Subsidised Shipping At the annual dinner of the United Kingdom
Chamber of Shipping last week, Sir Richard Holt made a proposal which, as he suggested, might usefully be considered at the next Imperial Conference. He pointed out that while the tonnage of foreign shipping had doubled, that of British shipping had fallen by 2,000,000 tons between 1914 and 1936 ; yet it is of the most vital importance for Imperial communica- tions and defence that the strength of the British mercantile fleet should be maintained. As a justifiable measure of protection he proposed a discriminatory tax on foreign subsidised vessels in competition with which British ships are at a disadvantage. Such a measure, both as a weapon against uneconomic competition and as a means of main- taining an essential line of defence, could be justified by the most orthodox free trade principles, but it would demand pre- liminary consultation with the Dominions, and the revision of a good many existing commercial treaties. It may be hoped, however, that the rise in freights and the revival in world trade of which Sir Richard spoke will assist British shipping more than such a tax ; a handicap on its prosperity to which the Government might well turn its attention is the high price of British, as compared with foreign, ship- building.
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