PACIFIC DEFENCES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19884, 10 March 1939, Page 5

PACIFIC DEFENCES

TALKS EXPECTED BRITAI N-N.Z.-AUSTRALI A EMPIRE POLICY TREND ATTITUDE TO EUROPE OPINIONS JN COMMONS (Floe. Tol. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. March 10, 9 a.m.) LONDON, March 9. An early announcement may be expected concerning an Imperial Pacific conference, to which the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand are to be panties, for discussion, on defence, air communications, trade and economics. It is believed that the talks will begin without delay between representatives of the three countries, who will already be in Australia when the announcement is mat>> During the debate in the House of Commons on the army estimates, Mr. W. S. ,Sanders (Lab., Battersea) asked what arrangements had been made with any or all of the Dominions for assistance. Own Needs First Major R. 11. Rayner replied that the Dominions might be expected to concentrate firstly on their own needs, for all had danger zones. It was for them to decide whether to join an Imperial war. Dominion, opinion did not favour sending a citizen army again to fight on a European battlefield. He added: “We cannot again depend on the Dominions to form a general reserve for .a European front. We ought to consider holding an Imperial conference to decide how the defensive policy of the Dominions can be fitted into a co-operative whole. “We feel that The Dominions, having obtained sovereignty, should assume responsibility. It is not fair to u.s, or good business for themselves, to claim freedom to decide whether to fight In a possible war and simultaneously to rely on British arms for' their defence.”

DOMINION INSTIGATION PRESSED FOR SOME TIME DENIAL OF DELAY (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. Confirmation of the cabled message from Canberra that a conference about defence was to be held between New Zealand, Australia and Britain was supplied yesterday by the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, who indicated that the conference had been called at New Zealand’s instigation. “I see by the cable message that I am charged with holding things up,” he said. “As a matter of fact, New Zealand has been pressing for this conference for some time, to discuss defence matters, ancl that has been agreed to. lam not holding anything up. I am simply asking that the three countries should make a joint statement at a time to be agreed upon between them.” DISCUSSION DECLINED AUCKLAND INQUIRIES REPLY BY MR, SAVAGE (Special to the Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day. The Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage, was interviewed by telephone to Wellington on Wednesday evening with reference to the report from Sydney that the Australian Prime Minister, Mr. J. A. Lyons, following a radio telephone talk with Mr. Savage had said that Mr. Savage was not yet ready to make a statement on the London report that a defence conference of representatives of New Zealand, Australia and Britain would be held in New Zealand, probably in March, and that Mr. Lyons therefore refused to make a statement.

Mr. Savage said he did not wish to make any comment whatever on the report. “Nobody is entitled to speak on the matter,” he said. “We are engaged on defence matters all the time, but we are not going to tell the world half-way through what we are doing. There are people in the world who would burst if they could not talk. I am not one of them.”

Mr. Savage would not say whethei a conference was to be held this month or not, adding that he did no* wish to discuss the matter at all.

W 0 CANBERRA MINISTER NEW ZEALAND ASSEMBLY (Reed. March TO, 10 a.m.) CANBERRA. March 10. The Australian Prime Minister, Mr. J. A. Lyons, staled yesterday that no Minister from Australia would attend a defence conference in New Zealand.