Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, AUG. 20, 1936 DOMINION DEFENCE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19098, 20 August 1936, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, THURSDAY, AUG. 20, 1936 DOMINION DEFENCE

The discussion in I’arlianie.nt. on tl Dominion's defences will go some di tance, but not nearly far enough pe haps, towards satisfying the publ that the Government is not unmindfi

of its obligations to take reasonable t stops not only in the direction of do- , fending New Zealand itself but also j of co-operating in the wider scheme ; of Empire defence. In particular, the , Minister made a full and frank state- , meat of the situation, prefacing his ; remarks with an assurance that- he j realised the responsibility resting upon- his shoulders. The Prime Minister was a little less emphatic, but i his -comment that “a certain machine a must be established because anything might happen, V suggests that he, too, t i.s not altogether blind to the realities f and even dangers of the present si tunlion. Unfortunately, the three back jbench supporters of the Government s who contributed to -the debate were far less convincing, but their quasipacifist or defeatist attitude can probably be attributed to the fact that i they are less well informed than mem- j bers of the Cabinet. This point cm- | phasises the need for the widest i liHfasure of frankness that is com pat- < ibte with the degree of secrecy that , necessarily attends the question of i • defence, and the Government might < well consider the advisability of t-ak- ; ing its supporters and the country gen- - orally even further into its confidence. - It is desirable, as the Minister pointed out, to avoid searemongering and : jingoism, but it is even more important that the Dominion should not play the part of the ostrich and close its eyes to the stern facts confront,ng the world to-day. There seem to be three cardinal points which must form the basis of any study of the problem.The first: is. that the international situation has deteriorated almost immeasurably during ilie past year or two; the second —and too often there is a tendency to ignore it—that New Zealand plays a definite part im the schemes of certain expansionist Powers; and the third, that the Dominion to-day is more vulnerable and less prepared to defend itself than at any time during the past quarter of , a century. These are the foundations upon which the defence policy must be constructed, not haphazardly or half- ' heartedly, but with a definite knowledge of the object im view and of the potential dangers which may have to

lie faced. New Zealand, in her own interests as well as for the purpose of

contributing towards the attainment

if a common ideal, must first of all be

prepared and willing to take a fair share in the maintenance of the defences of the Empire. If the Empire

falls, New Zealand falls with it, and ali those tilings for which its peoples

have laboured so unremittingly

throughout the ages will go for naught

This is the great thing which is at stake throughout the world to-day; it

is not a question of status and prestige, but the survival or eclipse of democracy itself and all that it stands for. Where then does Now Zealand stand in relation to the rest of the Empire? Can it be said that she is in a position to fulfil the part that might be expected of her? Or is it no t the ease that, instead of contri-

buting to the defence of the Empire, New Zealand is at present a definite liability upon those, units which are

better prepared? The Minister suggested that so long as Great Britain could hold her own with European countries New Zealand was in no danger. Is there any valid ground t'o

such an assumption, and, in any case

in view of the fact that the wliok economic structure of New Zealand i. irretrievably bound up with the safetj of the Mother Country, has the Do

minion any right to assume that Britain, unaided, should carry tin whole responsibility for defending Empire interests in other parts of the world? This is a question that max be left for consideration, but it in evitality propounds the further one that if defence obligations are to be divided among various spheres, then must not New Zealand, at the very least, be fully competent to defend hci own shores in the event of an invasion

hat is not: nearly so remote as many people would like to believe? This is the immediate problem demanding the attention of the Government, for in no branch of defence has the Dominion anything like the forces or the equipment that are urgently required. Even now attention is being' directed mainly to coastal and naval defence unci the strengthening of the air force. These things are undoubtedly necessary, but the paramount need, notwithstanding the of some Labour members, is man power. In the last resort, in the event of invasion, it will be this that will decide the fate of the country. With a reasonably sized territorial force, adequately supplemented by naval and aerial fleets. New Zealand could be so strongly defended that, any potential enemy would think twice before at-

tempting an invasion. Bo far as the navy and air force are concerned, deficiencies could be remedied by calling upon other parts of the Empire, but for its vital land power, or man power, New Zealand must depend upon its own resources, and in this respect it is weaker, perhaps, than any other country in the world. In 1914- there was a territorial strength of more than 25,000, with possibly at least an equal number that could be regarded as a. reserve. To-day the total is 9000. and of that number probably only half have had the requisite amount, of training. The real question of national defence, then, resolves itself into the provision of a strong citizen army, and it, is towards this that the country must turn its attention. The Prime Minister made a guarded reference to compulsory training, and it may yet be found that a Government which has not hesitated -to compel its industry and its workers to contribute one-fourth of their total earnings to the upkeep of the State, and t which compels men and women to enlist in industrial armies for their economic protection, will discover that it is merely a logical step to conscript its man power for the most important, and most vital cause of all—the defence of the country itself.