28Men

By Wayne Ward

Revenge was just one of the catalysts responsible for the disposal of the Australian Commonwealth Shipping Line to Great Britain. In reality the final sale was a gift to a conglomerate of British shipowners; five new passenger ships and two large special purpose vessels all that remained of 57 ships. Ships sold for little more than their scrap value with a small down payment followed by default.

28men depicts an explosive period of endemic industrial disputation, the near general strike that crippled New South Wales in 1917. During this volatile period of strikes, union power, political intrigues and a world at war, there emerged from near anarchy a conservative cohesion of political forces within the Australian government.

A coalition of Nationalist and Country Party had ample justification to crush the union movement; the Moreton Bay debacle as flagship of the Sydney Harbour Regatta, the Bass Strait ferry Loongana near tragedy, and the doomed union struggle against the introduction of a foreign time and motion regime.

On a permanent confrontational footing strode the Wobblies through the shambles, Industrial Workers of the World who fearlessly fought the establishment with sometimes disastrous results. Out of this turmoil a chance meeting in New York between a young Australian seaman and an I.W.W. organiser grew a love story as turbulent as the period.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Oct 6, 2009
• ISBN: 9781466956865

Wayne Ward

Wayne Ward is the author of six novels all with a maritime theme, reflecting his long life at sea. Joining his first ship in 1955 he soon realised the bond that united seamen and made them warriors of the working class, the forefront of struggle against the establishment. It imbued in him a sense of belonging to a band of self-efficient men who at sea couldnt call the fire brigade, emergency services, ambulance, confessor, or respite from the fiercest and most unforgiving element on earth, the sea. Saltwater Messiahs barely ripples the surface of an era when the working class with a united voice could and did dictate terms to government and employers. Sadly, no more are the seamen who briefly coloured this drab world with their presence, their unconquerable spirit and their grim determination to right wrongs. Many renowned writers have written about the sea, some even experiencing it, Wayne Ward the latter recording an era far removed from the sterile environment of modern shipping. His three sons are master mariners, a single partner in life living on the serene shores of Wangi Wangi, Lake Macquarie.

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© Copyright 2010 Wayne Ward.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

……THE BEGINNING 1884

1 1916

2 

 3 

 4 

 5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

 15 

 16 

 17 

 18 

 19 

 20 

21 1917

 22 

 23 

 24 

25 1918

26 1919

 27 

 28 

29 1920

 30 

 31 

 32 

33 1923

34 1924

 35 

 36 

37 1927

 38 

 39 

 40 

 41 

 42 

 43 

 44 

……THE AFTERMATH

Eliot V. Elliott

Jim Healy

John Brennan

Bill Bodenham

Barney Ellis

Harry Leonard

Fred Krausert

-in union there is strength-

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

RESEARCH FOR THE HISTORICAL background of this work would have been monumental if not for Frank Brennan’s The Australian Commonwealth Shipping Line, Roebuck Society Publication. Diminutive in size in relation to its immense subject, the book contains a broad panorama of data painstakingly gathered and compiled into a well written historical record. Frank Brennan’s work is an indictment of past and present politicians who continue to bury their collective heads in the sands of history.

Wayne Ward

Wangi Wangi 2009

……THE BEGINNING

1884

CAPTAIN LONGWORTH STOOD RAMROD stiff on the port wing of the bridge, hands clenched tightly behind his back as he watched the Duke of Westminster’s bows swing faster than he would have preferred. The pilot ordered the wheel amidships, the senior apprentice with both hands on the engine room telegraph to stop-engines. He was not overly enthused with colonial pilots, their dubious qualifications better suited for fishing boats, though their local knowledge of the myriad of channels and mangrove choked creeks of Queensland was invaluable to safe navigation.

Coming to an end was an uneventful passage from London, discharging cargo in North Queensland ports and the not so gentle nudge of the Moreton Bay wooden wharf crowded with officials.

At the end of the jetty the paddle tug Boko was showing a feather of steam as she waited for the transfer of the Duke of Westminster’s passengers, assisted immigrants destined for settlement in Brisbane.

Notwithstanding his contempt for colonial pilots he should be pleased. It had been a profitable passage with nary a space not occupied with humanity, 457 souls gripped with the excitement of great adventure, the Duke of Westminster’s 2147 tons easing the burden of seasickness among the more sensitive. There had also been educational enlightenment for the children with daily lessons under canvas awnings on the quarterdeck by a young schoolteacher from Pimlico.

Small boned, the educator portrayed a false image of frailty. Sallow faced, his furrowed brow gave the impression he was constantly deep in thought. Adorning his upper lip a drooping moustache drew attention away from his large and protruding ears. In a crowd he was but another face until closer scrutiny dispelled the perception this was an ordinary man.

His narrow shoulders stooped, a habit of posture learned from young, his head usually inclined at a slight angle. This characteristic was no more apparent when he was in conversation due to being born with a hearing impairment. Oddly for a man in his profession this was not the disability it should have been, but disconcerting to those in his company every word uttered was being memorised and stored for later use.

Captain Longworth had taken a dislike to the young man blessed with a glib tongue, his constant questioning irking him as did his abrasive voice laden with working class homilies. These objectionable traits though did not diminish his respect of an obvious progeny of working class stock attaining the necessary qualifications to impart knowledge.

Finished-with-engines rang on the telegraph, men and women with their jumping and skipping children crowded feverishly around the sailors breaking out the gangway. From the wharf the stern faces of officialdom awaited the shabbily dressed immigrants, women in gaily beribboned bonnets, their menfolk in their best cloth caps.

Captain Longworth gripped the top rail supporting the dodger rove across the forepart of the bridge and gazed down at the confusion on his ship and the wharf. Loud and shrill voices sounded from a group of male passengers on the foredeck.

One voice was particularly brash. Billy!

His back to the man, Billy never heard him.

This time the man shouted through cupped hands: Billy Hughes! Someone reckons on the wharf there is gold in the hills around Gympie. Where on the map of Queensland is Gympie?

Billy felt a tremor of anticipation pass through him. Gympie was north, a teaching position in Brisbane could wait. Smiling, he raised a thumb at the other as he hefted his duffle bag over his shoulder and the gangway bridle chains creaked as he set foot on his new land.

1

1916

IT WAS OLD LONDON masonry set among equally aged buildings built to withstand time. Business within the building was no different from all the others which seemed by providence to have gathered here to conduct commerce on a scale so vast it cast a financial shadow over the entire world. It was not fate but expediency of business which had drawn major banks and shipping companies together in the same street. Years of London soot and grit, fog and rain, could not disguise the wealth, prestige and absolute power Lombard St. exuded. On gaffs jutting from ornamental facades hung the house flags of a dozen shipping companies, forwarding agents and ship management companies.

Steeped in affluence the boardroom occupied the entire upper floor of the building which dominated a corner where five narrow thoroughfares formed a cobblestone wheel. Those gathered within reflected the esteem of belonging to a privileged organisation which wielded power and wealth the envy of governments throughout the world. Master craftsmen had fashioned finely detailed wall panelling of oak, elm and mahogany. Skilled plasterers whose work adorned cathedrals had created ornate cornices and exquisite rosettes from which hung three chandeliers, royal blue carpet laid on the floor.

Around a Burmese teak table of gigantic proportions sat a group of men attired in formal business suits, sombre of face, awaiting their chairman’s pleasure. Set before them were pens and inkwells, manila folders, notebooks and pencils. The teak as logs shipped from Rangoon to London for British artisans to meticulously create a table worthy of those who guided the fortunes of the most powerful shipping conglomerate in the world.

No other assemblage of shipowners, even Pierpont Morgan’s entrepreneurial management, came close to the Group in its dominance of world shipping. Upon every ocean sailed the finest maintained and managed ships in the world, manned by dedicated officers and men certified proficient by the British Board of Trade.

British ships throughout the world moved huge volumes of mail, passengers, ordnance, troops, general cargo, minerals, steel, fruits, grains, oils, timber, machinery, efficiently and profitably.

Chairman Lord Inchcape sat at the head of the table, his hawkish eyes and creased brow a signal none ignored for complete silence. The men waiting for his opening words had heard it all before. Gentlemen, we command millions of tons of shipping, millions of pounds of revenue generated from the far corners of the globe. Wherever there is world trade one of the Group’s ship will be alongside a wharf or at anchorage loading or discharging cargo. We have through our earnest endeavours and business acumen created a vast transport system servicing the British Empire and the world. This year, a year of horrific war inflicted upon our nation, we are close to achieving our greatest profit yield yet. Gentlemen, in the minutes I wish to acknowledge your achievements with my personal salutation.

Sir Owen Philipps, KCMG, chairman of Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., accepted the tribute for the table with a dutiful bow of his head, his resonant voice reverberating around the room. This is an outstanding result wholly attributable to your inspiring leadership, sir.

Thank you, Sir Owen. Thank you all, Lord Inchcape said. My task as your chairman, in addition to chairman of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. and British India Steam Navigation Co., is made easier by those who share this table. Not in the least yourself as chairman of Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. It is always a pleasure and an honour to be in the esteemed company of able men who command 7,000,000 tons of shipping and capital reserves of multi-millions of pounds. Mail routes from Great Britain to the world, 200 agencies which direct cargoes to our own interests.

Sitting as a separate group at the table were the heads of departments and the Group’s chief accountant, Ignatius Forsythe-Tanner. Sir Owen Philipps who dealt with middle management on a regular basis knew most of these lesser individuals, trusted servants of their companies held together in the single embrace of the Group.

Lord Inchcape addressed Sir Owen Philipps: Are there updated lists of British war casualties at sea?

Referring to an open folder on the table, he ran his finger down a long list. We have last month’s figures. Worryingly, two German surface ships have eluded the Royal Navy in the North Sea and entered the North Atlantic. We have not yet been informed the firepower of these naval vessels. Figures released by the Admiralty can be confusing and usually couched on the low side. All I know is none of our ships were attacked last month which is good news for us.

Yes, we can take some heart from that. Identifying German ships and their armaments, importantly where their numbers lurk, is a difficult task. Our Royal Navy will rise to the task, most assuredly.

German dockyards are building and fitting out U-boats quicker than we can sink them, Sir Owen Philipps said resignedly, still studying the war casualty list. About convoys, I agree with the Admiralty convoys will assure a larger proportion of our ships survive to deliver their cargoes.

Impeding of course our fast ships with the speed of the convoy designated the speed of the slowest ship, Lord Inchcape said.

There are savings in fuel. Quite considerable, sir, as our chief accountant will no doubt reiterate later in the meeting.

For my reasoning convoys give the enemy a greater target.

No other option seems available to us at this juncture without saturating the North Atlantic with Royal Navy warships, warships we do not have.

Indeed, we are hard pressed. Mr. Forsythe-Tanner?

Forsythe-Tanner jolted, in his chair, for a moment lost for words. When he found his voice, it was lowered and deferential. Your Lordship, my apologies but my mind was elsewhere.

My secretary is the recipient of an amusing anecdote originating from your department, but was vague on some points. Something about a cargo of maize loaded in Sydney.

Amusing story, sir?

Amusing in that some farmers in New South Wales were hospitalised with suspected heart failure.

Forsythe-Tanner was perplexed as he searched his disciplined mind for what had caught his lordship’s attention. Sir, I am at a loss to what intrigues you.

Maize, Mr. Forsythe-Tanner. It brought satisfied smiles to your staff’s normally dour faces according to my informant.

Where among the multi-millions of revenue the Group generated throughout the world was maize from Australia? Baffled, he shook his head and gave himself up to his lordship’s mercy.

One of our ships recently loaded a cargo of maize in Sydney for Manchester and-

It was the height of gross impertinence to interrupt his lordship in mid-sentence, but suddenly the maize cargo flashed in his head with crystal clarity. My Lordship, I am now fully cognisant! There is even a rumour circulating our chief engineer wanted to clean out his bunker pockets to cram in more maize. Would have done so without calculations he would be forced to bunker not only in Durban but also Albany, Western Australia, with inferior and ridiculously overpriced coal.

Good for our chief engineer.

Sir, I now have the round figures in my mind. Indeed yes, a quite spectacular profit. Forsythe-Tanner frowned in thought, nodding as the figures became clearer. New South Wales maize loaded onboard ship in Sydney valued at £18,000, freight rate levied £57,000. Sir, I can have the exact figures on your desk if you so desire.

No, no. What you have told me will suffice.

Silence descended on the boardroom as Sir Owen Philipps shuffled some papers before him and prepared to speak. Gentlemen, in the first instance I will refer to Australian freight rates. Freight rates the Group levied in 1914 prior to the outbreak of hostilities were on an average around £2/7/0 a ton to a seasonal peak of £5/5/0. I believe though that even higher rates have effectively valued our older tonnage at more than double their original cost of construction. A handsome return on investment. Like your maize, Lord Inchcape.

My maize, yes, Lord Inchcape agreed, distracted with more troubling thoughts. We conduct business in difficult times. I think the figures released by the Admiralty attempt to damper the true situation, if enemy action continues our losses will be unsustainable.

"Except for major losses such as the Lusitania with almost 1200 fatalities, figures are hard to come by for obvious security and morale reasons, Sir Owen Philipps said. Germany in retaliation to Britain’s blockade of the North Sea has declared our waters a war zone and all shipping will be assessed as belligerent."

"My initial thoughts on the grave loss of American life in the tragic sinking of the Lusitania would have brought President Wilson into the conflict."

President Wilson and the United States Congress still plot a course of isolation, Sir Owen Philipps said. "How long this will continue is difficult to determine. Even with the sinking of their tankers Gulflight and the Leelanaw off the Scottish coast has failed to break their resolve. It is obvious Germany still fears United States retaliation and has at least agreed not to sink passenger vessels without warning."

Which I would not put much faith in, Lord Inchcape said. At a meeting with the War Cabinet recently I was informed of the appalling wastage of men on the Western Front. Within me was disbelief and abject horror when informed in quite casual terms death for the armies in the fields of France and Belgium are averaging 5500 a day!

Which is the reason why exact figures on all aspects of the war are hard to come by, Sir Owen Philipps said. Why losses of ships loaded with food and ordnance to keep our armies fighting and our population nourished are censored.

There is a despondent train of thought in some circles Britain faces the grim possibility of being starved into submission, her only option to sue for peace on German terms.

Britain might sink temporarily to its knees if enemy naval aggression holds firm, but will rise stronger and more determined. Our navy and armed merchant cruisers are succeeding in sinking U-boats, but as I said earlier their dockyards are able to turn them out like their stinking sausage. I am of the opinion the Royal Navy will prevail.

Only the breathing of the men gathered around the table was audible, the exchange between Lord Inchcape and Sir Owen Philipps setting a mood of despondency.

Sir Owen Philipps broke the silence on a confident note. We are still maintaining our services throughout the world, our margins guaranteeing profitability. We have taken substantial losses among our Group, but will overcome and will do so stronger and more powerful than when war commenced.

Lord Inchcape changed the subject, addressing Forsythe-Tanner. There has been a noticeable upward shift in traffic volumes in the North Atlantic. How does this affect the Group’s available tonnage in other parts of the world?

Ministry of Shipping has directed us to divert large tonnages to the United States and Canada. There are many reasons, but one is the shorter distance for transporting grain and raw materials from North America as opposed to the long haul to Australia, even greater to New Zealand.

Is our business disadvantaged decreasing allocation of ships to Australia and New Zealand?

Forsythe-Tanner greeted Lord Inchcape’s question with a self-satisfied smile. Australian and New Zealand primary producers and manufacturers are despite wartime priorities receiving adequate service, sir.

Define as adequate?

There are to be expected seasonal backlogs of cargoes in Australian and New Zealand ports, this problem normally resolved by chartering tonnage from our associates. Sir, there is an upside to an abundance of cargoes and a shortage of ships.

No doubt there are. How bountiful is this for the Group?

Sir Owen omitted to mention the figure of the increase in freight rates to Australia from £5/5/0 to £15 a ton.

Lord Inchcape’s lips compressed to suppress a facial softening of muscles close to a smile. Which in times of national crisis and sacrifice is an acceptable rate, am I correct?

Yes, sir, quite acceptable with carefully calculated revisions from time to time.

Are there cargo backlogs in Australia? Sir Owen Philipps asked his question around the table. Also I must say I am delighted by Mr. Forsythe-Tanner’s enlightenment in respect of Australian freight rates.

Patrick Hancock, chairman of Ellerman’s, answered the question. The dubious figures supplied by Australia, possibly a few million tons. The Australian government is well known to exaggerate its figures to extract a positive response.

Cargo destined for Group ships? Lord Inchcape inquired as if it was a matter of formality.

Because of the North American directive, the answer unfortunately is no.

At freight rates levied at £15 a ton?

We do not have the ships, nor do our associates.

Surely we can find ships to take advantage of such high freight rates.

Hancock shook his head. Your Lordship, it is not such an excessive rate when war risks are taken into account, not unwarranted at all. Our overheads have increased with higher costs for bunkers, soaring insurance premiums and outrageous war bonus demands from the unions.

Cunard’s Wills Baker interrupted. Wartime in effect has placed us in a managerial role of our ships, beholden to do the bidding of the Ministry of Shipping in the name of national unity and purpose. Of course this is off-set with the government compensating us for our losses through wartime indemnities. Increasing our tonnage to North America is unfortunately to the detriment of the Australian and New Zealand trade. Notwithstanding a shortage of tonnage there is the disparity of distance and North America’s vital importance to the war effort in raw materials. North America has more efficient port facilities, quicker turnarounds. Also as we are painfully aware our ships are not subjected to the high degree of industrial disputation we are exposed to in Australia and New Zealand.

A fervent wish amongst us all if only we had the bottoms to reap the benefits of Australian and New Zealand freight rates, Morecombe Henshaw of Eastern Australian Line said. British dockyards have since the outbreak of war been geared for naval construction and will be for the duration of hostilities. Merchant tonnage is still coming down the slipways, but not on the same scale as pre-war.

Surely among our tramp fleets we have ships in the Asian theatre to take advantage of Australian freight rates and assure our food supply from a source other than North America, Lord Inchcape said, adding encouragingly: Anyway, this island nation has withstood the onslaughts of enemies for centuries and will not be starved into submission. We will find a way to supply ships to our nation in this hour of her crisis. If we have to build ships in America, even Japan, we will do so. We will not fail.

Sir Owen Philipps looked directly at Lord Inchcape. Old and new ships are a premium on the world markets, equating to current freight rates. Shipbuilding is continuing in the world dockyards, but steel is scarce. I do know though I have no sense of profiteering levying freight rates of £15 and more for grain from Australia to Great Britain. War has made these rates perfectly acceptable, I am sure we all agree.

Sir Owen Philipps turned his attention to Forsythe-Tanner. Mr. Forsythe-Tanner, I harbour a multitude of concerns at the price being demanded for bunker coal in Port Said.

Forsythe-Tanner cleared his throat as quietly as possible. Bunkers in Port Said are of the highest quality Cardiff coal as demanded by the Royal Navy.

Yes, I am aware of stringent naval requirements for their ships, premium coal. Why the high cost for our ships?

Sir, our Group levies a relatively high freight rate from Barry and Port Talbot to Port Said.

Granted, but the price of Port Said coal is outrageous. Sir Owen Philipps was not about to let his quarry off easily.

Sir, I would remind you with the utmost respect at the outbreak of war coal from South Wales to Port Said attracted a freight rate to the Group of 6/4 a ton.

By the smug smiles it seemed all around the table except Lord Inchcape and Sir Owen Philipps knew what Forsythe-Tanner was about to say next. Immediately war was declared our Group raised the freight rate to £3/18/9 a ton landed in Port Said. Reappraisal of our risks and rising costs now attracts a freight rate of £10 a ton, a figure well above our general freight rate increases.

Freight rates which should be thoroughly appraised at regular intervals, Sir Owen Philipps said, miffed by the superior tenor in Forsythe-Tanner’s voice. Make a note, having our own bunkering station in Port Said might well be worth thorough investigation.

Admirable idea, Forsythe-Tanner said in a more suitable humbling voice. Excluding our losses to submarines, surface ships and mines, the Group is coping with hostilities exceedingly well.

≈

Sir Owen Philipps sipped his tea thoughtfully as he gazed through the rain spattered window. Rain had been falling steadily for the last few hours, the chill of winter London dissipated by the glowing embers in the boardroom fireplace. Alone now with Lord Inchcape many things were passing through his mind, one in particular it was a harsh time of the year for the men in the trenches a few hundred miles east. Surrounded by the accoutrements of wealth and power it was difficult to grasp that lesser mortals sacrificed their lives while others sipped excellent Ceylon tea and spilled Scottish shortbread crumbs on the carpet.

Sir Owen Philipps thought about his life at 52; elected a director of R.M.S.P. Co. at 39, a few months later elevated to chairman. Knighted at 46, High Sheriff and parliamentarian. Achievement rested easy on the shoulders of his fashionable Savile Row suit.

Lord Inchcape was standing beside him, he too savouring his tea in its fine porcelain cup and saucer, a few errant crumbs of shortbread caught on his upper lip. His thoughts were twofold, one that especially troubled, not a few hundred miles east, but 12,000 miles away in another hemisphere. His second was remembrance of two years ago in this same boardroom. Due to ill health Sir Thomas Sutherland had missed today’s meeting, not that his presence was indispensable in his semi-retirement. Lord Inchcape had wished him a speedy recovery and that his 82 years was a mere steppingstone to a longer life.

Firmly in his mind was Sir Thomas Sutherland’s telegram as chairman of P. & O. notifying his fellow directors of his acceptance of Lord Inchcape’s British India Steam Navigation Co.’s offer of a merger between his company and P. & O. This merger when it became front-page news in British newspapers posed a question of who was taking over whom. Sir Thomas Sutherland’s telegram further informed his fellow directors of his imprimatur of Lord Inchcape as chairman of the new company and his stepping down as chairman of P. & O.

Final agreement came to fruition in the spring of 1914 whereby British India Steam Navigation Co. would transfer its shares and assets to P. & O. and the two companies would share a singular role, a conference of shipping lines servicing the world trade routes. Among Sir Thomas Sutherland’s fellow P. & O. directors scepticism greeted the merger, some even vehemently opposing it. Sir Thomas Sutherland saw it quite differently and used his persuasiveness to win over his more reluctant and unconvinced directors. Competition, he argued, among the major trading nations was increasing, threatening the viability of traditional British shipowners and only in mergers would Great Britain maintain its world dominance. With such a policy in place the Group began courting its British competitors; White Star Line, Aberdeen Line, Shaw Savill & Albion Line, Cunard, Ellerman, Burrell, the list long, the appetite ravenous.

P. & O. brought to the venture assets of £5,500,000 of capital and 500,000 tons of shipping, its fleet numbering 60 ships. British India Steam Navigation Co. had recently paid a ten percent dividend to shareholders, its fleet and new buildings a book value of £4,300,000, reserve funds of £6,000,000. Another factor in Sir Thomas Sutherland’s decision to merger was he was growing old and weary of business and wanted to retire. Without an anointed successor in the senior management of P. & O. he recognised in Lord Inchcape, a key force in British shipping, as the man most capable to lead the newly formed Group.

Our winters seem to grow longer each year, Sir Owen Philipps said.

Lord Inchcape placed his cup and saucer on the window sill. Owen, you never raised the issue of our fears.

Australia, no I did not.

Did you have your reasons?

It is only three months since Andrew Fisher retired as prime minister replaced by William Morris Hughes. Though it obviously has been sufficient time for Hughes to make his mark in parliament and with the public.

Rewarding Fisher with the position of high commissioner in London was a masterstroke of someone who is an impressive manipulator of people. What more do we know of this Hughes fellow?

Born Pimlico 1864, well educated, a teacher and somewhat of a firebrand in the Australian Labor Party. Known within the ranks he associates with as a staunch unionist and agitator. Organised a union of waterfront labour in Sydney and is still its serving secretary. Was elected to the colonial parliament of New South Wales and moved into federal politics with federation in 1901.

Who is now entrenched at the helm of Australia? Lord Inchcape looked at him aghast.

Yes. He also is a man who is a passionate supporter of the Empire and the war.

Commendable traits of course, but his affiliations are disturbing.

Deeply troubling, especially when his first item of business on assuming the prime ministership was to insert a statement in the governor general’s address for the opening of parliament Australia’s need for a national shipping line.

Owen, is it all political rhetoric or has the man substance?

Our people in Melbourne have met with him. Without a doubt he is a man whose word if taken lightly is at your peril. From our same people their judgement is he is self-assured and overly confident, brash and articulate and who would deal with the devil to achieve his purpose. What may be an even more powerful weapon in his political armoury is his close association with the working class, his empathy for their aspirations. What the pundits are calling a man of the common people.

Lord Inchcape turned away from the window and returned to his chair at the table and sat down. We conduct business in difficult times, scarcities of commodities and raw materials to rebuild our losses. Human resources lost to enemy action. Owen, there are simply no ships available worldwide, where would Hughes find the ships to back his words?

Sir, there is no doubt in my mind if the money offered is large enough there are shipowners who will sell their ships to Mr. Hughes- shipowners among our Group. Buying and selling ships is part of our business.

A web of purple veins on Lord Inchcape’s face surfaced. If any of our Group dared enter into negotiations with Hughes we would expunge their board instantly!

Stern action would be taken on our part to thwart dealings with the Australian government, yes. Our government has statutes on the sale of British ships to foreign owners, even more stringent now in time of war.

Would the British government consider Australia as foreign?

Politically debatable, Australia is vital to the Empire and a sterling ally. Hughes makes a sound argument which appeals to hungry British bellies, wanting to fill dwindling British larders with his wheat, meat, butter and milk. Hughes’s populist cry is we have abundant food, food bursting the seams of our silos and warehouses and your shipowners have failed to provide us the ships to land it on your shores. So be it, we will find our own ships, Hughes at his best.

The man’s oratory no doubt devised for mass consumption, but do you personally see his grand postulating as a threat to the Group?

At this moment in time, no I do not. Hughes is cautiously maintaining a fairly conservative approach in his new role, not only as prime minister of a country at war, but as leader of a highly volatile political party. What best could be described as a ragtag collection of union officials, anarchists, leftwing zealots and Papist Irish rebels.

Lord Inchcape’s face momentarily drained of blood.

Hughes will not get it all his own way. It is fair to say we would have the conservative press siding with us if Hughes takes Australia down a path of socialism. We would undoubtedly have the support of the Nationalist Party in opposition who have already made their policy clear that Australia is well served by British shipping and should acknowledge the fact with loyalty.

If what you say about this Hughes fellow is correct I feel we should tread carefully on his home soil and gather about us a conservative base of support.

Our supporters are many and in high places. What we have here is a prime minister advocating a national shipping line as a means of implementing his government’s socialist platform by stealth. Using the war and shipping shortages as his means to nationalise Australian shipping.

Hughes would nationalise Australian shipping to achieve his goal of a national line?

Hughes might. Again alarmingly coming from our people, he seems capable of doing anything he puts his mind to. Even though Australia has a large coastal fleet operated by highly efficient shipowners none would be a match against Hughes using the war as a means of nationalising their industry. He is a master manipulator and his populist elocution works a near hypnotic spell on his audiences the need of Australia to repel the enemy with Australian blood- and of course that promise of the last man and shilling made by his predecessor. He is achieving overwhelming support from his people even with rumourmongers spreading lies of upper class profiteering from the war, the sacrifices laid at the feet of the working class.

Lord Inchcape withdrew into himself, content for the moment to be alone with his thoughts. No matter how broad the divisions of society, working class men and women were of the same ilk. Putty in the hands of extremists, mindless of the gallant men who planned and led by example at the forefront of every battle, men drawn from what working class deemed middle and upper class. Mindless of how the finances of war burdened the upper strata of society. Not from working class pockets, nary a thought about the principals of industry who converted their peacetime industries into war production at huge cost.

Lord Inchcape had no doubt dissent was the work of enemy agents, in war all called upon to make sacrifices. His thoughts returned to the boardroom which had grown cold as the fire burned down to a few embers and white ash. There was a question in his mind. Has Australia the capacity to build its own ships?

Sir Owen Philipps shook his head. The country is fully reliant on its major shipbuilding from Great Britain. My scant knowledge of their dockyards are most are capable ship repairers, but beyond that their emphasis is railway contracts and other engineering projects.

Are their coastal ships capable of overseas voyaging?

Australia’s coastline encompasses 12,500 miles, long voyages between the east and west coasts. Overseas trading to the detriment of their highly lucrative coastal business, I think not. Again referring to Australia’s shipbuilding capacity there would be an acute skill shortage of tradesmen to commence a shipbuilding program of such massive proportions, even more so now with wartime deployment of human resources.

The reason being Australians are volunteering in large numbers?

To their credit Australians are. Hughes has unequivocally honoured Fisher’s promise to the Empire, pledging the British government 16,000 Australian troops a month for the duration of the war.

Which counters his other appalling traits, Lord Inchcape said begrudgingly.

There are more troubling murmurings in the halls of Australian government which might be of even greater concern to us in the future.

What could be a worst threat than a socialist ideologue with a shipping line competing against us?

Australia is considering further restrictive licensing laws for foreign shipping in its navigation act. Currently British shipping is exempt from coastal trading permits if carrying mails between the eastern states and Western Australia. This favourable exemption will continue until the scheduled completion of the transcontinental railway around 1917.

Damned upstarts!

Hopefully their legislative amendments will leave ample legal ambiguity for our Group to circumvent licensing clauses. Though if cabotage does become a major issue in Australian, we will find it increasingly difficult to mount arguments on purely Empire loyalties our ships should remain exempt. Cargoes on short coastal runs in Australia are large earners and excluding us from the trade would be a decisive blow to our profitability.

Lord Inchcape drew an incensed breath. How did this man manage to grasp the prime ministership of a conservative country?

Politics is all about numbers and Hughes obviously had the votes in the Labor caucus. Fisher’s health played a part, his resignation.

Which does not seem to be an obstacle of his continuance in public life as Australian high commissioner to Great Britain?

No, it does not. We have avenues open to us in the event Hughes does go ahead with his plans for a national shipping line. Rebates are one option, conditionally offered to those who sign up to use our services exclusively. Heavy penalties would be imposed if the user in the future decided to use shipping lines not affiliated to the Group.

How long a period?

Depending on the size of the rebate, we would envisage a number of years. If in that period the exclusive agreement was broken all past rebates would be declared repayable immediately with penalties and bank interest at the highest rate applicable.

Owen, you do our Group credit, Lord Inchcape said. Your words placate me on this Hughes fellow that we have the power and proficiency to combat him and his grandiose plans.

A severe cold front had descended on Friday evening London, people fleeing the city, bodies hunched, heads bowed under umbrellas streaming water. Many of those escaping to the suburbs were in uniform.

Lord Inchcape was looking forward to getting away to his country estate for the