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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TLC.O. 882

TIT.

Q

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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Further, I would point out that it was conceded, as it was conceded, that the maintenance of Trincomali was to some extent a purely Imperial question, and that therefore the Colony could not equitably be expected to defray all expendi ture connected with it, the abandonment of Trincomali in favour of Colombo would seem to make applicable the same arguments to the latter port, which now becomes more Imperial than ever This, I would respectfully submit, would seem to point to a reduction, rather than to an increase, of the already liberal contribution to the detence of the Empire payable by this Colony, as a logical sequence to the transfer of naval bases

12. And here I would invite your Lordship's attention to what I must venture to describe as the false analogy which it is sought to establish in the 7th paragraph of the letter from the Army Council between The Straits Settlements, Hong Kong, and Ceylon. In the matter of defence, I must submit, the two Colonies above referred to occupy positions altogether different from that in which Ceylon is situ- ated Speaking broadly, Hong Kong consists wholly and the Straits mainly, of

The destruc the towns in which the garrisons for which they pay are stationed tion of Hong Kong would mean the obliteration of that Colony; the demolition of Were Singapore would be a death blow to the prosperity of the Straits Settlements. Colombo, on the other hand, to be devastated by a hostile force, much loss would be sustained, but the main sources of the Colony's wealth, which are chiefly agricul tural, would not be seriously affected thereby. Hong Kong has a total area of 29 square miles and is defended at one point, which practically defends the whole. The Straits Settlements, including Province Wellesley and the almost uninhabited Dindings, has an area of little over 1,500 square miles, and it also is defended at one point only Singapore-but the integrity of Singapore is essential to its economie existence. Agricultural Ceylon, on the other hand, with a population more than ten times as mumerous as that of Hong Kong and more than seven area of 25,000 times as numerous as that of the Straits Settlements, has square miles and a littoral of more than 500 miles in extent, containing many harbours where an enemy might easily effect a landing. Yet it, too, is only defended now at a single point, and that a point which, no matter how great its commercial importance, is in no sense as vital to the life of the Colony as is either Hong Kong or Singapore to the Colonies of which they are respectively the sole and the principal centre Moreover, both Hong Kong and Singapore, owing to the comparative proximity of foreign bases in Japan, the Philippines, and French Indo-China, are far more likely to become the object of hostile attack than is Colombo, and there- fore. it may fairly be presumed, these Colonies can afford to pay a larger insurance than does Ceylon, since they are more exposed to risk than is this Colony.

13. In these circumstances, I would respectfully enter my protest against the admission by your Lordship of any argument brought forward by the Army Council which is based upon a wholly erroneous analogy drawn between this Colony and those to which I have referred. They are all three classed together as Eastern Colonies because they chance to be situated in Asia, but beyond that purely geographical classification they present, in their circumstances, no parallels which can justify them being regarded as resembling one another in any respect which affects the question of their defence.

14. Turning next to the question of the present cost of the garrison now stationed in Ceylon, I would observe that if the military expenditure is to-day smaller than it was some years ago, that has been brought about by action taken by the Army Council, not only without consulting the wishes of the Colony, but, in the matter of the substitution of a native for a European regiment, in direct oppo- sition to its expressed desires.

15. Again, I would submit, this can hardly be held to be a logical argument in favour of demanding an increased contribution from the Colony, as compared with that which was payable by it at a time when the constitution of the garrison was more nearly in accordance with its wishes. I would also point out that by the total reduction of the expenditure due to this action on the part of the Army Council the British taxpayer profits in equal proportion with the Ceylonese tax- payer; and this being so, it appeals to me as singularly inappropriate that the occasion should be taken for inviting the former to assume the whole charge. Changes, it will be seen, have been effected which, while reducing the amount payable by the Imperial Treasury, have deprived Ceylon of one of its two fortified points and have substituted a native for a European regiment in its garrison. It is now, as I read the letter of the Army Council, suggested that this affords a reason for

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requiring the Colony not only to forgo the sole advantage gained through these new arrangements the reduction of cost, in which also the Imperial Treasury pro- portionately shares-but to abandon an agreement which, at the time when it was accepted by the Legislative Council of Ceylon, all concerned had every reason to believe was final and binding.

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I need hardly emphasise to your Lordship the exceedingly regrettable impression which will inevitably be created if this demand is insisted upon and to which I have referred in paragraph 3. I have reason to know that it will only be possible to give effect to the wishes of the Army Council by the use in the Legislative Council of the official vote, to the use of which I entertain, on grounds of general policy, the very strongest objection. It is equally certain that those voting on the official side will, if required to register their consent, do so (with the exception of the Officer Commanding the Troops) only in obedience to official instructions, and against the convictions which, as members of my Executive Council, my leading officers have already uncompromisingly expressed. Such a vote. I venture to think, would be a highly undesirable incident, and would lend colour to the allegation, already made all too frequently, that the best interests of the Colony are apt to be disre- garded by those whose duty it is to defend them when they chance to clash with those of the Imperial Treasury.

There is one more point to which I would invite your Lordship's attention before concluding a despatch for the length of which I crave your indulgence. So far as my information goes, the policy of the Army Council has not of late years been of an absolutely stable quality, At the present time considerable reductions in the local military expenditure have been brought about through a line of policy upon which, for the moment, the Army Council is determined. effected in obedience to that policy have been made without any consultation with

The changes. this Colony, except in the matter of the substitution of a native for a European regiment, in which the protest of the Colony was overruled. Ceylon is now asked to undertake to discharge for the future the whole cost of the military garrison. For the time being, as I have said, a reduction has taken place in that expenditure, but it is nowhere suggested that Ceylon in the years to come should have any greater control over the question of the constitution and economical management of the garrison than has been accorded to it in the past. At any moment, I submit, a change of policy approved by the Army Council may lead to an increase of expenditure which it is not possible for the local Government to foresee, which it will be equally impossible for it to control, and against which its protests will, as heretofore, be unavailing. Yet, consent once given to the payment by the Colony of the whole cost of the military establishment, Ceylon will, in effect, be signing a blank cheque upon its Treasury; and this, I would most respectfully submit, is a course of action which is repugnant alike to common prudence and to the commonest business principles.

18. For these reasons I trust that your Lordship will be able to see your way to resist the demands now put forward by the Army Council, and to insist upon adherence to the existing agreement, which was only concluded because the Unoffi cial Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon had every reason to believe that by accepting it they had at last attained finality.

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(Secret.)

I have, &c.,

HENRY MCCALLUM,

Governor, &c.

No. 136. CEYLON.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 15 June, 1908.)

Queen's House, Colombo, 24th May, 1908.

MY LORD,

REFERRING to my despatch, Miscellaneous, No. 290, of the 23rd instant,* on the subject of the military contribution. I would direct your Lordship's attention to

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• No. 135.

Ka

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