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A selection from the writings and speeches of John Robert Godley

Eastern Colonies

Eastern Colonies.

Ceylon appears to have contained, in 1857, about 2,386 troops. The War Office Return appended to the Report exhibits the charges at home for the troops serving in the Colonies, including a proportion of the whole dead weight of the British army, the cost of transport, and the military expenditure on the spot. This last amounted, for Ceylon, in page 2901857, to 137,776l., or an ample half. Whether it should be required to increase this contribution must be a question for Her Majesty's Government. This Colony at present is spending large sums on railways and other reproductive works. The more, of course, that it may be judged proper to take for military purposes, the less will remain for those other objects which promote the development of wealth.

Mauritius.—The force in 1857 was 850; the military expenditure on the spot, 74,215l.; the contribution of the Colony, 17,705l., which has since been increased. The island could probably afford more, and if symmetry be thought a desirable object, when practicable, this Colony might be able to contribute, as Ceylon has done, a sum equal to about half the cost on the spot of providing for its defence and internal security.

Hong Kong.—The force in 1857 was 826; the expenditure on the spot, 67,180l. This Colony has only recently been able to defray its civil expenditure, it has contributed nothing towards its military expenditure; and I suppose that the garrison will always be within the limit of the amount deemed indispensable for general national objects.