MERCHANT NAVY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 228, 25 September 1940, Page 8

MERCHANT NAVY.

TONNAGE INCREASED. 'Inexcusable Assaults" On Neutrals Boomerang. British Official Wireless. (Real. 1.30 p.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 24. The Minister of Shipping, Mr. R. H. Cross, reviewing. the year's war effort, stated: "British merchant vessels have unceasingly sailed the oceans of the world while liable to attack throughout by submarine, raider, mining, aircraft, and, more recently, E-boat, and one might well have supposed that our position would be worse 'than, the countries whose ships bolted, for safety.

"But the fact is. we have lost by enemy action only about one-eighth of our : pre"-wa'r merchant fleet. We' have made up, and more than made up, this and every other' loss.' Captures, new building and transfers' froin foreign flags have brought us reinforcements in excess of our losses. ' .

"The oversea* supply position? and consequently the shipping position, has taken on a wholly different appearance. Timber, steel, ferro and alloys, which formerly came from Scandinavia, must now be carried from North America; iron ore, formerly derived from Sweden, Norway and France, ie fetched to-day from more distant sources. Australian and New Zealand dairy produce takes the place of Danish and Dutch supplies. Workshops of - the United States are turning out engineering products which, in the past,' came from Belgium.

"Ships 'bearing products from India and the Far East no longer follow the ordinary route through the Mediterranean; the longer voyage round the Cape means that a larger number of shipe is required to bring equivalent cargoes.

"Germany, by her inexcusable assaults on Poland, Denmark, Norway, Holland and r.lgiuill, put out of employment X eat quantities of tonnage which formerly served the commercial needs of those peaceful lands. The greater part of this tonnage now carries cargoes for the Allied cause, and compensates for the greater distances which many supplies must now be earned.

"The great fleet of British, Allied and neutral vessels is bringing to Britain between 4,000,000 and 5,000.000 tons of imports monthly (enough to meet essenI tial needs), compared with the peacei time total. of about 6,000,000 tons a month. We are beginning the second year of the war in a good position to feed the people and supply factories." CULTURAL TREATY. JAPAN AND BBAZIL SIGN. (Reed. 11 a.m.) TOKYO, Sept. 24. The Japanese Foreign Office, in a statement, eaid a Japanese-Brazilian cultural treaty' was concluded yesterday at Rio de Janeiro for the purpose of "accelerating interest in each other's culture." The treaty is similar to last -year's Italo-Japanese agreement.