Coruña has one of the best harbours in Europe, and since the remotest times this town has been considered one of the principal strongholds of the Peninsula; its present fortifications are, it is true, very antiquated, but there are projects on foot for once more converting it into a stronghold of the first order. The town was fortified for the first time in the reign of Henry III., but it was not till 1602 that the work of strengthening it was seriously undertaken. The key to the port is the fort of San Anton, on a small and rocky island which we passed at the mouth of the harbour; but this fort, which was built in 1779, is now little more than a ruin.
The most interesting church in Coruña is that of the _Colegiata de Santa Maria del Campo_. It is a very small Gothic edifice with three naves. An inscription on a column near the right pulpit bears the date Era 1340, which is equivalent to the year 1302. The parish church of St. James (Santiago) is also Gothic, but does not date farther back than the sixteenth century. The largest church in the town is that of St. George; the original one was rebuilt after Sir Francis Drake’s visit, but the present one is the conventual church of the suppressed convent of St. Augustine.
Coruña possesses a good Public Library, containing four thousand volumes, with rooms devoted to Physical Science, Chemistry, and Natural History. There is also a Meteorological Observatory, where candidates for the post of pilot are examined.
An Agricultural Syndicate--The only flourishing industry--The flower of Galicia’s youth--Monopolisation and subdivision of the land--The lesser evil--The Argentine Republic--Free passages to Chili and Valparaiso--Every peasant a proprietor--Socialism rare in Galicia--Causes of Spanish indolence--Bad government--Railways before roads--Nomadic instinct derived from Celtic ancestors--Reputed stupidity of Gallegans--A story--Fields worked by women--Usury--Need of wholesome literature--The potato disease--Cattle breeding--Mules--The long rains encourage idleness--Demand for factories--No wine-making industry--Failde suggests a solution to the problem of emigration
During my stay in Coruña I read an article in one of the local papers[193] on a new Agricultural Syndicate that was being formed there with the object of improving the methods of agriculture employed by the peasants, and of teaching the ignorant how to get more profit out of their soil; in short, with the object of making the people happier and more prosperous upon their own little farms, and putting an end to “the bleeding of that terrible wound that is exhausting Galicia”--emigration. The writer of the article pointed out that the priests did no good by going round to the villages and telling the people to work harder; what was wanted was education, a practical training, and an intelligent appreciation of the possibilities of their wonderfully fertile soil.