THE SHIPPING STRIKE IN AUSTRALIA

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 209, 29 May 1919, Page 5

THE SHIPPING STRIKE IN AUSTRALIA

SERIOUS COAL CRISIS PRECIPITATED / POSITION REVIEWED (From the Sydney "Daily Telegraph.") '. Sydney, May 21. lesterday Sydney entered upon anjther strike. The decision arrived at on the previous night, by the. New South Wales branch of the Seamen's Union to take the inter-State vessels to their home 1 ports and leavo them was put into operation in the morning, The crews were paid off several ships in harbour during the day, and others gavo the necessary 24 hours' notice. shipping vas not affected. Beiore the day was out effects were felt in the city, and the first symptoms of the trade paralysis which must follow a continuation of the trouble : were dearly discernible. Coal Trade Reacts. The. coal trade of the State almost immediately reacted to the restriction, of shipping. Before the men had left their vessels there were eight or ten coal-mines idle which in normal times would together produce. 10,000 tons a day. In most they had been closed as a direct.result of the maritime strike. To work mines dependent on colliers for the transportation of their coal was considered useless as scon as it became known that no colliers'would be available. A few pf the colliories had 'been stopped in the ordinary course for reasons 6uch as the tilling of all available wagons. But the strike will keep them, closed. They will not start again until the trouble is settled. Meantime other pits are to be closed ■ to-day, and for every day that tho strike continues more ■will be added to the list. It is in the stopping of the transportation of coal by water from New South Wales to other States that the seamen's ection will-have the quickest and most disastrous effect, Of this State's production pf roughly 8,000,000 tons of coal annually, other .States take approximately 8,000,000 tons. More than a quaVter of the coal trade of New South Wales will be lost while the shipping bold-up continues, and most of the other, States in . the Commonwealth will be deprived of their lurgently-needed supplies of coal. A certain amount will doubtless be railed to the nearer States-. Overseas'ehips / Kay take some more. . But .they cannot ) .lift enough to keep the .essential industries and services of the other States going for more than a.very few weeke., How Other States will Suffer.

. The position in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, and West Australia is regarded as'more or less critical. Victoria and Queensland have email local sources of supply, but the othfs are practically dependent on what is shipped to them. Tasmania, too, will feel the pinch, but there the local supply suffices for all needs except those of the gas companies and the coastal sl.jpping. In normal times Victoria takes over a million tons of, coal a year from this State, South Australia soinij-.vhere ;about three-quarters of a million. West Australia over lOO.OOO, , Queensland about the same, and Tasmania elightly ;es9 than' 100,000 tons. • • The southern colliery districts rf Now South Wales will probably feel tho effects of- decreased, coal production more than those in the north aud west. A large number of the southern coal mines have to rely almost entirely on sea <aiTJage. There aro not so many ! mines similarly placed in the north, and to that extent the district will be \m seriously affected. Western ■ collieries do , not seem likely to be immediately ed to an appreciable extont, ■ but »me of them will probably be drawn.m if the fetruggle continues for long. • The. Commonwealth Government/ stands , to lose on both the hold-up of shipping and ,the dislocation of tho coai-miniflg industry. Practically the' whole uf Llie inter-State shipping is in the handj if the Commonwealth Shipping Controller. The owners of the vessels are merely the , managers for the Government. They ari. '' paid a certain sum for the vessel, ano it is paid whether the ships are earning »r losing, running, .or idle. Its recent action" in taking over the : coal mines of New South Wales place.l fche Federal Government in the same position regarding the coal industry. Whatever falling-off takes place here, and ■whatever financial loss results, the (jo - ernment will have to shoulder, and will, pass on to the taxpayer,-together with tho losses on the' ships. ./The cessation, of general inter-State , frade, apart from coal, by sea, will bo soon felt ■in all States, and some of them will almost immediately be in dilli-. oulties. Queensland will badly miss her regular supply of wheat and flour, there are indications that, in some.of the far northern towns in that .State a critical shortage of'those necessities will be felts within a day or 60. The shipping arrangements lately have loft some of the "northern ports living almost hano-to-mouth from steamer to steamer. Tin Stoppage has caught them at a "bad time. Bs one vessel was about to leave with heeded food when s]ie was caught in tie strike net, and had to abandon the 'rip. Tasmania badly needs, sugar. Some ot her largest industries are dependent on the Queensland sugar supply, and they, ' too, have been caught at a disadvantage. On the day before the etriko was declared one of tho biggest factories ■wired for the urgent shipment of 500 tons pi sngar. It could not be sent. Both. (States, too, will be deprived of the large ouantities of manufactured uoods which they received from New South Wales anil yictoria. > ... Food Supply of New South Wales. New South 'Wales is threatened with a Serious restriction of its food supply; Bo far the coastal boats have not ceasec , running, ' and the usual supplies of dairy produce will come to hand to-day, gut the most sanguino of the wholesale jnerchants handling those goods did not expect that the service would be continued for long if the trouj.-le' was not ftmckly settled. Practically all our dairy produce is marketed by means of coastal vessels 'Butter, flheese, and bacon come Sydneyyards % both north and south' coast' floats. Stocks are augmented every few days.' If these boats cense to run a ipinch for supplies must bo felt within a ..-week. In tho case of cheese and bacon a shortage will probably manifest itself . in a very few days. Shipments of the ■ latter lines have been coming forward from both Quensland and Victorian centres recently, owing to limited local production. Local butter stocks are large'. The winter "pool" holds a considerable surplus; iWliich could be drawn upon in case of , emergency, although such action might 1 .entail some hardship at a later date. The import markets are in nretty much the same condition, but stocks generally are liirge. Imports have been coniing to hand very freely during the last couple of months. Roughly, Sydney might be said to have sumeient of what are ordinarily seaborne inter-State supplies on hand to last her for about a week. She has sufii cient breadstuffs for an almost interminable period; and, with, the cold-stored stocks, enough meat to last for months There is probably sufficient spirituous liquors on hand to last for a couple of years-although some of it might not b> ,matured, as required by law-and enough peer to satisfy tho normal demand for jsix months. At this'time of the year, too, the State is laTgely dependent on Victoria and Tasmania for the main winter fruits, such as apples and pears. During the past week or so- the Sydney market has absorbed very.large quantities of TasiiMninn apples. A record shipment of about 80,000 boxes wos unloaded recently. Ordinarily the sale would Dot have been brisk, in view of the size of the shipment, and the barrowmen would have been selling them on the streets. But yesterday tho barrowmen did not. get a chance. The fruit was quickly bought at enhanced prices by wholesale and retail fruiterers, and in a few cases, by speculators. Potatoes nnd onions arc also largely drawn from Tiismanin and Victorw. This season tho demand for potatoes has been particularly ■ heavy on account of the dry weather in the potnto-'Tfwin" portions of tlie New Sonl.li Wales. The inter-State sources of pimply, with the exception of possible rail fonsignineiits from Victoria, are now cut off.