Famine

A Feast And A

Fiji’s Protest Against Shipping Schedules

From Our Own Correspondent.

Suva, Aug. 1.

THE present unsatisfactory arrange ment of the arrival and departure dates of the two competing shipping com panies, the Matson and the Union —whose vessels all come within a few days of each other to Suva —was discussed at a recent meeting of the Suva Chamber of Commerce.

Both companies maintain a four weekly service from Australia to the Pacific coast of America and Canada, via Fiji. The north-bound Union liner passes through Suva on a Friday, to be fol lowed by the north-bound Matson vessel on the following Tuesday. That same week, usually on the Friday, the south bound Union liner goes through and four days later the Matson vessel also goes south.

Thus, within ten days, we have all our big mail liners bustling through Suva— and then stagnation for three weeks! It seems incredibly badly arranged and there is much dissatisfaction felt in Fiji.

On the one hand the Union Co. say that their schedules are so organised that they maintain a fortnightly service from New Zealand to Vancouver (via Hawaii) and to San Francisco (via Tahiti) alternately.

They feel that to alter this schedule would entail considerable dislocation of their programme. The Matson people say that their programme is governed by their schedule of sailings from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Honolulu, and they, too, cannot face the alteration of their sailings.

If any alteration is to be made, one would think that the Matson people should give way to those who were first in the trade, the Union Co. But it would be a nice gesture of the Union Co.—and likely to be genuinely appreciated—if they attempted in some sense or other to pal liate the upset caused to the Matson Co. by an alteration in the latter’s schedule.

Even the Fiji Government might con sider offering some inducement to the one or other company to make the change for the sake of the rapidly growing tourist traffic with Australia.

As the position is at present, the hotel accommodation of Suva’s five hotels is completely booked out for a few days in the month, but stands empty in between times. A continuity of traffic would keep the hotels reasonably well filled and lead to the construction of hotels more attrac tive in their amenities.

Possibly the ingenuity and persistence of Sir Murchison Fletcher will evolve a solution of the problem.

When the Prime Minister of Australia arrived in Sydney from America on August 12, he stated that he had had con versations with the Prime Minister of

New Zealand, the Matson Line represen tatives, and Union S.S. Company mana gers regarding the competition between the Matson and Union lines, the Ameri can subsidy, and the manner in which the interests of the two British Dominions are affected. It is believed that, out of those discussions, some solution of the prob lem will be evolved; and this should end the particular trouble experienced by Suva.