The Lafayette advertiser. [volume] (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], La.) 1865-19??, 1904-09-21
GIBRALTAR'S DAY GONE.
NOTED FORTRESS IS NO LONGER
OF GREAT IMPORTANCE.

Quenteo waters IN n Wor1o-u
Trust Were Put In It a. . Naval
Base Great Britain Might BE DE-
appointed.
For nearly 200 years, or since It's
capture in 1704 by the British Admi-
raj Rookie, down to a very recent
period, the rock of Gibraltar has been
the synonym for impregnability. and
its possession has been thought to
invest Great Britain with an abso
lutte control over the entrance to h
Mediterranean, says the Philadelphia
Inquirer.
1t dominates one of the most fire.
quented waters in the world. From
every quarter of the wide horizon
which is visible from its summit the
steamship tracks converge. Those
coming from the east, from the ports
of the Mediterranean, from China. In
dia, Australia, and the far Pacific.
cross those which arrive there. from
England and the United States, from
France and Germany, from South
America and western Africa, n
every day throughout the year near
~ 200 vessels defle between the col
umns Of Hercules and pass in sight
Of the gigantic fortress which stands
there ON guard.
Such being the case, 1t Is no won
der that Great Britain. with its vast
commerce to protect and its distant
colonies and dependencies to guard.
should these two centuries past have
held on to the place with such q t.
nacious grasp, Or that it should have
spared nothing in its efforts to Inn
prove to the uttermost the natural
advantages of the position, and to
make Gibraltar, in very fact. the Key
to the inland sea at whose entrance
its is situated. The control Of the
Mediterranean was 30 impor-
tant to Great Britain as It Is today,
when the road to India and the East.
which used to lie around the Cape OF
Good Hope, has been diverted to the
Suez Canal and the Red Sea, and to
make use Of that control against what
| ever opposition may be encountered
| has been and is the constant solici-
tude Of the British government.
Everything that Is possible has
| been done not only to render Gibral-
tar impregnable, but to develop it,
full utility as a naval base. The
rock has been h~oneycombed with gal
leries and stocked to the limit with
| provisions and munitions Of war. I'm
mense cistsrns have been built tn
hold the water of which the place BY
nature is devoid. There is q stand
ing coal pile Of 100000 tons and tho
regular strength of the garrison ID
10000 men. On the summit OF tho
hill 200 guns Of heavy calibre and
modern pattern have been installed,
and as the harbor was insufficient Tor
the present need the British govern
ment lately undertook its extension.
and is now engaged in the execution
Of plans, at an estimated cost OF $22.-
000, 900. which it expects to complete
in about = year or eighteen months
from date.
Yet Z grave doubt has been raised
o. to the wisdom Of this expenditure.
and there are those who declare that
the trust which II placed in Gibral.
tar q q naval base might, II put to
the test, b disappointed. That thu
position dominates the entrance Ia
the Mediterranean has ceased to be
true. Il did 20 in the days of sailing
vessels, because owing to the set Of
the ocean currents such vessels were
compelled to come close to the rocA
In order to get through the straits.
Things are different now. From Glib
raltar to Ceuta, on the African coast,
d fourteen miles, and, ~ there Il
plenty Of deep water Of Ceuta. ves
sells propelled by steam can traverse
tho narrows beyond the effective
range Of the British guns. The dom2
nation Of the Mediterranean By III
fortress IL at an end. But that 10 no'
III or the worst. The experts have
discovered that the port the town
the new harbor, the barracks, every
thing, would be within range OF heavy
artillery placed on Spanish soil any
whore along the whole stretch OF thS
Bay Of Algeciras ct distances varying
from 5000 to 10000 yards.
Il II unnecessary to demo0strat|
the aravity Of that circumstances. IL
oIect upon the military value oe Glib
faltar n obvious. In view OF Il y
mod IN authority - Sir C1Ag9el
Dfike u arguing that Il Spain eoult
b Induced to exchange Ceute 1of Glib
raltar L would b . good bargain t.
0reat Britain.
THE MATTgR OF MARRYING