Britain wanted other states and the Dominions to take responsibility for security in their own waters. American naval investment is welcomed in this interpretation because it relieved some of Britain's maritime burden. The Dominion ship orders are presented as the result of roughly thirty years of British pressure for greater contributions. Increasing self-government also offered a way to distribute the cost of defending imperial trade. The political qualification was representation: demanding local taxation without a corresponding voice had already proved dangerous.
Notable Point · 13:10-15:16
Dominion self-government and local defence costs
British demands for local naval spending formed part of a long effort to distribute imperial defence costs.