77["State Steamers", The West Australian, Tuesday 06 May 1913, page 6]

STATE STEAMERS.

KWINANA'S LATEST TRIP.

SENSATIONAL STATEMENTS.

MR. HOLMES'S REVELATIONS.

Yesterday Mr. J. J. Holmes, of the firm of Messrs. Holmes Bros., had some interesting remarks to make concerning the State Steamship Service and the latest trip of the Government steamer Kwinana in particular. To a representative of the "West Australian" he said:--

"Since my return to this State on the 28th ult. I have had an opportunity of perusing "Observer's" criticisms as to the manner in which the State Steamship Service is being conducted. I also perused the Colonial Secretary's reply, and, knowing Mr. Drew as I do, I am perfectly certain that he would not knowingly be guilty of misleading the public, and consequently the only conclusion that I can come to is that some of his responsible officers must be withholding the facts. Consequently I, as a citizen of this State and one who has had an opportunity of knowing exactly what is going on, think it is a fair thing that I should at this stage not only enlighten the Minister but also the general public as to the scandalous manner in which this State enterprise is being conducted. Let me at this stage say that I am entirely with the Government in connection with the purchase of steamers for the North-West stock trade, and I have argued and will continue to argue that pastoralists in the far North of this State (and some of them have been battling against fearful odds for the last 25 years) have as much right to demand steamship facilities (they can't get railway facilities) to put their fat cattle and fat sheep on this market as agriculturists in the southern area have to demand a railway to put their produce on the market.

"Both the Liberal members and the Labour members know my views on this subject, and consequently in criticising the manner in which the State Steamship Service is being conducted it will readily be seen that the object of my criticism is to endeavour to put the service on something like a satisfactory footing, or it will result in one of the most expensive undertakings that this State ever entered upon. Naturally when these steamers were purchased I made it my business to watch their movements very closely, and I found there was useful space available the value of which the Government did not seem to appreciate, and I frankly admit that I stepped into the breach with two objects in view, namely:

"(1) To utilise this space at a profit.

"(2) To show that those who were endeavouring to control these steamers were absolutely incompetent, and when I relate the following facts I think it will be admitted that I have succeeded on both points.

"To relate the story of the whole of my transactions with the State Steamship Department would be too much for one effort, so you will have to be satisfied with my experience with the s.s. Kwinana on her recent voyage from the East, and, as you know, she arrived at this port on Monday last with 3,364 sheep, 533 rams, 90 bullocks, 50 horses, and 14 donkeys (consigned to Holmes Bros. and Co.). The bullocks realised up to. £23 per head at auction, and the sheep up to 30s. 1d., probably the highest price ever realised for an oversea consignment of live stock. In February last, when I learned that the s.s. Kwinana was making a trip East, taking a consignment of fertiliser away from this State, it naturally occurred to me that she would require back loading. I was informed that it was arranged that she would carry coal in the lower holds, and that the State Steamship Service had booked 2,000 ewes to be shipped at Port Lincoln, in South Australia, and to be landed at Busselton, and that the rest of the space on the 'tween deck, main deck, bridge and winch decks, was available for the carriage of live stock capable of carrying equivalent to 4,000 to 4,500 sheep, or, if not sheep, horses or cattle on a basis of 12 sheep to every beast. I arranged for the whole of this space on terms that I considered satisfactory, and naturally made a proviso that no stock other than the Port Lincoln sheep should be carried by the Kwinana, and in order to avoid confusion agreed with the manager of the State Steamship Service that the 2,000 Port Lincoln sheep should be carried on the upper winch deck forward, main deck forward, No. 1 'tween deck, and the balance of the space was to be mine.

"The manager of the State Steamship Service subsequently advised me that the Port Lincoln shipper had gone hack on his arrangement with him and explained that the Government proposed to purchase stud stock at Melbourne, and asked if they might be allowed to fill this space with stud stock from Melbourne. I agreed to allow this to no done, conditionally that I should be allowed to load any stock that I chose at Melbourne at the South Australian rate freight per head that we had already agreed upon, and that I should have the right to complete loading at Port Adelaide instead of Port Lincoln (the original charter provided that I would have to pay as additional £50 if I wished to send the steamer to Port Adelaide), the State Steamship Department to waive the additional charge of £50 referred to above, and this was agreed to.

"The manager of the State Steamship Service subsequently advised me that they were unable to procure stud stock at Melbourne and asked if the space was of any use to me. I replied asking him to put a price on the space and that a prompt reply would facilitate business, as the time was limited to arrange shipment. No reply was received to this communication. From the foregoing facts you will see that I could ship horses cattle, or sheep in my space and the State Steamship Department could ship stud stock only at Melbourne only in their space.

"I left this State by the R.M.S. Macedonia on March 25 with the object of loading the Kwinana on the above terms. You can imagine my surprise when I arrived at Adelaide on the 29th to receive a telegram from the manager of the State Steamship Service to the effect that if he shipped fat stock in his space it would be detrimental to my interest, and to avoid spoiling my market he proposed to load general cargo in the space already allotted to me, and to give me the space originally reserved by him for the 2,000 Port Lincoln sheep. Needless to say, I did not reply to his communication. I, however, made a mental note of the fact that the State Steamship Department established to reduce the price of meat were prepared to amend my charter and their suggestion was that they should arrange with me to put up the price of the fat stock that I proposed to put on this market. There was a still further surprise in store for me when I joined the mail train for Melbourne that night. In perusing the South Australian papers I found that the s.s. Kwinana was advertised to call at Adelaide about April 9, and that the agents were prepared to book live stock and general cargo at reduced rates. There was a still further surprise for me when I arrived at Sydney on the following Monday morning, as I was informed by the Sydney agents that they had already booked 20 bulls for shipment from Newcastle to Fremantle, and that they were negotiating for 5,000 cases of kerosene, also to be carried in my space. And there was a further surprise still in store for me when the manager of the State Steamship Service notified the Sydney agents that he had booked 50 horses and 80 rams for shipment at Adelaide. I found also that the s.s. Kwinana which was due to leave Newcastle on Friday, April 4, would not be ready until Wednesday, April 16. And this was a blessing in disguise, because it gave me time to put the manager of the State Steamship Department in his place and get possession of the space I was justly entitled to. But to be brief, the arrangement that I insisted upon and which was subsequently agreed to is as follows: "I allowed the State Steamship Service to carry 5,000 cases of kerosene on the 'tween deck aft, which was originally allotted to me for the carriage of 700, sheep, in exchange for the whole of the space originally reserved by them for the carriage of the 2,000 Port Lincoln sheep. I agreed to allow the 20 bulls to be shipped at Newcastle in my space on ship's account, but insisted that the 50 horses and 80 rams booked at Adelaide should be transferred to me. Under this arrangement I was able to carry 1,262 sheep, 14 donkeys, 3 bullocks, and 2 horses freight free. During the course of my in vestigations at Sydney I discovered that the s.s. Kwinana was being fitted to carry sheep only, and when I interviewed the Sydney agents on the subject I was informed that they had no advice whatever as to the conditions of my charter. The company's stock representative on board advised me that he had been instructed by the manager to make provision for 6,000 sheep, but so far as the agents were concerned they had no instructions as to what number were to be shipped or under what conditions. In order to save the steamer expense I there and then declared that I should be shipping about 150 bullocks and horses and about 15 donkeys, and the balance of the space would be filled with sheep. This necessitated considerable alteration to the ship's fittings already erected, and naturally considerable unnecessary expense to the service. This expense was considerably minimised owing to my being on the spot and discovering the mistake before it had gone too far. Owing to the railway and coal strikes in New South Wales I was unable to ship any live stock at Newcastle. I decided to return to South Australia to complete loading arrangements." The first discovery I made when I arrived at Adelaide was that the 80 rams which had been transferred to me for shipment had already been shipped by some other company, and that the 50 horses that had been transferred to me were not available for shipment. I was unable to secure any thing to fill the ram space, but was able to purchase 50 bullocks to fill the space originally allotted for these 50 horses; otherwise I should have claimed dead freight on 50 horses against the State Steamship Department. As it is I am only claiming dead freight for 80 rams.

"Whilst at Adelaide I was advised by the Newcastle agents that the s.s. Kwinana had left Newcastle with a quantity of coal in portion of the space originally allotted to me. I immediately wired the manager of the State Steamship Service and he wired back denying that that was so. I found when the steamer arrived at Adelaide that the Newcastle advice was correct, and the result was that 10 horses intended for shipment in this space were left on the Adelaide wharf, and for this I am also claiming dead freight.

"On my arrival at Fremantle on Monday last I tendered a cheque as payment of freight, and this the manager of the State steamship service refused to accept, setting out that this was considerably lees than what I was required to pay under my contract. On Tuesday, the 29th, I tendered a bank cheque for the amount that I claimed that I should pay, and later on in the day the manager wrote me. The following is an extract from his letter:--'I can only accept your cheque as payment on account and make demand for immediate payment for the balance of freight due, namely, £315 18s.' If payment of balance of the money due is not made this afternoon the whole of the stock will be held by us until payment has been made in full by you. If you tender a cheque in payment other than a bank cheque or marked cheque delivery cannot be made until cheque has been presented at the bank and paid.' The s.s. Kwinana arrived at this port on Tuesday night and berthed at the north wharf. I met the manager of the State steamship service at the ship's side at 7 o'clock on Wednesday morning. He reiterated his threat to hold up the stock pending payment of the freight; which he claimed was due to his department, and when he found that I was not to be bluffed into paying freight that was not due he climbed down, and immediately arranged to give delivery of the stock. It will thus be seen that at 5 o'clock on Tuesday night he wrote stating definitely that he would not accept my cheque, £315 18s., but insisted upon a bank cheque, and at 7 o'clock on the following morning he liberated the stock without any additional payment whatever. The stock was landed in excellent condition, and there was no mortality at all among the horses, bullocks, or donkeys, and only very slight mortality amongst the sheep; and this was amongst the breeding ewes, some of which were not in good shipping condition when they left Adelaide.

"The R.M.S. Macedonia, on which I was a passenger, passed close to the s.s. Kwinana in a storm in the Bight. The Macedonia ran 70 miles short that day owing to the adverse weather which she experienced, and when I arrived here I predicted very serious mortality on the s.s. Kwinana. But experience proved that not only is the. s.s. Kwinana a magnificent stock carrier but she is very ably commanded by Captain Nicholas.

"I have already explained that there was considerable delay in Sydney, but when the s.s. Kwinana came out of dock and was pronounced ready for sea Captain Nicholas was able to advise me that he would leave Newcastle on Wednesday, April 16, arrive in Adelaide on Monday, April 21, and if I gave prompt despatch at Adelaide he would arrive at Fremantle on Tuesday, April 29. This programme was kept to, despite the fact that when the steamer was practically loaded with live stock at Adelaide the Board of Trade stepped in and refused to allow her to proceed to sea until the agents provided additional fittings that, in the opinion of the Board of Trade were necessary for the safe navigation of the ship. To show what little knowledge some people possess as to the manner in which live stock should be handled, the manager of the State steamship service has insinuated that this was done at my instigation. Anyond who has the slightest knowledge of shipping live stock must know that immediately the stock is loaded the vessel must be swung away from the wharf and put to sea in order that ventilation may be got through the ship--to cool down the holds and the stock, it being only natural that they should be very over heated through being rushed on board, as is the custom in order to get prompt despatch. To hold this shipment of stock up at the Adelaide wharf or at anchor in Adelaide would mean hundreds of pounds to us, and the manager of the State steam ip service has had the audacity to suggest that the Board of Trade were puppets in my hands. As a matter of fact, the Board of Trade only insisted upon what I should have insisted upon if I desired to act in an arbitrary manner; and in order to give prompt despatch at Adelaide myself and the whole of my staff commenced loading at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, and worked without a break up to 2 o'clock on Wednesday morning. "This adventure has certainly been a profitable one for us. That, I think, will be generally admitted when I tell you that the gross amount earned by the State Steamship Service under my charter amounted to £618 5s. and that the amount earned by me in dilstributing the freight was £1,542 1s., leaving a net profit for us of £923 6s. , We also made a profit on the live stock, but that is another matter altogether. I think that the public should be satisfied if I give the information as to how the State steamers are being run, and leave me to conduct the live stock portion of the business in my own way. The fact remains that we got up to £23 for bullbcks, and 30s. 1d. for sheep at auction, which, I suppose, is the best price that has ever been realised for a ship ment of live stock on this market, and this stock was carried by the State-owned steamer Kwinana, which was especially purchased to reduce the price of meat. The sheep and cattle were purchased in South Australia in the usual way, and submitted to public auction at North Fremantle the day they arrived, and sold to the highest bidder, and surely the "Comrades" will admit that one has a perfect right to conduct legitimate business of this description without State interference.

"As to the future movements of the s.s. Kwinana, she left here on Saturday last with about 2,000 breeding ewes and 100 rams, consigned to us at Carnarvon, about 550 rams consigned to us at Derby, and from Derby she proceeds to Wyndham and loads 500 bullocks for us from our own station. That is not a bad record for the steamer that was purchased (so the Labour Government said) for the benefit of the small cattle growers in the north-west portion of this State."

Questioned as to whether he had had other extensive dealings with the State Steamship Department, Mr. Holmes said:--

"Yes, but I haven't time to deal with other shipments at the present moment, but when I am not so busy I will enlighten the public on that score." "I don't think," he continued, "that there is much chance of the "Comrades" appointing me manager. You know experience or ability does not count in these days of Comradeship." Asked whether there was a possibility of his being "blacklisted" as far as these steamers were concerned when these facts were made known, Mr. Holmes replied, "I can hardly think that. Surely I have as much right as any other person to utilise any available space on any of the State steamers. I have already indicated that my object in enlightening the public as to what is going on is in order that steps may be taken tosee that the steamer service is run on proper lines. In any case, if I know for a fact that I was going to be "blacklisted" it would not alter my determination. My whole interests are bound up with the success of this, the State of my birth. I have lived here all my life, and suppose I shall end my days here, and it must be borne in mind that for about ten years I played a prominent part in public life. I have always been able to have three meals a day without State assistance. There is no doubt I could go on chartering these steamers in the same way, and continue to make money. But there comes a time when public interest precedes monetary consideration, and the time has arrived when the affairs of this State should be taken out of the hands of the men who are at present endeavouring to control its destinies. Surely In the face of this, the Trades Hall "Comrades" will admit "they mean well, but they don't know." I have already indicated that I set out to utilise these steamers with the object of showing how utterly incompetent the present Government were to handle this or any other commercial undertaking, and leave the public to judge as to whether I have succeeded or not."