SHIPPING SUBSIDIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 September 1935, Page 5

SHIPPING SUBSIDIES.

The statements made by the chairman of the P. and O. Company, the Hon. Alexander Shaw, in regard to British shipping are likely to arouse considerable interest. The association of his company with the shipping lines operating between Canada, the United States hnd New Zealand and Australia is well known, and when Mr. Shaw states that unless some action is taken by the Government concerned the British-owned vessels will be withdrawn it may be certain he is making no idle threats. The position has been getting steadily more unsatisfactory. In theory the more ships trading to and from New Zealand the better for the Dominion. But when some of them can rely upon State subsidies to cover losses and others .cannot it is obvious that such unfair competition can have but one ending, namely, the withdrawal of non-payable unsubsidised services. This would leave New Zealand exporters and travellers at the mercy of monopolies, and history is full of instances of the price demanded from the public when such conditions obtain. The 'New Zealand Government has had the question of foreign subsidised shipping competition under consideration for a long time. It was to have been discussed with the Government of Great Britain during the recent visit of the Prime Minister and Mr. Coates to London. Mr. Shaw’s observations should afford Mr. Forbes the opportunity of placing before Parliament the views of the Imperial Government. It is known that authorities in Britain are nervous lest any discriminatory legislation by New Zealand or Australia against subsidised American vessels trading to Dominion ports should be countered by American restrictions affecting the Atlantic shipping services, which at present are of far more importance to Great Britain. But it is obvious that the position cannot be allowed to drift, and the public is entitled to know how the Government proposes to deal with a problem which seems likely to increase as time goes on.