A GRAVE WARNING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 243, 13 October 1936, Page 6

A GRAVE WARNING.

. When the Great War was fought there was time to train the raw recruit into a finished soldier before he was called upon to face the enemy. When the next clash comes the onset will be much more sudden, and New Zealand, spared all the horrors of attack in the last, may find hersfelf much more intimately involved, and, possibly without adequate protection from surface craft, open" to disastrous attack from the air, and even from landing forces. There would be no time then for preparation, and meantime the one frail line of land defence is becoming daily weaker. The report of the Hon. Eliot R. Davis, chairman of the executive of the New Zealand Territorial Association, to be presented to the annual meeting to-morrow night, is, in view of the urgency of the matter, a most disturbing, even distressing, document, a recital of facts which should jar the complacency of the most thoughtless. The territorial force, the ultimate basis upon which defence of the country rests, already far below the minimum requirement, is dwindling rapidly, and unless general interest is aroused in the movement it may die away altogether. As Mr. Davis points out, a definite lead from Cabinet is required, especially as some Ministers and members of the party have gone so far as to doubt the necessity for a territorial force. The Government has just concluded a lengthy conference upon the subject of air defence. Improvement of that is essential, but it must be backed up by an adequate ground force, and it is to be hoped I that the appeal made by the chairman of the [ executive will not fall on deaf ears. The question of recruiting concerns everybody; an impetus from the top is essential, and it is sincerely to be hoped that that impetus will not be delayed. When thaT is applied, a moderately intensive training scheme should be immediately put in hand to provide a cadre for the larger defensive force which may, unfortunately, hgve to be developed at any moment. The Mayor of Auckland has already called one conference to discuss the defence of Auckland. That is a start, but more effective steps are imperative, and the very serious warning conveyed in the report under discussion should be heeded by the whole community. While the whole system of defence *s under inquiry, the Government shoujd at least make the conditions of territorial training so attractive that the meagre ] existing force will be quickly augmented. |