NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 14 September 1901, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

. The defences of Gibraltar have been the subject of a curious and rather bitter passage of arms between Mr. Gibson Bowles and Mr. Balfour. It will be remembered that the member for King’s Lynn recently went out to the Rock to examine the docks and other works in course of erection oh “its western side. These works are being carried out at a cost to the nation of something like £4,000,000 sterling. Mr. Bowles came back convinced that for the most part the works were absolutely useless, being commanded by heavy guns on the Spanish mainland—guns to which no reply could be made. A committee of inquiry was sent out, one of the four members being Mr. Bowles himself. The committee made a report, but on returning to England Mr, Bowles suddenly resigned his seat on the committee. His reasons for doing so he told in the House on a motion for the adjournment. The report made by the committee when at Gibraltar, he said, absolutely bore out all he had urged against more money being spent on the works. On returning to England, however, they received a proposal to vary and rewrite the report, it being suggested that they should withdraw some of the recommendations they had made and introduce others in their place. He refused to stultify himself in this way, and so had resigned his place on the committee. In conclusion, he asked that the condemned works should be abandoned. A

Mr. Balfour, in his reply, scarcely met Mr. Bowie’s main charge, but he spoke with much vehemence. The Government were considering whether, in view of the committee’s report, it was desirable to abandon the works. Ho pointed out that Mr. Bowie’s pica of urgency could hardly be substantiated, since if the works were abandoned and docks were built on the eastern instead of the western side of the Eock, they would take 10 years to complete. As regards the statement that the members of the committee had been asked to re-write their Report, Mr. Balfour maintained that the first report was an interim report. He indignantly repudiated the suggestion that the four gentlemen, the distinguished engineer, the dis tinguished sailor, the distinguished soldier, and the no less distinguished member of Parlipaent, who went out to investigate matters at Gibraltar were “ got at,” to put it mildly, by the Admiralty, but the “ impeccable, honest, the sterling, solid, self-eon-trolled member of Parliament resisted these official blandishments,” and declined to submit to a revision of the report, which, up to that time, had been considered as final. No one offering to continue the debate, Mr. Bowie’s motion for the adjournment was negatived on a % division by 21G votes to 157.