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officers should be given in somewhat greater detail. The Scheme at present does little more than enumerate their nearly obvious duties.
12. If the sectional organization is retained, there should be added to the infor- mation given in Chapter IV (pages 11 to 13), the manner of quartering troops in the different Commands, the engineering works, if any, that will be there executed, the medical arrangements for the troops, and any other information which it would be of advantage for an officer to possess on suddenly taking up one of these Commands and becoming responsible for these details.
If, as suggested above, the sectional organization is done away with, then the above details, with regard to the troops and positions outside Bombay, as well as to those in and close to the town, should come in Chapter III, under the Action to be taken by the Head-quarter Staff who will be directly responsible to the Fortress Commander for carrying them out.
13. Chapter IV (page 11) contains a general reference to the duties of the floating defences. The Committee have been informed of recent correspondence that has taken place on this subject, and they think it advisable to record here briefly the conditions under which these defences will secure their object in defending Bombay.
The vessels of the floating defence, though belonging to the Indian Government, are, by agreement with the Admiralty, manned by officers and men of the Royal Navy who form part of the naval force under the Admiral Commander-in-chief of the East Indies Squadron. It is held by the Admiralty, in view of that officer's responsi- bility for the naval defence of the ports and coasts of India, that no portion of the force under his command can be appropriated exclusively to the harbour defence of Bombay, or separated from his squadron to be put under the orders of the General Officer Commanding the land forces. This view has not hitherto been shared by the Indian Government, but it has been decided that, unless for reasons of extreme urgency, when the Governor-General may take the responsibility of retaining them at Bombay, the war vessels of the Indian Government shall, in war, continue to form part of the squadron under the Naval Commander-in-chief, and remain under his orders. This decision in no way implies that the floating defence will not be available for the defence of Bombay, but it is meant to secure that a hostile naval force in Indian waters shall be met and defeated at sea, if necessary, by the strongest squadron at the disposal of the Admiral, or, if Bombay is in danger of attack, that the ships and vessels available there to meet those of the enemy shall be used to the greatest advantage, as to which the opinion of the Senior Naval Officer present must prevail. In any case, the co-operation of the Navy with the land forces is certain, and will be effective in proportion to its strength and to the existence of conditions which will secure the most favourable action of the ships and vessels against the enemy.
14. Chapter V (page 14) contains only a reference to the orders to corps on mobilization, which in Home and Colonial Schemes are given in full under this heading. It is stated that these orders have been issued to those concerned; it would be more satisfactory if they were in the Scheme, but so long as they exist and are periodically revised this is not essential.
15. The special danger in Bombay from a rising of the disorderly element of the population at the time of attack from the sea, referred to at the commencement of Chapter VI (page 15), points to the advisability of the General Officer Commanding being given special powers to deal with the civil population if necessary. Though, as stated on page 7 of the Scheme, the General Officer Commanding would, in time of emergency, doubtless "take such steps as are necessary to enforce his orders," it would probably be more satisfactory if definite powers were conferred on the lines of the Secret Order in Council of the 26th October, 1896, to which the attention of the Government of India has already been called in the Colonial Defence Committee's Remarks No. 181 R. on the Aden Defence Scheme.
16. The General Remarks on the subject of Traffic Regulation contained in para- graphs 20 and 21 of the Colonial Defence Committee's Remarks No. 181 R on Aden, apply also to Bombay, and the part of the Scheme (page 15 and Appendix (D), page 25) dealing with these Regulations therefore requires modification.
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