PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
C.O.
Reference :-
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17 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
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America.
The Canadian Minister of Trade and Commerce reports that there is no doubt that there are "combinations of shippers not only in Canada
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but in New York, Boston, and other large shipping ports, with the object of fixing the rates of freight."
Newfoundland states that the Allan and Furness lines are alone interested and these steamers run in direct competition with one another. (Since the date of the despatch they are known to have combined.)
There are believed to be no combinations in the West Indies, except one arranged in 1897 between the Royal Mail Steamship Company, the Atlas, Tweedie, and Hamburg-American lines to maintain uniform rates of freight from Jamaica. Attempts have been made to form a Conference for Trinidad but without success.
It would seem to be the general rule that agree- ments to fix freights between America and Colonial ports do not exist.
But the Agent for writes :-
& Co. at Adelaide.
"Until recently monthly sailing vessels were despatched from New York to Australia and these were controlled by four American houses who chartered ships for the berth and as a rule charged excessive freights
Some of the London steamship owners entered into competition for the New York trade and having secured the contracts for plates for Western Australia and rails for Victoria, their competition caused a freight
war and freights were reduced from excessive to ridiculously low rates. An agreement was then come to between the parties and at the present time general freights are of a normal character. The only competitor to this new combination is the Tyser line of steamers, which, however only visit Melbourne or Sydney."
The quotation at page 13 probably implies that some Conference steamers run from New York, not that there is a Conference for all steamers from thence, but this is not certain.
i. (b)—Methods of Maintaining such Agreements.
The shippers who are parties to such an agree- ment give a rebate (or "primage") on the nominal rate of freight. This rebate is not payable till a considerable time has elapsed and is forfeited by any person who without leave ships goods by any line not in the Conference.
The percentage of rebate and the delay till repayment have been increased till at present they may be as much as 10 per cent. and 18 months. Thus the Conference may have power to inflict an immediate fine of several thousands of pounds on a refractory merchant.
The obvious consequence is that competing lines cannot obtain cargo.
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Other alleged methods are :—
(a) The threat to boycott a merchant altogether, which in the case of a man doing business only with ports within the sphere of influence altogether, might ruin him absolutely, see page 10 and page 22,
Difficulty of obtaining evidence";
(b) Driving out competing lines by cutting freights, Niger Coast, see below; New South Wales, page 10;
(c) Buying up competing lines, Gold Coast, seo below;
(d) Agreements with merchants, Niger Coast, see below.
West Africa.
"There have been rival English steamers placed on the West African trade route, but the Com- panies owning them have either been bought off by Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., or run off by a reduction of freight charges which has been ruinous to the competing line." (Governor, Gold Coast.)
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If competition is started they all lower their freights simultaneously, and have to my know- ledge prevented competition on three different occasions since I have been in West Africa. To prevent people from giving homeward freights to a chance or a chartered ship, the steamship com- panies refund at the end of every year the primage paid on freight by all their customers: this primage amounts as a matter of fact to a discount of 10 per cent. on the amount paid as freight out and home by each shipper.
"Should a shipper, however, send any freight by any other than the three lines I have mentioned, then he loses his primage on his whole year's trans- actions with them." (Acting Colonial Secretary, Lagos.)
"A few years ago the Steam Navigation Com- pany tried to start a line of steamers and obtain portion of the shipping trade in these territories, but a freight war was once (sic) waged against them by Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., and freights were reduced to 10s. a ton, and I believe lower, with the result that this Company had to with- draw.
They maintain this monopoly by an arrange- ment they have with the two firms, the African Association and Messrs. Miller Brothers, which do between three quarters and seven-eighths of the entire trade." (Commissioner for the Niger Coast Protectorate.)
South Africa.
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The rebate system is used. See evidence by Mr. H. H. Clarke, in H.C., No. 346/97. A pamphlet, "The Shipping Ring and the South African Trade by this gentleman gives copies of the rebate circulars (pp. 39-12). This hardly professes to be an impartial publication, and these copies have not been verified.
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