this provision in the Colonial Naval Defence Act
1931 may not be fully appreciated. In no circum-
stances would the Board of Admiralty seek to enforce
this liability in time of peace; the intention was
simply to make it possible for a Colonial Government,
if it should at any time so wish, to employ its own
Naval forces on service outside the Colony as, for
example, to deal with native risings or with piracy,
either in conjunction with the Royal Navy or
independently if none of H.M.Ships should be present.
My Lords desire me to make it perfectly clear that
the question whether a Colonial Naval Force should be
so employed in time of peace is a matter for the
Government of the Colony alone.
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1
6. When, in the event of war or in an.
emergency which threatens war, a Colonial Naval Force
is offered to and accepted by the Admiralty for
general service, the normal duty of the force will be
to keep open the sea approaches to the port and
assist in the local defence of the Colony and in all
ordinary circumstances it would be contrary to the
policy of the Board of Admiralty to employ it in any
other manner. But it is impossible to foresee all
the....