The herald., 1898-05-09

the loss or destruction Of which Wou11
be blow as terrible 10 the kingdom -
the fall Of New York city would be to
the United States, ID Barcelona-gay,
hourisning and Industrious Barcelona
For quite seven centuries Barcelona
has been the industrial and CONNER
c1al centre of Eastern Spain. 1t holds
nearly as many inhabitants as Boston
and has grown so rapidly that there II
handsome new part of the town that
is as large as the older portion. Like
all the largest Spanish cities on the
Mediterranean, Barcelona has but an
artificial harbor. This is formed by q
breakwater. which cuts OF enough Of
the sea to form a basin capable Of hold
ing the largest man-of-war.
The other principal Mediterranean
cities are Malaga and Valencia The
former is the center Of the wine and
raisin trade. Like Cartagena, It 10
growing, and the handsome new town
runs along the sea principally in .
splendid long avenue called the Ala
media. From the time Of the Phoena-
clans, Malaga has been q prosperous
seaport; its cathedral was begun in
1928.
Valencia is a thriving manufacturing
scWAA VI A4SebAA q 40dk SCI Va - AlnklOA
people. It is three miles above the
mouth of the River Livria- 1t has no
harbor that would give shelter to
fleet.
In any Of her Mediterranean ports
with their break water harbors, Spain's
ships would be unprotected and cooped
up like ducks on pond unable to ma
neuver against a hostile fleet moving
freely outside. No admiral wants to be
caught in such a position.
Spain's largest cities on the Atlantic
including Cadiz and Ferrol, the two al
ready described. have harbors affording
ample protection to large fleets. South
of Portugal there is Huelva, doing a
large export trade in minerals; at the
north, Vigo, Pontevedia, Coruna (near
Ferrol,) Santander and Bilboa. Coruna
has often been the object of hostile in
tentions and was the scene Of invasion
when Sir John Moore was killed there
and buried without funeral note.
These cities are all of more or less
Importance. Every one is protected by
12-inch or S-inch guns and heavy rified
| mortars. The Spanish system of tor
pedoes is excellent-decidedly superior
to our own-and mines are ready to be
placed at all of the Spanish coast towns.
| Spain bOiPCoO SCIVACC WILL put tue
country in perfect condition Of de-
fense before any American ship reaches
the Canary Islands. This can be de-
pended upon.
At the same time 1t is true that every
port of Spain, with the exception of
Ferrol and probably Bilboa, can be
shelled from the sea where submarine
explosives cannot be placed. Cadiz,
Barcelona, Malaga, and Cartagena are
especially easy Of attack, and they
could all be utterly destroyed from the
sea in spite Of their fortifications.
| Spain's coast trade, while incompar-
ably less than that of the United
States, reaches the value Of millions of
dollars year. Her annual wine ex-
ports are estimated at $65, 900, 900. About
$500 Spanish ships are registered as en-
tering the ports every year, and mer-
chant vessels in the made" break
water harbors on the eastern coast
would be at the mercy of a cruisers
guns. Indeed, there would be no pro-
lection from gunboats for the COM
merce Of Eastern Spain.
To land troops on Spain's Northern
or Western coasts, harbor would first
have to be taken, as troops could not
land through the surf. The early Eng
lish sailors soon discovered this fact.
On the Eastern coast, however, a land
ing might be made in many places un-
der cover of the guns Of a fleet.
In the Balearic Islands, which belong
to Spain, there is one good harbor.
Mahon, fit for putting up a whole
squadron.
| In the Sixties" bv special permis-
sion, Mahon was used as naval sta
tion by the United States. It's capture
would give a useful base of operations
against Eastern Spain, and the Canar-
les would furnish a base for descent
on the Western coast.
Copyright, 1898, by the International
Literary and News Service.