CO882-(6-8) — Page 478

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

8

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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delivery or distribution of her cargo to various consignees, she must, if she desires reasonable dispatch, put her cargo out alongside the wharves of and into the ware- houses of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company. There is no reasonably practical

alternative.

41. That the wharves and premises of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company will be the terminus of the Malay Peninsula Railway system goes, I think, without saying; and when, in about six years hence, that railway system is linked up with Singapore by the completion of the Johore Railway, there will grow up a condition of things on the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company's premises that it will be wise to provide ahead for now, and to plan to-day for the future smooth working of.

42. When that railway is finished and working, it will be well that in traffic and goods handling at its most important terminus nothing should depend or wait upon references to and acquiescence by a body of civilian gentlemen retired in London, in whose minds the Dock Company's dividends will probably receive weightier con- sideration than will railway working and facilities.

43. And if, at that later date, when everything has been improved and enhanced in value, a more decided control has, only then, to be acquired for Government, the consideration that will then require to be given will surely be an exceedingly costly

one.

14. There are five graving or dry docks in Singapore; all of these are the pro- perty of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company.

45. Not one of them can, under ordinary circumstances, take in better than a third-class. cruiser of our Navy. Under selected conditions of tide, &c., it might be possible to squeeze into one of the docks a second-class of small type.(?)

46. Unquestionably it is of very pressing necessity to have in Singapore a graving dock that will accommodate any first-class vessel of His Majesty's Navy. It is only on the premises of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company that this can most suitably and appropriately be built and worked.

47. Apart from the need of such a dry dock for vessels of our Navy, it is also the case that for many large commercial vessels now frequenting Singapore the pre- sent dry docks there are also too small, and it is imperative and past all question that the port must, for its own general interests, possess a dry dock of a size that will attract to it modern vessels of the largest size that may need that description of facility.

48. It is fair, too, to assume that if the port possessed such a facility Singapore would be visited more readily and oftener by larger vessels from the Naval Stations in our vicinity, and by more of them.

49. There is another reason-in my view it is a strong one-why it should im- peratively be seen to that the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company shall at once commence to equip itself for affording greater facilities and giving quicker and more reliable dispatch to vessels having needs that can be supplied only by this Company. To realize what the calls upon the Company can be, what its responsibilities to the port are, and how much can hang upon these being efficiently and immediately met, requires the knowledge and experience of a person who has in a practical way seen and helped to cope with the calls for accommodation and dispatch that are made upon this Company under such circumstances as are created when political trouble in the East gives rise to a rush through Singapore of men-of-war, transports, colliers, and carriers of all nations and kinds. I have seen and experienced this at the times of the China-Japan war, the seizure of Kiau Chiao by Germany, and the Boxer troubles of China, when men-of-war, transports, colliers, and other vessels, of many nationali- ties, were, figuratively speaking, tumbling one over the other in hurrying through Singapore from the West, bound for China, &c., all in "cast-iron" haste for wharf, berthage, coals, and speedy dispatch generally, and the Company unable to satisfac- torily cope with the pressure.

50. Some day the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company will again be called on to meet high pressure under like circumstances; and, as likely as not it will be our own Navy, and our own Imperial interests, that will be chiefly or materially con cerned. And, if it be the case that in furthering the interests of these there will arise occasions when the accommodation, facilities, and work of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company is certain to play a not unimportant part, then I submit that to-day is the time for devising means, and for insisting, that the Company shall proceed to equip itself in readiness for the day on which these calls of Imperial moment will come upon it.

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51. Answering the question contained in (a) of paragraph 8, my experience and knowledge fully warrant me, without any hesitation, in asserting very emphati- cally that, quite irrespective of the personal interests of shareholders, the works of extension and development suggested for the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company are necessary to enable Singapore to maintain, and still more necessary to enable her to improve her position.

52.

The Dutch at Sabang Bay (Pulau Wai) are fighting hard, with Government "backing," to take part of the trade that Singapore used to look upon as hers, and have built up an important coal bunkering trade at that port in opposition to Singapore.

53. It is known that steamers have gone to Sabang Bay (Pulau Wai) instead of to Singapore because, they alleged, they could not be certain of immediate accom- modation and of quick enough dispatch at the coaling wharves of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company.

54. The American authorities at Manila are spending millions of dollars in con- structing harbour works there, and in equipping that port in a manner that can only make it a greater competitor of Singapore than it has been.

55. It is within my knowledge that cargo regularly sent to Singapore for tran- shipment there, is likely to be diverted unless it can be more satisorily attended to by the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company.

56. What I aim at impressing on the authorities who are to adjudicate upon the question now before them is that although the application for a large loan of money is by a commercial corporation, the giving of it is advocated not primarily to serve the purposes of the shareholders of that Company (paragraphs 12, 20, 62, and 63 of this memorandum show that the pockets of present shareholders will best be served if they cannot raise the necessary funds), but in the interests of Government itself, or in other words of the shipping trade and ship-traffic of all Singapore, that trade and traffic being what the life and well-being of the port mainly depend on.

57. Crudely put, the position is somewhat thus:-Whether the term used be "the trade and shipping business of the port as a whole," or whether it be "the Government," this fact cannot be questioned, viz., that the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, or an equivalent in its place, has now become an absolute necessity for satisfactorily serving, carrying on, and maintaining the shipping trade and ship-traffic of the port.

58. Regardless of what the mere name of the concern may be, and notwith- standing that it happens to be a commercial corporation, such, as described above, are the relationship and responsibilities to the port and community of Singapore as

a whole, of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, Limited.

59. Then follows the fact that the Company is pronounced to be inefficient and not equipped in so "up-to-date" a manner as the maintenance and improvement of Singapore's trade positively requires. This I assume to be a position that no one versed in the subject will deny.

60. Not only is the Company unlikely to get the large amount of money re- quired for these works, on reasonable terms, except from Government, but I think it very unlikely that these works, which Singapore (quite irrespective of whether the shareholders of the Company would or would not prefer to effect them) positively and sorely needs, will not be effected unless Government lends the money for the pur- pose, and insists on the works being done.

91',

61. The question, therefore, seems to be narrowed down to this :-

Will Government give what Singapore has found to be pressingly necessary

for maintaining and improving her position?

Will Government decline to give the financial help?

62. If Government does not now come to the aid of the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company with financial aid, and does not in that way insist on these large and neces- sary works being done, the only thing that can happen will be that the Company will limit itself to taking and attending to such business as its present capacity can handle.

63. This, it will for a good many years continue to command-and, on that scale of work and limited expenditure, there should be no difficulty in continuing what the London Committee and those shareholders they represent admittedly wish to see, viz., the maintenance of dividends of about 12 per cent. per annum.

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