548 
MOUNTINGS FOR COAST ARTILLERY. 
results would be delays, misunderstandings and great loss of fire 
effect. The true policy of coast artillery is simply to seek to obtain 
as many hits as possible in the shortest time, and when engaging ships 
in motion, the changes of conditions will be so exceedingly rapid that 
no single directing head can hope to follow them. The group com¬ 
mander alone will be able instantly to select the target which offers, 
for a fleeting moment, the best chances to his guns. To accustom him 
to depend upon a continuous stream of detailed instructions telegraphed 
from a distance, is dangerous. In action, if he is wise, he will certainly 
seize upon any opportunities that may present themselves. His training 
in peace ought not to be allowed to destroy his iniative and to blunt 
his sense of responsibility. The introduction of cordite combined with 
auto-sighting will enable the gun or the group to be the real fighting 
unit, and while old type ordnance may, in some cases, be advan¬ 
tageously directed from a distance, the modern ideal is decentralisation. 
The mountings for coast artillery above described represent much 
care and thought. While I trust that the officers of the Eoyal 
Artillery will see in them signs of advance, I am fully aware that 
they are by no means perfect. Already improvements in detail have 
suggested themselves, and criticisms, from the point of view of the 
Garrison Gunner, will be cordially welcomed. The closer the touch 
between the user and the manufacturer, the less will be the chance of 
mistakes and the brighter the prospects of rapid and well-ordered 
progress. 
July , 1897. G.S.C. 
