The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-07 00:00:00

TILE GIBRALTAR. QUESTION'

A correspondent of the Times considers the ques-
tion of the cessin of Gibraltar, and refers to Admiral
Grey's letter on the s*eet. In his sympathy for
the Spanish people the Admiral is willing that
England should lose one of her brightest jewels. He
proposes that we should take Ceuta, on the Moorish
eoast, instead of Gibraltar. But to this propos dit
is said that we ought not to attach less weight to the
opinions of the Moors than to those of the Spaniards ;
and if we are to accept it as our duty to give up our
possessions as soon as our flag is unpopular with the
inhabitants of any place, we shall very speedily
reduce the limits of the mighty empire "on which
the sun never sets." The writer of this letter observes
that there would be nothing to fear from the question
being discussed, if people could only appreciate what
the value of Gibraltar would be to us in a European
war, and how serious it would be if our enemies had
possession of it instead. In considering that part of
the question which relates to Ceuta being taken pos-
session of instead, he declares that it could in no way
compensate to us for the loss of Gibraltar. It is
worthy of recollection that we have held Gibraltar for
164 years, and that we have defended it against the
united naval and military powers of both Prance and
Spain through some glorious sieges; and we may
judge from these facts the importance that both
these countries attach to the place, and the prestige
it represents in that part of the world. Another
point not to be overlooked is, that the advan-
tages of such a position are greatly Enhanced
in these days of steam, because no fleet is
now independent of coaling stations and
places where engines can be repaired. In the event
of a great naval war, one of the first acts of an
enemy would be to destroy our " strategical" coaling
stations, such as Malta, Gibraltar, Mauritius, &c., so
as to injure our naval power and to affect our com-
munication with the Eastern Empire. It is here
admitted that Admiral's Grey's letter will have weight
in certain quarters, particularly with a public which is
too often ignorant of the whole facts of the case.
Members of Parliament are also apt to be caught by
these "Liberal ideas," and exhibit more zeal than
discretion in taking up the subject when opportunity
offers. This earnest advocate of the importance of
Gibraltar declares that it is "the strongest place in
the world," and if properly furnished with modern
defences we may defy the fleets to capture it
by force. The Admiral speaks of the effect of modern
artillery on the houses of the Rock? but to this it is
answered that during the famous siege of last cen-
tury no house was out of range of the enemy's guns.
It is denied that Ceuta would answer the purposes of
a harbour of refit, coaling, and refuge in time of war,
if it came up to the requirements during a period of
peace. Ceuta does not now possess the advantages
that she offered in the middle ages, because the
increased range of modern artillery has brought
within gunshot some hills commanding her. No
objection of this kind applies to Gibraltar, the
"strategical fortress ;" it cannot be commanded by
anything, for its batteries rise from the sea to its
summit, some 1,400 feet, and mounted 000 guns two
or three yeara ago. The glorious sieges of the last
century have shown how well Gibraltar could hold
lin own against overwhelming odds by sea and by

TELINIRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH CHINA.
A correspondent of the' Daily Telegraph, writing
on the importance of telegraphic communication
with China, urges that sooner than incur the risk of
warfare through the want of ready communication,
it is not too much to say that the entire expense of con-
structing the necessary telegraphic line would be a
proper undertaking for the British Government, and
woulfl at the same time be the truest economy.
As to the supposed difficulties of the undertaking,
they could easily be overcome. There might be at
first some ol,;ections by the Chinese to suspended
wires and railwi:
y cuttings; but the landing of sub-
marine cables at t2ie several ports could meet with
no objection, and the 'valuable nature of the produc-
tions of China skews that:, . when established, whether
c," through private enter-
as a national undertaking
prise, such a scheme would !le very remunerative,
while the known strong spirit of commerce in the
Chinese character would materially enhance that
result