COST OF WORLD PEACE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 69, 22 February 1937, Page 6

COST OF WORLD PEACE.

Britain has put her hands to a great task ami is willing io make great sacrifices to carry that task inrough to completion. .Britain lias put her cards on tlie table and luis disclosed to other nations her determination to be strong and ready to defend her frontiers, and this determination has amazed and impressed the leaders in the the two dictator countries of Germany and Italy, the latter especially, which adopted a contemptuous attitude towards Britain, especially during the Abyssinian war —an attitude which it will find unprofitable, as some nations have discovered in the past, and others will realise in .the future. The genesis of Britain’s rearmament must be looked for in the Mediterranean and the Italian campaign in Abyssinia. Britain found that she was very weak. To police the Mediterranean she had to requisition vessels from other stations, even one of our ships had to be sent to help. Mussolini boasted that lie had wrecked Britain’s prestige in the East, and some pacifists suggested giving Italy Cyprus or Malta, or both, and scuttling from the Mediterranean. The First Lord of the Admiralty (Sir Samuel Hoare) visited both the Mediterranean islands, and they are now about adequately fortified. The cost of rearmament is heavy, and it is not confined to the expenditure of £1,500,001),000 by Britain, for the Dominions are afso spending millions, and when a count is made it would probably be found that the total exceeds £2,000,000,000, a formidable figure, but inevitable since it is the premium on peace. For the Empire to remain weak would be to place ourselves at the mercy of an aggressor. A weak British Empire would be a tempting bait for Germany, Italy and even Japan Any one of the Dominions would be a rich plum for any of these nations. Perhaps we will now hear very little from Germany about the restoration of her colonies. The subject will be conveniently forgotten. Britain and France in Western Europe and Russia in the East, if they hold together —and that is quite probable —can maintain the peace of the world. Germany Tins been the disturbing element for the past two years, causing considerable fright to her smaller 'neighbours such as Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia , and Roland. The rearming of Britain will put confidence into these smaller nations who must now feel that they need not fear the sword-rattling of Germany. The peace of the world, we should Say, has been strengthened by the issue of the British White Paper on armament. Britain is not arming for aggression but to maintain peace, and when the work is completed she will be able to <>‘ive adequate protection to the whole British Empire, besides honouring her obligations to other States. At one time it seemed inevitable that there would be war this year, but that prospect is now fading away.