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SUEZ
DUES
Lord Crewe, answering for the British Colonial
Office the "despatch sent by Mr. Alfred
Deakin when Prime Minister, pleading for a
reduction of the Suez Canal dues, says he regrets
that the British Government is unable to
meet the wishes of Australia with respect to
the cheapening of transit through the Canal.
Mr. Deakin made many efforts to induce the
Colonial Office to interest itself strongly in this
question, but all in vain. Dividends were more
powerful than all his eloquence, more powerful
even than consideration of the encouragement
of British-Australasian commerce. A reasonable
reduction in the canal fees would mean a sub-
stantial reduction in freight charges between
Australia and the mother country, andxa consequent
fillip to commerce ; but the British directors
hold that a bird in the hand is worth two
in the bush ; that present large profits with
high rates are certain, whereas there is only a
possibility of reduced fees leading to an increase
of traffic that would more than compensate the
company for its concessions.
The profits? of the Suez Canal Company are
enormous. The rates charged to vessels using
the canal are exorbitant, but as the only alternative
is a long .iournev round South Africa,
it is of course necessary for shippers to pay
the fees ; but the canal is not the boon and
blessing to Australia and the T)£St that it
should be, and there will always be discontent
and complaints while trade must submit to the
restrictions imposed by the company, backed by
the Imperial Government. It is plain that a
water-way of such vast importance should be
as free to" the people of the world as the ocean
itself, and the solution of the present difficulty
will probably come through an agreement between
the Powers sanctioning the purchase of
the canal, not for a company or for a single
nation, but for the free use of all the people
of the world. With an international agreement
and an international body of control, this would
be a simple enough matter. Such an arrangement
would have enormous advantages, and
would necessarily contain a provision creating
1he whole length of the canal a neutral province
in war time. It is a crying shame that a
noble work intended to facilitate commerce
should be restricted by the greed for dividends,
and Australia will not rest till she has knocked
the Suez shackle off her trade with Europe.
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