GREAT BRITAIN'S SHIPBUILDING SUPREMACY.
Writiug of a new liner lot the South American trade, 3lr ,W. U. laiejr says; '"The Avon ia lor the present, and will probably remain for a year, the latest triumph of tlie resources of shipbuilding civilisation. Nothing can exceed the spacious comfort of her saloons and cabins, except the chaste beauty of their decoration. At a time when, as we. hear, the country is going to the dogs, driven by the whip of Freetrade, it 13 consoling to know that at least in respect of ship-building flreat Britain stands unrivalled among the nations of the world. Lord Pirrie, head of the firm of llarland and Wolff, who was aboard the Avon on Monday, critically watching tile performance of his new masterpiece, confirmed the report current in the newspapers that the Belfast first have obtained a commission to build for Germany what will 1* the biggest steamer afloat. The prize was gained after keen competition, in which Ameria and. of eonr*', Germany Joined. The estimated expenditure touches the ,-iiini of a million sterling. and will provide more than a year's steady work lor Ihe busy hive that buzzes in the Belfast yard." The trade terms of Harland and Woi,,' are. I believe. unii|ue. The late Thomas Ismay, founder of the White Star line, who early recognised the excellence of the work done at Belfast, once told me that in his transactions with the firm, at that period extending over many years, the term? of contract were «n simple that a sheet of notep.iper sufficed, for their ....(ting forth. The majority of big contractors, in the shipping world and out-ide, tender for a certain s|K'«lied .lira. Harhmd and Wolff undertake to provide at co-t price all the materials for the ship, to add Wages actually paid, and then clap on a commission of 10 per rent. If any schoolboy will work out a little sum showing what HI per cent amounts to on an expenditure- of a million sterling, lie will pro< bably. rejecting earlier prejudice and tendencies, make up lih mind to lie a shipbuilder,"
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Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 20 August 1907, Page 4
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349GREAT BRITAIN'S SHIPBUILDING SUPREMACY. Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 20 August 1907, Page 4
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