IN CASE OF WAR

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 11

IN CASE OF WAR

Defence Of Britain Comes First WHAT OF DOMINIONS? Sydney, March 11. The pronouncement of the British prime Minister that Britain’s defence policy will be based on the principle of “defend Britain first” is not interpreted in Canberra as an indication that the Dominions will be thrown ou their own resources in an emergency, states the Canberra correspondent of the “Sydney Morning Herald.” The general impression is that Mr. Chamberlain’s references to overseas defence bases did not apply to the Dominions. The Australian prime Minister, Mr. Lyons, intends to ask Mr. Chamberlain to elaborate his ideas. A London cablegram on March 7 stated that the House of Commons attached great importance to Mr. Chamberlain’s declaration in his defence policy speech that the maintenance of naval bases and stragetie points in various parts of the world was “not as vital as the defence of our own country, because as long as we are undefeated at home, even if we sustain losses overseas, we may have an opportunity to make them good afterwards.” The inference drawn from this statement was that in the event of war Britain may not be able to defend her overseas possessions if concentration of her forces on the home shores is imperative. This was further regarded as a reminder to the Dominions that Britain considers they must do their utmost to establish their own defences.