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Field-Marshal Commanding in Chief is President, but little or nothing has been done for satisfying these demands except at Malta, Gibraltar, Halifax, Bermuda, and Mauritius, until this summer, when steps were taken in all haste to extemporize defences at a few of those ports, and it was found that without drawing upon the reserves of guns maintained in foreign stations for the purpose of keeping Her Majesty's ships in a state of efficiency, there were not sufficient guns in store in England to supply the most pressing needs of more than four of those ports on the most limited scale, and those only of too small á calibre to afford a really good defence, and that small guns of this nature could not be manufactured in time to place in these extemporized defences for several months, so that for some time after the commencement of war, if it had broken out, and therefore during a most critical period, the chief coaling stations for the fleet and commercial harbours in the Colonies would have been practically defenceless, and the vast commerce of Great Britain almost without a port in which to find refuge if pursued by an enemy's cruizers.

It is also to be cbserved that in time of war Her Majesty's ships will retain the power of using the ports of neutral Powers for coaling purposes only to a very limited extent, and will thus be deprived of stations, such as the Cape de Verde Islands and those on the western coast of South America, ordinarily used in peace time, and without which it will become a matter of extreme difficulty, considering that their capacity for carrying coal will only enable them at most to steam some 3,000 miles, for Her Majesty's ships to maintain active and energetic operations for the protection of British interests on the well-known ocean tracks ordinarily followed by the commerce of Great Britain and her Colonies.

Under these circumstances I conceive it will be almost useless from an Imperial point of view to incur an expenditure of 14,0001. for the supply of small arms for the local defence of a few islands in the West Indies, however important they may be, while positions of tenfold importance are left undefended, but that the question of Colonial defence should be considered as a whole with reference not only to the works and their armaments, but also to the forces necessary for manning them.

The Defence Committee, of which His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Com- manding in Chief is President, in their Report of the 5th June, 1877, drew attention to the fact that the number of troops required for the garrisons of the more important coaling stations exceed what can be spared in the event of war from the regular forces of Her Majesty's army, especially in the matter of artillerymen; much more, therefore, will it be impossible to provide them for other ports in the Colonies.

The Colonial Defence Committee, presided over by Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, have followed in the same course, and made suggestions as to the means to be adopted in different Colonies, having reference to local circumstances, for raising the requisite forces to meet the emergency on account of which they were appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies; but it is believed that as yet no such forces have been organized, although steps have been taken in that direction in some of the Colonies. There can be no question of a doubt, however, that to raise and equip forces in haste on an emergency is expensive, and that when so raised they are often, if not always, comparatively inefficient, from the lack of time for careful consideration and for organization, including the selection of officers, and for training, and in some cases it would be impossible to effect it from the want of arms with which to equip them, and properly trained officers and non-commissioned officers to instruct and command them.

The inquiries made by the Colonial Defence Committee raised great doubts in their 'minds also as to the possibility in all cases of getting adequate garrisons by any means into important positions in time to ward off a possible attack, in which case the only practicable defence would have been by stationing ships of war in the ports themselves, and thus crippling the operations of Her Majesty's fleet.

It is in the interval of peace, especially after the defects in our national armour have been probed by the prospect of trial in a great war, and at a time when the peace of the world is far from being assured for any lengthened period, that efforts should be made to place it in as complete a state as is reasonable, to meet the attacks to which, in future complications, it may be exposed.

The approximate estimate furnished by the Defence Committee for works and armaments, but without including any expenses in connection with the provision of garrisons, for twelve coaling stations alone was, in round numbers, 2,300,000l., towards which a part of the special expenditure authorized under the vote of credit during the past summer will be useful; but this amount will serve to show the magnitude of the question, and that it will require several years for its solution, including the consideration, designing, and construction of the works, and the manufacture and mounting of their

armaments.

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