HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
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Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps; that naval work should be left to the Navy; and that the creation of such a reserve would be alien to the spirit of international concord and fraternity, which is rapidly gathering weight and momentum throughout the world. I shall not fail to place the views expressed on this subject by unofficial members before the Secretary of State for the Colonies, as the matter is one, not merely of local, but of imperial concern. There are, however, certain considerations which it is desirable to put before the Council at once.
It is clearly impracticable to maintain the fighting services of the British Empire at full war strength in time of peace, and con- sequently it is necessary to make provision for expansion in the unfortunate event of an outbreak of war. This is the reason for reserves. The functions of the Royal Navy in war are very varied. They can be classified broadly as "general service," which includes all the sea-going branches, and "local defence," which, as the name implies, is comparatively stationary and is centred round seaports of naval or commercial importance. The duties, which fall to a local defence force, are principally counter-measures against mine-laying and submarines. These are two forms of attack by stealth, which threaten shipping in all navigable waters, especially off naval or com- mercial harbours, where traffic is necessarily dense and vulnerable. It will be remembered that in the Great War enemy submarines attacked shipping off the Azores and the coast of America, whilst ships were sunk off Australia and South Africa by enemy mines, and that in this Colony it was necessary to resort to mine-sweeping operations.
The amount of training necessary to prepare for these local services is comparatively small; and in a war, where it is necessary to make the most economical use of one's resources, it would be wasteful to employ personnel trained for general services upon specialized local defence measures. Moreover, owing to the distance of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom, local requirements here must in war be met from local resources, and it is to adapt our local resources and personnel for use in war that the present proposal is put forward.
The Council will remember that, in the Budget for 1927, at the suggestion of His Majesty's Government, a scheme was included for the creation of a Hong Kong division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. That scheme involved the maintenance of two mine- sweeping sloops and considerable personnel. It required a large initial outlay and, once decided upon, would have necessitated heavy main- tenance charges. The scheme was adopted by this Council and the sum of $40,000 was voted as the estimated expenditure for half a year; but, in view of the financial situation then existing, the Secretary of State for the Colonies decided to postpone the matter.
The new proposals are much more modest. There will be small initial expenditure; and, if for any reason it should hereafter be
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