PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TLC.O. 882
9
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
40
from assessable revenue the sums entered as exchange on revenue collected by the Crown Agents and the sums required for the services of various loans: the net result being that the contribution worked out at 44 per cent. The Secretary of State proposed to instruct the Governor to press for the repeal of these items and to propose a vote for a sum to bring the contribution voted in (Rs. 270,000) up to five per cent. of the revenue. he could not hold out much hope of the Council agreeing to either suggestion.
1895 But
The Treasury concurred, iu a perhaps unnecessarily long letter, and a remonstrance was addressed to the Governor by a despatch of the 12th August, 1996, in which the Treasury and War Office had concurred.
elusure in No. 1.
but. Eu-
En
cloure in No. 92.
but En-
The amending Ordinance was promptly thrown out by the unofficial majority, with little or no debate; and in closure in December the Governor reported that he had considered it No.:6. neither expedient nor useful to propose a supplementary. En vote for the 1895 contribution.
The War Office was inclined to let the matter drop as hopeless but the Treasury replied on the 26th of January, 1897, that they could not accept the plea of the Council : they proposed to defer further remonstrance pendling the result of the question of assessing railway revenue which had been raised by Ceylon and referred to the Inter- Departmental Committee.
At this point it is convenient to turn to
(2) CEYLON.
As stated earlier, the Committee had left the question of the maximum contribution payable by the Colony for decision after the question of the incidence of the cost of the Trincomalee garrison had been settled. On the
elosu in
No. 97
No. 8. Ibid..
No. 99.
17th of July, 1895, they submitted section 12 of their A. 352. report, in which they discussed these two questions. As was perhaps only to be expected, their recommendations were a compromise, and are shown by the following extracts from the report:--
"At the present moment the case stands as follows:- Para 21 "Extensive fortifications have been built and armed in el seyy.
64
Ceylon since 1884, and the minimum force now con-
"sidered essential for the defence of the Colony amounts
"to 1,653 of all ranks, and of this force at least $26, or As, then,
แ one half, is required for Colombo
"Colombo is defended mainly in the interests of the
· Colony, the full cost of its garrison is a legitimate charge
"against the revenues of Ceylon. This represents a charge
of at least £76,625
"
"Colombo is not a naval coaling station and in the view "of the naval authorities Colombo did not afford the "facilities necessary for a coaling station in time of war, "and the Admiralty therefore considered it essential that "Trincomalee should be defended as a naval base for the "defence of Colonial and Imperial interests in those seas. "Moreover even if Colombo became fitted for a coaling "station it would be unjustifiable to leave Trincomalee
undefended."
"While it is admitted that no enemy under existing "conditions would "probably think of landing a force at "Trincomalee with a view of carrying on military “operations against the Colony, it is maintained that so-
'ra. 27.
Para, 25.
A. 401, No. 66.
Ibid., No. 68 (En- closure). Ibid..
No. 70.
+
41
important a harbour could not be left unprotected, and that if it were so left, enemy's ships from its shelter could harry and prey upon the floating commerce of the "Colony. In this view of the case the Colony undoubtedly has considerable interest in the up-keep of a coaling Looking therefore to the "station at Trincomalee.
it advantages which the Colony would derive from the defences of Trinconnalee in time of war "seems only reasonable that it should contribute some-
thing towards the expenditure essential to ** them."
"
11
+
•
secure
The Committee recommended that as the Home Govern- ment had undertaken in 1865, 1885, and 1890 to pay for capital expenditure on works of defence at Trincomalee, it should continue to bear those charges.
"With regard to the current cost of the garrison, the "Committee recommend that, as the naval station at "Trincomalee is of great importance for the defence of "Indian and Imperial commerce, and as the port itself is "of no vital importance to the Colony, it should only be "called upon to contribute beyond the cost of the Colombo "station to the extent of half the annual expenditure "incurred on the Trincomalee garrison."
This would make the total cost to the Colony about £115,000, but the Committee did not think it advisable for the Home Government to base their maximum demand on the data given, as it would only revive a fruitless controversy about Trincomalee, and they therefore suggested that as £115,000 was about three-quarters of the cost of the garrison it should be taken as the maximum payment.
They supported the 1890 Committee in recommending that the cost of new barracks required for Colombo or elsewhere in Ceylon, except Trincomalee, should be a charge against Colonial revenue, and remarked that probably no immediate charge on this account would fall on the local revenue "as it is understood that Colonial Military "Crown Lands will shortly be surrendered to the Colony "which in value would probably more than cover any "expenditure which may be incurred for this service for a "considerable period."
The War Office concurred generally with the Committee but “inasmuch as the sun of £115,000 is based upon the present sterling cost of the garrison now maintained, it "is not to be regarded as a maximum contribution fixed "for all time, but must be subject to revision hereafter "should the composition of the garrison be altered or the "sterling cost vary materially."
My Lords on the 4th September, 1895, "hope that "Mr. Secretary Chamberlain will waive the vexed question "of Trincomalee and concur" with them and the War Office in accepting the Committee's proposals; but the Colonial Office said that “in view of all that has passed with the "Ceylon Government relative to the incidence of cost of the Trincomalee garrison, Mr. Chamberlain hesitates to ask "the Colony at the present time to agree to accept as the "maximum contribution an amount which in reality
44
(however it may be expressed) covera, and will be "understood in Ceylon as intended to cover, part of the "cost of that garrison." The Secretary of State thought it better to leave the question of the maximum alone, so far as communications with the Colony were concerned.
The War Office agreed, and eo did the Treasury, though No. 71 and the latter could not help saying that they were glad to
Ibid..
Enclosure
in No. 74.
23999
*