DEFENCE OF NEW ZEALAND

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 36, 11 August 1930, Page 8

DEFENCE OF NEW ZEALAND

(To the Editor.) SUv-May I be granted spwe to express a few thoughts on a matter of consider" able controversy, aa apparent from you? correspondence columns of recent date. It will be readily agreed that tha defence of the Dominion lies vow mwnly upon the air and sea, Clearly, the day of regiments and battalion formation* is largely over. Some three monthi ago. as reported in the New Zealand papers, two hostile bands of Afridis threatening the Indian frontier had their course effectively »tayed not by an opposing land force or army, but by a squadron of ooroping aeroplanes, . , Again, we cannot well and «vith honour; in our maintenance of defence measures,, overlook the fact that we have signed the Kellogg Pact; nor should we lightly forget our allegiance tq the League of Nations, in putting our signatures to the famous Optional Clause of the World Court of Arbitration, whereby we pledged ourselves to refer any dispute arising with any other nation or nations to the judgment of the Court, and to abide by the decision. ,','•,* , Also, it cannot be emphasised too raven that the defence of New Zealand is essentially an Imperial matter, We cannot overlook this by insisting on compulsory war training. Britain itself maintains » standing army, but every man ia a volunteer, Canada )ms a miniature army of. volunteers. Australia hasher youth tabulated on paper, each man being merely liable to serve. South Africa has a defence force of volunteers, reserving the right of enforcing compulsion only if necessary, For tiny New Zealand to insist o« compulsion, in face of such, testimony throughout the Empire, should mark, us as a coterie of obscurantists? from wJjjeh, let ua hope, a sense of humour will eves deliver us, ' ' _ Surely, then, the defence of our Pony inion is best regarded as part of a worldwide plan nobly engineered, patiently and efficiently organised by the Leape of Nations, whose crowning work for peace-is likely to be the formation of an international police force, mobile and representative of the nations, In face of this, it is scarcely necessary to indicate that if for health reasons' our youth are to be physically trained, then far psychological reasons this training should be as far removed from any suggestiveness. of war as possible.—l am, etc.,.JAMES MILNE. Thames, 7th August.