The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1923. IMPERIAL DEFENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 270, 12 November 1923, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1923. IMPERIAL DEFENCE.

*«v the amuse ih*t lacks eggigtaneo, for the wrong that need* re_i_._-«r, HOT the future in the distance, And the food that tee can do.

• There will be a good deal of dis1, appointment at the vague generalities in which the defence resolutions of the , Imperial Conference arc couched. These take us some way, but they leave j. unsettled the vital questions of financial contributions and methods of co-opera- ( tion. The Conference, while very proi, perly sympathising with the idea of fur- ■_ ther limitation of armaments, affirms that "it is necessary to provide for the adequate defence of territories and trade of the several countries comprising the Empire," and "expressly recognises that _ it is for the Parliaments of the several ■ parts of the Empire, upon the recomi rnentlations of their respective Governments, to decide the nature and extent of any action whicli should be taken by them." The first of these declarations : is a truism; the second is a well-recog-nised principle of Dominion autonomy. , Then the Conference lays down certain guiding principles, including "the primary responsibility of each portion of the Empire represented at the Con- ( ferencc for its own defence.*' The maintenance of a one-Power naval standard is affirmed and the meeting of Empire Ministers gives its approval to the I Sin___nr_ Vt___ T'l,- -~~.* :_.•__—-__*

B Singapore base. The most important 3 of all these resolutions is the aflirmatior of local responsibility for local defence and this is accompanied by a public declaration by the professional head of the Navy in favour of the development of Dominion navies. The worth of this principle will depend upon the way it is applied. Earl Beatty's approval of the policy of local navies may be the product of force of circumstances. That is to say, the Admiralty may feel that there is no prospect of persuading the Dominions to contribute directly to the Imperial Navy, and that , tho only thing to do ig to make the best lof the alternative. Moreover, ine icrm ' responsibility for local defence would be I better for some explanation. Local , defence may here be restricted to coastal defence and preparation for meeting an 1 invader on land. The broad principles of warfare do not alter. The proper battlefield of the Navy is the coasts of the enemy, not the coasts of the Empire. In the Great War the fate of New Zealand and Australia was decided in the North Sea, and if there is another war probably it will again be decided at a long distance from their shores. Therefore" the brunt of the naval defence of the Empire falls upon the Imperial Navy. If it is defeated, then the Empire falls. That Navy is built and maintained by Britain, and the cost of that construction and maintenance imposes a much greater burden upon the Englishman than upon the colonial. The Conference's report give* no indication of the amount that the Dominions are prepared to contribute Ic,wards the general cost of this insurance. It would be strange, however, if nothing was said on this subject at the sitting of the Conference. Dominion Prime Ministers would be obliged to make it clear that they could not commit their Parliaments, but they could give an indication of what they were prepared to propose. The most hopeful view of these deliberations is that something of this kind was j done, that behind these expressions of principle lie some plans for putting them I into practice. This applies not only to j finance, but to technical co-operation and co-ordination. If there is to be a base at Singapore, and local squadrons „.„ _ i,_ -(-..c:_-„j ._ _.._* 1:-.. ,

New Zealand waters, arrangement! must be made for the training of units on the same lines, the use of the sam« 8 patterns of material, and the passing ol 9 all ships under one command the moment danger arises. To push local control toe far might be fatal. But the chief problem at present is finance, and what the British taxpayer will want to know is __ how much of the burden of defence the Dominions are prepared to take from his - shoulders.