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19.
An additional advantage of a contribution
fixed quinquennially would be that it would be
possible in fixing it to give due weight to any
increases in the Colony's direct responsibility for defence matters. It has been realised by both
civil and military authorities here that the recent
trend of defence policy has been to place greater
responsibility on the local defence forces and that
trend is necessarily reflected in steadily growing
expenditure on those forces. Clearly it is possible
that such a change might eventually so disturb the
balance that the present defence contribution, under
which the Colony has in effect contracted out of
responsibility for the major part of defence
expenditure, might cease to have any equitable
basis. I do not suggest that developments to date
have seriously disturbed the balance but they are
sufficiently large to suggest that they may require
to be taken into account in future assessments.
20.
It should, I think, be a condition of any
fixed contribution that the Colony should not pay
in any year more than the actual cost of the
garrison in that year.
21.
If you are satisfied by these
representations of the necessity for some reform and
these proposals for reform commend themselves
generally to you I request that they may be
communicated to the Lords Commissioners of the
Treasury and to the Army Council for their consideration.
If a new system is decided upon I should like it,
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