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field should be fixed, not to be crossed by any unauthorized vessel under penalty of being fired on by Fort Manoel.

3. Conditions of Entry. - Vessels with dangerous cargoes, such as petroleum, should not be allowed into Quarantine Harbour. If it were blowing hard, it might not be easy to promptly tow such a vessel out to sea.

4. Mine-fields.-The mine-field in Grand Harbour should be extended on both sides to the 3-fathom line.

The mines should be laid in pairs, and not arranged for individual firing, as suggested in the Report.

A single line of mines as proposed for the secondary mine-field is not enough. The mine-field should be deepened. Now that the mines outside the harbour will be abolished, there will be abundance of spare stores to provide for this.

5. Brennan Installations.-The Committee are informed that orders have been given to rectify the defects brought to notice.

6. Booms. The booms at Dockyard and French Creek, as proposed in the Report, are not accepted by the Naval Commander-in-chief, who must be the best judge of this, which is a purely naval question. If he sees no objection to the single boom across the main harbour at San Angelo and prefers that arrangement, it should be adopted.

7. Defence Lights. With regard to the inner illumination of the harbours, the Committee have had the benefit of the views of the Admiralty Hydro- grapher, who is disposed to think that the electric installations, as proposed, might interfere with navigation of the harbours, as they show too directly down them. As it has not yet been satisfactorily established that dispersed beams have this effect, it seems desirable that further experiments to elucidate this point should be carried out at once at Malta.

If it be found that such beams have not the effect apprehended, the 'arrangement of the installations, as proposed in the Report, appears to be the best that can be devised. If otherwise, it is suggested for consideration whether certain of the beams could not be arranged to show backwards, viz., up the harbour, so as not to interfere with the entry of ships. If a ship were leaving the harbour, these lights might be temporarily switched off. Another alternative would be to increase the number of installations at the sides.

It is suggested that a possible arrangement on this system, viz., getting the installations as far as possible to the sides, and of beams showing backwards, might be as follows:-

Grand Harbour——

(a.) Two fixed beams at Bighi, each of 30° divergence, to illumine mine- field and arc Ricasoli-San Angelo.

(b.) Two fixed beams at Upper Castille Bastion, showing backwards up the harbour, and illumining the two booms and Calcara Creek.

Quarantine Harbour-

(c.) Two beams of 35° each at point south of Tigné, to illumine arc Fort Manoel-salient south of St. Sebastian's Bastion.

(d.) One beam of 35° at Ball's Bastion, shining backwards between Tigné Point and the north end of St. Gregory's Bastion.

(e.) One beam of 35° at Tigné, to illumine arc St. Gregory's Bastion- St. Sebastian's Bastion.

(d) and the fixed concentrated beam in Ball's Bastion would form one installation; the search light and fixed concentrated beam at St. Elmo would form one installation; (e) and the fixed concentrated beam at Tigné would form one installation.

8. Q.F. Guns. The proposed distribution seems suitable, but will require modification if the single boom across the Grand Harbour at San Angelo is adopted. It seems desirable that additional Q.F. guns should be placed at the two entrances to stop a boat before she enters the harbour.

9. Intelligence. The suggestion on p. 7 to establish a carrier pigeon service is worthy of further consideration, and the Committee suggest that the Foreign Office should be consulted confidentially on the subject.

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