DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21116, 17 March 1934, Page 13

DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE

Conference May be Held EMERGENCY BODY FORMED IN ENGLAND l-srtU TEL*'jRAi a-Lurrnioui.) (Received March IG, 7.30 p.m.) LONDON, March 16. It is understood that a debate is being arranged in the House of Commons for March 21 to discuss Empire defence, at which the Governmerit will be pressed to take immediate steps to consult the Dominions, as a result of which it is likely to call a conference in 1934. Many members of the House of Common:. are anxious regarding the situation, especially about the shortage for the Air Force on the Army Estimates. Mr A. Duff Cooper (Conservative member for St. has announced his decision to form a new branch of the Territorial Army, to be called the Royal Defence Corps. It\vill be recruited from among men who are no longer fit for votive service, and who will be used in an emergency for the defence of vulnerable points in Great Britain, such as bridges, factories, and arsenals, "not against enemy attack, but against persons of ill-will and foreign agents inside the country," thus freeing younger and more active men for other duties. Members of the Labour party fear that the corps may be used as a Fascist force on the model of the Austrian Heimwehr. CO-ORDINATION OF DEFENCE SUGGESTIONS DURING DEBATE (Received March 16, 7.30 p.m.) LONDON, March 16. During the discussion in the House cf Commons on the Army Estimates, Wing Commander A. W. H. James (Conservative) moved that army training should be in co-operation with the Navy and Air Force, while Lieutenant-Colonel J. T. C. MoorcBrabazon (Conservative) advocated a single service for all three forms of defence—sea, land, and air.