PLANS IN MELTING POT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20894, 25 November 1937, Page 7

PLANS IN MELTING POT

PACIFIC SHIPPING PROBLEM AMERICAN AGREEMENT ANTICIPATED HOPES OF FAVOURABLE AGREEMENT United Press Association—By Electrto Telegraph—Copyright (Received November 24, 6.30 p.m.) CANBERRA, November 24. Plans which had been under consideration during the last two years to safeguard British shipping interests in the Pacific are likely to be substantially modified and possibly may become unnecessary, if the hopes for a trade agreement and a general agreement for mutual co-operation between the Empire and the United States are realised. Three months ago an agreement between Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada for the provision of financial assistance for the construction of two fast modern passenger ships to carry the British flag in the Pacific were on the verge of completion, but now the Prime Minister (Mr J. A. Lyons) has announced that discussions which followed a hitch In the plans had thrown the whole of the proposals into the melting pot. NEW BUILDING PROGRAMME STATEMENT POSTPONED United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, November 23. Speaking in the House of Commons, the President of the Board of Trade (Mr Oliver Stanley), said that the English, Australian and New Zealand Governments were conferring on the position of British shipping in the Pacific. He was not in a position to make a statement as to whether financial arrangements had been reached for the building of new ships. He was aware of existing concern, but the matter depended on other countries besides Great Britain. "We are prepared to play our part,” he said.

JAPAN’S PACIFIC PLANS EXTENSION OF SERVICES United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright TOKIO, November 23. The newspaper “Chugai Shogyo” expects that the conference between the Australian and Japanese shipping interests will not begin before January, due to a preliminary discussion in the agenda, notably whether to include New Zealand traffic, in which the Osaka Shosen Kaisha and Yamashlta lines are particularly interested. AN AUSTRALIAN VIEW ALLEGED CLOUDING OF ISSUE United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph —Copyright SYDNEY, November 24. Mr G. Rickards, partner in the Macdonald, Hamilton Company, managing agents for the Eastern Australian Line, which is the only company other than Japanese concerned in the conference, who Is now on his way to Japan, stated some time ago that his company did not wish to enter into any discussion regarding New Zealand trade. Japanese vessels were running direct to New Zealand, but the Eastern Australian Line only carried New Zealand cargoes, which were brought to Sydney and transhipped. The introduction of New Zealand traffic into any discussion, therefore, only tended to cloud a clear-cut issue. “NEWS TO ME” STATEMENT BY MR SAVAGE By Telegraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, November 24. When the cable from Australia was referred to him, suggesting that the whole of the proposals for safeguarding British shipping interests in the Pacific were in the melting pot, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage stated to-day that it was news to him to know that any alteration had taken place in the position. He added that they had been trying to get one of the ships registered in New Zealand for the obvious reason that it would carry a New Zealand manning and conditions, which they claimed would be better than those of any other country. Asked if that request had had any influence on the discussions, Mr Savage said so far as he knew it had been no handicap to the going on with the proposals, but the last word had not been said, or he should hope not.