ships should not coal alongside this commercial mole and pier, but should lie outside of it, and be coaled by means of lighters. It is said that this would not lessen but increase the cost of coaling, and thus give a further blow to the trade of Gibraltar, which is admittedly less flourishing than it was a few years ago.

The Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce, in reporting adversely on this scheme, stated, In the opinion of this Chamber no scheme for the improvement of this port would meet the requirements of the coaling trade that did not provide for the coaling of steamers in smooth water alongside a wharf or jetties.'

In consequence of the unfavourable reception accorded to Major Pilkington's proposals a fresh scheme has recently been suggested, which, I understand, meets with the approval both of the Colonial Office and of the Gibraltar merchants.

It also takes the form of a pier, starting from the shore at the Waterport, passing to the north of the Old Mole head, and running in a generally westerly direction for some three-quarters of a mile to about where a well-known coaling hulk-the Three Brothers'— now lies. At right angles to this pier it is proposed to construct a mole some 1,500 feet in length, 500 feet lying to the north, and 1,000 feet to the south of the main pier, along the southern side of which five shorter piers are to be built, alongside of which and of the main pier steamers would coal, thus avoiding the use of lighters.

The coal would be stored along the centre of the pier, and on either side of it would run a double line of rails- one for passengers, the other for coal. The area enclosed at the shore end by this projected pier and the existing Old Mole and Waterport Wharf would be reclaimed, giving fine wharf accommodation. The estimated cost is about half a million sterling, and I understand that the question of raising this sum is now under consideration.

Thus provided Gibraltar would have before her a new future, naval and commercial, and the important strategic part she would play is most evident.

Most fortresses are purely defensive works, capable, however, of acting on the offensive provided their garrisons have the power of issuing from them and-based on the fortress-carrying the war into the enemy's territory, and this is equally true of land fortresses and sea fortresses.

A sea fortress or naval base which possesses the means of sheltering, repairing, and supplying a fleet ceases to be a purely defensive work and becomes of greatly increased importance. Its shipsenabled to hold the sea, to come and go at will-become an active force all the more free to assume a bold offensive by reason of the secure base in their rear. So long as Gibraltar has no dock, an insecure anchorage, and inferior coaling facilities, a perfect offensive is lost to her.

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She becomes a mere defensive work whose strength lies solely in her fortifications and her guns, incapable of action beyond their extreme range.

But fit her as a naval base and provide her with a fleet, and she loses her defensive attitude. In years to come it is to be hoped that this will be more fully recognised, and that a sea fortress and its fleet. may be considered as one, no more separated in interests than the troops at the base and those at the front of an army in the field.

And of all places fitted to demonstrate this extended rôle of a sea fortress few, if any, can surpass Gibraltar, which holds in many ways an unique position, as is remarked by Mahan when discussing the first of the six principal conditions affecting sea power-that of geographical position.

'The eastern and western French fleets,' he says, 'have only been able to unite after passing through the Straits of Gibraltar, in attempting which they have often risked and sometimes suffered loss.'

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Again, but for the loss of Gibraltar the position of Spain would have been closely analogous to that of England'-that is, for being well placed for controlling one of the great thoroughfares of the world's traffic. But Gibraltar not only deprived her of the control of the Straits, it also imposed an obstacle to the easy junction of the two divisions of her fleet.' As to the importance of the Mediterranean, both as a trade route and as a strategic water-way, history speaks so plainly and so often as to render further demonstration unnecessary. 'Circumstances,' says Mahan, 'have caused the Mediterranean Sea to play a greater part in the history of the world, both in a commercial and a military point of view, than any other sheet of water of the same size. Nation after nation has striven to control it, and the strife still goes on.'

I venture to think, and I am well supported by far greater opinions than my own, that so long as Great Britain aspires to play any part in the history of the world she must be foremost in that strife, and no one who has studied the question can fail to see the importance of Gibraltar to any nation who engages in it, most of all to us, the position of whose home shores and whose great Eastern interests demand the retention of some such strong naval post at the entrance to the Mediterranean.

There is another consideration to be taken into account which, I think, is sometimes overlooked. Were the opposite shore of the Straits in the hands of another first-class naval Power there would be two Gibraltars in place of one, two porters at the door of the Mediterranean, each acting in a different interest.

I do not see how it would be possible for the opposite shores of this narrow entry to remain for any length of time in different hands; one or other of the rival guardians must go to the wall.

The day is not, perhaps, far distant when the Morocco coast may cease to be une quantité négligeable in the world's strategical situation, and I am inclined to think that the theatre in which the balance of power in Europe may next be readjusted is that promising country (about which the most remarkable fact is that it should so long have remained a closed book) from which nearly 1,200 years ago came the man who invented' Gibraltar.

When that time comes the Rock that stands his everlasting monument' must inevitably play a prominent part in the question of the day, and once more justify its description as one of the chief conductors of the world's political lightning.

JOHN ADYE,

Major R.A. and Brevet Lt.-Colonel.

THE CHANGE OF OUR MUSICAL PITCH

THE announcement has recently been made that the Philharmonic Society intend to adopt a new standard of musical pitch. The importance of this decision will be understood at once when we recall the fact that the pitch adopted by the Philharmonic has for many years ruled the best orchestras in the country, besides serving as an official standard for all the military bands working under the Queen's regulations. The leading position of the Society makes it almost certain that the example thus set will be widely followed. Indeed, as I write the statement is being made that the Bach Choir, the Mottl, Levi, and Wagner concerts, the Nikisch and other forthcoming performances will all be conducted under the new standard. These -concerts will take place at Queen's Hall, and the organ there is already being altered in conformity with the decision of the Philharmonic. It seems, therefore, quite likely that we shall presently be in a state of musical chaos; for although the new standard may be universally regarded as theoretically the best, the practical difficulties in the way of its general adoption are so great that a very considerable time must elapse before our orchestras, military and other bands, concert and church organs can be brought to use the same pitch. Moreover, there is no certainty that the War Office will follow the Philharmonic in deciding to make a change of pitch. The question is thus not only urgent; it is national, nay, even of international importance. The spread of orchestral societies, the frequent combination of organ and orchestra at church festivals, &c., the increasing employment of continental artists by our leading conductors, the occasional engagements of military bandsmen in theatre orchestras— these and many other considerations point to the necessity of having a uniform standard of pitch, and of having it, too, not as the result of bit by bit reform, but with as much expedition as the circumstances will allow. The question is admittedly a very difficult one, and has already been the subject of more than one conference in England. It may be well, therefore, to look at it in some detail.

And, first of all, let us understand clearly what is meant by musical

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pitch. We know how musical sound is produced--by periodic vibrations of the atmosphere. Well, pitch is the pace at which these vibrations are made. The greater this pace (the more vibrations there are), the more acute the sound; the lesser (the fewer vibrations), the more grave. The C of a thirty-two feet organ pipe gives sixteen vibrations in a second, almost too low to be recognised as continuous; while, on the other hand, the shortest string of a harp or piano gives about 4,000 vibrations, too high for the ear to distinguish one from the other. Vibrations, it should be remarked, always estimated according to their number per second. Now, the pitch or number of vibrations due to any given sound can be ascertained, as the late Dr. Hullah put it, as easily and as certainly as the height of any given mountain or the distance between any two given places. There are at least five methods by which this may be done. The pitch of a tuning-fork may be tested by attaching a needle to one of its prongs, and allowing it to scratch wavy lines on smoked paper held just within its reach, and gently moved for so many seconds. It is easy to count the number of wavy lines thus made within the number of seconds. There is also an instrument called a siren, which registers the number of puffs of air per second by which its sounds are produced. The other methods are less popularly intelligible, but happily there is no need to detail them here. The point now to be noted is this, that for convenience of reference a certain tone, produced by so many vibrations in a second, has to be chosen by musicians as a standard of pitch. This tone is named after the letter C, and lies conveniently between the two extremes of high and low in the region of sound. It determines the pitch of all the other notes in a particular system of tuning, and gives the pitch of the instrument producing it. By it-with the aid of a tuning-fork or a pitchpipe-you can tune a piano in Paris and another in London on the same day and at the same hour to precisely the same pitch. But there is an initial difficulty about the selection of the standard. The French musician may differ with the English musician as to the exact number of vibrations which shall represent the given C. The former may say that 512 vibrations shall make his C; the latter may fix his standard at 540. In point of fact this is the disagreement which actually exists at present, and it is partly with the view of reconciling it that the proposal is being made to change our English pitch. Reason and common sense certainly suggest that there ought to be unanimity among the musicians of the world as to the number of vibrations which shall constitute a given note; and the want of such unanimity can only be regarded as a highly unsatisfactory circumstance, which ought to be removed with all possible speed.

It will be evident that the past history of musical pitch should be a determining factor with our musicians in the choice of a standard for present use. Bach and Handel, and the other great masters