22 PKE8ENT AND FUTUEB PROSPECTS OF 



in a channel ploughed by storms and heavy seas 'from 

 the Atlantic on the one side, and from the North Sea on 

 the other, and subject to be clouded over very frequently 

 by those impenetrable fogs which are so common and 

 dangerous along our English coasts. But, beside the 

 question of having a place of refuge to which our ships 

 can repair under severe stress of weather, — and, you 

 must remember, that it is calculated that on an average 

 nearly 2000 ships of one class or another pass Dover 

 every day, — there is another reason equally strong, and, 

 if possible, more important, as far as the interests of our 

 great Empire are concerned, which rendered the con- 

 struction of a great National harbour at Dover an abso- 

 lute necessity, as well as a great national duty. 



As you are aware, our coast at Dover is only about 21 

 miles distant from France ; so close that one of our new 

 torpedo-catchers could cross to Calais and return to 

 Dover inside of an hour's time. You also know that the 

 English Channel is the great highway through which all 

 the European fleets, and a great number of other war- 

 ships, are continually passing ; consequently, Dover, 

 with the requisite battleships and torpedo-boats, com- 

 mands one entrance of the Channel, and can, in case of 

 need, either attack a hostile fleet, prevent an invasion of 

 our shores, or inflict punishment upon any neighbour 

 who wishes to annoy us. When the Dover National 

 Harbour is completed, it is computed that a large 

 portion of our fleet and torpedoes can lie at anchor in 

 safety there, ready to strike if any of these emer- 

 gencies arise. 



The necessity of the formation of a great national 

 harbour in this part of the English Channel has for a 

 great number of years engrossed the attention of the 

 naval and military authorities of our country, and as 

 long ago as 1844, a Royal Commission sat on the subject, 

 and plans, for which the late Duke of Wellington was, I 

 believe, in part responsible, were prepared and con- 

 sidered. These plans must have been tied up very 

 tightly with red tape, for it took 52 years to open them, 

 and it was not until the year 1896 that any tangible pro- 

 gress in the carrying out of this great national under- 



