to bring a steamer Irom Great Britain empty at a time when local importers want shipments, but an unprecedented situation calls for especial measure. We wanted refrigerating space promptly, and there was only one way to get it. within a. reasonable time. We would not have helped tlie, importers by refraining from bringing tlie Dei pit ic to New Zealand. ••While Mr Lloyd George is devoting Ins tremendous energies to increasing the Mother Country’s output of munitions," continued Mr Massey, "Now Zealand anil Australia arc doing something in a very small way to enlarge their material contributions to the Empire's fighting forces. New Zealand has an ammunition factory which has been turning out large quantities of. service cartridges ever since the war began. A large part of the output is absorbed within the dominion in the training of troops for the front and so on, but there is a surplus for export, and every force leaving the cquntry has taken with it a certain quantity of ammunition. Australia lias a small-arms fac-. Tory, where rifles of the service pattern are produced, and it has been reported lately that the Commonwealth authorities have arranged for double shifts to be worked at this establishment.” The Minister of Defence (the Hon. Jas. Allen) mentioned to-day that after hearing that tlie Australians were increasing their output of rifles he had cabled to the Federal Minister of Defence asking if New Zealand could be supplied with any of the weapons. Ho had not received a reply yet, but the probabilities seemed to he that the Australians would have no rifles to spare. Willi regard to the ammunition factory in New Zealand . (at _ Auckland) » ho had been In-