The St. Johns herald., 1899-04-29
ANOTHER GIBRALTAR.
GuSland's New Stronghold on ths
 Straits Of Fuca-
Great Secrecy Maintained During thS Construction O2 t,e Fortress De- oEi3tioa Of the Works
 and Armament.

Within year it is confidently ex- pected the Straits of Fuca will echo the music Of the shore guns at Esquimalt, Great Brit2in's new and most moderu lire of 6cfenses at the southern ex- trsmity of Vancouver island. Never has military undertaking in time of profoUndest peace been prosecuted with stricter secrecy than the construction of these Notifications, and all that the Victorians know all about the marvel ous system Of protection at their doors might be told in few brief para graphs that tho new forts arc designed for stern work, not for display; that thcir armament will be the most modern and best il the world; that submarine hines and tOrpcdocs arc Q prominent ,eaturc; that the forts" are located somewhere in the bowels of the earth between Point Macauley and Esqui- malt naval yard; that the magazines are stocked for sicGc If necessary, and hat the work of construction is now nearly accomplished, that of equipment has begun.
 At present the subaqueous mines are being placed in position at the entrance t. Esquimalt harPor and il the Royal roads, and the point is beginning to again assume more of the appearance of Q well-ordcred military barracks and less that of 2 great mining camp.
 Readers of the Seattle Post -Iutelli- goncer were, when the work com nenced, given an idea of the plan of toTtll2ati0n-a system of great tunnels and ordnance rising thercfrom on giant elevators hylraulically operated; Inc guns visible and exposed only in the brief moment required to sight and fire them. This general plan has been faithfully carried out, and the topography of the point, as viewed from the wu1cr,- fl,t--i.A- eazaroc,uauce- changed considerably. The hill has lisappeared and hundreds of tons Of earth and rock from the excavations have filed in the miniature valley. How the forts look from the shore none can say save the uncommunicative ofd- eers in charge, for in the last two years the scene of operations has night and day been surrounded by line of sentt> ne!s, to pass whom nothing less than an order from the imperial war office was required. The worllmcn, too, have been changed about, so that it would be impossible for any of them, even should he feel so inclined, to disclose the secrets of the stronghold. And not oven the highest officers of the resident militia have as yet been admitted with in the sacred precincts bounded by that faithful sentry line.
 Now that the greater part of the work of construction is over it is probs able that less secrecy will be exercised, but at no time can the general public hope to gain adr1ittancc to the forts as they do to the warships. They are not established for the qualification of sightSCcr5.
 It is not thought likely that any large additions will be made to the pcrlna- nert forces of Royal Marine artillery and Royal engineers under Col. Raw stornC and Mai. Muirhcad respectively. The force of two or three hundred at present ia possession of the barracks will be quite sufficient to keep the place in order il peaceful days, and should war at any tune cast it's shadow over the land the British Columbia Bat taliOn of Garrison artillery will be tound quite competent to defend their homes and England's honor. In view of such an emergency the headquarters militia con0anies have during the last year or so been put through course of special training by instructions from the Royal Marine artillery, practical artillery work being given them, and their patriotic enthusiasm being strengthened by a cash bonus of fifty dollars to clch nan attending the gum ncry classes. Besides this handsome new drill hall has been provided for them; they have been supplied with every military luxury and necessity, and have generally been dealt with on a scale of liberality that would simply astound any volunteer corps in eastern Canada.
 All of which points to but one con clusion.
 Just now the special training of ths battalion is suspended. The men who have taken the prescribed course have been examined and inspected and cer- tifcated. Each and all are, however, required t0 take a further course with in the Qualifications as soon as the heavy ordnance shall have arrived and been placed in position.
 And as yhc artillery must be proved" 1t least once in every three months, ae- cording to regulations, citizens of Puget Sound need not be alarmed if they hear heavy cannonading during the present summer. It will not bA the thunder of a hostile fleet; simply the barking of the watchdogs on guard at her Britannic majesty's Pacific heads quarters.
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