AUSTRALIAN DEFENCES.
having regard to the size and population of the Colony. By the Act framed in December, 1895, every male inhabitant of the Colony between the ages of eighteen and forty-five is liable for service; and the military forces may be called upon to serve in any part of Australia and Tasmania.
Defences of Western Australia.In Western Australia the military force is small. The garrison for the defences of the important coaling station of King George's Sound—which must be the base for the cruisers protecting the trade approaching Australia via the Suez Canal or the Cape of Good Hope is much below the required strength. Part of the garrison is to be provided by South Australia, but the growth of Western Australia should obviate the necessity for this inconvenient arrangement.
Tasmania.The military force of Tasmania only numbers 800 efficients, and does not seem to be in a very healthy state.
To sum up. It may well be doubted whether the money spent by the Colonies on their local navies is in all cases well spent. In South Australia the Protector is so cheaply maintained that the expenditure is justified. In Victoria, owing to the large extent of open water inside the defences at Port Phillip Heads, it is desirable that there should be some floating defence for Melbourne. The Cerberus and the torpedo-boats are sufficient for the purpose, and would probably act as a greater deterrent to hostile cruisers than the forts at the Heads. They could be kept available for emergencies with a very much smaller expenditure on permanent staff. It is not clear what service the Queensland gunboats could render in case of war.
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