GREAT BRITAIN'S COALING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1692, 21 October 1887, Page 4

GREAT BRITAIN'S COALING

Lord and L»dy Carnarvon embarked a week Ust Friday on board the New Ztdand Shipping Company's Rimutaka for Australia. They will make a sojourn of some little time at the Cape of Good Hope, where the earl will take part m several Important public ceremonials, and will then resume their voyage to Australia, where they propose to spend several months. Before quitting England Lord Carnarvon addressed a letter to the " Times " on a subject which he has taken under his especial protection, namely, the adequate defence of our great commercial ports at home and coaling stations abroad. Substantially the noble lord repeated what he had said m a previous letter many months ago, namely, that we were leaving oar coaling stations absolutely without protfiction, and that m oasea where there had been an arrangement between the Imperial Government and the colonies that the latter should provide earthworks and fortifications and the former guns, the colonies had performed their share of tbe oontract while the Imperial Government neglected to do theirs. Such unquestionably was the state of things whtch prevailed when Lord Carnarvon first called attention to the subject ; bat it is_dae to the Conservative Government to say that since they have been m ofice the> have set themselves ledulously to remedy the evils whioh have been so foroibly pointed out by Lord Carnarvon «nd other writers. Speaking at a banquet at Sheffield latt Thursday, Mr Edward Stanhope, Sieretary of State for War, referred to this letter of Lord Carnarvon. He said that had the noble lord read the proceedings of Parliament during the present session, or the report of what took place at the recent Colonial Conference, he would have found that the charge of breach of faith In not having provided the armaments for the fortifications which the colonies had erected did not apply to the existing Government. He f nrther very emphatically declared that the bare notion of a breach of faith with the colonies on each a subject was absolutely abhorrent to him. The armaments for the fortifications of Singapore and Hongkong would be completed m the course of the present year. Mauritius and Ceylon had jutt voted the money required for doing their part of the bargain with the Imperial Government, and Mr Stanhope himself had ordered the big guns necersary for these places, so that the Home au'horities might be able to complete their sbare In the bargain. As regards tbe Cape, an agreement had been at rived at

ijith Sir Thomas Upington, one of the I representatives of Cape Colony at the Colonial Conference, bj virtue of which, If Parliament gave its sanotion, the n.eoessar y defence of Table Bay (the most important of our stations), would be commenced and completed. Generally •peaking, Mr Stanhope laid that so far from the Imperial Government not being willing to fulfil its promises, the Home authorities would be able to provide all the big guns as ooon as the colonial Government! were able to receive them.