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Printed for the use of the Colonial Office. November 1895.
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SECRET.
119-R
NEW SOUTH WALES.
No. 9052.
AUSTRALIAN COLONIES AND TASMANIA.
Report of Federal Military Conference.
Remarks by the Colonial Defence Committee.
IN October 1894, pursuant to the invitation of the New South Wales Government, a Conference was held at Sydney to consider a General Scheme of Military Defence applicable to the Australian Colonies and Tasmania. There were present the Commanders of the Military Forces of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and South Australia, and the Commander of Batteries, Tasmania. The Conference made certain recommendations, and their Report, dated the 26th October, 1894, and a Minute thereon by the Major-General Commanding the New South Wales Military Forces, were sent on the 16th April, 1895, by the Government of New South Wales to the Prime Ministers of the other Australian Colonies, with a suggestion "for a confidential inter- change of views as to what should be done during the inevitable interval between the present time and the completion of the Federal design,'
""
2. The Colonial Defence Committee would have preferred to
see the replies to this letter before considering the Report of the Conference, but as they understand that these replies have not yet been received in England, and as they look on the early and definite adoption of a Scheme of Australian Federal Defence as a matter of the greatest importance, they propose now briefly to remark on the Scheme before them, reserving more detailed criticism till they learn the views of the Australian and Tasmanian Governments on the matter, and the general action proposed to be taken with regard to it.
The detailed recommendations of the Conference appear in the form of four Appendices to their Report, and it will be convenient to deal with them under the headings of these Appendices.
(A.)—General Scheme of Defence for Australia and Tasmania.
3. The first six paragraphs of the General Scheme embody the principles laid down by the Colonial Defence Committee in their remarks dated the 16th May, 1890, on the organization proposed in that year by Major-General Edwards for the Military Forces of the Australian Colonies; certain modifications have been introduced in these paragraphs and the statement in paragraph 7 has been added to meet the slightly altered conditions since that date, as well as the special views of the Colonies with regard to the interests at stake.
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