A FARTHING A MILE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1352, 1 February 1912, Page 6

A FARTHING A MILE.

IMMIGRANT.' FAKES TO AUSTiIIIA. : There has been' good deal of , grumbling/in- Australia: to -the effcc.t : that shipowners • would ■ not provide' enough ships to carry all the emigrants who wished to prooceod. from England, to', the;- CqnlV mohwoalth. The matter' was "roferredi to in his speech at -itia- Orient,Company , ! moeting' by Mr. Frederick- Green, tut chairman; who admitted that at onetime there -was. some: reason for: the complaint. But, us ho pointed : out,. shipowners .aw not altogether to -blame. . Usually,they are not backward in providing; tonnnge when .thero is a clear demand {or , it, but' suitable ships cannot bo built;, at. 'five minutes' notice. The rapid growth in;the. emigrant trade to Australia , is desoribed by. Mr. Green- ae sudden and , unexpected. Sir Thomas Sutherland, at tho P. and 0. meeting, spoke.of.it as having risen euddenly; and as being extremely pressing. According to Sir Thomas Sutherland, , the emigrants sent out last year ', to Australia will total- about 60,000, or four times as many as went three years ago. That, of itself' is pretty good proof of what the shipping companies have done in the way of providing increased accommodation; On the other hand; the chairman , of tho Peninsular and Oriental-Company'doos riot think the Commonwealth Government pays too liberally. "If you like," he say?, "to divide the net rate of-JBll Bs. , by something liko -12,000 miles, you will arrive at a figure'which will puzzle you,'and'putjlcs me to know-how shipowners can live by- it." ■ As a matter of fact, the. rate works out at something less . than .- a farthing a mile, food included. Yet it must bo supposod that it.pays, ior. the steamship companies .would not accept- it. The fortunate thing.is that-1 this emigration activity looks as though it.'has, come to stay. .' '' • ' ■:■-■•'■. ..■