The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1940 New Zealand’s War

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21555, 18 January 1940, Page 6

The Timaru Herald THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 1940 New Zealand’s War

ALTHOUGH he said nothing which is not already known, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. 1 • Fraser, in his speech at Auckland on Tuesday reiterated truths which New Zealanders should keep steadily in mind. The war in Europe is not a remote happening from which the Dominion can afford in the slighest degree to stand aloof. The issue about to be fought out with Nazi Germany is of direct concern to New Zealand; it affects this country so intimately that the struggle could be taking place next door instead of 12,000 miles away. Our distance from the scene of conflict means nothing. We are saved, it is true from immediate danger, but there would be the certainty of horror and oppression if the Allies were unsuccessful in the war. Since this can be seen so clearly it is necessary that the full resources of the Dominion should lie assembled for the use of the Empire in the great cause now so unquestioningly espoused. Mr Fraser spoke only truth when lie declared that the future of New Zealand is bound tip with that of Britain. “If Britain went down,” he said, “what would become of us? Our principal market for primary produce, on which our standard of living depends to such a large extent, would be gone, and there would be something worse than Hint.” These things are generally appreciated, but it is not enough that incontrovertible facts should lie recognised. Appreciation of facts should be accompanied by resolute action. Speaking at Invercargill last night, Colonel J. 1 largest, commander of the second echelon of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, expressed a fear that the war was being taken too cheaply. The democracies, he said, had been intent upon increasing their standard of living, while Nazi Germany has been making enormous sacrifices to support the challenge now being made to the civilised world. It is necessary only to recall the quality of the resistance provided by Germany in the Great War to understand what capacity it has for testing its opponents. Here and there a few comforting gleams are to be seen, lint on the whole it is evident Hint a bitter and perhaps sadly protracted struggle lies ahead. New Zealand, therefore, is not fulfilling its responsibility unless it makes its maximum contribution to the effort of the freedom-loving countries. Of course, it is possible for agile debaters to say that if this line or that had been followed in foreign policy in the past there would have been no war now, but in the present crisis such argument is meaningless. The Empire is at war with Germany. The Allies or the Nazis are going to be victorious, but if freedom is to continue the Allies must win. The Dominion is already making some contribution to the cause, but whether it is the greatest possible is another matter. The direction of our effort, of course, is the sole responsibility of the Government, and it is so serious a responsibility that the time is rapidly approaching when it will have to consider whether collaboration from outside the Labour Party might not be helpful. The best preliminary to increased effort would be to resume the adjourned session of Parliament without delay. After Parliament has discussed certain questions the Government may have less difficulty with its future war policy.