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Printed for the use of the Colonial Office. 11th December, 1892.

CONFIDENTIAL.

41-R

GIBRALTAR.

GIBRALTAR. 5.

8238.

Defence Scheme revised to December 1892.

Remarks by Colonial Defence Committee.

THE Colonial Defence Committee have had before them the Scheme of Defence for Gibraltar as revised to December 1892, together with the replies of the General Officer Commanding to the remarks made by the Committee on the previous Scheme. They have thought it unnecessary to print the present Scheme as the only changes are in minor details, and as it will have to be recast at the next revision so as to bring it into the approved form.

1. Pending the reconsideration of the civil portion of the Scheme in the direction recommended in their remarks of the 4th November last, the Colonial Defence Committee consider that the present military portion of the Scheme may be accepted, as far as its matter is concerned, as satisfying the require- ments of the fortress. The points in which it is still deficient are those already brought to notice in paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of Colonial Defence Com- mittee's Remarks of April 1892, and these are either dependent on, or can best be dealt with in, the civil Scheme. The other deficiencies then pointed out have either been satisfactorily disposed of by the replies of the General Officer Commanding, or (such as paragraphs 6, 9, and 10) can best receive attention when the Scheme is being rearranged.

The Scheme should, however, be recast at the next revision in the form recommended in Colonial Defence Committee's printed Memorandum No. 46, entitled, "Remarks on Defence Schemes, and the form in which they should be drawn up," as far as it may be found applicable, and, assuming this to be done, the following points in the replies of the General Officer Commanding alone call for remark by the Colonial Defence Committee.

2. General Officer Commanding's reply to paragraphs 1 and 2. The measures to secure greater safety for the mercantile coal, and to facilitate the coaling of the mercantile marine, require further and more detailed consideration than that given to them at p. 63 of the Scheme, or in the civil portion of the Scheme. The matter is one of great importance, and the question, as it now stands, is left in a vague and undetermined state. The General Officer Commanding should decide definitely what action will be taken, and record the necessary arrangements in the Scheme.

3. Reply to paragraph 4. The last sentence of paragraph 4 of Colonial Defence Committee's Remarks should, perhaps, have been worded differently, so as to leave no room for misconstruction. The meaning which it was intended to convey was that, although, as a rule, look-out vessels, especially at night, are likely to be useless, yet, as it is undesirable to lay down a hard- and-fast rule, the circumstances of each place should be separately considered, as only a close investigation of all the conditions of each locality can show in what cases they would be likely to prove of utility. In view of the special facilities for look-out stations on shore possessed by the Rock, it seems to the

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