HELP FOR BRITAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 30, 3 August 1940, Page 12

HELP FOR BRITAIN

WHY NOT SEND MONEY?

SUPPLY OF BOMBERS

MR. DOIDGE'S SUGGESTION

(Special to the "Evening Post.")

FALMERSTON N., This Day.

"People in New Zealand are puzzled concerning our war effort. It is as though we watched the war from another planet," said Mr. F. W. Doidge, M.P., when addressing an audience of several hundreds at Palmerston North.

The speaker went on to say that throughout the country there was .a burning desire to help Britain. More than fifty thousand men had volunteered for service overseas; hundreds of thousands of pounds had been contributed to patriotic funds. Yet a feeling of frustration prevailed. Britain's danger was far greater than in the last war; yet New Zealand was doing less to help the Motherland than in 1914----18

"It is not the fault of the Government that we have sent away only two echelons consisting of 13,000 men," continued Mr. Doidge. "We all know the difficulties that stand in the way of dispatching troops overseas. But surely there are other ways of helping Britain We have just budgeted in Parliament for an expenditure of £100,000,----000. The bulk of that is for peace-time expenditure in New Zealand. Surely we can budget for Britain. If we cannot send men to Britain's aid, we can send money. In war, the long purse is just as important as the long sword. Instead of building broadcasting palaces in New Zealand, let us buy bombers for Britain." "At Home," continued Mr. Doidge, "the people fight and suffer and die; in Mr. Churchill's words, they give blood and toil, and tears and sweat. Here the war leaves us untouched; we live in peace and tranquillity. But that does not mean that we in New Zealand are not breaking our hearts to help the Motherland. If providing the sinews of war will help, how gladly we shall still further tighten our belts. How eagerly the women would work if they knew that they would be permitted to turn their patriotic efforts to the purchase of fighter planes. And there would not be a whimper from the taxpayer if the Government announced its intention of making a free gift of 50 planes per month to Britain for the duration of the war."