HEART OF EMPIRE

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 291, 21 November 1936, Page 5

HEART OF EMPIRE

DEFENCE OF ENGLAND UNPREPARED FOR WAR. Views Of Lord Trenchanl And Lloyd George. Press Association —Copyright, Received 10 a.m. To-day. London, November 20. During the defence debate, Lord Trenchard, discussing Empire communications, pointed out that the Pacific and the Mediterranean had been described as “arteries which, if cut, would cause us to bleed to death,’’ but, he said, an artery could be temporarily ligatured, whereas it would be useless if (lie heart were smashed. He emphasised that England’s greatest danger was from the air, but. believed that if Britain could hold out for the first ten weeks she would win. He urged that, there should be at least fifty military aerodromes in Britain apart from Singapore, Malta, Haifa and Aden. Mr. Lloyd attacked Mr. Baldwin, saying that despite being given the strongest mandate to rearm in 1933, the Government had allowed the army to become denuded of men with a minimum of machine-guns, tanks and anti-aircraft gnus. Britain was never so unprepared for war, he said.