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APPENDIX III.
Colonial Troops for Imperial Service in War.
MEMORANDUM BY THE COLONIAL DEFENCE COMMITTEE.
THE Secretary of State for the Colonies has referred to the Colonial Defence Committee, for their consideration, a copy of the following Notice of Motion which has been formulated by the Government of New Zealand for discussion at the
· Conference of Colonial Premiers to be held shortly after the Coronation :-
"That it is desirable to have an Imperial Reserve Farre formed in each of His Majesty's dominions over the Seas for service in cuse of emergency outside the Dominion or Colony in which such reserve is formed. The limits within which such reserve force may be employed outside the Colony wherein it is raised to be defined by the Imperial and Colonial Governments at the time such reserve is formed, and to be in accordance with any law in force for the time being respecting the same. The cost of maintaining and equipping such Imperial Reserve Force to be defrayed in such proportion and manner as may be agreed upon between the Imperial and Colonial Governments,”
The Secretary of State for War, at the suggestion of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, has referred to the Committee a paper drawn up. For the War Office by Lieutenant-Colonel Altham, C.M.G., Assistant Quartermaster-General at Head- quarters, on the organization of Colonial troops for Imperial service. The paper printed as an Appendix to this Memorandum.
2. The principle brought forward in the Notice of Motion is identical with that embodied in The New Zealand Delence Act Amendment Act, 1900,” which was discussed by the Colonial Defence Committer in their Memorandum No. 271 M, dated the 2nd August, 1901. In that Meinorandum they pointed out that the Act repre- sented the first attempt by a Colony to evolve such an organization of its military resources as would enable it to place in the field trained troops available for Imperial service outside the Colony, and they expressed the opinion that the measure con- stituted an important step towards facilitating the conception and execution of comprehensive schemes of Imperial defence.
Such schemes, drawn up to meet the conditions of the various ways in which the British Empire might be engaged, involve the despatch by sea of a certain number of expeditionary forces as soon after the outbreak of war as naval conditions permit. These forces may be required to reinforce the local troops in any part of the Empire specially exposed to attack, or may be directed against outlying possessions of an enemy in order to deprive him of the means of carrying on naval operations in the neighbouring waters. For such purposes, troops despatched by the self-governing Colonies would be of special value: no European Power other than Great Britain is in a position to draw on large communities of white subjects outside Europe for military assistance, and the action of expeditionary forces based on Australasian and Canadian ports might be of great importance during the early stages of a war. But in order that the operations of the various expeditionary forces should be effectively combined, it is essential that the co-operation of all should be assured, and that caeli force should be efficient in all respects for the service required of it:
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TLITIC.O. 885
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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