The New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, MAY 12, 1924. OUR NAVAL DEFENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18706, 12 May 1924, Page 8

The New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. MONDAY, MAY 12, 1924. OUR NAVAL DEFENCE.

The Prime Minister has well said that the . development of the Dominion's part in Empire defence is . an inevitable duty. The alternative ; to that development is becoming increasingly unthinkable in this country. Hitherto no adequate share of the duty has been undertaken. What has been done has been done cheerfully enough, . but in itself it has been far from enough. In this, a common experience has" been shared by all the overseas territories of . the Empire. Whatever their varying designations, they have been " dependencies," their growth, their prosperity, their very existence as units in the British, commonwealth, being secured by a Royal Navy to which they have contributed only meagrely. They have never been asked to buy the Navy's protection; it has been proudly given. ■.:■ Even in the' recent years' of increasing contributions from the. Dominions no suggested arrangement of full payment for services rendered has been put to them. It could not be. . Any stipulation that the -services of the Navy should be paid j for on that basis would have left the Dominions either bankrupt or defenceless. But a stalwart sense of honour has prompted them to lessen, at least a little, the; great gap between contributions and benefits. They would not be regarded for ever as impecunious children, being maintained and getting va :■ little pocket-money to boot. Rather have they sought privilege as 'partners; junior partners for the nonce, but nevertheless partners, in s counsel; 1 and responsibility. New ; Zealand's eagerness to acknowledge in practical fashion the 1 debt to the fl Motherland for;'; naval defence has been sufficiently- keen to- ; attract 7 notice. .That eagerness persists. "It 4 is the counterpart of the enthusiasm which has greeted the Imperial Service Squadron. Huzzas are not a substitute for help; they are an earnest of it. ;\x ■•;■:■■■ In reviewing the situation, it is hot forgotten that there has been evident ,of late } a change in international naval policies. The Washington Conference was the harbinger of a new dawn. ; A needful check has been k placed on * the : naval (programmes ;of the, leading maritime peoples ; . and in : the -mutual under' taking to scrap capital Britain has been foremost' in 'honouring the agreement. ' She began 5 the sorapping automatically before the treaty was ; ratified. But the Washington agreement, ; while pealing mainly with capital ships and aircraft carriers and the; calibre <of * guns, left other naval activities practically unrestricted. The need for -Britain's avy remains, the : interests of other nations as well; as of the Empire. And 'that means a need for New Zealand's close and sympathetic co-operation in all that has to be done.; Some clear indications of what that co-operation will ; ; involve are given by our distinguished guest, Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Field. He emphasises convincingly the supremacy' of the purely ; naval arm of our coastal and trade-route vdefences. Submarines ; and aircraft have each an importance, but their operations can never be more than auxiliary.- The attack that the Dominion has most to fear is not from submarines, with their: limited range, or aircraft, as yet far from free in their offensive ; it is the onslaught of raiding cruisers, ; intent on molesting merchantmen and harrying our coasts. It is a danger that- the abandonment of 4the: Singapore base by Britain's Labour Government, however temporary that abandonment may be, has intensified. It | can be met only .by -strengthening I the New- Zealand ■• division of the Navy.; Sir 'Frederick Field's urging that the Dominican should anticipate supporting , three ■ cruisers instead 'of one must be heeded as the counsel of an expert ]\ but for the present it is; beyond ■; us. ' However, in view of the futility of devoting money to the Singapore .project so long, as the 1 United Kingdom has a Government | that cannot see farther than Suez, ■ . •

the possibility ?of maintaining -a second ; cruiser should be seriously considered. Even >when; Jbhe Singapore base comes again into favour, ! the I desirability of our relieving the main fleet as much as possible from ; responsibility for the ; safety of, our : ports and merchant shipping will not have vanished. It will remain ;to justify the utmost share we can take. . ' So long as any risk of war persists —a contingency to be . included in the forecast of the most reasonablyoptimistic observer of the times I burl Dominion's Government must face the duty of maintaining, our national defences. They include more than naval protection. There is a need for the thorough overhaul of all the provision, both naval and military, for our;; security. There has been much piecemeal pottering with the need; now this part of the provision and now that has been given attention. But there has been no earnest attempt to co-ordinate.;■ the Various parts into ; a . vigorous system. In the event of our shores being threatened there would have to be hurried makeshift to 1 get even partially effective co-operation. The nrospect is not comforting.; But the pressing necessity is for a more adequate share in naval defence. We have a measure of sea interest among our people; the inherited maritime propensities of our race are not by any means lost. We can therefore hope to do much more .than we 1 have done in supplying the personnel of : the Navy. There is nothing insuperable in furnishing .here satisfactory oilfuel facilities ; before long the : Auckland depot will be equipped. i Something, too, may be done to provide a seaplane force operating \in Iconjunction with our. own naval division. But the prime necessity, from every point of view, is the strengthening of that division itself as an integral part of the Royal Navy, This ,is our bounden duty, not merely as the v payment of ,the chief premium for our national insurance, but as a grateful acknowledgment of the debt we have piled up, through a hundred years and more, to that invincible fleet '.', ■ • ' .' '•> -) .