§ 20. Earl WINTERTONasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make any statement with regard to the gift to His Majesty's Government in Great Britain by the Straits Settlements of $500,000 for the cost of the defence of the Empire?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERThe Governor has informed me that a resolution was proposed by the unofficial members in the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements on the 18th of February that a voluntary gift of half a million dollars should be made to the British Government, and that this resolution received the unanimous approval of the Council. I would remind the House that this gift is a further contribution from the Colony towards the general cost of the defence of the Empire, and is additional to the contribution of four million dollars which the Straits Settlements have agreed to pay yearly towards the cost of the defence of the Colony. Moreover, it is a second gift, following upon a similar vote a year ago. The thanks of His Majesty's Government have already been expressed by the Governor to the Council, and I am sure that I shall be voicing the opinion of the whole House when I say that this generous gift is warmly welcomed, not only for its own sake, but as a striking indication of good will and of the spirit of responsibility and co-operation in which the Colony approaches problems of common interest to the Empire as a whole.