A Tenant Moves Out

Quarrels between old friends are the bitterest. Malta's people have always welcomed and admired the British. It was the Maltese who asked to be taken over by the Crown in the early 1800s, and every one of them, from the Roman Catholic Archbishop on down, now swears allegiance to the "Queen of Malta." For their part, the British have abundant fondness for the hardy, dark-skinned islanders who proved devoted allies through two world wars. Last week the friends were embroiled in an angry spat that threatens to end their long relationship.

Britain has known for some time that her former colony, now an independent Commonwealth nation, no longer has much strategic significance. Malta's value as a fixed aircraft carrier, situated in the Mediterranean 58 miles south of Sicily, has declined ever since the advent of missiles and long-range jets. As part of their general pullback, the British announced that they plan to remove fully two-thirds of their Malta garrison --or about 2,900 troops--by 1971. Shocked at this desertion, the Maltese argued that the loss of their chief source of income would bring economic ruin, boosting unemployment by nearly 20%. Striking back with fury, they prepared legislation last week to evict the British from the island.

Powerful Conquerors. The 316,000 Maltese have good reason for panic. Historically, they have largely relied on the patronage of their powerful conquerors. Among them were the Phoenicians, who sailed ashore about 1400 B.C., the Carthaginians, the Romans and the French. The island has no oil or other resources, no agriculture and little industry. Thus, without a military base Malta is not much more than a legacy of ancient glories. To survive, it imports six times what it exports, and can pay for it only with the pounds brought by British sailors.

Malta, with its companion islands of Gozo and Comino, remains as friendly to outsiders as when, in A.D. 60, St. Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked with a few adherents and found that "the barbarous people showed them no little kindness." Today, in the capital of Valletta, which was founded by the Knights of Malta to commemorate their victory over an invading Ottoman fleet, sailors find a paradise of bars, cabarets and girls. In its "fiveyear plan," the island has already built a gambling casino, and next year both a Sheraton and a Hilton hotel will rise over Malta's limestone walls and domed churches.

In their dispute with the British, the Maltese boldly cut off duty-free oil supplies to the R.A.F. and refused to unload military ships or fill their boilers. For the British, the dispute has aroused a sharp awareness of a debt owed to the Maltese for past service. But the Maltese have scorned Britain's offer to send a team of top industrialists to advise the island on improving its economy. The British agreed at week's end to talk about the terms of the withdrawal, but the Maltese had already learned a new history lesson: they must either offer their hospitality to another power or find some way of standing on their own feet.

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