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of March, and will be finished at the end of next month. All the piling has been completed, the Appendix No. 4. central caponier, the gorge wall, and magazine. The greater part of the masonry of the expense maga- zines and bomb-proofs is finished; the concrete culvert and sluice-well for letting the water in and out from the sea works very well, and a large number of concrete-makers are now at work on the gun portions. The construction of a battery at Mount Palmer was delayed pending negotiations by the Colonial Government with the Tanjong Pagar Company, to whom the ground belongs. As the period of emergency had passed away, I was not sorry, with the small number of superintendents I had at my command, that this was the case. This battery,should be finished, if the present fine weather continues, in about three or four months' time, the most part of the earth-work being completed, and the material ready to commence the masonry, which is on a much smaller scale than at Blakan Mati. Expense and main magazines will be constructed on the same principle as at Tanjong Katong. With its five guns arranged on the arc of a circle, the 64-pounders being on the flanks, this battery, when completed, and the Teluk Ayer Bay scheme carried out, will look very well. The ground all round will be scarped, with the exception of the front, where a glacis has been made and a broad ditch excavated, defended by a musketry caponier in the centre.
In conclusion, I may state that the interest which his Excellency the Administrator has shown in the defence works has afforded me much pleasure, and his expressions of satisfaction have been very gratifying to me.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
HENRY E. McCALLUM, Lieutenant,
Commanding Royal Engineers.
Inclosure 3 in No. 72.
Sir M. Hicks Beach to Lieutenant-Governor Anson.
(Secret and Confidential.) Sir,
Downing Street, September 20, 1879. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 22nd July last,* inclosing a copy of the Report of Lieutenant McCallum, R.E., on the military defences which have been constructed under his superintendence at Singapore.
I have read with much satisfaction your testimony of the energy and ability shown by Lieutenant McCallum in carrying out these works, and a copy of your despatch, and its inclosure, will be laid before the Royal Commission about to be appointed to inquire into the state of the defences of the Colonies, for their information.
As it is very desirable that all correspondence relating to the defences of the Colonies should, as far as possible, be kept secret, I have to request that you will cause your despatch, which was num- bered, to be removed from the public records of the Colony, and that you will take care that any future correspondence on the subject may be marked "Secret and Confidential."
No. 73.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
M. E. HICKS BEACH.
Sir,
Colonial Office to Royal Commission on the Defence of British Possessions and Commerce Abroad.
Downing Street, August 21, 1880.
I AM directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to transmit to you, for the information of the Royal Commission, a copy of a despatch which will be addressed to the Governor of the Straits Settlements by the next mail, with reference to the appointment of a Local Committee to report on the defence of Singapore.
I am, &c.
(Signed)
ROBERT G. W. HERBERT.
Inclosure in No. 73.
The Earl of Kimberley to Sir F. A. Weld.
(Secret.) Sir,
Downing Street, August 21, 1880. WITH a view to obtain full information as to the best means of providing for the defence of Singapore both as regards the works to be constructed and the garrison to be provided, it has been proposed by the Secretary of State for War that a Local Committee should be appointed to consider and report upon the question, with as little delay as possible, for the future consideration of the Royal Commission on the Defence of British Possessions and Commerce Abroad.
2. I have expressed my concurrence in the proposal of the Secretary of State for War, and I have the honour to request that, immediately on the receipt of this despatch, you will appoint a Committee, consisting of such military officers as may be recommended by the General Officer Commanding, and two civilians, one or both of whom should be officers of the Local Government. I should also wish
* Inclosure 1 in No. 72.
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