THE NAVY'S PART

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 74, 29 March 1938, Page 8

THE NAVY'S PART

A WORLD-WIDE UNIT

THE EMPIRE VIEWPOINT

"I specially w.-inl. I." wnyilisiivisf; thfii. the whole quenUon of miv;il defence is a matter which the public must look at from an Kmpin; point of view, and not merely from tin: point of. view of each separate Dominion, because) the crux of. the whole .situation in case of war is that if the Mriti.-ili Umpire retains command of the sea it continues to exist, whereas if it Josch that command it ceases to exist," .said Vice-Admiral J. IS. T. Harper, C.8., M.V.0., R.N. fret.), in an interview with "The Post" today. Vice-Admiral Harper returned to f|cw Zealand by the Tamaroa, and arrived at Wellington yesterday.

"To ensure maintaining that essential control at sea, and moreover to assist in preserving the peace of the world, it is absolutely necessary for the Empire to have a strong navy assisted, as it must be in these days, by a strong air force. When considering this command at sea it must never be forgotten that efficient naval defence depends on secure bases, such as that at Singapore, the vital importance of which has been fully realised for many years by the public of New Zealand and Australia.

"The Navy League, which is, of course, a non-party, not-political movement, exists, as most people know, and ought to if they do not, to instil the above principles in the minds of the peoples of the whole of the British Empire, and it is largely due to the unceasing work of the Navy League branches in Great Britain and in the Dominions that the present re-arma-ment scheme has been accepted by the public."