The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 20, 1849.

France as our enemy. He trusted she never would be.
—(Cheers.) He remembered being especially pleased
with some fine lines of our admirable poet Ssak-pere,
which might be most appropriately quoted in relation to
this subject :
" God, the best maker of all marriages,
Combine your hearts in one, your realms in one!
As man and wife, being two, arc one in love,
So be there 'tivixt your kingdoms such a spousal
That never may ill office, or fell jealousy,
Which troubles oft the bed of blessed marriage,
Thrust in between the pactions of these kingdoms,
To make divorce of their incorporate league;
That English may as French, French Englishmen,
Receive each other! God speak this Amen!"
—(Cheers.)
Mr. HENRY DRUMMOND, in explanation, said
that he did not intend to express any apprehension of
the probability of a French invasion; nor had he drawn
any contrast between the manufacturing and agricultural
interests. He felt convinced that it would be a very
great evil if any such contrast existed.
Mr. V. SMITH believed it was the wish of her
Majesty's Ministers that the estimates should be dis-
cussed by the House ; for all the applications made to
them were for an increase of the estimates, and unless
they could reply that any proposal of that tendency
would meet with opposition in the House of Commons,
they were left entirely without any answer to such ap-
plications. The Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. F. Maule)
had laid down the question of colonial protection most
broadly, as if any amount of military expense might be
justified upon that ground. But colonial protection
stood upon different footing from wl at it formerly did.
Having applied the doctrine of fres trade to your colonies,
there no longer existed the necessity of extending mili-
tary protection to those colonies on commercial grounds.
Still he (Mr. V. Sit ith) considered it necessary to main-
tain garrisons in some of the colonies for the purposes of
war, and the question was, what were the colonies in
which such garrisons should be maintained ? They were
bound, he conceived, to protect those that were planted by
British subjects from invasion and from the incursions
of the aborigines; but this obligation ceased as soon as
the colonists were able to protect themselves. In rela-
tion to our great North American provinces, there oc-
curred a question which it was the duty of Ministers
seriously to consider. The powers of self-government
had been conferred upon them, and from that moment
the necessity of extending protection to them ceased.
Whenever circumstances arose—and it was a case which
we must contemplate—which should place those pro-
vinces in antagonism with this country, we must look
forward to the question of separation.—(Hear, hear.) He
would therefore advise the Government to anticipate that
event, by adopting measures that should make the sepa-
ration an amicable one, and not the result of force.
Were the Canadas to be invaded by the United States it
would be impossible for this country to send out troops
to protect them. The Colonial Minister should, there-
fore look forward to this question. At present the colo-
nists of New Zealand required protection against the
aboriginal inhabitants, but that was not the case with
Australia. The Right lion. Gentleman expressed his
disapproval of sending convicts to our colonies, espe-
cially to those colonies to which honest and pure-minded
men were invited to emigrate. He then adverted to the
want of information by the House on all colonial sub-
jects until very heavy expenses were incurred. Such
was the case in the instance of the Kafir war; so, also,
with regard to the extension of the colony of Natal, and
to the establishment of a colonial Government in the
island of Labuan, under Sir James Brooke. There were
only two cures for these things; the one was to require
the colonists to protect themselves, and the other was
that her Majesty should be advised by her Ministers,
whenever she intended to extend her colonial territories
or to found new colonies, to send down a message to
Parliament stating that such things were about to be
done, and setting forth how much money would be re-
quired to carry them into execution. Considering, how-
ever, that due notice should be given to those colonies
which were hereafter to protect themselves, before re-
quiring them to do so, he could not vote for the amend-
ment now proposed.
Mr. RICE agreed with much that had fallen from the
Right Hon. Member for Northampton (Mr. V. Smith)
with respect to self-government in the colonies. But
it ought not to be forgotten that the whole tendency of
the policy of Government was to give the colonies self-
government.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Rice) believed
that when that system was carried out the House would
not need to vote the same number of men as at present
for the purpose of protecting the colonies. But the
House must decide that great question first.—(Hear,
hear.) He assured the Hon. Member for Montrose that
military gentlemen were as anxious for all practicable
reduction in the expenses of the army as the Hon. Gen-
' tleman himself was ; but he (Mr. Rice) for one would
not, for the sake of giving a popular vote, vote for a re-
duction which he knew to be impracticable. He felt in
the same way with reference to the blockade on the coast
of Africa. He was favourable to the removal of that
blockade, and, if the Government were not able to give
a better reason for its continuance than he had yet
heard, he was prepared to vote against it; but he was not
prepared to vote for a reduction of the number of men in
the navy if it could be shown that the Government were
called upon by the existing state of things to maintain a
force there. When these questions were settled the num-
ber of men both in the army and navy might probably
be safely reduced. But until they were settled he would
not vote for a reduction.
Captain BOLDER° remarked, that the Right Hon.
Member for Northampton had talked of the necessity of
a reduction of the militar.y. force _in_ the colonies; but
what was the actual condition of the colonies at this mo-
ment? Could Ceylon do without troops?—(Hear, hear.)
Could it be pretended that the West Indies coo d do
without troops an their present discontented state, or
that they would be justified in withdrawing their troops
from the Canadas?—(dear, hear.) They were all aware,
too, of the condition of the Cape of Good Hope. These
things arose from the system of mis-government which
prevailed throughout our whole colonies.—(Bear, hear.)
If the Government changed their system, and should
succeed in making the people contented and satisfied, he
admitted that then they might safely withdraw a large
hody of these troops.—(Hear, hear.) But there were cer-
tain colonies in which they were compelled to keep a
large force. The events that were occurring in Europe
compelled them to do it. Take Gibraltar, for example,
or Malta, in both of which places we were obliged to
have large forces,—(Hear.) Then there were the Greek
islands. We were put in possession of the lonian islands
by the Greeks themselves, upon the understanding that
we should give them military protection, and, having got
possession of those islands upon that understanding, we
could not now withdraw our promised protection without
a breach of faith.—(Hear, hear.) If the amendment of
the Hon. Member for Montrose were carried, what would
be the result? The scale which had been laid down with
respect to the length of colonial service would have to be
altered. Hitherto, the colonial duty had pressed upon
our troops in a most unpardonable and unwarrantable
manner. He knew a regiment that had been 23 years in
the East Indies; it was then 13 years at the Cape and
Mauritius, and had been nine years in England. It was
at present, however, under orders to return to the East
Indies, where it would have to remain for 15 years. So
that out of 60 years it would only have spent nine
years in England. That was our colonial system.
A new regulation had been made, limiting the length of
service in our colonies; but if
the Hon. Member s
amendment were carried it would be impossible to carry
that regulation into effect. It would therefore occasion
a breach of faith with the soldier.—(Hear, hear.) The
'
Hon. and Learned Member for the city of Oxford had
objected to class legislation. No man disliked class
legislation more than himself (Captain Boldero), but he
would ask the Hon. and Learned Gentleman who had
begun it?
Sir W. MOLESWORTH said that his Hon. Friend
the Member for Montrose had proposed to return to the
establishment of 1835, and to make a reduction of 14,000
men in the force of the army. Could this reduction be
made without injury to the interests of the empire?
Were the number of soldiers excessive either at home or
abroad? At home the force was 61,000, or 11,500 men
more than in 1835. Was thatforceoo great? When he
remembered the events of last year in Ireland; when he
considered that they had to provide reliefs and reinforce-
ments for 28,000 troops in India, and to supply the
places of those brave men who had been led on to unne-
cessary slaughter by rash and incompetent generals;
when he considered that they had likewise to
provide reliefs for 32,000 British troops in the
colonies; that the services of those troops were of the
most arduous and disagreeable kind; for instance, bush
fighting and cattle driving at the Cape, guarding convicts
in Australia, and combating savages in New Zealand.
When he considered that some of these troops were sta-
tioned amidst the snows of Canada,and others were
broiling in the West Indies, he must acknowledge that
it would he cruel and unjust to compel these men to pass
more than halt their lives in such inglorious services.--,
(Hear, hear.) He could not, therefore, at present vote
for a reduction of the military force at home, which
would tend to the prolongation of the period of military
services in the colonies.—(11"1.) hear.) lie should,
however, vote for a reduction of the force in the colonies,
,
on the ground that if they were properly governed half
the present force would be ample.—(Hear, hear.) At
of colonial i.al corps, making
present the force in the colonies consisted of 32,000
ißnriatlilsh42t,rooooop s,
men,an
elxoc,
lu e o
0 vin enf
and engineers,
an increase of about 2,500 men on the establishment
of 1835. These troops, secluding artillery, &c.,
cost the country about 2,500,0004 a year.—
(Hear.) He should first propose to reduce the
orce on our military stations,twhich amounted to about
22,000 men. He .should begin with withdrawing the
troops frc in the lonian Islands. He denied that Great
Britain was bound either by treaties with the great
powers of Europe, or by convention with the lonian
States to keep any specific number of troops in those
islands. But he considered that the lonian States were
bound by convention to pay the expenses of all British
troops not exceeding the number of 3,000 men, which
had been about the average number of troops in those
islands. It would have been impossible fur the lonian
States to fulfil this agreement. It would have required
a larger sum than tbei: whole revenue. Time after time
fresh agreements had been made with them for smaller
and smaller contributions on account of military protec-
tion ; those agreements had never been fulfilled for any
considerable period of time.—(Hear, hear.) At present
they were upwards of 200,000/. in arrear ; it was but
fair, however, to state that they had paid since 1816 not
less than 800,0001. for military protection, a sum enor
mous in proportion to the population of these islands,
which did net exceed 220,000; enormous in proportion to
their revenue, which amounted to about 150,0001. a-year.
In addition to that 800,0001. Great Britain had expended
since 1816 at least 4,000,0001. on these islands, to which
the export trade did not exceed 95,0001. a year on the
average of the last twenty years. If, instead of annually
expending 120,0001. a year on troops for those islands,
that money bad been annually laid by and permitted to
accumulate, by this time the accumulations would have
been sufficient to pay the expense of conquering those
islands twenty times over, if it were necessary to do 80.