BRITISH REARMAMENT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23481, 19 October 1939, Page 9

BRITISH REARMAMENT

j A- VISITOR'S IMPRESSIONS v ACTIVITY IN PAST YEAR Striking examples of the. manner in : which Britain had armed .during -the ' p<\st. year -were- given by Mr. G-. Mor- : ton Smith in an address to members of the Auckland Creditmen's Club, when recounting experiences of a recent overseas tour, at a luncheon meeting in Milne and Choyee's Reception Hall yesterday. While in England a few months ago ;he had found that British manufacturers were 110 longer being dragged along by the coattails of America, Germany or any other country, Mr. Smith said. They were putting in all kinds ".of modern equipment allowing them to switch either to war or peacetime, production with ease. How efficiency had increased was illustrated by the comment of' a manufacturer who told linn that the first tank his factory had built had taken 16 months, whereasr-'at. the time of. the iiitorviQW-they -were producing two of each model every week. Six months ago Britain had been able ito putPoOOO aeroplanes in the air at < the one - time, but it -could be safely said that, that number had greatly increased to-day, he added• .With men -coming forward in great': .numbers, i Britain; would have an air- force -arm 'superior 'to that- of any other country within, the course of a year if it was not already superior. , # So extensive had been construction work" that it was 110 ! exaggeration to say that England was ringed' with aerodromes. . Everywhere ;i 11 England■■had been placed anti-aircraft guns. Transport bad been greatly facilitated the building of many new roads. ' . f - Alongside all tlicso preparations bad been a"moral rearmament, Mr. Smith said. (This was- illustrated: by the fact that for the first,time in,-l«s life he had had to wait half an hour in a queue to get into a church. ■ The people were confident tliaf theirs was a.just cause, they were determined. to defend their freedom, "and- they .were prepared to moot cahnlv anything that the future held in store. 'l' ( 1