13
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
C.O. 885 / 5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
Third Report, paragraphs 107-109,
Third Report, paragraph 110-112.
Third Report,
paragraphs 117-121.
Third Report, paragraphs 146 and 147.
for naval and military purposes. There is a small island near the entrance of Namuka Harbour which might satisfy the requirements of both the Admiralty and the War Department, and the Commission think it "undesirable that this island should be conceded by the Local Government to private individuals until the question has been considered,"
Port Royal, Jamaica.
Jamaica is the centre of British interests in the West Indies, and in Jamaica Port Royal is the port best adapted for a naval station. The Commission recom- mend that the defences should be so organized as to make the coaling-station secure. The estimated cost of such a defence is 105,350, but this expenditure will not secure Kingston from bombardment, or necessarily make Port Royal safe as a harbour of refuge. A garrison of 1,180 men will be required.
Port Castries, St. Lucia.
Next to the United States the Power from which danger to British trade in the West Indies is most to be apprehended is France; and the base of French naval operations is the fortified harbour and naval arsenal of Fort de France in Martinique. "The difficulty of capturing Martinique would be so great that all we can contemplate is the blockade of the island and the interruption of supplies." Port Royal is 950 miles to leeward of Martinique, and is therefore almost useless as a station from which to observe this position, or to supply coal to Her Majesty's ships employed in the Windward Islands. It appears to the Commission "that a secure coaling-station in the neighbourhood of the Windward Islands is indis- pensable if Her Majesty's Navy is to operate in these seas, and to observe the navies of France."
The best port for these purposes is Port Castries, in St. Lucia, a good harbour, easy of access, capable of receiving the largest ships, and distant only 40 miles from Fort de France. The Commission recommend the defence of Port Castries at an estimated expense of 140,8811. A garrison of 1,750 men will be required. The only alternative is English Harbour, in Antigua, where the Admiralty already have a small establishment. But English Harbour is not so defensible as Port Castries, and can only accommodate small vessels, while the distance from Martinique is 160 miles.
The garrisons in the West Indies must consist of Imperial troops, as no assistance can be looked for from local levies. The recommendations of the Com mission involve garrisons for Port Royal and Port Castries, numbering together 2,930, The garrisons ordinarily maintained in the West Indies number, according to the latest annual estimate, 2,268; so that if concentrated upon these two places 66 additional men would make up the required number. The force in the West Indies is, however, distributed over six Colonies, of which Jamaica alone will be useful to the fleet, and in the others the troops are maintained chiefly for the preservation of internal order, discharging, in fact, the duties of police. The Commission point out that small isolated bodies of troops afford no protection in time of war, and that not only would they have to be withdrawn to avoid capture, but their sudden withdrawal during, or in anticipation of, war would expose the Colonies to the risk of internal disturbance.
The Commission recommend that steps should be taken to organize a force of police in each of the Colonies so situated, with a view to the early withdrawal of the troops.
ESTIMATE.
The estimated cost of carrying out the recommendations of the Commission respect of defences, and the estimated strength of the garrisons which the defences will require, are shown by the following Tables. These Tables are given
Table Bay Simon's Bay Sierra Leone.. St. Helena Mauritius
| Colombo
Singapore Hong Kong Port Royal
Port Castries.. Aden
SUMMARY Of Cost of proposed Defences.
Station.
Second class coaling-stations
Total
..
Cost,
Imperial.
£
Local.
Total.
尘
£
282,410
15,000
297,410
116,617
116,617
253,000
253,000
7,000
186,470
7,000 186,470
74,440
20,820
95,200
354,805
145,400
500,205
162,045
208,148
370,193
105,350
105,350
140,881
140,881
105,000
130,000
235,000
200,000
200,000
1,988,018
519,368
2,507,386
SUMMARY of Garrisons.
Proposed Garrison,
Present Garrison.
Station,
Imperial Trocps.
Local
Troops.
Total.
Imperial
Local
Troops.
Troops.
Total.
Cape of Good Hope Sierra Leone
3,000
1,000
4,000
1,016
1,000
1,350
2,016
1,350
647
200
200
219
617 219
1,690
1,690
370
376
520
200
720
Singapore
1,215
400
1,347
1,615
1,653
Hong Kong
3,000
890
890
1,276
1,486
. 2,762
Jamaica
1,220
95
1,315
1,180
1,180
1,750
1,750
1,624
..
1,624
2,000
2,000
1,832
1,832
12,313
6,339
18,652
7,207
3,327
10,534
St. Heleua Mauritius
Ceylon..
St. Lucia
Aden
Total
158.
provide a sufficient force of British troops for garrisons abroad. In some of the paragraph 17 and With regard to garrisons in general the Commission remark :-"It is difficult to Third Report, Colonies and foreign stations as, for instance, Hong Kong, Mauritius, and the Cape of Good Hope, where the bulk of the population is not of British origin, nor neces sarily well affected to British rule, Imperial troops must form a large proportion of the garrison. The stations far distant from the United Kingdom and in close proximity to the stations of foreign Powers, are liable to sudden attack, and cannot be reinforced without long delay; their garrisons, therefore, must be kept up to war strength. We think that local levies should be raised where they are likely to prove trustworthy and efficient. Indies, and other places, native soldiers have done good service. We are also of In the West African Settlements, the West opinion that the practice of employing Imperial soldiers in duties hardly distin- guishable from those of police—especially in the smaller Crown Colonies should be discontinued as soon as possible."
The Commission make the following general observations on certain points to which their attention was drawn in the course of the inquiry.
"A point of great importance has been frequently before us, namely, the stock Third Report, that your Majesty's Government should lose no opportunity of making sink of coal kept for mercantile purposes at stations which are undefended. We think paragraph 132. arrangements that, in the event of war, the coal shall be immediately destroyed or removed, and should keep themselves always informed of the amount of coal in and a definite plan of action prearranged conjointly between the Colonial, Naval, and Military Departments of your Majesty's Service, and the various Colonial
greater detail in the third Report, pp. 27 and 28. The Commission observe the store at each undefended station. Unless provision be made for such contingencies, the proposed defences will be of a permanent character, and they "consider following the precedent of the home fortifications, instead of placing the cap charge on the ordinary estimates of the year, it would be more properly provide for by a loan repayable within a reasonable term."
* Total garrison in the West Indies.