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[This Document is the Property of Her Britannic Majesty's Government.]
Printed for the use of the Colonial Office. June 20, 1898.
SECRET.
No. 188 R.
•
NEW ZEALAND.
C.O. No. 8680.
Report of Commandant on Defences, 1897.
Remarks by the Colonial Defence Committee.
THE Colonial Defence Committee, in paragraph 6 of their Remarks No. 177 R, dated the 26th February, 1898, on the Commandant's Report of the 1st September, 1897, on the defence forces of New Zealand, expressed their wish to have referred to them the confidential portion of the Report, which dealt with the state of the defences. This has now been received, with a covering despatch of the Governor, dated the 3rd March, 1898.
Before dealing with the recommendations which it embodies, it will be convenient to recapitulate the measures that have been taken in the past for the defence of the New Zealand harbours and to describe briefly the resources now available.
2. Projects for the defence of the chief harbours of New Zealand had been put forward at various times previous to 1871. In that year Sir W. Jervois submitted specific proposals for batteries and submarine mines, but no action was then taken.
In 1878 the Colonial Defence Commission assembled in London specially con- sidered the case of New Zealand. They were of opinion that the defence of the Colony must be essentially a coast defence, as the chief ports were at such a distance apart that no local defence could be guaranteed by permanently stationing ships of war at any one of them. They recommended fixed defences armed with 7-in. and 64-pr. R.M.L. guns at the four important ports of Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Otago. These proposals practically agreed with those of Sir W. Jervois, and when war with Russia seemed probable in 1878 the guns were ordered from England, and certain of the works were undertaken.
In 1880, after the danger of war had been averted, Colonel Scratchley visited the Colony to give more deliberate consideration to its defences. He reported that New Zealand stood, as regards attack, somewhat in a different position from the Australian Colonies.
"In Australia there are few harbours of importance which are not the centres of large popu- lations, and consequently the resources in men and appliances for defence are to be found where they are most wanted. In New Zealand, on the contrary, the population (414,412) is scattered over a wide area, and there are several large harbours possessing equal claims to be especially protected: there are also many settlements on the coast which are exposed to attack, but which it is not possible, without throwing too heavy a burden on the resources of the Colony, to include in a general scheme of defence."
He proceeded to point out that, owing to the extent of seaboard, it would be equally impossible to defend the Colony by naval means alone, and came to the
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