BRITAIN’S DEFENCES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7018, 5 January 1910, Page 5

BRITAIN’S DEFENCES

IN GOOD ORDER ' PREMIER SAYS THE NAVY IS UNASSAILABLE. THE REJUVENATED ARMY. United Farmers’ Co-operative Association, j (Received January 4, 10.40 p.m.) LONDON, January 4. Mr Asquith, Prime Minister, yesterday addressed a large gathering at Haddington, in furtherance of the candidature of Mr Haldane, Secretary of State for War (who is incapacitated through an injured knee), for that scat. _ \ After paying a graceful tribute to the worth of the late Earl Percy, Conservative M.P. for Kensington, who , died suddenly in Paris last neek, Mi Asquith laid emphasis on the fact that Mr Balfour, when speaking in Haddington recently, had been silent regarding Mr Haldane’s reconstruction of the Army. The Premier predicted that if the Tories were returned to power they would follow on Mr Haldane’s lines. He affirmed, regarding the defences of the country, that no Government had given more time and sustained thought thereto than the Liberal Government. It had recognised to the full the increasing risks to which Britain’s naval supremacy was exposed, and it did not hesitate to call for large sacrifices and for a substantial addition to the naval expenditure, which was one of the principal causes of' the new- proposals in the Budget. “ This additional sum,” declared the Prime Minister, “ is being hotter and more fruitfully expended than it would have been if spent earlier. Our position, as regards the Navy now and in the future years for which we, as an Administration, are responsible, is one of unassailable superiority.” FREE TRADE A NECESSITY. Adverting to economic questions, Mr Asquith declared that free trade was more than a benefit—it was a vital necessity. He did not pretend that the Liberal policy would provide a cure for unemployment; but it could do much to mitigate it. The policy was a constructive one. The Lords rejected the Budget because it was a complete and effectual alternative to Tariff Reform, and by that action they had exceeded their well-settled constitutional function. Mr Arthur Chamberlain (brother of Mr Joseph Chamberlain, 51. P.), chairman of Kynooh’s, Ltd., in a letter to the press, strongly defends the land clauses and the social features of the Budget. He, is also a strong free trade advocate, and declares that the rest of the world is a dumping ground for British manufactures. , Mr Winston Churchill, President of the Board of Trade, writing to ,Mr Hamar Greenwood, Liberal member and candidate for York City, says: “Even if the Tories, as they anticipate, gain 100 seats in the new. Parliament, the balance of power will bo in the hands of the Irish Nationalists.” Sir Churchill’s view is that generous terms should be offered for a settlement with Ireland, and to secure the solidarity of Empire. NATAL RITALRY (Received January 5, 0.25 a.m.) LONDON, January 4. Sir Edward Grey, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, addressing a meeting at Chester, said: “Wo have kept the Navy up to the mark. We are building many ships-because abroad—especially. in Germany—so many new ships are being built. It is quite true Ithero is competition in naval shipbuilding ; but it is untrue that wo have fallen behind. I do not like this, increase in naval expenditure. It must be a burden on the resources of any country. “ But the Navy is essential to our safety, and we cannot afford to let other countries get up to us. We have been keeping ahead of them, and if need be—much as I may regret the increase in expenditure on armaments, which are already so enormous here and in other countries—it is essential to us that we should he on the safe side in regard to our Navy.” TARIFF LESSONS LONDON, January 3. Mr Winston Churchill, in a letter addressed to his constituents, says the lesson to he drawn both from the German and American tariffs is that, however high, they are unable to prevent severe and widespread chronic unemployment among the industrial population. Mr Churchill adds: “As far as Britain is concerned, trade and employment are now being provided so quickly that, . the present pinch is nearly over. We must make good preparations against a return of the evil. The best guarantee that this will be done will be a strong Liberal and progressive majority in the next Parliament.” Mr Richard Bell, M.P. for Derby, has resigned the general secretaryship of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, which has recorded its sincere thanks for his great and valuable services. A return issued by the Home Office shows that between July, 1895, and July. 1902, under the Premiership of the late Lord Salisbury, thirty-seven peers were created; under Mr Balfour, from 1902 to December, 1905 there wore twenty-four; and under the late Sir H. Oamphell-Ban Herman and Mr Asquith, since December, 1905, thirty-four.