The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-17 00:00:00

M O R O C C 0.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAM.)

SOUTHAMPTON, APRIL 17.

The Ellora, which arrived here this morning
from Gibraltar, brings the following detailed ac-
count of the events which have recently taken place
in the vicinity of Dar-el. Baioar Easahlanca :
In the hostilities that have been for some time
carried on between the tribes there are ranged on
one side the three tribes of Zee3 da, Senate, and
Wolidzian, and on the other the tribe Medioona.
The first-named tribes are under the orders of Ben-
niasheesh. One account says that the cause of hos-
tilities was the refusal of the Medioona tribe to pay
the heavy contribution imposed on them by the
Sultan. Whether this were so, or whether the
fighting originated in a private quarrel amongst
the tribes, it is certain that now the Medioonese
are treated as enemies in revolt against the
Sultan's authority, and the three tribes fight-
ing against them have the Sultan's warrant
for their act, his officer Boabeed Sherghee,who was
sent down to arrange the matter, being in the camp
and acting in concert with their united tribes under
Benmasheesh. To understand the position of the
inhabitants of Dar•el-Baida it must be mentioned
that the Medioona tribe, being in the immediate
vicinity of the town, has furnished the chief portion
of its Moorish inhabitants. The sympathies of these
are naturally strongly excited in behalf of their
tribe, which has been maintaining a contest against
odds, and has been driven under the very walla of
the town. On March 28 a contest took place just
outside the walls. The movements on both sides
could be seen from the flat roofed houses. About
1,200 were engaged on this occasion, and the Medi-
oona tribes succeeded in driving off their assailants.
On the 30th the inhabitants of Dar-el-Baida were
again alarmed by seeing all the neighbouring hills
covered with horsemen clustered as thick
as bees. The poor Medioonese were given
up as lost, as it seemed impossible that
they could resist the host mustered against them.
The attack was made with great fury. The excite-
ment in the town was at the highest pitch. The
native inhabitants, from the cause we have men-
tioned, are all sympathisers with the Medioonese,
and men and women crowded the walls cheering on
their tribe and waving handkerchiefs and flags.
The field of battle must have presented a singu-
lar appearance; the wives of the persecuted tribe
followed their husbands up to the enemy, with their
babies slung over their backs, and beating tom-toms
to keep the warlike fury of their husbands at the
proper point of excitement. The belief that the
Medionese must be overpowered became so general
that their friends inside got pickaxes, and were
preparing to make a hole in the wall on the side
where the battle raged, in order to let in the fugi-
tives one by one without the danger of their pur-
suers following and taking the town by a rush.
The prospect of having 2,000 or 3,000 wild Arabs
in the town, even if their pursuers were kept out
and the fight were not renewed in the
streets, degenerating into indiscriminate plun-
der and bloodshed, was sufficiently alarm-
ing, but fortunately the repeated cavalry
charges were successfully resisted, and the
day ended by the assailants retreating to the hills.
As each succeeding attack seemed to press the
Medioonese more severely, and the danger of the
town was only averted for the time, but not re-
moved, the British Vice-Consul, Mr. Wooldridge,
volunteered to seek an interview with the Sultan's
officer, Boabeeb, and urge him to post-
pone all further proceedings against the
offending tribe until the result of a representation
to the Sultan should be known. A letter was
accordingly despatched to Boabeeb appointing a
place of meeting at a small river between the two
hostile camps, and on the 31st at six in the morning
the Vice-Consul proceeded to the spot under an
escort of four soldiers provided by the Kaid. The
conference was a hurried one, and Lot unattended
by danger, for when Boabeeb, with 30
cavalry, was seen descending to the place
of meeting, the Medioonese construing the
movement into a hostile one, sent out a body of
cavalry to meet him. Boabeeb therefore halted at
some distance from the place of meeting, and des-
patched a soldier to enquire the object of the party
which had followed the Vice Consul.
The Medioona cavalry consented to retire out of
range, but the hostile Arabs remained in sight of each
other, and Haggi Boabeeb expressed his fears
that unless the conference were a short one he
should not be able to restrain the Wolidzean from
coming on. On the return of the British Vice-
Consul to the town, the representatives of the other
European Powers hastened to learn the result of
the interview. It was understood that Boa-
beeb had declined at first to grant any
delay in executing the orders of the Sultan to chas-
tise the Medioona, but upon its being urged upon
him that he was not authorised, in the execution of
those orders, to endanger the safety of one of the
Sultan's towns and the lives and property of the
Christians and Europeans in it, thereby embroiling
his master with foreign Powers, and that he should
delay operations till further orders from the Sul-
tan, Boabeeb said he would take time to consider
and consult with Benniasheesh, and send in the
reply in the afternoon. The reply was duly re-
ceived and made known to the Europeans in Dar-
el-Baida. It was from Benniasheesh, whose autho-
rity appears to be superior to that of Boabeeb, and
was as follows :

" The Sultan has given me orders to slay, chase,
exterminate, and eat up the Medioonese ; and I will
slay, chase, exterminate, and eat up the Medioonese
until none remain, no matter what are the conse-
quences. I will not stop until I receive counter
orders from the Sultan."

Up to April 4 no further attack had been made,
but it was as,.erted that Benniasheesh was collecting
his forces for another fight. A formal protest by the
consuls had been sent to him, and his reply had been
received. He had offered to suspend hostilities on
certain conditions, which the consuls could not accept.
In the meantime representations have been made to
Sir John Hay, who is now at Morocco, transacting
business with the Sultan, and his intervention will
no doubt lead to the requisite orders being sent
to respect the safety of Dar-el-Baida. Prac-
tically the same object has been already
attained by the presence of ber Majesty's steam
sloop Trident, and probably other vessels of war,
from which men would be landed in case of neces-
sity to man the walls and keep out the barbarous
tribes.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

---
HOUSE OF LORDS--This Evening.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the woolsack at
the usual hour.
Viscount GAGE presented a petition in favour of legality
of the marriage with a deceused wife s sister.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLY. presented. a petition
from Walsall, against the sale of intoxicating liquors on
Sunday.

BUSINESS.TEant E e x tnsion Railway,
Stirling Estatre,RßTlLAk and H
Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway, toad the Leeds
laidEa sGecnontdEtiiime.
THRONE .
Gas bills were read
The Earl of MALMESBURY called attention to a
statement which appeared in the papers of that m( rning,
relative to the statement of Earl Russell last night with
respect to the throne of Greece. The papers in question
stated that the answer i f Earl Russell was, that the King
of Denmark had consented, that Prince Christian and
Prince William had al.o consented, and that the British
Government had no objection to the selection of
prince William to fill the vacant throne of Greece,
and that he (Earl Russell) had obtained the consent
of the King of Denmark to such an arrangement before he
communicated with the Greek Government. What he