The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-06 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, J [IL Y 6, 1841.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE 'MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.

• TIMES.—The Ministerial Morning Journalist is loud in his
threats and boastings of what is to be hereafter. The damned
poet appeals to posterity. To " shame the rogues" of 1841, he
" prints" his drivelings, that all mankind may set him down for
—what he is. This organ of a Cabinet of bankrupt adventurers
tells us that Sir R. Peel's majority (the fact of the majority is
graciously admitted) will be "a very small one," and that the
Opposition will not only be very numerous, but powerful be-
yond anything ever known in the history of this country." " Sir
Robert Peel's majority, on the other hand, will consist of the
most discordant materials." Crow on, gentlemen. Make the
most of the twilight hour. When broad day shall once be let
upon your dunghill, the " shrill clarion" that now wakes us will
be quiet enough. Sir Robert Peel has the misfortune to differ
from the self-consoling prophet of the Morning Chronicle, with
respect to the character and composition of that party by which
the frauds of Whiggery have first been exposed ; and next,
the foul and motley dominion of Irish Papists, English Dissen-
ters, and Downing-stri et jobbers, has been so signally and
irretrievably overturned. Sir Robert Peel does not allow
(why should he ?) that the party which on public principles
he has so successfully formed, " consists of the most discordant
materials." The Right Hon. Baronet, on the contrary,
affirms, that the Conservative party was from its outset bound
together by one main and vital principle, viz., an "attachment
to the ancient institutions of the country "—that it has hound
itself by no obligation, and "entertains no shadow of a desire,
to resist such changes as the progress of society may
demand, but that it is determined to maintain on
their ancient foundations the institutions of the
realm in Church and State"—that it is a party of
which the foundations have been rapidly widening,
and its influence over public opinion consolidating—that,
powerful in its spreading numbers, it has become infinitely
" stronger in the confidence of the country," than even in its
overwhelming numbers—that, growing in amount from num-
bers scarcely exceeding 100 Members of the House of Com-
mons, to upwards of 320 or 330 Members, such an in-
crease could never have arisen but from the vast moral
weight and authority which it possessed with the nation—
that having intrusted its confidence to the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet, he (Sir R. Peel) assures the country, that " all the ru-
mours which have been circulated about differences of opinion
and jealousies are absolutely without foundation ; that the party
which acts upon his advice and councils is a united nod
compact party, in which no differenCe of pridelple prevails, as
to the course which we ought to pursue." How far, indeed,
the past position of the Conservative party bears testimony to
this uniform and consentient spirit. is a question of fact which
it needs no assertion to prove, nor any great ingenuity to cavil
at. We take Sir R. Peel's words as a pledge of prospective be-
nefits, and a conciliating policy. What is past is a matter of his-
tory, which it is useless to pervert, and impossible to conceal.
Men are to be tested by principles—not principles to be brought
down to the level of men. Conservatism is a principle; its
strength consists in unity, and in proportion to their conformity
with its doctrines are its disciples to be deemed worthy of it.
CHRONICLE.—As the county elections come on, it is
more than ever incumbent upon persons connected with agri-
culture to consider well the tendency of their votes, and to
weigh the inconveniences of impoverishing their customers,
irritating their labourers, and subjecting themselves to the
losses of continual fluctuations in price, against any temporary
evil from disobliging landlords who have TIO moral or legal
right whatever to interfere with the use they make of the
suffrage. The unsettled state of the Corn-law question is an
enormous injury to the farmer. Three years ago, Sir Robert
Peel described it as intolerable. He dwelt, with just empha-
sis, upon the confusion thus introduced into all the arrange-
ments of the cultivator, and the hardship of never knowing
what extent of outlay was warranted by his prospects
of remuneration for the ensuing year. There is

great truth in this view of the case. Under the
most favourable and steady . circumstances, the farmer
is more exposed to uncertainty than those who foliate
any other kind of industrial occupation. On him alone, or
most severely, falls " the penalty of Adam, the seasons' dif-
ference." Every fluctuation in the condition of the millions
affects the quantity of food they can afford to purchase. They
cannot sink towards starvation without pinching the farmer.
And their relief from famine, by the importation of foreign
grain, under the present absurd and unjust law, becomes his
impoverishment. If prices fall, rates rise; and if prices rise,
rents rise faster. The sliding scale insures perpetual fraud
and gambling. It aggravates all the fluctuations that natural
causes or social relations generate. Within the short space
of the last six years it has sent the price of wheat per
quarter above 70s. and under 40s. The farmers' returns go
up like the rocket, and down like the stick. And all these ha-
rassing vicissitudes are multiplied and embittered by a formida-
ble and growing agitation against the law, spreading itself
through all classes, and even in louder and yet louder tones
demanding change—such change as millions deem essential to
their interests, their rights, and their security from plunder
and starvation. Here is all the uncertainty of a chaos ; water
that none can swim in, and land that affords no firm standing.
Surely every farmer must feel the soundness of Sir Ro-
bert Peel's assertion, long since made, that his inte-
rests imperatively require the speedy laying to rest of this
last and greatest element of change, the Corn-law ques-
tion. Surely a prompt and satisfactory settlement of it
should be the object of the farmer's vote at the poll-
booth. But the farmer who votes for a Tory votes against
settlement. He polls for the continuance of faineus fluctua-
tion. The Parliamentary Tories, aided by. a portion of the
Whigs, have striven for a settlement in vain, by the forlorn
hope of discountenancing the discussion. They have tried
again and again to scout the question from the House of Com-
mons. Any partial success has only the more signally illus-
trated the fact that upon the whole they were decidedly baffled.
They were utterly incapable of burking the subject, even be-
fore Ministers made it an open question. Having once been
adopted as a Government question, no future Government can
. dream of consigning it to oblivion or quietude. The Tory
party has been a broken reed to the farmer's trust. Rest
was promised him ; and yet every year augmented, and con-
tinues to augment, the obvious amount of uncertainty. What
can he get by voting for the Tories?
POST.—The elections for Scotland have now begun ; and
after the proofs we have just had of the Conservative reaction
among the town constituencies of England, it is only natural,
that we should look with great anxiety to the northern part of
the Ihngdom. Circumstances exist in the political position of
Scotland that do not operate here. A ten years' possession
of general elective franchise has not been altogether sufficient
to cool the thoughtless impetuosity with which men are apt
to exercise a newly-acquired right ; and the mischievous mis- '
representation by the Liberal party, of the opinions of the Con-
servatives on the unhappy Church question, have not been with- 1
out their effect. We especially mention these tisso points be-
cause we are anxious to prevent any exaggerated anticipation
of improvement in the character of the representative
body ; but it must at the same time be borne in mind
that in Scotland, as in England, considerable disgust has been
excited by the continual exhibition of Liberal promises violated
and Liberal pledges unredeemed. If, therefore, the causes we
first enumerated may interfere with the achievement of the
same success that has attended the Conservative efforts in Eng-
land, those that we last mentioned are calculated to afford a
well-founded hope that the elections now in progress will fur-
nish a result very different from that which was presented in
the Parliament just dissolved. There, out of the S 3 Members
allotted to Scotland under the Reform Act, we had only 19
Conservatives to do battle with 34 Liberals. We put it to any
man acquainted with the character and habits of the people,
whether this unfortunate majority of Destructives could
be considered as in any way fairly representing the Con-
stituency ? We ask if to foster the Roman Catholic
religion in its most secular and factious form ; or to
devise a scheme of general education into which the inculca-
tion of morality and religion should not enter, were in con-
formity with the religious feelings of Scotland? We ask if to
support an Administration that clings to mere office after the
power to carry on the Queen's Government has passed away
from it ; that last year opposed the vast innovations in our
commercial system, which they this year declare to be the only
means of preventing a national bankruptcy—be consistent
with that reputation which the people of Scotland have so long
enjoyed for the possession of sound good sense ? We further
ask whether to have frittered away a surplus revenue of two
millions sterling, and to have substituted for it a melancholy
deficiency of seven millions, can be an especial recommenda-
tion of Liberal policy to a class of our countrymen more re-
markab'e, perhaps, than any other for prudence and carefulness
in the management of pecuniary concerns?
HERALD.—We assure the public that we never did more
violence to our own modesty than we are compelled this day to
do—by coating—ourselves. The offence against good taste of
such a proceeding we feel to be enhanced by the very recent
date of tle article from which we are about to repeat a passage.
It appeared in the Herald at no remoter a period than yester-
day. We said, by way of illustrating a certain proposition,—
" to borrow a homely phrase from brother Jonathan, there is
nothing We going the whole hog ! If you have an insinuation
to establt4l don't spoil it by trying your hand at a plausible
deductionfrom the facts against your adversaries:—take the
facts as they are, and the more they are against you, the more
stoutly stick to it, that they are literally true of your op-
ponent, and scandalously false of yourself." We really did
not laks .uMeient credit to ourselves for the very high
consideratisn which the Globe is disposed to feel for -"r
judgment. Resolved to signalise this flattering "nage by
seizing the earliest opportunity for its resouestation, the
Globe cam, out yesterday evening soon one of the most
practical ant complete commentarie, on the doctrine we had
sported, in he morning—as more badinage—that certainly
could astonsh—as it ought k we suppose) very much to
gratify us. It had an ate ouncement.to make to its peculiar
class of reaers well calculated, from its nature and ten-
dencies, to neck the overweening presumption and reckless
theories of ae whole school of the " anti-monopolists" as
they are plesed to call themselves. It had a disclosure to
make about the results of the quarter's revenue and the
comparative statement of the public income in the years
ended, respetively sth July, 1840, and sth July 1841,
that it forest' must be appalling to every man in the king-
dom who 14 the common power of combining those results,
and consideing them in relation to the present state of the
country, its nmediate exigencies and its future prospects. It
saw the impssibility of averting from its official -patrons, on ac-
count of the' disgraceful conduct in office, their compromising
policy of hasrdousexperiments and timid expedients—the entire
blame of the isastrous issues presented by th ese accounts, of which
it had leartd the general aspect. It readily surmised that
unless it cold by some enormous—invention, deceive and
mislead thecally *honest and impartial few among the mass of
zealous andaigoted, and not very scrupulous partisans of the
present Minters—it must leave the latter to that fate which
the past ancdhe coming elections had pretty extensively and
certainly pipared for them, but which the publication of this
official pap/ will surely precipitate. Accordingly, our evening
contemporay, in strict observance of the injunction pro-
nounced at3uildhall the other day by Mr. Jones Loyd,
" girded upis loins" and marched into the field with false co-
lours, and : matchless manifesto of Whig-radical effrontery.
A DVEITISER.—AIready are the Tories quailing in ap-
prehension f the verdict on their policy about to be-returned
by the Irisiconstituencies. The " Great Thunderer" itself
despairs of s power to subdue the indignant resistance by
which the castituencies of Ireland are preparing to repel the
attempt of le Tories to re-establish in that country their cp-
pressive, baful, and sanguinary domination. In England the
more advacfd state of political science and institutions, and
their consciences—a more advanced civilisation, and a more
imenduring abhorrence of oppression—for years prevented
u
the same exacerbations of Tory outrages as marked
with feat
ts of revolting deformity their administration
in Ireland. Time after time, however, has Ireland wrung
from the ructant hands of her rulers concessions calculated
to equalise er political position with that of England ; and
time after me also have tyrannical administrations—making
Ireland exritnental of the extent of popular forbearance—
endeavoure to sustain obligarchical and ecclesiastical tyranny
1 in undirninshet excess, and by coercive laws endeavoured
to force latglaul %I.& into the depressed and degraded
position ken wich Ireland. has been labouring to emerge.

Such was the nature of the conflict, which even Catho-
lic Emancipation failed to appease, which raged with
scarcely mitigated fury till the passing of the Re-
form Act, and which, even then, would not have become less
violent in its manifestations but for the administration of the
law under a Liberal Ministry having been made to harmonise
with the ameliorative policy of its enactment. Such also has
been the active and re-active influence mutually exercised be-
tween the policies prevailing in England and in Ireland; and
such the question upon which the Irish constituencies now feel
that they must again put forth their strength, and neutralise or
overcome the ascendancy which tyranny as in other
places achieved over their own rights and interests, as well a.
over those of the empire of which they form part.
MON

EY MARKErfat-ld Cli'Y NEWS.

FROM THE MORNING'I3.APERS OF THIS DAY.
H ERALD.— A rather uneasy feeling was excited in the Stock
Market this morning by the tenour of the intelligence from the
Uni'ed States by the Great Western, which was looked upon
to be of a threatening character. It would, however, not be
worth while perhaps to attach so much importance to the dis-
cussions in Congress about foreign affairs and the case of
M'Leod, as they are tinctured so strongly with party spirit and
a desire to embarrass the new Government, but for the almost
contemporaneous address of Governor Thomson on opening the
United Canadian Legislature, which 'smacks rather strongly
also of belligerent notions, and warlike recommendations to
put the provinces into a state of defence as, at the eleventh
hour, the present Whig Government has really intimated a
formal resolution to defend and retain them as integral por-
tions of the empire. From the tone and the terms of the Go-
vernor's speech it is tolerably transparent that matters are not
so satisfactory, nor likely to rtn on so smoothly, in the
Canadas, as the country has been falsely led to believe.
Other causes contributed moreover to depress that firmness and
tendency upwards visible of late in the Stock Market, for to say
nothing of the banking failures in town and country recently
made public, the stoppage of a discount firm of some considera-
tion in the City was announced to-day, whose engagements or
responsibilities, direct and indirect, are variously rated at from
200,000/. to 300,000/. The immediate cause of this unfortu-
nate event is likely to prove more extensively injurious to a large
portion of the community than by, itself, under other circum-
stances it could be, for the primmti _occasion of the failure is
stated to have arisen from -the4seefsnstasessolsoryslarnents of ism
large vs oolleninanufacturing establishments-"somewhere about
Bradford, in Wiltshire, which must perhaps necessarily, result in
depriving greatinumbers of operatives of employment. Notwith-
standing these adverse considerations the depression in the funds
was but of slight account, for Consols left off at 891, sellers for
the opening.
POST.—Some additional failures of considerable magnitude
have taken place in this part of the town. A French house in
the Havannah trade stopped payment on Saturday (the parties
disappearing), and this morning, it was announced, that the
firm of Coil's, Thompson, and Harris, bankers and bill brokers,
had been reduced to the same necessity. The extent of the
liabilities of the French house has not been generally stated; it
is thought, however, to be limited, but those of Messrs. Coils
and Co. are said to be probably not far short of 300,0001. Their
failure is ascribed more immediately to embarrassments brought
on the firm in connection with certain Blackwell Hall
factors, and, if the reports upon this point be we:l
founded, it follows, as a matter of course, that things
are not proceeding so smoothly as could ba desired
in the woollen trade. The stoppage of the house of
Whitmore, Wells, and Whitmore, has been followed by an
announcement from the old banking establishment of Messrs.
Ladbroke and Co., to the effect that they have come to the de-
termination of " settling all their engagements." This they
propose doing by paying off the balances due to their deposi-
tors, or, if it should be agreeable to the latter, by the transfer
of such balances to the books of Messrs. Glyn and Co. The
dissolution of the house of Ladbroke and Co., ought not to
excite much surprise. Such a measure has been in contem-
plation these two or three years, and was made a matter of
very general discussion among our men of business upon one
particular occasion within the interval. The competition of
the numerous joint-stock banks has operated much to the pre-
judice of the old school of private bankers, especially in the
metropolis, where they (the joint-stock banks) are kept within
due bounds by the Bank of England charter, which forbids
the issue of their own notes, and where the management is,
generally speaking, unexceptionable.
The Sub-Committee of Spanish and Portuguese bond-
holders presented, we understand, last Wednesday at the weekly
meeting of the Committees, the copy of a memorial to the
Lord Mayor, requesting the use of the Egyptian Hall for a
meeting of the bondholders previous to a petition being ser.t to
the British Legislature to extend its protection towards them,
and begging the Lord Mayor to honour the meeting by
taking the Chair. The reasons assigned for making this
application to his Lordship are—First, that hundreds and
thousands of British subjects are in the most abject state
of penury, arising from the dishonest conduct of foreign
Governments, an that there is no hope of redress, ex-
cept through his instrumentality; secondly, that the frauds
practised by the West Middlesex Insurance Company, and de-
tected through the exertions of himself and his predecessors,
were insignificant in comparison with the wholesale swindling
carried on with impunity towards the bondholders ; thirdly,
that upwards of 100,000,0001. sterling, with interest, was due
to them for several years, notwithstanding the whole reve-
nues of the borrowing States were mortgaged to the bond-
hold-Ts. Toreno's conversion scheme in 1834, Mendiza-
bal's mal-practices in 1836, when 5,000,0001. of ficti-
tious bonds were thrown on the market while the divi-
dends were suspended ; the unpaid Treasury bills of
1837, and the arbitrary decree of the 2d of November, 1840,
are forcibly brought under his Lordship's consideration, as are
also the frightful losses sustained by the bondholders, whilst
numerous unprincipled adventurers have amassed colossal for-
tunes. Records of the proceedings of the House of Commons
are referred to in support of loans being a legitimate branch of
trade, and equally entitled to the protection granted by the
Government to all other commercial transactions. Lord Pal-
' merston's opinions are quoted in favour of this principle. The
Lord Mayor is, moreover, reminded of the numerous meetings
which have been convened at the Egyptian and Guildhall in
behalf of the Italian, Polish, and even Spanish refugees.
SUN.—There was the same firmness observable again in
the unfunded debt to-day, though the business transacted
was but limited and Consols went down a shade, being
for the opening at 89a to 4, which is per cent. lower
than they closed last week. The premium on Exchequer
Bills has been advanced to 14s. and 175., and East India
( Bonds have got up to 2s. and 4s. premium. Bank Stock
has been firm at 169 to 1691, and the Reduced Three-
and-a-Half per Cents have been marked 99 to The
Three per Cents. Annuities were not quite so good, being
894 to 71.
In the Foreign Securities there were but few bargains,
nor were the prices realised as regards the Peninsular
Bonds so good as those of Saturday. The New Five
per Cents. Portuguse Bonds dropped from 311 to 31-1
without the half dividend, and the Active Spanish re-
ceded from 211,7 T to 21i- and 21i. Portuguese Three per
Cents. were not higher than 19 ; Chilian Stock brought
602- ; Brazilian, 671 ; Belgian, 1001- to 101 ; Danish,
78 ; and Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. 51 to sq.
The Railway Shares were dull to-day. Brighton re-
ceded from 3+ to 4+ discount. Great Western, from 27
to 26 premium. London and Birmingham, however,
were steady at 70, and Great Western Nov, at 12 pre-
mium. Blackwall were 9 discount ; Manchester and
Leeds, 18i discount ; and North Midland, 31 discount.
There was a failure of a Bill broking firm to-day, but as
the reports on this head were contradictory, some parties
asserting that matters would be made up again, we for-
bear to give names at present.

NAVY SURGEONS.
TO THE EDITOR 0]! THE SUN.

Sin,—Your Journal of the 23d ult. contains an ac-
count of an interview which took place between a depu-
tation of Medical gentlemen and the Liberal candidates
for Marylebone, Sirs B. Hall and C. Napier. The latter
Gallant Officer, is reported to have stated, in reply to a
question from Mr. Simpson, that it was his opinion " that
Naval Assistant Surgeons ought to have a private cabin
for themselves, to rea and pursue the study of their pro-'
fession ;" he also stated that the mess in the gun-room
was as comfortable as that in the ward-room, and less
expensive, particularly since Mates had an increase of
rank. Sir Charles must, when making this reply, have
forgotten that in vastly the greater number of men-of-
war no " gun-room" exists, that such an apartment is
only to be found in three and two-deckers, and that in
every other class of ship, from the largest frigate down-
wards, the mess-place of the Assistant Surgeon is a dark,
dingy hole on the lower deck, called " the Midshipman's
berth," a wretched miserable pinec, the whole of which
is completely filled up by the mess-table, and into which
the light of clay scarcely ever finds admittance, and this
111 most men-of-war, the only place the Assistant Sur-
geon can call his own—if, indeed, he can call that his
own which he has in common with a set of mischievous
young monkeys, the future heroes of our navy, who spend
almost their whole time off duty in "skylarking."
What the gun-room mess may be now, I cannot say ; ,
but I have served as a. Naval Assistant Surgeon, and in
my time the Midshipman's mess could bear no compari-
' son with that of the ward-room. I do believe that an
improvement has taken place since the period to which I
allude, but it is not alone the waist of comfort in their
mess-plazte which has made the Nava Assistant Surgeons
\
dissatisfied with their position in the service—it is the
feeling of degradation inseparable from their situation
which has induced many of them to leave the service in
, disgust, as was my case.
Will the Gallant Commodore say upon what principle
he would exclude the Assistant Surgeon from the ward-
room mess, and admit to it the boy Second Lieutenant of
Marines, whose pay is considerably less than that of the
former, and for whose appointment 'until the recent re-
gulations regarding Marine Cadetsips) no standard of
education was required ?
Again, supposing a party of troops embarked in a ship
of war, with a Regimental Assistart Surgeon, will the
Gallant Officer say why the militarymedical man should
mess in the ward-room, whilst his brother of the navy is
not allowed the same privilege ? .
The Naval Medical Board requi'es from candidates
for Assistant Surgeoncies fully as higi a standard of edu-
cation, general and professional, as (ices the Army Board,
and yet how widely different is the sivation of the Army
Assistant from that of the Naval ?
I would beg leave, with very gnats respect for Sir
Charles Napier, to direct his attention to the the num-
bers of the United Service Journal Or July, 1839, and
for the same month in the succeedng year, and to the
Dublin Medical Press of Sept. 9, 18'0 ; he will find in
each of these a letter from me on Ilb position of Naval
Assistant Surgeons ; and if the Galant Officer will,
when he has a little "otium" after ;he turmoil of his
election (on the result of which I heartily congratulate
him), do me the honour to read then, I venture to say
that he will arrive at the conclusion tlat, as well as hav-
ing " a private cabin to themselves, t, read and pursue
savant,
MICHAEL
surgeon ;
the study of their profession," Naval assistant Surgeons
ought in every particular, as regard, rank, pay, dress,
and messing, to' be placed fully on an equality with their
more fortunate brethren of the Army.
Your very obedient s
Ennis,
frelllaCnHd,AEJulLLyaOlte;HlAZi.sn,242,
Rs.

VAUXHALL GARDENS.

This popula r place of summer amusement
opened last night for a short season of six fetes,
in order to give the lovers of this celebrated
scene of entertainment an opportunity of bidding
it a last farewell before it is is finally disposed
of by order of the Court of Review. The pro-
jectors of these fetes have confided the manage-
ment of them to Mr. Bunn, and the manner in
ivhich the fetes of last Dight was got up proves
that they could not have made a more happy se-
lection. The illuminations were gorgeous in
the extreme, and the musical performances were
of a higher order than the generality of
Vauxhall musical performances have heretofore
been. The orchestra, selected from the Ger-
man Opera, Italian Opera, Drury-lane, and Co-
vent-garden Bands, was under the direction of
Jullien, who has lost none of his energy
:ince the winter, and was most efficiently led
by Mr. R. 'Hughes. M. Labarre, from the
Academie Royale, Paris, made his first appear-
ance before a British public, and performed a
Solo on the Oboe, of his own composition, with
great sweetness and effect. Ducrow gave
a series of equestrian performances in the
amphitheatre. Some confusion was occasioned
in consequence of the difficulty experienced by
those who had taken boxes in getting to their
places; and great disappointment was expressed
by those in the Gardens at the performance tak-
ing place in the amphitheatre at all, as it would
not accommodate one-fourth of those in the Gar-
dens. We would recommend that the equestrian
performances should take place in the Waterloo
Ground, where all could witness them, or, if they
are continued in the amphitheatre, that there
should be some private entrance to the
boxed. The fire-works surpassed in splen-
dour everything hitherto exhibited even
at Vauxhall. The gardens were crowded
to excess. The increase of the price of admission
to 3s. had the effect of making the company
more select, but not at all of diminishing the
numbers. Monsieur Collinet and his quadrille
band were in attendance, and dancing was kept
up to a late or rather an early hour. The Hall
of Mirrors was fitted up as a refreshment saloon,
and the eatables and drinkables were all excel-
lent of the kind. Every lover of Vauxhall should
take an opportunity of bidding it farewell, be-
fore it is absorbed into the Babel of brick, of
which it seems it is condemned to become part.
Oh, these builders! these builders! As poor
Mathews used to say, " They're depriving us of
all our amusements !"

THE JEWS OF DAMASCUS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Stn,—There appeared recently in the Times news-
paper extracts from a letter bearing date Damascus, the
2d May last, and which extracts contain new charges
against the Jews of Damascus of deadly animosity
against the Christians, and even of persecution.
I am happy to be enabled to forward to you a correct
translation from the original Hebrew of a letter which I
have just received from Raffael Farkhi, the Chief of the
Jewish community at Damascus, dated the 4th June last,
and who, it may be remembered, holds an office of high
trust under the Turkish Government.

By the letter in question you will perceive that the
charges made against the Jews at Damascus are utterly
groundless, and that the feeling which actuates them is
very different from that which has been ascribed to
them.

Although the letter contains many personal allusions
towards myself, the omission of which I should have
preferred, still I have deemed it better to send you a
full and faithful translation, so that the friends of jus-
tice and of truth may be able to form a correct estimate
of its value, and I hesitate not to believe that it will sa-
tisfactorily refute the renewed calumnies to which the
Jews of Damascus have been subjected. Respectfully
soliciting that you will give insertion to the accompany-
ing document,
I have the honour to remain, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
MOSES MONTEFIORE.
Grosvenor-gate, Park-lane, July 2, 1841.
With the assistance of the Almighty, Damascus,
15th of the month of Sivan, A.M. 5601 (June
4, 1841.)
To him who is our honour and glory, the crown of our
head, our shepherd, our strength, our defence, the
mighty and wise, the helper of the house of Israel,
our right hand, pillar, and redeemer, Sir Moses Mon-
tefiore. May his light be clear and brilliant, and the
diadem which God has placed on his head ever con-
tinue as resplendent as God made it. Amen. May
this be the Almighty's will.
The faithful friendship Ifeel for Sir Moses makes it
first duty to bow before him, and to offer up a prayer to
the God of Heaven that he will be pleased to exalt his
planet, and bestow perpetual blessing on his house ; so
that when he stands in the presence of kings ho may
find favour in their eyes, all his undertakings be prospe-
rous, and that, in his days, Judah and Israel may have
succour, and the Redeemer come to Zion. May this be
the Almighty's pleasure.
Ten days ago my eyes were gladdened by the perusal
of the joy-inspiring characters of Sir Moses' letter,
dated in the week when the portion of the Pentateuch
(Leviticus, chap. 6) was read (2d of April). The words
thereof being such as come from the mouth of the wise,
and being fnll of grace, made a deep impression on my
heart ; and I was rejoiced at the assurance they conveyed
that his peace and welfare are undisturbed. May it ever
be with him thus, and may his possessions and prospe-
rity be greatly augmented. I put his letter, as it were a
crown or diadem, on my head, and in so doing I per-
ceived expressions to the effect, that Sir Moses had been
informed that some Israelites belonging to Our commu-
nity here in Damascus had been exhibiting vindictive
feeling towards the people of other nations, and had, by
falsehood and other base means, endeavoured to do se-
rious injury to the same, which led him to say, with sen-
sations of regret, " Why do ye not attend to the'precepts
of our holy law, and the injunctions of the Prophets, by
which ye are commanded not to avenge yourselves on your
enemies, even though they may be in your power ? Ye
ought to be satisfied that ye can now sit in your houses
in peace ;" and other words to the same purpose, I
found in the epistle ; to which I have now to give a reply.
Sir Moses, those by whom you have been informed
of these things told you that which is not true. Nothing
of the kind has been done by the Israelites here. We
have already addressed to Sir Moses several letters,
some of which came from the whole community of
Israel now dwelling in this place ; some from the perse-
cuted individuals who were set at liberty through Sir
Moses' interposition ; some from myself, and others from
Jacob Abudlaafia ; and in them it has already been
stated, that we do not hold up our heads with confidence
before the people of the city at large, because of the
English Consul ; for he has shown much enmity to us,
and is constantly seeking for faults amongst our actions,
by which he may humble us, and depreciate our reputa-
tion. This fact, as I have just observed, has been set
forth in the two letters which, I doubt not will, ere the
receipt of this communication, have reached Sir Moses,
and we trust that their general contents will so interest
him, that he will endeavour, out of his deep sagacity and
profound knowledge, to devise some remedy for our
mortifying situation, so that the English Con-
sul, and our implacable enemies, the French Consul
Boudin, and Gustiniani, may be prevented from acquir-
ing the means of doing us further hurt. We trust that
Sir Moses will perfectly understand the nature of our
present troubles.
In addition to that to which I have now been making
a special allusion, I have already mentioned to Sir Moses,
in a former letter, that the Pacha of his Majesty the
Sultan (may his glory be increased), as soon as they ar-
rived in Damascus, re-instated me in my former office,
the duties of which are to assist in the Magistrates' de-
partment in managing the affairs of the city ; this lion
nour was conferred on me in accordance with a direction
in the Sultan's firman, and which had been inserted
therein on account of its having been extensively re-
ported that I possessed some talent in such business.
When the English Consul and the other detractors
that I have spoken of heard of this distinction, so
auspicious to our people, they were moved with
irrepressible mortification, much after the same man-
ner as had been exhibited by them when the ar-
rival of Sir Moses at Alexandria made vain their
counsel, and rescued us from the cruel fate to which
they had destined us ; and the English Consul immedi-
ately repaired to the Governor of the city, and recom-
mended him to dismiss me, and put a Christian in my
office, under whom I might act as his servant or deputy.
But, by the blessing of the Almighty, this attempt
against my interest utterly failed ; for the Governor,
assigning what he considered good reasons for the course
he took, declined adopting the plan thus suggested to
Ihim. In consequence of their envious schemes being
thus defeated, they are now seeking other means to in-
flict injury on us.
When the Governor appointed by the Sultan arrived
there were great rejoicings amongst all classes of the
inhabitants, Israelites as well as Musselmans, on account
of their being emancipated from a sway which had been
extremely oppressive ; the lower orders of people of both
denominations rejoiced exceedingly, and have frequently
since the Sultan's Vicegerent has assumed his authority,
made great acclamations in the market places, and in
other parts of the city and suburbs.
The Christians in Damascus formerly used to manifest
great pleasure at the arrival of an Egyptian Pacha, on ac-
count of the friendship which they bore to lihana Bakhri,
but they now exhibited much depression of spirits as
Khans 13akhri had left this place, and when they beheld
the populace rejoicing, they were filfed with displeasure,
and to gratify their spleen, made a false charge against
the 'lsraelites of having insulted their religion, which
they communicated to his Excellency the Governor Ali
Pacha, and to the three Consuls, in order that that the
charge might be circulated in other and distant countries,
and a prejudice raised universally against the Israelites.
But, however, our enemies at Damascus, whose eyes are
shut, from the great hatred they bear us, could not see
that their accusations would not be [believed by the
people of Europe, who are men of profound wisdom and