The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-09
SOME e o
Great BrItain's Outposts.

O'Ne'
II is a first hand study OF Britain's I'm pc
rial Outposts from strategical and CONNER
cial points Of view which is presented in
the volume published under that title by
Col. A. NJ. MURRAY IL. p. Dutton d CO...
What we have here is the outcome of n
Journey made by the author in 1905 to Toxic
by way of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, Aden'
Colombo, Singapore. Hongkong and Shang-
hal, from which latter point the traveller
returned to England via Vancouver, Quebec
and Halifax. He thus had an opportunity
Of visiting nearly all the important places
al grea: strategic centres over winch IN
rwo hemlspneres the Union Jack waves.
In a preface Field Marshal Earl Roberts
points out some OF the chapters which seem
10 him particularly useful. He thinks that
Col. Murray has done good service by criti-
cising in Chapter VI, the administrative
apathy If the Alden Government, which
offers a striking contrast to the energy dis
played by the French occupants of the west
side OF the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. Col.
Murray asserts that the Persians, the Turks
and even the Arabs did more for Alden in
their respective periods of ~ascendency than
the British nave done during seventy years
occupation. lord Roberts suggests that
the best solution Of the Alden problem would
he 10 hand over the place to the Colonial
Office and thus relieve the Bombay Gov
m of a charge which is looked upon
only as an incubus
10 Chapter VII. the author dwclls on the
alarming falling off If British trade with
Persia due 10 the new customs duties which
began 10 be levied about three years ago.
Lord Roberts holds that the British Foreign
Office should insist ON 4 revision Of the
existing Persian tariff, which owes its origin
10 the surreptitious influence If Russian
diplomacy The subject Of the succeeding
chapter is Ceylon, which is described as
the model Crown colony The causes Of the
stands prosperity and Of the Contentment
NJ the native population will be found sci
forth in detail, In Chapter IN. due stress
IL laid on the strategical and commercial
importance If Singapore, the gateway into
the Pacific. Not only is Singapore a half
way house between India and China, but 1t
Is the great trading centre Of the Malay
archipelago and il offers a secure base for
naval operations. Col. Murray reviews the
rapid growth Of Singapore, recognizes the
virtues and vices of the Crown colony sys-
TEN and points out how much the value Of
The island cityis enhanced by the friendly
relations WHICH now exist between the Gov
OF the Straits Settlements and the
Federated States Of the Malay peninsula.
In his tenth chapter Col. Murray recalls
the conquest Of Manila by Great Britain in
1892, and declares that had she retained this
mort instead of restoring it to Spain her hold
rpon the China Sea would have been no less
iirm to-day than is her hold upon the Med
lterranean. The acquisition of the Philip
pines in ls9s has given the United States
a fortified naval base on the flank of the
British line of communication between
Singapore and Hongkong, The tonnage
statistics cited by the author do not agree
with those recently published by the Bureau
Of Statistics in our Department of Com
merce and Labor. According to the latter
authority, Hongkong in 1904 was third and
Singapore ninth in the list of the worlds
twelve greatest seaports. The tonnage
which entered and cleared at Hongkong in
the year named amounted 10 more than
1900, 900. while that which entered and
cleared at Singapore in the same twelve
month exceeded IL, 800, 900.
In the chapter on Hongkong the author
is outspoken in his condemnation OF the
Indian opium traffic with China. Lord
Roberts recalls with satisfaction that both
Sir Edward Grey and Mr.. John Morley
are showing a determination to cooperate
with the Chinese Government in efforts to
break up the Chinese habit of opium smok-
ing. In the same chapter the author criti-
cises the ~expediency Of removing battle
ships from Britain's China squadron. This
squadron could be reinforced in ten 10
twelve days by the East Indian and Austria
Ian squadrons. which between them ave
twelve cruisers. and the combined fleet
would muster nineteen cruisers, but it
would still lack a battleship. The strength
Of the American fleet in Far Eastern waters,
on the other hand, is three hattleships,
three cruisers and five d~estroyers; that of
the French fleet, one battleship and six
cruisers, and that of the German fleet one
battleship and one cruiser. Col. Murray
testihes that in 1903 the then recent with
drawal of all British battleships from the
China squadron was the subject Of general
criticism along the whole line of commune
cation with the Far East. Commenting
on the same subject in the preface, Lord
Roberts expresses the opinion that the
Japanese alliance should not be made use
OF by Great Britain for the purpose Of shift
ing her own responsibility on an ally.