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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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2 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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to impress on the Government the expediency of consulting with the Home authorities, as to the practicability of reductions in the Staff Appointments, the expenses of which are at present borne by the Colony, but which, in the general reduction now in progress, it is submitted, cannot longer be maintained on their present scale."

And they expressed a hope that the Secretary of State, taking into consideration the then depressed state of the Colony, would--

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"See the justice of relieving the Island permanently of the burthen- some contribution of 24,000l. per annum to the military chest; which had for the last few years been felt as one of the most vexatious grievances with which the Colonial finances had had to struggle."

Another Sub-Committee, appointed in 1849, to consider the supple- mentary charges of that year, expressed themselves in the following terms, shewing that objections had been urged, for a long period previously, to the expenditure, which then hardly exceeded a half of the amount now charged on the Conlony:

"As regards the military charges of the Colony, the Sub-Committee earnestly entreat the attention of the Government to the great expense involved in maintaining the present extent of the garrison staff. They are likewise unanimously of opinion, that the existing amount of military expenditure being less necessary for the preservation of the internal peace of the Island than for the maintenance of Ceylon as an important military station of the empire, and as the key to our Eastern possessions, the payment to the military chest of the sum of 24,000l., imposed on the Colony under an erroneous impression of its resources, and continued to be enforced in spite of the strongest representations made from time to time for the last eleven years by every successive Governor, by the Executive Council, by the Legislative Council, and by bodies of private individuals, ought to be discontinued; and they trust that Her Majesty's Government will not permit another year to pass without the injustice done to the Colony by the infliction of this 'penalty for past prosperity' being acknowledged and repaired."

A Select Committee of the Executive Council, appointed in 1849, to consider the establishments of the Colony, after alluding to various items of expenditure which they considered either unnecessary or capable of very large reductions, conclude their observations in the following

terms:-

"On the whole, we would submit the urgent necessity of inviting the attention of Her Majesty's Government and military authorities in England, to the enormous military expenditure of this Island, so far beyond both its requirements and its means. By relieving the Colonial revenue from the annual payment of 24,000, and effecting judicious and detriment practicable retrenchments, especially in the general and garrison staff, an immense benefit may be conferred on the Island, without any either to the efficiency or to the just emoluments of the troops.'

Again, in 1850, the Sub-Committee on the supplies for 1851, in commenting on the provision made for regiments serving in Ceylon, and the garrison and general staff, remarked as follows:

The Committee cannot withhold the expression of their disappoint- ment, that no favourable notice has yet been taken by Her Majesty's Government, of the various remonstrances sent from time to time against the imposition of 24,000l. per annum for the payment of the troops. Seeing no immediate prospect of relief, the Committee content themselves, at present, with drawing attention to the fact that the existing number of field officers attached to the 37th regiment, is unusually large, and to the force of Royal Engineers, so disproportioned to the exigencies of the Colony. The medical officer in charge of the artillery being of a higher rank than consists with the local establishment, an additional burthen is thrown upon the Colony of 1801. per annum, which the Committee would gladly see removed, on the relief of the present first class surgeon, by the appointment of an assistant surgeon, as heretofore.”

So again, the Sub-Committee appointed in 1851, to consider the Supply Bill for 1852, observe, that—

They cannot pass the large votes required for regiments serving in

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Ceylon, without reiterating the observations made by successive Com. mittees for some years past, respecting the heavy military expenditure resulting from the maintenance of so large a force in the Island; and especially from the large allowances granted to the general and garrison

staff."

And they proceed to recommend the discontinuance of the establish- ments of the Royal Engineers at Colombo and in Kandy; and to express their opinion-

"That the military establishments should be made subject to revision, and that its efficiency might be perfectly well maintained at a less cost to the Colony."

The Sub-Committee of 1853, referring to the above remarks of the previous Committee, state that they fully coincide with those remarks; and-

"They regret to learn, that no reductions have been proposed by the Home Government; and also, that advantage was not taken of the opportunity which occurred, when the appointment of Deputy Adjutant- General fell vacant, to save the Colony from the expenditure connected with that office, and which, it is so perfectly admitted, can be dispensed with.

And they suggest-

"That the attention of the Home Government ought again to be solicited to the subject of the military expenditure generally; because the amount of revenue absorbed for these services beyond that which the circumstances of the Colony really require, must necessarily retard its progress and prove a barrier to improvement, by proportionately diminishing the amount which would otherwise be available for the formation of roads, and for undertakings of public utility."

Again, the Sub-Committee on the Supplies for 1854, alluding to the recent alteration in the rate of stoppage on rations issued to European troops, and to a change in the ration itself,-an alteration, by which an additional expenditure of 2,4451. had then been thrown upon the Colony, --cite with approbation the recommendation of a previous Committee-

"That as this loss was the consequence of an arrangement made by the Home Government, on the recommendation of a Committee of the House of Commons, based on the principle of equalizing the issues of provisions to, and the stoppages from, the troops in Great Britain and in the Colonies, this Island should be included among the stations for which extra provision was made, and a grant voted by the House of Commons; and that steps should be taken to recover from the Home Government the loss that as arisen, or any which may hereafter arise."

They conclude their Report, by respectfully urging—

"That suitable representations be immediately made to the Home Government, of the claim which this Colony has to be relieved from the increase to the military expenditure which has thus been placed upon it, -an expenditure which absorbs about one-fourth part of the revenue, and leaves, after the necessary civil charges have been provided for, an amount for the construction of the public works and the formation of the roads, which are necessary to promote the progress of the Colony and to enlarge its capabilities, a sum which is wholly insufficient for those impor- tant purposes."

A select Committee on the fixed establishments, whose Report was laid on the table in 1854, invited the attention of the Legislature "to the large disproportion between the military expenditure in Ceylon and in the neighbouring Island of Mauritius;" and having suggested reductions in every other branch of the service, expressed a trust-

That the Home Government would not refuse to act in a similar spirit as regards the military expenditure, and with a view to this, suggested that the Colony should be relieved from the care of the military establishments altogether, and that these be managed under the authority of the Home Government alone, the Colony being assessed at such a sum per annum, as a contribution towards the military expenditure, as may be deemed a fair and just compensation for the services rendered to the Colony by the military."

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