222 
JVI ALTA. 
the preliminaries. It is underflood that an ele&ion made 
fubfequent to that epoch, (hall alone be considered valid, 
to the exclufion of any other that may have taken place at 
any period prior to that epoch, a. The governments of 
the French republic and of Great Britain, defirous to 
place the ifland and order of Malta in a Hate of entire in¬ 
dependence with refpefl to them, agree that there Hi a 11 not 
in future be either a French or Englilh language, and that 
no individual belonging to either the one or the other of 
thefe powers (hall be admitted into the order. 3. There 
fhall be edabliflied a Maltefe language, which fliail be fup- 
ported by the territorial revenues and commercial duties 
of the ifland. This language (hall have its peculiar dig¬ 
nities, an eftablifhment, and an hotel. Proofs of nobility 
(hall not be neceffary for the admiflion of knights of this 
language ; and they (hall be moreover admiffible into all 
offices, and (hall enjoy all privileges, in the fame manner 
as the knights of other languages. At lead half of the 
municipal adminiftration, civil, judicial, and other em¬ 
ployments depending on the government, (hall be filled 
by inhabitants of the ifland Malta, Goza, and Cumino. 
4. The forces of his Britannic majejly fhall evacuate the ifland. 
and its dependencies within three months from the exchange of the 
ratif cations, or fooner if poffible. At that epoch it ill a 11 be 
given up to the order in its prefent (late, provided the 
grand-mafter, or commiflaries fully authorized according 
to the ffatutes of the order, fhall be in the ifland to take 
poffeffion ; and that the force which is to be provided by 
Ills Sicilian majefly, as is hereafter ftipulated, (hall have 
arrived there. 5. One-half of the garrifon at lead (hall 
be always compofed of native Maltefe; for the remainder, 
the order may levy recruits in thofe countries only which 
continue to poffefs the languages. The Maltefe troops 
(hall have Maltefe officers. The command in chief of the 
garrifon, as well as the nomination of the officers, (hall 
pertain to the grand-mader ; and this right he cannot re- 
fign, even temporally, except in favour of a knight, and 
in concurrence with the advice of the council of the order. 
6. The independence of the ides of Malta, Goza, and Cu¬ 
mino, as well as the prefent arrangement, (hall be placed 
under the protection and guarantea of France, Great Bri¬ 
tain, Auflria, Spain, Ruffia, and Pruffia. 7. The neutra¬ 
lity of the order, and of the ifland of Malta, with its de¬ 
pendencies, is proclaimed. 8. The ports of Malta (hall 
be opened to the commerce and navigation of all nations, 
who (hall there pay equal and moderate duties; thofe du¬ 
ties (hall be applied to the cultivation of the Maltefe lan¬ 
guage, as fpecified in paragraph 3 ; to that of the civil and 
military edabliffiment of the ifland ; as well as to that of 
a general lazaretto, open to all enfigns. 9. The dates of 
Barbary are excepted from the conditions of the preced¬ 
ing paragraphs, until, by means of an arrangement to be 
procured by the contracting parties, the fyflem of hoflili- 
ties which fubfids between the natives of Barbary and the 
order of St. John, or the powers poffeffing the languages, 
or concurring in the compofition of the order, (hall have 
ceafed. 10. The order (hall be governed, both with re- 
fpeCt to fpirituals and temporals, by the fame ftatutes 
which were in force when the knights left the ifle, as far 
as the prefent treaty (hall not derogate from them. 11. 
The regulations contained in the paragraphs 3, 5, 7, 8, 
and 10, (hall be converted into laws and perpetual datutes 
of the order, in the cudomary manner; and the grand- 
mader, (or if he (hall not be in the ifland at the time of 
its redoration to the order, his reprefentative,) as well as 
his fucceffors, (hall be bound to take an oath for their 
punctual obfervance. iz. His Sicilian majefly fliail be in¬ 
cited to furniffi sooo men, natives of his dates, to ferve in 
garrifon of the different forrreffes of the (aid iilands. 
That force (hall remain one year, to bear date from the 
reditution of the knights; and if, at the expiration of this 
term, the order (hould not have raifed a force l'ufficient, 
in the judgment of the guaranteeing powers, to garrifon 
the ifland and its dependencies, fuch as is fpecified in the 
paragraph, the Neapolitan troops (hall continue there until 
they (hall be re-placed by a force deemed fufficient by the 
faid powers. 13. The different powers defignated in the 
fixth paragraph, viz. France, Great Britain, Audria, Spain, 
Ruffia, and Pruffia, (hall be invited to accede to the pre¬ 
fent Aipulations. 
The vvord languages , ufed in this treaty, requires a ffiort 
explanation. By the original conflitution of the order of 
St. John of Jerufalem, it confided of eight nations, or lan¬ 
guages, langues (tongues) as they were technically dyled, 
viz. Provengal, Auvergne, French, Arragon, Caltile, Ita¬ 
lian, German, and Engliffi. The latter nation was fe¬ 
vered from the order during the reign of Henry VIII. 
when the reformation took place. Of the feven remain¬ 
ing langues, or nations, the three firfl were latterly wholly 
French, and as fuch, condituting but one intered ; the 
countries of Auvergne and Provence having merged ei¬ 
ther by conqued or union into that of Fiance. 
It is evident that our non-performance of the fourth 
paragraph, whatever political reafons may be given for 
the breach of it, was the caufe of the renewal of the war. 
See the article England, vol. vi. p. 790, 3, 5. 
It dill remains to give a defeription of the place. In 
doing this, we (hall incorporate the account of our coun¬ 
tryman Brydone with that more recently publiffied by 
M. de Boifgelin. 
The approach to the ifland is very fine. It confids of 
an immenfe white foft rock of free-done, covered with a 
thin flratum of earth, mod of which has been brought 
from Sicily, feldom more than a foot above the furface of 
the rock; and this earth is removed once in ten years, in 
order to clear the rock of a thick crufl which forms, and 
prevents the moidure from fufficiently penetrating. It 
was anciently reckoned a part of Africa, but now belongs 
to Europe. The foil, watered by the night-dew and well 
cultivated, produces cumin-feed, anife-feed, cotton, excel¬ 
lent fruits, fuch as melons, oranges, lemons, and particu¬ 
larly figs, vegetables, and paltures; but it yields neither 
grain nor wine fufficient for its inhabitants, who are efli- 
mated at about 63 or 64,000, including thofe in the neigh¬ 
bouring iflands. It furnifltes plenty of excellent and 
finely-flavoured honey, fea-falt, confiderable fiffieries, and 
a profitable coral-fiffiery. The ifland is divided into fmall 
inclofures of free-done, is well planted, and contains feve- 
ral towns and villages; the principal of the former are La. 
Valetta, Citta Vittoriofa, Senglea, Barmola, Citta Nuovo 
Cottonera, and Malta. The coad is for the mod part fe- 
cured by lhelves and perpendicular rocks, without one 
port or l'afe road for (hips ; but on the ead and wed (hores 
there are feveral commodious harbours. The two mod 
confiderable are thofe on the fouth-eafl fide; one called 
Marza Murzet, and the other Marza, which fignifies port, 
and is the larged of the two. They are divided by an 
oblong peninfula, on which is built a flrong fort or caflle, 
called St. Elmo, which defends the entrance into both. 
Within that of Murzet lies a fmall ifland, near which the 
(hips fufpetted of infection are obliged to perform qua¬ 
rantine. Thofe places which are acceffible are defended 
by fortifications of great flrength, fo that it would be very 
difficult to reduce it by force. Mortars, the mouths of 
fome of which are fix feet wide, are cut out of the rocks 
near the different creeks, where a debarkation might be 
attempted. Confiderable quantities of fea-(hells and fifli- 
bones petrified are found all over the ifland, even in parts 
molt elevated and remote from the fea. During fummer 
Reaumur’s thermometer is generally below 25 0 , and fel¬ 
dom above 28°, or from about 88° to 95 0 of Fahrenheit. 
In the winter it is feldom lower than 8° below o of Reau¬ 
mur, or 14 0 of Fahrenheit. The alternate changes from 
heat to cold are often very fudden. Cold is occafioned 
by the north and north-wed winds ; and a fouth wind 
brings heat. This wind, pafling over the barren fultry 
continent of Africa, is dangerous, but is of no long du¬ 
ration, and frequently fucceeded by a calm, during which 
the heat is furfocating. Whilfl the firocco continues, 
iced beverages are copioufly ufed ; and, therefore, (how is 
eonlidered 
