A Colonial Navy. 73 



degree of certainty in the delivery of the mails and bullion 

 under the pressure and hazards of war. 



15. The sloop of war Victoria, although admirable in her 

 appointments, cannot be regarded as an addition to our 

 effective means of defence in any other light than that of an 

 armed tender, whilst the shore batteries, upon which such 

 large sums of money have been expended, are even of less 

 probable value. One of the most fatal objections to fixed 

 batteries is their local and isolated character, whilst the 

 difficulty of obtaining a sufficiency of trained men to 

 work J:hem, from amongst a small population like 

 Victoria, is insuperable. This difficulty has been strongly 

 pointed out by one of our Koyal Engineer officers, 

 in reference particularly to the defending of Port Phillip 

 Heads. I would further remark, that a calculation based 

 on obtaining small numbers of men with the requisite moral 

 courage, and training to remain steady under fire in isolated 

 batteries of one or two guns, such as those of Port Phillip, 

 is expecting too much of human nature generally, 

 seeing that such a trial ought only to be made, if made at 

 all, with tried veterans, and men who have had a high 

 degree of moral training, and even then only under very 

 exceptional circumstances. But, apart from such con- 

 siderations, I submit that the results of the last few years, 

 in the Baltic and the Crimea, show the utter insufficiency of 

 fixed forts against steam frigates capable of changing their 

 place in an open roadstead, or even when running the 

 gauntlet of a channel like the entrance to Port Phillip, sup- 

 posing it to be necessary to run such passage in broad day- 

 light, instead of under cover of the darkness of night. In 

 reference to the mere construction of batteries, and mounting 

 the same with artillery in this colony, it is simply a question 

 of cost, which can be readily met ; but, when erected, will 

 they be worth the money they cost as a means of defence ? 

 and lastly, can a sufficiency of suitable, or indeed of any 

 men, be found to work them 1 to both of which questions 

 I must reply in the negative. 



16. The colonial volunteer force is, no doubt, excellent in 

 morale and general efficiency, although not numerous, and has 

 been frequently complimented by the gallant officers who from 

 time to time have inspected them ; and, properly officered 

 and led, the force would do good service as regards mere 

 fighting. 



17. Such being the state of our communications and of our 



