The Waikato Times FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1938 DEFENCE ISSUES

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20509, 27 May 1938, Page 6

The Waikato Times FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1938 DEFENCE ISSUES

tion passed at' th ' efenee wIU mak « some reply to the resoluwith retrard to „ I “ terpr ° V “ clal conf erence of the Farmers’ Union is possiblv tho fi , Cl ® nt scheme of defence for the Dominion. It best it can imposed on an y Government to ensure, as socia Wish f , State C ° ntinues to exist as a State. AH the ments couhf ’if bumamtarian P lans . of this as of other Governbe assuref d * be re »de*ed useless unless that condition could and anv npnni ma 3 necessitate expenditure that any Administration, “e d monfTef M I 'l begrudse for there al ’ e s ° maa -v ™ys which willingly emlifl\ PUt *° g00( * use » anc * no Government would outlav can Off °“ * °° Stly P™*™ 6 ’ especially when the is that th f n ° prospect of an Y economic return. But the fact is tnat the decisions cannot be based solely on domestic policy, for h IZTZTh ° f d f enCe are imposed by fetors altogether beyond fake S, h the . autboritles - They may deplore the conditions that the vW h f O T°" necessary, and in that respect they will express that probab y a ma J ori ‘y of tbe people. It is a terrible thing . tbthe natl °ns of the world still staggering under the load of ont th tlo % u' lth the ravages of a migbty struggle still apparent, there should be a rush to re-arm. To-day the nations are spending more on munitions of war, and there are more men under arms, than at any time in the history of the world in what were nominally times of peace. . .I 4 ee ms that all the hopes of the peoples during the long struggle that ended twenty years ago are to be banished, and that instead ol a reign of law m international affairs the appeal is still to armed mig t. The peoples may not desire it, but unfortunately in many countries they have been deprived of any voice in the control of narona po ie\. The rule of the dictator in all a<?es has been based on force, and that is the position that obtains to-day. Some nations are spending over half their national revenue on armaments, and others have strained their economic resources in order to pile up the munitions and reserves necessary for war. They all claim that they have no aggressive intentions, but events during the last few years have shown how hollow those declarations are. In an effort to influence world opinion some Governments, and especially that of the Mother Country, reduced their defence forces, but the 'lead was not followed, with the result that, proportionately, the advocates of power politics enjoyed a supremacy. The only course available for the countries of peaceful intent was to take what precautions they could, and reluctantly they turned their attention to the development of their own defence policies. Y hatever the wishes of the Dominion Government in this respect and it has firmly adhered to the collective system of ensuring security -it must face the position as it exists, and make the necessary provision. There is no self-governing unit in the Empire more dependent on overseas markets for its stability than New Zealand. That implies reliance to a very great extent on what is called the blue-water school. The power to keep open the sea-lanes is vital, and the next line of defence is a trained force capable of withstandbfg aggression. That may not have to be done alone. The interests of the Commonwealth and the Dominion in matters of defence are identical, and there should he the closest co-operation in policy, military system and equipment. These things must be done without lessening in any way the efforts put forward, in conjunction with the Mother Country and other nations of goodwill, to bring about a better order. The responsibility resting upon the Government is a heavy one, and the officers who have stated their views plainly have, without any doubt, done so not in any effort to embarrass the authorities but from a strong sense of public duty. If armed strength is to be made the test, then, however that test may be hated by a free people, in the interests of the State whatever strength can be made available must be mobilised.