Mower County transcript., 1898-04-20

mean, but their Notifications are now in
decay, SO little attention having been
paid to them since the wars Of the
French revolution that, with the excep.
tion of few modern batteries here and
there, they are not worthy of considera-
tion. During the wars with Napoleon
every port of Spain was put in a thor
ough state Of defense by English money.
but since the Spaniards have been left
to their own devices the Notifications
have been neglected, and even forts and
batteries Of modern style are mounted
with old fashioned smoothbore guns,
utterly ineffective in modern warfare.
At the entrance of the Mediterranean
are two points which if properly forti-
fed could be held against the naval
powers of the world-Tarifa on the
Spanish side and Ceuta on the opposite
coast of Africa. Tarifa is, in the judg-
ment of military critics, capable of be-
ing made as invulnerable as Gibraltar.
All the seaports of Spain have stron-
ger Notifications on their land side than
on that toward the sea. This odd Cir
cumstance is relic of the French inva-
sion in the early years of this century,
and also significant of the turbulent
condition of the country ever since, for
the cities of Spain are, in the judgment
Of the government, in more danger from
the Spaniards themselves than from a
foreign enemy. On the bay Of Biscay,
Coruna and Ferrol are the principal
fortresses, while at Vigo there are two
small forts to protect the entrance Of
the harbor, and San Sebastian, the royal
residence during the summer, is guarded
by medieval castle and two or three
water batteries Coruna and Ferrol are
situated on the same bay, about 20
miles apart, and the latter is the site of
the largest navy yard and marine arsenal
in Spain.
Spanish Characteristics.
The story of Spain from great Charles
V to little Alfonso XIII has no parallel
in the history Of the world. Historians
and philosophers explain the phenom.
enon according to their individual ideas.
Protestants attribute the fall of Spain to
religious bigotry and the suppression Of
independent thought by the inquisition.
One Catholic writer, on the other hand,
maintains that leniency in dealing with
heresy marked the beginning of ma
tional decay. Had Charles V been duly
diligent in stamping out the reforma-
tion in Germany, says this writer, Spain
would never have deteriorated. The po-
litical economist teaches that the enor-
nous wealth brought from America in
stead of enriohing really impoverished
Spain, since it induced neglect of home
industries and generated an extrava-
gance which became the ruin of the ma
tion. Buckle finds, or thinks he finds,
the cause, partly at least, in the super
stitious reverence for authority which
kept the Spaniards faithful to church
and state, even while they knew the one
to be corrupt and the other incompetent.
Pride of character and an arrogance that
excited the hatred of all foreigners and
the antagonism Of all foreign states,
the warlike habits Of the Spanish people,
confirmed by eight centuries of constant
conflict with the Moors. draining the
country Of It's best men and leaving only
the weakly and infirm-each and every
one of these causes, together with in-
Vulnerable others, has been upheld by