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Appendix No. 4.
383
I have now the honour to transmit to you, for the information of your Government, a copy of a letter received in reply from the Admiralty,* inclosing copies of the Regulations for training the boys NEWFOUNDLAND. of the Royal Navy, and of the revised and consolidated Regulations for the Royal Naval Reserve.
I shall endeavour to procure, for the use of your Government, further particulars in regard to the management of industrial training-ships.
No. 117.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
M. E. HICKS BEACH.
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Colonial Office to Royal Commission on the Defence of British Possessions and Commerce Abroad.
Downing Street, February 28, 1880.
I AM directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to transmit to you, to be laid before the Royal Commission on the defence of British Possessions and Commerce Abroad, a copy of a despatch from the Governor of Newfoundland, inclosing a Report by Lieutenant Morgan, R.M.L.I., on the defence of the Colony.
Inclosure 1 in No. 117.
I am, &c.
(Signed) R. H. MEADE.
Governor Sir J. Glover to Sir M. Hicks Beach.
Government House, Newfoundland, January 26, 1880.
Sir,
IN reference to my despatches of the 25th and 26th November, 1879, I have the honour to report, for your information, and that of the Secret Defence Commission, that in company with Lieutenant Morgan, Royal Marine Light Infantry, my Private Secretary and Aide-de-camp, I inspected the forts, magazines, and barracks at St. John's, and some points in the immediate neighbourhood where a hostile force might be landed; and directed Lieutenant Morgan to draw up a Report, together with suggestions which may prove useful when considering the measures to be taken for insuring the defence of the town and harbour of St. John's, the town of Harbour-Grace, and the organization of a naval coast defence force for Newfoundland.
2. I have now the honour to forward the very able and exhaustive Report prepared by Lieu- tenant Morgan, which I feel confident will be considered by the Commission as reflecting great credit on that officer.
3. I would only further observe that the wealth in shipping, steamers, and stores of all kinds collected in the town and harbour of St. John's presents to an enterprizing enemy at the commence- ment of hostilities the most tempting and unprotected prize, upon which to make an easy and successful raid, of any seaport in the British possessions on this side of the Atlantic.
4. Another object of the enemy would be to capture our sealing fleet of steamers; these vessels are built as strong as wood and iron can make them, in order to resist the pressure of the ice, and are capable of being fitted to carry one or more heavy guns.
If they were let loose on the trade of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and maritime provinces of the Dominion of Canada, they would destroy a vast amount of property both on shore and afloat before our cruizers could dispose of them.
Trusting these observations may not be considered out of place, I have, &c.,
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Inclosure 2 in No. 117.
(Signed)
JOHN H. GLOVER.
Report by Lieutenant Morgan, R.M., on the Batteries, Barracks, &c., at St. John's, Newfoundland, with Suggestions for the Defence of the Colony.
TO accompany this Report,-
Map 1.† Showing the coast, and town and harbour of St. John's, with the various roads converging on the capital.
Map 2.† Showing the various forts, batteries, and Government buildings at St. John's. Map 3.† Geological, and showing the whole Island of Newfoundland.
Report on the Defences of Newfoundland.
In the following Report upon the state of the fortifications, barracks, and general defensive capa- bilities of Newfoundland, it has been considered unnecessary to enter fully into statistics and details connected with the island itself, and only sufficient reference will be made to render the Report useful for the purpose for which it is intended.
From its geographical position, both with respect to Canada and England, Newfoundland may be considered as the key to the St. Lawrence and the vast Imperial dependencies in North America. The last census taken in 1874 gave a total population of 161,499, including 8,651 on the west, or that
* Inclosure 15.
† Not printed.
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