DEFENCE NEEDS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 201, 20 May 1920, Page 4

DEFENCE NEEDS

CANNOT BE NEGLECTED

MR. MASSEY ON WAR PROSPECTS

"We cannot allow this country to gowithout defence," said the Prime Minister at the annual dinner of the Dental Association last night. "Defence expenditure is one of tho calls that we have got to face. Some people say that we should close down on defence expenditure, and' trust to the League of Nations. They fifty that thoro is not going to be another war for thirty or forty years. A year or eighteen months ago I thought that wo might be able to depend upon the League of Nations. I think it would b:> a. splendid thing if the nations could join together to put an end to war. But I don't like the look of things to-day. We. see today two of the most powerful nations in tho world, one a, member of tho League and the other outside the League,' building the biggest and most powerful warships the world has ever seen. They, are not building these ships for holiday purposes. I don't want to suggest what those ships arc being built for. I don't think they are being built to turn against the ships of our Empire. I hope not and 'believe not. But they arc 'being bw!t. • "Ton read in Hie cablegrams the other <Tay tlia* the great Krupp works in Ger-' many are employing an even larger irum-' ber of men now than they employed before tho war. What are'they doing it for? There again I must appeal to your imagination. Much as we all dislike uar—and nobody on earth hates war mora than Ido myself—we must face the fact that war has not come to an end, and Inat if our Empire is to continue; and if we are to retain the freedom we enjoy, we must be prepared to defend ourselves. , Mr. Kassey expressed pleasure at tho'. impending arrival in New Zealand us.. Governor-General of Lord Jellicoe. There' was no greater authority on defence, and especially naval defence, than Lord Jellicoe, "I am not here to suggest extravagant expenditure for delence pur-' poses, at'.dou the Prime Minister. "I do not want to spend a copper more than we need spend, or to interfere with industrial operations any more than we can help. But 1 do want to impress upon the people of this country that we must not neglect our duty of doing our sharo in naval and military defence. I attach a great deal of importance to naval de-. fence, and of course the two branches must go together. "It is quite possible that the Pacific will .be the storm centre in the next war. In 1914 we found ourselves practically undefended, and I shall never forget tho nights we put out the lights along tho coast and never knew what news would come of our coastal, intercolonial, and overseas ships. We don't want to geE into that position again. I think that the chances are against another war taking place in the lifetime of the present generation. But that is no reason why we should leave ourselves undefended and unprotected. It is our first duty to bo prepared to protect ourselves, ana i hope that New Zealand will continue to give a lead to the other Dominions in t.efenco matters and to do its share in the defence of the great Empire to which wo belong and of which the gallant lad who was here the other day will some day be King."