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vouchers is duplicated in this office, and the payment voucher frequently differs from the issue voucher; thus the charge on the Colonial account is not made for many months after the charge for shipping and insuring the goods.

3. Wę wish, however, to acknowledge the care and attention given to our orders by the authorities at Woolwich and Weedon.

Enclosure in No. 4.

I have, &c.,

W. H. MERCER.

INSTANCES OF SAVING EFFECTED BY BUYING FROM TRADE INSTEAD OF

Requisition No.

WAR OFFICE.

Articles,

118.

41

No. 5.

✡

COLONIAL OFFICE to WAR OFFICE.

SIR,

Downing Street, January 7, 1907. WITH reference to your letter of the 17th of July 1906, and to the letter from this Department of the 13th of August last, I am directed by the Earl of Elgin to transmit to you, to be laid before the Army Council, a copy of a letter from the Crown Agents for the Colonies, enclosing a memorandum on cases in which delay has been experienced in obtaining supplies from the War Office, and in which additional cost as compared with the prices charged by the trade has been, or would have been, incurred.

This memorandum was called for by Lord Elgin, in view of the discussion expected at the forthcoming Colonial Conference on the subject of Colonial orders for warlike stores.

I am, &c.,

FRED. GRAHAM,

Trade Price.

War Office Price.

—

£

d.

Transvaal 885

220,000 rds. 303 ammunition

S.A.C. 243

S.A.C. 155

2,000 Webley pistols and roda Leather, various

935 0 0 5,825 0 0

546 2 1

S.A.C. 158

200 tent roofs

S.A.C. 195

S.A.C. 50

475 0 0 716 13 4 2,650 0 0

£ 3. d. 1,070 0 0 6,634 11 689 18 660 0 0 900 0 0 3,450 0

8

4

0

Mule shoes

6,000 rugs, horse, small

CASE WHEN ADDITIONAL COST WAS INCURRED BY BUYING FROM WAR OFFICE INSTEAD OF TRADE.

S.A.C. 93.—10,000 blankets, G.S.

(Trade) 1,770l. 168. 8d. (War Office) 2,1667. 138. 4d.

INSTANCE OF SAVING IN TIME EFFECTED BY BUYING FROM TRADE INSTEAD OF

WAR OFFICE.

Transvaal 927-500 rifle barrels cabled for by Colony, urgently required.

Demanded from War Office 3rd September 1906.

On 13th September 1906 War Office stated that supply

could not be made before January 1907.

War Office order cancelled and tender issued to trade, Order given 27th September 1906.

Goods shipped 16th November 1906.

INSTANCES OF WAR OFFICE DELAY IN SUPPLYING STORES.

Requisition.

F.M.S. 414 Trausvaal 487 -

Ceylon 1862

F.M.S. 73 and 74

Ceylon 1144

Articles.

"Ordered.

Date.

Issued.

Promised for

Delivery.

12 rifle barrels

22/2/06

15/6/06

Barrel spinuing and testing

16/6/05

6/10/05

machine.

-

150 rifle barrels

7/2/06

12/7/06

2 Maxim guns

1/1,03

22/6/03

"1

carriageo

1/1/03

30/10/08

8/2/04

-

ammunition belts

H

6/1/04

12/5/05

• In cases where the War Office had to refer to us for information before supply could proceed, the date given is that on which the requisite information was sent to the War Office,

In every case War Office patterns were supplied.

Office of the Crown Agents for the Colonies,

31st December 1906.

H. F. S.

No. IX.

Preferential Trade (Departmental Correspondence). (NOTE.-Papers circulated on this subject will be found on pp. 205-494 of [Cd. 3524].)

42931.

SIR,

No. 1.

COLONIAL OFFICE to the BOARD OF TRADE.

Downing Street, January 16, 1907.

I AM directed by the Earl of Elgin to request you to inform the Board of Trade that in view of the terms of the resolution proposed by the Common- wealth Government for submission to the Colonial Conference on the subject of Merchant Shipping and Coastwise Trade, which reached this Office about the same time as your letter of 20th November last, his Lordship did not think it desirable without further consideration to forward the draft Treaty of Commerce and Navigation enclosed in that letter to the Colonial Governments.

2. I am to add that before replying to your letter the Secretary of State awaited the receipt of resolutions by other Colonial Governments, the last of which only arrived on the 22nd ultimo. I am now to enclose copies of the resolutions proposed by the Governments of the Commonwealth, New Zealand, and the Cape of Good Hope which bear on the question of treaties as affecting the trade relations of the Empire.

3. As regards the New Zealand Resolution, it is understood that since the denunciation of the German and Belgian treaties no treaties or conven- tions are in existence, and it is not in contemplation to enter into treaties or conventions, fettering the right of the self-governing dependencies to make reciprocal and preferential fiscal agreements with each other and with the United Kingdom of an unconditional character, but no doubt the resolution is directed at such conditional preferential arrangements as that now proposed by the Australian Government. It is also for consideration whether the acceptance of the resolution would not involve disapproval of the Newfound- land Convention with the United States of America (not yet ratified), of which the text is printed on pages 51-53 of [Cd. 3262], see Art. V.

4. The Cape Resolution suggests that the scope of the reference to the Royal Commission on Shipping Rings should be enlarged with a view to considering, among other questions, the limitation of British trade to British bottoms, but it is possible that the terms of reference to the Commission are already wide enough to include the subjects suggested by the Cape Government.

5. It will be noted that it is not clear whether or not the Cape Govern- ment considers it desirable to limit British trade exclusively to British And in this connection it will be remembered bottoms, or, if so, in what way.

• 26160; substance shown in No. 1.

† No. 4.

42931; not printed.

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Į Į | | | | | | | | | | | |

Reference :-

C.O.88

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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