70 MALTA at the same time coramander-in-chief, assisfr- K-jrMutive matters by a council of 1 -M, of whom 10 are official and 8 elec- [fa British troops and their families ember, 1872, numbered 6,752 persons. The duties of the native regiment, called the fencibles, are exclusively local, and their maintenance is defrayed out of the revenues of the Elands. The central position, military
- h. and excellent harbor, one of the most
comm.Mlious and convenient in the Mediter- n, render the possession of Malta of great importance to Britain, and make it very ad- vantageous for the accommodation and repair of the men-of-war and merchant ships fre- quenting the Mediterranean. The storehouses or caricatori for grain are excavated in the rock, making Malta an excellent centre of the corn trade between the Mediterranean and Black seas. Besides Valetta and Cittd Vec- chia, and a few other towns, Malta possesses about 40 casals or hamlets, chiefly remarkable for their picturesque churches. The former capital of Malta was Citta Vecchia. , The pres- ent capital, Valetta, is one of the best forti- fied places in the world, and serves as a station for the Mediterranean fleet. The ancient Me- lita was important as a commercial centre among the nations of antiquity, and it was occupied probably at a very early period by a Phoenician colony. Afterward it became a Carthaginian settlement. At a later period it appears to have been in a measure Hellenized, though there is no historical evidence of its having been in the possession of the Greeks. In 257 B. C. it was ravaged by a Roman fleet under Atilius Regulus ; and surrendering to the Romans at the beginning of the second Punic war, it was annexed to the province of Sicily. It became notorious as a resort of the Cili- cian pirates, but was in a flourishing condi- tion in the days of Cicero, who during periods of disturbance entertained the project of reti- ring thither. The Maltese cotton fabrics (vestis Melitentu) were in great demand in Rome, and vere probably manufactured from the cotton which still forms the principal product of the island. In sacred history Malta is cele- brated as the supposed scene of the shipwreck Paul on his voyage to Italy (A. D. 60) ; though according to some critics Melita (now o in the Adriatic, on the coast of Dal- matia, was more probably the island visited by the apostle. After the fall of the Roman empire the island was for some time in the possession of the Vandals, but was taken from th.-Ni by Belisarius (583), and was subject to the Byzantine empire until the latter part of the 9th century, when it was conquered by the Arabs. It was wrested from them at the close llth century by Count Roger, the Nor- nnncror of Sicily, and it was united with Si.-ily until the early part of the 16th century, when (Mi;irl s V. took possession of that coun- try and of Malta as heir of Aragon. Under iperor the knights of Malta (see SAINT MALTE-BRUN JOHN, KNIGHTS OF) became its sovereigns, and aeld it till 1798, when the French expedition r o Egypt under Napoleon seized the island. After the battle of the Nile the inhabitants rose in insurrection and compelled the French to shut themselves up in the fortress of Valetta. They were subjected to a stringent blockade until Sept. 5, 1800, when, reduced by famine, they surrendered to the English, who had come bo the assistance of the Maltese. The island has since remained under British rule. MALTE-BRUN. I. A Danish geographer, whose actual name was MALTHE CONRAD BRUTTN, born at Thisted in Jutland, Aug. 12, 1775, died in Paris, Dec. 14, 1826. He studied in Copen- hagen, devoting himself especially to literature and politics. He embraced republican prin- dples, and in 1795 published a pamphlet en- itled "Catechism of the Aristocrats," for which he was prosecuted by the government and obliged to take refuge in Sweden. A poem on the death of Bernstorff which he published during his exile procured for him permission to return to Denmark. But another pamphlet against the aristocracy subjected him to a new prosecution, and he left his country, and finally took up his residence in Paris. In December, 1800, the Danish courts pronounced sentence of perpetual banishment against him, which was rescinded about the time of his death. In Paris he wrote largely for various journals, and in 1806 became one of the principal writers for the Journal des Debate. He at first opposed the consular gov- ernment, but subsequently became a zealous imperialist, and after the fall of Napoleon an equally zealous monarchist, publishing in 1824 Traite de la legitimite consideree comme base du droit public de V Europe chretienne. In the mean time he devoted himself especially to geographical studies, and in 1803, in conjunc- tion with Mentelle and Herbin, commenced the publication of OeograpJiie mathematique, phy- sique et politique, which was completed in 1807, comprising 16 volumes. In 1808 lie es- tablished the periodical Annales des Voyages, which was discontinued in 1814, and resumed in 1819, with the collaboration of Eyries, under the title, Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, and is still issued under charge of his son. He was one of the founders of the geographical society, of which he became secretary. He wrote a number of miscellaneous works, among which is a posthumous collection, Melanges scienti- fiques et litteraires (3 vols., 1828). His most important work is Precis de geograpliie uni- verselle (8 vols., 1810-'29, the last two volumes being by Huot). This has been several times re- published, the last edition by Lavall6e (6 vols., 1856-'7). It was translated into English, and an edition published at Boston, with notes and additions by James G. Percival (3 vols. 4to, 1828-'32), and one at Philadelphia (5 vols. 8vo, with atlas, 1832-7). II. Victor Adolphe, a French geographer, son of the preceding, born in Paris in 1816. After having been profes-
