Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1939. OUR OWN DEFENCE PROBLEM.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 April 1939, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1939. OUR OWN DEFENCE PROBLEM.

A'T a broad and long view, and apart from, the extreme y V critical world conditions at the moment commanding attention, there cannot be any doubt that New Zealand mus enter into the closest co-operation with other Empire counti e and particularly with Britain and Australia, in domg■ " hat practicable to establish security against possible a tack Cn that account the Government must be credited with havin„ shown o'ood sense and practical enterprise in suggesting the conference which openecl in Wellington today—a eonferen a? which British, Australian and New Zealand representat.ves are to discuss the question of defence m the Pacific.

The conclusions of the conference no doubt will be enlightening and informative and presumably they wi 1 be made public in reasonably complete detail. An th position and a definite lead,,as regards both the defence of the Dominion and its? co-operation with other Emp ne countries should be of considerable value m shaping and “Sating public opinion -While no yrte; mhe wrM is freer from any thought of aggression than is New Zealand, there is an uneasy feeling abroad that we are living in a fool s paradise where defence is concerned and that a due regau io continued security demands much.broader measures of piepaia tion than have yet been attempted. That feeling has found expression at the annual conference of the New Zealand Labour Party, if not in the majoiit. recommendations of the defence and immigration committe of the conference at all events in the minority report l^^ cl by three members of the committee—Messrs M W. J. Lyon and J. A. Lee, which was also adopted. M bile one of the majority recommendations was that the conference reaffirm its opposition to universal or compulsory military service, the members of the minority submitted that:— Having regard to the changed circumstances of the world in which we feel that the first essential to adequate defence an affirmation by the conference of the New Zealand Labour Partv and by the Prime Minister that it is the duty of every fit man to offer himself for voluntary training for the defence of New Zealand. The deficiencies of the voluntary system are criticised so strongly bv the authors of the minority report and they establish so well their contention that: ‘ Defence is a task for men as well as for boys,” that it is a little surprising that they have been content to advocate only the voluntary training “of every fit man.” Since they advocate .universal training, loo'ie might have been expected to impel them to advocate the enforcement of this training under a system of compulsion. It is fairly clear in any case that in modern conditions effective defence preparation implies and demands national organisation, on the broadest scale. Whatever they may amount to in detail, it may be expected that the conclusions of the defence conference now sitting in Wellington, will emphasise that fact. The whole question is one, on which expert and technical guidance is needed, but in any serious approach to the problems of national defence it will certainly be necessary to discard the idea that the obligations even of military service can be assigned chiefly to a section of the youthful manhood 01. the country. Defence nowadays involves much arduous and possibly dangerous service which may very properly be entrusted to those who have passed the stage of youth, and not necessarily only to members of one sex.

It may be hoped that as an outcome of the conference on Pacific defence, the whole position will be reduced to clear definition and perspective and that there will be no .shrinking' on the part of the people of New Zealand from whatever demands are reasonably made upon them in the interests ol their own security and that of the Empire with which thenfate is so completely identified.