Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-08-15
PREY FOR The BRITISH.
General Miles Describes the DefenseIes
Condition Of the Pacific Coast.

General Miles Describes the DefenseIess
Condition Of the Pacific Coast.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15.-The dispatch
from Ottawa detailing measures that
have been taken by the Dominion gov
ernment to etfectually fortify British
Columbia, is very suggestive, when
taken in connection with the statements
made confdentially by Gen. Nelson A.
Miles to the senate committee on rela-
tions with Canada, which has been
gathering information upon this sub
ject during the past two years.
Gen. Miles stated in his confidential
communication to the committee that
he has beel stationed on the Pacific
coast about ten years, and during that
period the discharge of his duties led
him to consider generally the condition
of the military and other defenses of the
United States on the Pacific coast, and
has also led him to acquire some infor-
nation in regard to the military works
in British Columbia so far as they may
be a menace to this coast. The infor-
nation which Gen. Miles gave to the
committee was gathered for himself,
and also. as he stated, for the higher
officers OF the government, and was re-
garded as confidential; but, of course,
he considered himself relieved from aay
responsibility Us to secrecy when called
by committee of congress to state the
facts known by him.
lie stated his belief that the railway
system of British columbia could be oc-
cupied by American troops in ten
days--in other words, that the princi
pal part Of British Columbia could be
occupied by American troops, not, how
ever, through Victoria, because the
British government has expended mil
lions in building dry docks, navy yards
and Notifications ut that point But,
said Gen. Miles Significantly Il think it
is fair to say that during those ten days
the British fleet could destroy every
town and city on Puget Sound; destroy
our railroad system there and occupy
our outlets for that northwestern coun.
try. They could also send ships up the
Columbia rive and destroy the city of
Portland and that railway system
This statement was explained by Gen
Miles by the humiliating admission
THAT there is not gun or an earth.
work on Puget Sound. There are few
obsolete guns ut the mouth of the
Columbia, at Fort Candy, but that is
mo- now occupied by troops.' This, he
said. is the condition of our affairs north
of the harbOr of San Francisco. And
he quoted from an official confidential
report describing the defenses of San
Francisco, closing with the following
paragraph: From the defective charac.
ter of the carriages and emplacements
upon and III which the existing arma-
mcnt is mounted, it is not possible to
fire single gun with II service charge;
nor could this state of affairs be reme-
died in the course of a month"
This. he explained, was attributable
to the fact that the war department had
forbidden full charges of powder to be
used even in ordinary artillery practice
on the coast because Of fear Of knock
ing down the carriages and killing the
men behind the guns" In short, he
said, "If foreign ship Of war should
enter the harbor. and the artillery troops
be required to man the guns and make
the best defense they could, they could
not with safety fire single gun with
the regular charge. The coast is prac-
tically defenseless.'
The volumes of testimony taken by
the committee have Just come from the
printer, and afford "A great deal more of
interesting reading. matter kindred to
the above