ay
མ
LOA
the
Call
a de
:
22
ett
ley
Reference:-
CO 537/174
COPYRIGHT - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHICALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
)
kuclosure No 5.
Reference:-
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
CO 537/174
COPYRIGHT - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHICALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION
To His Excellency Sir John H.
Glover G. C. Mc. G. Governor and Commander in chief. in and over the Island of Newfoundland and
its dependencies.
11
May it please your Excellency
The Chamber of Commerce of,
St
1 Johns, having lately had under con- sideration the defenceless state of the Capital in the event of an outbreak of hostilities between Great Britain and any foreign nation, begs respectfully to bring this condition of affairs under the notice of your excellency in Council. The fact that some of the Great powers after the Crimea War re- fused to sign the Treaty of Paris binding "them in the event of war not to fit out privateers of issue Letters of Marque; and. moreover the immense amount of damage done to Commerce by filibusters during the American Civil War, lead the Chamber to seriously consider how helpless the Colony is, and how liable it would be to attack's of like character were the friendly relations
between Great Britain and such nations as Russia of the United States to ve dis- turbed.
Up to the year 1870 a sufficient" garrison of Imperial troops was stationed here but since their withdrawal nothing) has been done to supply their place; and it is the jecling of insecurity caused by the present European complications that
175.3
Page 215Page 216