Evening star., 1942-01-19
The Maltese Islands

When the history Of the second
World War is written, those who per-
form the task must not forget to
mention the resistance of Malta and
the associated islands of Coco and
Comino in the central channel Of
the Mediterranean only fifty eight
miles south of the coast of Sicily. AS
an important British base, the NAL
tese group was an active threat to
the Fascist power centered at Rome
Mussolini, so challenged, might have
been expected to launch a major
effort against the naval station at
Valletta and the air force fields at
Hal Far and Marsa Scirocco Bay. In
the first six months aften Italy's en-
trance into the struggle as an ally Of
the German Reich no less than two
hundred raids were reported, but II
Duce's bombers have not yet ac-
complished the purpose of their at
tacks
One explanation Of Malta's sue
cessful defiance of the Axis may be
found in the geological character of
all three islands. They are rem
nantS of a land bridge which once
connected Europe and Africa -
mountain tops of tertiary limestone,
crystalline sandstone, greensand and
blue clay Like Gibraltar, the prin-
cipal rock" has been tunneled for
defensive uses. Long galleries and
vast halls provide natural camou-
fiage for coast batteries, nti-aircraft
guns and machine gun nests, as we'll
as shelter for military personnel,
civilians. munitions. food, water and
miscellaneous supplies. The grand
harbor" accommodates the whole
British Mediterranean fleet at need.
High above a floating dock capable
of lifting the largest ships rise for
tificat tons which date back to time
anterior to the start of the Christian
era.
Malta, it has been demonstrated,
was inhabited by race of neolithic
artists in the earliest dawn of civili-
cation. Megalithic ruins somewhat
resembling those at Stonehenge in
England have been excavated at Hal
Tarxien. Whether the structures
were temples as some authorities
have insisted or palaces as others
have as persistently believed probably
does not matter very much. The
carved ornamentation of the walls
is richly beautiful. What became of
the sculptors is one of the unsolved
mysteries of archaeological and eth
nographic science.
The Phoenicians left tombs and,
allegedly, certain round towers as
monuments of their occupation.
Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Sar-
acens, Normans and Spaniards came
and went. Hannibal, it is said, was
born in Malta; Cicero was quaestor
of the island; ST. Paul was ship
wrecked on the coast in the days of
Publius, "the chief" who became the
first> bishop and the first sponsor of
the cathedral at Notable, recon-
structed by Count Roger the Con-
queror in 1890. The Arabs destroyed
the Byzantine garrison in $40, but
the Moslem religion never replaced
the older faith.
Perhaps it was because Of the stall
wart tradition Of Christianity that
the Knights of st. John sought sane
tuary in Malta. The island was
granted to the Grand Master de
l'Isle Adam in 1880 and was held
against the Turks and all lesser foes
until Napoleon Bonaparte by treach-
cry took possession in 1898. When
blockade instituted by Lord Nelson
led to a native revolution and the
surrender of the French, the Maltese
people demanded the continued pro-
lection of Britain, and the Treaty of
Paris in 1914 confirmed their choice.
An English commandant is the ad-
ministrative officer, but the govern
ment is largely in the hands of a
council in which the citizens have
equal representation.