The Chronicle LEVIN. TUESDAY, JULY 24, 1917. NEW ZEALAND'S LACK OF DEEP SEA SHIPS.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 24 July 1917, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN. TUESDAY, JULY 24, 1917. NEW ZEALAND'S LACK OF DEEP SEA SHIPS.

About a week ago. 'l'lie Chronicle rt. .'rrt .1 tot the great congestion of frozen mutton in Xt>\v Zealand, and vi rit 11 rod the opinion that the lack of shaping facilities was occasioned by the capitalistic influences of the Argentine. A great deal of British money .is invested in this foreign country —and, in times of peace, the influence of some of these capitalistic investors lias been used against New Zealand interests. Do those interests remain adverse to New Zealand in time of war; maybe a spirit of patriotism will prevent them from being exerted against this dominion :in time of stress such as tho Empire now is undergoing; vot of this we have no surety. Then there exists the further inimical fact that tlie American Meat Trust has vast interests in the Argentine, and lesser yet considerable interests in Queensland, Australia). Therefore when we read on absolutely unimpeachable authority that cargo boats that used to trade to iXew Zealand from Great Britain have been <iverted to Aiwfcralia as irell as to the Argentine, we are compelled to think on various possibile springs of action. Tho British Shipping Controller has given the Prime Minister of New Zealand the apparently unanswerable reason for this procedure: —"that the need far supplying beef to the British Army in sufficiently large quantities compels liini to send .steamers to the foreign Argentine, being a shorter voyage, in preference to British countries at the Antipodes." It seems convincing enough on first glance; but the thought again recurs to us that the Meat Trust has interests in Australia as well as the Argentine, and that it is more than a mere coincidence hat vessels have been diverted from the New Zealand running to that oif A.ustralia. So, conceding that there may be a very strong diefenoe for tho diversion of shipping to the Argentine, there still is the dfyquieting; fact to be faced that other differentiations .have been made against this country which are los.j capable of convincing explanation. AVe commend our readers' attention to a reprint in to-day's Chronicle of a letter sent byi the Prime Minister of this Dominion to the Controller of Shipping.