Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, SATURDAY, FEB. 13, 1937. BRITISH REARMAMENT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19248, 13 February 1937, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, SATURDAY, FEB. 13, 1937. BRITISH REARMAMENT

yesterday's announcement of tlit intention of the British Government to seek authority to borrow a niaxi mum of £400,000,000 in the next five years for defence purposes was not unexpected. .Much as the British Empire is anxious for peace and (lis-

armament, its policy must to a very large extent be governed by the

actious of other Powers. As Sii Samuel Hoave reminded an audience at Birmingham yesterday, a groat

empire that is also weak is a menace

to stability and a temptation to an aggressor. At the present time it would bo futile to deny that there are potential aggressors in the world, and it is (.'opinion knowledge that some of Ihom are concent rating even' effort on the building up of their forces. If they are permitted to obtain any marked superiority in strength, there: can bo little doubt that war will fol-

low. In other words, the only way to prevent Avar tinder the ruling conditions is to demonstrate that Great Britain and the Empire are prepared to deal with any attack that might be launched. This is the basis of British policy and the justification of the heavy expenditure that is now being contemplated, and there can be little reason to quarrel with either. ft is doubtless true, as the Leader of the Opposition has pointed out, that the proposals are without precedent in times of peace and that they have a serious import, but it is even more true that there was never any other time 'in history when international relations were .so charged with the elements of war. This is the main fact that has to bo faced, and for the Labour Parly to oppose expenditure on defence is to deliberately ignore realities—the same realities as those

referred to by the president of the party when lie stated recently that if a Labour Government were in power ir would be compelled to embark on a

p/ogranime of heavy rearmament. As a matter of fact, the Government 's present proposal can hardly bo said to involve heavy expenditure if the amount is contrasted with those being spent by other Powers. At first sight, £400,000,000 might seem to bo a staggering sum, lint it is necessary that it. should bo carefully analysed, and if this is done it will at once be realised that it is so relatively small that it seems to bo inevitable that there must be further large additions before the defence programme is completed. The £400,000,000 does not purport to be the cost of the new programme, but is merely the limit of funds that can be borrowed in the next five years, and i.s thus equal to only £80,000,000' a year. This figure may still appear to be large, but it has to bo remembered

that when the expenditure was reduced to the minimum a few years ago it exceeded £100,000,000. Since then, of course, it has steadily increased. Last year it amounted to approximately £137,000,000, and the estimates for Ihe current financial year provided for nearly £170,000,000 to be spent out of ordinary revenue. Thus it will be seen that the borrowing powers which it is proposed to take are equal to only about half the ordinary expenditure allowed for this year. Combining the two sources, the total amount available for defence would only-be about £250,000,000 per annum, and it is apparent that this would not be sufficient to ensure for Great Britain the superiority that is essential to her continued economic existence and, equally, to the , peace of the world.

In any consideration of British expenditure, it is necessary also to consider that of other countries. In most eases, details are difficult to obtain, since much secrecy is being observed. It has never been denied. however, that Germany is spending as much a.s £800,000,000 a year on armaments, while Japan and Russia are. both devoting more than half their total expenditure to this cause. Most othor countries, incidentally, have been borrowing for armament* for some time, 'whereas . Britain hitherto, has me*t all her requirement: out of revenue and even in the present year has not used as much as 2" per cent of her expenditure for de fence purposes. Here, two important points emerge, and they may be a vital factor in the armaments race The first is that while other countries have been exhausting their capital resources and subordinating everything else to the building up of armaments. British defence expenditure has been met out of ordinary revenue and then has been no entrenching on reserves and no general interference with the ordinary industry of the nation. This means, in effect, that just when most nations have exhausted their resources and their efforts, Great Britain is only making a start, and can logically bo oxpected,. therefore, to outlast any of the others. This, perhaps, is what Sir Samuel Hoare had in mind when'he said that "though j we may be late in starting, we arc remarkable for the way we eventually reach the winning post." The second point that is deserving of notice is. that every step taken by Great Britain is subject to the consent and approval of Parliament and therefore, of the people. Up till now every penny spent on armaments has been authorised in the ordinary way when the estimates are passed by Parliament, while even the authority to borrow £400,000,000 over a period of five years will not relieve the Government of the responsibility of showing all items of expenditure in the estimates. On the other hand, in countries where dictatorships exist no information is divulged and the people are never consulted; thoy are expected unquestioning!}' to make the sacrifices involved without knowing the object; or the reason of tlieni. Again the advantage is with Great Britain, for where the people have been taken fully into the confidence of the Government and consulted at every step, there is infinitely less prospect of internal discord than in cases where the people are not consulted at all and know not the reasons for the oppressive demands that are made upon them.