PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
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2 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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De Grey and the military authorities in January 1866, and stands in the present edition thus :—
"8. Except in the case of invasion or assault by a foreign enemy, it is the duty of the Governor to determine the objects with which and the extent to which Her Majesty's troops are to be employed. He will therefore issue to the officer in command of the forces directions respecting their distribu- tion and their employment on escort and other duties required for the safety and welfare of the Colony. In all these matters, however, the Gover- nor will consult as far as possible with the officer
in command, and will incur special responsibility
if he shall direct the troops to be stationed or employed in a manner which that officer shall con- sider open to n.ilitary objection.
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"8b. On the other hand, the officer in command of the forces will determine all military details respecting the distribution and movement of the troops and the composition of the different detach- ments, taking care that they are in conformity with the general directions issued to him by the Governor.
"9. The officer in command of Her Majesty's land forces is alone charged with the superin- tendence of all details connected with the Military Department in a Colony; the regimental duty and discipline of the troops; inspections, and sum- moning and holding courts-martial, garrison or regimental; and the granting leave of absence to subordinate military officers.
"10. He carries into execution, on his own authority, the sentences of courts-martial, except- ing sentences of death, which must first be approved, on behalf of the Queen, by the officer adminis- tering the civil Government.
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18. And in the event of the Colony being invaded or assailed by a foreign enemy, and becoming the scene of active military operations, the officer in command of Her Majesty's land forces assumes the entire military authority over the troops."
The question understood to be raised by Sir Henry Storks is, whether some differently defined division should not be established for specific use during Martial Law.
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The Governor, on the one hand, must be sup- posed to be best acquainted with the state of the Colony in its different districts, with the dangers likely to arise in one district or another, and with the character of the sources from which announce- ments of danger or assurances of safety may proceed; the officer commanding the troops, on the other hand, must be assumed to be the best judge of the operations by which dangers are to be met; and a reference to their respective com- petencies would seem to dictate an arrangement by which the Governor's authority should extend to direct what troops should be sent to the pro- claimed district, and to the distribution of the remainder of the troops throughout the remainder of the Colony; whilst the authority of the officer commanding the troops should be supreme in respect of the troops in the proclaimed district, and their distribution and operations therewithin.
The tendency of such a rule would be, if the Governor were tenacious of authority, to restrict the area of Martial Law (which would be a good or evil tendency according to circumstances), and there might be differences of opinion, not only as to the area to be proclaimed, but as to the amount of force to be placed by the Governor under the exclusive authority of the officer commanding the troops.
The only real security for good results from a divided authority is, of course, what
may be found in the good sense of the persons sharing it, and in cordial terms of co-operation; but a definition on the above principle would be sufficiently distinct; and if cordial cooperation is not to be relied upon under this division, it may be better that the authority over the troops should not be divided under Martial Law, and in that case the military officer would seem to be the person to whom the undivided authority should be committed.
In large Colonies, such as Ceylon and Jamaica, the effect would be somewhat analogous to what
it would be if such an arrangement were to be adopted in Ireland. The Governor remaining at the seat of Government whilst the officer com- manding the troops repaired to the theatre of war, the magistrates and police officers of unproclaimed districts, and others throughout the island, would
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