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MALTA. 



MALTOJT, NEW. 



881 



seasons these tanks afford a sufficient supply for agricultural and 

 househoU purposes. Valletta aaJ the shipping in its harbours are 

 supplier I with water by an aqueduct, which brings it from springs on 

 the southern side of the island. This great work was constructed by 

 Vi!;nacourt, grand-master of the Knights of Malta, in 1635. It is 

 84 miles long, in some parts supported on arches, in others it runs 

 under ground. The Fanara springs are also conducted by an aqueduct 

 to Vittoriosa, Cospicua, and Genglea. 



The produce of JIalta consists of cotton (which is the staple), 

 wheat, barley, pulse, potatoes, barilla, cummin-seed, honey, and sulla. 

 Sulla, which in England is a garden-flower, known as the French 

 honeysuckle, grows to the height of 4 or 5 feet, anl furnishes a 

 nutritious fodder. As there is no meadow-land much barley is cut 

 green for draught animals, and the straw, which is very fine, is a good 

 substitute for hay. The produce of corn is only sufficient for the 

 subsistence of the inhabitants for about four months of the year. 

 The fruits are generally good and in great variety, and the vegetables 

 are excellent. No wine is made. The carob grows in abundance. 

 There are no wild animals, and from the scarcity of pasture few cattle 

 are kept. Meat is imported chiefly from Barbary. Horses are also 

 imported ; but some mules are reared, and the asses of Malta and Qozo 

 have always been celebrated for strength and beauty. Qoats are likewise 

 bred, and are valued for the quantity of milk which they supply. 



The roads in Malta and Oozo are generally good, and communicate 

 with all parts of each island. 



The natives of Malta are a dark-skinned athletic r-aoe, hardy and 

 robust. The men are of middle stature, well-formed, erect, and 

 active. The women are rather small, with delicate limbs and regular 

 features, and many are handsome. The great bulk of the people who 

 are not employed in field labour are stone-cutters. The Maltese are 

 also excellent seamen, and are in request in all the ports of the 

 Mediterranean. Workmen and artisans are numerous, and are expert 

 in their respective trades. 



The Maltese native language seems to be a dialect of the Arabic. 

 Italian is spoken by the upper claasfs generally, and by many of the 

 middle classes in addition to their native tongue. The English 

 language is spoken and re.^ by the educated classes, but is still 

 utikuovvn to most of the natives. The people are mostly Roman 

 Catholics, and the clergy are very numerous. The Protestant places 

 of worship are few and unassuming. 



Malta is a crown colony, and is under the rule of a governor, assisted 

 by a council of six persons nominated by the crown. The revenue in 

 1852 was I27,72S2. 15<. Id. ; the expenditure for the same year was 

 123,0862. &s. 8d. An expenditure of about 100,000/. a Tear is 

 incurred by Great Britain for the military protection of Malta, and 

 for its maintenance as a military depdt. 



Valletta, the capital of Malta, stands on the eastern side of the 

 island, in 35° 5V N. lat, 14° 31' E. long. Its fortifications are con- 

 sidered impregnable. Its port, which is one of the finest in the world, 

 consists of two large harbours, separated by a rocky tongue of land a 

 mile and a half long, and in the central parts 200 feet high. This 

 rocky projection extends fix>m south-west to north-east, having a 

 harbour on each side, that on the south-east being the Valletta Har- 

 bour, or Great Harbour, and that on the north-west being the 

 Quarantine Harbour, or Marsamuscatto. The entrances are defended 

 by forts on all sides. On the point of the projecting ridge is Fort 

 St. Elmo, with one of the most biilliant lighthouses in the Mediter- 

 ranean. Opposite to it on the left, at the entrance of Valletta 

 Harbour, is Fort Ricasoli, and on a projecting promontory within is 

 the Castle of St Angelo. Again, opposite to Fort St. Elmo, on the 

 right at the entrance of the Quarantine Harbour, is Fort Tigne, and 

 within is Fort Manuel On the front part of the projectiug tongue 

 of rock, immediately behind Fort St. Elmo, is built the city of Valletta, 

 the streets in many parts rising by successive terraces from the sea 

 on each side towards the central part of the ridge. The inner side of 

 Valletta is defended by strong lines of fortification which extend 

 across the ridge from harbour to hai-bour, and having a dry ditch cut 

 in the rock to a depth varying from 90 to 140 feet. Outside this 

 ditch is the suburb called Ploriana, and beyond this suburb on the 

 land side, is another series of fortifications. Valletta Harbour is 

 divided by promontories projecting from the main land into four or 

 fivrf bays, within which are the naval hospital, the dockyard, arsenal, 

 and victualling yard, and the suburban cities of VUloriom, Cospicua, 

 and Genglta. Valletta is a clean, well-built, and handsome town. 

 The principal street, called the Strada Reale, extends along the crest 

 of the hill from Fort St Elmo to the gate called Porta Reale ; the 

 other streets run parallel to this, and the communication from street 

 to street is by flights of steps. The principal public buildings are the 

 palace of the grand master, now the residence of the British governor, 

 the cathedral of St John of Jerusalem, the armoury, the post-office, 

 the library, the university, the exchange, and the theatre. The 

 military hospital was founded by the Knights of Malta, as an asylum 

 for the sick and distressed of all nations. There are also two civil 

 hospitals, one for males and the other for females. The English 

 collegiate church of St. Paul was founded by the late Queen Adelaide 

 St an expense of about 15,000/. The population of Valletta and its 

 suburbs is about 60,000. 



Ouid Vecchid, properly CittA Notabile, formerly the capital of the 



island, is situated on high ground in the iutsrior of the island, about 

 6 miles VV. from Valletta. It is still the seat of a bishop, and con- 

 tains a handsome moJeru cathedral, built on the site of the ancient 

 church, two large convents, and many good dwelling-houses. The 

 city is walled, but is now of no importance as a fortilication. 



Besides Valletta, with its suburbs, and CittSi Vecchia, Malta contains 

 between 20 and 30 casals, or villages; and besides the two harbours 

 of Valletta, there are some bays on the coast of Malta which ships 

 sometimes enter in stress of weather, such as Marsa Scirocco, St. 

 Thomas's Bay, and Marsa Scala, southeast of Valletta, and St. Julian's 

 Bay, St Paul's Bay, and Melleha, north-west of Valletta. 



The island of Gozo is 4 miles N.W. from Malta. It is of an oval 

 form, about 10 miles in its greatest length, and 5 miles in its greatest 

 width. The population is about 8000. The area is about 16 square 

 miles. Gozo has a better soil than Malta, and is more highly culti- 

 vated. It contains a great quantity of game, and is consequently 

 much frequented by sportsmen. The products are similar to thoie of 

 Malta. On a lofty site near the centre of the island is the citadel. 

 The chief town is Jiabbato, near the citadel It is a large and 

 populous place, with good hou-tes, aud several churches. The Giant's 

 Tower, a massive ruin near the eastern coast, is a fine si>ecimeu of 

 Cyclopean masonry. It is supposed to be the remains of two Phoeni- 

 cian temples. Gozo has been selected by some kind of tradition for 

 the fabled island of Calypso, and a cave called Calypso's Grotto is 

 shown, but is not worth a visit The small island of Comiiw, with 

 about 1000 inhabitants, hes between Malta and Gozo, as does also the 

 islet of Cominotto. 



Malta aud Gozo are stated by Diodorus (v. xil) to have been occu- 

 pied by a colony of PhcDuicians. The Greeks are said to have subse- 

 quently occupied Malta. It was afterwards in the possession 

 successively of the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Arabs. lu 

 1120 Count Roger, the Norman conqueror of Sicily, expelled the 

 Arabs, and Malta was then united to tue government of Sicily. In 

 1516 Sicily and the Maltese islands passed to the emperor Charles V. 

 as heir to the crown of Aragon. lu 1 530 Charles granted to the grand 

 master and religious fraternity of St John of Jerusalem, who had 

 recently been expelled from Rhodes by the Turks, the ownership of 

 Malta and Oozo, with complete jurisdiction. The Kuights of St John 

 of Jerusalem thus became sovereigns of Malta, and were independent, 

 with the exception of a trifling annual feudal acknowledgment of 

 tenure to the King of Sicily. To protect the islands against the 

 Turks and the pirates of the Mediterranean, the knights commenced 

 those fortifications which remain to the present day. In 1798 a 

 French expedition, under Admiral Brueys, obtained possession of the 

 island, mamly through the treachery of some of the kuights, aud the 

 order became from that time extinct. The French government was 

 however found to be so oppressive that the inhabitants revolted, aud 

 the French were compelled to shut themselves up in the fortifications 

 of Valletta. They were kept in a state of close blockade both by land 

 and sea for two years. The natives were assisted by a British fleet, 

 and in 1799 by troops under General Graham (afterwards Lord 

 Lynedoch), and lu 1800 by additional troops under General Pigot On 

 the 5th of September, 1800, the garrison bemg reduced to the last 

 extremity of famine, surrendered to the British. The French were 

 allowed to march out with the honours of war, the forts and city of 

 Valletta were taken possession of by the British, and the French were 

 conveyed home in English transports. The Maltese islands have ever 

 since remained in the possession of the British government 



MALTON, NEW, North-Riding of Yorkshire, a market-town, 

 municipal and parliamentary borough, aud the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union, is situated on an eminence on the right bank of the river 

 Derweut, in 54° 8' N. lat, 0° 48' W. long., distant 18 miles N.E. by 

 N. from York, 217 miles N. by \V, from London by road, and 2414 

 miles by the Great Northern and York and North Midland railways. 

 The population of the parliamentary borough of New Malton in 18j1 

 was 7661. The borough returns two members to the Imperial Parlia- 

 ment. The living of New Malton is a perpetual curacy with the 

 perpetual curacy of Malton, in the archdeaconry of Cleveland and 

 diocese of York. New Malton Poor-Law Union contains 65 parishes 

 and townships, with an area of 110,010 acres, aud a population ia 

 1851 of 23,129. 



A stone bridge over the Derwent, which here forms the boundary 

 between the North aud East Kidiugs, connects New Malton with the 

 suburb of Norton. St Leonard's church has a tall truncated spire. 

 St. Michael's is a fine specimen of late Norman architecture. The 

 Wesleyan and Primitive Metho<U8ts, Wesleyan Reformers, Independ- 

 ents, Baptists, Quakers, Roman Catholics, aud Unitarians have places 

 of worship. There are National, British, and Infant schools. Old 

 Malton Grammar school, held in the suburb of Norton, was founded 

 in 1547, and has an income from endowment of about 100/. a year. 

 In the town are a large market-place, including a town-hall ; a corn- 

 exchange; a neat theatre; a handsome suite of public rooms; a lite- 

 rary institute ; a dispeusary ; and a savings bank. The town is well 

 built, and is lighted with gas. A considerable trade is carried on. 

 The market-day is Saturday, and there are fairs during the whole 

 week before Palm Sunday, on the Saturday before Whit-Sunday, and 

 on October 11th. Quarter sessions aud a county court are held here. 

 The borough has ):«turned two members to ParUameut since 1640, 



