CO129-406 - Public Offices - 1913 — Page 154

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this project and he had been directed to make every exertion

to overcome Moorish prejudice against such an undertaking.

No further correspondence appears to have taken

lace on the subject until April 1861 when Mr. Draamond

Hay reported that the Sultan of Morocco was about to

bullu a Lighthouse on Cape Spartel apparently at the in-

Mr. Drummond Hay stigation of the Spanish Goverment.

thought it advisable, however, to recommend that the

Moorish Government sho la not grant to the Spanish

Government the site upon which the Lighthouse was to be

built, nor the privilege of employing solely Spanish

Subjects to attend upon the Light. His reason for making

this suggestion was that he thought it possible, If

the Lighthouse were to become the monopoly of any par-

ticular Government it ght be made use of ab

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Signal Station to our disadvantage in case of a var in

which Great Britain was compelled to take an active

part.

After consulting the Aamiralty Mr. D. Hay Was

informed that there could be no question of the value

to general navigation of a Light. on that Cape; and that

His 'jesty's Government considered 10 to be highly

creditable to the Moorish Government that they should

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propuse to place such a Light at Cape Spartel.

Her Majesty's Government took it as a matter of

course that the management of the Lighthouse would

rest in the hands of the Moorish Govermen and they

therefore thought it desirable to impress upon that

Government the necessly of the light being lighted

every night and being maintained in good order.

Her "ujesty's Government considered it to te

highly important that the Light in question should

belong to the Moorish Government.

Mr. Drummond Hay communicated the substance

of Lord J. Russell's despatch to the Moorish Govern-

ment who informed him that the French: Government,

as well as the Spanish Government had requested the

Sultan to erect a lighthouse on Cape Spartel and that

the former Goverment had offered the services of an

Engineer to superintend the building of the Lighthouse

and that the offer had been accepted.

Mr. Drummond Huy warned the Moorish Government

aguinst ud..tting the right of any Foreign Government

to assume the sole control of the Lighthouse. The

propose

Burgash