Suggestions that steamship com-rating vessels in Chinese offered an op= chant rine, the abolishment of which Is planned in the near future, have been made to the minion Parliament, according information received in Shanghai fon September 6, That the Ca dian Committee on. Railways and. Steamships has re-Jcommended the liquidation of the entire government marine of 49° steamers, owing to the heavy deficit sustained annually, was confirmed hero by Mr. Bruce A. MacDonald, acting trade commissioner in China for Canada, but so far no information has been received by his office as to the manner in which the ves~ els will be sold, In considering how the fleet could Lo disposed of to private interests, it was pointed out in meetings of the committes that a number the units are too small for the Canadian over-seas trade, while at the present moment there is eon-table idle tonnage in the Can-in coastal tref, Consulting experts, it was ascertained at_many craft of the type in Jgvestion are in operation between [Chinese ports and in the Central Jand South American inter-country service.
Consequently it was suggested in committee that, on Parliament, conjevrring in the' views of that bod Jone of the first channels of prob: fable sale to investigate would. be the Chinese and South American markets, the more so the former as the committee was informed that many vessels have been lost on the China Coast in the last few years without, replacements, recommending the disposal of the fleet to private interests, it was pointed out' that the liquidation should be handled in such a man-Iner as not to affect Canadian trade in closing needed transportation facilities. Consequently, it is be-Heved that the' largest of the vessels will be sold under some private agreement to insure the continua tion of the services in which they art' now engaged. A number of the anger ships have visited Shanghai im recent years, while several are still plying to Japan with lumber and miscellaneous cargo,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.