322 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



lish a special force for imperial service, practically 

 under the control of the Imperial Government, 

 would derogate from the powers of colonial self- 

 government and tend to impede the general im- 

 provement of the defense forces in training and 

 organization. 



Great Britain possesses in Europe naval bases 

 in the Mediterranean at Gibraltar, Malta, and 

 Cyprus. Gibraltar is a naval and military for- 

 tress over which a military officer is invariably 

 appointed Governor, Gen. Sir George Stewart 

 White in 1902, in whom are vested all legislative 

 and executive powers. The area ' is less than 2 

 square miles, with a population in 1901 of 27,460, 

 including the garrison. The local revenue in 1900 

 was 61,418, and expenditure 61,812; military 

 expenditure of the Imperial Government, 305,- 

 903. The aggregate tonnage entered in 1900 was 

 4,408,197, of which 3,017,565 tons were British. 



The island of Malta has an area of 117 square 

 miles, including Gozo and Comino, with a popu- 

 lation of 188,141 in 1901. The Governor, Lieut.- 

 Gen. Sir Francis Wallace Grenfell in 1902, is as- 

 sisted by a Council of 6 official and 13 elected 

 members. The revenue in 1900 was 356,758, and 

 expenditure 365,943. The chief sources of reve- 

 nue are customs, yielding 193,367; land, 12,- 

 900; rents, 27,627; post-office, 15,219; inter- 

 est, 29,390; licenses, 78,255. The expenditure 

 was 135,334 for administration and 223,868 

 for other purposes. The debt is 79,168. Cotton 

 goods, potatoes, oranges, figs, honey, and wheat 

 are exported. The production of wine is the 

 largest industry. The total value of imports in 

 1900 was 7,434,289, and of exports 6,471,567. 

 This trade is for the most part in transit, only 

 1,026,829 of the imports being landed in the is- 

 land, of which 48,802 were reexported. The 

 number of vessels entered was 3,814, of 3,538,088 

 tons; cleared, 3,801, of 3,531,542 tons. The im- 

 ports of foodstuffs and manufactured goods 

 from the United States have increased since the 

 establishment of direct steam navigation. Only 

 one-third of the imports come from Great Brit- 

 ain. The British fleet and garrison have been 

 greatly increased and a great number of families 

 of British soldiers and or officers and men of the 

 navy are living there. The military and naval 

 works that are in progress have given profitable 

 employment to the laboring class on the island. 

 The British Parliament in 1901 voted 1,000,000 

 for a breakwater. The elect members of the 

 Council refused to vote supplies for public im- 

 provements, upon which the Governor imposed 

 taxes to carry them out. The proclamation 

 threatening to abolish Italian as the language of 

 the courts in fifteen years roused excitement and 

 resentment in Italy as well as in Malta, and con- 

 sequently Mr. Chamberlain withdrew it in Jan- 

 uary, 1902. In cases where a British subject is 

 tried criminally English is used, and in civil 

 cases where a British subject is a party English 

 may be used by either of the parties, the judge, 

 or any one of the counsel, witnesses, or jury. 

 Children in the schools have been taught for the 

 first two years in Maltese, a dialect of Italian, 

 with elements derived from Arabic and other 

 languages. After two years parents were given 

 the option of Italian or English as the language 

 of instruction for their children. Nearly all 

 chose English as of greater value in business 

 and not to be learned outside of school as Italian 

 could be. As the result of the agitation against 

 the Anglicizing policy of the Government, Ital- 

 ian again became the choice of about a quarter 

 of the people. At the same time when he an- 

 nounced the withdrawal of the proclamation Mr. 



Chamberlain threatened that if the Council per- 

 sisted in vetoing taxes and expenditures which, 

 as far as they were needed for the benefit of the 

 garrison or fortress were afterward decreed by 

 orders in council, the Constitution would be modi- 

 fied so as to give the official members a majority 

 over the elective members in the Council of Gov- 

 ernment. The Governor conveyed this warning 

 to the Council, which voted only a month's sup- 

 plies at a time, but refused the education vote, 

 awaiting the decision of the Government as to 

 the school language. The elective members re- 

 signed on Feb. 16 as a protest against the coer- 

 cion and autocracy implied in the Governor's 

 threat. The official members voted supplies for 

 schools and other purposes up to the end of the 

 fiscal year. All the members who resigned were 

 reelected on March 11 unopposed on a program 

 protesting against the new taxes and the substi- 

 tution of English for Italian in the schools, but 

 leaving room for conciliation. When the Coun- 

 cil of Government assembled on March 21 the 

 elective members refused to consider the esti- 

 mates until the Government declared its policy 

 on the language question. The Government an- 

 nounced that Maltese would be used only in the 

 first year instead of two years. The Council 

 would vote no money for education. Mr. Cham- 

 berlain refused to alter his policy. The Legisla- 

 tive Council passed an education bill to maintain 

 only the Italian language in the schools and 

 voted the estimates with this proviso. The Gov- 

 ernment disallowed the bill. 



Cyprus is still a part of the Ottoman Empire, 

 but the island, is administered by Great Britain 

 under a Convention concluded at Constantinople 

 on June 4, 1878. The British High Commis- 

 sioner, who has all the powers of a governor, is 

 Sir William F. Haynes Smith. There is a Legis- 

 lative Council of 6 official and 12 elective mem- 

 bers. The area is 3,584 square miles, and the 

 population in 1901 was 237,022, exclusive of the 

 garrison, comprising 121,066 males and 115,956 

 females, 182,739 of the total number members 

 of the Greek Oriental Church, 51,309 Moslems. 

 and 2,974 Jews and others. Nicosia, the capital, 

 had 14,752 inhabitants. The revenue, derived 

 from tithes collected in kind, a building tax, li- 

 censes, military exemption, a tax on pigs, sheep, 

 and goats, customs and excise duties, stain |>-, 

 and the salt monopoly, amounted in the year 

 ending March 31, 1901, to C215,268; expenditure. 

 135,388. The public debt is 314,000, advanced 

 by the British Government in 1899 for harbor 

 works, railroads, and irrigation. A grant of 

 32,000 was given by the British Government for 

 1901. In 1902 a grant of 30,000 was voted. 

 An annual tribute of 92,000 is paid to the Sub- 

 lime Porte. The crop of wheat in 1899 was 53,97? 

 tons; of barley, 61,010 tons; of olives, 3.423 tons: 

 of cotton, 838 tons in 1898. Various fruits ant " 

 raised, and grapes are made into wine. Other 

 products are carobs, linseed, silk, cheese, wool, 

 and hides and skins. Sponges of the value of 

 20,000 or more are obtained off the coasts, bui; 

 the fishers are foreigners. Gypsum, umber, and 

 copper are the mineral products. The value o"' 

 imports in 1900 was 289,874; exports, 338.371. 

 The tonnage entered and cleared was 509,826. 

 Irrigation wells have been dug, but so far th<* 

 people do not use the water in ordinary seasons : 

 and therefore the Government delays completing 

 the scheme of irrigation. 



Aden, a peninsula on the coast of Arabia, is ti 

 coaling station on the Suez Canal route to th<J 

 East. The area is 75 square miles, and that of 

 the island of Perim is 5 square miles. The total 



