PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TILLC.O.882
2
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
⚫ 1. Colombo.
2. Galle.
4. Trincomalee. 5. Jaffua.
6. Putlam.
7. Kandy.
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complement of Europeans, comprising but a single regiment of infantry and single battery of garrison artillery, and he would be glad to see it maintained to full-strength as far as possible; but he thinks inquiry will show that the native troops may be reduced-the native infantry he would say to ten companies of about 100 rank and file each, and the Gun Lascars to a strength not exceeding 120 of all ranks, bringing the complement of natives of all ranks to about 1,200, instead of 1,500. The native troops are at present scattered through no less than 9 stations (named in the margin)* some of which, his Grace believes, may be abolished, the concen- It will be seen, tration of force, as he need hardly observe, producing economy, not merely 3. Hambuntolle. by reduction of numbers but in staff and station expenses.
on reference to Major-General O'Brien's Report of the 1st December 1862 (inclosed in your letter dated the 11th April last), that this officer, though not advising Her Majesty's Government to dispense with any of the out- 8 Kurnegalle stations, still does not consider that a greater force of native troops is As regards the Ceylon Rifle indispensable than" from 1,000 to 1,200 men." Regiment, it appears, from the same report, that this regiment is already practically reduced to about 1,100 rank and file or less, and that Major- General O'Brien is prepared for its being allowed to fall considerably lower (even without any abolition of out-stations as already observed). As regards the Gun Lascars, his Grace observes from former returns that this body of men stand now precisely at the same strength, 177 of all ranks, as they did from thirty-five to forty years ago, when it appears this strength had reference to a European artillery force of two companies, usually maintained in the island at that time. His Grace apprehends that a re-adjustment of the complement of Lascars may now be properly made, with reference to the present reduced artillery force of one battery, the strength of which ought hardly to be exceeded, he conceives, by that of the Lascars.
9. Badulla.
Mr. Dundas to the Hon. F. North,
6. In the pay and allowances of the European non-commissioned officers and privates, his Grace, as he need hardly say, contemplates no reduction. Nor does he advocate or assume any material change in the colonial allowances to regimental officers. But in calling on the colony to defray the entire military charge, whether in the shape of a capitation rate on the troops employed, or otherwise, it will be necessary to inquire what is the legitimate cost of those troops, and therefore what rate of allowances are really necessary for them in the colony of Ceylon, especially as there is some reason to believe that, when taken in connection with the travelling allowances and privileges as to quarters, the present allowances are for some ranks more than equivalent to the Indian garrison or half batta allowances. His Grace observes from a despatch on the records of this de¡ artment, of which I annex an extract, that this half batta scale was considered long ago as a fair standard for Ceylon, or rather a
March 13, 1801. maximum not to be exceeded, in which his Grace so far concurs, as a rule
(Pars. 106, 107.
and 108).
applicable to the present time, that he thinks, unless otherwise recom- mended by those who conduct the proposed inquiry, the allowances should not be estimated at any higher rate than the existing Indian Garrison scale. 7. From the 1st Ápril 1864, as Lord de Grey will perceive, all details of these colonial allowances, and all questions of right to quarters, with or without payment of rent, will be left to the War Department to settle under the plan proposed in the despatch, the proposal being that the Colony shall pay a round sum of 100,000. a-year, to cover the following joint purposes: contribution to Imperial expenditure, colonial allowances to officers and others in the Imperial service, excepting Governor's Staff, contingencies of troops and military departments, with the same excep. tion, recruiting expenses for native troops; and lastly, expenditure for works and buildings (including hire of buildings); the existing officers' quarters, and other buiklinga so far as they are Government property, being made over to the War Department free of rent and local assessment tax as part of the arrangement. The question, however of colonial allowances, for the reasons which I have already stated, cannot be excepted from the proposed inquiry.
8. To illustrate the observations which his Grace has to make on other heads of the Ceylon military expenditure, he would refer Lord de
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Grey to the annexed tabular estimate of this expenditure for the present year, compiled in this department, from the Army Estimates, Ceylon Annual Estimates, and such other sources of information as were avail- able. It is not improbable that this table will be found defective in some points, when tested by the superior information which the officers of the War Department possess, but his Grace believes it may be sufficiently depended on for the present purpose.
9. The first item, that of colonial allowances to Governor's aide-de- camp, his Grace, as the despatch explains, proposes to except from the general arrangement for transferring colonial allowances of military officers to the War Department; from which department therefore, after the 1st April, 1864, this officer will be entitled to receive nothing beyond his European regimental pay.
10. The General Staff amounts in the table to 8,3721., taking the Parliamentary vote and colonial payments together, of which sum 2,9521. is voted by Parliament and 5,4201. borne by the Colony. His Grace thinks that in estimating the cost of the troops for the purpose of assess- ing the entire charge upon the Colony, it may be assumed that a reduction in this head of expenditure will be possible, both in point of number of staff officers, and scale of remuneration, considering the moderate extent of the brigade to be superintended and of the business to be transacted. I annex in the margin* a list of the several staff officers and their annual emoluments, imperial and colonial A staff together (exclusive of travelling allowances). of clerks is attached to each of the last three officers in the list.
* 1 Major-General
Per Annum.
£ 2,348
1 Aide-de-Camp to ditto.
716
1 Military Secretary to ditto Deputy Adjutant-General
1,141
1,330
1 Assistant Quartermaster-General. 1,208
11. The estimate for garrison staff amounts to 3,8551, or more properly 3,0951. (after deducting the item of 7601. for remission of colonial duty on wine and beer), the whole borne by the Colony. His Grace anticipates a considerable saving on this head, from the abolition of small out-stations and the revision which would be made by the proposed inquiry of the command allowances.
12. The charge for medical staff amounts to 8,3671, of which 3,2601. is voted by Parliament, and 5,1071. borne by the Colony. Here his Grace thinks that a considerable reduction in the expenditure may fairly be expected by a reduction in the number of medical officers. The present establishment of commissioned medical officers, staff and regimental, appears to be 17, of which number, after making allowance for officers, sick or on leave, at least 13, his Grace apprehends, may be considered effective for duty at one time, or 12 after deducting the chief medical officer, who it appears is excused from attending sick (an exemption as to which his Grace will not anticipate the result of the proposed inquiry), His Grace understands that from 100 to 150 may be considered a full estimate of sick, at one time, for the entire force at the strength at which it has been actually maintained of late, and which he may call from 2,300 to 2,400 of all ranks, Europeans and Natives together. There conse quently appears to be at present one medical officer to from eight to twelve sick. His Grace conceives that the medical duty would not become too heavy, and that the several stations might be duly supplied at the rate of one medical officer to double that proportion of sick, if the hospitals were duly centralised, and small out-stations of native troops either abolished, as above proposed, or left to the care of any civil medical officer who might be resident upon the spot. The same estimate of from 100 to 150 sick being sufficient, his Grace would hope, for the revised force assumed to be maintained in future, and the salaries of the present Medical Staff Officers being on an average about 7001. a-year,-His Grace anticipates as a result of the proposed inquiry a considerable reduction of the establishment and expenditure, on this head, without assuming any reduction in the rates of pay and allowances.
13. The Purveyor's Department amounts in the estimate to 8021., of which 3451. voted by Parliament, and 4571. borne by the Colony. The Sub-Committee of the Legislative Council in their Report on the Estimates of the Ceylon Government for the year 1862, herewith annexed, express an opinion that this Military Department, which has been recently created, is an unnecessary addition to the Commissariat Department of the Colonial