Cyprus, As I Saw It In 1879 By Sir Samuel White Baker





















































 -  My own opinion may
be valueless, but it is shared by many; Cyprus should belong absolutely
to England, or we - Page 249
Cyprus, As I Saw It In 1879 By Sir Samuel White Baker - Page 249 of 274 - First - Home

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My Own Opinion May Be Valueless, But It Is Shared By Many; Cyprus Should Belong Absolutely To England, Or We Should Have Nothing To Do With It.

I repeat the dictum expressed in the introduction; if England is the ally of Turkey and she can depend

Upon the integrity of that defensive alliance against Russia, there is no need for any station that incurs the obligations of Cyprus; all the Turkish ports would be open to our ships. The occupation of Cyprus would therefore suggest that a far-seeing government had doubted the integrity of Turkey, and had therefore determined to secure a pied-a-terre in a strategical position that would command the east of the Mediterranean. Upon this point opinions will again differ, and I quote the words of one of the most experienced statesmen and an ex-minister of the Upper House, who writes:--

"The objections to Cyprus as a military and naval station are shortly these. It will oblige us to establish a garrison, and therefore to increase and divide our forces in the Mediterranean. There must be barracks, hospitals, store-houses, &c. After all this expenditure Cyprus will weaken rather than strengthen our power.

"Famagousta may be made a good harbour; but how can it be defended? The ships will not be, as in Malta, defended by batteries projecting far beyond the anchorage; Famagousta will require ships of war to defend it, or batteries constructed on the breakwater--a most costly undertaking. As a coaling-station it is not wanted, because colliers accompanying the fleet are much more convenient. If, in short, we are supreme at sea, Cyprus is not wanted; if we are not supreme, Cyprus will be an incumbrance."

I acknowledge the force of a portion of the argument, and no one can more highly respect the distinguished authority I have quoted, who, as an ex-First Lord of the Admiralty of practical experience, must carry the great weight of his ability and position; but I would suggest that Famagousta is underrated. I have already described that powerful fortress, and in its present condition, if mounted with forty-ton guns upon the sea-face, I doubt the possibility of an attack from seaward. The natural reefs which form the sea-wall afford the greatest facilities for batteries a-fleur-d'eau, as their solid foundations require the simple levelling of cement, and a facing of steel plates would complete an impregnable line of casemates that would render the approach by sea impossible.

The advantages of attendant colliers is great as a continuous coal-supply to a fleet, especially during the blockade of an enemy's port; but for a cruising fleet, or for independent vessels, the speed of the colliers would be insufficient, and a line of coaling-stations, at intervals of five days' steaming is in my opinion highly important, in addition to the necessity of docks where ironclad vessels could obtain the necessary repairs after a naval engagement. It is a serious result of modern improvements that the cumbrous and complicated ironclads cannot be repaired in a few days after an action with the enemy by their own carpenters and crews, like the wooden vessels of old, but that docks must be within reach, and all the appliances of the engineers' yards and an arsenal.

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