The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-26 00:00:00

ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE AND CIRCUS, HOLBORN.

THIS EVENING, The Great Carre Troupe and magnificent Stud
of 50 Horses; also M. Avolo, Alfred Bradbury, 31. Clifton,
Captain Austin, Miss Carrie, and Samwell's Performing Dogs.

CHRISTY MINSTRELS, St. James's Hall, Every Night, at 8
Wednesdays and ::iaturdays, at 3 and 8 all the year round.

ROYAL AL II AMB R A PALACE. THREE BALLETS,
Promenade Concert. Band of 60. Begin at 8. ls. Boa-office
open from 11 to 4.

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, Regent's-park, OPEN daily (ex
cept Sundays). Admission, ls.; on Mondays, 6d.; Children
under twelve, 6d.

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LONDON, SATURDAY, DEC. 26, 1868.

Mr. G OLDWIN SMITH'S patriotic proposition for the
disintegration of the British Empire is looking up.
It is not yet five years since we ceded to Greece by a
Protocol dated the 28th of May, 1864, the islands of
Cephalonia, Cerigo, Corfu, Ithaca, Paxo, Santa
Maura, and Zante, together with their depen-
dencies. And it is now being seriously pro-
posed that we should yield up to Spain in the
same way that famous rock called by the
PI cenicians Alube, by the Greeks Calpe, but

among modern nations known as Gibraltar,
which has since the 11th of April, 1713, that is,
since the Treaty of Utrecht, been numbered amongst
the most glorious possessions of the British Crown !
Gibraltar has hitherto been regarded as impreg-
nable, and as such has been esteemed a priceless
possession, indeed, guarding as it does the entrance to
the Mediterranean. But, no matter for that !—nous
aeons change tout cola! The fortress of Gibraltar isnow
pronounced anything but impregnable, is declared to!
be little better than an encumbrance. Away with it
Let it follow in the wake of the lonian Islands. The
latter we gave to Greece. Let us yield up the for-
mer now, unasked, to Spain. But—while doing so--
let us spoil even the grace (?) of an intrinsically
valueless gift by bartering it—swapping it, as
they say down Whitechapel way, for Ceuta.
Ceuca the Spaniards don't want—that is, we say they
don't want it—but we do ! Gibraltar is an useless
trophy to us—it won't be of the slightest intrinsic
value to the Spaniards—but, at any rate, their get-
n g i t back again will be gratifying to the anio
tpropre of that haughty race. Let us return it
upon their hands previously to our doing so: But
it is generously suggested by some sticklers for doing
a thing of this kind as gracefully as possible—
previously t ) doing so, it is proposed, we say, that we
should blow up the whole of the rickety
fortifications. To accomplish this gracious and
generous act of preliminary destruction would
cost only a few barrels of well-disrcsed petro-
lium or nytro-glyccriiied laced here and there skilfully
at different points in those labyrinthine subter-
ranean excavations. Shatter the rocky galleries by
a series of tremendous detonations, and then—having
effectually made assurance doubly sure by reducing thus
to ruins fortifications that, as they now are, com-
petent judges declare to be utterly useless as a means
of defence when assaulted by modern artillery
directed against it from armour-plated floating
batteries—then, let us crown our kindness to
Spain by handing over to it the mere
smoking ruins of Gibraltar ! Perfecting our
generosity by asking for Ceuta in return I