NAVAL DEFENCE

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10715, 7 October 1912, Page 5

NAVAL DEFENCE

CABLE NEWS

i ited Tress Association— By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.)

SIB JOSEPH WARD'S SPEECH, j REMARKS BY SENATTOR PEARCE. (Received October 5. 9.-10 a.m.) MELBOURNE. October 5. Discussing the speech on navai defence in the Pacific made in the New Zealand House of .Representative -■ i v Wednesday afternoon last by Sir -Jo*- I ep'h Ward, Senator Pearce, Federal ■ Minister for Defence, says that Sir Josopli did not give- any reasons vhy ho had been unablo to conceive the j idea of an Australian squadron de- ' fending British interests in the Pari, •fie. Sir Joseph Ward at the Imperial j Conference had admitted the idea of | a Pacific fleet to which the Dominion* J should contribute a unit. Tt wa - ad-) vanced by the Admiralty I hat that in- ' dicated sectional navies, a propoci! it did not regard with disfavour. By the | agreement Sir Joseph Ward proposed on behalf of New Zealand, Sir Jo<-ep!i was prepared to take control of a portion of the China-Pacific unit out of the hands of the Admiralty. j Mr Pearce considers that, accordin a to the view Sir Joseph Ward r.n-v tikes, the proposal h-e ( r< 'v J' '-cm' | Wan.i) then ined- had all the riisadv.,.- >- -~--, i -■," " sectional navv a?:d none f ,f f-'-n "dvantaees. It (I'd lo local vet'-iof'-"'. a-d n'u-t b-v»- i ',«-.">ered the Admin'iv r.dm.pds 1 r*- j tiev. I Tie ndrl»d: "T- the-- on-™ Pi .Tosev,'! Wa-d's »vs-iN -" 1 ' V"" j arc inconsistent. A"<+'': v ■"in \ 'vh'cv does «W- I-.ivit the Admiraltv j leaves us free to develoon ;■.■< va 1 point <-f the Commonwealth."