The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-01 00:00:00

THE TAKING OF ACRE.

The following letter was written by an officer on board
the Thunderer, immediately after the bombardment of
St. Jean d'Acre:—

" Acre, Thunderer, Nov. 4, 1840.

" Before this arrives, you will probably hear of the be-
sieging of Acre. We attacked it yesterday, and the Ad-
miral and six other line-of-battle ship:, besides five
or six frigates, four steamer?, and the Turkish Admiral,
were engaged. We formed into two division's, and
attacked en both sides of the sea batteries. The Com-
modore led in, followed by the Admiral, Thunderer,
Bellerophon, and Revenge, and anchored in line oppo-
site the front battery. We went in line in two
dii:isions as above stated, and each ship opened fire as
it took up its position, the batteries returning our tire
very briskly. The sight of the ship going in to engage
and taking up their positions under the heavy fire of the
I(3tteries was the moat magnificent sight I ever witnessed.
lie line of fortifications mounted eighty 24 and 32 poun-
ders, besides twenty or thirty 13 and li inch mortars. The
ships poured in their broadsides in the most terrific man.
ner. It was one continued roar of guns, and the smoke
darkened the atmosphere. The shot from the batteries
was flying about the Thunderer in every direction, but,
strange to say, only one shot struck us, and not a man was
either killed or wounded. Some two or three guns kept
continually firing on the Thunderer, hut nearly every shot
went between our foremast and mainmast, without taking
efEct.
We commenced the action about two o'clock, and
about four the most terrific explosinn that could be ima-
gined took place on shore. One of their magazines,
con-
taining 500 barrels of
,potw.deerribhloTev
of whom
boovmer
vissohritc,hbtejd I
stationed 2,000 FOldier , la

in the ruins, which covered a space of one acre. Many 1
women and children were also killed by the explosion. By I
six o'clock we drove them from all their guns, except two
or tbree. At sunset we ceased firing, and the batteries
also stopped their fire. We then hauled off into deep
water for the night. At twelve o'clock a boat came off from
the shore to say that the troops were evacuating the town,
and a force was immediately sent ashore and possession
taken, scarcely a shot having been fired on landing.
November went on shore yesterday to see the
effects of our shot, and I could hardly believe that such
destruction could have been made in so short a period I
walked along the ramparts and observed the dead bodies
lying by the guns, some with their heads off, and others
with part of their bodies shot away. Same of the guns
were dismounted, and others were rendered useless by the
breastwork falling upon them. I saw one 84-pounder
burst, and lying in two halves. Every place seems to have
experienced the effects of our shot; but the runs
of the magazine were the most dreadful sight that the
mind could imagine. The Turks. asd the Egyptians in
the Turkish service, were busy pulling the dead badics
fee= the rubbish, and possessing themselves of every
article of clothing which better suited their taste
than their own. One cannot walk here without treading
upon the dead bodies, and everywhere amongst the rub-
bish you observe hands and feet exposed, the rest of the
body being hid by the ruins. The cattle have shared the
same fate as their owners, and are to be seen lying dead
in every street. We found in the town 200 or 300 brass
pieces of cannon, 50 or 60 mortars, and I de not know how
many iron ones; but there were 123 mounted on the sea
batteries, from 24 to 84-pounders. The town is filled
with store and ammunition. The largest magazine con-
tains 8,000 barrels of powder, and a very large quantity
of shot and shells. The mountaineers have • brought in
3,000 prisoners, and three Frenchmen amongst them.
We sail to-night for Bevrout with prisoners.
The Franlorlbrt Journal- of the 27th ult. publishes the
report addressed by Admiral Bmdiera to the Austrian In-
ternuncio at Constantinople, cortaicing a bulletin dated St.
Jean d'Acre, Nov. 4. This contains several passages else-
culling the co-operation of the Turks and Austrians, which
wr-re totally omitted in the detals given by the Malta
Times :

" I passed Selda ott the I,t of November in the cor-
vette Lipsia, and in the evaning of the same day I was
cruising off St. Jeae d'Acre, where I found a frigate
and four English steamers, waich were firing heavy
shots into the fortrcsss. On the 2d we anchored out of
reach of their fire from the fortress, and I had a low-,
conterence with Admiral Stopford on the attack which
was to take place on the following. morning. With the
Medea and the Guerricre we passed by the southern front,
and cast anchor at the western extremity. The
depth of the water (TT:bled me to let go my anchor
above the pert, when I opened my fire The corvette
Lipsia cast anchor a little further, as the sand banks did
not allow her to take up a better position. In less than an
hour the two fr)gate, supported by the Lipsia as far as
she was able, silenced sixteen cannon. This morning, at
4 a.m., the Turkisit Admiral ( Walker) announced to his
Imperial Highness the Archduke, who was near him, that
1,500 Egyptians bad left the place, that the gates of the
place were open, and that he wished to enter the place
ith 300 men, but that thinking this detachment too
small he wished for a reinforcement. Count Nugent,
who served as a volunteer in the Ottoman army,
bearing that the Egyptians had left the place, entered alone
the fortress, which he found totally abandoned. Count
Nugent. told this to his Imperial Highness the ArchdukT,
who directly sent one of his officers to communicate
to us this important news. This officer found me at a
little distance with the Medea, which had left Admiral
Stopford's vessel. As soon as I received the news I
ordered the Medea to cast anchor. I sent all her crew
ashore, as well as that of the Lipsia, which I accompa-
nied with the Lieutenavit of frigate Baron de Bourgu-
ignon, aide-de-camp of the squadron, and my own
aide-de-camp. On landing I found some Turkish
troops, as well as the Archduke, who occupied the
citadel with his troops. Shortly after some Erglith
detachments arrived, which occupied the citadel with
three thousand Turks and one thousand of our troops ;
I shall leave them as long as necessary. English, Austrians,
and Turks have rivalled each other in courage.
Our fire was kept up without ceasing, and was
very well directed, whilst the enemy kept on
tiring too high. His Imperial Highness the Archduke
showed great courage, and was the first to enter the citadel
after the Count Nugent. Colonel Lebeltzern also showed
great courage in assisting his august Prince. All the
officers of the Medea, the Guerriere, and the Lipsia
showed the greatest enthusiasm and bravery. We lost but
two men, common sailors. The two frigates were much
cut about the rigging, and will require repairs. The Me-
dea had three bullets and the Guerriere one in their hulls.
The Polish engineer, Schultz, was taken prisoner, wounded
in the fortress. He has just been taken on beard the
English vessel He has been for several years in the ser-
vice of the Riche. It was he who built the large fortress
of Kiblep Bazag, and has been for the last eight months at
St. Jean d'Acre, to finish the fortifications of that place."
" Admiral Stopford addressed ott the sth the following
letter to Admiral Bandiera : . . .

-----
" ' After the brilliant victory which has just been
achieved by the ships of her Britannic Majesty-, in concert
with the squadron under your command, I have much plea-
sure in availing myself of the first moment of tranquillity
to express my sincere gratitude for the useful services
rendered by the Austrian marines whom you commanded
during the attack on St. Jean d'Acrc. I invite you to
make known my sentiments to his Imperial Highness the
Archduke, as well as to all the officers and crews of the
Austrian squadron.'"

THE FRENCH. MINISTRY.

(From a Correspondent in London )

. . ,
The vote upon, the address of the Chamber of Depu-
ties is not doublet:ll—the Ministry will havie the majority;
but those who ddipairsf overthrowing it, in this circum-
stance, have alr*adyliiteir batteries rely to open the
breach subsequeittly n another:point, aid to succeed in
dislocating it. I.An: iptiigue is organize&—is ready; and
the future conedirocirhave beforcliazli diiided the spoils.
The opinion oflhe., itlost,prefottnsk and vilest experienced
politicians of tht (litinber;,ist, abac4lo.4cnistry will not
resist this attac ' but ;Rust ot.,neeeslo7 4ttsolve, and re-
constitute itself fter .tke",v,ote Liti.isittAitei.,address. The
victim that wil 'l?4itaitiolaie4 is•;;SI. -Guizot. M.
1
Duchatel will; ok 'a .iiipplgetigi.itacrifice. The
authors of therlf,.:.tiW • daft 'etWritors, are the
centre gauche it or M. :Trif4„s; hol*. have de-
cided upon veneeati*igninst die Minder for Foreign 1
Affairs, whom Ith4:.aecuse of . bavirig4 betrayed, as
Ambassador, hiso Rriasident of the Coital!, and his an-
cient friend of tlieroalition. The dangei, of M. Guizot
is so much the greer, as his enemies are not only ani •
mated by hatredotkitt arc directed principally by ambition,
by the desire oQ Vice, by the thirst to copy at once those
honours which tlireliiiie4rn to seti elude their grasp for too
long a time. 'Mc f ..ib .. aid' las. Thiers. understand per-
fectly, that after 71 '..;e•st smch tiliqrremier Mars has
burnt its ships, and iitttiolonheei any dance of returning
to power, at least dfii-lig the present King's life. Now,
there are friendshie:Miit cannot wait, and which were al-
ready somewhat cooled with respect to M. Thiers. The
ex- President of the. Council, after his lasi victory, had
not paid his troops. Some leaders only' had been re-
compensed ; and that press itselc whose artillery had al-
ways thundered so terribly .and sq incessanily against the
St. Jean d'Acre of the Conservatiites—that Press bad
in some measure received nothing but promises, or, at
the most, but trifling instalments. Thus many defer.
Lions are preparing among the gene aux de tecritoire.
In short., propositions have been made by an important
section of the centre gauche to the friends of M. Mole,
and these propositions have also been accepted. It is not
without some repugnance that the ancient President of the
Council of the 15:h of April consents to hold only a se-
condary rank in the new Cabinet, but be resolved to do
so at last, principally with the desire of seeing his friend
M. Delamsrtine enter the Cabinet with him as Minister of
the Interior. It is almost certain that MM. Soult, Hu-
mann, Martin (du Nord), Cunin Gridaine. Villemain, and
Duperre will consent to the proposed modification. An
important office will be offered to M. de Salvandy. They
will attempt to rally, although that is not absolutely indis.
pensable, MM. Passy and Liupin, whose promise they
have not yet received. The latter holds M. Thiers in
horror, and is not much better disposed towards M.
Guizot ; he will co-operate willingly to the success of a
conspiracy whose end is -to devote both of their. to a po-
litical nonentity.
Two days before any French journal spoke of the for-
mation of the Cabinet of the 29:h of October we gave a
complete list of it, such as it exists now, with the excep-
tion of one name. We believe we can now give, with the
same certainty, the list of the new Ministry, which will be
in existence in three weeks :
President of the Council and Minister of War, M. Soult.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Mole.
Minister of Justice, M. Martin (du Nord).
Minister of Finance, M. Humann (unless he will volun-
airily retire and be replaced by AI. Passy.)
Minister of Interior, M. Delamartine.
Minister of Marine, M. Duperre.
Minister of Commerce, M. Cunin Gridaine.
Minister of Public Works, M. Dufaure.
Minister of Public Instruction, M. Villemain.
There will probably be created a Ministry of Public
Worship for M. Gasparie, Peer of France.
The intention of M. Mole is to reappoint M. Guizot
Ambassador to London, and it is thought that the latter
will lend himself with a good grace to this arrangement,
if he does not succeed in countermining this intrigue cf the
centre gauche, and gain over to his cause sonic of the
chiefs of the plot, and thus sow disunion in the ranks of the
conspirators.
The King, the Chamber of Peers, and all the important
political men of the Chambers, have full confidence in the
energy of M. Guizot, and would willingly see him succeed
in maintain:rig him in office ; but in order not to return
again into a chaos, they will. in case of necessity, sacri:
flee a noble victim, and M. Thiers will be thus revenger
on his antagonist, in awaiting the day when he can re-
venge himself on the dynasty.—Morning Paper.

PEACE MEETING.—On Tuesday evening last
a public meeting was held in the Town-hall, S.varvica,
Matthew Moggridge, Esq., Mayor, in the chair. The
ineetiog was inoq nurrwrously and respectably attended,
being the largest witnes.,,ed in Swansea for several years.
The large hail tv,s nearly filled. The prec-edings were
conducted with the grehtcst order and regularity. The
Mayor commenced the business of the meeting by reading
the following requisition :—" We, the undersigned, re-
spec•fully solicit that you will call a public meeting, upon
an early day, for the purpose of expressing our sense of
the importance of preserving a friendly connexion with
France, as regards the best interests of both countries;
and for agreeing on such rcsoluthns, and address or ad-
dresses, as shall appear to such meeting desirable." Some
resolutions, in consonnance with the spirit of the requisi-
tion, were adopted without opposition. An address to her
Majesty the Queen, also deprecating war, was unanimously
voted, Nt the suggestion of Mr. .1. U. Vivian, M.P., an
address to the King of the French, proposed by the Rev.
Mr. Thompson, was given up as an injudicious novelty.
Most of the speakers were clergymen.

PRINCE ALBERT'S HUSSARS.

Horse Guards, Nov. 26, 1840

Sir,—l have received and submitted to the General
Commanding-in-Chief your letter of the present date,
wherein you acknowledge yourself to be the writer of the
letter which appeared in the Times Newspaper of the 16th
inst , and to which my letter of yesterday's date related.
In reference to that acknowledgment I have it in com-
mand to direct your serious attention to the accompanying
General Order of the sth of April, 1819, issued by com-
mand of his late Royal Highness the Dukc of York, for the
information and guidance of the officers of the army.
I am further commanded to remind you. that by writing
the letter in question, you have directly violated the prin-
ciple so clearly and forcibly laid down in that General
Order, and have thereby exposed yourself to the displea-
sure of your Sovereign.
Lord Hill has not overlooked the circumstance that your
letter was written with the avowed object of denying the
correctness of a statement which had been made respect-
ing you in a letter published under the signature of
''' Miles," in a Newspaper. His Lordship would have
fully understood, that so far as his authority is concerned,
he concedes to you the right, in its most extended and
liberal sense, of defending yourself against any statement
in a public Journal which you might think injurious to your
public or private character ; but Lord Hill cannot too
strongly condemn the mariner in which on the present
occasion you have exercised that right. The highly offen-
sive and insulting terms in which you have aisailed your
late commanding officer, for the manifest purpose of pro-
voking him to a hostile collision with you, would, in any
case, have been wholly unjustifiable ; but when Lord Hitt
adverts to the circumstance of your having left Prince Al-
beit's Hussars without, to his recollection, having ever
made objection to, or preferred complaint against, any part
of Lord Cardigan's behaviour towards you while you were
flieie elapsed
ptosehdav since
allayed
you
quitted serving under his orders in that regiment, and to the fur.
they
the circumstanceregimentof am periodore
than having
su
any feeling of irritation which may have been excited in
your breast during your regimental connection with Lord
Cardigan, the Ocni ral Commanding-in-Chief is con-
strained to say that he can find no pretext or excuse for
your conduct.
Lord Hill further considers that your offence is aggra-
vated by the rank which you hz.ld in her Majesty's ser-
vice, and which ought to hava' induced you cautiously to
abstain from setting so injurious an examp!e to other
officers. . .

You must be awaro that the consequence of so gross
an act of military insubordination would, in all probability,
have been the forfeiture of your commission by the award
of a general Court-martial, had you been amenable to the
provisions of the Mutiny Act; and you will observe, that
in the case which occasioned the General Order before re-
ferred to, an offence, of a similar character, committed by
officers on half-pay, was visited by removal from the
service.

It is in the full confidence that you will, on reflection,
be deeply sensible of the great impropriety of your con-
duct that Lord Hill abstains, in the present instance, from
proposing► the adoption of an extreme course towards you ;
but his Loidship feels that his duty to the army, its dini-
pline, and its general interest, imperatively requires that he
should mark y our conduct with the most severe censure : and
I am to remind you, that any repetition of it would afford
the most cons incing evidence of your unfitness, in the ex-
ercise of military authority, to uphold the discipline and
maintain the subordination which are essential to the cha-
racter and efficiency of the army.—l have, &c.,
JOHN M ACDONALD, Adjutant-General.
Major L. Morse Cooper, half pay, unattached.