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faith of the General Officer.
The matter is, however, an
important one and, in view of the possibility that Sir
Andrew Caldecott's unrecorded statement on this occasion
may have been misinterpreted I feel that it requires further
investigation. I enclose a copy of my letter.
7.
Naturally I should feel bound by a promise made
by my predecessor and if it should prove to be the case
that he offered this area to the War Department as a free
grant, except for cash expenditure, I should be prepared
to submit that proposal for your consideration. Alternatively,
if there has been some misunderstanding, I regret that I
can not recommend any departure from normal procedure in
this case. There is very much to be said for such
transactions between the Imperial and Colonial Governments
being put through on ordinary business lines: if special considerations are to be imported especially in cases of
such magnitude as this I am sure that in future the
settlement of such issues will be increasingly embarrassed.
For example, as I have stated above, the undertaking attributed to Sir Andrew Caldecott and discussed above was quoted to me
as a precedent in a similar application, which, in fact, I have refused. Furthermore, personally I am not impressed by the argument that the grant should be free because it is
for a hospital. It appears to me to be no less important to
maintain a soldier in health than to cure him when sick, and
on that assumption an equally strong case could be made for
the free grant of land for barracks.
8. A copy of this despatch has been sent to the
General Officer Commanding.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient, humble servant,
1. Art. Northest
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Governor.