Its possession gives us a place of rendezvous and of observation for our fleets; so that in time of war, with ordinary vigilance, no hostile vessels can enter or leave the Mediterranean without our knowledge. That of itself is an important consideration. We are also enabled to maintain within the fortress reserves of naval munitions, food, coals, and stores, available for our vessels of war, either in the Mediterranean or coming from the Atlantic. Its value, however, is not limited to a period of war. Gibraltar has been for many a year to a certain extent a centre of trade, not only with the neighbouring towns of Spain, but also with the ports along the coast of Morocco. And since the opening of the Suez Canal its mercantile interests have greatly increased, the number of trading and passenger vessels of all nations calling in daily for provisions and coals and other requisites being much larger than of yore, as will be seen by the following table, giving the number and tonnage of vessels calling at Gibraltar during 1868 and 1893 respectively:-- +------- +-------------------------- +-------------- + | Year |Number of vessels calling |Total tonnage | +----------------------------------- +-------------- + | 1868 | 4,471 | 1,519,046 | | 1893 | 5,172 | 4,637,454 | +--------+-------------------------- +-------------- + As a proof of its commercial activity I may point out that Linea, which five and twenty years ago was a mere Spanish village at the other end of the neutral ground, is now a town of twelve thousand people, large numbers of whom visit Gibraltar daily, bringing in supplies of food, forage, vegetables, and fruit, &c., and leaving again at night with English goods. In fact, it has become a suburb, as it were, of the city. The trading facilities of Gibraltar are beneficial to the country round, and are fully appreciated by the inhabitants of that part of Andalusia. Taking all these matters into consideration, it will, I think, be apparent that the value of the city and fortress to this country are greater now even than in former days.