It is common knowledge that British shipping has passed through a difficult phase since the last war, and looked at one time very much like a distressed industry.
Official recognition of its precarious situation is instanced by the inaugur ration of the scrap-and-build scheme, the subsidy paid in 1935 and 1936 to tramp tonnage to prevent the entire collapse of this invaluable section of the trade and the proposed assistance to the tune of £20 millions not long before the outbreak of war,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.