These guns, together with 15-inch guns on land and on the monitor Terror, make Singapore the strongest fortress in the world, stronger even than Gibraltar.
Besides being the strongest, Singapore is also probably one of the most secret fortresses in the world. Elaborate precautions are taken to prevent the entrance of unauthorized persons. All the workers employed in its construction were finger-printed and photographed, and were obliged to carry passes.
Casual visitors who have received permits to see the base have seen little more than a road and rows of bungalows. Photography in its vicinity has been forbidden.
Even the crowd to be present when the base is opened to-morrow by Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor of the Straits Settlements, will be specially picked. Admittance will be by invitation only.
The base is guarded by its own police force of 200 men, mostly from the Punjab, in special uniforms and picturesque khaki turbans.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.