THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1913. NAVAL DEFENCE BILL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 5 December 1913, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1913. NAVAL DEFENCE BILL.

The Naval Defence 'Bill, the second reading of which was carried.in th 6 House of .Representatives yesterday morning by , 31 votes to 21, appears ,to us to be the inception of an entirely new defence policy, so far as this Doninion is concerned, and for this reason we regret that it should' have been introduced at so late a stage in the session.! The question of defence is of supreme importance to New Zealand. The very existence of the country depends upon the maintenance of our trade routes, and the safeguarding of our shipping against • foreign pirates at sea and industrial pirates on land. This is au elementary truth that is. admitted by every shade of politician. The only question upon which there can be a diversity of opinion is the most effective measures required .for attaining tho desTfetl object. For some years past, .'New Zealand has been contributing an annual subsidy of £IOO,OOO to the British Admiralty, for the purpose of assisting to maintain the naval supremacy of Great Britain/at sea. The manner in which that money was expended, and the disposition of the fleets, has been left ! entirely with the Imperial authorities. The extraordinary growth of" foreign navies has caused anxiety as to the ability of the British fleet to maintain ite supremacy on. the sea.\ This has induced tlie overseas domin-. ions to seriously consider their position, and to ask themselves if they are doing all tfiat might reasonably be expected of them to maintain the prestige of the Empire. The answer of Australia is to be found in a de-

termination to build and equip a local navy, that shall be employed in Pacific waters during times of peace, and be at the disposal of the Admiralty in case of war. Now Zealand is disposed to do something more than it has been doing in the way of assistance, though its gift of a Dreadnought has imposed a burden sufficiently heavy in the meantime. The Hon. James Allen proposes that the £IOO,OOO subsidy to the Admiralty shall be employed in maintaining a training-ship -n Now Zealand waters under local control. This means that the Dominion will derive an immediate advantage from its contribution to the Navy, and will have a naval force ready for service whenever it may bo required. Sir Joseph Ward had arranged that a couple of cruisers of the Bristol type and two or three destroyers and submarines should be stationed in New Zealand waters. For reasons best known, to tfie Admiralty, this agreement has been withdrawn, and it has been left to the Hon. James Allen, as Minister of Defence, to suggest an alternative. This is to bo found in the Naval Defence /Bill which has passed its Third reading in the House of Representatives. It is satisfactory to have the assurance of the Minister that it is not proposed to establish a separate navy, or to ccvoperat© with Australia in action which will be independent of the Admiralty. No additional strain is to be placed upon the resources of the Dominion. The country in not to be committed to any extraordinary expenditure in the way of ship-building What tho future may bring forth is in the lap of the gods. It may be that, when New Zealand has developed, and she occupies a more important place in the affairs, of the Empire, she may not only train men j for the Navy and for the aerial, fleet, but may be in a position to construct vessels for use wherever they may be required. In the meantile, thejconviction is forced upon us that we are doing all that can" reasonably be expected of us as an unit in the Empire. For some years weshall have to contribute £150,000 per year as interest on the construction of the Dreadnought New Zealand. This is a very heavy burden in itself. Add to this the £IOO,OOO that it is proposed to expend in maintaining a training-ship, and it will be found that we are contributing a quarter of a million annually to the Imperial Navy. On top of this we have our land forces and harbour defences, which are no inconsiderable items. The future of defence, so far as, the British Navy is concerned, is • problematical. As* the Prime Minister ppihted out in' his speech on • Wednesday night, the battles of,the future may be fought in the air. It .■ might he well, therefore, if this Do : minion were to train and equip an aerial fleet as well as a naval force. Certain it is tha*. a very serious risk would be entailed in establishing a local navy. Above all, we must not lose sight of the fact that our destiny depends much more upon the : efficiency of the fleets in Home waters than it does upon any local defence that we might accomplish. If the Home fleets were to be destroyed, the whole of our trade routes would be valueless. Hence it is our duty to remain true to the British Admiralty, and to adppt only those measures are calculated to materially assist in preserving the Imperial supremacy on the sea.