THREAT OF WAR.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20276, 10 April 1934, Page 6

THREAT OF WAR.

“ Europe Seething With Hate and Mistrust.” REAR-ADMIRAL’S VIEWS. (Special to the ** Star.”) NEW PLYMOUTH. April 9. "The- world is at the parting of the ways; the lessons of the Great War have not been learned; we must now rearm and stand prepared, or go under,” declared Rear Admiral F.‘ Burges Watson, D. 5.0., commanding the New Zealand Division of the Royal Navy, v to the New Plymouth Rotary Club to-day. Not since the years just before 1914 had the general international situation been more unsettled, or fraught with so many dangers, he said. The British Empire had done its very best to preach 'and practice co-opera-tion. Europe had chosen' the bad old way which led to anarchy. Japan was reaching a dangerous state with a rapidly increasing population which she could not feed entirely from her own resources and had no outlet fqT them. She was like Germany in 1914. "The last year has been memorable and anyone with half an eye open must be feeling uneasy,” he said. After the war Great Britain gave the world a lead. It joined the League of ! Nations and did its very best to breathe the breath of life’into it. It had preached and practised disarmament and worked for the liquidation of war debts, for a broader outlook than narrow Nationalism, freer trade and less restrictions of all kinds between Rations. Co-operation, not isolation, had been its aim. It had been a failure. Europe seethed to-day with hates and mistrust and now at the present *time, with possible outbreaks of all kinds in every part of the world, Great ■Britain was .facing this situation with a navy greatly belcw the strength required for trade protection. In 1914 it had 114 cruisers and that was none .too many, for 568 British, Allied and merchant ships were sunk in ■the first year. By September, 1917, 41 were employed on convoy work -in the Atlantic alone. By 1936, said Rear Admiral Burges Watson, Britain would have only. 50 cruisers and many of them would be obsolescent. In 1914, it had 146,000 officers and men; now, it had 90,300, -the lowest number since 1895-96. Since 1914 its naval tonnage had been deby 47 per cent. In money, Britain’s naval estimates had decreased by about £4,000,000 since 1924, whilst those of other signatories to the Washington and London Naval . Treaties had increased by £28,500,000. The personnel of the United States navy was now 115,200 and that of Japan 87,000. These figures spdke for themselves. “Nothing astonishes me mote than the way the political cry of tfce intolerable: burden of armaments is accepted by the people, who do.not ey.en trouble to look into the budgetary r figures that are easily obtainable,” he ndded. “The Bill for the navy alone in Britain is £1 8s per head of population. The value of the overseas trade of Great Britain in 1925 was £2,000,000,000 and therefore, on a navy estimate of £50,000,000, they were paying 24 per cent per annum insurance. In New Zealand, you pay 12s per head for all three fighting services. You pay £2 8s per head for education alone. Where is the intolerable burden of armaments?" At a meeting of representatives of the Sumner Borough Council, Returned Soldiers’ Association; and local churches, held in the Sumner Borough Council Chambers, the following arrangements were made for the Anzac Day Service to be held at Sumner. Addresses, the Mayor, Mr W. H. Nich-; olson and representatives of the Re-, turned Soldiers’ Association; prayer, Rev T. T. Wallis; Scripture reading, Rev W. A. Orange; address. Rev W. R. Martin; closing prayer, Rev T, T. Wallis; Benediction, Rev W. A. 9 Orange. The Last Post will be sounded by two cadet buglers from Christ- _ church.

In moving a vote of thanks to the Christchurch City Council at the annual meeting of the Somerfield Burgesses’ Association last evening, the chairman (Mr R. Jones) said that the council had their way of doing its business and the association had their way, but in all its dealings, the council had given them every facility, and had treated the association with much kindness.