The Star. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1906. THE PREMIER AND DEFENCE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8793, 3 December 1906, Page 2

The Star. MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1906. THE PREMIER AND DEFENCE.

* At Invercargill last the Premier signalised his "first appearanoe*' as Minister of Defence with a very com-' monsenee speech on the question, of the colony's defences. Sir Joseph "Ward evidently pl&arly Tealiaes the duty T?hioh New Zealand owes to both the Empire and itself in the matter pf self-protec-tion. He recognises that, to enabla it to perform this duty properly, th« colony should possess a thoroughly organised and equipped Volunteer force. This fact has been admitted by ma,nj New Zealand Defence Ministers, and yet it cannot be said the colony possesses a force which is either thor--oughly organised or properly equipped. But the Premier is a business man y before everything else, and perhaps this fact will prompt him to place the Yplu*»r teer forces on, a sound and businesslike footing. Doubtleee he realises thftt we have the material, but that material, unlees it be efficiently organised^ is of little real value in the event of war. We miss in the Premier's remarks, ainyallusion. to harbour defences. Can. it be that Sir Joseph is not a believer inthis form of protect jon ; or is he eg ashamed of the colony's existing fortifications that he thinks the less said about them the better P Hie silence in this respect is the more significant because he spoke freely and at length re* garding New Zealand's responsibility irt the matter of naval defenoe. '■* It waa' important," he declared, "that th« colony should help Britain to have a, : Navy more than twice as strong as wan being talked about. The Navy should be so powerful ao to make it impossible! for any two countries to conspire to attack England, or dare to attack fox fear of their own decimation. What was involved in the. question ? In. New Zealand alone there were hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of property owned by the people and by tlie Etni. pire, which would have to be defended] in case of war. . . .If they were called upon to preserve the integrity of their country, whai; they had to rely on -were the watch-dogs of the British Navy. As ccmmonsense people, it waa our duty not only to give assistance, but to let the Empire see that the people, were behind the men who voiced the colony's determination to. dp ita duty, and give a" reasonable contribution for the maintenance and support of the Navy, and for its future increase. Where might the war of the. future oo» cur? Out in. these seas? Nothing of the kind. It might occur in the Mediterranean or the Pacific, perhapa 15,000 miles away, and yet the colony . might be indirectly and sometimes directly involved. The people's duty was to ensure that the ships round the Old Land ajid, on the outlying coasts were not only sufficient in number, but aleo in calibre, to enable them to stand against any combination of two Powers, or three, should the necessity arise.'*AH this is perfectly true. But the Premier might have added, with equal propriety, that not only is it to the Navy ' that the colony must look for its first line of defenoe, but it is to the Navy that it must always turn to. keep open its trade routes. Theh breakdown of the Navy would entail far more serious consequence than al raid on our coasts, which could be repulsed if our land forces were pre* $ated. It wAuld mean the completa" dislocation of our trade with the Mother Country. To the latter this mightf mean, starvation, and to the colony^ it would bring financial and commercial disaster. No doubt this aspect of the question has not been overlooked by the Premier, and he will lay special emphasis on it when the question of Imperial defence is discussed at the next Colonial Conference.