Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1939. THE TERRITORIAL FORCE.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 August 1939, Page 4

Wairarapa Times-Age TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1939. THE TERRITORIAL FORCE.

WHATEVER may be thought of the. scale on which cleienee ™ preparation ought to be developed in this country, there am be 110 doubt that in its Territorinls. ~‘f force of liiirh quality and great promise. As the Mmistei Defence (Mr Jones) pointed out in a statement at the end o week X Territorial Army has been raised, ma recruiting campaign justing tor barely a nth, front ,ts prevtons strength 09 500 to something above the peace estabbslnnetd lb 0(0 Thei’e is a <-'reat and gratifying change from past conditions m S it. « left to a. handful of .enthusiasts to carry on Territorial Army training in face of neglect am nay ■ eouravenienl It is now perceived and appiecialed y “enerZlly that the safety and security of the Dominion are not to be taken tor granted, but must be guaranteed as lai as possible bv adequate defence preparation. 1 Something It a national awakening to deienee „_ laj taken place in this country and while air and naval de u ce . nd our small regular force all have their nnpor ante, t is u> a definite sense true that the Territorials are the b, kl ■ c 1 the defence of the Dominion-in hemselves and as he . n Io s on which the whole oli its available forces would i. 11} t o event of a vital emergency. Some reserves m duect su po t of the Territorials • already have been and aie bem o n < available Tt is likely that in the near future these reserves must be built up considerably, but the Territorials in their present strength is a practical achievement of the utmost importance. The Territorials have drawn and will continue to chaw upon the best of the Dominion’s manhood. Part/of I >e force is untrained, but in the atmosphere 01. keenness that 1 as iiqvv developed training will proceed apace facilitated as it i,, y the provision of modern material and equipment. With tlie question of the Dominion’s total defence requirements st open, there can be no doubt that the national '"TS. that the Territorial Force should be raised to the possible pitch of efficiency and that its strength ami cfficic y should be maintained as time goes on. This is a matter in which even citizens who aie no of an age that permits them to shoulder a rille may render acceptable and useful service. In some observations r epo^ ec yesterday, Captain B. Barrington, Central Military Uistiict recruiting officer, stated that Territorial Associations weie being formed throughout New Zealand to give all citizens an opportunity of extending permanent encouragement and ass s - ance to the young men who were prepared to make some sacrifice in order that they might be trained to defend then country. A meeting is to be called shortly for the purpose of forming a Territorial association in Masteiton. It may be hoped that the formation of a strong territorial Association will follow naturally upon the splendid response made by the youthful manhood of the town and district to the recruiting call. As Captain Barrington observed, the call to service is addressed today not only to the pick ol New Zealand’s manhood, but to citizens generally who may co-operate in creating the right community spirit. Animated by that spirit, Territorial associations should be able to do useful ana helpful work, not only in encouraging and supporting their individual Territorial units, but in developing in the community a wider and deeper appreciation, of what effective defence preparation implies and entails. BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. TT is or should be of considerable interest to the Wairarapa that the Government is bringing out from Europe an expert io report on the possibilities of establishing the sugar beet industry in the Dominion. The expert in question, a Czech, Air T. M. Hayek, left. London on August 4 and is due to arrive within the next week or two. New Zealand spends about £700,000 a vear on imports of sugar (the value of these imports in 1937 was £724,000) and all but a trifling part of our sugar supplies comes from countries outside the Empire more than five-sevenths of the total from the Dutch East Indies and upwards of another seventh from Cuba. From the point of view of the trade balance, as well as in other respects, the successful establishment of the sugar industry in the Dominion thus would be highly profitable. At a time when it is desirable that we should reduce our total imports, but should continue to buy as much as possible from the United Kingdom, the possibilities 01. the local ])lOduction and maniifaetlire of sugar evidently should be gone into very carefully. Over a period of years, our imports of sugar from the United Kingdom have hardly averaged a value a year. Producing and processing its own sugar, the Dominion would usefully extend the scope of its land industries and would provide a considerable amount ol additional employment within its own borders. Since the product ion and maniilacl me of beet sugar have been developed on a considerable scale in continental Europe and in Ireland and to some extent also in Britain, there is no obvious reason why the industry should not be established in New Zealand. In view of the acreage yield and quality of mangold and other root crops in New Zealand jt is likely that sugar beet, ean be cultivated in this country as advantageously as anywhere in the world. The possibility ol establishing the industry on an economic basis must depend largely upon first-class information being obtained and acted upon in regard to the variety or varieties of beet to be. grown and to modern manufacttiring processes. Existing conditions in Europe should eminently favour the importation of technicians well versed in all that, relates to the industry. For initial guidance, the Government and the country must' look to Air Hayek's report and this will be awaited with a great deal 01. interest. Assuming that the establishment of the industry is declared to be feasible, the people of the Wairarapa should be alert mid alive to the possibility of undertaking the production of beet sugar in this district. With ample areas of land on which heavy yields of root crops of first-class quality are raised without difficulty, the district has further advantages in the wav of water and power supply, transport facilities and others which should enable it to play its full part in the development of an industry of I he kind. A certain amount of sugar beet has been grown experimentally and quite successfully in the Wairarapa, notably by Air 11. E. Gardner of Masterton, who has obtained yields of about 52 tons to the iffire on experimental plots. No doubt there are lands in various parts of the district on which much heavier yields could readily lie obtained. Booking at all the facts —amongst others the desirability from a marketing standpoint of opening up new branches of land production—farmers and others in the AVairarapa would be wise Io give serious attention to the possibilities of developing 1 lie production of beet sugar. Dependable information should be available in the near future as to the prospects of establishing the industry in this country and if these prospects are found to be favourable, opport unit ies for practical and profitable enterprise will appear which certainly should not be uevleeted in the AVairarapa.