AUSTRALIA’S DEFENCE.

Taihape Daily Times, 18 August 1919, Page 3

AUSTRALIA’S DEFE N CE.

NEE!) I*‘()lt PRI-}I.’ARI'IDI\’ESS. OPINION OF SIR JOHN MONASH. The QW515011 of"defensive preparations for Australia was recently discussed by Lieutenant—General Sir John M03351]: “omlllander of the Australian Imperial Forces. “The war has consolidated the national spirit Very much,” he said. “.It has made the Australian very proud t 0 be an Australian, and very proud of his national possibilities. But I think that Australians, in any striving for national development, must recognise that they will as a last resort, be dependant for their safety upon British sea power. We shall want a much better population before we can think of prot'e‘cting ourselves against aggression. I cannot see how we are going to protect out lines of communication. We can so easily be blockaded if We rely upon our ‘own forces. If we Wol‘o ill 3 Position where we could not call upon British sea power, we would be entirely at the mercy of a sea. power unless we were able to equip and maintain a fleet larger and more powerful than an enemy or combination of enemile-s. Au.Sttral:ia could, I ‘think, live upon her own resources for a. long I’rinic—po'l'll}.lpS' xfbr ye-ars——bu;t fwould steadily eat up her capital. “I should say that Australia would be very foolish to relax her military cfiowrt, ',“’.:>.t effort, in my opinion, should lie very much more in the direction of organisation ‘than actual training. I think the war has shown that if our organisation is complete, and our equipment is available, the training is a secondary eolisidel'.a’c.ion. The men will always be fortheoniing. Wemust have the organisation and framework ready, and the equipment in store waiting. Then we can raise an army very quickly. “I ant really anxious that the Australian nation shall not get the idea that men alone matter. My point is that you can very rapidly organise the personnel portion of the army, but you cannot organise the main framework. It is no good having the personnel of 50 batteries of artillery if you have no ammunition. No matter ‘how many men are availabfe, they would be Of no use without the material to equip them.”