§ MAJOR ARBUTHNOTasked the First Lord of the Treasury, If he will, with the concurrence of the Dominion Government, consider the propriety of appointing a joint Commission to inquire into the means of defence at the disposal of Canada as regards forts, armament, and material of war generally; if his attention has been drawn to the following facts, substantiated by the last annual Report of the Minister of Militia and Defence—viz., (a.) That the new forts erected before the withdrawal of the Imperial troops are wholly unarmed; (b.) That the armaments of the old forts are of an obsolete character, with the exception of ten rifled guns, for which there are no serviceable fuzes; (c.) That the amount of ammunition both for guns and small arms is only sufficient for peace requirements, and that there are no arsenals or manufactories of warlike stores in the country; and, whether, considering the geographical position of Canada, Her Majesty's Government are prepared to insist upon that dependency 1365 being kept in a proper state of defence, and to offer the Dominion Government every reasonable facility for doing so?
MR. GLADSTONEI will first give the hon. and gallant Gentleman an answer generally. The engagements undertaken by this country in respect to the defence of Canada have, I think, been fulfilled. That is the general answer I have to make. Coming to the particulars of the Question so far as I think it desirable to enter upon them, I have to state that a Commission was appointed by the Government of Canada to consider the defence of that country. The Commission reported in 1862. I am now referring to the native proceedings on the subject. The Report of that Commission has subsequently been reviewed by the Defence Committee in this country, and we do not see that, under the circumstances, there is any necessity or would be any advantage in our appointing anew a Commission of Inquiry to examine into the means of defence at the disposal of Canada in the terms proposed by the hon. and gallant Gentleman. The Government of this country have asked Parliament, and Parliament has met the request, to pass a Bill for the purpose of guaranteeing the money it is proposed to expend on the forts at various places in Canada. With respect to the intention of the Government of Canada to make use of that guarantee I have no information to give. With regard to the second paragraph of the Question, which relates to matters of military detail, I must leave it to my right hon. and gallant Friend the Surveyor General of Ordnance to reply to it, if it is desired to have a particular reply, which will come with more propriety from my right hon. and gallant Friend than from MR. The only other observation I have to make is with reference to the last part of the Question—"Whether Her Majesty's Government are prepared to insist upon that dependency being kept in a proper state of defence, and to offer the Dominion Government every reasonable facility for doing so?" We do not think it is our function with regard to Canada, considering the position and development of Canada, to insist on this or that particular measure with respect to the defence of Canada, as we recognize the full competency and capacity of Canada, and have no doubt of the inclination of Canada to perform what 1366 the Dominion Government may think to be its proper duties, and as we believe it to be the best judge of those duties. Our office has been to offer the Dominion every reasonable assistance; that duty we have fulfilled, and we have had every support from Parliament in our endeavour to fulfil it.