MILITARY ESTIMATES.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 17979, 26 March 1930, Page 6

MILITARY ESTIMATES.

MINISTER’S REPLY. BRITAIN AND DISARM AMENT. REDUCTION BY AGREEMENT. United Tress Assn. —-Elec. Tel. —Copyright. LONDON, March 24. Speaking to Mr Cove’s amendment on the army estimates, Mr Shaw, Minister for War said the Prime Minister had specifically declared that Britain stood for a reduction of armaments by agreement. That was the method also of the League of Nations. It was assumed by some theorists and speculative philosophers that if Britain reduced her armaments considerably and consistently, without regard to "other nations, she would help along general disarmament. Unfortunately, the facts confounded the theorists. The Government was not merely willing to take part in an effort for international disarmament, but to take a leading part. . She was not prepared, however, at present to go further in unilateral action. It seemed to him that if one thing had become clearer than another since the war it was that both economically and politically, whether they liked it or not, they were hound to an international system. Officers’ Training Corps.

With regard to the question whether public money should he spent on officers’ training corps and cadet corps at public schools, Mr Shaw said he had come lo the conclusion, on definite expert advice, that officers’ training corps were really valuable organisations for providing a supply of officers. So long as the army existed on a voluntary basis there would have lo be some such form of army recruiting. No compulsion was exercised by the Army Council, or by the Government, lo compel any boys to join I,nose corps. They would continue to receive the Government’s grant. The Minister, said be could not take the same attitude, however, about cadet corps. Teachers in the elementary and secondary schools appeared, in the great majority of cases, to he against that particular training on educational grounds. He agreed with those representations and intended, with the consent of the House, to cease to give War Office assistance to those bodies when the existing contracts expired.