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six 7-pounder M.L. guns, which would be used in the defence of the Southern Division.

Any Rifle Volunteer Corps which may be raised will be attached to the Southern Division.

XVII.-Management of the Civil Population.

The management of the civil population will be in the hands of the Colonial authorities.

There are different Ordinances which already empower the Governor in Council to prevent any but natural-born or naturalized subjects of Her Majesty from residing or being within the Colony; power to open any specified letter; to prevent Chinamen from being at large at night in the city of Victoria, or over the whole Colony if desired; to swear in special constables; to search for and seize arms. All the above additional powers to those ordinarily exercised by the police can be enforced at very short notice. Drafts of Proclamations which might require to be issued are attached (vide Appendix XVI).

XVIII.-Fires, &c.

As the Fire Brigade is mainly composed of police who would be required for other duties, it must be supplemented by volunteers, who would be enrolled by Proclamation (see Appendix XVI).

Notices to be posted and distributed to every house in the town calling upon occupiers and others to have in immediate readiness buckets of water on the different floors of their houses.

The steam fire-launches will be on patrol duty in Victoria Harbour throughout each night, and for the purpose of ready recognition will be illuminated, and the words, "Floating Fire Engine" depicted on them.

On shore the General Fire Brigade engines will remain unchanged. That is to say, the engines will be stationed in their usual place in the Fire Brigade station, the fire-bell will sound as usual on the alarm of fire, and the firemen not on police duty will rendezvous as heretofore at the Fire Brigade station.

Stations will be established at which men will be posted in Fire Brigade uniform, each with 400 feet of hose and a branch pipe to attach the hose to the street fire plug. A large red lantern with the words "Fire Hose" in English and Chinese on it will be suspended at each station.

The following will be the central stations:-

Bank.

1. Queen's Road, between City Hall and Hong Kong and Shanghai

2. Clock Tower.

3. Junction of Wyndham Street in the Glenealy Ravine.

4. Junction of Wellington Street and Pottinger Street.

5. Junction of Holywell Road and Ladder Street (Man Mo Temple).

6. Junction of Queen's Road and Cleverley Street.

7. Junction of Queen's Road and Lower Lascar Road (Man-on

Insurance Company).

8. Junction of Bonham Strand and Queen's Road.

A manual engine will be stationed at Praya West, near the Fish Lines, and the steam fire engineer will be removed from the central district to No. 2 police station, Wanchai.

The above arrangements will be carried out by the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, aided by his assistants,

XIX.-Civil Labour.

There will be no difficulty whatever in procuring such civil labour as may be required, labourers, tradesmen, coolies, &c., who would be willing to work for Government if well paid.

XX.-Civil Police.

The police (numbering 100 Europeans and 200 Sikhs, armed with Martini-Henry carbines) would, in the event of war, be fully occupied in

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protecting the city from arson and controlling the exodus of the well-to-do Chinese; but after the panic among the Chinese attending the first demonstration of the enemy had subsided, assistance could be afforded in the way of patrols and obtaining information, and especially in watching the south shore of the island.

XXI.-Telegraphic Cables.

There are two telegraph lines to Europe, one viâ Saigon and Singa. pore, and the other via Shanghai, Vladivostok, and Russia.

Telegraphic communication would therefore be entirely cut off in the event of a war against France and Russia.

The line to the north and south of Saigon would be cut, and the two ends joined by cable. There are 20 miles of spare cable available at Hong Kong. This, however, would require that Saigon should be closely blockaded.

The shore ends of the cable, which are landed at Telegraph Bay and at Deep-Water Bay, will be watched by small parties to guard them against a boat attack, and earthworks will be constructed to command the landing. places. Any damage, however, could be easily and quickly made good. A more serious danger is the cutting of the line at sea, as it passes for a considerable distance among the surrounding islands and in comparatively shallow water, but there is sufficient cable to repair it when the ends are picked up, but this might require considerable time.

Coal.

The coal stores for the Navy are in the Naval Yard at Kowloon, and immediately beneath Kowloon West Battery.

There are also large stores of coal in private yards, but as the whole

of the coal supply is within the harbour, no special precautions are neces- sary for its defence.

Sir,

(Signed)

(Signed)

J. BEVAN EDWARDS, Major-General,

Commanding in China. EDWD. J. CHURCH, Commodore. A. GORDON, Acting Captain,

Superintendent of Police.

WM. P. BLANDY, Major, R.A.

(For C.R.A., on leave).

A. T. STORER, Colonel, C.R.E.

M. STUDHOLM BROWNRIGG, Major,

Hong Kong, May 30, 1889.

Secretary.

Covering Letter of General Officer Commanding.

Head-quarters, Hong Kong, May 80, 1889.

IN consequence of my having only recently assumed the command, I have not been able to complete until now the accompanying Report of the Local Defence Committee."

I think I should fail in my duty if I did not take this opportunity of drawing your Excellency's attention to the weakness of the garrison, and incompleteness of the defences of this very important station. These, even when complete, are quite inadequate to repel a serious attack upon Hong Kong with its present small garrison, ie, an attack by an enemy's aquadron of moderate strength, accompanied by a force of 3,000 or 4,000 men, a force which could easily be transported in two or three of the large foreign steamers which are constantly in these seas.

2. All that can be done to utilize to the best advantage the troops which are at my disposal has been done. The divisions and sections recommended in this Report have already been formed, the different sections have been mobilised, and every man has been told off to the place

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