STATE SHIPPING.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 February 1920, Page 2

STATE SHIPPING.

"A HUGE FAILURE." By Telegraph.—Pms Man.— Copyright. London, Feb. 25, At the annual meeting of the Chamber of Shipping the new-elected president, Sir VV. Noble, scathingly criticised State control ag extravagant and wasteful. It destroyed initiative and had been a huge failure. The nationalisation of shipping was the sure road to bankruptcy. Owing to the congestion at the ports and the breakdown of land transport many steamers were only doing half their pre-war work. It was a fact that trades and industries which had been decontrolled were already recovering, whereas those still in the grip of the State were going from had to worse. With more shipping than we possessed in August, 1914, we were only carrying half the volume of trade carried in 1913. Mr. Noble said he had full faith in the Briton as a ship-builder and shipowner, hut the present policy of the United States Shipping Board, also that of our own Dominions, especially Australia and Canada, was unfair competition. Their policy appeared to be to build up a mercantile marine at any cost, relying on the national purse to make good any deficiency,—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Asbh.