at their worst after the Armistice. Immense supplies of commodities which could not be moved during the war were poured into the country, and the facilities for removing these proved quite inadequate, with the result that ships were detained for long periods, owing to inability to discharge their cargoes. Much public attention was focussed on the waste of shipping thereby involved. Strenuous efforts were made by all concerned to improve the situation. As an indication of what was being done, the Port of London Authority issued a weekly bulletin showing the number of vessels detained, and continued to issue this until the situation was completely changed and, early in 1921, the weekly return showed that large numbers of steamers were laid up idle owing to the lack of employment. Lord Inchcape was succeeded as Chairman of the Committee by Sir Norman Hill, who, on a breakdown of health caused by overwork was, in turn, succeeded at the end of 1919 by Sir John Barran. The Committee was formally dissolved by the Prime Minister early in 1921. During the period of its activity it had wide powers, and, at the outset, had, among other measures, effected a change in the Customs Regulations which, as was proved, were then having the effect of accentuating the difficulties.
The chairman of the Ship Licensing Committee was Mr. (afterwards Sir) Maurice Hill, and it included Mr. (afterwards Sir) F. W. Lewis, then deputy chairman of Messrs. Furness, Withy & Co., as vice-chairman, Mr. H. A. Sanderson (president of the International Mercantile Marine Co. and chairman of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Co.), Mr. Scholefield, of Newcastle, Mr. Purdie, of Glasgow, and Mr. Burton Chadwick, of Liverpool.
The Committee for the requisitioning of ships was presided over by Mr. J. H. Whitley, who in April 1921 became Speaker of the House of Commons. It included three shipowners, namely, Mr. (afterwards Sir) T. Royden, deputy chairman of the Cunard Co., Mr. (afterwards Sir) E. W. Glover, of the shipowning firm of Glover Bros., and Mr. R. D. Holt, the chief of the important shipowning firm of Liverpool. All these members had previously been advising the Transport Department of the Admiralty.
In spite of the measures that were being adopted, freights remained on a very high level, and the shipping situation was very unsatisfactory. The need for complete control was urged persistently in The Times newspaper, and in Feb. 1916 the Government was again forced to act. In that month an Allocation Committee, or Shipping Control Committee, was formed in order to apportion the tonnage according to the various and urgent demands that were made upon it. Lord Curzon was appointed chairman of this Committee. Other members were Lord Faringdon, then better known as Sir Alexander Henderson, Mr. Thomas Royden, and Mr. F. W. Lewis.
Supply of Tonnage.—It became plainer every day that the ever-reducing supply of tonnage was becoming less adequate to meet all the demands made upon it. Consequently, the Government decided to place restrictions on the importation of various commodities. The first of these to be effected were paper, paper-making materials, tobacco, dried fruits, furniture woods, stones and slates. In March 1916, a prohibition was placed on the importation of many articles under the general heading of “luxuries.” Among such articles were motor-cars for private use, musical instruments, cutlery, hardware, cotton and woollen manufactures, chinaware, fancy goods and soap. A restriction was also placed on the importation of certain brewing materials.
The inadequacy of the tonnage to meet the supplies was at that time due more to the requirements of the Government for ships for direct war purposes than to the depredations of the enemy. The highest quarterly loss of British shipping due to the enemy was 356,000 tons in the third quarter of 1915. In 1916 the ratio of loss fell; in the second quarter, the total amounted to 271,000 tons and in the third quarter to 284,000 tons. This drop was, however, only temporary, and in the fourth quarter of 1916 the total sprang up sharply to 617,000 tons and then continued at a high rate until the conclusion of the Armistice.
Throughout 1916 what became known as the “shipping problem” continued to attract great public attention. Articles were published in The Times urging the need of centralized control, in order that the utmost use might be made of the continually declining supply of tonnage and so that ships might be employed in the most effective way, irrespective of the individual trades of the ownerships to which they belonged. It was realized that this could only be brought about when all ships were hired to the Government, so that it would become for the owners a matter of more or less inconsequence into which routes the vessels were put. The principle of standardization was also persistently urged in order that large numbers of vessels might be constructed on identical plans and of parts fabricated from the same models. It was not, however, until the formation of Mr. Lloyd George's Government in Dec. 1916 that the shipping situation was completely taken in hand.
Ministry of Shipping.—A feature of the new Government was the creation of a Ministry of Shipping. As Shipping Controller, Sir Joseph Maclay was appointed. Sir Joseph Maclay had been known in shipping circles as a successful manager of cargo steamers and, while he was little known to the general public, the appointment was regarded in the shipping industry as a good one. By his own wish Sir Joseph Maclay was not a member of the House of Commons, but was represented there by Sir Leo Chiozza Money, as parliamentary secretary.
Various measures were soon taken to secure a better grip of the shipping problem. One of the most important of these was a general requisitioning of liners by the Government. These vessels were hired to the Government on the basis of what were known as Blue-book terms—those agreed early in the war with the Admiralty by a committee of owners presided over by Lord Inchcape. The management of such vessels as could be retained in ordinary commerce was left with the owners, who were required to give a financial account of their stewardship to the Government, and to pay over all profits above the Government rates of hire. Under this system it was less important to the individual ownerships into which routes their vessels were put. It was well that control was centralized, for, early in 1917, the enemy submarine war intensified and the losses greatly increased. As compared with a loss of 617,000 tons in the last quarter of 1916, the British tonnage sunk in the first quarter of 1917 amounted to 912,000 tons. The pinnacle was reached in April of that year and for the second quarter of 1917 the losses totalled 1,362,000 tons. Sinkings of foreign vessels were proceeding apace all the time, and in the second quarter of 1917 the total losses for the world amounted to 2,237,000 tons. The losses for each quarter throughout the war period are shown in the following table extracted from a White Paper (C.9221) issued at the end of 1918:—
| Period | British | Foreign | Total of World |
| Gross tons |
Gross tons |
Gross tons | |
| 1914 | |||
| Aug. and Sept. | 341,824 | 85,947 | 427,771* |
| 4th Quarter | 154,728 | 126,688 | 281,416 |
| 1915 | |||
| 1st Quarter | 215,905 | 104,542 | 320,447 |
| 2nd Quarter“ | 223,676 | 156,743 | 380,419 |
| 3rd Quarter“ | 356,659 | 172,822 | 529,481 |
| 4th Quarter“ | 307,139 | 187,234 | 494,373 |
| 1916 | |||
| 1st Quarter | 325,237 | 198,958 | 524,195 |
| 2nd Quarter“ | 270,690 | 251,599 | 522,289 |
| 3rd Quarter“ | 284,358 | 307,681 | 592,039 |
| 4th Quarter“ | 617,563 | 541,780 | 1,159,343 |
| 1917 | |||
| 1st Quarter | 911,840 | 707,533 | 1,619,373 |
| 2nd Quarter“ | 1,361,870 | 875,064 | 2,236,934 |
| 3rd Quarter“ | 952,938 | 541,535 | 1,494,473 |
| 4th Quarter“ | 782,889 | 489,954 | 1,272,843 |
| 1918 | |||
| 1st Quarter | 697,668 | 445,668 | 1,143,336 |
| 2nd Quarter“ | 630,862 | 331,145 | 962,007 |
| 3rd Quarter“ | 512,030 | 403,483 | 915,513 |
| 4th Quarter“ | 83,952 | 93,582 | 177,534 |
| Totals | 9,031,828 | 6,021,958 | 15,053,786 |
*This figure includes 210,653 gross tonnage interned in enemy ports. After Oct. 31 the tonnage lost by enemy action was: British 11,916, Foreign 2,159.
