Age for enrolment.
Snider ride recom- mended,
Advantages of system,
De once of Colony generally.
Suggests training naval artillery voluntee
Also enrolling boya
for Her Majesty'!
navy.
The
age
112
for enrolment in the Reserves should be from 22 to 25, as this will insure the services of men best fitted to undergo the severe labour attending the working of heavy guns.
The Snider rifle is recommended for any local force, as it is not liable to get out of order; it is very accurate up to moderate distances, and being strong and simple in construction is far better suited to men who have been accustomed to the use of heavy scaling-guns.
44. Advantages of Proposed System,
By the system proposed the Colony would provide the force necessary for working guns in the field and in the batteries, also for protecting the harbour by torpedoes; and in the course of time there would be, in addition, sufficient men available to partly man any ships for the protection of the coast during war.
With such a system of local defence it will always be necessary to have a force of This force could be sent out on the regular troops available for service in the field. outbreak of war, and thus the expense and disadvantage of having a permanent garrison in Newfoundland will be avoided.
The defence of the Colony generally must depend almost entirely upon the Navy. Harbour Grace might raise a small force for the defence of the town, and if a few guns were provided sufficient men would be found to man them.
In order to find employment for the instructors belonging to the training-ship during the nine months of the year when the Reserves are not called up for drill, it is suggested that they should be employed to drill a force of naval artillery volunteers, which could be raised in St. John's from a body of men who, whilst willing to assist in the defence of the Colony, would be unable, from their avocations, to enrol themselves in the Reserve.
It is also suggested that a certain number of boys should be enrolled yearly in Newfoundland for Her Majesty's Naval Service, and that after undergoing a two or three years' course of training similar to that in the training-ships in England, they should be drafted to ships on the North American and West Indian Station for seven years' service in two periods of about three and a-half years each. (It is for training boys that it has been suggested the training-ships should be rigged.)
By adopting this system the Imperial Naval Service would gain a body of hardy young scamen, and in about ten years Newfoundland would begin to possess not only a body of men who would be invaluable for manning any gun-boats which might be supplied by the Imperial Government for the defence of the Colony, but also a loyal body of citizens who, from their previous associations with the Royal Navy, would be the means of eflecting a closer union between Great Britain and her most ancient Colony.
Signed) HORATIO H. MORGAN, Lieutenant,
Royal Marine Light Infantry. Government House, Newfoundland, January 24, 1880.
113
APPENDIX (A).
LIST of Steam-Vessels belonging to the Port of St. John's, with their Tonnage and
Lion
•
Merlin Panther.. Walrus .. Hector Commodore
Eagle
Wolf
Names.
Horse-Power.
Tonnage.
202
Horse-Power.
75
249
110
247
64
184
60
291
70
290
70
344
70
Tiger Ranger
148
45
353
70
353
80
Vanguard
323
85
Neptune
465
110
Leopard..
217
60
Cabot Hercules
21
50
90
60
467
110
468
110
20
10
245
60
311
80
190
50
293
80
293
80 7
94
60
28
40
19
10
8
50
Proteus..
Bear
Enterprise
Mastiff
Falcon
Kite
::::
Curlew Plover Lady Glover Dauntless Pioneer.. Daisy ..
Total, 27 vessels, 6,303 tons.
8928
In addition there are the following prosecuting the seal fishery and employed in Newfoundland, but not registered there:-
Nimrod, of Liverpool Iceland, of Montreal Cireenland, of Montreal
:::
:::
:::
:::
Tona.
227
Horse-Power.
50
287
70
259
75
882
2 H
[1093]
A
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
4
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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