NEW ZEALAND PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 463, 23 March 1909, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND PRESS OPINIONS.

THE AUCKLAND "HERALD." Un TIMtOBAPH.—BFICtJU. COIIIIKSPQNDINT.) Atioklnnd, March 22. Tho "Herald" to-morrow will say in tho course of its leader: — "The prompt and spontaneous action of tho Cabinet in offering to tho Imperial Government a first-class battleship, with another to follow, if required, deserves, and will rcceive, tho unanimous approval and unqualified endorsement of tho Dominion. Every man and woman in Now Zealand must to-day feci relieved at the knowledge that our kinsmen at Homo aro informed thaMhey will not bo left to bear alono tho stupendous burden of our common naval defcnco, but that as far as we are concerned wo recogniso our interests and our obligations, and aro ready to do all that lies in our power for the maintenance of tho naval superiority upon which tho peace, tho prosperity, and tho independence of tho British Empire primarily depend. Tho action of our Government could be justified by sentiment alono, but we Jleed not appeal to sentiment in order to persuade one another that tho step wo instinctively approvo is a step which ought to have been taken. Tho situation is so grave, that, without being alarmist, it may bo fairly termed critical. All responsible statesmen in the Imperial Parliament agree upon this, irrespective of party. We may therefore reasonably assume tliat the situation is even more serious than appears on tho surface, although the visible facts aro grave enough for us. To give a Dreadnought at a cost of about a million and a half is for us to pay an additional £60,000 yearly for peace insurance. For us to give tionar£l2n°nnn hts if for n to pay an addi " Wf It; , woult l Pay us to givo «finnnn Zen '^i re n ?l! ghts at a cost of " £360,000 annually, rather than see a Ger- , man led combination overpower the British Navy and strike the Empire at its heart. If anything will check German combination, , if anything will persuade tho greatest mill- l tary power in Europe that the sea is English and English must remain, it is the un- I solicited rallying of the British colonies round their Mother Country. j THE CHRISTCHURCH "PRESS." ! Ibt riLEOKAi-n.—spaciAi. COr:f.Ksr-riNTi KrfT.J „ p „ Chrlstchurch, March 22. ' ~ ® , say that there is no question that Sir Joseph Ward's offer will be 1 received at Home with enthusiasm, as a splendid display of patriotism on the part ! Hfci ol^ B country which has only just com- , plctod its first million of population. Its *" moral effect in strengthening the hand of the Mother _ Country cannot fail to be ; great, especially if the example, is fol-. c lowed by other portions of the - Empire. The "Press r ' does not think for one moment that the contribution is too largo for New Zealand to make. The money will have to be borrowed in London and the loan would go off like wildfire if it is raised at 3} per cent., it will mean a permanent addition to our naval contribution of £70,000 a year, bringing tho total up to £170,000 . This amounts to less than 3s. 6d. per head of population, whereas the people of Great Britain pay 15s. per head per annum. The article urges, however ■that Parliament should have been specially called..together to consider a step of such importance. It admits that, if the moral effect is to have full value, the • action must be prompt, but tho mere fact that the New Zealand Parliament was being specially "convened, would havo been sufficient proof of the earnestness and patriotism of the New Zealand people. If Parliament at once agreed to tho proposal, with practical unanimity, as would have been the case, the moral effect -would have far exceeded a mere offer of Government made without Parliamentary authority. Finally, th-- "Press" says:—"lt. is more., than ever fitting that " the maintenance of the security of the Empire must not be allowed to rest on the chance impulso of a patriotism which may move its component parts when a crisis arrived. Whether the' Empire is linked to- C gether by preferential trade or not, its dexenco ought to be mado a federal affair. It also hopes that our.' own Government and Parliament, having made this money offer. + will not consider that they have done all + that is required of them. Far more important than contributions of money for I Dreadnoughts is the organisation of our own l defences on a. sound, economical, and effec- i tivo footing. Our young men must take a „ personal share in the defence of the coun- ! try, and they may rest assured that, in so I doing, they are rendering most effective aid in the defence of the Empire. "LYTTELTON TIMES." r [BT TELEQKAPiI—SI'ECIAL CORRESPONDENT.! * Chrlstchurch, March 22. The "Lyttelton Times," after expressing warm approval of the offer of a warship to the. Mother Country, and suggesting that the cost of the vessel should be defrayed bv special taxation designed to extinguish the debt ih twenty years will say: Sir Joseph Ward had simply.taken a broad view of his national responsibilities. The shipbuilding programme of the Imperial Government has proved inadequate, and New Zealand, conscious that in all these years she has left her share of the burden of defence to the Mother Country, js grateful that the opportunity has occurred in time of peace for an emphatic recognition of her'duty. The announcement of the gift will bo an impressivo reminder to tho world that the people of Britain's oversea Dominions are Britons, to be counted upon as Britons at all times, and that even the smallest of the selfgoverning colonies is prepared to undertake a heavy burden in defence of the Empire OTAGO DAILY TIMES. (BY TELEGRAPH—SPECIAI. CORRESPONDENT) Du.isdin, March 22. The "Otago Daily Times" will express the belief, in its leader in the morning, that had Mr. Seddon been alive some such offer as the Government is now making woulcj have been 1 made by him immediately on receipt of the intelligence that tho "Daily Telegraph" suggested that Australia should undertake to supply the Admiralty with a Dreadnought. Tho frankly unconstitutional course pursued by the Government of committing the country to a heavy liability, in the expectation of Parliament sanctioning it, is one which the Federal Premier would probably hesitate to adopt. Still, Mr. Fisher has struck the obviously true noto, when ho says all tho resources of the Commonwealth would bo at tho disposal of tho Imperial authorities "in the event of an international difficulty. The integrity of tho Empire must bo pre- " served at all hazards, and at whatever cost. No sacrifices that may be demanded of a British community, wherever found, must be counted too great when this is tho object in view. Whether circumstances havo arisen that seriously imperil tho stability c of tho Empire is a question upon which it j cannot bo pretended colonial opinion is of ( any real value. After deprecating hysterics, and agreeing that the colonies must accept their due sliaro of the bunrsn entailed in strengthening the fleet to tho extent that may be required bv this exigencies of tho situation, the "Times" concludes: Whether

tho necessities of the caso aro sitcli as really to justify an offer of such generosity as that mado by tho Government of the Dominion, wo cannot pretend to judge. Tho (lovernment has opportunities denied to tho man in the street of gauging tho position, anil no doubt it will bo prepared in this instance to accept coniplcto responsibility lor its action.