ADVICE ON DEFENCE FROM THE R.S.A.

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22587, 16 March 1948, Page 4

ADVICE ON DEFENCE FROM THE R.S.A.

()N matters of defence the branches of the Returned Services’ Association throughout New Zealand, without exception, have adopted a realistic view. They are aware of the importance of having trained men to meet any possible emergency, and in these days of rapid arms development they are pressing hard for the provision of equipment to each Dominion so as to ensure that, if the call to action comes again, men will not be sent forth to become easy preys in a conflict in which the enemy might keep a jump ahead in the initial stages. All this is not a question of looking for fight; it is one of the first principles in self-preservation. The Gisborne and district R.S.A. discussion on this topic revealed a firm understanding of the situation today. The members did well to support the Wanganui proposal for an immediate clarification of the Government’s ideas on compulsory military training on a national scale and also to reaffirm the N.Z.K.S.A. policy in this respect. Many citizens old enough to remember the benefits gained through the adoption of senior cadet, and territorial training after the visit of Field Marshal Lord Kitchener in 1910 will most likely consider that the resumption of some such system would be a useful safeguard at the present time. It would be a costly scheme, but the saving of lives if war came would surely make it worth while.

More acutely than ever before, however, it is now necessary to press for the purchase of the very latest, in weapons. The president of the R.S.A., Mr. Leggat, has graphically drawn attention to the tragedy of sending men into battle half-equipped. It must not be allowed to happen again. Indeed, if an aggressor nation knows that the British Empire, among other democracies, is well prepared to meet trouble, the chances of maintaining the peace will be infinitely better than otherwise. Current plans to turn Australia into an Empire arsenal should ensure that equipment will be available at a comparatively early date. It is to he hoped the New Zealand Government will take advantage of the opportunity to make the necessary purchases.