The Dominion SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1913. NEW ZEALAND AND DEFENCE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1669, 8 February 1913, Page 4

The Dominion SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1913. NEW ZEALAND AND DEFENCE.

In our issue of yesterday we suggested that tho enemies of the Government had, by their recent tactics, made it necessary that the new Labour Federation should enable tho old U.L.P. to say definitely where it stands in relation to our defenoe system. .It is necessary mow that the remnant of tho old "Liberal" party should also define its position. Tho Government has no reason to bo otherwise than pleased that its enemies havo plunged themselves very deeply, into the mire by backing up tho. avowed 1 enemies of our defence system as their allies against political reform. F.or our own part, we • aro sorry that in the depth of their bitterness the supporters of the old Government should so imprudently have decided to make the pretence that New Zealand is 'not heart arid eoul with the Minister for Defence in everything he has said or dono in this matter. There is no further occasion to deal very seriously with tho strange and doplorablo endeavours of the Opposition press to misrepresent Mk. Allen's admirable reiteration of the references he maile to a New Zealand expeditionary force on December 11. It is sufficient to say that these critics will in a very s hort time be sorry that they have made for themselves /a mountain of discredit. The few honest people whom they may have misled will ver.y soon realise that they have been misled, and will draw the natural conclusion.. .

, _ In its issue of yesterday, the Evening Post, which has treated, with proper contempt the ludicrous and discreditable criticisms of the Opposition .press, made some references to Mr.Massey which do him a real inr justice. Mr. Massey is quoted as having supplied to his colleague's statement, a gloss unwarranted by facts and indefensible from the standpoint of statesmanship. A fragment of the Prime Minister's speech is quoted, but thero is no mention of tho fact , that Ms. Massey, in concluding his first oomment, warmly re-echoed the hope expressed by his colleague. It is, surely, too bad that tho Prime Minister should be violently attacked by the H-Rcforra press for supporting the plain and straightforward: utterance of his colleague, and attacked by so good a friend, of tho defence system, and so sensible a defender of Mni Allen's - spceeh, as the Evening Post, for having left his colleague in the lurch. So much it is necessary, in justice no'less to our defence system than to Mb. MasSey, to say. , In. the meantime wo are steadfastly refused any courageous and straightforward statement by any member or leader either of the new Labour Federation or of the old _ Spoils group. Mr. A. M. Myf.rs is the only ex-member of the late Ministry who has bad;a word to say, and he promptly approved and_ endorsed Mr. .Allen's statement in London. The Russells and Laurensons and the rest of them have kept silence, and have left a few anti-Reform newspapers to carry, on a violent campaign against 'jifn. Allen in the hope of keeping in the good graces of the Labour bosses, 1 who condemned our whole dofenco isystem. _This is a bigger price—this, anti-national ' apostftey—than wo thought even tho old Spoils captains would pay for the support of Mn, Semple and "Professor" Mills and their intimates.- But the attitudo of the Labour leaders is of far greater interest than that of tho other party to "the new combination," and the old members of the U.L.P. 'Executive, as well as tho members of the Trades and Labour Councils, maintain a scared silence. We are told _to : day that tho "Wellington District Labour Council" (this is Mr. M'Laren's Council, if we are not mistaken) endorse the protest of Mr._ Semple and "Professor" Mills against the idea of an expeditionary force, but do so "on the understanding that it in ,no way commits those favouring the compulsory clauses of tho Dofence Act to any apparent departure from the principle of that measure." One is glad to find that somefrhore, buried away in the new combination with tho Spoils party, thero arc some who shrink from opposing the Defonco Act oponly. One would bo still more glad to know how theso people, and' how the Opposition press and politicians, can reconcilo their allegiance to tho Federation which frankly proclaims its hostil-ity-to the defence system in all its parts, with any professed anxiety not to oppose the Act. From the sordid case of "tho new combination" it is pleasant to turn to tho cable news.. Wc are given today some further particulars respecting- tho departure of the battleship New Zealand on her tour of the Empire. It is unfortunate that our Australian cousins should feol that Australia's 'notable scrvico in tho cause of Imperial defence appears to be slighted by the enthusiasm over tho dispatch of tho Now Zealand. It is not unnatural, however; but New Zealand feels very proud of her cousin, and nobody nqre would dream of saying • that Australia's work is not wortbior than ours. If all this made sore reading for _ some supra-sensitive Australians, it must have been -very painful indeed to the Federation leaders, for quite another reason. And very painful too, for the Oppositionists who arc fostering "the now combination" with tho Socialist Federation, must bo tho news that

Sir Joseph Ward has said in Lon.

don that "practically every man and woman in New Zealand favour compulsory military service." Ho does not know that his lato allies and supporters havo bound themselves hand and foot to tho ring of Labour bossos who havo denounced the dcfcnco system. His statement will como as a cold douche to those of his old supporters who, in their anxiety to go any longth in opposing tho Reform Government, havo contrived that "Liberalism now stands committed to union with those "progressives" who havo sentenced to death that defenco system

which Sir Joseph Waiid says, and quite truly, is favoured by practicnlly every man and woman in thp Dominion.