DEFENCES OF THE COLONY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1817, 18 October 1884, Page 2

DEFENCES OF THE COLONY.

(From the Wellington Evening' Press.)

We reprinted yesterday from a con- ' temporary an article on the above subjeofc, very forcibly put from the point of view that the best policy for the colony to puisne, in,order ;i to secure itself from aggression fromjdssible foreign foes is to carefully ayoid erecting defence works, and leave our poverty to be assumed from such neglect, 'According to our contemporary's view, if we should ever be so unfortunate as to receive a visit from a hostile cruiser, all we .should have to do would be to allow it to " call round at the banks and collect any coined metal that might be available," which'. collection, it is assumed, would " not amount to more than a few thousandpounds"—a levy it would be better to " grin and bear rather than pay half a . million for the chance of resisting it." It will probably surprise our contemporary and many others in the colony, who think with him, to learn that the collection which a hostile war ship could make at the banks in New Zealand would amount to two million pounds!—a very fair prize indeed to call round for. But the question does not end with such a simple consummation. A mau-of-war cruiser, or even a well-armed privateer, with the common sense and acquisitiveness which might naturally be credited to-tkajn, would hardly be content with the easy levy on the bauks, when the -whole popnla-1 tion as well is at their mercy. The cities would be bled to the utmost farthing that could be-extorted, and, with the guns of the. ship frowning upon them, would have to yield like lambs being led to the slaughter! Such a result is appalling to contemplate, and any praotical scheme of defence works to prevent such a by no means impossible occurrence should be at once put into execution. The article we have quoted argues with considerable force that if, while guarding the front doors of the oities, we leave them open to attack from the rear, the money paid tor defence would be thrown away; but on this point we quite agree with its introductory sentences, which accept his Exoellenoy Sir William Jervolfl as a thoroughly reliable authority on defence works. This being so, we cannot assume that he would leave any vulnerable point uncovered in a scheme of defence carried out under his supervision. There is another point from which to view the defenco question. It is being considered now only as wo now are; but possibly when the necessity for either defending or sacrificing the wealth of the colony arises (should it ever arise), that wealth may be double what it is at present, and probably even more readily collected. There is also this to be considered: if' once bla'ok-mail is ' levied and paid, we have the experience of all ages to show that those who pay are simply inuring fresh descents upon their shores, until the works which may now be done at leisure, , without any great sacrifice, are done of dire necessity by a people already impoverished through their absence, ; Taking into consideration the uneasy /'state of Europe, where each nation is watching every movement of tho other ; with fear and suspicion, and with the i prosperity of England and her possessions tho envy of all, the necessity . cannot be too often urged of preparing the colony for any contingency that may i arise.