CO-PARTNERSHIP.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3136, 12 March 1909, Page 3

CO-PARTNERSHIP.

SIR C. FURNESS ON HIS SCHEIE. Sir Christopher Furness addressed ' a crowded meetng of workmen at j West Hartlepool, England, recently, ! in exposition of his scheme for copartnership with his employes in his ship-building firm. Dealing with the present state of trade, the speaker said tt at shipbuilding ind this allied industries at the '3artlepools were practically at a standstill. distress was keener and more wide- ; spread than ever he had known it. ' Shipowners contended that the tonnage available at present beirg so much more than is required, there j was no prospect of freights showing ! any appreciable advance. As in these days they threw away remorselessly / a worn-out or behind the times machine, so he contended that they should break up worn-nut an 3 out of the running ships. To scrap vessels of this character was true economy. While the British Empire possessed '38,342 merchant ships, aggregating , 13,183,855 ton 9, and the vessels registered in. the United Kingdom represented 21,042, with a total tonnage of nearly 11£ millions, he ; estimated that of the 13,183,855 tons 1 nearly two million tons were practic- ! -ally obsolete, and • apart from the question ot employment he contended j that a million tons of up-to-date tonnage to replace this would be a '-national advantage. He might prove : a clear-sighted prophet, and miglt see more clearly than others that as there had been an ebb, so under present economic conditions there must be a flood tide demand. On the other hand, there was an off chance that he might prove too sanguine. But whatever the consequences, he had for the reasons given resolved to risk some of his reserve resources in building and equipping a numb?r of ships of, various types. (Loud cheers). The full capacity of the yards in which the co-partnery experiment would be tried was 24 steamers in the year. Having ascertained form the Clyde, the Tees, the Wear, and the Tyne the prices at present asked for steamers of certain types, he had decided on his "own account to give out orders /at those prices for six vessels to the Middleton yard and for another six vessels to the Harbour dockyard, which would carry with them orders for the building of 12 sets of engines. 1 He proposed to give out orders for eight other steamers to the rivers named. He hoped that when the 12 steamers mentioned were constructed in the co-partnery yards they would find themselves in possession of orders for the remaining 12 so as to keep the two yards fully occupied during the whole of 1909. He added that if the state of trade when these vessels were finished resulted in a profit on thei * sale, it would go ; to the parent 'firm of Furriest Withy, ;and<Eo., in 'consideration ot their services.. If* • teowevtr, there Was any loss, he should hear it.out of his own pocket {CI-eeia.)