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withdrawn from other parts of the Station to meet the Enemy, wherever he might shew himself, just at they might he withdrawn from the Australian waters for a similar purpose; but if the Force permanently stationed in their neighbourhood were increased, then it would only be fair that they should contribute a larger sum. There remains one more question, viz., as to several descriptions of Service which are often required by Colonial Governors, from Officers Commanding Ships of War. In cases of real emergency, there is no Service of any kind which the Navy is not ready to render. Such has always been the case, and will, my Lords are confident, always be the case with Officers of Her Majesty's Navy ; but in some recent instances, demands have been made which seemed to my Lords not properly to fall within the scope of Naval Service. In the state of almost independence to which many of our Colonies are approaching, it is only reasonable that they should assume part at least, of the burthens which are incident to all Government, and it is not reasonable that the Mother Country should be charged with the maintenance of Vessels to perform ordinary duties of a purely Colonial character. If, however, the Colonies contribute towards the expense of maintaining , a Force on their Coasts, and thus, without additional charge to this Country, render it possible to keep a larger number of Vessels in the neighbourhood, it may be reasonable that a greater latitude should be given to the demands for Service on the part of the Colonies. My Lords have thought it advisable to state their views thus fully, for the information of Mr. Labouchere, in order that he might be aware of the grounds on which my Lords have come to their conclusions. These conclusions are in fact two:— 1. That for Colonial or Inter-colonial communication, and for the mere Local Defence of the oasts ; Vessels to be hired or provided by the Colony, and a Colonial Force, are the best. 2. That for all purposes of General Defence of one or more Colonies, a Naval Force of the Queen's Navy, under the sole control of the Commanders of Her Majesty's Navy, is indispensable. How far the Colonies shall be called upon to contribute towards the maintenance ef such part of that Force as is under ordinary circumstances kept in the neighbourhood of adjacent Colonies, and iv what proportions, it is for Her Majesty's Government to determine. I am, &c, (Signed) R. Osborne. H. Merivale, Esq. • Colonial Office. THE HONORABLE H. CORRY, TO MR. MERITALE. Admiralty, 18th March, 1859. (MVhuti). Sib, — Having laid before my Lords Commissioners cfthe Admiralty, your Letter of the Bth February last, with its enclosures from the Governor of New South Wales, relative to the general question ol the Naval and Military Defences of that Colony, I am commanded by their Lordships to state, for the information of Secretary Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, that they see no reason to depart from the general views expressed in the Letter addressed to you from this Department on the 24th January, 1857. As regards the questions of Local Defence, and the amount of Naval Force required to be stationed For the general protection of the Trade of the Australian Colonies and of Tasmania and New Zealaud, my Lords deem it probable that the amount of Force maintained in the Seas adjacent to the Colonies will, in future, require to be larger than at former periods, and two additional Ships of War have recently been ordered to proceed from China, to join the Senior Officer at present Commanding the Ships stationed for that Service. My Lords have also had under consideration the expediency of a complete separation of the Squadron in the Australian Seas, from that under the Command of the Flag Officer on the East Indian and China Stations, but they are of opinion that an Officer with the rank of Commodore will be sufEcieut for all general purposes at present. It does not appear to their Lordships to be more incumbent upon this Department, or more necessary than at the date of the former Admiralty Letter, namely, January, 1857, that they should enter particularly into the questions affecting the couveyanne of tho Mails, or the Transport of Troops and Stores, to the Colonies in general, but, as regards the principles by which the cost of such Services should be regulated, My Lords may be permitted to observe, that the cost of the conveyance of Troops from England to the Territories of the East India Company, was defrayed, aud freight was provided to the latest period, by that Company. The conveyance of Troops, however, from England to the Colonies, and their removal from one Colony to another, might perhaps be reasonably defrayed by the Imperial Government, on the general understanding, that the removal of Troops by Sea, from one part of a Colony to another, should be at the cost of the Colony. The cost of Naval Force, for the general protection of the Trade of the Colonies, should be defrayed by the Imperial Gsvcrnraent under all circumstances.