BRITISH SHIPPING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 670, 24 October 1933, Page 5

BRITISH SHIPPING

EMPIRE ACTION NEEDED TO RETAIN OUR SUPREMACY ILL-ADVISED SUBSIDIES London, October 15 British shipping is fighting for its life. Sixty thousand officers and men are ashore, who formerly served 1,800,000 tons of shipping, now idle. "I believe that only the Empire acting together, can save shipping, consequently I urge the Imperial Conference to consider solely the creation of a common Empire Shipping policy," writes Sir Abe Bailey, one of the principal Transvaal mine owners, in the Daily Mail. He criticises the South African Government's action in subsidising Italian lines to the extent of £150,000 a year in order to retain and increase South Africa's meat trade with Italy as fatal to an Imperial policy, which is essential to the prosperity of the British Commonwealth. Sir Abe Bailey emphasises that the Italians obtained charters at uncommercial rates to load wheat from Australia. An Italian ship completed a round voyage within the Empire, earning £1100 for the Italian Government, enabling it to undercut British shipping. British ships bef ore the war carried 52 per cent. of world trade, he adds. To-day they carry only 40 per cent. Britain has 300,000 tons less than in 1914. Sweden, Holland, France, Spain, Denmark, and Greece have nearly doubled their tonnage, and Italy and Norway have more than doubled it. Japan and America sbow a much greater increase.