NEVER BETTER'

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 65, 18 March 1938, Page 9

NEVER BETTER'

DEFENCE OF N.Z. MR. SAVAGE'S VIEW. REASSURING STATEMENT. ADVICES FROM BRITAIN. (By Telegraph.—Parliamentary Ueportor.) WELLINGTON, this clay. It is well understood in Parliamentary circles that the statement toy the British Prime Minister, Mr. Chamberlain, that the Dominions were being eontantly advised regarding international developments, is no mere figure of speech. ( a bins appear to be received daily, sometimes at very short intervals, but their contents are jealously guarded as secret, and the Prime Minister, the Hon. M. .1. Savage, invariably takes up the attitude that he cannot discuss either official cables or the Government's reactions to them.

In an interview to-day, however, he was j'sked about New Zealand's defence position. '"The whole question of defence is better to-day that it has ever been in the history of New Zealand," declared Mr- Savage. "This is the case- when regarded from the viewpoint of recruitjug, and equipment, the air services and other arms, but whether that is enougli or not is another thing. I am finding out at present what the position is. in i lie matter of recruiting. When we as a Government started away, I said more than once that we had more to do than

simply to spend money; we had to have something to show for it. I did not only say that in New Zealand, but I said it in England when talking with the heads of the services and asking for their opinions as to the relationships between the various branches of the services. I told them that the reason was that we wanted to spend money as intelligently as we could, and we were not going to be merely satisfied with spending large sums on defence, and not having anything real in the nature of defence. Then the heads of the services gave us all the information they could." When Mr. Savage was told that his statement was highly reassuring to New Zealand in view of the European situation, he again declined to comment on that aspect. "Anyone with any sense of responsibility cannot talk about the alleged dangers that they say may come from friendly Powers," he said. The Prime Minister concluded by repeating that the defence position in New Zealand was better than ever before. The mechanisation of land forces had attracted many recruits, while he had been very much impressed by the keen desire of so many young New Zealanders to enter the air service, which was proving equally attractive.