A Damaging Report.

Evening Star, Issue 7331, 1 October 1887, Page 4

A Damaging Report.

Although Major-General Schaw's report on the defences of New South Wales has been kept secret, it has transpired that the following are amongst the principal recommendations made by him: —

The entire reorganisation of the Permanent Artillery, more particularly with reference to its officering, and a considerable increase in its strength ; the appointment of a thoroughly qualified Imperial artilery officer as artillery instructor, such officer to be replaced every two or three years; all vacancies occurring amongst commissioned officers to be filled by artillery officers from Home, or until such time as the Colony is in a position to train its own officers; an Imperial general officer to inspect the defences and the defence forces of the whole colonies every year; the establishment of a military college for the whole colonies; the establishment of an Australian manufactory for arms and ammunition; that guns of far greater range than at present be procured for the defences of Sydney Harbor; that the Spit, Middle Harbor, be fortified; the entrance to Hawkesbury to be fortified, and a detachment of the Permanent Artillery be maintained there ; that the bead-quarters companies, Ist and 2nd Regiments, be increased by at least four companies ; that the reserves at present be abolished and replaced by a force of trained rifle companies, in which every other consideration has to give way to attaining good marksmanship, it being the General's opinion that if men so trained were required for active service, ten days' continuous drill would sufficiently discipline them for the work they would have to undertake; the Victoria barracks to be superseded by the erection of artillery barracks at Middle Head; that a force be formed from which ordinary drill instructors could be drawn, and which would supply guards now provided by the Permanent Artillery, soas to enable the latter to devote the whole time to their own peculiar duties. In respect tothe Permanent Artillery, the recommendations are said to be of a most sweeping character. At Christchurch on Wednesday Mrs Merson, charged with the larceny of property belonging to the insolvent estate of her husband, was acquitted. Mr Beethatn, R.M., said that the circumstances of the case were as favorable as they could possibly be to the accneed. He did not think that any jury could convict on the evidence he had before him. He was not justified in sending the case to the Supreme Court in order to have the technical points settled at the expense of the accused, and she was forthwith discharged. A special report on the Newcastle coal industry, which appears in the 'Sydney Morning Herald' of the 13th inst., contains the following:—"At present our largest market is the sister Colony of Victoria, and Adelaide is also a very large purchaser of our bituminous wares. New Zealand, however, which used to take considerable shipments from us, is contented now with a very limited supply, as local mines are opening up rapidly in both the North and the South Islands. In the latter especially the coal is of a very superior quality; and the Government support the 'local industry,' and use it on the railways and in various other ways, and find it no more costly than buying the Newcastle coal. But even if they did, the well-known Protection proclivities of our insular neighbors would:, in this respect, tend to injure the Newcastle trade to »lesser or greater degree."

A special report on the Newcastle coal industry, which appears in the 'Sydney Morning Herald' of the 13th inst., contains the following:—"At present our largest market is the sister Colony of Victoria, and Adelaide is also a very large purchaser of our bituminous wares. New Zealand, however, which used to take considerable shipments from us, is contented now with a very limited supply, as local mines are opening up rapidly in both the North and the South Islands. In the latter especially the coal is of a very superior quality; and the Government support the 'local industry,' and use it on the railways and in various other ways, and find it no more costly than buying the Newcastle coal. But even if they did, the well-known Protection proclivities of our insular neighbors would, in this respect, tend to injure the Newcastle trade to a lesser or greater degree."

A ticket-collector combats the cruel hallucination that the coming generation of his ' countrymen will be puny, sickly, and played out. His experience of many years convinces him that the contrary is the case, and that the average child of "under '' twelve," who travels with a half-fare ticket, is as large as a boy or girl of fifteen or sixteen used to be in ante-railway days.