Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-10-20
ENGLAND'S $ FEARS
Canada'S Coast Defenses to be
Strengthened.
lronclads to pe Placed on the
Lakes.

Lord Stanley Demands an Immediate Re.
port Upon the Defenses of the Domin.
iOn-The British Government viii Send
Several Regiments of Soldiers Into
nexation Movement to be Checked by
Force,
OTTAWA, Oct. 90 Following close
on the announcement that the United
States government intended to abrogate
the agreement entered into with Great
Britain i'll 1877 and place fleet of gun
boats on the great lakes comes the re-
port that at the request of the British
government Lord Stanley has demanded
an immediate report upon the defenses
of the Dominion. The military authori-
ties here naturally attached some inter-
est as to what the urgency could be that
hurriedly called for this information.
The request Of Lord Salisbury was com
municated through Lord Stanley to
Premier Abbott last week, and the min
lister of militia promised to have the re-
port ready to be forwarded to the Brit
ish government some time this week.
For several years past, in the language
of prominent military officer here. the
British government has been hammering
at Sir John Mcdonald to strengthen the
defenses of Canada so that i'll the event
of trouble the Dominion might not be
solely dependent upon Great Britain for
protection. This request has not been
carried out to the satisfaction of the
British government. 1t is stated on the
highest authority that the officer com
manding the dominion forces, General
Herbert, was sent out to Canada to in
vestigate the actual state of affairs, which
duty his predecessors appear to have
sorely neglected. That the relations e1-
isting between General Herbert and the
minister of militia, Sir Adolph Caron,
are somewhat strained as a result. is an
open secret There appears to be little
doubt that it is the intention of the Brit
ish government to send severe Regiments
to Canada shortly. This has been in
contemplation for some time.
Again, the Notifications at Halifax,
still under the control of the imperial
authorities, are being strengthened to
make that naval station impregnab'e.
The same policy is to be carried out in
British Columbia, but there ls some hi Ch
between the home and the Canadian au-
thorities as to the outlay it will involve.
The naval docc-yard at Esquimalt, on
the Pacific coast, was jointly constructed
by the British and Dominion govern
ments, but it has been reported to the
home authorities that it is seriously de-
5ective in many particulars.
Speaking on the question of defenses,
a prominent official of the government
said the moment the United States gov
ernment abrogated the agreement of
1917, which restricted the naval forces
of both Canada and the United States
on the great lakes to four vassels each,
no vessel to exceed one hundred tons
burden, armed with one eighteen pound
gun, and increased the strength of their
fleets on these waters, Great Britain
would run up fleet of her ironclads to
keep them company. 1t has been sug-
gested that England has become alarmed
at the strong annexation movement
which appears to have seized her sub
jects in Canada and is going to take
precautionary measures, if necessary at
the point of the bayonet, to prevent its
further development.