The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

THE PRESS, SEP'TVIVI3ER 12,1857.

found in its capital. Its frontiers are unceasingly
threatened by tribes not yet conquered, or whose sub •
mission is at least very doubtful. The state of
affairs is one neither of peace nor of war, but of that
unsettled nature as calls for some such institution
as the Arabian Bureaux, the object of which is the
surveillance and protection of the native administra-
tive authorities acting in the name of France. Thus,
a Chef du Bureau Arabe is, speaking in a military
sense, a sort of Chief of the Staff, attached to an ad-
ministrative Aga; but speaking in a civil sense, a
species of Secretary• General whose office is to advise
the Aga, to give validity to his acts, and to render an
account of them to the French authorities. The
institution, therefore, is praiseworthy in its objects,
and important in its results.
A chief of an Arab bureau has, no doubt, a con-
siderable authority. He has the right of investing
himself with all the prerogatives of power, and this
right is indispensable in a country which is beyond
the limits of the regular jurisdiction of the capital.
How, for instance, could we reasonably limit the
powers of an administrator on the frontiers of the
colony, near, we may suppose, to Morocco?
Such a Chef de Bureau Arabe has but a moderate
military force at his disposal. He is exposed to
sudden hostile attacks, no less than to the deep-laid
treachery of the half-conquered tribes which sur-
round his post. We cannot, in such circumstances,
put a limit to his administrative power, for, if we
did, we should cripple him at times when he is at the
mercy of accidents, and under the pressure of ne-
cessity.
Do not let me, however, be misunderstood. I
an not, in taking up the defence of the Arab
Bureaux as an institution, meaning to sad a single
word in favour of the guilty men who have just been
condemned by the Cour d'Assises of Oran. D'Oineau,
the principal culprit, was criminal, in that he ex-
ceeded his powers, and was guilty of the most
detestable exactions, ordered executions without any
legal excuse, and, to crown all, caused the assassi-
nation of an Aga, who could have denounced his
crimes to the French authorities. But that is no
reason to condemn :he Arab Bureaux as an insti-
tution, and all the less that, speaking generally,
they have afforded the most urgent and indispensa-
ble aid to colonisation, both by the mixed civil and
military character of their functions, and by the
material aid which they have always promptly given
where required. Still, after several years of action,
this institution needs reform. The Imperial Govern-
ment, therefore, is seriously occupied with the ques-
tion, and I know from undoubted sources that the
Council of State is preparing legislative measures

Ito be presented to the Chambers, which will effect
the necessary improvements in these Arab
Bureaux, as well in the interests of the native popula-
tion as in that of the governing country.
Some short time since M. Oscar de Valke, Advo-
cate-General to the Imperial Court of Paris, pub-
'fished a pamphlet, headed " Les Manieurs d'Argent"
(money-dealers). M. Mires, who has made a sudden
and large fortune in successful operations, has taken
up the defence of the great speculators, and has
written a long letter in reply in the Constitutionnel,
in which he endeavours to show that present specu-
lations can in no way be compared to schemes, as those
of Law in 1717. This letter has pleased the Bulls and
Bears of the Stock-Exchange, but the reflecting part
of the community differ greatly with M. Mires.
They say that it cannot be denied that the fury for
speculations is as great and as injurious in 1857 as
it was in 1717 ; that these speculations have engen-
dered a most ruinous tastefor luxuries of all descrip-
tions, equal if not superior to that of the days of the
Regent d'Orleans, and that, if not stooped, will have
the same disastrous result. M. Mires may group
figures on fistures ; he will' not be able to prove the
advantages of uncontrolled speculations, or that it
is of advantage to the country that such men as him-
self have had the ability to acquire in a short time
colossal fortunes. The pamphlet of the Advocate•
General will do much good, and it is hoped will save
many families from ruin.

It is with pleasure I can record the universal sym-
path) throughout France for the sufferers in India.
Subscriptions are about to be opened in every de-
partment, and you may anticipate to receive, ere
long, excellent remittances.

The section of the railway from Niortz to La Ro-
chelle and Rochefort was opened to the public on
Monday last. The inauguration was conducted with
great pomp in the presence of M. Baroche, President
of the Council of State. The Bishop of La Rochelle
made a most excellent speech on the occasion, in
which he said

A monk of the thirteenth century wrote the following
most extraordinary lines:—" An instrument can be made
by which a single man might be enabled to conduct a
great vessel with greater ease than is now done with
oars. Waggons could be constructed which, without the
aid of animal force, could run with an incalculable im-
petuosity keurrir than' possent fieri ut sine animali mure•
antur cum impetu inestimabile,")
An electric telegraphic line is now completed
between Madrid and Bacelona. These two junior-