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The cost is estimated as follows

(A.)—To hold Port Royal Harbour and Naval Yard—

Port Royal-

Batteries

Armaments

Apostles Battery-

Battery

Armament

Infantry post

Rocky Point-

Battery

Armament

Fort Augusta-

Battery

::

:

To complete the existing works Submarine mines

::

Cost of (A)

(B.)-To secure Kingston-

Little Plum Point-

Battery

Armament..

N. E. Battery-

Battery

Armament

Rock Fort and Fort Nugent

:

::

:::

::

:

::

:::

::

::

:

£

21,620

23,500

45,120

2,990

9,400

12,390

2,000

2,000

4,140

9,400

13,540

2,300

2,300

5,000

5,000

3,000

3,000

41,050 42,300

83,350

:

::

::

Cost of (B)

Cost of (A) and (B)

:

:

::

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203

Appendix No. 4.

JAMAICA.

£

£

£

24,725

15,000

39,725

28,175

19,700

47,875

5,500

5,500

58,400 34,700

93,100

•

176,450

(C.)-To secure Port Royal and Naval Yard, add—

Drunkenman's Cay→

Battery

Armament

Submarine mines

Cost of (C)

Cost of (A), (B), and (C)

£ 48,990

£

48

£

24,400

73,390

7,500

7,500

56,490

24,400

80,890

257,340

Salt Pond Hill.

£ 5,500

Besides Cow Bay, already referred to, and the coast in its vicinity, the only landing- places on the south side of the island are Morant's Bay on the east, and Old Harbour and Carlisle Bay on the west, of Kingston.

In Morant's Bay the water is deep, and the anchorage spacious; a good road leads Morant's Bay. along the coast as far as Long Mountain, but at present the rivers which it crosses are unbridged, and the rivers themselves are swollen to torrents during the freshets; this road can best be blocked in the neighbourhood of the Long Mountain.

Carlisle Bay is neither deep nor spacious; it is at some distance from Kingston, and Carlisle Bay. the roads from it are not in a military sense good; it may therefore be dismissed from consideration.

Old Harbour.

Old Harbour is spacious, and it is near Kingston, the railway from which terminates in Old Harbour Town; good roads lead from it through Spanish Town to Kingston, they may, however, be broken in Spanish Town at the Rio Cobre Bridge, or farther on at the Ferry on the Lagoon River; there is, however, a road, not very good, which branches off towards the high ground above Apostles Battery, and towards Hunt's Bay, which it strikes at Passage Fort. This latter road does not seem to be of much consequence, as the passage of the bay to Kingston could not be made without boats, and would be stopped by gun-boats in the harbour; but it may be necessary to place a small work upon the highest ground above Apostles Battery, probably on the highest point of Salt Pond Ridge, in order to prevent the Battery enemy from occupying it and turning the garrison of the battery out.

It may be a question whether defences should not be erected to restrain a landing in Old Harbour. The harbour is so near Kingston that the garrison of such defences would not be liable to be cut off and could easily be withdrawn, and holding the enemy at bay here would afford time for the destruction of the railway, and for the concentration of troops in the position selected for the defence of Kingston on this side; but the harbour is so extensive that works to hold it must be on a great scale, and would involve an expense not commensurate with the advantage to be derived from them.

This, however, is a point which should receive careful local consideration, but with the information available in this office it would seem unadvisable to do anything at this harbour.

From Cow Bay it is possible to move by the eastward of Long Mountain, thus avoiding

[1103]

5 C

2 64-prs.

Armament

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900

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