THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
229 
eastward, Woolwich would supply war materiel to our forces; while in 
case of hostilities with a naval power occupying the channel ports, our 
convoys for the colonies could be despatched in safety from Runcorn. 
In like manner, Runcorn would form the chief point in our base of 
operations in case of hostilities occurring to the westward—such as an 
insurrection in Ireland, or a war in America. With regard to the posi¬ 
tion of the capital, we have already pointed out how its fall, even com¬ 
bined with that of Woolwich, need not paralyse the resistance of the 
country, which would still possess two strong points cVappui on which 
it could successively concentrate itself. 
As far as concerns what we may call the material conditions of suc¬ 
cess in manufactures of all kinds, we have them present in abundance. 
Situated in the very heart of the coal and iron-producing districts, the 
place of arms at Cannock Chase would command unlimited supplies of 
the raw material at its very threshold. Nor would facilities of manu¬ 
facture be. wanting where skilled labor exists to any extent among a 
population almost wholly consisting of miners, colliers, mechanics, and 
artisans. The huge iron-works existing in the immediate vicinity afford 
the means of obtaining with ease any desirable quantity of plant and 
machinery for the use of the Government manufactories; while they are, 
moreover, capable of furnishing vast quantities of war materiel them¬ 
selves. Again, if contracts be resorted to, we may allude to the vicinity 
of Birmingham—the great centre of the gun trade of the world—as 
affording a ready means of obtaining almost any amount of small-arms; 
of Stafford and Northampton—both famous for their shoe manufactories— 
for supplies of boots and accoutrements ; and of Sheffield—the centre 
of the cutlery trade—for swords and all kinds of steel weapons and tools. 
Lastly, with reference to facilities of distribution. The depots are 
supplied from the manufactories in three ways, viz.:—- 
1. By water. 
2. By railway. 
3. By road. 
With regard to the first, the Thames and the Mersey give easy access 
to the sea both from Woolwich and Runcorn—thus affording a cheap 
and convenient means of communication, not only to all points on our 
own shores, but also to all parts of the world. Cannock Chase, again, is 
surrounded by a perfect network of railways, roads, and canals, com¬ 
municating with all the principal lines and highways in the kingdom, 
and thus affording the ready means of supplying all the branch depots 
in the interior of the country from the great parent arsenal. 
It has already been observed that it is the army and navy who are the 
consumers of war materiel, and as our object is to facilitate its supply 
to them, we must necessarily refer to their distribution. The navy, of 
course, obtains its supplies of war materiel direct from the manufactories, 
or from the naval depots, and need not here be further alluded to. The 
British army, however, is distributed as follows :— 
In the United Kingdom. 128,000 
In India. 63,000 
In the colonies . 16,000 
