NAVAL DEFENCE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18183, 20 September 1924, Page 14

NAVAL DEFENCE.

RECRUITING IN N.Z,

AX OPPOSITION AMENDMENT

REJECTED

'''nns feiss.") WELLINGTON, September 10. In the House of Bepresentatives todav. when tho naval defence (£330,-165) was called on for consideration, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Wilt'ord) moved that tho vote be reduced by £1 as an indication that the Philomel should be scrapped, and the naval recruiting scheme abandoned. He said he did not believe that New Zealand was going to be a country in which recruiting for tho Navy was going to be a success. On the other hand there were thousands of suitable young men at Home, and therefore there was no questioning the quality or r.ecessitv. Notwithstanding what Commander Hotham had done, the scheme in Zealand had been a dismal failure. While he was prepared to help the Government to maintain tho Dunedin, lie wanted to sea the Philomel dropped. The idea of manning the Navy from outlying portions of the Empire had been a costly one, and a ghastly failure so far as Isew Zealand was concerned. Mr J. A. Lee said the fact that New Zealand could not get enough men for the ships the country had to pay for showed that tho scheme was absolutely unpopular. As usual, the expenditure had increased moro than that of any other country. The Hon. Sir Heaton Ehodes (Minister of Defence), said our recruiting scheme was not a failure. He thought we should induce onr young men to .join the Navy. It was a good career. It was worth paying something to give our young men such a career. Tliev would be available to man the guns on ships in theso waters in case of war.

Mr AVilford: We want all our strong young men in production just now. The Minister: We want them in production, but we also want protection. (Hear, hear.) He hoped the House would not agree to the reduction, We had another cruiser in viow. Prime Minister's Speech. The Prime Minister said he believed that New Zealand would produce as good a class of naval men as Britain had ever done; in fact, she was doing it now, but of course in small proportions. He believed tho time would come when New Zealand would do its full share.

New Zealandcrs might be expected to take to the sea as ducks did to water. One had only to note the number of yachtsmen there wero in Auckland harbour to recogniso that, and ho knew they would make very good sailors. Ho was impressed with tho number of New Zealandcrs who during the war volunteered for coastal defence in Britain. There had been little said about that, but he had met them in England and knew' that they had done specially good work in a very arduous service. They certainly held their own with British sailors. The Leader of tho Opposition had suggested that recruiting for the Navy in New Zealand had been a failure. That was not his own experience, and he was glad to hear Mr Wilford's statement contradicted by the Minister of Defence. He believed that, necessary, wc could even man a crvffler with young men of the Native racei anc * that as. sailors these young men would distinguish themselves as they had done as soldiers in the war. If the House was unwise enough to agreo to the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition, the fact would bo reported in the British newspapers the next day, and it would appear that New Zealand, the most British of the British Dominions, had opposed an attempt to recruit sailors for the Navy.

Mr Wilford said ho and tlie Prime Minister wero on all fours in regard to the necessity for the defence of the Empire on land and sea, but they differed as to their ideas of the method bv which it should be undertaken. He maintained that this money was not being expended wisely. He believed that the Dunedin was necessary, and of value, and that we would even have to sanction larger expenditure, but he believed yiat there wa3 no necessity for such a ship as the Philomel. Japan had 22 light cruisers in the Pacific, with two or three knots greater speed than any British or American cruisers, and while we were spending money for the defence of these parts wo should not pretend that our light cruisers here could show their heels to the one Power we were afraid of, and rightly afraid of, namely, Japan. ( Sir Heaton Ehodes agreed that the .Philomel was useless as a seagoing ship, but as a training ship she was fulfilling a useful purpose. (Hear,, hear.) If they had not the Philomel they would have to go to the expense of building barracks, for they must have men for the naval base at Auckland to look after the naval stores and guns. On Admiralty's Advice. The Hon. W. Downie Stewart said that if the Leader of the' Opposition was to be successful with his amendment he must depend for his votes upon those who radically differed from him on the question of naval defence; upon the votes of a party who ridiculed the proposal that Now Zealand should have any local naval defence at all. The ships in New Zealand waters wero of real value, and it was on tho advice of the Admiralty that they were being used. When he was in Australia three vears ago ho spent a week-end with Admiral Dumeresque. The Admiral told him that New Zealand was pursuing the most sound naval policy of any .Dominion in the Empire. He said we wero showing great wisdom in the course we were pursuing. Last year, or the year before, the Leader of the Opposition had raised the question whether New Zealand would not get sufficient protection from submarines and aircraft, but he now knew that when Vice-Admiral Sir Ireaerick Field was hero ho said that would not be a satisfactory solution of the problem. The Leader of the Opposition should consider the views of those men who had devoted their whole life to naval affairs, and who were able to advise what was the proper line for New Zealand to pursue. One of the main objeets of the New Zealand unit was that we should be able to train our own men. Eathcr than get his support from that side of tho Eouse which went in for destructive criticism, the Leader of the Opposition should withdraw his amendment. After further discussion tbe amendment was defeated by 32 votes to 20. The following was tho division list: — | — (Continued at foot of cast colxnan.) j

Against Amendment (32). Anderson Hunter Atmore Liriklatcr Bell Lvsnar Bitehener MeLeod Bollard McMillan Coates Massey Dickson, J. M. Nosworthy Diekson, J. S. Parr Field Pomare Glenn Rhodes, Heaton Guthrie Eolleston, J. C. Harris liolleston, F. J. Hawken Stewart Henaro Svkes Hockly .Uru Hudson Wright For Amendment (26). Armstrong McKeen Bartram Masters Buddo Monteith Corrigan Mnnro de la Perrclle O'Brien Edie Parry Forbes Poland Hanan Savage Holland Sidev Jordan Smith McCombs Sullivan Mcllvride Veiteh McKay Wilford Pairs. Against Amendment. Luke Potter Burnett Tsitt Williams Nash Girling Wittv lihodes, T. W. For Amendment. Horn Murdoch Howard Lee Ngata ixaser Ransom Thomson. Lye