§ MR. LYALLsaid, he wished to call attention to the Military Expenditure for Ceylon; and to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, what steps have been taken in order to reduce the annual Charge of £100,000 on the Imperial Exchequer for the Troops in that Island. In bringing this question under the consideration of the House and the Government, he would recall to their recollection what occurred last year. He then adverted to the military expenditure of Ceylon, and connected it with a recommendation lo annex that Island (so Indian in its character) to India; and the right hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary for the Colonies, in his reply, opposed that suggestion, but, at the same time, admitted that he thought the expenditure was capable of reduction. Now, as he saw no alteration in the Army Estimates he was induced to ask the Question that he had put on the paper. The House had never, he believed, laid down any regular principle on which it would defray the expenses of our military forces in the Colonies, though he should judge from past, and indeed, from very recent debates, that when a dependency was rich, flourishing, and with an overflowing exchequer, without hostile tribes within its frontiers, and no fear of foreign aggression, there would be a general expectation that it should discharge all its own civil and military police expenditure. India had never cost this 1660 country one shilling from the day of its conquest, but, on the contrary, had been a source of great wealth to England. Java sent an annual tribute of £3,000,000 of produce to Holland after paving all its expenses; but Ceylon, richer than India, and nearly as prosperous as Java, costs this country £110,000 per annum; and if we deducted £10,000 for Imperial naval charges at Trincomalee, a clear £100,000 was paid by this country for its Colonial Government. Now, this charge, so unjust to the British taxpayer, might not have been so when this arrangement was originally made. It was fixed many years ago, when the circumstances of the island were totally different. Ceylon had then a debt, a deficient revenue, and the pacification of the hill tribes of the Candian district was not complete. Now, however, the revenue of the island, which as late as 1854 was only £408,000, had since risen gradually at the rate of £50,000 per annum, and by the last accounts exceeded £757,000. Ceylon had no debt, and good roads had been made through the mountains of Candy, and that district was as peaceful as any portion of the island. The circumstances, therefore, were entirely changed, a much smaller military force would now be required, and whatever was necessary for a military police establishment ought, in such a prosperous colony, to be defrayed out of its own exchequer. Any one who considered the geographical position of Ceylon could have no fear of foreign invasion, as Ceylon possessed an iron-bound coast, and was within two or three days of Madras, where it could procure any amount of troops. There was also an Imperial naval station at Trincomalee, so that in no part of the world was the military and naval supremacy of England more complete.
§ MR. CHICHESTER FORTESCUEsaid, that in answer to the hon. Gentleman he had little to add to what he stated the other night in a discussion on the Army Estimates. The proposal made last year to annex Ceylon to India had caused no little apprehension in the colony, and an address had lately been received from the Legislative Council entreating Her Majesty not to consent to any such annexation, on the ground that the island was well governed and possessed institutions which were satisfactory to the people. In the opinion of Her Majesty's Government the inhabitants of Ceylon were right in wishing to remain as they are, Her Majesty's 1661 Government had, however, taken occasion to represent to the colonists, that if they so highly valued their direct connection with the mother country, they ought to be prepared to make some greater pecuniary sacrifices for the sake of their connection with the mother country, especially as there could be no doubt that the troops in Ceylon were maintained there mainly for purposes of internal order. The total expense of those troops was £200,000, and out of that sum Ceylon contributed more than one-half—namely, £105,000. The whole subject of the Ceylon finance and military establishments had lately undergone a careful examination by a very able member of the Colonial Office. Through the liberality of Parliament, Ceylon had been enabled to develop its prosperity, and the time had now come when it might make a considerably increased contribution towards its military expenditure. There would be no delay on the part of the Home Government in communicating these views to the colonial authorities.