COLOICIIL DEFENCTS. — Sir Edward Lytton, the Secretary for the Colonies, following
up the example set by the policy of Sir William Molesworth and the Duke of Newcastle, in regard to the defence of our colonies by their own means, has sent the following despatch to the Go- vernor-General of the Leeward Islands :—
" Downing Street. July 31.
" Bir,—I have replied generally in another despatch to the explanations with which you have favoured me on the Antigua riots ; but I ern anxious • to direct your attention to one consideration in particular arising out of these disturbances. I desire to impress upon you, and through you upon the colony which you govern, the extreme importance of raising and main- taining from local resources, and by local efforts, such a military force as will by its presence guarantee the safety, dignity, and internal peace of the country.
"On a reference to the records of past years, I have observed that in many of the West Indian colonies local corps were established, and, as I believe, efficiently kept up. It is with a feeling of mortification that I perceive that these wise precautions have been laid aside under the im- pressions of a false economy. "It is the natural wish of her Majesty's Government to contribute to the safety and protection of the distant dependencies of the British Crown, but the necessities of the empire have withdrawn many troops, and may compel the withdrawal of more. In a critical period of our history, these necessi- ties at home, and a strain upon our resources, both in men and means, have called forth the generous and loyal sympathies of her Majesty's sub- jects in many parts of her colonial empire. But it is not alone by the ma- terial addition of a new regiment to the line, or by munificent contri- tions in aid of those who have experienced the sufferings and losses of a barbarous warfare, or by the expression of a loyalty and devotion, that the English colonies can give the mother country an effective support in seasons of trial and difficulty.
" It is by evoking the means of self-defence and internal protection, by enabling this country to avail herself to the utmost of her own military re- sources, and by dispensing with the troops which, so long as they could be spared, have been freely given, that the West Indian colonies will best mark the spirit which, I am persuaded, animates them. "It is a sacrifice which the mother country has a right to claim, and which the colony ought to be the first to approve. It was therefore with gratification that I have observed during the recent riots the readiness with which so many gentlemen have hastened to enrol themselves on the side of order, and to place their service! at the disposal of the Governor. It is with still greater satisfaction that I have learnt the intention to form volunteer corps, alike to secure the colony from aggression abroad and to maintain peace at home. "The more fully that this self-reliant feeling is confirmed and that these precautions are adopted the less will be the probability of the danger, and the more the discipline and the efficiency that can be communicated io the new force the less will be the expense and the difficulty in preserving a high standard hereafter.
"There can be no safety to life or security to property, and to the tran- sactions of commerce in that community, which does not earnestly and re- solutely seek to develop within itself the requisite force to vindicate the dignity of its own laws against the outbreaks of internal disorder. "I watch with interest the progress which the colony under your govern- ment is making in this important and salutary direction, and her Majesty looks with confidence to the loyalty and good feeling of the inhabitants of her 'West Indian colonies in rendering their utmost support to the authori- ties in this somewhat difficult, but necessary and laudable undertaking.
" You will take an early opportunity of making these sentiments known to the Legislature of Antigua.
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