The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1909. NEW ZEALAND AND THE DEFENCE CONFERENCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7814, 5 June 1909, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1909. NEW ZEALAND AND THE DEFENCE CONFERENCE.

The more that is known concerning the character'of the Defence ConferI ence to be held m London m July, the more clearly stands out the certainty that the public business of New Zealand should not be hung up for months. The Premier wishes this to be done so that he may attend the Conference, and so ;that the representatives of the people m Parliament may have no opportunity, m his absence, of doing or saying anything which may prejudice his prestige as a politician. It really amounts to saying that his own political interest and personal ambition are of much greater importance than the interest of the country. Apart from this view—-which we maintain to be a judicial, and therefore a just view—there is no vital need that the Premier personally should attend the Conference: the High Commissioner, or Mr Robert McNab, the Hon. Thomas MacKenzie or the Hon. J. A. Millar could do allrfehat is, necessary, for as Mr Asquith says, m his circular despatch "on the subject— "The Conference will discuss general questions of naval and military defence of the Empire, with special reference to the Canadian resolution, arid to the proposals from Australia and New Zealand, to which I have referred. I assume that, as the consultation will be generally upon technical or quasi-technical naval and military matters, that the other Governments of the self-gov-erning dominions will elect to be represented, as m the case of Canada, by their Minister for Defence, or failing them by some other, member of the Government, assisted by an expert to advise; < but it is entirely for the. .Government of Australia to decide the precise form of its;repre- . sentation. The Conference will be of a purely consultative character, and will be held m private, and its deliberations will be assisted by the presence of members or other expert advisers of his Majesty's Government. I am addressing a similar message' to other members of the Imperial v . j ' Politics and public spirit must indeed have fallen to a low ebb m New Zealajhd if, m order to let the Premier attend a tentative conference of \ this description, the whole public business of the country has to be hung up for three solid months. New Zealand can get on without its Premier for three months if he needs must attend the Conference, but it cannot without shame or loss, let its public business be neglected for three months, m order that he may gratify his mission for posturing m .front of the political footlights.