BRITAIN’S UNPREPAREDNESS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 226, 11 June 1915, Page 3

BRITAIN’S UNPREPAREDNESS.

MORE ARMS AND MUNITIONS WANTED. GOVERNOR' SPEAKS PLAINLY. NEW ZEALAND’S DUTY DEFICIT;. WELLINGTON, June 9. Speaking at a patriotic concert at the Town Hall to-u’ght, the Governor referred to several points in connection with the war. He was, ho said, going to express his opinion, which might not agree with the opinions, of some other people. "During the last seevn or eight days," ho stated, "wo have had a definite pronouncement of a very important kind from thg man who used to be Chancellor of the Exchequer and who is now Minister of Munitions, Mr. Lloyd George, (Applause), That pronouncement has somewhat loosened my tongue, whore I have had to bo very guarded before. The question the people of this country want answered is whether they are doing all that they should do to assist the Motherland in the present crisis. Let me just sketch the position us it stands to-day. We here in Now Zealand—and this is not a question of any particular Government, for it would be the same with* any Government that happened to be in office- —have been in very close touch with the Imperial authorities since the outbreak of the war. We asked in the first instance what they wanted us to do, and we have carried out the task that they sot before us. At the -present moment what

we really lack in the British Empire is a sufficient supply of- arms, equipment, and munitions. That is not a pleasant, fact, hut do not let us disguisa it. The nation was not prepared for this great struggle, and I do not think wc should blame the Government for not being prepared for such a gigantic Avar. Only a month before Avar was declared a portion of our fleet Avas being entertained at the Kiel Canal by the people who AA'ere planning this tremendous outbreak, and there Avas no hint then of Avhat Avas coming. Noav the Imperial Government greatly appreciates wlmt | we have done in New Zealand and Is ■ highly gratified at the Avay in Avhich its { suggestions have been carried out. They laid doAvn for us a curriculum which j they asked us to follorv closely. That 1 curriculum laid doAvn the character ox ] the trailing that nil soldiers were to j receive before they were sent to the front. So far, av havo not had to oak the Imperial Government for any assistance in connecton with arms or equipment, though the rale ha* been laid doAvn that all men going to the front must be armed and equipped in the regulation way, but here in New Zealand Are have only a certain quantity of arms and equipment, and we know that the Imperial authorities have no surplus. They arc trying very hard to solve this problem of munltons. In the meantime we in this coun-try-have got to face the fact that if wc try to force the pace by going beyond AA'hat the Imperial authorities have asked ns to do, avc will reach the place where wo Avill not be able to fulfil on? engagement for the despatch of regular reinforcement drafts oAving to a shortage of arms and equipment. The Imperial Government cannot provide more at present. I believe that the New Zealand GoA*ernment, so far as the despatch of soldiers is concerned, is doing exactly what the Imperial av-thori- I ties Avant. Time may make a change, 1 but at the present moment that is the position. This, I would repeat, is xu)t a | question of one Government or another 1 Government. It is a question of what is best for the nation and the Empire. I ;want you to realise fully that by the end of December wc will have 30,000 men out of New Zealand on active service. One more point —don ’t press me for exact details; I have them, but I must not repeat them-— Ncav Zealand at the end of the year will be considerably ahead of the other dominions in the number of men despatched per head o? the population. ’ *