COALBROOKDALE 



COALING 8TAT1ON8 



311 



Coalbrookdale U a district in Shropshire, 

 rxtrii.liii- s mile-, along the river Severn ; n - coal- 

 field supplies coal and iron an well an limestone, 

 and manufacture* iron. The village of Coalbrook- 

 dale, which gives it name, U 11 miles SE. of 

 Shrewsbury. 



Coal-fish (Gatlua cnrbonftriua), a species of 

 cod, with black upper parts, common in northern 

 eaa. It occurs from 80 N. lat. to the Mediter- 

 ranean, and is common off North American and 

 British coasts. In Scotland it is often called Saith. 

 It often measures 2 to 3 feet in length, and m.-iy 

 "be considerably larger ; occurs in great shoals ; is 

 exceedingly voracious. Though decidedly coarse, 

 its Hesh is much eaten in northern parts. The 

 young ones are often caught by boys fishing off 

 the rocks, and are variously known as podleys, 

 sillocks, cuddies, and coalseys. See COD. 



Coaling Stations. The question of coaling 

 stations has of late engaged a large share of public 

 attention in Britain. The necessity for maintain- 

 ing a sufficient number of fortified outposts on the 

 great lines of British trade has been recognised by 

 successive governments, and the work of defence 

 has, after a regrettable delay, at length been 

 vigorously taken in hand. The inquiry by a Royal 

 Commission resulted in the publication in 1881-82 

 of an exhaustive report, from which the present 

 -article has been compiled. 



The Commissioners estimated the value of British 

 ships and the freights which they carried annually 

 -at 900,000,000, British property to the value of 

 144,000,000 being at all times afloat, the greater 

 part on distant voyages. Broadly, the foreign 

 trade of the United Kingdom may be divided into 

 two great divisions the trade with the Americas, 

 and that with the Mediterranean, the East, and 

 Australia, by the Suez Canal and the Cape. It is 

 chiefly with the latter that we are here concerned. 



On the great trade-route by the Suez Canal to 

 India and to Australia, steamships have entirely 

 .superseded sailing-ships. It is along this route 

 that the possession or a continuous chain of coal- 

 ing stations gives Britain an advantage which it 

 is imperatively necessary to maintain. The Cape 

 route, again, is essential to the retention by Great 

 Britain of her possessions in India, Ceylon, Mauri- 

 tius, Singapore, China, and Australia. It is by 

 this route that reinforcements of troops and neces- 

 sary supplies could, in the contingency of war, be 

 despatched to the East with the least exposure to 

 capture. 



It must be accepted as a leading principle that 

 the defence of harbours should be secured by forts 

 and not by ships. The Royal Navy is not main- 

 tained for the purpose of affording direct local 

 protection to seaports and harbours, but for the 

 purpose of blockading the ports of an enemy, of 

 destroying his trade, attacking his possessions, 

 dealing with his ships at sea, and preventing an 

 attack in force upon any special place. It is by 

 the efficient performance of these duties that 

 British commerce and colonies will be best protected. 



The great fortresses of Gibraltar and Malta are 

 maintained wholly from resources provided by 

 the imperial exchequer. Improvements in their 

 defences have been going forward ever since they 

 came into the possession of Britain ; and it may be 

 assumed that Gibraltar and Malta are well pre- 

 pared to resist attack. For the manning of the 

 works strong garrisons of 6000 men are permanently 

 maintained. 



Pursuing our way through the Suez Canal, 

 which, in consequence of recent political changes, 

 luis practically passed under British control, we 

 find at Aden another commanding position. The 

 distance from Suez is 1300 miles, from Mauritius 



1070, from Bombay 1637, and from Ceylon 2130. 

 Aden i not only an important coaling station in 

 peace-time for uhipH using the Suez Canal, but, in 

 the event of war with any of the Mediterranean 

 powers, it would lie the only place in ptmfteiwion of 

 Britain from which a fleet could prevent foreign 

 ships of war, that had passed through the canal 

 into the Red Sea, from gaining access to the Indian 

 Ocean. The Royal Commission urge strongly that 

 Aden should be made secure against the attack of 

 a small naval squadron. 



Bombay is much more than a mere coaling 

 station. It is the greatest port of India, and one 

 of the busiest entrepots of commerce in the world. 

 The harbour, defended by batteries and by two 

 armoured vessels, was declared by Sir Frederick 

 Richards, when naval commander-in-chief on the 

 East India station, to be sufficiently secured against 

 any probable attack. 



Kurrachee is a post of immense importance as 

 the base for the military defence of the north-west 

 frontier of India. As compared with Bombay, 

 Kurrachee is nearer to England by two days' 

 steaming. By skilful engineering, the entrance to 

 the port, the anchorage, and the wharfage have 

 been adapted to the requirements of steamships of 

 large tonnage. The defences, both by batteries and 

 torpedoes, are well advanced. 



The distance from Ceylon to the Cape of Good 

 Hope is 4400 miles, from Mauritius 2100, from 

 Aden 2130, from Bombay 960, from Singapore 1510, 

 and from King George's Sound 3400. If measures 

 are taken to prevent an enemy's ships from coaling 

 in the adjacent seas, Ceylon will be comparatively 

 safe from heavy attacks. The possibility of attack 

 by a hostile cruiser must, however, be admitted. 

 The Commissioners carefully weighed the relative 

 advantages of Galle, Colombo, and Trincomalee. 

 Galle, for many years the port of call for mail- 

 steamers, has gradually been abandoned in favour 

 of Colombo. The latter port has a commodious 

 harbour, already sufficiently advanced to afford 

 well-sheltered anchorage during the south-west 

 monsoon. For local reasons, no less than for im- 

 perial considerations, the Royal Commission held 

 it necessary that Colombo should be adequately 

 protected, both by floating defences and by batteries 

 on shore. Trincomalee is the safest and most com- 

 modious harbour in the Indian Ocean, and very 

 capable of defence. But it is out of the course of 

 trade, and has no facilities for the repair of ships ; 

 so the Commissioners did not recommend a large 

 expenditure on fortifications at Trincomalee. 



Singapore is the next important position in the 

 possession of Great Britain. The annual value of 

 the imports and exports of the Straits Settlements 

 (of which it is by far the most important) is about 

 100,000,000. At Singapore the quantity of coal 

 supplied to passing steamers vanes from 15,000 

 to 20,000 tons a month. Extensive wharves, t hive 

 graving-docks, and all the appliances for repairing 

 ships have been provided by private enterprise. 

 The colonial government has carried out a scheme of 

 defence, planned by officers of the Royal Engineers. 

 The torpedo defences are complete. 



Hong-kongis the chief centre of British trade with 

 China, and the only dependency from which that 

 trade can be defended. The entries of shipping in 

 1890-95 included about 30,000 vessels and junks an- 

 nually, of over 7,000,000 tons, and manned by 500,000 

 hands. Graving-docks exist in the hands of com- 

 mercial companies, capable of receiving ironclads 

 of the largest class winch will be seen in the China 

 Sea. The defence of the harbour is now being 

 made good at the cost of the local and imperial 

 governments. A small ironclad is stationed at 

 Hong-kong for the defence of the harbour. 



To the Cape of Good Hope, the distance from 



