Parliamentary Paper.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1720, 3 September 1862, Page 10

Parliamentary Paper.

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO MILITARY AND NAVAL ALLOWANCES IN THE COLONY. MILITARY. No. 1. —Copy of a Despatch f rom Governor Gore Browne to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle. Government House, Auckland, 22nd Dec., 1860. My Lord Duke, — I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of Despatch No. 65, of the 12th September last, signed by Sir G. C. Lewis, in which I am informed that Her Majesty’s Government has agreed to the proposal made by the Colonial Government of a contribution at the rate of £5 per man for the troops employed in New Zealand. In reply I beg to forward for your Grace’s information copy of a memorandum by my Responsible Advisers, in which they state that they are prepared to act on this arrangement at once, and that the accounts will be adjusted accordingly as soon as they can be ascertained. I have, &c., T. Gore Browne. His Grace the Duke of Newcastle.

Copy of a Despatch from His Grace the Duke of Newcastle to Governor Gore Browne.

Downing-st., 19th July, 1861

Sir, —I have received your Despatch No. ISO, of the 22nd of December, apprizing me that your Government are prepared to act at once on the arrangement by which Her Majesty’s Government proposed that, commencing from the Ist of April, 1858, the colony should furnish a contribution at the rate of £5 a man for the British troops employed in New Zealand.

Pending the discussion of the question, no provision has been made in army estimates for the charges of barracks in New Zealand since the Ist March, 1858. The Secretary of State for War has pointed out to me that in the adjustment of accounts the colony \V#ll now be entitled to take credit for any general expenditure of colonial money on barracks since that date, whilst on the other hand it must be debited, as explained in the Despatch to which your Government have signified their assent, with the cost of the barracks at New Plymouth. Under the new arrangement, it will devolve on the War Department to provide for the charges of barracks in common with all other Military expenses, but it is too late to insert the item in the Army Estimates of this year. The War Department proposes to meet this special case by paying to the order of the General commanding the Troops out of the New Zealand contribution such sum as he may deem requisite for barrack expenditure, provided that the same shall not exceed £SOOO in all, I pursuance of this view, I have the honor, at the request of the Secretary of State for War, to authorize and instruct you to make the above-mentioned payment out of the New Zealand contribution, and to pay the balance only to the general account of the Treasury Chest.

I have, Bcc., NewcASLLE.

Copy of a Despatch from His Grace the Duke of Newcastle to Governor Sir G. Grey , K.C.B. Downing-st., 22nd Nov., 1861.

Sir, —You are aware that, on account of the great and sudden increase in the price of all articles of consumption at the time of the discovery of gold, large special allawances were granted to Her Majesty’s troops serving in Australia, and also to those in New Zealand. Special allowances, but of smaller amount, have likewise been assigned, on account of local circumstances, to the troops serving at the Cape of Good Hope. After much enquiry and deliberation, the Secretary of State for War has come to the conclusion that the rate of allowances in Australia and New Zealand, e°tablisbed as it was at a peculiar crisis, has become excessive, and further, that on account of the manifest objects fo any needless jp the |uivaq?

tages granted to regiments called upon to serve in dfferent parts of the Empire, these allowances should be assimilated to those at the Cape of Good Hope. I transmit to you an extract of a letter from the War Office, with its enclosure, from which you will more fully learn the views of the Secretary of State for War. You will perceive that it is his intention to introduce the change at once in those of the colonies where the special allowances are paid from Imperial funds. For the sake of the important object of uniformity, in order to guard against jealousies amongst the troops, aud out of fairness also to the Colonial Exchequer, it is very desirable that the same change should be effected simultaneously in the remaining colonies which provide for these allowances from their own funds.

The officers in command of the troops at the several stations have been instructed by the Secretary of State for War to afford every cooperation in their power to the civil authorities in carrying these measures into effect, and to put your Government in possession of them, with a view to any communication which may be requisite to the Legislature in order to accomplish the objects which I have explained. I have, &c.,

Newcastle Governor Sir George Grey, K.C.8., &c.

Extract of letter from Sir B. Haines to the Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office, dated IVar Office, 13 th November, 1861. The Secretary of State for War, having for some time past had under consideration the special allowances issued to Her Majesty’s troops in the Australian colonies, with the view to their reduction or abolition, it has been determined for the present to place the troops serving in New Zealand, Tasmania, and Western Australia, where these allowances are defrayed from Imperial funds, on the same footing as the troops at the Cape, thereby reducing the allowances to an average of about one half the present amount. The reasons for this change, and the nature of the new allowances, are detailed in the accompanying draft of a circular despatch which it is proposed to address to the officer in command at each of the stations above named, and are such as, it is believed, will ensure the desired reductions being effected without delay. In connection with the general question, and also in reference to your letters of the 7th May, and 2nd instant, on the subject of the allowances of the Head Quarter Staff in Victoria, it is considered very desirable (in order to prevent jealousy on the part of the troops; that simultaneous reductions should be effected in the allowances provided out of colonial funds in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, and Queensland, and I am accordingly to request that this subject may be brought under the notice of the respective local Governments, with the view to an early end, and, if practicable, an uniform revision of these allowances.

Draft oj circular despatch to the officers of the troops at New Zealand, Tasmania, and Western Australia. War Office, Nov. 2, 1861.

Sir, — The question of the issue of special allowances to Her .Majesty’s Troops serving in the colonies having been under consideration, I am directed by the Secretary of State for War to acquaint you that he has come to the conclusion that there are no longer any just grounds for continuing in any af the Australian colonies the allowances which were some time since sanctioned in order to meet the special and exceptional circumstances which existed during the earlier years of the gold discoveries, and the continuation of which, now that these circumstances have passed away, gives rise to dissatisfaction and well founded complaints in other colonies, where no such allowances are issued, and where the expenses of living are now on a par with those in Australia.

Pending further enquiry, however, into this subject, the Secretary of State does not propose altogether to abolish these allowances, but he considers that the troops throughout Australasia should now be placed on the same fooling as those at the Cape of Good Hope, thus reducing the money allowances of officers from os. to 3s. per diem ; that of employers in the several departments in proportion; and, in the case of the soldier, resuming the stoppage of 3id. for the ordinary ration, granting in lieu an extra ration of bread and groceries, for which no stoppage will be required And I am accordingly to request that the change, as respects the money allowances, may take effect from the first of the month succeeding the receipt of this instruction, and that the payment of the stoppage by the troops may be resumed as soon as the Commissariat, to whom the necessary instructions will be forwarded, shall be prepared to commence the issue of che extra ration. This ration will consist of—| lb. bread; oz. coffee; l-6th oz. tea ; 2 oz. sugar ; § oz. salt; l-36th oz. pepper, per man per day. And it is considered that, with this addition to the ordinary ration, the requirements of the troops will be fully and liberally met, and in a manner which,, while less costly to the Government, is likely to conduce more to the health and comfort of the troo s than the present allowance. It is, therefore, expected that no delay need arise in effecting the desired change. I have, &c.,

Copy of a Despatch from II is Grace the Duke of Newcastle to Governor Sir George Grey.

Downing-street, 23rd Nov., 1861. Sir, —ln my despatch, No. 104, of yesterday’s date, I have apprized you that it is intended to reduce the special allowances to Her Majesty’s troops serving in Australia and New Zealand, and to assimilate them to the allowances granted to the troops at the Cape of Good Hope. As, however, there is always more or less difficulty in withdrawing indulgences from the soldier, and it is desirable to guard against any embarrassment in introducing the change amongst the large body of troops now serving in New Zealand, the Secretary of State for war has, with my concurrence, empowered Lieutenant-General Cameron to apply to you, under certain circumstances, requesting you to endeavour to obtain a grant from the Colonial Treasury of any excess in New Zealand beyond the standard to which it is proposed to reduce these allowances.

You will find it recorded amongst the archives of your Government that, by the contents of a despatch from this department to the Governor, dated the 12th September, 1800, and of the Governor’s answer, dated the 22nd of December, an annual payment at the rate of five pounds per man has, for the present, been adopted as the contribution of the colony towards the general expenses of the Queen’s troops saving id Npw

as special allowances, exclusively occasioned by the employment of the troops id any particular colony, and,, therefore, over and above the regular cost Of 'the Queen’s forces, have always -ieefi ttecognised as fit subjects for colonial payment, I instructed your predecessor, in my despatch, No. 27, of the 7th. March last, to apply to the Legislature to provide for these allowances out of colonial funds, independently of the general annual contribution of five pounds per man. The result I have not heard. Should the Legislature have agreed to the proposed course, the special allowances, whatever may have been thCif amount, will be a colonial charge 5 and t doubt not that your Government and the Legislature will consider liberally any reasons, if such should occur, for not reducin'/ them at once to the uniform rate above contemplated. But, should the Legislature not have adopted the proposal which I instructed your predecessor to ask for, treating the whole of the special allowances as a colonial charge, I still trust that, if New Zealand alone, on account of peculiar circumstances of its own, is to be excepted from a reduction made in all the neighbouring colonies, the Legislature will readily admit the fitness of the colony's defraying an excess entirely occasioned by its own special wants. There are many reasons why such a provision would come not only more graciously, hut more appropriately, as a colonial grant than as an exception made by the Imperial Government to a scale laid down for all the British troops serving in other colonies in the same part of the world. I enclose, for your information, a copy of a despatch from the war department, conveying to Lieutenant-General Cameron his instructions on this subject.

I have, &c.,

Newcastle, Governor Sir George Grey, K.C.B.

The War Office to Lieutenant-General

Cameron

Wat Office, Nov.. 1861

Sir, —With reference to my letter of this day’s date, respecting the special .allowances granted to the trooys, I am directed by the Secretary of State for War to instruct you that, if by reason ol any special circumstances arising out of the state of affairs in New Zealand when that letter reaches you, you should deem it expedient to extend temporarily to the soldier any greater advantages than are hereby sanctioned, you are to apply to the local Governmeut for a grant from colonial funds to cover the same, it being very undesirable, for many reasons, that any but an uniform scale of allowances chargeable to Imperial funds should henceforth prevail in any part of Australasia. A communication on this subject will be addressed to Sir George Grey by the colonial office.

I am, however, to impress upon you that, under no circumstances, is this permission to be held to apply to the money allowances of officers and otheis, which are to be reduced, as already ordered ; nor will the Secretary of State approve of any application ou behalf of the soldier, except on the clearest grounds of policy or of necessity.

1 have, &c.

Memorandum by Mr. Fox.

The Military Secretary (Major Whitmore) having intimated through His Excellency’s Private Secretary the wish of LieutenantGeneral Cameron, that the Colonial Secretary should give him in writing the opinions which the latter expressed at a late meeting of the Executive Council, in reference to the despatches received by his Excellency and by the Lieutenant-General from Her Majesty’s Government in reference to special allowance to soldiers, the Colonial Secretary does so to the following effect.

The colonial Government while anxious to meet to the utmost of its ability the wishes of Her Majes'y’s Government, is unable to pursue any other course than that indicated by a resolution passed by the House of Representatives on the recommendation of a joint committee of both Houses of the Legislature, which investigated the subject of local defence during the last session of the Assembly. It will be seen from the report of the joint committee, that while it recommended the confirmation of the arrangement which had been negociaied between the late Colonial Secretary, Mr. Stafford, and Her Majesty’s Government, to the effect that the colony should contribute towards the cost of maintaining Imperial troops in the colony at the rate of £5 (five pounds) per head, and also should agree to pay a disputed sum of about £7,000 for barracks at Taranaki ; it could not recommend that the colony should undertake the further charge of the special allowances to soldiers, which, at the scale then in operation, would have amounted to at least £5 per head more, and which sum it had only been proposed that the colony should pay, subsequently to the Imperial Government having tendered as an ultimatum the proposal to pay the £5 a head towards the maintenance of the troops ; and which ultimatum was virtually accepted by the colony, when the second charge (that for special allowances) was heard of for the first time.

As the colonial Government is bound by the resolution of the Legislature based on the report above referred to, it is compelled most respectfully to decline to make provision for the special allowances. The Colonial Secretary desires to guard the Government of which he is a member, and the colony, against any possible imputation of being desirous to evade the legitimate liabilities of the colony in respect of military protection afforded to it at the present crisis by the Imperial Government. Their refusal to pay the special allowances is made in no such spirit, but is dictated simply by a practical consideration of the ability of the colony to bear the heavy burdens which the native insurrection has imposed upon it, and which will prospectively be permanently increased by provisions which it is proposed to make towards the Government of the natives. The ultimate adjustment of these burdens must be determined on broad grounds, which it will be for the Imperial Government to consider. A memorandum which his Excellency’s advisers laid before him on the 2/th of September last, on this important subject, has already been forwarded to Her Majesty’s Government by His Excellency. As it indicates the deliberate opinion of the colonial Government, arrived at unanimously after much consideration, the Colonial Secretary begs to refer Lieutenant-General Cameron to the following extract from that document.

William Fox.

MILITIA. Copy of a Despatch from Governor Gore Browne to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, Government House, Auckland, New Zealand, 6th May, 1861. My Lord Duke, —In reply to your Grace’s Dpspatcit, jfo, is, af th* W*

I have the honor to forward accompanying' Memorandum from .my Responsible Advisers. I have from the first intimated .to these gentlemen that it must rest with Her Majestys (government to decide what part of the Militia expenditure shall be defrayed by t e colony. • , With this view I exacted a guarantee on tne subject before I consented to incur any expense bn account of the Militia force at Taranaki, and I only consented to alter the terras .originally agreed Upon because it appeared that they were not in exact accordance with Mr. Labouchere’s Despatch of the 22nd October, 1857. ‘ , , ■ It appears by your Grace’s Despatch that you did not observe that the circular Memorandum addressed by the Horse Guards to Commanding Officers was sent to me in a Despatch from the Secretary of State (Mr., Labouchere), for my “information and guidance,” and that therefore it was incumbent on me to obey it. , . I always, however, considered that the Memorandum did contemplate the recovery of expenses incurred from the colony in whose interests the expenditure is made; and. however ill I may have expressed myself, I never considered that the colonists are at liberty to dispute such a demand if Her Majesty’s Government insist upon it. I have, also, strictly avoided any pledge on the part of Her Majesty’s Government that the money advanced would not be reclaimed, and liniformly expressed my private opinion that Her Majesty’s Government would reclaim all payment on account of Militia expenditure; although, on the part of the colonists, I expressed in my Despatch a hope that the whole amount would not be exacted.

I have advised Lieut.-General Cameron that no advances are in future to be made except those for which the Cbldniil Secretary is prepared to guarantee the repayment. I have, &c., T. Gore Browne. His Grace the Duke of Newcastle,

Memorandum by Mr. Stafford. Colonial Secretary’s Office, Auckland, 4th May, 1861.

Ministers have had under their consideration the Duke of Newcastle’s Despatch referring to the pay and allowances granted to the Taranaki Militia, No. 13, of the 26th January last, in which the Governor is instructed not to make any further advances from the Commissariat chest, in respect of the maintenance of any Local force, except on a distinct pledge given by the Government of the colony that all such advances will be repaid from colonial funds, so far as the Imperial Government shall require repayment. Ministers are unable to give any general pledge to that effect, which would comprise the cost of the maintenance of all Local Forces which the Governor of the colony may from time to time call out for actual service in the field or for gairison duty, as no funds have been appropriated by the Legislature which could be pledged to that extent. It is, however, absolutely necessary, in the present critical circumstances of the colony, that the Taranaki Militia should not be immediately dismissed; and, if the current cost of that Force will not be provided from the Commissariat chest without a pledge of repayment, if required by the Imperial Government, Ministers will give that pledge for the present, and will submit to the Legislature in the approaching session the whole question of the maintenance of Colonial Forces for the future.

While giving this pledge, Ministers at the same time request that it may be represented to tiie Secretary of State that the Colonial Forces have been called out for service by the Governor, in exercise of the Royal Prerogative, to assist Her Majesty’s Regular Forces in maintaining Her Majesty’s authority, at a time when the small number of Regular Forces in the colony made such assistance especially valuable ; and the Taranaki Militia have, for more than a year, been entirely at the disposal of the Officers commanding Her Majesty’s Forces—have on all occasions taken part in the Military operations - and have at all times been available for duties which would otherwise have been required to be performed by Troops maintained by Imperial funds. E. W. Stafford.