PATRIOTISM AND DEFENCE

Taranaki Daily News, 28 April 1930, Page 9

PATRIOTISM AND DEFENCE

MILITARY OFFICER’S PLEA.

By Telegraph.—Press Association.

Palmerston North, Last Night.

’ At the annual reunion of the Wellington Regiment the chairman (Lieutenant W. Perry, Wellington) criticised the lip patriotism of persons buying foreign goods instead of British, and spoke in no uncertain terms of certain war books recently published. “We have quite a lot of lip patriotism in New Zealand and other countries of the British Empire,” ’he said. “We have lip patriotism which makes New Zealanders buy foreign instead of British goods, helping to scuttle our Fleet and provide money for other nations to build fleets, which one day they may perhaps use against us. Also, since the war we have a flood of dirty war books which -represent the men in the trenches as behaving like animals. Although we say it ourselves,- we know that the men did not behave like animals.”

The subject of the cancellation of territorial camps was also referred to, and returned men were urged to set 'their faces against any move to abolish compulsory training. General H. Hart, Colonel W. H. Cunningham and Lieutenant Perry all appealed to those present to use their influence against any such move. "A nation that is not prepared to pay for its defence in time of peace deserves to got it in the neck in time of war,” said one speaker.