Evening Post. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1934. THE SINGAPORE BASE

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1934, Page 10

Evening Post. THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1934. THE SINGAPORE BASE

An important ■ meeting of the Disarmament Committee, of the British Cabinet was held in London on Tuesday, and on the same day a Naval Conference at which the British Navy and the so-called Navies of Australia and New Zealand were represented was opened on board H.M.S. Kent in Singapore Harbour. That, the coincidence and'the contrast have been,duly noted in Berlin 1 and Tokio - and, if not in official Washington, yet certainly in the Yellow Press of the United Stales, may be taken for granted. What better evidence of John Bull's duplicity could be desired by those who are firmly convinced of it already than this hypocritical parade of his preparations for peace in London and the obvious sincerity of his preparations for war at Singapore? They may well find the contrast deepened by the fact that, while the meeting of the Disarmament ' Committee has received a quite unnecessary advertisement, and yesterday's Cabinet meeting to which it was to report will receive another, it is only through a clumsiness for which John Bull is as notorious as he is for hypocrisy that the outside world has beenj allowed to know of this Singapore | Conference at which he had,hoped to hatch in strict secrecy some deadly plot, against the liberties of the Pacific.

It must be admitted that in its propaganda Great Britain has much to 'learn from Nazi Germany: The supreme importance which the German Government attaches to the work is indicated by the fact that one member, of its all-powerful triumvirate is Dr. Goebbels', Minister of Propaganda and Enlightenment. Personally his two colleagues doubtless deserve the priority assigned to them, but his work has been just as indispensable as theirs. The complete Nazification of town and country, of Press, Parliament, and platform, of the Bench and the Bar, of the university and ihe school, of the stage and the film, of every organ of national ithouphl 'and feeling with the as yet doubtful exception of religion, would have been impossible without the Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment so efficiently conducted by Dr. Goebbels. A nation which valued its liberty as Britain does would, of course, refuse to submit to such a tyranny. On the oilier hand, even in a free country a Government which values its existence cannot afford to leave a monopoly of propaganda to its' enemies. Relying on its huge' Parliamentary majority, Britain's National Government has too long ignored this fact, I but the loss of popular" confidence revealed-in recent by-elections has at last compelled it to take action. The meeting at Leeds which was addressed by Mr. Mac Donald on I Tuesday is described as "the opening of a campaign, emphasising the Government's achievements." It was I high time 'that such a campaign I should be undertaken, and we trust i that Mr. Mac Donald and his colI leagues will push.it with vigour.

• But the* propaganda relating to the Singapore Conference is mostly of another kind, and the Government's share in it has come as a corrective and probably too late to be of much value. The people of Singapore had of course unmistakable notice of the Conference in the unusual number of warships in their harbour, and what they knew would be promptly communicated to Tokio and other places where it was likely to be of any interest. . When Rear; Admiral Burges Watson, New Zealand's representative, was approached by the reporters on- his arrival, he jestingly replied, "It's very secret," and apparently said no'more. But if he had ■> realised the inevitable effect of the unexplained arrival of so many warships in the present state of the international atmosphere, he might well have added a minimising and deprecatory w,grd. Even then, however, the explanation would have come too late. The responsibility really rested with the Admiralty, and should have been foreseen and discharged before the ships arrived. If foreigners apprehensive of British competition in the Pacific were not disturbed by the mere arrival o of the ships, the London comments on the following day supplied them with a sufficient excuse. According to the cabled, opinion of the. "Daily Herald," "far-reaching developments in Britain's defences in the Far East may be expected at the conference'of British, Australian, and New Zealand naval representatives at Singapore, opening on Tuesday."

The matter was puL in its proper light in the British Official Wireless message which reported yesterday that "the periodical conference" between the representatives of the British, Australian, and New Zealand Navies had opened' at

Singapore. Referring to • "exaggerated Press Reports and comments," the same message quoted the statement of "authoritative London quarters" that the.conference is "an automatic and routine affair"; that the work done at Singapore conforms to the policy laid down and published many years ago; and that there have been "no new developments of any kind and no departure from the original purely local and defensive policy." The disclaimer is sufficiently emphatic. Some may even think that "the lady doth pro[test too much," and shp certainly might have been more effective with less emphasis if she had spoken sooner, and without any attempt to disguise her official authority.

What the Japanese Press has had to say about the matter is not reported. The only outside opinion cabled, is that' of the "New York Herald-Tribune," which replies in a highly satisfactory manner to the American pacifists who see in the fortification of Singapore a fresh "threat." ' •

The exact opposite is the case, it says.l The British naval base is strictly defensive.. It is not, built against Japan or to servo as a step in an expansionist policy. Rattier it is an outpost from, which Britain can defend the Indies, Australia', and New Zealand in the event of war in the Far East.

The "Herald-Tribune" also points out that the Singapore scheme will preserve the balance of power in the Western Pacific, which would otherwise be overthrown by America's withdrawal from the Philippines.

With Britain strongly entrenched in Singapore neither the Dutch in the East Indies nor tho pcoplo of Australia need have any feavs. Japan is not going to attack Britain and tho British have no thought of attacking Japan. A strong naval base at that strategic point is a v guarantee of status quo in the Pacific.