The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1904-07-01

mysterious and terrible plan of wag-
ing war on land or sea. Were this plan
known TO the Japanese they could by
It's application reduce Port Arthur at
one blow, and sweep the Russian Army
OF the face OF Manchurla. The over
whelming and irresistible nature or
this plan has been admitted by sue
| cesslve generations of British military
experts. In the language OF its In
ventor mo Power on earth could stand
against this attack" and It is this very
terror and humiliation of the scheme
which has prevented its use by Great
Britain on more than one occasion.
The hostilties between Russia and
Japan lend present interest to this
secret, for We're it known and exercised
| by either of the combatants the war
would be ended by one catastrophe ac-
ton. This plan for attacking and de-
stroying an enemy's fleet. and for other
| irresistible warlike operations, was
propounded by the famous Admiral
Cochrane, afterwards Lord Dundonald.
in 1911. He submitted 1t to the
Government, who referred it to secret
committee to report on the ACCESSIBILITY
of its use against Napoleon. The COM
| mittee consisted of the Duke OF York.
Commander-in-Chief OF the Army, Ad-
mirals Lord Keith and Lord Exmouth
and the brothers Congreve of the Ordi-
nance. They found the scheme to be
all that Dundonald claimed for it. 1t
provided an irresistible and infallible
means of attack, but with so devastating
awfulness that they declared 1t in
human. Still, the Government proposed
to put portion of the scheme into
operation against the fortress and fleet
OF Toulon Dundonald refused to I'M
| dertake 1t on the ground that to test
| only a part of his scheme was unfair,
and, moreover, that this minor expert
ment would reveal the whole plan for
use by other countries. On the other
hand, Dundonald offered to reduce
Flushing at one blow, II he were allow
ed free hand for the operation OF
his scheme. The Government hesitated
to employ so annihilating n form OF
warfare, and finally refused But when
Dundonald entered the service of Chill
in 1917. he was required to pledge his
word that he would not divulge his
( plan nor use 1t except on behalf of
England.
That promise Dundonald patriotical-
ly observed. and forfeited his pay from
Chill, Brazil, and Peru rather than as
sent to their requests that he should
use his overwhelming secret to bring
their struggle against Spain to an early
and victorious termination. But in
1876. when the action of France raised
alarm In England, Dundonald again
urged his plan upon the Government
Again the Admiralty appointed a secret
committe of three officers to report up
on 1t. On January 10Th, 1S47. they
presented their report, declaring that
Lord Dundonald's plan undoubtedly
would destroy and sweep out of ex-
istence any hostile force. but that its
first application would reveal 1t to the
world. In addition, the terrible de-
struction effected by the operations
would be opposed to the principles of
civilized warfare. Twice during the
Crimean War Dundonald put forward
his scheme. On the first occasion he
was refused, on the ground that his
proposals were too terrible even for
war. A year later. when both Sebas-
topol and Cronstadt remained still I'M
taken, Dundonald renewed his Offer
and guaranteed his ability to reduce
either fortress. The Government on
this occasion dallied with the proposal.
and even requested Dundonald to in
struct two engineer officers in the ap-
plication of his attack against Sebas-
topol. But he resolutely refused to
entrust 1t to assistants, and asked to
be allowed to direct it in person.
Thus with the conclusion of the Cri-
mean War, the matter fell through,
and the terrible plan still remains hid
den and untried in the achives of the
War Office, Had it," declared Dundo-
maid, been known to the rebels in the
late Indian Mutiny not European in
India would have escaped" Again in
his autobiography he wrote, II repeat
and the assertion will one day be
coniirmed-that my plans afford the in
fallible means of securing at one blow
our maritime superiority and of there
after maintaining it in perpetulty-of
At once commencing ana terminating n
war by one conclusive victory" That
these loud declarations were not the
mere yainglorious outpourings of the
inventor is shown by Dundonald's large
experience of war, and the independ- |
ent opinion of two commissions of mill |
tary experts, who reported upon his |
scheme at an interval of nearly forty |
years. Both committees reported that
the plan was feasible, infallibe, and |
irresistible, confirming Dundonalds |
own declaration that no feet fortress,
or army could withstand the attack. |
only the appalling devastation of the
scheme prevented its operation by the |
Government against Napoleon, and .
against Russia a generation later in .
the Crimea. With this humane squeam- |
ishness was coupled the consideration .
that its first operation would reveal the .
secret to the world and enable any
country to employ It against Britain.
But these two We're the strongest reas-
ons urged by Dundonald for the oper-
alton of his scheme. The very inhu-