DEFENCE NEED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 297, 14 December 1940, Page 10

DEFENCE NEED.

N.Z.'S POSITION.

MR. COATES' WARNING.

Speaking to tTic largest assemblage of troops ever gathered on a single parade grouml in Auckland at one time, the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates took occasion this morning to warn the public of NewZealand of the home defence needs of the Dominion. There were some people, he said, who thought that here we were immune to danger. They needed only to think a little to realise how far that was from the truth. j The problem of raiders occupied all minds here at this time, and while there were raiders about there was always the chance that there might be something following. We were lacing foes who, both in manpower ana machines, were to be reckoned with. That had to be taken into account when considering the great work of the air force and of the other branches of the service. We had reason to be proud of the great record of the air force. Shipping Problems. ' "Where would we be if it were not for our navy?" he continued. "We would be completely cut off." He paid high tribute also to the mercantile marine. The real problem that faced those in authority was the question of shipping —ships to carry our produce and our men overseas and escorts for those ships. It was our job to take care that the men and goods that we sent from this country reached their destination safely. For himeelf, said Mr. Coates, he could not divide in regard the territorials from the overseas men. The territorials as home defence units had a job of work to do, and they were doing, it well. It was their job, as it were, to defend the rear while the vanguard went overseas. "Your part is equal to that of the men overseas," he said. "I find it hard to differentiate." Mr. Coates extended his thanks also to the_ members of the Home Guard, the Women's National Service Corps and other units, all of whom were doing their part. Need To Prepare.

Home defence, lie said, was an integral part of the defence scheme. We would defend our chores to the last-man and the last shilling and if we went down— which Ave won't do—-we would go down fighting. Paying a tribute to the men of the overseas units, Mr. Coates said he had given close attention to the troops in training, and in his opinion they were fully equal to the men of the Great War. We would win, he said, but it was necessary for us to back up the army, the navy and the air force "With all our resources and all our eneigy. Thrill of Pride. Speaking as the representative of the Government, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, Minister of Supply, said he had felt a thrill of pride as he watched the various units- marching through the streets that morning. He was confident that these men would hold their own in comparison with the older generation who had played their part in the Great War. The troope, too, had a right to feel a thrill of priilc. They were a part of New Zealand's army about to take part in the greatest conflict that had ever been waged. There had never been greater issues at stake. In playing their part they represented New Zealand — they stood for everything that New Zealatid is and was. v ■Mbrfifthaii that, they represented an principle. That ideal was expressed in the British Commonwealth of Nations. He would translate , the word "commonwealth" into "comradeship." so that they would fully understand what it represented. That ideal could be contrasted with that of the Axis Powers, who sought to place their foot on the neck of the world. Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Belgium and Holland, and other countries that had fallen under the heel of Hitler, knew fully vvtoat we were facing. We were fighting now to establish whether our way of life was to be the way of the future or whether that of Hitler should prevail. "Good Hunting." Brigadier P. H. Bell, D.5.0., officer commanding the northern military district, congratulated the reinforcements on their smartness. The various Territorial home defence units were assembled there that day to pay tribute to them. Their congratulations were somewhat tinged with envy for there was not a man among them who did not wish to follww closely in their train. He said that the work of the New Zealand units overseas was hcing followed with pride. "Good hunting," he wished those who would be going overseas. The parade was a most impressive one, said Sir Ernest Davis, expressing the congratulations of the city to the assembled throng of troops and nurses. The city was proud of them because of the service - to an ideal to "which they had dedicated themselves and because it was recognised the sacrifice both they and their kin were making. The glorious news of victory in which our boys were participating at the present time had thrilled us all to the core. In that pride they were sharing. They could be sure that we would do our utmost to care for and protect their next-of-kin when they went overseas.