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But the indirect co-operation of all Her Majesty's ships on the station may be depended upon, in the endeavour to prevent the arrival of a hostile force within attacking distance.

14. Lights, &c.-The Admiralty have laid down as a general principle that, as far as possible, no measures should be taken which would give a belligerent character to lighthouses and lightships. The number of British vessels which derive advantage from lights is so greatly in excess of that of the ships of any other Power that British interests appear to demand that the neutral character of such lights should be preserved, except in special cases. For this reason the Colonial Defence Committee do not recommend the connection of Horsburgh Lighthouse with Singapore as a defensive measure. They point out that, by night, warning of approaching vessels could not thus be counted upon, and that, by day, the gain in time would be strictly limited. The advantages of this connection for mercantile purposes in time of peace would, however, probably be considerable.

15. Traffic Regulations.--The prevention of mercantile vessels from entering the inner harbour by night has been agreed to by the Admiralty, on the grounds that such vessels will find an anchorage under the protection of the guns on shore. It is, however, essential that Her Majesty's ships should have access to the inner harbour by night, since the power of being able to coal rapidly and in all weathers might be most important to their action

at sea.

16. Improvised Infantry Volunteers.-The Colonial Defence Committee point out that it is necessary that any forces thus improvised should be raised under proper authority, and should wear a distinctive dress, so as to be able to claim full combatant rights. This necessity is recognized by the Local Committee as regards the crews of launches or other vessels employed for defensive purposes, and the Colonial Defence Committee are considering the question which has been raised on other papers by the General Officer Commanding.

The Colonial Defence Committee have considered the opinion conveyed in the covering letter of the Governor that the small garrison appears, under the scheme, to be too much split up in small detachments. While, as stated in their Memorandum above referred to, they do not consider that there is a probability of a serious land attack so long as Her Majesty's squadron in these waters is maintained at its present strength relative to those of other Powers, the Alexandra Position, as the only point on which a coup de main might be attempted, should not be neglected. In the proposed distribution of troops, only 100 infantry, with 114 Perak Sikhs, are allotted to this section of the defence, and this small force would be withdrawn if it appeared that no landing on the main island was contemplated. With this exception, the apparent splitting up of the force appears to be due rather to the requirements of the artillery defence than to the exaggeration of the probabilities of land attack.

The Colonial Defence Committee recommend that a copy of these remarks should be forwarded to the Governor, who should be directed to lay them before the Local Committee, and cause the scheme of defence, the revision of which up to the 30th September, 1891, will shortly take place, to be modified accordingly.

(Signed)

G. S. CLARKE, Secretary,

Colonial Defence Committee.

June 25, 1891.

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