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6. With these modifications, they concur in the proposals made by the Admiralty, on the basis that the annual cost should be borne by the several Australasian Colonies in proportion to their population, and they will be prepared to invite the Legislature to make the necessary permanent appropriation for 10 years for defraying Queensland's share of the expenditure.
If New Zealand does not join in the proposed scheme, Ministers think that the number of the cruisers should be reduced to four.
Provision should also in their opinion be made for giving two years' or three years' notice of the termination of the agreement.
His Excellency the Administrator of the
Government.
S. W. GRIFFITH.
Enclosure No. 5 in Australian Letter of 30th May 1886.
COLONIAL NAVAL DEFENCE.
PROPOSALS made by the GOVERNMENTS of NEW SOUTH WALES and QUEENSLAND and TASMANIA, showing the extent to which these proposals affect those in my letter of 24th December 1885.
Proposals in letter 24th Dec. 1885.
(.) That the purely local naval defence force, which has already been created with so much spirit in several Colonies at their own instance, shall remain much on the footing that has been already established. (b.) That any sea-going vessels that may be pro- vided, equipped, and "maintained at the cost of the Colonies, should be manned by the Admiralty, and be placed in every respect ou the same status as are Her Majesty's vessels at present belonging to this station, including the condition that the officers and men should be changed from time to time, so as to secure, both ns to officers and men, that the instruc- tion given in naval establishments at home, and also that the experience gained in the world at large, as now obtained from Her Majesty's fleet, may be enjoyed by all.
(c.) That the vessels provided at the cost of the Colonies should be retained within the limits of the Australasian seas.
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(d) That no reduction of the forces now on the station shall take place consequent on the addition of any force made at the cost of the Colonies.
(e.) That the entire cost of these vessels will be borne by the Colonies.
(f) That an increased number of cadetships shall be given to the Colonies.
(9.) That during a time of peace, these vessels should be employed in the same way as are other vessels of war on this station.
(4.) That any arrangement made shall be for a period of years-10 has been suggested.
Proposals by Governments above named.
(a.) No alteration.
(b) No alteration.
(c.) That the vessels thus provided should be re- tained within the limits of the Australasian seas.
(d) No alteration.
(e.) That the entire cost of the maintenance of these vessels will be borne by the Colonies, and that they pay an interest of, say, 5 per cent. on their first cost in the form of a rent for the vessels while em- ployed under the present agreement.
(ƒ) No alteration.
(g.) No alteration.
(A.) That this agreement shall last for 10 years, and only terminate, provided a notice has been given, three years previously, viz., at the end of the seventh, or of any subsequent year.
(4.) The force thus provided at the instance of the Colonies to be entirely additional to the force voted annually in London. (This was the understanding at the meeting.)
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Enclosure No. 6 in Australian Letter of 30th May 1886.
SIR,
"Nelson," Sydney, May 27, 1886. I HAVE the honour to thank your Excellency for the communication I have received on naval defence this afternoon. I am obliged to refer to London the point which is now raised as to payment, as it is not covered by my instructions.
2. I note that in the paragraph marked x' it is stated among other points that the ships should be manned by the Imperial Government at its cost; but in the passage * which refers to my memorandum, paragraph 7, which paragraph I understand is concurred in, the cost of manning (viz., wages, &c.) among other points is, in the estimate and proposal, to be paid by the Colonies; and this charge is included in the Admiralty revised estimate referred to in Mr. Gillies' memorandum, and is covered and included in the "financial state of the case as proposed by Victoria."
3. May I ask your Excellency to cause me to be acquainted by telegram, confirmed by letter subsequently, if the words "and" "manning" be eliminated from the para- graphs marked x, leaving the rest of the memorandum intact, whether it then will not correctly represent the case. I return an altered copy of the memorandum to convey what I ask and to facilitate reference by telegram.
I have, &c.
(Signed) G. TRYON, Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief.
His Excellency Sir Henry Loch, K.C.B.,
Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Victoria,
&c.
&c.
SIR,
&c.
Enclosure No. 7 in Australian Letter of 30th May 1886.
H.M.S." Nelson," at Sydney,
May 28, 1886.
WHEN acknowledging the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 26th instant, with enclosures, I cannot refrain from making a few observations.
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2. It will not have escaped your Excellency's notice that Mr. Gillies, in his memo- randum of 25th May 1886, in paragraph 4, encourages the desire for united action on the part of the several Colonies, but in the concluding words it is expressed: "that any "increase to the present insufficient naval squadron should be solely at the cost of the Colonies, appears to Mr. Gillies to be quite unreasonable, and it is certainly one that " has never before been put forward.”
This is not, apparently, quite a clear exposition of the case as is shown in the correspondence that was placed before the meeting on board H.M.S. "Nelson," and which I already have had the honour of transmitting to your Excellency.
3. In the memorandum of 27th March 1885, as well as in other papers, it was expressly laid down that the cost of such an addition to the sea-going squadron as is con- templated on this station, made at the instance of the Colonies, should be borne by them. So far as my recollection serves, the principle of sharing the cost of such localised vessels between the Imperial and Colonial Governments was first made by New Zealand, and the proposal then made would have imposed a heavier charge on the Government of that Colony than the scheme I had the honour, by direction, to submit, and which is now under consideration, while it would, if carried out, have been far less effective.
4. When the memorandum of 27th March 1885 was read by the then Government of Victoria, not a word was said as to the unfairness of the proposal. On the contrary I was present, and the impression made on my mind was that while it was not formally considered or replied to, and while no decision could then be given on it, it met with a general acquiescence in principle.
5. In justice to myself as a responsible professional officer charged with the guarding of these seas, I must assert that from my point of view there is nothing that is not "fair" in my memoranda. What is therein put forward I advocate in what is sometimes called
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