Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1942 SINGAPORE HAS FALLEN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 16 February 1942, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1942 SINGAPORE HAS FALLEN

i SINGAPORE has fallen. That is a ' stunning blow. Though we were par- • tially prepared for it by news of the 1 mounting inequality of the struggle a hope lingered that somehow Singapore could not fall. There was an | inner feeling that, though the ! Heavens fell, Singapore would stand. ! For years its military might had been so much lauded throughout the world; it had become enshrined in our conception of Empire as one of the corner-stones of the power and prestige of Britain beyond the seas. Good-bye to all lhat. Eastern militarists have pricked the bubble of the invincibility legend and brave Empire soldiers have had to surrender to a Japanese commander. That in itself is a bitter pill. In announcing the grim news Mr Churchill styles it a heavy and far-reaching military defeat. Such it is and as such it will be chronicled in history. Who would have thought, even a year ago, that one of the severest thrashings we have taken would have been administered by a Yellow race at a spot which is one of the lych-pins of Empire? That is the naked truth i which Australia and New Zealand j will be compelled to ponder through 1 many generations to come, i Mr Churchill calls on us to accept | our reverses with dignity, saying that [ it is a time for the British nation to display that genius so characteristic I of it in adversity—one of those . moments when we can draw from the heart of misfortune the vital impulses to victory. This is good counsel from our leader. We have been struck heavy blows but not a mortal blow. He points to the crowning crime as the weakening of our purpose and therefore of our unity. That would represent our real defeat. To sow dissension now because we have been soundly beaten at Singapore would bring consequences far more ignominious than the surj render of a key point of Empire to the Japanese. The times are such that Australia and New Zealand must keep their heads. It may be | our turn in 1942. The arrow of aggression is pointed straight at the hearts of our two countries, but to get panicky and indulge in futile fault-finding with Britain because of alleged negligence would be to betray the spirit of Dunkirk. At the same time the causes of the j signal failure in Malaya must be j probed. From there and other sources have come persistent stories | of official bungling, lack of realistic preparation and too implicit a faith in our ability to win through somehow. Mr Churchill has admitted that he never expected Japan to be so audacious as to take on the United States and Britain in the East at the same time. Our plans were doubtless laid on that assumption, but Oriental boldness has cruelly undeceived us. If we have failed to make the best use of the sadly inadequate strength we did have the reasons for that neglect should be investigated and incompetents removed. Australia particularly has a right to ask that, for her men were amongst those who fought and died at Singapore and its loss more immediately menaces her own safely. But, when due allowances are made for incompetence and complacency, it will be found that we lost Singapore because, with our exceptionally heavy commitments elsewhere, we could not muster enough strength to hold it. Certainly we tried to add to our armament by putting up a bluff which did not work. Mr Churchill has told us before that it was physically impossible for Britain to meet the combined threats of Germany, Italy and Japan single-handed. He emphasises this central truth again, adding that, even before the entry of Japan, we were just able to keep I our heads above water. All along there has been only a thin line dividing defeat and survival. If we don't realise that, we grossly underestimate the forces arrayed against

, us and too easily forget that tragic < , policy of the thirties which left us so J ; sadly unprepared. To quarrel among . ourselves now because fortune’s wheel , turns against us and to waste precious I time in organising a hunting party , 1 | for scapegoats is the surest way to : j let our heads go under. While try-! ! mg by every means possible to profit! j by our mistakes we should see in our j , present reverses only a fresh spur to; , those redoubled efforts which must come before we can win. In the in- 1 spiration we can draw even from 1 defeat we should follow the example of Mr Churchill. Singapore was not i lost last evening, or on 7th Decern- - her, or when Mr Churchill assumed 1 the leadership of the Empire. The story of its surrender reaches back ( , into those years “which the locust . has eaten,'' and for which we must , j all bear a responsibility. Not one ; j among us could say with more justi- ! I lieation than Mr Churchill, "I told ' you so.” He refrains from doing so ! I because he chooses to meet defeat! ( with dignity and bend his energies j , | towards seeing how it can be transI formed into victory. .. -