179

364

I hope that the War Office will
soon be in a position to
propose to my Government the
conditions of service as referred
to above. I would suggest
that the regulations under
which Pensioners were settled
some years ago in New Zealand,
might be taken, to some extent,
as a model.

5. While anxious to
facilitate the settlement, on a
part of the public lands of this
Colony, of retired soldiers and
sailors of good character, the
Government of Queensland adhere,
(with my entire approval) to
the decision reported in my
despatch No 30 of the 4th April ult.,
and decline to sanction "the
formation, for service in this
Colony, of a permanent local
Corps, after the model of
the West Indian Regiments, and
other Colonial Corps."

6. It is with great
satisfaction that I now find,
from Mr. Chichester Fortescue's recent
speech on Colonial defences, and
from Mr. Sidney Herbert's speech in
the House of Commons on the 29th
June ult., that this decision of
my Government, and the reasons
on which it is founded (as
fully explained in the Minute
of Council enclosed in my
despatch No 30,) only anticipated
the views of Your Grace, and
of the Secretary of State for
War.

365

Mr. Herbert also quoted a singularly
opposite opinion on this point
of the late Duke of Wellington; who
when asked, in his examination,
in 1828, before a Parliamentary
Committee, "Would be reduced if our
Colonies, instead of having King's
troops sent out to them, were
to have local corps consisting
of Europeans?" replied as follows:-

"I must say that I would
earnestly recommend that such
a system (viz, the retention of
troops in the Colonies for the
purposes of police Colonial troops,
and their being recruited with
men in the same manner as
the East India Company's
Regiments, so as to avoid the
expense and inconvenience of
reliefs,) should never be adopted
in this Country. The difference
in the State of the King's troops
in the East Indies from that
in which the East India Company's
European Infantry is known
to be, is conclusive against
it in my opinion, but I would
also refer to the Colonial
African Corps. The British Army
cannot be made a Colonial
Corps without destroying its
character and strength. Would
it not be a most disgraceful
and terrible mode of losing
the possession of any part of
his Majesty's dominions, by means
of a meeting of the Officers of
a