DRASTIC STEP INDEED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1084, 24 March 1911, Page 5

DRASTIC STEP INDEED.

— ■» ; WHAT' THS DEPARTMENT DID TO THE CLAN MENZIES. (By Telegraph.—Spccia! Correspondent.}, Auckland, March 23. "What is the proper dejinition of coastwise'shipping?" is a question that is at present agitating the minds of the local shipping world, and more particularly of the agents of the Scales Lino of Home trading steamers. The question has come into prominence over whnt appears to ba the arbitrary action of the Marine Department in Wellington. It seems that the Clan Menzies—a eteamer belonging to the Scales Line— which loft Auckland on Tuesday for London direct, picked un 47 dumps of tow at Wellington, when on her way up the coast to Auckland, the destination of the consignment mentioned being London. Upon the arrival of the Clan Menzies at Auckland, it was found necessary, in order to take in the local cargo, to transpose the tow, and it was duly landed tn the wharf with the object of'stacking it on top of the Auckland cargo. The Auckland consignments proved so numerous and bulky, however, that no spaco was left for the tow, and the local representatives of the company were obliged to ship it by the Wimmera to Sydney for transhipment to London. This i had barely been done when the local Superintendent of Mercantile Marine, ' acting upon instructions received from Wellington, waited upon the captain of the vessel, and informed him that, having landed the tow here and transhipped it by tho Wimmera, lie had nlaccd his vessel under tho New Zealand' Coastwise Shipping laws, and would have to pay his crew accordingly. 'As this meant the distribution of an extra-' i£!J2 ls.y the'eaptain demurred, but'the Marine Department proved adamant, and the money had to be paid before the vessel could: proceed to sea. The agents, it is understood, have now dent in a strongly-worded protest to the Marine Department. It is pointed out that, ns the freights from Wellington to SydnVy direct'. Si vWA'u'fcklSfid, aifd ffM Anckland to Sydney, are the same, coastwise shipping (by the carriage of the tow up the coast by the. Clan > Menzies) did not suffer . in'ithe slightest, ; but rather benefited, inasmuch as . the Wimmera earned as much on tho consignment in taking .it, from- Auckland to Sydney as Khf> would have dons in, taking it from Wellington, -