MMBLIC
PECORD
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سائيات
Reference :-
C.O.882/19
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT 10
BF
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
12
| PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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Mauritius should be required to contribute to the cost of their own defence which is a matter of high policy, but whatever view may be held on the general question of policy it must obviously be subject to modification by considerations arising from the actual financial I venture to bring to circumstances of the Colony concerned. Your Lordship's notice in illustration of this view the great variety of conditions which actually prevail in the matter of Colonial con- tributions to defence, so far as they can be gauged from the Army Estimates. According to these the contributions from Colonies where Imperial Garrisons are actually maintained are as follows :—
Colonial Contribution.
Cost of Garrison.
£
£
Hong Kong
730,200
387,000
Straits Settlements
509,200
444,000
Ceylon
95,000
Mauritius
51,000
25,000
not available
Cyprus Jamaica
85,000 56,000 (1930-31) 10,000
none
Malta, Gibraltar, and Bermuda which so far as I know make no contribution from Colonial funds to Imperial Defence, may be said to be on a special footing.
10. The basis of the above contributions varies according to circumstances: Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements paying 1 understand either 20 per cent, of their assessable revenue or the actual cost of the Garrison whichever is less, Ceylon 9 per cent. of revenue or three-quarters of the total cost of the Garrison, Cyprus a fixed sum. of £10,000 annually and Mauritius 5 per cent. of assessable revenue. No doubt historical events have played a con- siderable part in determining the settlement of the Military con- tribution in the case of each of these Colonies, but it is evident that the special conditions and presumably the financial circum- stances of the particular Colony have been preponderant factors in the decision in each case. The position of Mauritius cannot be in any way compared with that of Hong Kong, the Straits Settle- ments, or Ceylon, and is, I suggest, more fairly comparable with that of Cyprus or Jamaica. I feel bound to subiuit therefore that even apart from the special circumstances of the moment, the con- tribution called for from Mauritiusis unduly high when the actual circumstances of the Colony are considered. It may be noted that Mauritius is the only Colony which actually pays more than the recorded cost of its garrison. If it were assessed on the same basis as Ceylon, its contribution would be reduced to £37,250 while on the Cyprus basis it might be put at perhaps £25,000, which I suggest would be a fair contribution in normal circumstances. do not wish to lay undue stress on the fact that Mauritius pays more than the acutual cost of the Garrison as I am aware that
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this is due to the changing requirements of Imperial Defence, but I neel bound to submit to Your Lordship that such a situation must mevitably be regarded by the population as constituting a grievance and a burden. On the one hand the contribution of the Colony to defence has increased progressively with increasing revenues what- ever the cause of the latter may have been: while on the other hand its inhabitants have seen the Garrison reduced from a sub- For purposes of comparison it stantial force to a mere nucleus. may be mentioned.that in 1913 the cost of the Garrison is given at £101,809 and the Colonial contribution at £30,289 while in 1901 the Garrison cost £173,964 and the Colony contributed £24,777. I subunit that in these circumstances it is only to be expected that the people of the Colony, comparing their situation with other Colonies of a similar standing, should feel that they are being subjected to an exceptional burden and this feeling must obviously be greatly aggravated in a time of acute depression. Moreover it seems to me inevitable that the French element in the Colony should feel that what they doubtless regard as an unfair dis- rimination against Mauritius must be in great part due to its foreign origin and that such a sentiment must tend to perpetuate or at least to reawaken the sense that they are still regarded as a captured territory. It is fair to add that no such suggestion has ever been made to me; it is indeed scarcely likely that it would be: but the position itself appears to me to be such as inevitably to arouse such sentiments even though they may not be publicly voiced. I am bound to say that the situation is one which under present circumstances seems to me to afford excellent material for the political agitator.
11. On the other hand there is no offer of assistance which would, I believe, have a more profound and beneficial moral effect than the announcement that, in view of the situation of the Colony, His Majesty's Government had agreed to waive for the coming year its claim for a contribution towards the cost of the Garrison. I quite realize the strong objections to any additional burden on the Imperial Exchequer under present circumstances, but it has already been announced that in case of extreme need the Imperial Govern- ment will come to the assistance of the sugar-growing Colonies and as I have endeavoured to show I think the need for some assistance towards balancing the budget is pressing. I feel quite certain that the waiving of the Military contribution would as a gesture be very much more appreciated than the grant to the Colony of an equivalent sum of money though the cost to the Exchequer In the latter case the offer would he the same in both cases. would be regarded as an empty one as it would certainly be pointed out that what His Majesty's Government were giving with one hand they were taking back' with the other. An offer such as is proposed above might reasonably be accompanied by a condition that every possible economy should be insisted upon locally and
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