MADEIRA. 17 
hands of a power which has neither the means nor the inchna- 
tion to go to war. In the possession of a great niaritime state, 
it might be made instrumental, in time of war, in materially 
interrupting the commerce of the East and West Indies, as al- 
most all the outward bound ships to both countries- pass within 
sight of Madeira or Porto Santo. For the mere injprovement 
of the island, and of the condition of the people, the Enghsh 
ought to be the masters ; whilst misery and ruin would be the 
inevitable consequence of its falling into the possession of the 
French. The defences of the island are by no means con- 
temptible, nor neglected. The Peak castle which commands 
the town on the west, the fort and wall extendino- alono- the 
beach, the works on the Loo rock, and the fort of St. Jago 
on the east point of the bay, with proper ordnance and a 
garrison of two or three thousand men, niight oppose a very 
obstinate resistance to a much superior force. The best and 
perhaps, indeed, the only practicable lai>ding-place is at 
Funchal, wliere the shot from the castle striking the pebbly 
beach, which is from sixty to eighty yards in width and 
flanked by batteries at each extremitj'^, would occasion a 
dreadful havoc among the invading party, in the attempt of 
making good their landing. On the whole island there are 
said to be from twelve to fifteen the. usand well-appointed and 
regularly trained militia, of which four or five thousand could 
be brought, in the course of a few hours, to act at any given' 
point. 
In order to pick up a few native plants, and to gain some 
httle inforAiation as to the produce and the rural economy of 
the island, we determined to make a long day's excursion 
D 
