MALTA MANG LÖN
MALTA FEVER MANGNALL, RICHMAL
MALTE-BRUN, CONRAD MANGO
MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT MANGOSTEEN
MALTON MANGROVE
MALTZAN, HEINRICH VON MANICHAEISM
MALUS, ÉTIENNE LOUIS MANIFEST
MALVACEAE MANIHIKI
MALVASIA MANIKIALA
MALVERN MANILA
MALWA MANILA HEMP
MAMARONECK MANILIUS
MAMELI, GOFFREDO MANILIUS, GAIUS
MAMELUKE MANIN, DANIELE
MAMERTINI MANING, FREDERICK EDWARD
MAMERTINUS, CLAUDIUS MANIPLE
MAMIANI DELLA ROVERE, TERENZIO MANIPUR
MAMMALIA MANISA
MAMMARY GLAND MANISTEE
MAMMEE APPLE MANITOBA (lake of Canada)
MAMMON MANITOBA (province of Canada)
MAMMOTH MANITOU
MAMMOTH CAVE MANITOWOC
MAMORÉ MANIZALES
MAMUN MANKATO
MAMUND MANLEY, MARY DE LA RIVIERE
MAN MANLIUS
MAN, ISLE OF MANN, HORACE
MANAAR, GULF OF MANNA
MANACOR MANNERS, CHARLES
MANAGE MANNERS-SUTTON, CHARLES
MANAGUA MANNHEIM
MANAKIN MANNING, HENRY EDWARD
MANAOAG MANNY, SIR WALTER DE MANNY
MANÁOS MANNYNG, ROBERT
MANASSAS MANOEUVRES, MILITARY
MANASSEH (son of Hezekiah) MANOMETER
MANASSEH (tribe of Israel) MANOR
MANASSES, CONSTANTINE MANOR-HOUSE
MANASSES, PRAYER OF MANRESA
MANATI MANRIQUE, GÓMEZ
MANBHUM MANRIQUE, JORGE
MANCHA, LA MANSE
MANCHE MANSEL, HENRY LONGUEVILLE
MANCHESTER, EARLS AND DUKES OF MANSFELD
MANCHESTER (Connecticut, U.S.A.) MANSFELD, ERNST
MANCHESTER (England) MANSFIELD, RICHARD
MANCHESTER (Massachusetts, U.S.A.) MANSFIELD, WILLIAM MURRAY
MANCHESTER (New Hampshire, U.S.A.) MANSFIELD (England)
MANCHESTER (Virginia, U.S.A.) MANSFIELD (Ohio, U.S.A.)
MANCHESTER SHIP CANAL MANSION
MANCHURIA MANSLAUGHTER
MANCINI, PASQUALE STANISLAO MANSON, GEORGE
MANCIPLE MANSUR
MANCUNIUM MANSURA
MANDAEANS MANT, RICHARD
MANDALAY MANTEGAZZA, PAOLO
MANDAMUS, WRIT OF MANTEGNA, ANDREA
MANDAN MANTELL, GIDEON ALGERNON
MANDARIN MANTES-SUR-SEINE
MANDASOR MANTEUFFEL, EDWIN
MANDATE MANTINEIA
MANDAUE MANTIS
MANDELIC ACID MANTIS-FLY
MANDER, CAREL VAN MANTLE
MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE MANTON, THOMAS
MANDEVILLE, GEOFFREY DE MAN-TRAPS
MANDEVILLE, JEHAN DE MANTUA
MANDHATA MANU
MANDI MANUAL
MANDINGO MANUCODE
MANDLA MANUEL I., COMNENUS
MANDOLINE MANUEL II. PALAEOLOGUS
MANDRAKE MANUEL I.
MANDRILL MANUEL, EUGENE
MANDU MANUEL, JACQUES ANTOINE
MANDURIA MANUEL, LOUIS PIERRE
MANDVI MANUEL DE MELLO, DOM FRANCISCO
MANES MANUL
MANET, ÉDOUARD MANURES and MANURING
MANETENERIS MANUSCRIPT
MANETHO MANUTIUS
MANFRED MANWARING, ROBERT
MANFREDONIA MANYCH
MANGABEY MANYEMA
MANGALIA MANZANARES
MANGALORE MANZANILLO (Mexico)
MANGAN, JAMES CLARENCE MANZANILLO (Cuba)
MANGANESE MANZOLLI, PIER ANGELO
MANGANITE MANZONI, ALESSANDRO FRANCESCO ANTONIO
MANGBETTU MAORI
MANGEL-WURZEL MAP, WALTER
MANGLE
MALTA, the largest of the Maltese Islands, situated between Europe and
Africa, in the central channel which connects the eastern and western
basins of the Mediterranean Sea. The group belongs to the British
Empire. It extends over 29 m., and consists of Malta, 91 sq. m., GOZO
(q.v.) 20 sq. m., Comino (set apart as a quarantine station) 1 sq. m.,
and the uninhabited rocks called Cominotto and Filfla. Malta (lat. of
Valletta Observatory 35° 53´ 55´´ N., long. 14° 30´ 45´´ W.) is about
60 m. from the nearest point of Sicily, 140 m. from the mainland of
Europe and 180 from Africa; it has a magnificent natural harbour. From
the dawn of maritime trade its possession has been important to the
strongest nations on the sea for the time being.
Malta is about 17½ m. long by 8¼ broad; Gozo is 8¾ by 4½ m. This chain
of islands stretches from N.E. to S.E. On the S.W. the declivities
towards the sea are steep, and in places rise abruptly some 400 ft. from
deep water. The general slope of these ridges is towards the N.W.,
facing Sicily and snow-capped Etna, the source of cool evening breezes.
The Bingemma range, rising 726 ft., is nearly at right angles to the
axis of the main island. The geological "Great Fault" stretches from sea
to sea at the foot of these hills. There are good anchorages in the
channels between Gozo and Comino, and between Comino and Malta. In
addition to the harbours of Valletta, there are in Malta, facing N.W.,
the bays called Mellieha and St Paul's, the inlets of the Salina, of
Madalena, of St Julian and St Thomas; on the S.E. there is the large bay
of Marsa Scirocco. There are landing places on the S.W. at Fomh-il-rih
and Miggiarro. Mount Sceberras (on which Valletta is built) is a
precipitous promontory about 1 m. long, pointing N.E. It rises out of
deep water; well-sheltered creeks indent the opposite shores on both
sides. The waters on the S.E. form the "Grand Harbour," having a narrow
entrance between Ricasoli Point and Fort St Elmo. The series of bays to
the N.W., approached between the points of Tigne and St Elmo, is known
as the Marsamuscetto (or Quarantine) Harbour.
Mighty fortifications and harbour works have assisted to make this ideal
situation an emporium of Mediterranean trade. During the Napoleonic wars
and the Crimean campaign the Grand Harbour was frequently overcrowded
with shipping. The gradual supplanting of sail by steamships has made
Malta a coaling station of primary importance. But the tendency to great
length and size in modern vessels caused those responsible for the civil
administration towards the end of the 19th century to realize that the
harbour accommodation was becoming inadequate for modern fleets and
first-class liners. A breakwater was therefore planned on the Monarch
shoal, to double the available anchorage area and increase the frontage
of deep-water wharves available in all weathers.
Geology and Water Supply.
The Maltese Islands consist largely of Tertiary Limestone, with
somewhat variable beds of Crystalline Sandstone, Greensand and Marl or
Blue Clay. The series appears to be in line with similar formations at
Tripoli in Africa, Cagliari in Sardinia, and to the east of
Marseilles. To the south-east of the Great Fault (already mentioned)
the beds are more regular, comprising, in descending order, (a) Upper
Coralline Limestone; (b) Yellow, Black or Greensand; (c) Marl or Blue
Clay; (d) White, Grey and Pale Yellow Sandstone; (e)
Chocolate-coloured nodules with shells, &c.; (f) Yellow Sandstone; (g)
Lower Crystalline Limestone. The Lower Limestone probably belongs to
the Tongarian stage of the Oligocene series, and the Upper Coralline
Limestone to the Tortonian stage of the Miocene. The beds are not
folded. The general dip of the strata is from W.S.W. to E.N.E. North
of the Great Fault and at Comino the level of the beds is about 400
ft. lower, bringing (c), the Marl, in juxtaposition with (g), the
semi-crystalline Limestone. There is a system of lesser faults,
parallel to the Great Fault, dividing the area into a number of
blocks, some of which have fallen more than others. There are also
indications of another series of faults roughly parallel to the
south-east coast, which point to the islands being fragments of a
former extensive plateau. The mammalian remains found in Pleistocene
deposits are of exceptional interest. Among the more remarkable forms
are a species of hippopotamus, the elephant (including a pigmy
variety), and a gigantic dormouse. In the Coralline Limestone the
following fossils have been noted:--_Spondylus_, _Ostrea_, _Pecten_,
_Cytherea_, _Arca_, _Terebratula_, _Orthis_, _Clavagella_, _Echinus_,
_Cidaris_, _Nucleolites_, _Brissus_, _Spatangus_; in the Marl the
_Nautilus zigzag_; in the Yellow, Black and Greensand shells of
_Lenticulites complanatus_, teeth and vertebrae of _Squalidae_ and
_Cetacea_; in the Sandstone _Vaginula depressa_, _Crystallaria_,
_Nodosaria_, _Brissus_, _Nucleolites_, _Pecten burdigallensis_,
_Scalaria_, _Scutella subrotunda_, _Spatangus_, _Nautilus_, _Ostrea
navicularis_ and _Pecten cristatus_ (see Captain Spratt's work and
papers by Lord Ducie and Dr Adams).
The Blue Clay forms, at the higher levels, a stratum impervious to
water, and holds up the rainfall, which soaks through the spongy mass
of the superimposed coralline formations. Hence arise the springs
which run perennially, several of which have been collected into the
gravitation water supplies of the Vignacourt and Fawara aqueducts. The
larger part of the water supply, however, is now derived by pumping
from strata at about sea-level. These strata are generally impregnated
with salt water, and are practically impenetrable to the rain-water of
less weight. The honeycomb of rock, and capillary action, retard the
lighter fresh-water from sinking to the sea; the soakage from rain has
therefore to move horizontally, over the strata about sea-level,
seeking outlets. At this stage the rain-water is intercepted by wells,
and by galleries hewn for miles in the water-bearing rock. Large
reservoirs assist to store this water after it is raised, and to
equalize its distribution.
Climate and Hygiene.
The climate is, for the greater part of the year, temperate and
healthy; the thermometer records an annual mean of 67° F. Between June
and September the temperature ranges from 75° to 90°; the mean for
December, January and February is 56°; March, May and November are
mild. Pleasant north-east winds blow for an average of 150 days a
year, cool northerly winds for 31 days, east winds 70 days, west for
34 days. The north-west "Gregale" (Euroclydon of Acts xxvii. 14) blows
about the equinox, and occasionally, in the winter months, with almost
hurricane force for three days together; it is recorded to have caused
the drowning of 600 persons in the harbour in 1555. This wind has been
a constant menace to shipping at anchor; the new breakwater on the
Monarch Shoal was designed to resist its ravages. The regular tides
are hardly perceptible, but, under the influence of barometric
pressure and wind, the sea-level occasionally varies as much as 2 ft.
The average rainfall is 21 in.; it is, however, uncertain; periods of
drought have extended over three years. Snow is seen once or twice in
a generation; violent hailstorms occur. On the 19th of October 1898,
exceptionally large hailstones fell--one, over 4 in. in length, being
brought to the governor, Sir Arthur Fremantle, for inspection.
Mediterranean (sometimes called "Malta") fever has been traced by
Colonel David Bruce to a _Micrococcus melitensis_. The supply of water
under pressure is widely distributed and excellent. There is a modern
system of drainage for the towns, and all sewerage has been
intercepted from the Grand Harbour. There are efficient hospitals and
asylums, a system of sanitary inspection, and modernized quarantine
stations.
Flora.
It is hardly possible to differentiate between imported and indigenous
plants. Among the marine flora may be mentioned _Porphyra laciniata_,
the edible laver; _Codium tomentosum_, a coarse species; _Padina
pavonia_, common in shallow water; _Ulva latissima_; _Haliseris
polypodioides_; _Sargassum bacciferum_; the well-known gulf weed,
probably transported from the Atlantic; _Zostera marina_, forming
dense beds in muddy bays; the roots are cast up by storms and are
valuable to dress the fields. Among the land plants may be noted the
blue anemone; the ranunculus along the road-sides, with a strong
perfume of violets; the Malta heath, which flowers at all seasons;
_Cynomorium coccineum_, the curious "Malta fungus," formerly so valued
for medicinal purposes that a guard was set for its preservation under
the rule of the Knights; the pheasant's-eye; three species of mallow
and geranium; _Oxalis cernua_, a very troublesome imported weed;
_Lotus edulis_; _Scorpiurus subvillosa_, wild and cultivated as
forage; two species of the horseshoe-vetch; the opium poppy; the
yellow and claret-coloured poppy; wild rose; _Crataegus azarolus_, of
which the fruit is delicious preserved; the ice-plant; squirting
cucumber; many species of _Umbelliferae_; _Labiatae_, to which the
spicy flavour of the honey (equal to that of Mt Hymettus) is ascribed;
snap-dragons; broom-rape; glass-wort; _Salsola soda_, which produces
when burnt a considerable amount of alkali; there are fifteen species
of orchids; the _gladiolus_ and _iris_ are also found; _Urginia
scilla_, the medicinal squill, abounds with its large bulbous roots
near the sea; seventeen species of sedges and seventy-seven grasses
have been recorded.
Fauna.
There are four species of lizard and three snakes, none of which is
venomous; a land tortoise, a turtle and a frog. Of birds very few are
indigenous; the jackdaw, blue solitary thrush, spectacled warbler, the
robin, kestrel and the herring-gull. A bird known locally as _Hangi_,
not met elsewhere in Europe, nests at Filfla. Flights of quail and
turtle doves, as well as teal and ducks, stay long enough to afford
sport. Of migratory birds over two hundred species have been
enumerated. The only wild mammalia in the island are the hedgehogs,
two species of weasel, the Norway rat, and the domestic mouse. The
Maltese dog was never wild and has ceased to exist as a breed.
Malta has several species of zoophytes, sponges, mollusca and
crustacea. Insect life is represented by plant-bugs, locusts,
crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, dragon-flies, butterflies,
numerous varieties of moths, bees and mosquitoes.
Among the fish may be mentioned the tunny, dolphin, mackerel, sardine,
sea-bream, dentice and pagnell; wrasse, of exquisite rainbow hue and
good for food; members of the herring family, sardines, anchovies,
flying-fish, sea-pike; a few representatives of the cod family, and
some flat fish; soles (very rare); _Cernus_ which grows to large size;
several species of grey and red mullet; eleven species of _Triglidae_,
including the beautiful flying gurnard whose colours rival the
angel-fish of the West Indies; and eighteen species of mackerel, all
migratory.
[Illustration: Map of Malta.]
Population and Language.
The real population of Malta, viz. of the country districts, is to be
differentiated from the cosmopolitan fringe of the cities. There is
continuous historical evidence that Malta remains to-day what Diodorus
Siculus described it in the 1st century, "a colony of the Phoenicians";
this branch of the Caucasian race came down the great rivers to the
Persian Gulf and thence to Palestine. It carried the art of navigation
through the Mediterranean, along the Atlantic seaboard as far as Great
Britain, leaving colonies along its path. In prehistoric times one of
these colonies displaced previous inhabitants of Libyan origin. The
similarity of the megalithic temples of Malta and of Stonehenge connect
along the shores of western Europe the earliest evidence of Phoenician
civilization. Philology proves that, though called "Canaanites" from
having sojourned in that land, the Phoenicians have no racial connexion
with the African descendants of Ham. No subsequent invader of Malta
attempted to displace the Phoenician race in the country districts. The
Carthaginians governed settlements of kindred races with a light hand;
the Romans took over the Maltese as "dedititii," not as a conquered
race. Their conversion by St Paul added difference of religion to the
causes which prevented mixture of race. The Arabs from Sicily came to
eject the Byzantine garrison; they treated the Maltese as friends, and
were not sufficiently numerous to colonize. The Normans came as
fellow-Christians and deliverers; they found very few Arabs in Malta.
The fallacy that Maltese is a dialect of Arabia has been luminously
disproved by A. E. Caruana, _Sull' origine della lingua Maltese_.
The upper classes have Norman, Spanish and Italian origin. The knights
of St John of Jerusalem, commonly called "of Malta," were drawn from the
nobility of Catholic Europe. They took vows of celibacy, but they
frequently gave refuge in Malta to relatives driven to seek asylum from
feudal wars and disturbances in their own lands. At the British
occupation there were about two dozen families bearing titles of
nobility granted, or recognized, by the Grand Masters, and descending
by primogeniture. These "privileges" were guaranteed, together with the
rights and religion of the islanders, when they became British subjects,
but no government has ever recognized papal titles in Malta. High and
low, all speak among themselves the Phoenician Maltese, altogether
different from the Italian language; Italian was only spoken by 13.24%
in 1901. Such Italian as is spoken by the lingering minority has marked
divergences of pronunciation and inflexion from the language of Rome and
Florence. In 1901, in addition to visitors and the naval and military
forces, 18,922 Maltese spoke English, and the number has been rapidly
increasing.
In appearance the Maltese are a handsome, well-formed race, about the
middle height, and well set up; they have escaped the negroid
contamination noticeable in Sicily, and their features are less dark
than the southern Italians. The women are generally smaller than the
men, with black eyes, fine hair and graceful carriage. They are a
thrifty and industrious people, prolific and devoted to their offspring,
good-humoured, quick-tempered and impressionable. The food of the
working classes is principally bread, with oil, olives, cheese and
fruit, sometimes fish, but seldom meat; common wine is largely imported
from southern Europe. The Maltese are strict adherents to the Roman
Catholic religion, and enthusiastic observers of festivals, fasts and
ceremonials.
In 1906 the birth-rate was 40.68 per thousand, and the excess of births
over deaths 2637. In April 1907 the estimated population was 206,690 of
whom 21,911 were in Gozo. This phenomenal congestion of population gives
interest to records of its growth; in the 10th century there were 16,767
inhabitants in Malta and 4514 in Gozo; the total population in 1514 was
22,000. Estimates made at the arrival of the knights (1530) varied from
15,000 to 25,000: it was then necessary to import annually 10,000
quarters of grain from Sicily. The population in 1551 was, Malta 24,000,
Gozo 7000. In 1582, 20,000 quarters of imported grain were required to
avert famine. A census of 1590 makes the population 30,500; in that year
3000 died of want. The numbers rose in 1601 to 33,000; in 1614 to
41,084; in 1632 to 50,113; in 1667 to 55,155; in 1667 11,000 are said to
have died of plague out of the total population. At the end of the rule
of the knights (1798) the population was estimated at 100,000; sickness,
famine and emigration during the blockade of the French in Valletta
probably reduced the inhabitants to 80,000. In 1829 the population was
114,236; in 1836, 119,878 (inclusive of the garrison); in 1873, 145,605;
at the census in 1901 the civil population was 184,742. Sanitation
decreases the death-rate, religion keeps up the birth-rate. Nothing is
done to promote emigration or to introduce manufactures.
_Towns and Villages._--The capital is named after its founder, the
Grand Master de la Valette, but from its foundation it has been called
Valletta (pop. 1901, 24,685); it contains the palace of the Grand
Masters, the magnificent Auberges of the several "Langues" of the
Order, the unique cathedral of St John with the tombs of the Knights
and magnificent tapestries and marble work; a fine opera house and
hospital are conspicuous. Between the inner fortifications of Valletta
and the outer works, across the neck of the peninsula, is the suburb
of Floriana (pop. 7278). To the south-east of Valletta, at the other
side of the Grand Harbour, are the cities of Senglea (pop. 8093),
Vittoriosa (pop. 8993); and Cospicua (pop. 12,184); this group is
often spoken of as "The Three Cities." The old capital, near the
centre of the island is variously called Notabile, Città Vecchia
(q.v.), and Medina, with its suburb Rabat, its population in 1901 was
7515; here are the catacombs and the ancient cathedral of Malta.
Across the Marsamuscetto Harbour of Valletta is a considerable modern
town called Sliema. The villages of Malta are Mellieha, St Paul's Bay,
Musta, Birchircara, Lia, Atterd, Balzan, Naxaro, Gargur, Misida, S.
Julian's, S. Giuseppe, Dingli, Zebbug, Siggieui, Curmi, Luca, Tarxein,
Zurrico, Crendi, Micabbiba, Circop, Zabbar, Asciak, Zeitun, Gudia and
Marsa Scirocco. The chief town of Gozo is called Victoria, and there
are several small villages.
_Industry and Trade._--The area under cultivation in 1906 was 41,534
acres. As a rule the tillers of the soil live away from their lands, in
some neighbouring village. The fields are small and composed of terraces
by which the soil has been walled up along the contours of the hills,
with enormous labour, to save it from being washed away. Viewed from
the sea, the top of one wall just appearing above the next produces a
barren effect; but the aspect of the land from a hill in early spring is
a beautiful contrast of luxuriant verdure. It is estimated that there
are about 10,000 small holdings averaging about four acres and intensely
cultivated. The grain crops are maize, wheat and barley; the two latter
are frequently sown together. In 1906, 13,000 acres produced 17,975
quarters of wheat and 12,000 quarters of barley. The principal fodder
crops are green barley and a tall clover called "sulla" (_Hedysarum
coronarum_), having a beautiful purple blossom. Vegetables of all sorts
are easily grown, and a rotation of these is raised on land irrigated
from wells and springs. Potatoes and onions are grown for exportation at
seasons when they are scarce in northern Europe. The rent of average
land is about £2 an acre, of very good land over £3; favoured spots,
irrigated from running springs, are worth up to £12 an acre. Two, and
often three, crops are raised in the year; on irrigated land more than
twice as many croppings are possible. The presence of phosphates
accounts for the fertility of a shallow soil. There is a considerable
area under vines, but it is generally more profitable to sell the fruit
as grapes than to convert it into wine. Some of the best oranges in the
world are grown, and exported; but sufficient care is not taken to keep
down insect pests, and to replace old trees. Figs, apricots, nectarines
and peaches grow to perfection. Some cotton is raised as a rotation
crop, but no care is taken to improve the quality. The caroub tree and
the prickly pear are extensively cultivated. There are exceptionally
fine breeds of cattle, asses and goats; cows of a large and very
powerful build are used for ploughing. The supply of butchers' meat has
to be kept up by constant importations. More than two-thirds of the
wheat comes from abroad; fish, vegetables and fruit are also imported
from Sicily in considerable quantities. Excellent honey is produced in
Malta; at certain seasons tunny-fish and young dolphin (lampuca) are
abundant; other varieties of fish are caught all the year round.
About 5000 women and children are engaged in producing Maltese lace. The
weaving of cotton by hand-looms survives as a languishing industry.
Pottery is manufactured on a small scale; ornamental carvings are made
in Maltese stone and exported to a limited extent. The principal
resources of Malta are derived from its being an important military
station and the headquarters of the Mediterranean fleet. There are great
naval docks, refitting yards, magazines and stores on the south-east
side of the Grand Harbour; small vessels of war have also been built
here. Steamers of several lines call regularly, and there is a daily
mail to Syracuse. The shipping cleared in 1905-1906 was 3524 vessels of
3,718,168 tons. Internal communications include a railway about eight
miles long from Valletta to Notabile; there are electric tramways and
motor omnibus services in several directions. The currency is English.
Local weights and measures include the cantar, 175 lb.; salm, one
imperial quarter; cafiso, 4½ gallons; canna, 6 ft. 10½ in.; the tumolo
(256 sq. ca.), about a third of an acre.
The principal exports of local produce are potatoes, cumin seed,
vegetables, oranges, goats and sheep, cotton goods and stone.
To keep alive, in a fair standard of comfort, the population of 206,690,
food supplies have to be imported for nine and a half months in the
year. The annual value of exports would be set off against imported food
for about one month and a half. The Maltese have to pay for food imports
by imperial wages, earned in connexion with naval and military services,
by commercial services to passing steamers and visitors, by earnings
which emigrants send home from northern Africa and elsewhere, and by
interest on investments of Maltese capital abroad. A long absence of the
Mediterranean fleet, and withdrawals of imperial forces, produce
immediate distress.
_Finance._--The financial position in 1906-1907 is indicated by the
following: Public revenue £513,594 (including £51,039 carried to
revenue from capital); expenditure £446,849; imports (actual),
£1,219,819; imports in transit, £5,876,981; exports (actual),
£123,510; exports in transit £6,127,277; imports from the United
Kingdom (actual), £218,461. In March 1907 there were 8159 depositors
in the government savings bank, with £569,731 to their credit.
_Government._--Malta is a crown colony, within the jurisdiction of a
high commissioner and a commander-in-chief, to whom important questions
of policy are reserved; in other matters the administration is under a
military governor (£3000), assisted by a civil lieutenant-governor or
chief secretary. There is an executive council, now comprising eleven
members with the governor as president. The legislative council, under
letters patent of the 3rd of June 1903, is composed of the governor
(president), ten official members, and eight elected members. There are
eight electoral districts with a total of about 10,000 electors. A voter
is qualified on an income from property of £6, or by paying rent to the
same amount, or having the qualifications required to serve as a common
juror. There are no municipal institutions. Letters patent, orders in
council, and local ordinances have the force of law. The laws of
Justinian are still the basis of the common law, the Code of Rohan is
not altogether abrogated, and considerable weight is still given to the
Roman Canon Law. The principal provisions of the Napoleonic Code and
some English enactments have been copied in a series of ordinances
forming the Statute Law. Latin was the language of the courts till 1784,
and was not completely supplanted by Italian till 1815. The partial use
of English (with illogical limitations to the detriment of the
Maltese-born British subjects who speak English) was introduced by local
ordinances and orders in council at the end of the 19th century. The
Maltese, of whom 86% cannot understand Italian, are still liable to be
tried, even for their lives, in Italian, to them a foreign language. The
endeavour to restrict juries to those who understand Italian reveals
glaring incongruities.
_Education._--There were, in 1906, 98 elementary day schools, and 33
night schools. The attendance on the 1st of September 1905 was 16,530,
the percentage on those enrolled 84.6; the total enrolment was 18,719.
The average cost per pupil in these schools was 35s. 11d. a year on
daily attendance. There is a secondary school for girls in Valletta,
and one for boys in Gozo. A lyceum in Malta had an average attendance
of 464. The number of students at the university was about 150. The
average cost per student in the lyceum was £8, 0s. 11d.; in the
university £26, 10s. 1d. The fees in these institutions are almost
nominal, the middle-classes are thus educated at the expense of the
masses. In the 18th century the government of the Knights and of the
Inquisition did not favour the education of the people, after 1800
British governors were slow to make any substantial change. About the
middle of the 19th century it began to be recognized that the
education of the people was more conducive to the safety of the
fortress than to leave in ignorance congested masses of southern race
liable to be swayed spasmodically by prejudice. At first an attempt
was made to make Maltese a literary language by adapting the Arabic
characters to record it in print. This failed for several reasons, the
foremost being that the language was not Arabic but Phoenician, and
because professors and teachers, whose personal ascendancy was based
on the official prominence of Italian, did not realize that
educational institutions existed for the rising generation rather than
to provide salaries for alien teachers and men behind the times.
Various educational schemes were proposed, but they were easier to
propose than to carry into effect: no one, except Mr Savona, had the
ability to urge English as the basis of instruction, and he agitated
and was installed as director of education and made a member of the
Executive. The obstruction which he encountered alarmed him, and he
compromised by adopting a mixed system of both English and Italian,
_pari passu_, as the basis of Maltese education; he resigned after a
brief effort. Mr Savona's attempt to teach the Maltese children
simultaneously two foreign languages (of which they were quite
ignorant, and their teachers only partially conversant) without first
teaching how to read and write the native Maltese systematically was
continued for some years under an eminent archaeologist, Dr A. A.
Caruana, who became Director of Education. He began to give some
preference to English indirectly. On his resignation Sir G. Strickland
established a new system of education based on the principle of
beginning from the bottom, by teaching to read and write in Maltese as
the medium for assimilating, at a further stage, either English or
Italian, one at a time, and aiming at imparting general knowledge in
colloquial English. A series of school books, in the Maltese language
printed in Roman characters, with translations in English interlined
in different type, was produced at the government printing office and
sold at cost price. The parents and guardians were called upon to
select whether each child should learn English or Italian next after
learning reading, writing and arithmetic in Maltese. About 89%
recorded their preference in favour of English at the outset; then, as
a result of violent political agitation, this percentage was
considerably lowered, but soon crept up again. Teachers and professors
who were weak in English, lawyers, newspaper men and others, combined
to deprive these reforms of their legitimate consequence, viz. that
after a number of years English should be the language of the courts
as well as of education, and to protect those belonging to the old
order of knowledge from the competition of young Maltese better
educated than themselves, whose rapid rise everywhere would be assured
by knowing English thoroughly. An order in council was enacted in 1899
providing that no Maltese (except students of theology) should
thenceforth suffer any detriment through inability to pass
examinations in Italian, in either the schools or university, but the
fraction of the Maltese who claim to speak Italian (13.24%) still
command sufficient influence to hamper the full enjoyment of this
emancipation by the majority. In the university most of the textbooks
used are English, nevertheless many of the lectures are still
delivered in Italian--for the convenience of some professors or to
please the politicians, rather than for the benefit of the students.
The number of students who enter the university without passing any
examination in Italian is rapidly increasing; the longer the period of
transition, the greater the detriment to the rising generation.
_History and Antiquities._--The earliest inhabitants of Malta (Melita)
and Gozo (Gaulos) belonged to a culture-circle which included the whole
of the western Mediterranean, and to a race which perhaps originated
from North Africa; and it is they, and not the Phoenicians, who were the
builders of the remarkable megalithic monuments which these islands
contain, the Gigantia in Gozo, Hagiar Kim and Mnaidra near Crendi, the
rock-cut hypogeum of Halsaflieni,[1] and the megalithic buildings on the
hill of Corradino in Malta, being the most noteworthy. The
contemporaneity of these structures has been demonstrated by the
identity of the pottery and other objects discovered in them, including
some remarkable steatopygic figures in stone, and it is clear that they
belong to the neolithic period, numerous flints, but no metal, having
been found. Those that have been mentioned seem to have been sanctuaries
(some of them in part dwelling-places), but Halsaflieni was an enormous
ossuary, of which others may have existed in other parts of the island;
for the numerous rock-cut tombs which are everywhere to be seen belong
to the Phoenician and Roman periods. In these buildings there is a great
preference for apsidal terminations to the internal chambers, and the
façades are as a rule slightly curved. The numerous niches, generally
containing sacrificial (?) tables,[2] are often approached by
window-like openings hewn out of one of the flat slabs by which they are
enclosed. The surface of the stones in the interior is often pitted, as
a form of ornamentation. Even the barren islet of Comino, between Malta
and Gozo, was inhabited in prehistoric times.
To the Phoenician period, besides the tombs already mentioned, belong
some remains of houses and cisterns, and (probably) a few round towers
which are scattered about the island, while the important Roman house at
Cittavecchia is the finest monument of this period in the islands.
The Carthaginians came to Malta in the 6th century B.C., not as
conquerors, but as friends of a sister Phoenician colony (Freeman,
_Hist. Sicily_, i. 255): Carthage in her struggle with Rome was at last
driven to levy oppressive tribute, whereupon the Maltese gave up the
Punic garrison to Titus Sempronius under circumstances described by Livy
(xxi. 51). The Romans did not treat the Maltese as conquered enemies,
and at once gave them the privileges of a _municipium_; Cicero (_in
Verrem_) refers to the Maltese as "Socii." Nothing was to be gained by
displacing the Phoenician inhabitants in a country from which any race
less thrifty would find life impossible by agriculture. On the strength
of a monument bearing his name, it has been surmised that Hannibal was
born in Malta, while his father was governor-general of Sicily; he
certainly did not die in Malta. There is evidence from Cicero (_in
Verrem_) that a very high stage of manufacturing and commercial
prosperity, attained in Carthaginian times, continued in Malta under
the Romans. The Phoenician temple of Juno, which stood on the site of
Fort St Angelo, is also mentioned by Valerius Maximus. An inscription
records the restoration of the temple of Proserpine by Cheriston, a
freed-man of Augustus and procurator of Malta. Diodorus Siculus (L. V.,
c. 4) speaks of the importance and ornamentation of Maltese dwellings,
and to this day remains of palaces and dwellings of the Roman period
indicate a high degree of civilization and wealth. When forced to select
a place of exile, Cicero was at first (_ad Att._ III. 4, X. i. 8, 9)
attracted to Malta, over which he had ruled as quaestor 75 B.C. Among
his Maltese friends were Aulus Licinius and Diodorus. Lucius Castricius
is mentioned as a Roman governor under Augustus. Publius was "chief of
the island" when St Paul was shipwrecked (Acts xxvii. 7); and is said to
have become the first Christian bishop of Malta. The site where the
cathedral at Notabile now stands is reputed to have been the residence
of Publius and to have been converted by him into the first Christian
place of worship, which was rebuilt in 1090 by Count Roger, the Norman
conqueror of Malta. The Maltese catacombs are strikingly similar to
those of Rome, and were likewise used as places of burial and of refuge
in time of persecution. They contain clear indication of the interment
of martyrs. St Paul's Bay was the site of shipwreck of the apostle in
A.D. 58; the "topon diathalasson" referred to in Acts is the strait
between Malta and the islet of Selmun. The claim that St Paul was
shipwrecked at Meleda off the Dalmatian coast, and not at Malta, has
been clearly set at rest, on nautical grounds, by Mr Smith of Jordanhill
(_Voyage and Shipwreck of St Paul_, London, 1848). According to
tradition and to St Chrysostom (_Hom._ 54) the stay of the apostle
resulted in the conversion of the Maltese to Christianity. The
description of the islanders in Acts as "barbaroi" confirms the
testimony of Diodorus Siculus that they were Phoenicians, neither
hellenized nor romanized. The bishopric of Malta is referred to by Rocco
Pirro (_Sicilia sacra_), and by Gregory the Great (_Epist._ 2, 44; 9,
63; 10, 1). It appears that Malta was not materially affected by the
Greek schism, and remained subject to Rome.
On the final division of the Roman dominions in A.D. 395 Malta was
assigned to the empire of Constantinople. On the third Arab invasion,
A.D. 870, the Maltese joined forces against the Byzantine garrison, and
3000 Greeks were massacred. Unable to garrison the island with a large
force, the Arabs cleared a zone between the central stronghold, Medina,
and the suburb called Rabat, to restrict the fortified area. Many Arab
coins, some Kufic inscriptions and several burial-places were left by
the Arabs; but they did not establish their religion or leave a
permanent impression on the Phoenician inhabitants, or deprive the
Maltese language of the characteristics which differentiate it from
Arabic. There is no historical evidence that the domination of the Goths
and Vandals in the Mediterranean ever extended to Malta; there are fine
Gothic arches in two old palaces at Notabile, but these were built after
the Norman conquest of Malta. In 1090 Count Roger the Norman (son of
Tancred de Hauteville), then master of Sicily, came to Malta with a
small retinue; the Arab garrison was unable to offer effective
opposition, and the Maltese were willing and able to welcome the Normans
as deliverers and to hold the island after the immediate withdrawal of
Count Roger. A bishop of Malta was witness to a document in 1090. The
Phoenician population had continued Christian during the mild Arab rule.
Under the Normans the power of the Roman Church quickly augmented,
tithes were granted, and ecclesiastical buildings erected and endowed.
The Normans, like the Arabs, were not numerically strong; the rule of
both, in Sicily as well as Malta, was based on a recognition of
municipal institutions under local officials; the Normans, however,
exterminated the Mahommedans. Gradually feudal customs asserted
themselves. In 1193 Margarito Brundusio received Malta as a fief with
the title of count; he was Grand Admiral of Sicily. Constance, wife of
the emperor Henry IV. of Germany became, in 1194, heiress of Sicily and
Malta; she was the last of the Norman dynasty. The Grand Admiral of
Sicily in 1223 was Henry, count of Malta. He had led 300 Maltese at the
capture of two forts in Tripoli by the Genoese. In 1265 Pope Alexander
IV. conferred the crown of Sicily on Charles of Anjou to the detriment
of Manfred, from whom the French won the kingdom at the battle of
Benevento. Under the will of Corradino a representative of the blood of
Roger the Norman, Peter of Aragon claimed the succession, and it came to
him by the revolution known as "the Sicilian Vespers" when 28,000 French
were exterminated in Sicily. Charles held Malta for two years longer,
when the Aragonese fleet met the French off Malta, and finally crushed
them in the Grand Harbour. In 1427 the Turks raided Malta and Gozo, they
carried many of the inhabitants into captivity, but gained no foothold.
The Maltese joined the Spaniards in a disastrous raid against Gerbi on
the African coast in 1432. In 1492 the Aragonese expelled the Jews.
Dissatisfaction arose under Aragonese rule from the periodical grants of
Malta, as a marquisate or countship, to great officers of state or
illegitimate descendants of the sovereign. Exemption was obtained from
these incidences of feudalism by large payments to the Crown in return
for charters covenanting that Malta should for ever be administered
under the royal exchequer without the intervention of intermediary
feudal lords. This compact was twice broken, and in 1428 the Maltese
paid King Alfonso 30,000 florins for a confirmation of privileges, with
a proviso that entitled them to resist by force of arms any intermediate
lord that his successors might attempt to impose. Under the Aragonese,
Malta, as regards local affairs, was administered by a _Università_ or
municipal commonwealth with wide and indefinite powers, including the
election of its officers, Capitan di Verga, Jurats, &c. The minutes of
the "Consiglio Popolare" of this period are preserved, showing it had no
legislative power; this was vested in the king, and was exercised
despotically in the interests of the Crown. The Knights of St John
having been driven from Rhodes by the Turks, obtained the grant of
Malta, Gozo and Tripoli in 1530 from the emperor Charles V., subject to
a reversion in favour of the emperor's successor in the kingdom of
Aragon should the knights leave Malta, and to the annual tribute of a
falcon in acknowledgment that Malta was under the suzerainty of Spain.
The Maltese, at first, challenged the grant as a breach of the charter
of King Alfonso, but eventually welcomed the knights. The Grand Master
de l'Isle Adam, on entering the ancient capital of Notabile, swore for
himself and his successors to maintain the rights and liberties of the
Maltese. The Order of St John took up its abode on the promontory
guarded by the castle of St Angelo on the southern shore of the Grand
Harbour, and, in expectation of attacks from the Turks, commenced to
fortify the neighbouring town called the Borgo. The knights lived apart
from the Maltese, and derived their principal revenues from estates of
the Order in the richest countries of Europe. They accumulated wealth by
war, or by privateering against the Turks and their allies. The African
Arabs under Selim Pasha in 1551 ravaged Gozo, after an unsuccessful
attempt on Malta, repulsed by cavalry under Upton, an English knight.
The Order of St John and the Christian Maltese now realized that an
attempt to exterminate them would soon be made by Soliman II., and
careful preparations were made to meet the attack.
The great siege of Malta which made the island and its knights famous,
and checked the advance of Mahommedan power in southern and western
Europe, began in May 1565. The fighting men of the defenders are
variously recorded between 6100 and 9121; the roll comprises one English
knight, Oliver Starkey. The Mahommedan forces were estimated from 29,000
to 38,500. Jehan Parisot de la Valette had participated in the defence
of Rhodes, and in many naval engagements. He had been taken prisoner by
Dragut, who made him row for a year as a galley slave till ransomed.
This Grand Master had gained the confidence of Philip of Spain, the
friendship of the viceroy of Sicily, of the pope and of the Genoese
admiral, Doria. The Sultan placed his troops under the veteran Mustapha,
and his galleys under his youthful relative Piali, he hesitated to make
either supreme and ordered them to await the arrival of Dragut with his
Algerian allies, before deciding on their final plans. Meanwhile,
against Mustapha's better judgment, Piali induced the council of war to
attack St Elmo, in order to open the way for his fleet to an anchorage,
safe in all weathers, in Marsamuscetto harbour. This strategical blunder
was turned to the best advantage by La Valette, who so prolonged the
most heroic defence of St Elmo that the Turks lost 7000 killed and as
many wounded before exterminating the 1200 defenders, who fell at their
post. In the interval Dragut was mortally wounded, the attack on
Notabile was neglected, valuable time lost, and the main objective (the
Borgo) and St Angelo left intact. The subsequent siege of St Angelo, and
its supporting fortifications, was marked by the greatest bravery on
both sides. The knights and their Maltese troops fought for death or
victory, without asking or giving quarter. The Grand Master proved as
wise a leader as he was brave. By September food and ammunition were
getting scarce, a large relieving force was expected from Sicily, and
Piali became restive, on the approach of the equinox, for the safety of
his galleys. At last the viceroy of Sicily, who had the Spanish and
allied fleets at his disposal, was spurred to action by his council. He
timidly landed about 6000 or 8000 troops at the north-west of Malta and
withdrew. The Turks began a hurried embarcation and allowed the
Christians to join forces at Notabile; then, hearing less alarming
particulars of the relieving force, Mustapha relanded his reluctant
troops, faced his enemies in the open, and was driven in confusion to
his ships on the 8th of September.
The Order thus reached the highest pinnacle of its fame, and new knights
flocked to be enrolled therein from the flower of the nobility of
Europe; La Valette refused a cardinal's hat, determined not to impair
his independence. He made his name immortal by founding on Mt Sceberras
"a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen" and making Valletta a
magnificent example of fortification, unrivalled in the world. The pope
and other sovereigns donated vast sums for this new bulwark of
Christianity, but, as its ramparts grew in strength, the knights were
slow to seek the enemy in his own waters, and became false to their
traditional strategy as a naval power. Nevertheless, they harassed
Turkish commerce and made booty in minor engagements throughout the 16th
and 18th centuries, and they took part as an allied Christian power in
the great victory of Lepanto. With the growth of wealth and security the
martial spirit of the Order began to wane, and so also did its friendly
relations with the Maltese. The field for recruiting its members, as
well as its landed estates, became restricted by the Reformation in
England and Germany, and the French knights gradually gained a
preponderance which upset the international equilibrium of the Order.
The election of elderly Grand Masters became prevalent, the turmoil and
chances of frequent elections being acceptable to younger members. The
civil government became neglected and disorganized, licentiousness
increased, and riots began to be threatening. Expenditure on costly
buildings was almost ceaseless, and kept the people alive. In 1614 the
Vignacourt aqueduct was constructed. The Jesuits established a
university, but they were expelled and their property confiscated in
1768. British ships of war visited Malta in 1675, and in 1688 a fleet
under the duke of Grafton came to Valletta. The fortifications of the
"Three Cities" were greatly strengthened under the Grand Master Cotoner.
In 1722 the Turkish prisoners and slaves, then very numerous, formed a
conspiracy to rise and seize the island. Premature discovery was
followed by prompt suppression. Castle St Angelo and the fort of St
James were, in 1775, surprised by rebels, clamouring against bad
government; this rising is known as the Rebellion of the Priests, from
its leader, Mannarino. The last but one of the Grand Masters who reigned
in Malta, de Rohan, restored good government, abated abuses and
promulgated a code of laws; but the ascendancy acquired by the
Inquisition over the Order, the confiscation of the property of the
knights in France on the outbreak of the Revolution, and the intrigues
of the French made the task of regenerating the Order evidently hopeless
in the changed conditions of Christendom. On the death of Rohan the
French knights disagreed as to the selection of his successor, and a
minority were able to elect, in 1797, a German of weak character,
Ferdinand Hompesch, as the last Grand Master to rule in Malta. Bonaparte
had arranged to obtain Malta by treachery, and he took possession
without resistance in June 1798; after a stay of six days he proceeded
with the bulk of his forces to Egypt, leaving General Vaubois with 6000
troops to hold Valletta. The exiled knights made an attempt to
reconstruct themselves under the emperor Paul of Russia, but finally the
Catholic parent stem of the Order settled in Rome and continues there
under papal auspices. It still comprises members who take vows of
celibacy and prove the requisite number of quarterings.
Towards the close of the rule of the knights in Malta feudal
institutions had been shaken to their foundations, but the transition to
republican rule was too sudden and extreme for the people to accept it.
The French plundered the churches, abolished monks, nuns and nobles, and
set up forthwith the ways and doings of the French Revolution. Among
other laws Bonaparte enacted that French should at once be the official
language, that 30 young men should every year be sent to France for
their education; that all foreign monks be expelled, that no new priests
be ordained before employment could be found for those existing; that
ecclesiastical jurisdiction should cease; that neither the bishop nor
the priests could charge fees for sacramental ministrations, &c.
Stoppage of trade, absence of work (in a population of which more than
half had been living on foreign revenues of the knights), and famine,
followed the defeat of Bonaparte at the Nile, and the failure of his
plans to make Malta a centre of French trade. An attempt to seize church
valuables at Notabile was forcibly resisted by the Maltese, and general
discontent broke out into open rebellion on the 2nd of September 1798.
The French soon discovered to their dismay that, from behind the rubble
walls of every field, the agile Maltese were unassailable. The prospect
of an English blockade of Malta encouraged the revolt, of which Canon
Caruana became the leader. Nelson was appealed to, and with the aid of
Portuguese allies he established a blockade and deputed Captain Ball, R.
N. (afterwards the first governor) to assume, on the 9th of February
1799, the provisional administration of Malta and to superintend
operations on land. Nelson recognized the movement in Malta as a
successful revolution against the French, and upheld the contention that
the king of Sicily (as successor to Charles V. in that part of the
former kingdom of Aragon) was the legitimate sovereign of Malta. British
troops were landed to assist in the siege; few lives were lost in actual
combat, nevertheless famine and sickness killed thousands of the
inhabitants, and finally forced the French to surrender to the allies.
Canon Caruana and other leaders of the Maltese aspired to obtain for
Malta the freedom of the Roman Catholic religion guaranteed by England
in Canada and other dependencies, and promoted a petition in order that
Malta should come under the strong power of England rather than revert
to the kingdom of the two Sicilies.
The Treaty of Amiens (1802) provided for the restoration of the island
to the Order of St John; against this the Maltese strongly protested,
realizing that it would be followed by the re-establishment of French
influence. The English flag was flown side by side with the Neapolitan,
and England actually renewed war with France sooner than give up Malta.
The Treaty of Paris (1814), with the acclamations of the Maltese,
confirmed Great Britain in the aggregation of Malta to the empire.
A period elapsed before the government of Malta again became
self-supporting, during which over £600,000 was contributed by the
British exchequer in aid of revenue, and for the importation of
food-stuffs. The restoration of Church property, the re-establishment of
law and administration on lines to which the people were accustomed
before the French invasion, and the claiming for the Crown of the vast
landed property of the knights, were the first cares of British civil
rule. As successor to the Order, the Crown claimed and eventually
established (by the negotiations in Rome of Sir Frederick Hankey, Sir
Gerald Strickland and Sir Lintorn Simmons) with regard to the
presentation of the bishopric (worth about £4000 a year) the right to
veto the appointment of distasteful candidates. This right was exercised
to secure the nomination of Canon Caruana and later of Monsignor Pace.
When the pledge, given by the Treaty of Amiens, to restore the Order of
St John with a national Maltese "langue," could not be fulfilled,
political leaders began demanding instead the re-establishment of the
"Consiglio Popolare" of Norman times (without reflecting that it never
had legislative power); but by degrees popular aspirations developed in
favour of a free constitution on English lines. The British authorities
steadily maintained that, at least until the mass of the people became
educated, representative institutions would merely screen irresponsible
oligarchies. After the Treaty of Paris stability of government
developed, and many important reforms were introduced under the strong
government of the masterful Sir Thomas Maitland; he acted promptly,
without seeking popularity or fearing the reverse, and he ultimately
gained more real respect than any other governor, not excepting the
marquess of Hastings, who was a brilliant and sympathetic administrator.
Trial by jury for criminal cases was established in 1829. A council of
government, of which the members were nominated, was constituted by
letters patent in 1835, but this measure only increased the agitation
for a representative legislature. Freedom of the press and many salutary
innovations were brought about on a report of John Austin and G. C.
Lewis, royal commissioners, appointed in 1836. The basis of taxation was
widened, sinecures abolished, schools opened in the country districts,
legal procedure simplified, and Police established on an English
footing. Queen Adelaide visited Malta in 1838 and founded the Anglican
collegiate church of St Paul. Sir F. Hankey as chief secretary was for
many years the principal official of the civil administration. In 1847
Mr R. Moore O'Ferrall was appointed civil governor. In June 1849 the
constitution of the council was altered to comprise ten nominated and
eight elected members.
The revolutions in Italy caused about this time many, including Crispi
and some of the most intellectual Italians, to take refuge in Malta.
These foreigners introduced new life into politics and the press, and
made it fashionable for educated Maltese to delude themselves with the
idea that the Maltese were Italians, because a few of them could speak
the language of the peninsula. A clerical reaction followed against new
progressive ideas and English methods of development. After much
unreasoning vituperation the Irish Catholic civil governor, who had
arrived amidst the acclamations of all, left his post in disgust. His
successor as civil governor was Sir W. Reid, who had formerly held
military command. His determined attempts to promote education met with
intense opposition and little success. At this period the Crimean War
brought great wealth and commercial prosperity to Malta. Under Sir G. Le
Marchant, in 1858, the nominal rule of military governors was
re-established, but the civil administration was largely confided to Sir
Victor Houlton as chief secretary, whilst the real power began to be
concentrated in the hands of Sir A. Dingli, the Crown advocate, who was
the interpreter of the law, and largely its maker, as well as the
principal depository of local knowledge, able to prevent the preferment
of rivals, and to countenance the barrier which difference of language
created between governors and governed. The civil service gravitated
into the hands of a clique. At this period much money was spent on the
Marsa extension of the Grand Harbour, but the rapid increase in the size
of steamships made the scheme inadequate, and limited its value
prematurely. The military defences were entirely remodelled under Sir G.
Le Marchant, and considerable municipal improvements and embellishments
were completed. But this governor was obstructed and misrepresented by
local politicians as vehemently as his predecessors and his successors.
Ministers at home have often appeared to be inclined to the policy of
pleasing by avoiding the reforming of what might be left as it was
found. Sir A. Dingli adapted a considerable portion of the Napoleonic
Code in a series of Malta Ordinances, but stopped short at points likely
to cause agitation. Sir P. Julyan was appointed royal commissioner on
the civil establishments, and Sir P. Keenan on education; their work
revived the reform movement in 1881. Mr Savona led an agitation for a
more sincere system of education on English lines. Fierce opposition
ensued, and the _pari passu_ compromise was adopted to which reference
is made in the section on _Education_ above; Mr Savona was an able
organizer, and began the real emancipation of the Maltese masses from
educational ignorance; but he succumbed to agitation before
accomplishing substantial results.
An executive council was established in 1881, and the franchise was
extended in 1883. A quarter of a century of Sir Victor Houlton's policy
of _laissez-faire_ was changed in 1883 by the appointment of Sir Walter
Hely-Hutchinson as chief secretary. An attempt was made to utilize fully
the abilities of this eminent administrator by creating him civil
lieutenant-governor, in whom to concentrate both the real and the
nominal power of detailed administration; but the military authorities
objected to his corresponding directly with the Colonial Office; and a
political deadlock began to develop. Sir A. Dingli was transferred from
an administrative office to that of chief justice. With the continuance
of military power over details, the public could not understand where
responsibility really rested. The elected members under the leadership
of Dr Mizzi clamoured for more power, opposed reforms and protested
against the carrying of government measures by the casting vote of a
military governor as president of the council. To force a crisis,
abstention of elected members from the council was resorted to, together
with the election of notoriously unfit candidates. Under these
circumstances a constitution of a more severe type was recommended by
those responsible for the government of Malta and was about to be
adopted, as the only alternative to a deadlock, by the imperial
authorities.
A regulation excluding Maltese from the navy (because of their speaking
on board a language that their officers did not understand) provoked
from Trinity College, Cambridge, the Strickland correspondence in _The
Times_ on the constitutional rights of the Maltese, and a leading
article induced the Colonial Office to try an experiment known as the
Strickland-Mizzi Constitution of 1887. This constitution (abolished in
1903) ended a period of government by presidential casting votes and
official ascendancy. For the first time the elected members were placed
in a majority; they were given three seats in the executive council; in
local questions the government had to make every effort to carry the
majority by persuasion. When persuasion failed and imperial interests,
or the rights of unrepresented minorities, were involved the power of
the Crown to legislate by order in council could be (and was) freely
used. This system had the merit of counteracting any abuse of power by
the bureaucracy. It brought to bear on officials effective criticism,
which made them alert and hard-working. Governor Simmons eventually gave
his support to the new constitution, which was received with
acclamation. Strickland, who had been elected while an undergraduate on
the cry of equality of rights for Maltese and English, and Mizzi, the
leader of the anti-English agitation, were, as soon as elected, given
seats in the executive council to cooperate with the government; but
their aims were irreconcilable. Mizzi wanted to undo the educational
forms of Mr Savona, to ensure the predominance of the Italian language
and to work the council as a caucus. Strickland desired to replace
bureaucratic government by a system more in touch with the independent
gentlemen of the country, and to introduce English ideas and precedents.
Friction soon arose. Mizzi cared little for a constitution that did not
make him complete master of the situation, and resigned his post in the
government.
Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson left Malta in March 1889, and was succeeded
by Sir Gerald Strickland (Count Delia Catena), who lost no time in
pushing, and carrying with a rapidity that was considered hasty, reforms
that had been retarded for years. The majorities behind the government
began to dwindle and agitation to grow. Meanwhile the Royal Malta
Militia was established as a link between the Maltese and the garrison.
The police were reorganized with proper pay, criminal laws were
rigorously enforced. A naval officer was placed over the police to
diminish difficulties with the naval authorities and sailors. A marine
force was raised to stop smuggling; and the subtraction of coal during
coaling operations was stopped by drastic legislation. The civil service
was reorganized so as to reward merit and work by promotion. Tenders
were strictly enforced in letting government property and contracts; a
largely increased revenue was applied on water supply, drainage and
other works. Lepers were segregated by law.
The Malta marriage question evoked widespread agitation; Sir A. Dingli
had refrained from making any provision in his code as to marrying. The
Maltese relied on the Roman Canon Law, the English on the common law of
England, Scots or Irish had nothing but the English law to fall back
upon. Maltese authorities were ignorant of the disabilities of British
Nonconformists at common law, and they had not perceived that persons
with a British domicile could not evade their own laws by marrying in
Malta, e.g. that an English girl up to the age of 21 required the
father's or guardian's consent from which a Maltese was legally exempt
at 18. Sir G. Strickland preferred legislation to the covering up of
difficulties by governors' licences and appeals to incongruous
precedents. Sir Lintorn Simmons was appointed envoy to the Holy See, to
ascertain how far legislation might be pushed in the direction of civil
marriage without justifying clerical agitation and obstruction in the
council. He succeeded in coming to an agreement with Rome. Nevertheless
Sir A. Dingli and ecclesiastics of all denominations, for conflicting
reasons, swelled the opposition against the liberal concessions obtained
from Leo XIII. The legal necessity for legislation in accordance with
the agreement was, nevertheless, on a special reference, submitted to
the privy council, whose decision affirmed the advisability of
legislation and the need for validating retrospectively marriages not
supported by either Maltese or English common law. Agitation in the
imperial parliament stopped government action, but the publicity of the
finding of the privy council warned all concerned against the risk of
neglecting the common law of the empire whenever they were not prepared
to follow the _lex loci contractus_.
Since the British occupation it was disputed whether the military
authorities had the right to alienate for the benefit of the imperial
exchequer fortress sites no longer required for defence. The reversion
of such property was claimed for the local civil government, and the
principles governing these rights were ultimately laid down by an order
in council, which also determined military rights to restrict buildings
within the range of forts. The co-operation of naval and military
authorities was obtained for the construction, at imperial expense, of
the breakwater designed to save Malta from being abandoned by long and
deep draft modern vessels. British-born subjects were given the right to
be tried in English. The new system of education (already described) was
set up, and many new schools were built with funds provided by order in
council against the wishes of the elected majority.
An order in council (1899) making English the language of the courts
after fifteen years (by which the Maltese would have obtained the right
to be tried in English) was promulgated at a time when the system of
taxation was also being revised; henceforth agitation in favour of
Italian and against taxation attained proportions unpleasant for those
who preferred popularity to reform and progress. The elected members
demanded the recall of Sir G. Strickland on his refusing to change his
policy. The military governor gave way, as regards making English the
language of the courts on a fixed date, but educational reforms and the
imposition of new taxes (those in Malta being 27s. 6d. per head, against
93s. in England) were enacted by an order in council notwithstanding the
agitation. Mr Mereweather was appointed chief secretary and civil
lieutenant-governor in 1902, and Sir Gerald Strickland became governor
and commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands. Governor Sir F. Grenfell
was created a peer. Strenuous efforts were made to placate the Italian
party in the administration of the educational reforms; but, as these
were not repealed, elected members refused supply, and kept away from
the council. Persistence in this course led to the repeal by
letters-patent of 1903 of the Strickland-Mizzi Constitution of 1887. In
place of occasional orders in council for important matters in urgent
cases, bureaucratic government with an official majority was again, with
its drawbacks, fully re-established for all local affairs great and
small. The representatives of the people were repeatedly re-elected,
only to resign again and again as a protest against a restricted
constitution.
Authorities.--Kenrick's _Phoenicia_ (1855); A. A. Caruana's _Reports
on Phoenician and Roman Antiquities in Malta_ (1881 and 1882); Albert
Mayr, _Die Insel Malta im Altertum_ (1909); James Smith, _Voyage and
Shipwreck of St Paul_ (1866); R. Pirro, _Sicilia sacra_; T. Fazello,
_Storia di Sicilia_ (1833); C. de Bazincourt, _Histoire de la Sicile_
(1846); G. F. Abela, _Malta illustrata_ (1772); J. Quintin, _Insulae
Melitae descriptio_ (1536); G. W. von Streitburg, _Reyse nach der
Inselmalta_ (1632); R. Gregoria, _Considerazioni sopra la storia di
Sicilia_ (1839); F. C. A. Davalos, _Tableau historique de Malte_
(1802); Houel, _Voyage pittoresque_ (vol. iv., 1787); G. P. Badger,
_Description of Malta and Gozo_ (1858); G. N. Goodwin, _Guide to and
Natural History of Maltese Islands_ (1800); Whitworth Porter, _History
of Knights of Malta_ (1858); A. Bigelow, _Travels in Malta and Sicily_
(1831); M. Miège, _Histoire de Malte_ (1840); Parliamentary Papers,
reports by Mr Rownell on Taxation and Expenditure in Malta (1878), by
Sir F. Julyan on Civil Establishments (1880); and Mr Keenan on the
Educational System (1880), (the last two deal with the language
question); F. Vella, _Maltese Grammar for the Use of the English_
(1831); _Malta Penny Magazine_ (1839-1841); J. T. Mifsud, _Biblioteca
Maltese_ (1764); C. M. de Piro, _Squarci di storia_; Michele Acciardi,
_Mustafa bascia di Rodi schiavo in Malta_ (1761); A. F. Freiherr,
_Reise nach Malta in 1830_ (Vienna, 1837); B. Niderstedt, _Malta vetus
et nova_, 1660; F. Panzavecchia, _Storia dell' isola di Malta_; N. W.
Senior, _Conversations on Egypt and Malta_ (1882); G. A. Vassallo,
_Storia di Malta_ (1890); H. Felsch, _Reisebeschreibung_ (1858); W.
Hardman, _Malta_, 1798-1815 (1909); A. Nieuterberg, _Malta_ (1879);
Terrinoni, _La Presa di Malta_ (1860); Azzopardi, _Presa di Malta_
(1864); Castagna, _Storia di Malta_ (1900); Boisredon, Ransijat,
_Blocus et siège de Malte_ (1802); Buchon, _Nouvelles recherches
historiques_; C. Samminniateli, Zabarella, _L' Assedio di Malta del
1565_ (1902); Professor G. B. Mifsud, _Guida al corso di Procedura
Penale Maltese_ (1907); P. de Bono Debono, _Storia della legislazione
in Malta_ (1897); Monsignor A. Mifsud, _L'Origine della sovranità
della Grand Brettagna su Malta_ (1907); A. A. Caruana, _Frammento
critico della storia di Malta_ (1899); Ancient Pagan Tombs and
Christian Cemeteries in the Island of Malta, _Explored and Surveyed
from 1881 to 1897_; Strickland, _Remarks and Correspondence on the
Constitution of Malta_ (1887); A. Mayr, _Die vorgeschichtlichen
Denkmäler von Malta_ (1901); A. E. Caruana, _Sull' origine della
lingua Maltese_ (1896); J. C. Grech, _Flora melitensis_ (1853); Furse,
_Medagliere Gerosolimitano;_ Pisani, _Medagliere_; Galizia, _Church of
St John_; J. Murray, "The Maltese Islands, with special reference to
their Geological Structure," _Scottish Geog. Mag._ (vol. vi., 1890);
J. W. Gregory, "The Maltese Fossil Echinoidea and their evidence on
the correlation of the Maltese Rocks," _Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin._ (vol.
xxxvi., 1892); J. H. Cook, _The Har Dalam Cavern, Malta, Evidences of
Prehistoric Man in Malta_; _Collegamento geodetico delle isole maltesi
con la Sicilia_ (1902); A. Zeri, _I porti delle isole del gruppo di
Malta_ (1906); G. F. Bonamico, _Delle glossipietre di Malta_ (1688).
Brydone, Teonge, John Dryden jun., W. Tallack, Rev. H. Seddall,
Boisgolin, Rev. W. K. Bedford, W. H. Bartlett, St Priest. Msgr. Bres,
M. G. Borch, Oliver Drapper, John Davy, G. M. Letard, Taafe, Busuttil,
T. MacGill, J. Quintana, have also written on Malta. For natural
science see the works of Dr A. L. Adams, Professor E. Forbes, Captain
Spratt, Dr G. Gulia, C. A. Wright and Wood's _Tourist Flora_.
For the language question, see Mr Chamberlain's speech in the House of
Commons, on the 28th of January 1902. Also parliamentary papers for
Grievances of the Maltese Nobility, and Constitutional Changes.