CO885-(1-2) — Page 68

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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Reference :-

885

1 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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As to an increase of the army a good deal has been done since the date of the memorandum; still I am inclined to think that in one deserip- tion of force, at least, that under the Ordinance, a further increase would be desirable. But it appears to me that if we are to look only to an increase of the regular army, and to an improve- ment of the militia (retaining the present cha- racter of that force), it will be impossible ade- quately to provide for the defence of this country, without occasioning an increase of expenditure which our finances are not in a condition to bear. Other measures ought therefore to be adopted; and in considering what those measures ought to be, it will, I am persuaded, be found of great advantage to keep in view, not only the increase of force, but the improvement of the character of the army. The

means which are best calculated to attain one of these ends will be found greatly to contribute to the accomplishment of the other, and the two objects should, at the same time, be kept in view.

The measures which I consider to be required are as follows :—

I. It is very well known that a very large

proportion of our whole military expenditure is that incurred for the defence of the colonies. As nearly as possible four-sevenths of the whole infantry of the line are either, at this moment, abroad or on passage, and the cost of maintain- ing this force is also very much greater than that of maintaining an equal force in this coun- try, if we take into account the expense of transports, the greater cost of rations, in many instances, and the increased number of men who die or are invalidated in regiments serving in most of the colonies, as compared to regiments at home, which, of course, increases the charge both for recruiting and for pensions. The charge for transport alone is a very heavy one; and it is calculated that, upon an average, we have always from three to four battalions on passage, the available strength of the army

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being, of course, to that extent reduced. Yet the sufficiency of the reliefs provided has long been the subject of just complaint; nor can there be any doubt that the circumstance of our troops being subjected to such long periods of colonial service is one main cause of the pre- vailing disinclination to enter the army in the better class of working men. To obviate these evils we should, in part, look to a reduction of colonial garrisons. The policy upon which we ought to proceed in these days of easy commu- nication by steam between different parts of the empire, is not to scatter our force more than can possibly be avoided, but to keep a large reserve in this country (our citadel, as it is well termed by Sir J. Graham), ready to be sent at a short notice wherever danger may threaten. In the present state of most of our colonies they have nothing to fear from internal disturbances; during peace a sudden attack from without is not to be apprehended; and even in war, it is clear that we could not maintain, in each of our colonies, a regular force sufficient to make head against a serious attack of this sort, and that our reliance, for the safety of these dependen. cies, must be upon our naval power; upon the effect which our assuming the offensive would have in preventing any enemies with whom we may be engaged, from detaching any formidable force to attack our colonial possessions; upon our ability, if such a force should be sent out, to send, with equal promptitude, one capable of meeting it; and lastly, upon the efforts of the colonists themselves. A diminution of the strength of our colonial garrisons in some cases. may, therefore, I think, be looked to as one means of increasing our reserve at home; but I must admit that this cannot be carried to any great extent; I look far more to a change in the description of force employed as effecting a great saving in the cost of maintaining garri. sons in our colonies.

In all our colonies a part of the garrison

ought in my opinion to consist of colonial corps, in the constitution of which a good

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