Military Comparisons.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 368, 9 March 1932, Page 6

Military Comparisons.

To the Editor. Dear Sir,—Viscount Snowden, whilst delivering his recent Budget speech, stated that 15s out of every £1 passing through the Chancellor’s office went to pay for past wars and to prepare for the next. The New Zealand Welfare League has noted that Great Britain has eighty soldiers to the hundred square kilometres, whilst the Soviet Union has only thirteen. The tremendous burden of maintaining Britain's armed forces, and meeting debts incurred by past wars (amounting to three-quarters of the revenue) does not include the armed forces of the Pominions, although it does include four R.A.F. squadrons in Mesopotamia and six R A F. squadrons in Egypt and Palestine, which are supported by all the modern weapons of warfare—tanks, military aeroplanes, etc. In addition, the Indian forces (not including the native soldiers) are eight R.A.F. squadrons, five regiments of cavalry and forty-five infantry battalions, with a preponderance of “ bombers ” in the air forces. The Welfare League should be impressed at the numerical insignificance of the Soviet Army of 560,000. When the Dominions’ forces are added to those of Britain, the Empire Forces still further dwarf the Red Army. The New Zealand £IOO,OOO grant to the Singapore Base is just one small item of our own military expenditure, which, let us hope, like the Soviet’s small military forces, shall be used absolutely for defensive purposes only.—l am, etc., A.C.E.