SHIPPING & WAR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 March 1940, Page 5

SHIPPING & WAR

CRITICISM IN HOUSE OF COMMONS MINISTER ON REPLACEMENT EFFORTS. COMPARISONS WITH 1914-18. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. March 18. An Opposition motion regretting an absence of efficiency and foresight in the administration of the Shipping Ministry and calling for speedy expansion of the shipbuilding programme was debated in the House of Commons today.

The Labour spokesman was Mr E. Shinwell, who severely criticised the Ministry’s control of shipping—which he distinguished from nationalisation —and alleged that there had been serious misdirection of tonnage and waste or misuse of specialised facilities. He expressed concern at what he considered tardiness in the full utilisation of shipbuilding resources to make good more rapidly the losses inflicted by enemy action.

While disowning any wish to bring comfort to the enemy, Mr Shinwell expressed the opinion that the Government statements of shipping losses gave an unduly favourable impression. On the one hand the total was swollen by including a number of large liners which were either laid up or were of small cargo capacity, while on the other hand the figure of losses was confined to the tonnage of ships actually sunk by the enemy, and overlooked many which were damaged, either in enemy attack or in other ways, and which, while* under repair, were in effect lost as effective tonnage.

On this basis Mr Shinwell argued that the total losses in the first six months of the war might amount to as much as 750,000 tons.

In replying, the Minister of Shipping, Sir John Gilmour, paid a tribute to the wonderful spirit in which the men of the mercantile marine were responding to the calls upon them despite the violent and inhumane enemy attacks to which they were exposed. MEANS OF SELF-DEFENCE. The Minister described the measures taken to supply merchant vessels with more safety devices, with means of self-defence against illegal Nazi warware, and with more wireless operators. The Admiralty and the War Office were giving every assistance in arming merchantmen, and the best progress possible had been made consistent with the obvious difficulties of supply. Under the scheme for assistance to shipbuilding which came into effect before the war loans for more than £4,750,000 had been granted in respect of 55 new vessels, he said. Mr H. Graham White, for the Liberal Opposition, urged the necessity for giving means of self-defence without delay to all ships, large or small. Mr Geoffrey Shakespeare, Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, said that though the industry had suffered a severe slump after the last war, the much criticised rationalisation which started in 1930 had stood the industry in good stead. Hel averred that the potential capacity of the British shipyards was not less now than at the highest peak in 1914 to 1918. WAR AND MERCHANT SHIPS. At the outset of the present war there was upward of 900,000 tons of naval and about 750,000 tons of ‘merchant tonnage under construction, and since then the Admiralty and the Shipping Ministry had greatly stimulated orders of both classes of ships. The Admiralty having taken the responsibility for shipbuilding, as in the last war, was able to strike a balance between the country’s needs of warships and merchant ships. Continuing, Mr Shakespeare stated that the services of Mr Westwood, general secretary of the Ship Construction and Shipwrights’ Union, had been secured by the Admiralty for dealing with labour problems, and added that his own experience of negotiations with trades union leaders had shown him that their purpose was identical with that of the Government in the prosecution of the war.

Mr Shakespeare explained that there were still 6000 skilled men unemployed, and stated that negotiations were in progress to provide for modern training for these men with a view to their absorption in the industry, employment in which,, he said, had grown from 9000 to 131,000. This, he said, was a considerable advance, but did not call for too much optimism, as the men had been mainly engaged upon work consequent on the commission or conversion of ships, both naval and mercantile, to war purposes. A MAXIMUM EFFORT. Questioned as to the maximum of output of merchantsmen that was aimed at. Mr Shakespeare replied: “I want to give lhe broadest answer 1 can without disclosing actual figures. I can say that we intend to achieve lhe maximum capacity of which the shipyards are capable, subject to the governing factors of labour and material, and we certainly hope to achieve a rate far in advance of the annual rate of sinkings to be expected from the enemy.” When the results of certain surveys now proceeding were known the First Lord would make a statement, ho added. Replying at the end of the debate. Sir Arthur Salter (member of the Economic Advisory Council) explained that under the requisitioning system the Ministry was able to make a plan as a whole. He said that 80 per cent of what came to Britain in British ships came as part of the programme for the Ministry of Food or the Ministry of Supply. Sir Arthur spoke of the real combination of shipowners and civil servants, and he described a suggestion of the ascendancy of the latter as “fantastic.” He continued that the tonnage required to carry exports from Britain was available, though here and there a route for a period might experience difficulty. Britain would need not only the efforts of the Navy and mercantile marine but also full co-opera-tion of the public both in their homes and in industry if the enemy attacks on British ships weer to be overcome. Dealing with the losses at sea, Sir Arthur said that British ships were being lost at the rate of 100,000 tons a month, but he pointed out that in the whole four years and a quarter of the last war the average rate was

more than 150,000 tons a month, “and after four years of that loss, when the tonnage was lower than at present, we were still maintaining an army of two millions in France and some half a dozen other expeditions as well.”

The Opposition motion was defeated by 2GG votes to 99.