The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-30 00:00:00

for Mr. Tyler, then President, and with the simpli-
city of a gudgeon he swallowed it. But mark the
result. No sooner had the fraud accomplished its
intended object than thf conspirators admitted it to
be a fraud, and triumphed in its success. Mr.
Houston, a senator of the United States, from Texas,
published a letter stating the facts, and acknow-
ledging himself a principal actor in the transaction.
Now, this affair is of such recent date that none
can have forgotten it. What has once happened may
happen again. I now call the attention of the British
people to this subject, because I fear ultimately it may
tend to interrupt the present harmony between Great
Britain and the United States, because I think it is
the design of a party here to involve these two nations
in a conflict of arms, and because I know the enemies
of peace are not scrupulous as to the means which
they will use to accomplish their design.
There has ever been a party in this country hostile
to the British Government ; but that party originally
had its existence in the revolutionary war, and sub-
sequently was nurtured by the impressment of Ameri-
can seamen, and other vexatious difficulties, long since
adjusted between the high contracting parties. The
war party to which I now refer is of a more recent
date, having its origin in causes far more selfish, and
to some extent reckless and unprincipled.
The active partizans of this new faction are the
late prime movers and chieftains of the 54 deg. 40
min. Oregon men. Their object, and the means by
which it was to be accomplished, are well understood
on both sides of the Atlantic. Finding themselves
discomfited in the acquisition of Oregon, they sought
a new, but not more honourable:channel to wealth and
notoriety. In circles presumed to be well-informed
on this subject it is whispered and believed that the
defeat in Oregon in some measure produced, certainly
promoted, the Mexican war. In truth, it is said that
the declaration " that war between Mexico and
the United States existed" was made to pacify, if not
satisfy, the advocates of 54 deg. 40 min., as it opened
a new channel "for enterprising young men." On
this subject something may hereafter be said. At
present it is proper to remark that some truly patriotic
citizens, from the purest motives, but under a mis-
taken view of the question, are sounding the idle
rumour to which I have adverted.

To these 54 deg. 40 min. men are to be added a
number of restless spirits, exiles from Great Britain,
whose whole lives are devoted to mischief-making.
These, with a few similar characters, constitute the
majority of this war party, few in number, yet
sufficiently numerous to create and circulate strong
prejudices, which ought to be studiously guarded
against, in both Great Britain and the United States,
by the friends of peace.
From Mexico we have numerous interesting and
important, but conflicting rumours. That on the
largest scale states that General Scott engaged the
Mexican army for two days ; that he lost between
1;200 and 1,500 men, whilsLe slaughtered from 4,000
to 6,000 Mexicans. C2itrucriplounts state that there
3Y515.1” Lb Mab tip c Tr is VI n ‘- cat malvvJ
ridiculous of the rumours is one that General Scott
had been chosen President or Governor of the city of
Mexico. I have thus briefly given you a few of the
rumours of the day.
It is universally conceded that there has been an
action, in which the Americans were victorious ; that
the city of Mexico, if not actually in the possession
of General Scott, was in such a condition that he
could enter it without opposition whenever he pleased.
To repeat the rumours on this subject would be an
idle waste of time. On the real state of facts there
is no settled opinion. All is conjecture. Of Paredes
and his whereabouts we hear nothing since he left
Vera Cruz. _ _ _

It is confidently asserted that three distinct sets of
instructions have been sent to Mr. Trist—the first,
the most liberal to Mexico; the third, the most strin-
gent and oppressive to that people. It is understood
that the third has been captured by the Mexicans.
These details, however, must be ranked with other
rumours en the subject of American affairs.
The Vermont election has resulted in a greatly
diminished triumph to the Whig party. That loss
is ascribed to other causes than politics. The state,
however, is Whig. The great difficulty has been
the temperance question. To this subject I referred
some time since, and predicted this result. The
License Law, which prevents the sale of spirituous
liquors in small quantities, is a most odious Act, and
consequently has become very unpopular. If not
totally abandoned, it will act as a mill-stone around
the neck of the Whig party. All attempts in a free
country to make men moral or virtuous by means of
penal statutes must prove abortive. In the United
States it is breaking down the Whig party, and
greatly injuring the temperance cause. Independent
men revolt at compulsion and shackles to accomplish

even a good.
The Convention of the state of Illinois have agreed
to a new constitution. It contains several improve-
ments, one of which is, that hereafter none but
citizens of the United States, having resided twelve
months within the state, shall have a right to vote
at any election. Heretofore aliens, after a residence
of six months, voted. The vote was—Ayes, 131 ;
Noes, 7.
Cornwall, in Upper Canada, has been visited by a
most terrific thunder storm and tornado early in the
present month. Only one life, so far as we are in-
formed, was lost. The destruction of property,
however, is said to have been very great.
—Times. A GENEVESE TRAVELLER.

POSITION OF ABD-EL-KADER.
GIBRALTAR, SEPT. 12.—Hadj Abd-el-Kader is at
present encamped about twenty miles from Melilla,
and twelve miles inland from a place marked on
marine charts " Cabadanah," opposite the Zaffarin
Islands. The regular force he has now with him
consists of about 1,500 horse and 800 foot. sc4orcersrs;
and these, it is acknowledged by the SPB';isph
of the Melilla garrison, who all wept their
bi:i staYeill.avnied men.
Vthoeirayneigh-
respects to the Emir during
bourhood last month, are
d, would
effecve vi
be considerably
His force, in c
strengthened by the of nee
esion of friendly tribes, but
these are best impethagrefeactly armed and found.
found its way amongst the tribes
French atoneY b
ch agents (Moors) are distributed
of the coast- F
by their steamers all along the
e shores of the Reef,
Who vaunt Muley Abderraman s (the present Sultan's)
P°vver' the number of his troops, and talk of his im-
as compared with the poverty of the Emir,
niense wealth
and the danger of offending so powerful a monarch ;
who is, they say, marching northwards with an army
of 200,000 men, to crush the tribes who have rebelled
against him, and lead Abd-el-Kader in chains to
Morocco. These and other such tales have acted
upon the minds of this savage and ignorant people,
and they are at present afraid to countenance the
Emir, and pretend great loyalty for the reigning Sul-
tan ; still they have taken no active part against him ;
and the story current here, and circulated with so
much industry by the French Consul, of his having
been defeated, and deprived of his wives and stores, is
only a tale trumped up by French agents, to suit their
own purposes ; no attack has been made upon him, or
his, by any tribe in the Reef; the Sultan has no
troops beyond Taza, and they are to insignificant to
be feared. Notwithstanding the immense influence
which the Emir unquestionably possesses over the
minds of his people, his present position, in ray opi-
nion, is untenable, and unless he receive some support
and countenance from abroad he must ere long sink
under the Sultan's power, actively backed as that is
by French gold and influence, and thus Africa will
lose her brightest ornament, and France be delivered
from a bitter and determined foe.
The only foundation for the report mentioned
above is the fact that a few days ago the Sultan fell
upon the small remnant of the tribe of Ben-Amri
(formerly adherents of the Emir, but who sought
the Shereefum protection some fourteen months since,
and were located by the Imperial order near Whe-