The Express.
London, England, 1851-04-11 00:00:00

rest of the colony was as barren a desert as any on the our- e
(Ai-, of the globe. With free institutions the inhabitants of •
the rape of Gaol llope would be fully capable of defend-
ing themselves against savages. They had bid defiance to
the might of Great Britain, and threatened by force of
arms to resist any attempt to transport couviets to thoir
shores. (lb or, lieur.) Let them display a similar energy
and self-reliance in a war with Kaffir', and they would ho
more than a snatch for :sundial and all his followers. (Bear.)
ronelitiled his observations with regard to the mili-
tary est..nehmen of the United Kingdoms on amount of
the. col.ones, which were neither military stations nor
assovict settli isnot, Iladueing his propositions to figures,
• -•- • - os the North AM,TiC4II

the us*, r .stioate d that w so. ,
colonies we might retrench fsitl,o4;ol., and in South Africa
6511,01.101. ' • and by adding the economies possible in other
qsartera,and for the non-effective services, the aggregate of
saving which be contemplated reached • total of 1,600,0001.
rpm the civil service of the colonies only about 500,0001.
per moues was now capended ; but, wh is the local charges
were properly Inlaid...mai to the local revenues, • consider-
able ...rim; might be effected out of this branch of outlay.
The hon. baronet concluded by denouncing the immoralities
of the existing system, in which the colonial virtue wits
undermined by a vast imperial expenditure, and a corrupt
profit held out to the colonists from the disasters that
might betel the coinneunity. Ile moved these resolutions,
in nu hostile spirit to the government, but on the contrary
to encourage them to pursue boldly and vigorously the
policy which they had commenced in the continent of Aus-
tralia. Ile asked them to assent to this motion, he asked
ill MM. members to support it who wished to educe the
national expenditure ; for if there were any portion of that
expentiatur, in which a considerable reduction could be
made without injury to the empire, that portion was our
colonial a xpenditure ; and that eapcniliture could only he
rtaluctil by acting in conformity with the principles con-
tained in the reaulution which he begged leave to move.
(Cheers.)
Mr. who seconded the motion, added
sorne instances of oar's:wants to those adduced by
.Sir W.
Iliolesworth, and remarked with surprise upon the singular
neglect of colonial retrenchments and reform by a govern-
ment who had made reform in other direetiens the guiding
principle of their policy. Ile maintained that the incon-
sistent:it-sof the existing system were becoming intolerable,
and thnatened to destroy or to separate every colony now
belonging to our empire.
Mr. IiAWES admitted the truth of most of the facts and
the validity of many arguments urged by the member for
Southwark. lie was yet apprehensive that the adoption of
the change he recommended would be fraught with danger
and ruin to the colonial system By removiug our ',Albers
(non all hut the strictly military settlements we should
prat th ally abandon our liolil over a vast extent of
territory abounding in materiel resources, and pro-
mining the development of enormous wealth here-
after. Ili. hon. friend the member fur North-
ampton had laid un the table a return of the gross military
expenditure of our colonies for floe year., un dividing
which it would be found that the annual expense was
1,915,1711. Well, following the course of the hon. baronet.
he might deduct from that the coat of our military stations,
breaus• the hou, barouet clld not propose now to reduce our
expenditure at those stations. Ile wished to guard hint-
self from being suppooal to defend our present cans
blishni. uts, or to say that they were incapable eir
being redtiecil. It was sufficient for him to aseents
at present Bed the present military expenditure was
necessary for the pre...creation of our empire at large. It
might Ise capable of reduction. Ile hoped it might ; and,
therefore, he legged again not to he understood as saying
that it was incapable of reduction. In fact, the papers he
bad laid upon the table of the house the day before showed
that a very esinsiderible reduction might probably he
eff.a-ted in the whines of North America. (Hear.) Our
military stations cost 50J,1101.11., and our convict establish-
ments t 1,001. ; and now lie arrived at the sum over which
the MT. Islrall. t proposed to exercise control. The hon.
baronet had inslieuted the decisive course of policy which he
wished to MY' adopted us speedily as possible ; and if his
motion were carried, the government would feel themselves
bound at puce to commence making reductions. (Hear.) Now,
let him volt the attention 4.1 the house for a n.oment
to those colonies which, not Ischia military or convict sta-
tion., would unaoulowilly, according to the proposal of his
hon. friend, have to be altogether abandoued by this
country. The weeds of the motion were very clear and
cajole:it, as follow.: "That it is the opinion of this house
that stria should be akin to relieve this country, as
speedily as possible, from its present civil and military ex-
penditure on areouut of the colonies, with the exception of
its expenditure on account of military stations or convict
aettlenu.nts. That it is expedient at the same time to give
to the inhabitants of the colonies, which are neither militarystations nor convict settlement., ample powers for their
local self-government, and to free them from that
imperial interference with their affairs which is inse-
parable fremt their present military occupation." Then
it followed, he thought, that all those colonies,
which were not convict or military stations, and which now
bail any portion of the Iberia of the empire within their
boundaries wooded have to be abandoned by this country.
(Hear, hear.) het the house contemplate that proposal.
Ile thought his lion. friend had been led, in the course of
his small', to dwell too much on details, and that he hall
been presented from giving a due appreciation to the policy
he had reesentueuded to the consideration of the house. It
wan his (Mr. Hawes: s) duty to endeavour to show that the
couoapienew of the hon. baron..Cs motion would be such,
as he thought, would almost appal the country. (Hear.
bear.) What were the culonii-s we should have to aban-
don? lie must call it alcindonment, because, if they
were to have local self-government, and to be
freed front imperial iiiterfe ream., it would amount to sepa-
ration from the mother country. Another power might then
bid for them, we not thinking it expealient to pay the nice.-
nary price ; and, therefore, the result of the hon. gentle-
man's policy would undoubtedly be—and it was no exag-
geration to say SO —the abandonment of by far the greater
portion of our colonial empire. (Hear, hear.) Ile believed
that neither the statesmen nue the merchants or traders of
this country were prepared to take such a step as that. (Hear,
hear) Why, it was only that very day that the noble lord
at the head of the government had presented a
petition from {reorient. n connected with the Cape
of (beet Hope, praying Inc aid in the war in
which the military there were engaged with the Kaffir+,
and uo doubt that would be the case in every instance in
which the mace everyuther British colony was disturbed.
(Hear.) Must we surrender our West India colonies?—
Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados's. Must we surrender
Australia and New Zealand ? Were all these colonies to
be left to float th world, for any strong power to take
them? And there ware powers possessing the pecuniary
means that would covet them, and no lung period would
elapse before they passed into pimicsaion of some other em-
. But the hon. baronet went on to say—and to this
be(Mr. Hewes) wished to call the special att .ntion of the
hotrio—that if we granted the colonies local self-govern-
ment, and freed them from imperial control, we might
then safely withdraw our military forces, for that then the
colonies would thonselria undertake their own defence.
Now, he (Mr. Ilawia) altogether dissented from that
view. (Ilene, bear.) Ile dill not see the eonnetion
between local self-government, freedom from imperial con-
trol. and the distribution of our military force. Its
could point to instances in which the largest powers of self-
government were pusairmed by • colony, and yet in which
then, was a large forte, and he could also point to a colony
governed by the colonial office, and which there was a small
force. lot him take the cam of Jamaica. Jamaica en-
joyed the fullest powers of seslf.government, and yet it had
• tom- of 1,400 rare. Trinidad had no such powers and
yet it had a force of only 400 men. Now, if local self-
government conatituted a ground for withdrawing military
force, Jamaica ought to have no force at all. But, the fact
was. there was no cunuetion between local self-government
amt freasloni frown oar military force, for any hon. member
might run through the colonies and ere at once that in
colonies possessing full powers of local self-government
there was a large fume. and in others possessing no
powers of self-government whatever there was a small one.
• Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were instances in point.
Let New Zealand he compared with South Australia. In
the former there was a force of only 1,500 men; in South
Australia there were 11,40.1). The hiference, therefore, was,
that the presence of au armed force in a colony was alto-
gether distinct mid separate from any amount of self
government. (Hear.) Ile questioned, then, whether the
mother country would Save much by adopting the course
bin hon. friend hal suggested. For, what slid the hon.
baronet propose? Ile said—" 'Take the ewe of the Cape;
runt them heal self government ; do not interfere with
them; and if • war break out give them • large sum of