The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-18 00:00:00

SYRIA.

Advices from Beyrout of the 17th ult. state that Syria was
then perfectly tranquil. Nedjib Pacha, the new Governor of
Damascus, and Enveri Effendi, the Defterdar, had arrived at
Beyrou: a few days before, and proceeded to their destination.
On the 12th the Serzskier, Selim Pacha, convoked a meet-
ing of all the civil, military, and religious authorities, and of
the Consuls of the different nations, on a plain situate beyond
the gates, for the purpose of making to them a communication
of general interest. A considerable crowd having repaired to
the place of rendezvous, Selim directed one of his secretaries to
read aloud a hatti-scheriff having for its object to inform the
Syrians of the benevolent intentions of the Porte for their
welfare and prosperity. On the following day the Divan as-
sembled at the palace of the Governor. The Mufti and the
Cadi assisted at the assembly, together with the Bishops of the
different Christian rites, who were to return each five delegates,
in order to constitute with the Al ussulmans a council which
was to establish a system of administration conformable
to the manners and wants of the people. Several firraans were
read to the assembly, the most important of which was one
limiting all the contributions to a uniform tax of 10 per cent.
on the rental and produce throughout the empire ; but, consi-
dering the last events of which Syria was the theatre, and the
losses sustained by its inhabitants, his Highness had deigne
to exempt the Syrians from the payment of that tax, which
was to be temporarily replaced by a trifling personal tax. The
country had at last been freed from the presence of the 2,000
Albanian troops, who had kept the people in constant appre-
hension ever since the re-occupation of Syria by the Turks.
Some misunderstanding had arisen between the mountaineers
and their Emir, but no apprehensions were entertained for
the peace of the country. The new Customs' Ta-
riff was carried into execution, for the first time, in
Beyrout, on the 11th ultimo. The sanatory Adminis-
tration had adopted various measures calculated to •
prevent the plague spreading through Syria. A cordon haft
been established within a mile of Beyrout, at the request of
the British resident, contrary to the advice of the French Con-
sul. At Seyde the Mussulmans had demanded the abolition of
the sanatory intendance, and presented a memorial to that
effect to the Divan, who havifig, submitted it to the British
Consular agent, the latter replied, that the institution of the
ouPxgalinw harL_lnmert_rrPatail hea fetra thatint, r -g- h.
duty of the authorities to punish with severity those who pre-
sumed to violate the ordeis of the Government. The people,
displeased at this reply, evinces a disposition to revolt, but were
restrained by the energetic attitude of the garrison.

EXTRAORDINARY FIELDS OF
ICE IN THE ATLANTIC.

Great Western Steam-ship, Bristol Channel, May 14, 1841.
Sir —Under the impression that ice, to the extent it has
been seen this year, has never before been heard of in these
latitudes, I give you the following particulars for the informa-
tion of your readers :—On Sunday,
m April 18th, the ship steer-
ing west, at six r.
~ first saw oneiceberg on the starboard
bows ; and 7 30 passed it: at that time four or five others
in sight. At 915 passed several small pieces of ice--
slowed the engines. In a few minutes after the ship was sur-
rounded with light field ice, which appeared similar to a field
I ran through on the 11th Feb , 1839. This induced me to go
slowly, with the hopes of getting through as I had done on that
occasion, but by 9 30 finding it became closely packed, and
much thicker, prudence dictated our escape by the same
channel we had entered, I then stopped, and attempted to
get the ship's head to the eastward by turning ahead and
astern until there was room for her to come round ; in the
course of this operation the ship had occasionally (at least)
two strokes heel given by either wheel passing over large
masses of ice. At 10 15 succeeded in getting the ship's head
to the eastward, and by 11 entirely clear ; from that time went
slowly, passing several icebergs; the night at times very clear,
the aurora borealis very bright. At 330 A.m. of the
again got embayed in the ice, stoppetit hauled,short round on
our keel, and steered g. by S., coasting the ice for five or six
miles; 4 20, kept her to the westward, running through innu-
merable iNbergs until 8 30 when we passed the last iecherg
and point of the field ice. When the ilun arose the Wee wag
visible as far as Me eye could read} in all nnbroken lino
from N, E, by E. by the northivard tq N.W. by W., at iho
same time icebergs innumerable in every direction, &ruing
one of the most magnificent slap tiyet: behold. The first
iceberg we saw was in lat, 43, lon. 4830, and this last in
42 20, lon. 50. I am quite sure there was an unbroken
field of that extent, arid from what I heard from Cutiliq
Bailly, of the American packet-ship Unite 4
have no doubt the field ipe eirittindfid, lyit4 vecy little break, to
lat. 4Q.30, where Captain pailey tell in with it on the morn-
ing of the 18th. Several other ships also fell in with it in the
same longitude, and were completely stopped, giving them an
opportunity of killing seals, which were on it in gre‘t
gioNe of the leehprgs eitimate littlo (if at ail) less
thana mile long, and from 10 tq 40011""feei high. This field
of ice was in large masses, some of them not less than 20 feet
square by six feet thick or more. The temperature of the
water, When Within two miles of the first igebenr WcAl
sqddenly from 41:14.igyees tqOti degrees i 141r5 fl degrees to 3
degrees: When in the ice the water writs 25 degi ees ; air, 28
degrees; during the remainder of the night and following
morning, the water was not higher than 30 degrees, nor the
air higher then 32 degrees. Immediately after passing the
last ice the water became 86 dogmas, and the air 44 doaret,a.
sire.
JAMES HOSKEN, Captain.