AUSTRALIA'S DANGER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 149, 3 October 1910, Page 6

AUSTRALIA'S DANGER.

NOTE BY LORD KITCHENER. The following is an extract from the memorandum on Australian defence by Lord Kitchener, published in a recent number of an English magazine:— "The danger of want of population, and the consequent ineffective occupation in many parts of the country is, in my opinion, the most serious existing condition in Australia and it may greatly imperil the stability of the present state of affairs in the Commonwealth. I feel, however, that this is so well known and recognised that I need not emphasise it further." A further paragraph is as follows: "It is an axiom, held by the' British Government, that the' Empire's existence depends primarily upon the maintenance of an adequate and efficient naval force. As long as this condition is fulfilled, and as long as British superiority at sea is assured, then it is an accepted principle that no British dominion can be successfully and permanently conquered by an organised invasion from sea. "But in applying this principle to Australia time and space cannot be disregarded."