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Colonial Office. The acceptance of the figures would not bind the War Department to the surrender of the land, but such areas se it given up would be debited against the Colony at the rates shown.
5.
I may take this opportunity to state, with reference to paragraph 6 of the Circular despatch of 18974 quoted above, that the Colony desires to retain the surrend- ered land only in the sense that it wishes to develop it for the general purposes of the community. The price rifood upon would be final and would not be affected by a future anle by this Government of a particular area at a price higher or less then that paid for its mirrender,
6.
The Defence Contribution Ordinance, 1901, provides that, the percentago paid annually by the Colony is a fixed contribution in full return for the annual cost of the garrison, including «)) capital expenditure for Wilitary Lends and buildings; and it has been the practice to wee the Military Lands Account merely as a record of land transactions between the Coloni-l Government and the Military Authorities. The principle that the Colonial Government does not make cash payments in respect of land and buildinge required by the far Department was affirmed in the Colonial Secretary's letter to the Chief Engineer of the lat April, 1909, a copy of which is attached for convenience of reference, and it was accepted by the Military Authorities. The transactions now proposed are however of a different nature from those which are ordinar- · ily entered in the Military Lands Account, and I am prepared to agree that they should be carried out entirely on a omah basis.
7.
The Military Lands Account showe a debit balance of something over $600,000 against this Government, and I sugest that it should be for the time being closed and that this debit should stand over until the cash
transactions
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