Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/728

692 wisdom of his tactics. War broke out, the treaty was annulled, and Malta remained in the possession of the British.

The seventh article of the Treaty of Paris, signed on the 30th May, 1814, determined the destiny of Malta in the terms: “The island of Malta, with its dependencies, will appertain in full authority and sovereignty to his Britannic Majesty.”

Under that rule the island still remains, and her government, whilst prepared to uphold its claims against all comers, prefers to found its right on the love of the Maltese. England has no fear of recalling to their memory the days when they were under the sway of the Hospital. She needs not to follow the example of the French, who, during the short time in which they held control, destroyed, as far a possible, all the monumental records of their predecessor Even to this day, much as has been done to repair the injury, the eye is shocked by the many mutilations, apparently wanton, and certainly barbarous, which the public buildings underwent during the two years of French rule. These mutilations ere by no means the unpremeditated act of a licensed soldiery. They were part of a deep-laid design of the French government to estrange the Maltese from their recollections of the Order of St. John. England has no need of any such measures. Secure in the attachment of her subjects, she can dare to recall to their memory the deeds of the heroes of old. She can venture to restore the various records of the Grand-Masters who have successively held sway over their ancestors. The Maltese who now enters the city of Valetta passes through a gateway erected by the British Government, on which stand, as its legitimate guardians, the statues of L’Isle Adam, the first founder of the Order in Malta, and La Valette, the builder of the city which yet bears his name, and the hero of that glorious struggle which is such a source of pride to all connected with the island.