The Sun.
London, England, 1824-03-11 00:00:00

PARIS PAPERS.

PETERSBURG t, FEB. 17.—The Gazette of Petersburgh
does not say one word of the indisposition of the Emperor,
which has been mentioned by several German Journals. 11.
Siewers, recently dead, a Livonian by birth, was the first
person who conceived the idea of enfranchising the serfs. He
pursued this object with great zeal, and lived to see it accom-
plished.

CHRISTIANIA, FEB. 16.—The King has communicated to
the Diet the project of a law on the Customs, and taxes levied
on consumption, by which all the ordinances relative to these
objects are revoked. In consequence of this, the wines of
France, Spain, and Portugal, which could only be imported
from the place of their growth,
,as well as rum, which was
subjected to the same restriction, may now be imported from
England, and from the same ports as French brandy is at pre-
sent imported from. After a certain time coffee is to be im-
ported only in bags of more than a cwt. ; and brandy and rum,
in casks of more than 30 gallons. By this law the customs
have been reduced on some articles, and augmented on others,
among the latter are coffee, sugar, and tobacco.
(From the Courier Francais.)
FRAlisroaT, Mancx 3.—They write from Warsaw that
the Grand Duke Constantine had left that town to repair to Pe-
tersburgh ; and, according to letters from that capital, the
Emperor Alexander continued unwell.

ROME, FEB. 21.—A report prevails that a volcano has
.broken out in the centre of the commercial town of Aleppo,
in Syria, and that it afterwards turned into a lake.
A letter from Molinella, in the legation of Bologna, of the
6th, says, " that within the last few days a great number of
meteoric stones have fallen in the neighbourhood of the village
of Arenazo. The largest of these stones is twelve pounds in
weight. Its fall was preceded by claps of thunder of extreme
violence, accompanied by wind, a phenomenon which much
astonished the inhabitants of the country. The largest aerolite
has been taken to the Observatory of Bologna."
Pants, .IlAucH 9.—Some persons have much exaggerated
the number of suicides in Paris and its environs (b2nlieue,)
in the year 1823. We hasten to rectify this error by the fol
lowing table, the exactness of which may be depended on :
Men. Women Men. Women
8 9 September - 20 10
10 12 October - 18 10
32 9 November - 10 6
33 18 December - 23 3
20 13
27 13
23 8
- 26 17

January
February
111 arch

April
May
June
July
August

262 128
General Total of )
Suicides - j- - 390

ALGIERS.

The town itself is but little more than half a
mile square—the inhabitants about one hundred and twenty
thousand—surrounded by fortifications is not equal to a mile.
The face of the wall fronting the sea equal] to three-quarters
of a mile ; the sides projecting to the country the same • but
the face towards the country about half a mile ; at each Of the
four corners a circular bastion, projecting far enough to com-
mand the faces of small square batteries issuing from the
curtain. The town is builtalong the sinuous part of a bay,
or casual indenting of the coast, not running deep enough
into the land to afford shelter ; the shore flat, and the
water too shallow to serve for anchorage. The port is
in the centre of the wall towards the sea ; its construction is
altogether artificial; an immensely strong wall is thrown out
about 600 yards ; at 200 yards distance further eastward a mole
100 yards long is thrown out; the wall, which is of extraordi.
nary strength and width, is continued eastward, and bending
inwards by two angles towards the mole, leaves an entrance of
about 150 yards to an irregular shaped basin, inclosing an area
of about 10 acres. The pier or wall that embraces and forms
the basin or port is of the most massive construction, and its
extensive fortifications, rising in tiers like the sides of the ship,
present the most formidable offensive works to an assailing
andene lemyit ofT thelic v
town, covered
it against a landing as to flank and gall an attack on the front
of the place by sea. There are also many advanced works of
irregular construction, and a citadel in the S. E. angle of the
walls are
with
with
batteries, guns, and the coast, right
as well to protect
city, occupying one of the corner bastions.
At the formidable attempt made by Charles the Fifth with
a fleet of 190 ships, 20 gallies, and an army of 30,000 men,
aided by the Knights of Malta, lie was enabled, by means of
the gallies, to land his army and materiel, notwithstanding the
flatness of the shore; but the natural consequence of laying
on such a coast was, that the first heavy gale of wind drove
off the fleet, the whole of which, in half an hour, were dis-
persed, and in the extremity of danger (except the Maltese,
who by their superior skill and equipment maintained
their position on the coast, to the admiration of the ter.
rifled army on shore, to whom they presented a solitary hut
slight prospect of salvation from the enemy) fifteen sal-
lies and eighty-six ships of the Emperor's totally perish-
ed i • the loss of men consequent on the embarkation undersuchcircumstances, was immense. Although the Maltese
contributed the most extensive co-operation of their navy, only
.109 Knights, each attended by two Gentleman at Arms, were
permitted to servo in the army. These Knights, in the spirit
of chivalrous gallantry, to render themselves conspicuous,
worn over their armour a surtout of crimson velvet, with the
star of their Order emblazoned in white on the front of their
breast, and served as the rear guard, covering the whole of the
embarkation, being themselves the last who went on board.
On one occasion, a very formidable sortie having been made
by the Algerines, a large body of troops were cut off; but the
Maltese rallying some detachments, repulsed the enemy so vi-
gorously, that the Chevalier Sevignan, standard-bearer of the
Order, struck his poignard into the gate of the city, and left it
there as a momento.

In 1601, the Spaniards made another attack on Algiers, which
was supposed a fortunate expedition, because they came off
without loss ; but they effected nothing.
In 1602, an English squadron, under Sir Robert Maxwell,
were no more fortunate than the Spaniards the year before; but
in 1682, a French fleet bombarded the town and set it in flames,
and next year, repeating the attack with increased vigour, pro-
cured the release of all the Christian captives, and the payment
of a heavy fine in money ; among the captives were several
English, who, to the disgrace of the French nation, were sent
back by Captain Damfreville, the French Commissioner; after
which the fortifications were extended and increased. Since
the possession of Gibraltar, in fear of our strength, and inclined
to conciliatory measures, the depredations of the Algerines were
carried on against all the Christian Powers, but they continued
to respect the ships of this country.
In 1775 the Spaniards made an unsuccessful attempt with
upwards of 20,000 troops, 2,000 horse, 47 ships of war, and 340
transports.
In 1783 and 1784 the same nation made two attacks, whicb
only terminated in the expenditury of a vast quantity of am-
munition.

In 11316, Lord Exmouth's victorious atchievement produced
the liberation of all the Christian captives, and the payment of
two large suing of money. The captives were restored to the
countries from which they had been taken—very different to the
French conduct in 1682.