The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1913. NAVAL DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1923, 4 December 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1913. NAVAL DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE.

The debate which took place in the Mouse of .Representatives yesterday on the Naval Defence Bill" showed that members fully realise tho far-reaching importance of the proposals contained in the measure. The Government is not asking Parliament to sanction a great increase in expenditure or some ambitious and extravagant shipbuilding scheme; but_ special significance of the occasion consists in trie fact that it is proposed to make a new departure in the Naval policy of New Zealand. Wc have arrived at a parting of the ways, and are reconsidering the whole position. It is not merely a question of meeting the needs of the moment, but of fixing the direction of future developments. The Government is of opinion that the time has arrived when New Zealand must come to a decision as to the part it is going to play in the defence of the Empire. Arc wo_ going to take an actual and visible share of the burden' on our own shoulders, or are we going to rid ourselves of direct responsibility by paying an annual subsidy to tlie British Government, and then wash our hands of the matter 1 The Minister of Defence (Mr. James Allex), in his speech on ; the second reading of the Bill yesterday, made it quite clear that the Government favours the former alternative in preference to the ignoble position of paying somebody else so much a year to relieve us of our manifest duty as regards th? defence of the Empire. It is very hard for a- self-respecting New Zealander to accept the subsidy system as a_ settled policy, however justifiable it may have been as a temporary expedient until the Dominion was in a position to lay the foundations of a ■ permanent N.ival scheme. With tho rapid increase of its oversea commerce, and its growing sense of the responsibilities of nationhood, New Zealand now feels that the time has come, for taking a more direct interest in the Navy'by training her own men, and having more control over tho expenditure of her own money.

Sir Joseph Waud did his host, to show that (lie proposals of i;ho Goveminent were dangerous, but ho could only support this contention by vague hints and remote possibilities. His declaration in favour of one Navy was finite beside the mark in view of the faet that the Government proposals do not mean a divided Navy. On the contrary, every possible precaution is taken to preserve the unity of the fleet. In case of war, New Zealand's Miv.il fores would pass automatically under Imperial control, and even in times of peace, whenever the British Government thought it necessary, the same thing may be,done by proclamation. Of course, nothing more than a modest beginning is possible at the present stage of the Dominion's history, and it is very poor criticism to belittle the Government's scheme on that account. It must be judged not merely by its beginnings, but also find mainly by what it is capable of becoming. Any proposal wortliv of serious consideration must look to the future as well as to (lie present: but it i", of the greatest importance that the start should be made on

right lines. The problem crust be considered both from the point of view of' the Dominion and' of lli<> Empire, for both must stand or Fall together. Mis. Ai.i.kx was in a position to assure the House that (lie Tiritish Government can and will do all that is necessary in the way of Naval defence in the North Sea'and the Mediterranean, and whatever New Zealand may do will mean an increase in "the mavgiu of safety as far as tin! Empire is concerned.* It will also foster Hint Naval s,e:iliment and seuse of direct personal

responsibility which in the long run v.'ill have a move potent influence than any system of Naval conlrihutions. The proposals of the Government should be regarded as the fi:.st definite forward movement, as far as New Zealand is concerned, in the evolution of a comprehensive system of Nav.il defence, in which every ;virt of the Empire will shoulder its share of the responsibility, both as regards men and money." The Bill now before Parliament does not provide for a complete and fully-de-veloped scheme. It lays down certain fundamental principles, and takes the first steps towards the gradual realisation of a great ideal.