280
to assume
the North of England at the time of "the Salford septaion" Military charge of the disturbed districts, when, after taking all reasonable precautions, my most difficult task was to allay unnecessary alarm on the part of the uninitiated at divers places, Manchester and other large towns.
13. If the Admiral possessed limited Experience, I can hardly believe we should have heard from him, in para. 2 of his letter to the Governor, Straits Settlements, such an account of how Fort Siloso might be totally destroyed by a few foreign officers visiting the place.
14. Even if such proceedings by foreign officers, by a civilized Government in time of peace, (they would of course be impossible in time of war, or even on war threatening) the mischief done, in comparison with personal risk encountered, would be so little and so soon repairable, that the attempt to injure fortifications, especially unfinished ones, in the way described has never, to my knowledge, been attempted. I have spoken to the agent and Manager of Nobles Explosives Co., who quite ridicules the idea of much harm being done under the circumstances mentioned.
15. The Admiral's dictum contained in para. 3 of his letter last quoted, viz: "once the knowledge of inside of a fort becomes known, together with its strength and the weight and position of its guns, the fort becomes useless" would, I fear, if accepted, mean that Malta, Gibraltar, and all our other fortresses are useless. I should have thought their usefulness depended rather upon the real efficiency of the works, guns, and armament.