CO129-581-16 British propaganda in Hong Kong 18-4-1939 - 29-10-1939 — Page 64

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Terchant Fleet in War Time.

The British Government has decided to take drastic and speedy

steps to ensure that the Merchant Fleet is brought up to a standard

which will secure the nation's food supplies in time of war. At

the second reading in Parliament of a Bill aiming et assisting

British shipping, the President of the Board of Trade, Ir. Oliver

Stanley, pointed out that though the merchant navy is a great

national asset in peace time, in time of war it becomes a vital

necessity.

The Government's proposals for the aid of the industry include

subsidies to cargo ships for a period of five years at the rate of

£2,750,000 per year leans for the building of cargo ships to an

aggregate amount of £2,600,000, and a sum of £10,000,000 to assist

liners

suffering financial loss due to competition of

foreign ships which are subsidised by their Governments. By buying

and building a certain number of slips as reserve in emergency, the

Government itself intends to become a ship-owner, and it is good

news for the shipyards that definite orders and proposed orders for

new merchant shipping now amount to a total of one million tons.

Opinions differ as to the advantages of oil-burning over coal-

burning ships, but, in view of Britain's great wealth of coal and

the country's lack of natural oil resources within its own shores,

it has been decided that the building subsidy shall benefit

primarily the coal-burning type of new vessels. Another condition

is that any ship applying for subsidy must undertake to employ

British searen wherever possible.