The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1920. THE PROBLEMS OF DEFENCE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 130, 26 February 1920, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1920. THE PROBLEMS OF DEFENCE

A genuine lead in' progress towards world peace is -given by the British Government.in its decision to abolish conscription at the end of March and cut down its military establishment 46 the cxt-ent indicated by the Secretary of State for War in his, speech on the Army Estimates. As an outline of policy Mr. 'CirtjncHiiii's speech reflects at many points the enormous changes in armaments and in problems of defence that have occurred since the outbreak of war. He stated'amongst other things that he favoured "a steady increase of the Air Force at the expense, of the. Army and.Navy, but only in proportion as the- Air •Force was able, to discharge from day to day the duties now performed-• by'the Army and Navy." Pointing, as it-does to a belief in the ultimate! and not distant supremacy of the. Air Force, this in itself marks a .wonderful transformation of the. conditions which obtained in 1914. The- speech is most impressive, however, in the evidence it affords thai Britain; is prepared to go to all lengths Consistent with reasonable jirudcnce, and even to take soma, risks, in facilitating the re-estab-lishment of settled peace. There ibroom for just pride in the fact that' Britain alone of the Great Powers which are free to make their own decision has thus far decided upon the.immediate abolition.of conscription. Her decision will give added strength to the forces of peaceful reconstruction at-home and abroad. Whatever measures of defence policy the British Government decided upon were almost certain to be attacked from opposite extremes. It is not surprising, therefore, that Mr. Spoor declared in the House of Commons that the Government's policy regarding the Army was "a terrible disappointment to the Labour Party." No doubt exponents of an opposite opinion have arisen or will arise to assert that on tho contrary the Government is taking undno risks and endangering the safety of the nation. .At a moderate and unprejudiced view the Government seems to be showing courage and enterprise in shaping a policy adapted to the times. In its policy it is. giving heed to the progress of inven tion "and the development of new. forms of warfare. At the same timo, it is frankly rejecting any idea of maintaining in being, the great forco that conceivably may be required in some future emergency. Briefly: (stated, the new British scheme of defence is to maintain strong' covering frrces-Uhe Air Force taking.. like the Navy, an important place inj this category—and an efficient nucleus, tlie existence of which jwild, make it possible in an emergency, to organise rapidlv the large latent; reserve of trained manhood, and ample war materials, which,_ as Mr., Churchill observed, Britain will have at call for some years to come. These arrangements will provide 'a narrower margin of security _ than some would desire to see established. On- tho other hand, they ought tobn consistent with such a concentration .of national resources on peaceful development as in Britain and else-: where is a vital condition of future welfare and prosperity. As he is reported. Mr. Churchill alluded only very briefly to the re : sponsibiliticß of the Dominions in mattcri of Imperial defence. What cvactlv he meant by the statement that the Dominions "contemplated reproducing a number of divisions from their very fine military material" is not clear. Each Dominion will, of course, deal independently with its defence problems and preparations, though full # provision must be mad" for co-ordination between different parts of the Empire. In New Zealand at present the whole nuc'stion of national defence" is shrouded in 'considerable uncertainty, and it is very necessary that the essential* of a sound defence policy should be determined as soon as possible. Two leading considerations command attention at the outset. In view of the unsettled state of the world and uncertain outlook it, is a- matter of imperative urgency that adequate provision should be made for national defence; at the same time such heavy calls are being and will be made on national resources that a careful guard must be kept over even what may seem necessary defence expenditure. It ought not to be impossible, within tho limits thus set, to shape a thoroughly sound defence policy for the Dominion. There arc some demands that quite obviously must be met. New Zealand is bound, for instance, to make an adequate contribution to the naval strength of the Empire, but the amount and form of this contribution cannot yet be determined. A tentative lead has been given in Admiral Viscount Jrllicoe's report, but it is not yet clear that his views command such acceptance in Great Britain as would j warrant their acceptance by the Dominions. The problems of land and I air , defence-' as they arise in this country are at the moment in somewhat 'clearer shape. than that of naval defence. The Dominion undoubtedly must maintain a competent military Staff,- kept in close touch', by exchange of officers and otherwise, with developments abroad Such a Staff can cover be improvised hastily. It- must be maintained at all times 'in readiness for an emergency. Tho extent to which it is necessary to provide for the continuous training of skilled specialists of subordinate rank must be loftlargely to expert determination, but', apart'from what may be necessary in this direction, and, of course, the maintenance of the Staff, a system of .light military training ought to, suffice for the time lining. Every-1 ' thing possible must be done to de- j

velop the nucleus of an air force, but some inevitable limits are set by local conditions, and others may bo set by considerations of finance. Something is already being attempted in this direction, but much, of course, remains undone. One of the most obvious lines of advance is to develop on systematic lines the construction of aeroplane bodies. Apart from the engines, which must be imported, the aeroplanes the Dominion needs as an important clement in its defensive organisation ought to be manufactured in its own factories. The central determination here, as in Great Britain, must be to take a reasonable middle course in defence policy. The Dominion like the Mother Country, will for some years have a latent reserve to depend upon should another emer gciiey like that of 1914 arise—a reserve of experienced officers and men who would valuably stiffen any force that had to be improvised. A policy of moderate defence preparation is. at the same time warranted on the broadest grounds. Making reasonable provision for national security, it is justified in part by the hope that the present world disorders may, as time goes on, give place to conditions in which the need of maintaining, national armaments will decline to a minimum.