SUPPLY—SUPPLEMENTAL ARMY ESTIMATE. (Hansard, 10 March 1864)

THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON
said, that in moving the first Vote of the Array Estimates the other night, he stated that he should have to lay on the table a Supplemental Estimate, to be added to the Estimate of the current year; and this Estimate, now on the table of the House, would show that the description he gave of it the other evening was entirely borne out. The largest item in the Estimate is £119,892, for disallowances made by the India Office on the accounts rendered to that Department by the War Office for advances for regiments serving in India during the period from 1854–5 to 1860–1, at which date the system of capitation allowances first came into operation. Up to that time certain charges were incurred for keeping up a British force in India, and there were likewise certain charges at home. This became matter of account between the Government of India and the Government of this country, and it was obviously impossible that the account could be made up to a late date. After 1861, when the capitation system came into operation, he did not believe that there would be any 1796 more accounts of that nature. The Committee should also bear in mind that the sum of £119,892, taken for this purpose, would be much more than covered by a sum of £301,349, which the India Office paid into the Exchequer; but by the system now in force it was necessary to ask for a Vote for the £119,000, without being able to take credit for the other sum of £301,000. The war in New Zealand was almost the sole cause of the rest of the Vote of £409,000 now asked for. A large sum was required for increased regimental pay for the troops serving in that colony. The numbers of the regiments serving in New Zealand are raised considerably above the establishment at which they would have stood at home, and consequently the amount of the regimental pay and allowances was increased. A large expense was occasioned by the purchase of horses for the Artillery and Military Train, by the high price of provisions, resulting from a great influx of military into the colony, by the high rate of lodging for the officers and troops, and by providing store-houses. After the very detailed statement which he made of these charges on a previous occasion, he did not think that there was now any necessity for occupying the time of the Committee on the subject further; and he therefore, to propose the Vote, the total of which was £409,000, moved that the sum of £409,000 be granted to provide for the probable deficiencies of the grants for army services for the year 1863–4.
(3.) £409,000, Supplemental Estimates for Army Services beyond ordinary Grants for 1863–4.

§ MR. W. WILLIAMS
feared that the war in New Zealand would cost an enormous amount of money, and considered it a great error for the English to be going all over the world and taking away territories from those to whom they belonged. He should very much like to know how much the New Zealand war was likely to cost.

§ SIR HENRY WILLOUGHBY
wished to know if the Indian army accounts would really be closed by this Vote to the year 1861? Nothing, according to the evidence taken before the Army Commission, could be more vicious than the state of those accounts. With regard to New Zealand, he feared it was only a foretaste of what was to come. He could only regret that the taxpaying people of this country should have such burdens thrown upon them for the sake of putting down a number of 1797 savages who were only striving to maintain their right to certain tracts of land which they claimed as their own. If the public only knew the amount of money which they had been called on to pay during the last twenty years for destroying savage nations, they would be very much astonished. These wars brought upon us undoubted disgrace; and he could not see how we could hope to gain either honour or advantage from them.

THE MARQUESS OF HARTINGTON
believed that the Vote would completely settle the accounts between the War Office and the Indian Government up to 1861. As to the cost of the New Zealand war, he had stated the other evening that, as compared with the Estimates of 1863–4, a sum of about £300,000 in the amount taken for next year was attributable to that cause. He had added, however, that that would not be the whole cost of the war, and that he thought the sum of. £500,000 would be thus expended.