CO882-(2-3) — Page 123

Eastern. 10.

IN ARBITRATION,

BETWEEN THE INDIA OFFICE AND THE COLONIAL OFFICE.

Case of the Colonial Office.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

LICO.

882

2 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO'

1

ON the 10th of August, 1866, an Act of Parliament was passed, intituled "An Act to provide for the Government of the Straits Settlements," the preamble of which recited that the islands and territories known as the "Straits Settlements," namely, Prince of Wales' Island, the Island of Singapore, and the Town and Fort of Malacca, and their dependencies, had been theretofore part of the territories in the possession and under the Government of the East India Company, and became vested in Her Majesty as a part of India by virtue of and subject to the provisions of the Act intituled "An Act for the better Government of India," and that it was expedient that these settlements and their dependencies should cease to form part of India, and should be placed under the Govern- ment of Her Majesty as part of the Colonial possessions of the Crown.

The first section of this Act enacted that it should be lawful for Her Majesty, by Order in Council, to declare that this Act should come into operation at a time to be specified in such Order in Council, and that at such time the Straits Settlements should cease to be a part of India for the purposes and within the meaning of the Act for the Appendix A. better government of India.

On the 28th of November, 1866, an Order in Council was made that the Act of 1866 should come into operation on the 1st of April, 1867.

Accordingly, on the 1st of April, 1867, the transfer, as it is hereinafter called, of the administration of the Straits Settlements from the Indian Department to the Colonial Department was made.

At the time of this transfer there were certain armaments and stores in the Straits Settlements, which had been placed there by the Indian Government while the Settlements formed part of India. These armaments and stores were left there upon the transfer._Of these armaments and stores certain portions were subsequently taken over by the War Office, and paid for by the War Office to the India Office on Imperial account.

During the course of this transaction between the India Office and the War Office, a suggestion was made of a liability on the part of the Straits Settlements to pay the Indian Government for another portion of these armaments and stores. Thereupon the War Office made an arrangement with the Colonial Office, which will be explained later, that the Colonial Office should take up the question of this suggested liability as a question to be settled between the India Office and the Colonial Office, and this suggested liability having thus been made a matter in difference between these two Offices, has by agreement between them been referred to the decision of the Right Honourable W. E. Forster, as Arbitrator, and forms the subject-matter of this case.

The question for the Arbitrator, and the method of procedure agreed upon, are set out in two letters, the first dated 26th April, 1873, from the Colonial Office to the India Appendix B. Office, and the second dated 23rd May, 1873, from the India Office to the Colonial Office.

In these letters it is agreed :-

1. That the arbitration shall be confined to the "liability of the Colony of the Straits Settlements for the armaments and stores left by the Government of India at the time of the transfer, exclusive of those which have been taken over and paid for by the War Department on Imperial account.

2. That each party shall prepare a case to be handed to the Arbitrator, and to be exchanged between the parties; that a period shall be fixed during which each party shall be subsequently allowed to put in a supplementary case, and that the Arbitrator shall then

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