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It will be seen from the above that it is only in exceptional circumstances that the treatment of an undeclared vessel as an enemy need await its arrival on the examination line, and that the whole system being devised to meet the attempt of the enemy to introduce a ship into the inner waters of the defence by fraud rather than by force, it is possible to place the examination-line near the entrance to these waters without incurring undue risk, provided that there is a certain amount of gun-fire and mine defence in rear of it. It will also be seen that while the work of identifying ships approaching the port rests on the examination vessels, the artillery defence is responsible for forcibly bringing them to. For this purpose extreme vigilance both night and day will be necessary. It will be impossible to maintain this instant readiness at all the batteries of a defended port throughout a possibly protracted war; nor, indeed, would this be desirable in view of the great strain it would involve on the artillery personnel of the station. It is therefore necessary to tell off to each examination anchorage one gun group, with the express duty of bringing-to incoming vessels, and by their warning shots giving notice of danger to the remaining defences. As this gun group may have to take action on its own initiative in the event of a vessel approaching an examination line without signalled permission, it is essential that it should be at one end of this line, so that there can be no mistake as to when a vessel crosses it, and so no delay in the fire necessary to stop or sink her.

The arrangements adopted at Singapore do not fulfil the conditions explained above. In the case of the western entrance, the examination is to be conducted out- side a line drawn north and south through the castern extremity of Freshwater Island, which is nearly 2 miles from the nearest battery, so that the examination vessels will hardly receive support from the defences. Neither end of the line rests on a battery, and it would be difficult to say, either from the examination vessel or from the shore defences, when a ship had crossed it, especially if it crossed it in the main strait, intending to make the western entrance after passing round Middle Island.

In the case of the eastern entrance, one end of the examination-line-drawn north-north-cast through Peak Island-does terminate at or near Tanjong Katong Fort; but that work is 4 miles from Peak Island, close to which a vessel making for the eastern entrance could cross the line. It is apparently intended (p. 98 (e), para- graph 4) that the receiving vessel should be posted near the centre of the line, and should signal the crossing of it by any vessel which had not received permission, and that the guns of the eastern defences should take action on receiving this signal, but no advantage is apparent from delaying this action if an examination vessel has previously signalled that the incoming ship has attempted to evade her. In para- graph 3 of their Remarks, dated the 9th May, 1891, on the Report of the Local Joint Naval and Military Committee of October 1893, the Colonial Defence Committee were of opinion that there was no necessity for a receiving ship, and that the examination launches or steamers were of themselves quite sufficient.

The Colonial Defence Committee now suggest, for the consideration of the naval and military authorities at Singapore, the desirability of placing the examination anchorages nearer to the defences of the western and eastern entrances at Singapore, and of laying down, as the examination-lines in the case of the western entrance, a line from the proposed 6-inch Q.F. gun group at Siloso to the beacon near Berlayer Point, on the opposite side of the harbour; and in the case of the castern entrance, a line from the proposed 6-inch Q.F. gun group at Fort Connaught in the direction of Tanjong Katong Fort.

The Committee are aware that ships lying in Singapore Roads would in this case be outside such special protection as is afforded by the laying down of examination- lines, but they do not "anticipate any great accumulation in war of vessels in the Roads, where they could only receive partial protection from the defences, and where they would tend to hamper the action of the guns. Most vessels as soon as they were identified would presumably be passed in to the complete security of the inner harbour.

In connection with the subject of protecting the port of Singapore against the stratagems of an enemy, the Colonial Defence Committee consider that the Harbour Traffic Regulations might conveniently refer to any local arrangements that have been made to preclude the possibility of the defences of the port being taken at a disadvan- tage by foreign ships of war, including transports, which had sought the hospitality of the port in peace. It will be remembered that the advisability of such arrange- ments, which are within the competence of the local authorities to make on the ground of the general convenience of the port, was pointed out at the time when the

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