CLAIMS CONTRADICTED

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 58, Issue 4188, 24 May 1939, Page 7

CLAIMS CONTRADICTED

LABOUR POLICY ATTACKED. The Government’s defence policy was vigorously attacked by Mr J Hargest, National M.P. for Awarua, when speaking at Matamata on Monday night. A member of the Otago Regiment during the war, Mr Hargest was promoted from the ranks to the position of colonel. His decorations include the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross. “Mr Savage and the members of his party claim to have done twice as much as any previous Government, but it is not correct,” said Mr Hargest. “A simple reference W> the numbers of men trained in previous years gives proof of this. In 191314, 25,684 men were in training, in 1925-26 22,039, in 1927 22,483. in 1937-38 7112, and at the present time there are somewhere about 9000 men belonging to the defence units. In the technical units, which requires inten-sive-training over a long period, the position is bad. There were 3978 artillery men in 1925-26, and, 1170 last year. There were 'Bll engineers in 1925-26, and 241 last year. It will take a long time to make up the leeway in this training. “The members of the Labour Party, including nearly all the present Ministers of the Crown, opposed defence expenditure consistently in all the years they were in opposition,” Mr Hargest continued. “They opposed the expenditure on the Singapore Base, which they are so glad to lean on now.”