THE MEMBER FOR AWARUA.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1505, 30 July 1912, Page 4

THE MEMBER FOR AWARUA.

J ON NAVAL DEFENCE. i (By Telegraph.— Prww >«.«ndn.tlon.i ' Auckland, July 20. Sir Joseph Ward, who is at present in Auckland, was interviewed concerning his views on the part which Canada is expected to pluy in the- scheme of Imperial naval defeuco. Sir Joseph Ward said that he was glad to eeo the Canadian Government moving in the direction that tho Home cables indicated! In his judgment the scheme ■ which Mr. Bordon and his Ministers were ' apparently arranging with the Admiralty : " was tho very best that could bo decided, is upon. Personally he had always been lS against isolated local navies upon tho y broad and potent ground that the defence . s and maintenance of the Empire could ! 11 only be effectively carried out by having ono great Imperial Nuvy allocated as s those responsible for the protection of tho r n Empire as a whole thought best at tho [ - outposts, and all the tinio under one con- °, trol.- Tho Empire had grown tremend,f ously, not by aggregation of fresh terri■r tory, which no ono wanted to see, but by ; " tho marvellous expansion of trade and a commerce, and tho increase of its people,, J- particularly in tho outlying portions over. i; which tho British-flag flics. The action of Canada in this matter, auded bir J Joseph Ward, was on tho same lines as a that which New Zealand adopted when giving its contributioh foj the Dread- '• nought, and the fact that tho Homo au--0 thorities had decided to place tho Domint ion's gift in the North Sea Fleet confirmed, in a most convinoing way, the 1 stand which he had always taken for a : groat united fleet centred wherever the controlling authorities thought best in " tho interests of the Empire as the safest ' and strongest course. Ho felt very proud 1 to see these early developments, for he a had personally and, in different parts of 2 tho world, and in Canada itself,-wired the principal of a great united Empire 'I Navy with portions of it placed in (ho , waters of the overfoas Dominions. The f fooner 1 this was'carried out the better ' Sir Joseph Ward believed it would be Tor tho peoples in all parts of the Domin's ion. • ■