NEW ZEALAND'S OFFER.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3191, 17 May 1909, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND'S OFFER.

The stirring speech made in the Agricultural Hall at Islington, London, recently, by Mr A. J. Balfour, Leader of the Unionist Party in the House of Commons, in reference to New Zealand's offer of n Dreadnought, a report of which appears in another column, is something more than the utterance of a Leader of Opposition. We may be sure that Mr Asquith agreed with the hearty and unqualified goodwill and recognition of his opponent more than with the

guarded and half-hearted acceptan; of his own Cabinet, which left it doubtful whether New Zealand's offer would be accepted as an additional contribution to the naval strength of Britain, or whether it will be used to reduce the number of Dreadnoughts to be provided by the British Government. As Mr Balfour put it, the whole nation was "deeply moved by the maenificent exhibition of Imperial sentiment." At Home our fellow countrymen rightly took New Zea land's offer to mean that in time of danger the colonies would stand shoulder to shoulder with the Mother Country. Of course those who look ' upon all precautions against attack i as wicked could see nothing laudable in the offer; but their numbers are now but few, and even these are dwindling.