“Taranaki Central Press” WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1937. THE DOMINIONS AND EMPIRE DEFENCE.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 368, 24 February 1937, Page 4

“Taranaki Central Press” WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1937. THE DOMINIONS AND EMPIRE DEFENCE.

The world had hardly recovered from the shock of learning the magnitude of Britain's defence plans when another came in the form of Government statements in the House of Commons that, in the words of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Dominions have spent a great deal on per fecting and improving their own defences . . . that is their contribution to the common fund ... no other form of contribution is being discussed at present.

Immediate opposition came from the Labour and Liberal benches. Were not the British taxpayers being forced to bear a disproportionate share of the cost of defending the Dominions? Mr. Chamberlain’s reply claimed that because Britain was dependent on the Dominions for her food supplies, it was her responsibility to bear the cost of naval defence.

* Sir Thomas Inskip, first holder of the new post of Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence, said: “We ask this country to pay for the defence of the colonies, dependencies, and those parts of the Empire on which we are dep ending for raw materials. . . . The Dominions are making their own preparations, at their own expense, for their own defence.’’

The criticism which was level! cd at the Cabinet Ministers by members of the House of Comm ons is sure to be upheld by most of the people in the United Kingdom. And, too, even from this distance thinking citizens who have the interests of this country and of the Empire at heart, will add their contribution to that same criticism.

The British Cabinet Ministers, it would seem from a dispassionate reading of the cables, find themselves in an awkward position. In fact, they were making excuses, excuses for obviously being forced into an unfortunate position by the smug complacency of the very Dominions for which they made those excuses.

In point of fact, the assumption by Britain of the full responsibility for Empire defence is as ndiculus as the lame excuses of the Ministers sounded in the House of Commons. The British Government knows at first hand the dangers of the present international situation. It is e, safe bet that ’ the Dominions are not as fully impressed. Hence Britain knows that the Empire must arm quickly and efficiently. The Dominions, far from the centre of world affairs, smugly complacent of. their importance under the Statute of Westminster, continue to shirk their responsibilities. The thought of New Zealand, for instance, establishing an effective defence system is absurd, as our new-found importance and our claim to some right to shape our defences as we will.

Yesterday we learnt in a cablegram that defence discussions will occupy an important place on the agenda of the forthcoming Imperial Conference. It should not be difficult, if the Dominions’ representatives will accept some plain speaking, for the United Kingdom Ministers to show them how each Dominion depends for its security on the security of the Commonwealth as a whole. The job of the Conference should be to formulate one Commonwealth defence policy and remove the existing absurdity of as many deferce policies as there are members of the Commonwealth.