A SCARE STORY

Evening Star, Issue 19637, 17 August 1927, Page 4

A SCARE STORY

MR WILFORD'S “SECRETS"

“ REMINISCENT OF THE MOVIES”

[Fkoii Oub Parliamentary, Reporter.]

WELLINGTON, August 10. “Reminiscent of tho movies,” was the description by Mr Howard (Christchurch South) of the statement by Mr Wilford regarding Singapore, in” tho House last week.

Mr Howard suggested that the Press of New Zealand was completely hoaxed by tho member for Hutt, who “got away” with a tale which was not correct. It was a dramatic speech, he conceded, and ho never remembered the House being so thrilled before. It listened with rapt attention and utter amazement, but he (Mr Howard) hoped to bo able to completely blow it out: (Laughter.) He bad invited Mr Wilford to bear bis attack on that speech, but-the member for Hntt ha.* replied that ho had been twenty-eight years hi Parliament, and ho could go ahead and say what ho liked. (Laughter.) A scare heading was published to show how essentia! it was that wo should have Singapore because ot tJungs which did not exist. JAPAN’S CRUISER PROGRAMME.

“I could not believe I bad caught the honorable member’s story aright,” declared Mr Howard. “It is not a matter of .the western entrance of Singapore causeway being silted up, or the northern entrance getting round to the south. Tho member for Hutt certainly talked about that, hut he made a statement which no wellinformed member, and no wellinformed newspaper .should allow to pass unchallenged. He said that our cruiser strength was below that of Japan, and that Japan was building cruisers at a very rapid rate.” While he (Mr Howard) could understand Air Wilford wanting to tell the people about the East because he had been there, he could not understand him making such a statement as that. He (Air Howard) knew what it was like to want to tell people about a country one had visited, because some time ago he himself visited South Africa, and had been telling people about it ever since. (Laughter.) In any case the 'vise men came from the East; they did not go there. (Laughter.)

Mr Howard then quoted from Brassey's book on 1 Ships of the World ’ to" show that Japan was not building cruisers. One statement ran: “The American and Japanese naval authorities are also barely making good the vessels which are approaching the end of their effective survey.” Brassey also showed that in 1927 the British Empire had 191 cruisers built, and nine authorised, making 200 all told; while Japan had ninety-one built and thirty-three building, authorised, or projected, a total of 124. On another page it was said that no ship had been laid down in Japan since 1925, that Japan’s cruiser fleet was ancient, and only one ship was building. Here we found that, instead of 'Japan hastening to build many ships it was the other way about. FACTS KNOWN FOR FOURTEEN YEARS.

Even more marvellous than this was Mr Wilford’s statement about the secret clauses of Japan’s twenty-one demands on China. Mr A\ ilford’s statements in this connection had almost made his (Mr Howard’s) back hair stand up. Here were secret clauses never made public before. What a thriller! “Gee,” said Mr Howard, “I thought, as I listened, Fin in the inner circle now. I’m getting some international secrets; but the clauses sounded quite iainiliar; and then what did I find when I went to the Parliamentary Library? 1 found tbe full twenty-one points, clauses, and all, word for word, in a book by B. L. Putnam Weal, ‘ The Fight for the Republic in China.’ ” Mr Lee (Auckland East) : Tbe secret is eleven years old then? Mr Howard; About that. I found that the secret councils of the world knew those secret clauses for about six months before they wore given to the world. My point is that we were not told by the member for Hutt that he was giving us something from a book. Mr Howard went on to quote From a little booklet on Japanese problems, anjd in this references were made to thp clauses, which showed that they had been known for fourteen years. Mr Fraser (Wellington Central): Most people had forgotten them. Mr Howard: Quite so. I cannot understand a member who has been so long in Parliament ns the member for Hutt standing up in support of the Singapore schtvne, and bolstering it up by trying to frighten us with stories like this" about secret clauses that lie was giving to the world for the first time. (Ironical Labor laughter.) Only one newspaper in New Zealand detected that ho had “put something over.” Why, if we from these benches had made a statement of that kind, oh, the fun my friend from Ellesmere would have'had IWe would have been laughed at from one end of New Zealand to the other. We would have lieen laughed almost out of thcHou.se. j do not know that 1 have hoard anything so ridiculous during the seven years I have been in Parliament.