SIR S. HOARE ON ETHICS OF NATIONAL DEFENCE
London, Oct. 13. TI a speech at Edinburgh to-day, Sir Samuel Hoare, First Lord, of the Admiralty, revealed that the Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence which had investigated the "bomb versus battleship" controversy had unanimously recommended in favour of the capital ship and against the substitution of bombing Sir Samuel discussed Imperial defence from the angle of inter-service ce-operation. He began by recalling the main requirements of the defence programme, which, he said, were] security of overseas communications, protection of home shores from attack and the defence of Imperial bases and territories.
"The further obligations of collective security," he continued, "I do not elaborate, not because I have abandoned the ideal of collective security—I suppose in the difficult months of last autumn. T worked us hard for collective security as anyone in Europe—but because I am convinced that our first duty, whether for ourselves or for others, is to make our own position secure. You cannot.protect others until you can protect yourself.
Nor, can you have collective security without a collection.
Collective security last autumn virtually meant the British Fleet. When next it is applied, it must mean something much more than the naval, military and air effort of a single country."
Instanelng the Importance of cooperation between the three Services a number of past occasions in British history, the First Lord argued that planning' for ce-operation was now essential. With modern inventions, discoveries and development, and 'a third arm of unprecedented speed, the whole problem of defence had, in the last twenty years, become Immeasurably more complicated, For new' and complicated functions, new organs were undoubtedly necessary, but how were they to be created? In the past, the main strands of ce-operation had been woven cly actual experience, and, so far as was possible, Six Samel thought the same policy should be pursued for the future, Already, at least three valuable organs of ce-operation had been evolved—the Chiets-of-Stafls Committee of the Commiltee of Imperial Defence, the Joint Staff College in the Imperial "Defence College, and the Ministry for the Ca-ordination of defence.
Referring to the proposals for a Ministry of Defence, Sir Samuel gave it a is personal opinion that, if fever there were such a Ministry, it would come not from outside action, but as a matter of established fact 44s @ result, perhaps, of the duties of three "Services becoming, in the course of invention, more and more approximate~-Wireless and Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.