The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1919. SHIPPING CONSTRUCTION.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 May 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1919. SHIPPING CONSTRUCTION.

One of the outstanding features of the recent war was the wanton destruction committed by the Germans! —destruction that was not only absolutely indefensible from a belligerent point of view, but also from any other standpoint except the lust of vengeance. The barbarous Huns evidently never contemplated the possibility of having to make reparation, being content to gloat over their evil deeds. They knew, quite as well as we do. that the most vital of all the key industries of Britain was that of shipping, any injury to which affected the trade of the British Empire. Their avowed object in the campaign to destroy merchantmen and passenger ships was to compel the 4Uies to sue for peace, and though they failed in this, they yet succeeded in taking an enormous toll on shipping, as the result of which, in spite of all accretions during the war period, the British net losses in shipping amounted to nearly three and a fi! f million tons. As the result of this great loss the overseas carrying trade has been seriously affected and the cost to shippers immensely increased. The Dominions have suffered considerably by the restricted tonnage, and but for the heroism of the men comprising the officers and of the merchant service, would assuredly have been in a very serious plight. It is obvious, therefore, that the Dominions are keenly interested in the j efforts that are being made to re- | pair the submarine ravages by the provision of new ships, so that the recent announcement that nearly eight million tons of shipping are under construction should be most welcome to the oversea portions of the Empire that depend for their prosperity on regular and frequent ocean services. It is evident that great efforts are being put forth to overtake the shortage, but it is not so satisfactory to find that it is America and Siot Britaiu that is leading the way in this expansion. According to Lloyd's Register there were 30! vessels of 1,348,120 tons launched in Britain in 1918, a total which, we regret to state, is over 584,000 tons below the record of 1913, and represents an output of twentysix per cent, lower than the average of the three previous years, 1911-13, but the figures are 185,224 tons more than for 1917, and 739,885 tons better than in 1916. Much greater strides in shipping construction were made outside [Britain, the™ liphia; launched during JR7R..KG w, I chant vessel-- of 4,09t».324 tons, an? increase of 131 per cent, as c'om-j pared with tlin figures for 1917., and higher by '.'. 698,595 ions thanin 1913, the pre-war record year. . It is noteworthy that nearly twen-ty-eight per cent, of these vessels < built abroad were "wooden walls," the United States, Japan and Canada being responsible for 92 per cent, of the total output abroad, America alone having i3S3SQQQ to total £juj>

the one year higher than the whole output of the United States for the whole of the preceding ten years, besides being over 25 per cent. greater than the combined output of the rest of the world for the year 1918. This great achievement by America, while being of the greatest service in solving the acute problem of ocean transport, indicates that if Britain is to regain har pre-war carrying trade she will have to make great efforts to outrival America, and emphasises emphatically the justness of her claim to have handed over to her such German merchantmen as will be of service in replacing the vessels sunk by submarines. For many years past Britain has imported more largely than exported, and has relied on her shipping trade to offset the balance to some extent. It is evident that it will take some considerable time for Britain to regain for her mercantile marine the position it enjoyed before the war, but we must not forget that she has learned by painful experience the imperative need for greater production so as to lessen her dependence on imported supplies. Above everything, however, the British Empire depends on ocean transport, and the reparation of shipping losses is for Britain what the reparation of devastated terrain is for France and Belgium. Germany wantonly destroyed and should be made to restore.- That is only justice. At the same time Britain should enter upon reconstruction in a comprehensive manner and with the same vigor and determination as that wherewith the war was prosecuted. At present the shortage of ships and the extremely heavy freight charges are severe handicaps on the trade of the Empire. Never have the shipping companies experienced such a prosperous time as during the war. It is to be hoped that the day is not Yery far distant when the public will have their turn—the longsuffering public that inevitably has to bear all the burdens while the few grow rich at their expense. Let us hope that the days of the voracious exploiters are numbered, and though it is unlikely there will ever be a return to the prices for the necessaries of life on the scale that prevailed before the war, yet with ample shipping competition and greater production there should be a reasonable prospect of the present inflated prices being materially reduced, though it will be a tough struggle to- attain the end in view.