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At Harrington Point the 7-inch R.M.L. gun from Saddle Battery, and the 6-pr. Q.F. gun from St. Clair Battery, should be mounted. Two Q.F. gun emplacements should be made, in either of which the 6-pr. Q.F. gun could be mounted as required.
Ocean Beach. The Central Battery, armed with its two 6-inch B.L. H.P. guns, should remain as at present, as it satisfied all requirements, but St. Clair and Lawyer's Head Batteries should be abandoned.
4. The plans now received show the following alterations from the approved armament of 1893 :-
Tairoa Head.-The 7-inch R.M.L. gun in Saddle Battery has been removed, but instead of being mounted, as suggested by Colonel Fox, at Harrington Point, where it would have covered the minefield and the dead water under Tairoa Head, and where a battery was commenced in 1890, it has apparently been mounted in a new work "Ocean Battery," whence it fires out to sea to the east and north.
The remainder of the armament at Tairoa Head remains where it was, and Colonel Fox's suggestions as to removing the 6-inch gun from Lighthouse Battery and the 64-pr. gun from Howlett, and as to mounting the available 8-inch gun below Howlett, and a 7-inch R.M.L. gun (from Saddle Battery), and 6-pr. Q.F. gun (from St. Clair Battery) at Harrington Point, have not been carried out. The works at Harrington Point do not appear to have been
completed.
Ocean Beach.—The armament of the works at Ocean Beach remains unchanged, except that the 6-pr. Q.F. gun in St. Clair Battery and the 7-in. R.M.L. gun from Lawyer's Head appear to have been removed. This is in accordance with Colonel Fox's suggestions.
An 8-inch B.L. gun and 6-pr. Q.F. gun are in store, unless they have been utilized elsewhere in New Zealand.
5. The armament of Otago Harbour has of late years only come before the Colonial Defence Committee in a very general form in connection with Lieutenant-Colonel Fox's Report on New Zealand Forces, 1893. The Com- mittee stated with reference to this Report: "It is satisfactory to note that no great expenditure is recommended on new works or heavy armament, and that the proposed programme is mainly confined to the completion of works under construction, and the provision of the necessary equipment and acces- sories for them and the submarine mine defences."
6. The Colonial Defence Committee do not consider that the strength of the defences has been sensibly increased by the transfer of the 7-inch R.M.L. gun from Saddle Battery to the new work, Ocean Battery. The arc of fire, which it had in its former position, appears, on the whole, to have been more suitable to a gun of this nature than that which has now been given to it. With such information as the Committee have before them, they consider that the proposals contained in the 1893 Report of Colonel Fox were well suited for utilizing to the best advantage the guns available in Otago.
(Signed) M. NATHAN, Secretary,
Colonial Defence Committee.
December 20, 1895.
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PRINTED AT THE FOREIGN OFFICE BY T. HARRISON,-23/12/95.
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