CO129-566-21 Military contributions 7-5-1938 - 31-1-1939 — Page 50

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19.

An additional advantage of a contribution

fixed quinquennially would be that it would be

possible in fixing it to give due weight to any

increases in the Colony's direct responsibility for defence matters. It has been realised by both

civil and military authorities here that the recent

trend of defence policy has been to place greater

responsibility on the local defence forces and that

trend is necessarily reflected in steadily growing

expenditure on those forces. Clearly it is possible

that such a change might eventually so disturb the

balance that the present defence contribution, under

which the Colony has in effect contracted out of

responsibility for the major part of defence

expenditure, might cease to have any equitable

basis. I do not suggest that developments to date

have seriously disturbed the balance but they are

sufficiently large to suggest that they may require

to be taken into account in future assessments.

20.

It should, I think, be a condition of any

fixed contribution that the Colony should not pay

in any year more than the actual cost of the

garrison in that year.

21.

If you are satisfied by these

representations of the necessity for some reform and

these proposals for reform commend themselves

generally to you I request that they may be

communicated to the Lords Commissioners of the

Treasury and to the Army Council for their consideration.

If a new system is decided upon I should like it,

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