BRITISH ARMY

Southland Times, Issue 21649, 10 March 1932, Page 7

BRITISH ARMY

REDUCED ESTIMATES SAVING OVER THREE MILLIONS CAMP TRAINING CANCELLED (British Official Wireless.) Rugby, March 8. The Army Estimates presented in the House of Commons to-day by the Financial Secretary to the War Office, Mr A. Duff Cooper, showed that the amount asked for was £36,488,999, a saving of £3,442,000 on the sum voted last year. This reduction was achieved by drastic economies and the suspension of many essential Army services. One economy of £1,000,000 was obtained by cancelling the Territorial Army annual camp training, a saving that cannot be repeated next year. Mr Duff Cooper recalled that his Labour predecessor at the War Office, in presenting the Estimates last year, stated that economies had been carried to the utmost practical limit. Nevertheless, the Army Council had been requested to meet the special call for economy by saving £3,500,000 and this year’s Estimates must, therefore, not be taken as a standard to which future Estimates could be expected to conform. He paid a special tribute to the small British force now bearing a grave responsibility in Shanghai. The members of this force were performing difficult duties in a spirit worthy Of the Army’s best traditions. The British soldier in Shanghai, as in other places in the past, had shown himself one of the best ambassadors for peace. Major C. R. Attle (Labour) said that despite all reductions the nation was still spending hundreds of millions yearly on the fighting services, which was an indication of the general insanity with which world affairs were being conducted seeing that all nations had renounced war.

Mr L. S. Amery (Conservative) said the statements of the Admiralty and War Office showed that our defence equipment was entirely inadequate. We must face the facts. Years of delusion had nearly ended in disaster, as the situation in the Far East was more eloquent than evasive formulas and fictions. Our jxiwer to contribute to world peace was going to depend in future as in the past, on our armec strength. Any undue weakness on our part would bring war nearer.