CO885-(7-8) — Page 594

'PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 885

8

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT_PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

34

Territories, and then we should not be in a position to send considerable

auy force by way of a contingent. I mention that as a reason why the Colony could not safely bind itself beforehand, but at the opening of the Conference and following a remark made by Sir Edmund Barton I said, and so I say again to-day, I look to the sentiment which exists in the different Colonies of the Empire to render the assistance which should be needed when the time arrives. am certain the Cape Colony would be prepared to do what the other Colonies of the Empire have done on behalf of South Africa.

And now, with regard to the expenditure which has been incurred in the Cape Colony. From the latest figures I have to band I think I can put it down that the total expenditure of the Cape Colony in connection with the war and suppressing the rebellion will be 2,750,0001, which you will see is a very large contribution for a colony like the Cape, because the figures given here show the total contribution of all the other Colonies of the Empire to the cost of the war as 1,859.0007., therefore the Cape Colony has, as a matter of fact, expended about 900,000l. in war and the suppression of rebellion more than all the rest of the Colonies of the Empire together.

Mr. SEDDON: We are paying the interest now on the cost of the Maori war, which amounted to several millions.

Sir GORDON SPRIGG: So are we. Now I am not taking any credit to the Colony on account of our large expenditure. I consider that as there was a great rebellion in the Colony, as well as a war which affected us so materially, and the first duty of the Government is to repress rebellion wherever it arises in the Colony, the Colony was simply doing its duty just the same as I am quite sure if in any other Colony of the Empire rebellion were to arise the Government of that Colony would do its duty in the same way, and would incur a very much larger expenditure than might be incurred by any other Colony where no rebellion or no war existed. The Cape Colony has simply done its duty, but I have pointed out the enormous expenditure which it has incurred which is not generally known, and owing to that it involves us in a considerable debt, and that is an additional burden which the people of the country will have to meet, and that is an addititonal reason why the Colony will not be in the position to very materially increase the expenditure which it already has to meet for military and for naval purposes. I think it is scarcely necessary for me to go any further into the matter this morning. I shall be quite prepared when a definite resolution is submitted to state how far the Colony is prepared to go in a financial direction, but it must be with the limitations I have laid down, that it is not for me on the part of the Colony to enter into a general Imperial defence scheme which would require at any time, however unfor- tunate it might be for the Colony, that a considerable military force must be. sent away from its shores. I cannot possibly bind the Colony to do that. I think it well to intimate beforehand the line upon which I have gone, and the terms which I am prepared to recommend on behalf of the Colony. Of course I would not for a moment like it to appear that I, on behalf of the Colony, hesitate to pledge the Colony to provide its just share of the vast expenditure which has been incurred by the Imperial Government on behalf of the Empire at large.

Sir ALBERT HIME: Mr. Chamberlain, 1 should like to emphasise what has been said by those who have spoken before me with regard to the difficulty of comparing the expenditure per head of population in the Colonies with the expenditure per head in the Mother Country. As has been very well pointed out, the demands in the Colonies upon the revenues are far and away greater and more numerous than they are in the Mother Country. Works of all descriptions, railways, public works, harbour works, and every kind of service, which is carried on at home as a rule by private enterprise, has to be carried out in the Colonies by the Governments themselves. Then, Sir, with regard to the expenditure per head of the population on naval and military services in the small Colony which I represent, it is hardly fair, I think, to include the enormous native population as well as

35

the Indian population, The population I see is put down as 902,365 in 1898. Well, of that population only about 60,000 would be Europeans, and it seems to me to be hardly fair to lump the natives who entail large respon- sibilities upon the Government-to include them in the calculation of the contribution per head of population. If the Europeans only are taken into account the expenditure by Natal would be very large per head of the population.

That expense, sir, is put down here, although I think it is an excessive amount, at 231,3717., and if that be divided by 60,000, which is the European population, that brings it to nearly 47. per head of the European population for expenditure on naval and military services. In Natal, sir, we have two forces. The first is the permanent force, the Natal Police. We have about 600 or 700 mounted European police there, the permanent force of the Colony. They are liable for service anywhere We have also a volunteer force which entails a very heavy expenditure, 66,0007. is the estimate next year for our volunteer force. That volunteer force is approximately 2,000 out of a popu- lation of 60,000; 2,000 volunteers, 1,500 mounted and 500 artillery and infantry. Under our volunteer law those volunteers are liable for service both within and without the colony, and they have been used during this recent war, some outside the colony as well as within the colony. I think, though, that it is hardly desirable that there should be any fixed rule that our volunteers should be liable for service in any part of the Empire, because being only a very small European community, we cannot afford to send away any large force out of our own Colony where they might be wanted at any time, and I think, therefore, until we have a federation of the South African Colonies, it would be very diflicult for the individual Colonies to do more than offer a con- tribution in money to the naval and military expenditure of the Empire. When we get coufederation, there may be a bigger scheme in connection with the whole matter and the question of the permanent naval reserve which has been spoken of by Lord Selborne might very well then be dealt with, but I think it will be seen that for a Colony of about 60,000 European inhabitants a permanent naval roserve on a scale which would bo of the slightest use is almost an impossibility. We have, it is true, sir, a small naval volunteer force consisting of about 150 men. If we had some means of training these men, some ship available for training these men, they would be available and no doubt they would make a useful force, but we have no means of training them excepting of course our own steamers in the harbour of port Natal, and therefore they could not be regarded as ready for service unless they received some other and better training than they now get. I may say that we have also got at this time two batteries of artillery which are available for service in the Colony and we havo incurred considerable expenditure in fortifying the port of Natal. We have got two batteries of heavy guns which overlook the entrance, and have been paid for entirely out of our own funds-out of the revenues of the Colony.

It seems to me, sir, that Natal and the Cape must at present be treated somewhat differently from other portions of the Empire, partly on account of their different circumstances, namely, that we have such an enormous native population, partly on account of the fact that we are not yet confederated, although we hope that we shall at an early date be confederated, and for these reasons it must be seen that we can hardly be expected to deal with this whole question of defence in the same way as it can be dealt with by Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In the meantime, sir. our Parliament at it recent session, just before I left Natal, passed a résolution in which it recognised that it is the duty of the colonies to contribute towards the maintenance of the Imperial Navy, and I think, sir, I should give you the actual terms of the resolution. The terms of the resolution are as follows:-

*

This House reaffirms the principle that this Colony should contribute towards the cost of maintaining the British Navy, and is of opinion that the question of annual Colonial contributions towards the maintenance of the Navy is one that might with advantage be liscussed at the forthcoming conference of Prime Ministers in London."

E 2

122

1