EMPIRE’S DEFENCE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 121, 6 May 1936, Page 7

EMPIRE’S DEFENCE

How Its Units Are Extending Their Forces (British Official Wireless.; (Received 6. 12.30 p.m.) RUGBY, May 5. Air. Malcolm MacDonald, replying in the House of Commons to a question as to the manner in which the Dominions were extending their defence forces, said that with regard to Canada he understood the defence expenditure for 1931-35 showed an increase of over two and a-half million dollars as compared with the expenditure in previous years. This expenditure was being generally maintained in the current year, with some further increase for the air force. The Australian Government was engaged in carrying-out a three-years programme of defence expansion, which was due to bo completed at the end of the financial year 1936-37. The total cost, he understood, would be in the region of twenty million Australian pounds. A'new Government had recently taken office in New Zealand. From speeches which had been reported it would appear that Ministers there were carefully examining the defence position, but there was no indication yet of what concrete proposals they might make. Proposals for the strengthening of the defences of South Africa had recently been announced by the Minister of Defence. Asked whether any expenditure was for naval armaments, Mr. MacDonald replied that in the case of Australia tho main provision was for naval expenditure, and in the case of South Africa he understood that the greater part oi the expenditure was for airforce expansion.