PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
?། »། །
19
Reference :—
mmmmm.C.O. 885
24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
| ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRALNOT TO
130
FALKLAND ISLANDS
for treating the casualties sustained in the action of the 8th December, but also for dealing with the numerous accidents incidental to the presence of a larga number of colliers in the port. In case further accommodation had been required, with the assistance of several ladies in Stanley I equipped the Government School as, an overflow hospital, and, although the services of this building were not needed, it would have admirably suited the purpose.
18. Captain Grant, shortly after his arrival, decided, with my entire approval, to bring his ship into the inner harbour and run her aground, in order that he might secure a fixed site with a view to controlling his fire from an observa- tion hut set on the rising ground to the south of Whalebone Bay (see chart of the harbour), which commands a very extensive view of the sea extending from almost due north through east to south-south-west. The work of putting up this obser- vation hut, together with the construction of the various living huts and magazines and emplacements at the outpost batteries, necessitated a great amount of labour on the part of fatigue parties drafted from the Volunteer Force; it was owing to the erection of the observation hut that the company at the wireless station suffered the loss by drowning of eight of their number on the 1st December, as already reported in my despatch No. 142 of the 2nd December.
19. On the night of the 6th December I received a very short message from Admiral Sturdes informing me that his squadron would arrive on the following morning. On the 7th the vessels arrived and coaled, and on the 8th, as previously reported to you, the German squadron was sighted from Sapper's Hill approaching the wireless station. A naval action followed, resulting in the destruction of the German vessels "Scharnhorst," "Gneisenau," "Leipsic," and "Nurnberg."
Admiral Sturdee's ships called at Port Stanley after the engagement to 20.
Kent and coal and bury the few dead and land the wounded from H.M.S. "Glasgow." The flagship sailed for Monte Video on the 15th December, leaving the "Canopus" in her old position, where she stayed until she left the Colony on the 18th of the month.
the batteries which she had 21. On the departure of H.M.S. "Canopus constructed were handed over to and manned by the Volunteers, who were taken for A warrant officer, a gunnery this purpose mainly from the wireless station. instructor, and an armourer and several petty officers and men, were left at the Inflexible," and a crew. naval depôt, together with a picket boat from H.M.S. The batteries have been under the tuition of the instructor and the warrant officer. and have rapidly gained a knowledge of the drill and the manipulation of the guns. 22. Throughout the period of H.M.S. "Canopus's" stay here the Volunteers worked in concert with the naval authorities, and specially in land operations with the Marines, under the direction of Captain Hobson, R.M.L.I.
"
23. Although the last few months of the year were full of a very severe strain to the Volunteers, both officers and men (poorly armed and insufficiently equipped as they were), I am glad to report that the force has proved its utility for the work which those who directed its operations and organization intended it to do, and on the whole the performance of their duties has been carried out by officers and men in the most cheerful and patriotic manner. The bleakness and severity of the climate of this Colony do not conduce to cheerfulness on constant outpost duty, and that the outposts, even in the most bitter weather, have maintained extreme vigilance speaks very well for the personnel of the detachments stationed there.
24. In spite of outcries on the part of the Falkland Islands Company and others, I and my advisers have been unable to see more than the slightest signs of disorganization in the industries of the Colony. Lamb-marking and shearing were carried out on all stations without much difficulty, and had it not been for the scarcity of bottoms much of the season's wool would by this time have left the Colony. Indeed, in more than one case, in spite of the absence on military duty of several farm hands, the wool has been clipped and baled considerably earlier than in former years.
25. The maintenance of the Volunteer Force has, of course, been a consider- able drain on the resources of the Colony, but I am glad to report that, even after five months of war, in which large sums were spent on the maintenance as well as the construction of outpost buildings, etc., the satisfactory position of our finances cannot in any sense be said to have been endangered. In addition to this the estimated revenue for the year 1914 was obtained and a small surplus was avail- able after making provision for all expenditure.
1969/14-15: not printed.
131
FALKLAND ISLANDS.
20. After receiving early in September your telegram with reference to the Prince of Wales's National Relief Fund, both the Government and the public came forward to lend a helping hand in a small way to the Mother Country and her Allies in a manner which, in consideration of the size of the Colony, was most practical. I am glad to be able to report that the contributions to date to the Prince of Wales's Fund amount to £5,000, which is equivalent to about £2 10s. per head of the population, and this without counting the large donations which have been given, I understand, in London by the Falkland Islands Company and others; while the Colony's contribution to the Belgian Relief Fund stands at present at slightly over £500, and will probably rise to a higher figure.
I have, &c.,
W. L. ALLARDYCE,
40898
(No. 281.)
FIJI.
No. 55.
THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE. (Received 21st October, 1914.)
Governor.
SIR,
Government House, Suva, Fiji, 2nd September, 1914. I HAVE the honour to submit for your approval a vote of the Legislative Council for £3,214 148. 6d., to cover the estimated cost of the Local Defences of the Colony up to the 30th instant, consequent on the mobilization and employment on active service of the various units of the Defence Force after the outbreak of war with Germany.
2. I enclose copies of my message No. 22 of 1914, on which is endorsed the resolution of the Council.
3. I enclose also, for your information, copies of reportst by the Command- ing Officer on the mobilization of the local forces and the arrangements made to place in a condition of defence, so far as it has been possible to do with the resources at our disposal, the towns of Suva and Levuka, the settlement at Lautoka, and the wireless stations at Labasa and Taviuni.
4. Mr. McOwan, the Inspector-General of Constabulary and Prisons and Commanding Officer of the focal forces, to whom I have given the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, deserves much credit for his good work during the last month, and he has received able and loyal assistance from Mr. C. G. B. Francis, who has acted for some time as Chief Police Magistrate, Messrs. Barnett and Langton, and other officers of the Constabulary, and from gentlemen who have placed, with much public spirit, their services at my disposal. On Mr. Francis, who has acted, and will continue to act, as Chief Staff Officer until the return to Fiji of Captain Swinbourne, I have conferred the temporary rank of Major. I should mention, also, that the Right Reverend T. C. Twitchell, Bishop of Polynesia, has accepted, at my invitation, the position of Church of England Chaplain of the local forces.
4. All classes of the population, including Fijians, Indians, and Samoans, have displayed courage and patriotism at a critical time, and the conduct during the last month, under trying conditions, of public servants and private individuals prior and subsequent to enrolment in the local force, and of officers and men of the Rifle Association and Cadet Corps, augurs well for the establishment and maintenance of a strong Defence Force under the provisions of a new Ordinance, the draft of which, in the form approved by the Overseas Defence Committee, is, I understand, now on its way to Fiji.
5. It is my intention to give support to the formation in Suva of a Local Forces Club, and I hope to be able, with the concurrence of the Legislative Council, to place at the disposal of the local forces, as a club house, the present printing
* Circular. + Not printed.
x 2