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Appendix No. 4.

HONG KONG,

the Government, Mr. Tonnochy, that I obtained it at last, or indeed any plan of the island at all. He gave orders that everything I wanted should be prepared or traced for me in the Surveyor- General's Office.

And I would take this opportunity of saying that the Colonial authorities gave me every assistance in their power, the Governor placing a steam-launch at my disposal, without which, during the hot weather, it would not have been possible to make the necessary inspections and sketches of the various points of the coast-line.

W. CROSSMAN, Colonel, R.E.

(Signed)

October 30, 1881.

Kowloon Dock Bat- lery.

Inclosure 3 in No. 99.

REPORT OF LOCAL COMMITTEE ON DEFENCES OF HONG KONG, 1881.

THE Committee has considered the various defensive measures proposed for the protection of Hong Kong, and the members are decidedly of opinion that it will be necessary to convert the harbour into a **

secure port of refuge." The alternative schemes for "modifying the existing defences," and for "constituting a depôt denied to the enemy," are not considered in this paper.

The reasons for the above decisions are, shortly, as follows:-On account of its trade, its docks, its harbour, and its facilities for coaling, Hong Kong is intrinsically most valuable; but to Great Britain it has a peculiar importance.

It is the principal naval station in these waters, and even the largest iron-clads can be refitted there. It is a depôt for the traffic in opium, upon which the revenue of India greatly depends,* and it is a free port largely resorted to by every nation, and in which the British-born Chinese are now an important factor. Consequently it becomes necessary for our prestige in China and the Pacific, and for the protection of our interests everywhere, that Hong Kong should be fortified in such a manner, that its security should be placed beyond all doubt.

The Committee cannot suggest any improvement in the positions of the batteries as laid down in the Memorandum prepared in the office of the Inspector-General of Fortifications.t

Some changes have, however, been made in the armament, and a battery for two 9-inch guns has been added at Kowloon East.

In their Report the Committee have first dealt with the batteries in the order as they occur in the Memorandum of the Inspector-General; then follow:-

2. The gun-boats and submarine defences.

3. The infantry posts.

4. The force of 200 cavalry.

5. The disposition of the troops.

6. The armament proposed.

7. Summary of the estimates.

8. General remarks.

-

1. The Batteries.

The Committee proposes that the armament should be four heavy guns, and, to secure uniformity in the gun-stores, it is considered that all of them should be 10-inch.

Commencing from the west end of the battery, the first two guns, each firing in two opposite directions (viz., to the north-east and to the south-west) would be directed on Causeway Bay and Kowloon Bay.

No. 3 gun would have a lateral range from Kowloon city round to the eastward as far as North Point; and No. 4 gun, which could be traversed through an angle of 180 degrees, would be directed principally on the Lyemoon Pass.

The alterations in the lines of fire of these guns can be readily made if the platform of No. 1 is altered to a D pivot, and if the D pivot racers of No. 2 gun are made a complete circle.

No. 4 gun which has been added to fire on the Lyemoon Pass should be placed on the south side of the old, disused, No. 4 emplacement, which formerly existed at the eastern end of the battery.

The battery should be made secure from assault, and should be defensible by itself, containing adequate accommodation for the gun detachments (68 men).

The high hill on the north-west of this battery is a source of some difficulty. Very steep and *With reference to these remarks about the opium trade I addressed a private letter to the Administrator, of which the following is a copy.-W. C. :—

(Confidential.)

Dear Mr. Tonnochy,

Hong Kong, October 22, 1881.

I think the reference in the Committee's Report, to Hong Kong being a depôt for opium, might with advantage be omitted. The regular trade of the port is so great, that it is not necessary to make any allusion to a traffic which is considered illegitimate by a large and powerful party in England.

If a loan is once asked for to carry out colonial defences, the Reports of the various Committees may be printed and laid before Parliament, and the expressions used by the Committee on the subject of opium might lead to a good deal of irrelevant discussion.

The Hon. M. S. Tonnochy,

Administering Government of Hong Kong.

Yours, &c.

(Signed)

W. CROSSMAN.

N.B.-I am now on board ship with the American Minister, who has just signed a Treaty with China, by which all American subjects are forbidden henceforth from trading in any way in opium in China. So much the more reason for not saying anything about it, if not absolutely necessary.—W, C.

October 30, 1881.

+ No. 102.

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