PACIFIC SHIPPING.

Wairarapa Age, 1 August 1936, Page 5

PACIFIC SHIPPING.

ONE LINE SAID TO BE ON EVE OF SUSPENSION. LORD LLOYD’S WARNING. STATEMENT BY THE MARQUESS OF ZETLAND. LONDON, July 30. In the House of Lords Lord Lloyd drew attention to the threatened disappearance of two British lines in the Pacific, and urged Government action, as he was informed that there was grave risk that at least one of them might be on the eve of suspension. He added that British shipping in the Far East had now reached the stage of approaching collapse, while increasing Japanese competition emphasised the importance of shipping with a view to maintaining war-time supplies. The Marquess of Zetland, Secretary for India, discounting Lord Lloyd’s pessimism, said that naval requirements of oil fuel, petrol, and lubricating oils, concerning which it was against the public interest to give details, were constantly surveyed by I the Committee of Imperial Defence, | which was responsible for essential preparations for British tankers sufficient to meet all the Navy’s and a considerable part of the civilian requirements. The question of Pacific shipping had been referred to the Imperial Shipping Committee, which had taken evidence and was now preparing its report, on which the Government would consult the Dominions. The Government was also considering the storage of food supplies.