SIR FREDERIC SMITHsaid, he wished to ask the Secretary of State for War when he intends to lay upon the Table of the House the Report of the Commissioners on the National Defences; and whether it is the intention of the Govern- 190 ment to present to Parliament in the present Session an Estimate for carrying into effect any of the recommendations of the Commissioners? The hon. and gallant General said it would be in the recollection of the House that a Royal Commission had, in the month of August last, been appointed for the purpose of inquiring into the condition of our national defences. The Report of that Commission had, he believed, been in the hands of the Government for some time, and he, under those circumstances, wished to ascertain what its nature was, and whether any steps had been taken by the Government to carry into effect the recommendations which it contained.
§ SIR JAMES ELPHINSTONEstated that the position of the Government property at Portsmouth was most unsatisfactory. Some twenty-five or thirty years ago it was the fashion to sell everything that came under that head; and not only was timber sold out of the dockyard, but a large portion of land was sold at the foot of the glacis at Portsmouth, the consequence of which was that at the present time the sentries could be picked off the fortifications by a revolver fired from the houses built upon the property so sold. Now the tide was turned the other way, and the authorities would not part with an inch of land which the inhabitants of Portsmouth might require for their convenience, be it ever so worthless. Last year a Bill was introduced into Parliament to carry the line of railway from the terminus at Landport, between the works of Portsea and through the Milldam, to a convenient landing-place in the harbour, for the purpose of accommodating passengers to the Isle of Wight. The War Office was understood to be willing to comply with the request, but the Admiralty vetoed it. The Admiralty, however, pointed out a line which they would permit, and this the War Office vetoed. In this way the Departments played into each other's hands, and the consequence was that the passengers had to be carried twenty-five miles round, and the direct communication with London through Portsmouth was interrupted by the obstinacy of the Departments. The Government property lay in shreds and patches all over the place, while portions of ground fit for docks and other works of defensive description were not in possession of the Crown to the proper extent. The ground held by the Government, uselessly lying in waste, would purchase all that was wanted. Just now 191 the War Department were doing, probably, the most absurd thing that could be done. They were building a line of fortifications at the bottom of Portsdown Hill; so that any force in possession of the hill could fire down into the whole of the fortifications, and with guns carrying four miles could burn and destroy the whole of the dockyard at Portsmouth. If the Government would appoint an independent Commission who knew the value of property, not of officers who regarded a bastion as a holy thing, he thought they would be able to realize money enough at Portsmouth to excavate all the docks that were necessary there, and provide an adequate arsenal, which certainly did not exist at present.