(4)
Est, &c., and two torpedo launches afloat. The Garrison and the Volunteers ashore, free from care about the forts and at liberty to move in one compact body against any force attempting to land.
at
And what have we, or what are we to bave in place of this ? To the eastward a 3 gun battery at North Point-a similar battery at Hung Ham, both two miles and a half away from the narrow entrance they are to defend, and within a mile of the magazines, docks, arsenal, and barracks from which they are to keep the enemy. In the Pass itself a wretched earth-work commanded from a dozen points around, incapable of replying effectively to the fire of any heavily armed vessel, capable of being taken by a small landing party, and needing for its own protection at least a company of infantry. This Pass is, in addition, to be defended by torpedoes, but the torpedoeist bas his establishment and stores, his base in fact, in the town three miles away, instead of on the spot and under the guns of a powerful fort. The batteries at North Point and Hung-Ham are conmmanded from hon- dreds of neighbouring points. Their guns are mounted en barbette. The gunners could not stand to their guns three minutes after machine guns opened on them from an enemy's tops. Any artillery officer will admit this. Less than goo yards from the muzzles of the guns in North Point Battery is another spur running out to the east- ward, from which infantry fire could pick off every man the guns, every man who showed his nose above the parapet. This spur is easily accessible to landing parties, pushing on shore from an enemy's ships out of sight of the battery. Against hostile attack, pressed with skill and energy, the battery could not live an hour, and to make it defensible at all against attack from land and sea two coin- panies of infantry would be barely enough. To make matters worse there is no shelter for troops in or near it. It would have to be supplied with men, stores, everything from the town. An enemy, an active enemy could easily be up at the battery before it could be manned, and it is noteworthy that the only road up into the battery is on the side nearest the sea. The road from Hongkong comes out past Whitfield Station and under the west side of the spur on which this battery stands, perfectly sheltered from the view and from the fire of an enemy. It would have been easy enough to have made the approach from soine point of that road and taken it into the battery out of sight, and sheltered from fire. There is a natural covered way. But no, the road continues round the point to the exposed side of the hill and up the whole length of the incline into the work, exposed at every point to the fire of an enemy's ships anywhere in sight. There is hardly any possible defect of which this battery is not an illustration, and the same may be said of Hung Ham Battery. They are so close to the objects they are supposed to defend that every shot that misses them and passes over, wrecks the docks, or the Kellet's Island magazine, or the arsenal,-the docks within a few hundred yards, all the others within a mile. These two forts might possibly successfully repel the enemy's ships and prevent them entering the harbour, but could not prevent them from smashing the docks and the city.
These two batteries are commanded from places easily accessible to an active enemy, within a few hundred yards. They are unprotected from the fire of machine guns. They are incapable of defending them- selves. They need a covering force outside. One half of the money that has been expended in building, repairing, altering, enlarging, and improving these useless man-traps would have built a powerful case- mated fort in the lye-ee-mun Pass, capable of successfully defending itself and the Pass. Thousands of pounds more are going to be spent on them unless the Colony openly, publicly, and forcibly protests.
What have we, or rather what are we to have on the west side? A battery of the same pattern as the others on Stonecutters' Island, three miles from Sulphur Channel, exposed to capture by a coup-de-main, needing an infantry force to defend it from landing parties, depending for men, ammunition, and provisions on Hongkong, and only capable of annoying an enemy after he has rounded Mount Davis and is steaming into the harbour; and Belcher's Point Battery, similar to the others in the main line of its construction-open to be commanded and rendered useless by infantry fire from the neighbouring hills, needing infantry defence in case an enemy attempted to land at the other side of Mount Davis, and unable to touch an enemy's vessels until they passed Mount Davis and had fairly entered Sulphur Channel.
This battery, like the other, having to be manned from the town, would require daily supplies of provisions and ammunition.
Here again the money spent and being spent on Stonecutters' and Belcher Point Batteries would build a powerful fort on Green Island, having its resources within itself, needing no defence from out- side, capable of smashing any hostile men-of-war that came within its range, and of keeping them at a respectful distance from the town and shipping.
Lastly, with the present batteries as our sole defence, the island, in the absence of the fleet, is defenceless on its southern side. The infantry force of the Garrison must be broken up and scattered unduly to protect the batteries from landing parties, and to enable them to make even a pretence of resistance to an enemy's fleet. Five hundred of the enemy, landing from boats at any of the pretty little bays from Mount Davis to Cape D'Aguilar, could make a military promenade through the island. Let us suppose the programme sketched by a writer in the home papers to be attempted to be carried out in fact by our dear friends the French. We need only trouble ourselves with the first act in the programme Admiral Courbet receives telegraphic orders to attack and take Hongkong. He has a dozen vessels and a couple of thousand soldiers at his instant disposal in Formosa. There are three possible cases. We might have absolutely no notice of the designed attack. Then, in the present state of the defences, Admiral Courbet simply steams in and, giving General Sargent, his officers and soldiers credit for skill, ability, and British pluck, where would the colony be? Captured after a useless fight-or, if not captured, destroyed and rendered useless Admiral Courbet to our fleet, either as a place to repair in or to coal. would not hesitate to move his fleet into the harbour past the existing
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