THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE COLONIES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 124, 15 June 1863, Page 3

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE COLONIES.

Mr. A. Mills* moved on the 13th March:— That the cost of commissariat transport in the colonies be reduced by £80,424. He referred to the Cadre ■war to show the large sums which were exipended under that head, observing that, in an ncffoctdal attempt to capture the Cadre chief Sandilli, Sir H. Smith stated that £56,000 had been laid out for wagon-hire alone in what he termed a “ bit of n brush.” The vote, ho added, was one which might be reduced without inflicting any injury on the colonies thernslves, while a division upon it would test the views of the committee upon the question whether populations which enjoyed the advantages of self-government should not be given fair notice that they must not rely entirely on Imperial resources, which were already very heavily burdened, to defray all the expenditure which they might incur in their defence.

Sir G. C. Lewis said that if the honorable gentleman thought the expense immediately in question should be borne by the colonies, the regular course for him to pursue would be to move aresolution to that effect. But even if such a resolution were cai’ried, it would not be binding on the colonies, unless embodied in an Act of Parliament. With respect to the reduction proposed, the regular course would be to vote .the money and then look to the Colonies for repayment, as was done

in other cases in which they contributed to military expenditure, the motion would not, therefore, he trusted, be agreed to. Lord Stanley said he did not know whether it was wise to guarantee the colonies against native incursions, for the result was that instead of being deprecated, and instead of every effort to avoid them, native wars were looked upon as things to bo desired by a portion of the European population, to whose advantage they tended. That was the case of New Zealand, and so with respect to the Cape. Mr. Addehley looked upon the money spent in this way as not only absolutely wasted, but as injurious to those in whose behalf it was spent. It was said that this transport and these supplies were for Imperial purposes. But what was meant by this phrase? In New Zealand our troops were employed to keep down the native tribes ; at the Cape, as a sort of farra'police, to protect the cattle and property of the English and Butch farmers ; and in the West Indies they were used to keep down the blacks. lu| none of these instances were the troops employed in any sense for Imperial purposes. The committee thou divided and the motion was lost. Ayes, G 5 ; Noes, 71; Majority, 6.