King Country Chronicle. Thursday, February 18, 1937. BRITAIN'S WAR PREPARATIONS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 4957, 18 February 1937, Page 4

King Country Chronicle. Thursday, February 18, 1937. BRITAIN'S WAR PREPARATIONS.

Britain's decision to spend another | £400,000,000 on armaments is an expensive insurance for safety, yet when the position in Europe is analysed, this expenditure is absolutely necessary not only for the Mother Country herself, but for the whole Empire and the peace of Europe. Britain has no idea of going to war unless it is forced upon her, but it is now a well established fact that the only thing that prevents Hitler and Mussolini from aggression against weaker nations is the fear of Britain's intervention. There now seems to be very little opposition to the British Government's huge expenditure, for most of the people now realise how serious is the outlook for the whole Empire, and unless adequate precautions are taken to meet the position, Nazi Germany will start another conflagration which will set the whole of Europe alight. Italy will then attempt to carry out her ambition of becoming the paramount Power in the Mediterranean, and Japan will complete her plans to dominate the Far East. The thought of another war is repugnant to all people, and especially in religious circles, but even the Church of England Assembly in Britain has passed a resolution recognising the Government's right to maintain the necessary defence forces. The Bishop of London declared that the real dangers to peace were pacifists, and he continued by stating that "there is no great danger of war if we are strong enough. If we had adopted the view of the pacifists in 1914 either the German Emperor or Herr Hitler would now be At Whitehall. I would rather die than see bombs dropping on children while we stood by doing nothing."

Britain has no reason to start a war of aggression. Her position in the world of commerce is becoming stronger every year, and her outlook is perhaps better than that of any other country in the world. All that she desires is a guarantee for peace in Europe. In a world of international dishonesty, intrigue and falsehood it seems impossible to obtain any such agreement. Notwithstanding the many protestations of goodwill towards Britain, there is scheming and plotting amongst some of the European nations to bring about the downfall of the British Empire. It is not that the people of these countries have any particular antagonism to Britain or the Empire. Indeed they dread the idea of another world-wide conflict, but their dictators are filled with the idea of expanding their sphere of influence. They are not content to become despots in their own country, but wish to dominate other countries. If a referendum were taken in these countries for and against war the result would be in the negative. Yet these people are powerless to express their views because of the power and organisation of the dictators. In view of these circumstances it would be suicidal for Britain to watch the nations of the Western World preparing for war while she herself remained weak in defence measures. The League of Nations is crumbling, not because of any flaw in its Covenant, but because of some nations that dishonoured their obligations. The United States is building a huge navy, even though that country still maintains its policy of neutrality so far as European affairs are concerned. The reason is that the Government realises the necessity of adequate defence measures in the event of another world outbreak. If the United States views the situation in that light how much greater is the need of Britain and the Empire countries for taking precautions for their own safety.