SHORTAGE OF SHIPPING.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 March 1916, Page 5

SHORTAGE OF SHIPPING.

TROUBLE BECOMING INTENSIFIED. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Wellington, March 8. Local merchants are anticipating a serious intensification of the trouble caused already by the shortage of shipping. They are finding difficulty in getting shipments of goods from' the Mother Country up to time, and their London lepresentatives have warned then in some instances, that before the end of the year it may be practically impossible to maintain supplies. Ladies' hose is mentioned as one of the lines in which there will be a shortage, and cotton goods generally may be Lard to obtain.

An illustration of (lie nature of the difficulties that are arisin.j is provided by the suggestion nf the London Times that it may not he in Hie best interests <■! the Empire to have yreat I'olnmes of space in British ships used for the carriage of cheap American motor-car 3 to Australasia. There appears to be a feeling in mercantile circles in London that before, the end of the war arrives the Imperial authorities may begin to see very closely indeed the'nature of the shipments made to the Dominions from the Mother Country, with the object of making the best possible use of the limited space available. A letter received by one of the local houses states that if the British manufacturers have to choose between serving the Empire markets and the neutral markets during the later stages of the war, they will give preference to the forcigne:.; They know that the Dominions, as 'members of the family," will suffer inconvenience without transferring iheir trade allegiance elsewhere, wher.'is (he foreign markets, once lost, might be very difficult to recover. A fact in New Zealand's favor is the necessity of providing return cargoes for the insulated ships, which must come to the Dominion in order to remove the meat and dairy produce required by the Imperial Government. But even when allowance is made for this factor, it appears that the trouble may become a grave one from the point of view of the traders and the "shoppers," who will be likely to find their range of choice severely limited. "The shortage of shipping is undoubtedly affecting us," said the Prime Minister' (Rt. Hon. W. F. Massey) today. The British Government is quite willing to meet us as liberally as possible and provide all the ships' that can be spared, but Imperial requirements have to be given first consideration. Several ships that had been requisitioned for Imperial service have been released at my request quite recently. They were insulated ships, which were urgently requited by the Dominion and could not be replaced. In other eases assurances have "been given me that certain ships will not be taken." Mr. Massey mentioned that thirteen ships were due to arrive in the Dominion for loading during March, and the outlook, as far as he could judge, gave no ground for anxiety as far as the export of the primary products was concerned. The goods would be . got away, though there might be delay in some cases.