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Enclosure in No. 10. . From the Times, Tuesday, 17th March, 1885.] The Colonial Contingents. The Eael of Wemyss moved, That an humble address be presented to Her Majesty humbly thanking Her Majesty for having graciously accepted the loyal offer of military service from New South Wales, and expressing the satisfaction with which this House has heard the announcement that like loyal offers of military service from other colonies, and also from India, will, should occasion arise, be duly accepted. He said that this motion appeared to be a natural supplement to what had already been said in the House that evening with reference to a colonial navy. He believed the motion to be one that would commend itself to the most favourable consideration of their lordships. Amid the innumerable troubles that had recently come upon this country, they could look with pride and satisfaction at the general conduct of their army in the field, and at the courage, the discipline, and the endurance of their troops under the most trying circumstances. They could also look with pride at the enthusiasm with which all ranks and all conditions of their soldiers had left for the seat of war. If there was one thing at the present time that was more satisfactory than another, it was the fact that our colonies had shown their great love for'the Mother-country in the way in which they had, by coming forward so enthusiastically and offering us assistance. There was a section —happily, but a small section—of politicians, unrepresented in their lordships' House who held that England would be as happy and prosperous if shorn or her colonies, or even if deprived of her Indian Empire. As regarded our Indian Empire, the answer to those who would wish to see India separated from the Empire was given in the hearty offers of assistance which had come from independent Indian princes, and the ready services of the Indian troops in the Soudan. In the last few days the Prime Minister himself had stated that England was united in her determination that the British Empire in India should be maintained. With regard to the separation of the colonies from England, there had never been a time in the history of the world when the ties between us and them had been so strong and so hearty as at the present time. What had we seen lately ? A league for the federation of the colonies had been formed in this country, at the head of which was Mr. Forster, for the purpose of drawing closer the ties and means of defence as between the colonies and the Empire. This question of the federation of the colonies was one upon which there was considerable difference of opinion as to how it should be effected, and, as in the few remarks he intended to make he did not wish to enter into any controversial question, he would not not go into the question of what would be the best form of federation. There was nothing which could contribute more to the strength of the Empire than the union of the colonies with the Mother-country. He wished to see England strong without hectoring, bullying, or blustering, or unnecessarily seizing unoccupied territory : he wished to see England strong, because he wished to see that Empire, which had been handed- down by those who had gone before them to protect and guard, transmitted, unimpaired, to those who were to come after them. Especially did he wish to see England strong in the interests of peace, because he thought that nothing could contribute more to the peace of the world than the knowledge that England was united and strong, and nothing could contribute to that strength more than some defensive union between the colonies and the Mother-country. The good of all should be the care of each, and the good of each the care of all. Nothing could strengthen the hands of a Foreign Minister more than the knowledge that any foreign country would have not only to deal with the islands in the Northern Seas, but would be face to face with an empire, or, rather, a congeries of empires, scattered over the whole world. The colonies by their action had in a great measure solved the question of federation. If he was rightly informed, members of the Government had been in communication with the Agents-General of the colonies for tho purpose of discussing this question. Be that as it might, he held that the offers made by the colonies formed a great event in our history. No doubt the colonies had on previous occasions come forward with offers of assistance, one instance of which was commemorated in the name of what had formerly been the 100 th Begirnent, now the Boyal Canadians. They had heard that the Australian Colonies had offered material help, but this was the first time that such offers had taken so concrete a form. It was an event pregnant with a great future, and there was a unanimity throughout this country in appreciating the action of the colonies in this matter. He thought that it was desirable that their lordships' House should show what their feelings were, and that there should be some record on their Journals fuller than the casual reference made to the subject in the calling out of the Beserves. He hoped, therefore, that their lordships would do unanimously what he now asked them to do — namely, to agree, " That an humble address be presented to Her Majesty humbly thanking Her Majesty for having graciously accepted the loyal offer of military service from New South Wales ; and expressing the satisfaction with which this House has heard the announcement that the like loyal offers of military service from other colonies, and also from India, will, should occasion arise,, be duly accepted." When they remembered the gracious words addressed by Her Majesty to the colonies with reference to this matter they had the satisfaction of knowing that, in carrying such an address, they would be doing that which met with the sympathy of their Sovereign. Lord Noeton said that he yielded to none in high appreciation of the loyal offers of military cooperation on the part of the colonies, but he thought that it would be a poor compliment to such, revived loyalty to treat it as something new, and so show that we forgot such fellow-citizenship as had enlisted colonists to fight by our side against French armies in America, bearing the cost of their share as we of our own. It would affront the Australians if wo took this offer of military service as a contribution from allies instead of a co-operation of fellow-subjects. They wished their men to be part of the Imperial army. The offer was made in the real spirit of Imperial community, and far more valuable than the impracticable notions of Imperial federation lately thrown out. Our colonial relationship had gone down in estimation to that of Imperial patronage and colonial dependency. A few years ago we had been taxed at Home to the amount of £4,000,000 a year