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reinforce Newcastle and Wollongong if seriously attacked, or for any other purpose the General Officer Commanding may think fit. It should, how- ever, be borne in mind that the great value of this force, especially at the outset of a war, will be for the action, in combination with similar forces from other Australian forces, referred to in paragraph 3 of this Report.

The requirements of the defence as regards personnel are well met by the excellent proposals for the general distribution of troops embodied in Chapter II of the present Defence Scheme and that of 1894. They only require rearrangement in accordance with the Division of Command now proposed, and care should be taken that in detailing the troops to the various special duties they will have to perform, undue dispersion of the com- paratively small numbers available is avoided.

21. Page 37, 1st paragraph.-The "patrol vessel," mentioned in the first line of this paragraph, is presumably the "examination vessel," and

should be so referred to.

22. Pages 41 and 42.-The Colonial Defence Committee, after considering paragraph 8 of the Military Commandant's Minute, printed as Appendix (A) to these Remarks, adhere to their former opinion that the proposal to meet any attack on Wollongong-Bulli at the outset by the destruction on the part of the defence of the jetties and mining plant is much to be deprecated.

23. Pages 43 and 44.-It is proposed, in connection with the general defence of Sydney, to employ two armoured trains, in each of which is to be 1-40-pr. R.B.L.; 2-16-pr. R.M.L. and machine guns.

Unless under exceptional circumstances (such as was the case at Alex- andria) armoured trains are of doubtful utility. Fire from them is not very accurate, except, perhaps, when firing dead ahead, owing to variation of "jump," and slow, owing to cramped position of the detachment. Guns, such as 16-prs., are certainly better, and more effectively employed, if disembarked and fired from the ground. Even 40-prs. would be better used in this way, though they take longer to entrain and detrain. It is not possible to carry guns on railway trucks ready to be fired from the trucks, and also prepared for rapid detraining.

A very serious objection to these trains is that they render it almost impossible to use the line for any other purpose, such as the bringing up of infantry reinforcements, a matter of much importance. Infantry alone can hold a position, two or three guns by themselves cannot. It is, therefore, better to detrain the guns and leave the line clear for other traffic.

In any case the two 40-prs. should be kept together; it would take somewhere about fifteen to twenty minutes to get the range with one of these guns, acting singly, to a standing object, and effective fire on a moving object, would be well nigh impossible.

24. Page 47, 4th paragraph, and Page 51, 3rd paragraph.-It should be stated in the scheme with reference to the proposals to sink vessels for the defence of Brisbane Water and Lake Macquarie, referred to in paragraph 11 of the Colonial Defence Committee's Remarks on the 1894 Scheme, and in paragraph 9 of the Military Commandant's Minute, printed as Appendix (A) to these Remarks, that no vessels should be sunk until the necessity for this extreme measure actually arises, and until instructions are issued for this action by the General Officer Commanding, who should, if possible, consult naval opinion before giving orders to this effect.

Chapter V.Mobilization Principles and Allotment Tables.

25. Pages 53 and 54.-The Colonial Defence Committee hope that the next revision of the Defence Scheme will show that all the "Preparatory measures during peace" which are here contemplated, have been carried out, and that each unit is in possession of its detailed "Standing Orders" for mobilization. The general principles embodied in the Scheme, and the Railway and Allotment Tables which accompany it are satisfactory.

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