An Example Of Temporary
Insanity Was Displayed In The Evacuation Of Corfu; Which Would Under Our
Present Foreign Policy Have Become Invaluable As A Powerfully Fortified
Coaling-Station, Commanding The Entrance Of The Adriatic And The
Neighbouring Seas.
It is this unfortunate precedent which is paralysing
all the natural elasticity of commercial enterprise in Cyprus, as the
inhabitants and English alike feel their insecurity, and hesitate before
the uncertain future, which may depend upon a party vote in the distant
House of Commons.
There can be no doubt that Cyprus or Crete was requisite to England as
the missing link in the chain of our communications with Egypt. As a
strategical point, Cyprus must be represented by Famagousta, without
which it would be useless for the ostensible purpose of its occupation.
Many persons of great practical experience would have preferred Crete,
as already possessing a safe harbour in Suda Bay, with a climate
superior to that of Cyprus, while according to our assumed defensive
alliance with Turkey in the event of a renewed attack by Russia, we
should have acquired the advantage of Cyprus whenever required, without
the expense or responsibility, and we should in addition have
established a station on the coast of Asia Minor at the secure harbour
afforded by the Gulf of Ayas at Alexandretta.
These geographical questions are a matter of opinion, but now that we
actually have occupied Cyprus it is absolutely necessary to do
something. Without Famagousta, the island would be worthless as a naval
station; with it, as a first-class harbour and arsenal, we should
dominate the eastern portion of the Mediterranean, entirely command the
approach to Egypt, and keep open our communications with the Suez Canal
and the consequent route to India. In the event of the Euphrates valley
line of railway becoming an accomplished fact, Cyprus will occupy the
most commanding position. But, all these advantages will be neutralised
unless Famagousta shall represent the power of England like Malta and
Gibraltar. The more minutely that we scrutinise the question of a
Cyprian occupation, the more prominent becomes the importance of
Famagousta; with it, Cyprus is the key of a great position; without it,
the affair is a dead-lock.
There is unfortunately a serious drawback in the extreme unhealthiness
of this otherwise invaluable situation, Famagousta, which would at
present render it unfit for a military station. There are several
causes, all of which must be removed, before the necessary sanitary
change can be accomplished. The vast heaps of stones, all of which are
of an extremely porous nature, have absorbed the accumulated filth of
ages, and the large area now occupied by these ruins must be a fertile
source of noxious exhalations. During the rainy season the surface
water, carrying with it every impurity, furnishes a fresh supply of
poison to be stored beneath these health-destroying masses, which cannot
possibly be cleansed otherwise than by their complete obliteration. It
may be readily understood that the high ramparts of the walls to a
certain extent prevent a due circulation of air, which increases the
danger of miasma from the ruin-covered and reeking area of the old
Venetian city. Should the harbour works be commenced, all this now
useless and dangerous material will be available for constructing the
blocks of concrete required for the sea-wall, and the surface of the
town will be entirely freed from the present nuisance without additional
expense. The few modern buildings should be compulsorily purchased by
the Government, and entirely swept away, so that the area inclosed by
the fortification walls should represent a perfectly clean succession of
levels in the form of broad terraces, which would drain uniformly
towards the sea. Upon these purified and well-drained plateaux the new
town could be erected, upon a special plan suitable to the locality, and
in harmony with the military requirements of a fortified position. The
value of the land thus recovered from the existing ruin would be
considerable, and, if let on building leases, would repay the expense of
levelling, draining, and arranging for occupation. In this manner one of
the prime causes of the present unhealthiness would be removed; by the
same operation, the ditch of the citadel would be pumped dry, and all
communication shut off from the sea, which now produces a stagnant and
offensive pool, breeding only reeds, mosquitoes, and malaria.
We now arrive at the most formidable origin of the Famagousta fever--the
marshes caused by the overflow of the Pedias river. The description that
I have already given of the delta formed by the deposit of mud during
inundations, and the total absence of any exit for the waters by a
natural channel, will convey to the minds of the most inexperienced an
extreme cause of danger. I can see only one practicable method of
surmounting this great difficulty. The Pedias river must be conducted to
the sea through an artificial channel, and it must (like the Rhone) be
confined between raised banks of sufficient height to prevent any chance
of overflow, and of a width arranged to produce a rapid current, that
will scour the bed and carry the mud to deposit far beyond the shore.
This work would be expensive, but, on the other hand, the collateral
advantages would be great. The land, which is now almost valueless,
owing to the uncertainty of inundations, would be rendered fruitful, and
by an arrangement of cattle-wheels the irrigation could always be
ensured, as the water exists within five feet of the present surface. At
this moment, neither drains are made, nor any control of nature is
exercised by the fever-stricken population, who trust entirely to the
uncertain chances of the seasons. We have an example in the original
fens of Lincolnshire, which, by a system of drainage, have been brought
into agricultural value; a series of large and deep open ditches, such
as are seen in every marsh or river-meadow throughout England, would
not only drain the surface of the Famagousta delta, but would supply the
water, to be raised by cattle-lifts and wind-pumps, for the purposes of
irrigation.
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