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A LIST of the principal Places where (there being no local Agreements) Purchases have been
made.
35
Appendix No. 1.
Places.
Coast Guard
Home Station
Mediterranean
West Coast of Africa..
East Indies
China
*
North America and West Indies
South-East Coast of America
Pacific
Australia
·
Miscellaneous
Total purchases under contracts.
:
Total for steam-vessel coals under sub-head F.
Amount provided under
Vote 10, sect. 1, sub-head F, Coals.
£
41,000
62,000
106,000
When Her Majesty's squadrons or ships are employed abroad, or they are proceeding from or returning to England during a period of war, the following places, as given in the various routes, are the only localities where coal could be obtained :—
COALING-STATIONS in War. The route from England to Ceylon-(1) viâ the Suez Canal; (2) viâ
the Cape of Good Hope.
Geographical
Stations.
Miles.
About
1.
England (Plymouth) to Gibraltar
1,050
Gibraltar to Malta
Malta to Aden*..
Aden to Bombay
Aden to Ceylon (Galle)
Aden to Seychelles
2.
980
2,248
1,637
2,134
1,400
The stations which would be closed to our ships of war would be Lisbon, Port Said, Alexandria, Jeddahı, Massowah, and Souakin in the Red Sea. The Seychelles might be of use after our ships leave or are bound to Aden.
England to Gibraltar
Gibraltar to Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone to Ascension
Ascension to St. Helena
1,050 2,010 1,000 680
In this route via the Cape the stations which would be closed in war are Lisbon, Madeira, St. Vincent, the two last being the most important coaling positions in the Atlantic.
As
St. Helena to Cape of Good Hope
1,700
Cape of Good Hope to Mauritius
2,340
Mauritius to Ceylon (Galle)
2,100
it would be impossible for our ships to steam from England to Sierra Leone without some intermediate station, hence Gibraltar, although out of the direct route, would have to
be used.
Trincomalee
2,350
COALING-STATIONS in War. The route from Ceylon to Hong Kong, Corea, and Japan, and from Ceylon or Singapore to Australia and Fiji.
Statute
Stations.
Miles.
About
Ceylon (Galle) to Singapore
1,510
Singapore to Labuan
660
Labuan to Hong Kong
1,080
Hong Kong to Corea..
1,100
Hong Kong to Japan.
1,100
Ceylon to Sydney
5,120
Ceylon to Adelaide
4,400
Ceylon to Torres Straits
4,000
Sydney to Fiji Islands
Sydney to New Zealand
1,665 1,200
In this steam route we lose all stations to the north of Hong Kong, Japan being closed during war, and we have no position on the coast of Corea, unless the H. Islands could be obtained.
From Ceylon to Torres Straits is about 4,000 miles, and thence to Sydney about 1,800 miles; and from Singapore to Torres Straits about 3,000 miles. It is, therefore, obvious none of our cruizing ships can steam to Sydney from Ceylon or Singapore unless there is a coal depôt in Torres Straits.
As our ships are employed at Fiji, and among the Hebrides and other South Sea Islands, coal becomes an absolute neces- sity at Fiji.
* If a coal depôt was established at Cyprus, the distance from Malta to Aden would be reduced about 900 miles.
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Appendix No. 1.