Arkansas weekly mansion., 1883-08-18
The Value Of Gibraltar to England.

1t will be evident that the value Of
Gibraltar to England in wartime de-
pcndS entirely upon the inviolablllty OF
the adjacent bay. Our merchant
steamers and war-ships must be able to
coal. our transports TO embark men
and stores, in perfect security. Gibral-
tar Bay is inviolable only so long as
Spain permits it to be 80. Varying IN
breadth from 5000 to 5000 wards. ii Is
now throughout its length brought
within practicable range of modern
gums mounted along the Spanish shore:
while of its total circumference of more
than fifteen miles, only about three
miles belong to England. krupp or
Armstrong is doubtless able and will
ing TO supply the guns in very short
time. The cost of mounting them in
simple earthworks will be compare
meaning. the Remington rifle will
make them perfectly secure against a
landing party All this is thoroughly
well understood in Spain. where the
Gibraltar question has been much dis
cu>Scd of late.
But. it may be said, our ironclads
would at the outbreak of war easily
silence and destroy these guns. The
experience of Alexandria points entirely
in the other direction, and As artillery
men the Spaniards might prove very
different to Egyptians, Or, 1t may be
urged. the range. after all. is great. the
Spanish runs on the other side of the
bay would never hit our ships. But.
cr hyJ0i1cSi il IS necessary that the
latter should be able to lie safely at
anchor. The Spaniards have merely
to shoot deliberately and in perfect
safety all day. Expenditure of ammu-
milton need be no object to them, with
Spain at their backs and a railway line
(now on the point of being construct
cd) to connect them with their arScnals.
Allowing for plenty of bad shooting.
there will still bc quite enough hitting
To DENY Gibraltar Bay to unarmored
and lightly armorcd ships. except
bv night. 1t is conceivable that
people will be found to propose that we
should not permit Spain to mount these
guns and to construct this railway, but
such Il view hardly seems to need rcfu-
.atiOn. Considering that our guns
now command the Spanish town of
Linca. at short range, and that GIbral-
tar i undergoing IL continuous process
of strengthening and rcarmamcnt. ii
would be an outrage upon international
Justice To deny to the SpaniardS the
ri"ht tn mount what they pleased
whenever they pleased.
The unavoidable conclusion. that
Spain can now. without any grand
effort. render the bay and with it the
fortress of Gibraltar useless to England.
should not be Shirkcd or lightly put
aside. Per contra, the guns of Gibral-
tar render the bay u>c'c-S to Spain or
her allies. In case of war. therefore,
the military position is one of stalcmate,
There iS an alternative. however.
which must he stated. At the outset
of war. England might seize AlgcciraS
and the adjacent territory across the
hav. This means, practically, the oc-
equation of indalu>:a. and those who
know the country are best able to form
IN idea of the ma~nitud" of the opera
ton In other words, if involved in Il
European war, Spain beng hostile. i
urav he necessary for lis to embark on
p considerable campaign for The lnd-
rect object of securing the advantages
uf the possession IF Gibraltar. though II
might well happen that this campaign
would have no direct bearing on the
main issue TO enter war with
hands tied in Il WAY perfectly under
stood hV possible enemies, Is never Il
satisfactory position. But the very
possession of Gibraltar means Il hostile
SPAN. and the weight of that hostility
i limited only lay her military strength.
That strength may at any time assert
itself to an extent which.has not been
suspected. and the recovery of tihral-
tar or the naturalization of lis value to
England, is to such Il nation precisely
the kind of object to arouse enthusiasm
and to create new point OF military
,icuarturc Moreover. even IT tn"
power of Spain We're to remain as weak
rs il Is sometimes assumed to be.
nothing short of an unqucstloncd mill
tarv advantage Of primary Importance
should determine Us to accept her GER
tain hostility. in the erent of war with
Il Mediterranean power The cesSlon
or exchange of Gibraltar may at any
time become II political question of the
first order. and its aspects should he
- studied in advance: while the compare
tive advantages of Ceuta call for care
full consideration. AT least. it Is to be
hoped that the retention of the place
may not ignorantly be deemed test OF
PATRIOTISM. As was the idle abuse
of Russia a few wears ago. The moral
aspects of the question have been care
fully avoided 1t is sufficient to note
that while Nature seems to nave lie
ridcd that Gibraltar should belong
To- Spain, it may prove. strangely
enough. that modern artillery will vim
Iic,tn her London Spectator.