The Sun.
London, England, 1838-09-10 00:00:00

THE IMAUM OF MUSCAT.

Public attention has lately been partially occupied by the
gracious and cordial reception of the Envoy Extraordinary of
the Imaum of Muscat. At Windsor her Majesty bestowed
upon Sayed Ben-Nesser every attention which delicacy or
hospitality could suggest.
Upon his visit to the yachts in Virginia Water, the Imaum's
colours were hoisted on them in compliment to him. It will
doubtless dwell in the recollection of our readers that this
Prince presented to his late Majesty a 74-gun ship, and some
horses of the purest breed of Arabia—the former may be con-
sidered as a most appropriate gift to a Ssilor King, and it
will be a subject of pride to our present Sovereign, that a
Monarch, from the remote East, should have so promptly
hastened to lay his congratulations at her feet. But who is
the Imaum of Muscat? Where the country over which he
rules? Upon both these points, until within the last few
m )n.hs, we were wholly ignorant; but, thanks to the enter-
prising and gallant spirit of our countrymen, we are no longer
left so. Lieut. Wellsted, of the Indian Navy, under the
sanction of the Indian Government, has lately explored the
later, given to the world its description, and placed before
us in glowing. colours the character of its enlightened and
lib ral Ruler. Lieut. Wellsted observes that " Sayyid Said is
fifty-two years of age, and has reigned twenty-seven years.
He possesses a tall and commanding figure ; a mild, yet strik-
ing c ustenance ; and an address and manner courtly, affsble,
and d goifitd. In his personal habits, the hiatus' has pre-
sery d the simplicity of his Bedouin 0 igin ; he is frugal, almost
a')stemiou,ness; he never wears jewels; his dress, except-
ing in the fineness of the materials, is not supe for to that of
the principal inhabitants; and he is attended on all oceasions
without pomp or ostentetioq,
" It is noticed by the Arabs, as an Instance of the warmth of
his affections, that he daily visits his mother, and pays in all
matters implicit obedience to her wishes. In his intercourse
with Eur, peens he has ever displayed the warmest attention
and kindness; probably, if any native Prince can be called a
friend to the English; it is the insane:l of Muscat ; and even
on .
one side, the political connexion with him appears to have
in mo:c sincerity than is generally supposed to exist."
Of his Government, Lieutenant Wellsted observes, " the
Government of this Prince is princ'pally marked by the ab-
sence of all oppressive imposts, all 14rbitr4ry punishinents, by
his affording retried attention to the merchants of any nation
who come t.) reside at :Muskat, and by The general tolera-
tion which is exteoded to all persuasions; while, on the
other hand, his probity, the impartiality and leniency
of his punishments, together Is the strict regard
he pays tp the geeeeal welfare qt his subjects, have ren-
dered' him as roach respected and admired by the town
Arabs, as his liberality and personal courage has endeared him
to the Bedouins. These splendid qualities have obtained for
him thr.aigl.out the East the distinction the Second
Omar.' "

The title of Imaum is ecclesiastical in Arabia; and is syno-
r,,,m.qns v.ith ii;mir el :4uiner.iiin, or Prince of the
Faithful. With the Popcs of ItJme it imp!ies both temporal
Lrid secular power.
Oman may be described as a narrow strip of land, of irre-
gular svid,h, never exceeding one hundred and fitly miles in
its broad,st part. It is bounded on the east by the Indian
Oceai, on thp~yei,;tensiTe cie,crts, awl extends in a
direct line from she islands cf MieGfira, in latitude 20 deg.
48 min., and longi:ude 58 deg. 56 ruin., neatly four hundred
miles, to Pis, cr Cape Nlussendom, in latitude 26 deg 24
min., and Imigirude 56 deg. 39 min., where it terminates in
the rural of an acute angle,
The iv-,s alaq extensive tos4ciiitions Gn the eastern
coast :if Africa, his head quarters there being the Island of
Z maibar.

We may conclude in the words of t! e Quarter'y Rev'ew,
that we have derived both information and amusement from
t,eutenant Well-ted's volumes.

IMPEACHMENT OF HONOUR.--The Irish gentle-
Tian who so unuremoniously introduced himself and a letter
Imo the het chamber of Miss Burdett Coutts, at the Queen's
H.itol, H irrogate; applied at the Petty Sessions on Wednes-
day, requesting that the Magistrates world bind over a pro-
fess'onal gentleman on a visit to that fashionable watering-
p!ac,,, to app .ar to answer c iminaliroceedings which he was
about to institute against bins in the Court of Queen's Bench,
for, as he said in the most elegant brogue, " a base impeach-
ment of his honour." After hearing the pro and con., the
Bench refused to interfere, upon which the Hibernian gentle-
man angrily exclaimed, " Thin, by my sowl, I'll make you
all answerable in the Court of Queen's Bench f" and left the
room in great auger.—Hull Advertiser.
HUDDERSFIELD TORYISNI.-TbiS Wal, SO cele-
brated for party spirit and Tory degradation, still seems des-
tined to a perpetuation of the srtem the result of bigotry and
ignorance. At this moment the town is placarded with a
notice of " four warehouses to be let"—and why ? Not that
they are unoccupied ; not that the t-nants arc !...ad payers ;
no, but because the landlord is a rampant Tory and an ignorant
bigot, and, as he says in his pious zeal, he will not have a d—d
Whig for a tenant I" This accords well with the late acts of
this honourable party.—Leeds Mercury.
At the Sheriff's Court, Worcester, on Monday, in
the cause of " Horton v. Jones," the following strange cir.
cumstances were related:—The plaint ff, who is a surgeon,
was called in by the defendant, Mr. Jones, of l3roomsgrove,
to attend a Mrs. Carrington, who was living in his house, and
supposed to be his wife. Mrs. Carrington was sometimes
called by others Mrs. Jones, and was alleged to have been
married to the defendant, although her former husband was
still alive. She lived in the defendant's house, in apartments
of her own, having a separate bed and sitting,-room, as well
as an attendant. . About four years ago she miscarried, when
the plaintiff's services were required as above stated, and a bill
of 201. was sent him. For the defendant several witnesses
proved that Mrs. Carrington had never lived with him as his
wife, and was never called by him Mrs. Jones up to the day of
her death ; after which event her relatives called on defendant
for her goods, which were almost all delivered up to them.
The assessor, in summing up the case, put it to the Jury whe-
ther the deceased was either wife or mistress, or only a lodger.
If either of the former, he was liable for the debt incurred..
—Verdict for the plaintiff.

• -
WOODEN PAVENIENT.—A deputation from the
Inhabitants of Oxford-greet having waited upon the Maryle-
bone vestry on Saturday last, and presented a memorial, the
object of which was to obtain the sanction of that vestry to the
trial of an experiment as to paving Oxford-street with wooden
blocks ; a discussion ensued, which, on a division, terminated
in their adoption of the plan. A part of Oxford-street will be
fortwith paved with wood, by way of experiment. It ill
thought that six. months gill be sufficient to test the efficacy
of this mode of paving,