WELLINGTON TOPICS.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 August 1922, Page 5

WELLINGTON TOPICS.

NAVAL DEFENCE. SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT. ■J£’ (Special*Correspondent.) Wellington, August 19. In the House on Friday night the Prime Minister initiated a discussion on naval defence by quoting certain portions of a communication he had received from the Admiralty setting out the naval policy by which New Zealand could best serve the interests of the Empire. The policy was a fairly comprehensive one. It included the maintenance of the nucleus of a sea-going squadron during the period of financial stringency which could be rapidly expanded into a fleet of light cruisers and oceangoing submarines when the times improved; assistance to the Empire in equipping naval bases cither, by financial contributions or by the supply of material, and the provision of bases, docks, depots and reserves of stores and fuel for vessels maintained by New Zealand. These suggestionsj Mr. Massey explained, embodied the opinion of the men best qualified to judge as to the needs of the situation. All that was required could not be done at once, but the recommendations of the Admiralty indicated the goal the Dominion should keep in view. If it were going to do its duty in the matter of defence it should lean on the Mother Country no longer.

IMPRESSIONS. Neither the leader of the Liberal Opposition nor the leader of the Labor Party seemed to be fully prepared for the discussion of the policy forthwith. Mr. Wilford, however, after talking generalities pointed out that the Washington Conference had placed no limitation on the employment of aircraft in Avar and that the rapid development of deadly machines of destruction overhead might largely minimise the value of navies. It was a subject needing very grave consideration. Mr. Holland, who appeared,to be more sanguine than did most of the other speakers of the decrees of the Washington Conference being made effective, regretted that both aircraft and submarines had not been prohibited. The next Avar, he said would see the merciless extermination of civilised communities ‘by death in the most horrible forms rained upon them from the air. The Minister of Education, the Hon. C. J. Parr, carried the discussion back to stereotyped lines, urging the creation of a powerful Pacific fleet largely maintained by Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Most of the members of the House preferred to defer their remrks on the subject till the debate on the Budget, but there was no indication that the idea of a local fleet had evoked great enthusiasm.

THE LORDS’ VIEW. Earlier in the day the members of the Legislative Council discussed the subject from a somewhat different angle ou the motion for the second reading of the Naval Defence Amendment Bill. The majority of the speakers, without shedding any fresh light on the matter, emphasised the duty of New Zealand to bear a larger share of the burden of naval defence, not only by contributing more money, but also by training more men for the service. Many references avere made to the national traditions, and to the Dominion’s duty to the Empie, but scarcely a word Avas said about the lessons of the great Avar. Sir Thomas Mackenzie proArided the exception among his felloAA’- members in this respect. He doubted whether the money spent on a local navy could not be better employed by the Imperial authorities in the protection of the whole Empire. As for NeAV Zealand’s own protection it had been shown in the English Channel that aircraft was a very efficient defence against naval attack, and it was along these lines that the Dominion’s local efforts should proceed. Sir Thomas quoted high authorities in support of his contention, but the majority of the lords were for the local navy and the training of seamen. POPULAR INTEREST. Few questions that have been raised in Parliament during the present session have attracted greater attention than has this one' of sea defence. During the week-end business men and other observant people have been 1 quoting their neAVspaper and magazine I reading on the subject to one another ; and discussing the respective merits and I limitations of war-ships and aircraft with the keenest interest. They have not professed, of epurse, to be fully informed on the question, not to be in any way qualified to pronounce a final conclusion, but it is fairly evident that a large majority of them would prefer an efficient air defence to any navy of the Chatham-Philomel type, which probably will be the best Ne>v Zealand can afford for many years to come. They are practically unanimous in condemning the lop-sided policy of providing only £BOOO or £9OOO a year for air defence and spending nearly half a million on a toy navy. It seems likely this subject will figure largely in the debate and it is even possible the Government may be induced to revise its estimates.