on
inform you of the grounds on which this Government had
declined to admit as a charge against Colonial Funds the sum of
£58. 15. - being the value of Stores issued to detachments of the Royal Artillery and Engineers who, at the special request of
this Government, were employed between the
30th October and 5th November last on Colonial Service-
I have to state in reply that this Government only withheld the payment in question. First, because I was not aware of any precedent sanctioning
such payment, but on the contrary recollected that in the case of a fire in the West Indies, where troops were employed and Government Stores expended,
no such demand had been made; and
Secondly because the Major General Commanding was unable
to certify what was the practice
in cases of a similar nature. I therefore deemed it more prudent that the General should
refer the matter home so as to obtain
an authoritative decision on the subject. Now that this has, in effect,
been given