Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 337, November, 1843 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 364 pages of information about Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 337, November, 1843.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 337, November, 1843 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 364 pages of information about Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 337, November, 1843.

We now come to his naval cost of colonies, with a margin for ordnance as well.  On this head, Mr Cobden remarks, with much sagacity—­and, for once, Mr Cobden states one fact in which we may agree with him:—­“But the colonies had no ships to form a navy.  The mother country had to send them ships to guard their territories, which were not paid for by the colonies, but out of the taxation of this country.  The navy estimates for this year amounted to L.6,322,000.  He had no means of ascertaining what proportion of this large amount was required for their colonies; but a very large proportion of it was taken for the navy in their colonies.  The ordnance estimate was L.1,849,142, a large share of which was required for their colonial expenditure.  The House would find, that from the lowest estimate, from L.5,000,000 to L.6,000,000 out of the taxes of this country were required for maintaining their colonial army and navy.”  True it is, the colonies have no ships of war; true, the navy expenses count for the gigantic sum stated—­in the estimates at least, and estimates seldom fall short, however budgets may; true, also, that ordnance is the heavy item represented.  And we also are without the means for any, not to say accurate, but fair approximative estimate of the proportion of this expenditure which may be incurred for, and duly chargeable against the colonies.  In the case of the army, as we have shown, the possession and facilities of reference to documents, enabled us to resolve Mr Cobden’s bill of totals, in one line, into the elements of which composed, to classify the items under distinct heads, and so to detect the errors, and redress the balance of his own account.  The authorities, of official origin mostly, to which we had recourse, were equally open to Cobden, had he been actuated by an anxious desire to arrive at the truth, earnest in his enquiries after the means of information, laborious in his investigations, and, beyond all, with honesty of purpose resolved nothing to withhold, nor aught to set down in malice, as the result of his researches.  Unfortunately, the navy is not a stationary body, as the army may be said to be; squadrons are not fixtures like corps in garrison; here to-day and gone to morrow.  The naval strength on the various stations, never permanent, escapes calculation, as the due apportionment of expenditure between each, and again of the quotas corresponding to the colonies or to foreign commerce alone, defies any approach to accurate analysis.  But we have at least common observation and common sense to satisfy us that but a small proportion of the naval outlay can be justly laid to colonial account, because so unimportant a proportion of the naval armament afloat, can be required for colonial service or defence.  We have, assuredly, a certain number of gun-boats and schooners on the Canadian lakes, which are purely for colonial purposes; and we may have some half-a-dozen vessels of war prowling about the St Lawrence and

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Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 54, No. 337, November, 1843 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.