CO129-577-3 Proposed transfer of military barracks to alternative site 30-1-1939 - 14-12-1939 — Page 32

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defence of the Colony, the Colony shall provide an equivalent for the lands and buildings so surrendered, towards the

satisfaction of the above mentioned

requirements, and to that end the value of

the lands and buildings surrendered shall

be ascertained and recorded, and any lands

and buildings provided out of that value

shall be held by Her Majesty's Government on

the same tenure as those surrendered.

This proposal is based upon the assumption

that the Colonial military lands in

question constitute a permanent Defensive

Fund of the Colony, the integrity of which

should be preserved, in kind or value, even

though the original lands themselves may be

diverted to civil purposes. Accordingly,

whenever any of such lands which have been

set apart for defensive purposes have, from

change of circumstances, or from any other

reason, ceased to answer the purpose for

which they were set apart, and are in

consequence surrendered by the Military

Authorities, their value should be treated

as forming a capital applicable, either

imediately or from time to time, so far as

it will extend, to providing other lands or

buildings which may be required in the

Colony for such purposes."

It will be recalled that the transfer of the

lands now in question and other military lands was the

subject of lengthy discussion and correspondence between

1921 and 1927. The proposal then was to deal with the

transaction entirely through the Military Lands Account.