Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1937. DOMININ'S DEFENCE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 211, 6 August 1937, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. FRIDAY, AUGUST 6, 1937. DOMININ'S DEFENCE.

The Government will be commended for the attention it is giving to the country’s defence to meet a grave emergency should it arise. Plans are now being completed and the Minister for Defence (Hon. F. Jones) states that an indication of the Government’s policy will be given very shortly. On his return from England last week, the Prime Minister made a statement on the subject which could not but immediately satisfy the public that the Government, to quote Mr Jones, is fully alive to its responsibilities from a defence point of view. At the Imperial Conference the Prime Minister gained a great deal of information, and it is quite clear that he is very much impressed with the importance of the problem, and its complex nature. His view has been that the Government should have expert advice so that it would spend the money for defence to the very best advantage, and now", as he told the First Sea Lord, the Government “must do something for. New Zealand immediately. ” Under an arrangement with the British Government its defence authorities have been supplied with information upon which to base their advice which will play a most important part in the formation of the plans.

In the course of a statement given to the “Standard’s” Wellington correspondent, Mr Savage gives a brief indication of the Government’s plans broadly. The defence organisation, he says, will be a committee of national security to co-ordinate not only the branches of defence, but an organisation for all sorts of national emergency. The Prime Minister mentions earthquake disasters and epidemics as coming within a national emergency which the organisation would be empowered to cope with. He truly says that we do not want to run around in the middle of a crisis to find someone to deal with it. The pneumonic influenza epidemic of 1918 will be readily recalled for not only its severe toll on the population but also for the economic loss it caused through industry being very much slowed down as employees fell victims of the scourge. The Napier earthquake taught the country valuable lessons in how to meet an emergency, and the need for an organisation to take charge. The people will await the Government’s policy with keen anticipation, particularly its reference to defence. The Prime Minister has said that if we tried to defend New Zealand alone “we could not develop enough strength to pull a herring off a gridiron.” This is

recognition of the importance of co-ordination and of the fact that “we must fit our activities into the defence policy of the Empire.” In the past there has been no doubt that our security has rested upon the might of the British Navy. That fact still governs the situation, and the need for collaboration with Australia also cannot escape attention. Larger cruisers are to replace the vessels on the New Zealand station and the Air Force has been equipped with modern aeroplanes. Australia, too, is largely increasing the . defence estimates. Botli countries have a grave responsibility not only to their own people but to the Empire should war break out. Trade routes must be maintained apart from territorial integrity, and the value of a comprehensive policy devised with regard to the needs of the whole Empire will be readily recognised.