NEW ZEALAND'S DREADNOUGHT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11839, 20 April 1909, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND'S DREADNOUGHT.

Tho Prime Minister, speaking at the Chamber of Commerce dinner., expressed great pleasure at the* riianner* in which the conference hud : shown its approval of what -the Government had done to assist <" in ../..making., the British navy stronger than it was. He wished to remark, -that At. Was not the va-ii?! of the battleship^ or'i indeed, of a dozen of them., that was going to have aiiy/effect; j but it wrts the moral .winch others Would j draw from ..the-, offer. (Applause;) If the idea wereTto get about for one moment that we were so stuuid' a community' as to.provide a.taf-ttleshfp.-upop thp mere score of cost, it would be the 'very strongest condemnation.-of pur.'action, in evferv other part of tlie British Empire. If they /had ■ auKjgestcd. § th§ gift from .the toiere standpoint of poilnds, shilling!, and pence, they should as a • community expect, a flat refusal, ,but-we wer-o not 's'p foolish 'ris to Ijelieve that the Old liand could not do all that was. required, but we had to recognise* that' eveiy part and parcel-of the Empire was a vital point, and should .•jive assistance. The aim was to show 1 in tlie most determined manner that we were an integral' portion of'the British Empire. (Applause.)