OWNING OUR OWN SHIPS.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 May 1917, Page 4

OWNING OUR OWN SHIPS.

IMPORTANCE RECOGNISED BY PRODUCERS. At the conclusion of his address to shareholders of the Farmers' Co-operat-ive Organisation Society on Saturday (a report, of which will appear to-mor-row) Mr. E. W. Ralph, general manager of the New Zealand Farmers' Cooperative Association, of Canterbury, was asked a question regarding shipping. He stated that he had intended to allude to the subject, but it -was a rather ticklish question. They had a shipping company in the Dominion at one time, viz., the New Zealand Shipping Company, hut ft had been merged into a large shipping concern in. the old world, and New Zealand no longer owned its own company. Freights had gone Tip very much. This, of course, was only to be expected during the war, but the question was what could they expect after the war. It was nA use waiting too long, and the producers made up their minds to do something. A very representative conference was held in Welling' ton, and it was) unanimously decided to form a shipping company, and a committee was set up, of which he was one. They had met and gone a step further. It would be impolitic for him to impart 1 :iny information at this 'stage, but they could take it that the producers realised that no matter what they hoped to do through the federation of co-operative societies, they were powerless until they succeeded in getting hold of the only connecting link, and that was the shipping.