1803.}] Propositons for the Introduction of Sicilian Wines. 
the Pompeian fleet, and the troops were 
landed, they were under the greatest 
danger of perishing from faiine, as all 
the supplies must come from the interior, 
aud there is every reason to suppose that 
the army of Octavius must have perish- 
ed, had not a timely mutiny of Pompey’s 
troops, who went over to Cesar, deliver- 
-ed the island into his power. If it re- 
quires that our fleet should be beaten, 
and that British troops should range them-- 
selves under the-standard of Bonaparte, 
to insure him the possession of Sicily, we 
need not entertain any great apprehen- 
sion of our not being able to defend it. 
Whoever reads the history of those 
times will see that Sicily alone was able 
to inflict famie on the City of Rome, 
and that it was then the granary of Italy. 
But it is urged, that the expence of 
keeping Sicily is not balanced by the ad- 
vantages which we ought to expect, and 
that Malta alone would sufficiently an- 
swer al] the purposes of a station in the 
Mediterranean.—Whoever reasons in 
this way is little acquainted with the coun- 
try. Malta does not produce corn suf- 
ficient to ‘supply its population for three 
months in the year; and every other arti- 
cle of life, even garden-stuff, is brought 
over in boats. To oblige an hundred and 
fifty thousand inhabitants to live on salt 
provisions, would be to drive them into 
rebellion: to expect supplies from Bar- 
bary, would be to forget that those pow- 
ers who have already a great fear of 
France would be intimidated by their 
threats from sending us any supplies; 
and thus, the whole Mediterranean being 
abandoned, the French would meet with .- 
no interruption or molestation, until they 
had engaged all Asia in a general crusade 
against the British power in the East. 
How far it is for us passively to wait these 
events, it is beyond the powers of my 
mind to declare. Let what has been 
said suffice to shew the facility of keeping 
Sicily, its importance, and the fatal con- 
sequences of not being awake to these 
weighty reflections. 
Our present business is, to point out 
what immediate advantages may be de- 
rived from the Island of Sicily. 
The fertility of Sicily is too well known 
to need our dweliing on this subject; 
that which has been from the earliest 
ages celebrated by poets and historians 
caunot have been founded on fable; and 
it is also well known, that its present de- 
clining state is owing to the oppression of 
the feudal system. This oppression ari- 
37 
ses from the ignorance and rapacity of 
the nobles, but its abundant crops of 
corn, wine, and oil, are still acknowled- 
ged by the ships of various nations which 
ever have resorted thither for-supphes of 
these. articles. 
Portugal and Spain are now fallen un- 
der the French yoke, and we must either 
submit to smuggle wine in small quanti- 
ties from those countries, or finally de- 
termine to draw our supplies from Sicily. 
When we consider the privation to indi- 
viduals of the use of wine, the losses sus~ 
tained by merchants from the extenuation 
of the supply, as well as the injury done 
to the revenues of this country, it surely 
behoves us to look for a spot from whence 
this difficulty can be remedied, and Sicily 
is the only point left to us at this moment. 
It has been urged that the wines of that 
country are not strong or good enough ; 
bnt that deficiency arises from the man- 
mer in which itismade: the climate isthe 
sane with that of Spain and Portuyal*, 
and the soilis in no way inferior: but the 
wines intended for the London market 
are prepared by those who are acoustum= 
ed to it—transport these mto Sicily, and 
what reason have we to fear that the sci- 
ence will be not as easily removed as the 
persons of such individuals. 
The writer of the present paper has 
been so long persuaded that Sicily would 
finaiiy prove a point of consequence ta 
this country, that he went thither to re- 
side many years ago; during that time he 
has acquired, by a royal grant, an exten- 
* See Familiar Letters, by Fames Howell. Esq. 
eighth Edition, Lindon, 1713—The letterin 
question is No. 55, of vol. 2, addressed to the 
Right Hon. the Lord Cjiitord. ‘After speak- 
ing of the wines of other places, he goes on te 
those of Spain.—=‘* The most generous wines 
of Spain grow in the midland parts of the 
Continent, and St. Martin bears the bell, 
which is near the court, &c. Those kinds- 
that our merchants carry Over, are those only 
that grow upon the sea side, suchas malagas, 
sherries, tents, and alicants: of this last, 
little comes over right, therefore the vint- 
ners make tent to supply the place of it. 
There is a gentle kind of white wine grows 
among the mountains of Galicia, but not of 
body enough to bear the sea, called Ribada- 
via. Portugal affords no wines worth the 
transporting. ‘They have an odd stone they 
call yef, which they use to throw into their 
wine, which clarifies it, and makes it more 
lasting.’—The letter is dated Oct. 17, 1634. 
If Portugal produced no good wines at that 
time, it is a proof thatit only proceeded from 
want of skill. 
sive 
