IMPERIAL DEFENCE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 252, 14 March 1913, Page 5

IMPERIAL DEFENCE

SPEECH liY" MR. ALLEN. SIR JOSEPH WARD'S VIEWS. By < 'able—Press Association—Copyright. Received 14, 12.5 a.m. l.oiidini, .March l.'i. Sir Joseph Ward presided at the Liberal Colonial Club dinner, at which .Mr Allen was the principal guest,. Mr. Allen initiated a discussion on Tin pcrial defence. He said that he regard ed land and sea defences as interdepeil dent, lience tlie necessity for national service and a naval force. He warmly commended the Au-traliaii liavv. which was not lor Australian defence alone, but for Imperial defence. He did not,' lie said, care whether the Dominions built n unit or contributed Dreadnoughts. | There niu-t ultimate"-- |. c an undivided Imperial navy. Sir Joseph Ward disagreed with sectional navies., X,> >i Dominion. he said, would be able to Imild an effective unit for itself or for the Empire without applying financial responsibility. lie repeated the argument for a capita contribution. r lhis would enable British payments to be reduced, secure not four but forty Dreadnoughts, give Australia a fleet twice as -trong as the pre-eut equal unit and at half the present cost.