The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-26 00:00:00

THE SHUN,

case of the seaman a sort of demonstration WAS made
by gunboats near where the murder was committed,
isat tneso returned withou. effec!ing anything. The
Sultan of Lahedj was calle I upon to coerce his
neighbour of Bir Himid, who it is supposed was
privy to the murder, and to capture the murderers.
Tne former professed his readiness to obey, and pre-
tended to storm ttie fort of Bir Hatnid. tYnatever
may have been reported respecting these proceedings,
there can be no iiitibt that there was, as there still is,
colluaion betwixt these two chiefs. 'rue affair ended
in smoke, and the murderer is at large under she fos-
tering wing of the chief of the Foothill, another tribe
inhabiting this district.
With respect to the attack upon Captain lene's
party, it is reported that Government has given the
Sultan of Lahedj two or three months to produce the
murderer, and threatens ulterior proceedings in case
of refusal. In the meantime we hear that the monthly
Allary allowed to the Sultan of Lsbedj, the chief of
the Foodhli, and some other island chiefs, his been
stopped. Report states that the Sultan of Lahedj has
sent hostages fir the murderer into Aden, but he
knows full well tbat in our hands these hostages are
safe. There can be no doubt, indeed, bat that the
chief is playing a double part, willingly or unwil-
lingly, and that be never entertained a serious idea of
bringing the murderer to justice, even were he able
to do so, which be is not. In fact, intelligence was
brought to Aden that the culprit was seen in the
vicinity of his native village tilling his Inds after the
last rain, which fell about two months ago.
It is devoutly to be hoped that now at length some
measures will be taken to prevent such outrages in
future, for up to this time the most unheard-of lenity
has been adopted towards these barbarians. The only
semblance of chastisement which has hitherto been
exhibited towards them was the gibbeting of the body
of the assassin who attempted Lieut. Dellsser, s life.
Thee.
The most salutary effect resulted from that exhi-
bition; the Arabs from the interiorwere humbled
and behaved with far greater civility when they
came into Aden. But it appears that even this sen-
tence was condemned by the Government, for an
order was immediately sent hither directing the body
to be removed. Such are the friendly relations be-
twixt the Arabs here who become acquainted with
the orders of Government and the Arabs of the in-
terior, that the latter were doubtless soon apprised of
this seeming disapproval of what had been done by
the local authorities, and the result was to make them
more impudent than they had ever been.
But if any steps are taken to remedy the existing
evils it is to be hoped that our relations with the
Arabs in this neighbourhood will be placed on an en-
tirely new footing. Unless this is effected no lasting
benefit
can be anticipated. An egregious error was
committed in the first instance by our exaltation of
the so•called Sultan of Lahedj. lie was recognised
by us as the head of the surrounding tribes, whereas,
in fact, he possesses no authority whatever over them,
and has very little power over his own tribe. The
chief of Bir tietnid, it i 3 true, pays him a trifling
yearly tribute, but in every other respect he is inde-
pend-nt. Toe Foodtilis, instead of being subject to
the Sultan of Labedj, receives tribute from him,
And had the latter been aisle to coerce them surely
he would long ere this have reclaimed the refugee
murderers who are living under the protecrioe
it' the Foodhlis, or have punished them for their reb-l-
lion. nireever, if this individual is -n well disposed
owards us, end posseses at much infilence, why is it
teat ne has not se-IZA and puoished the assassins 0,
the two sailors of the Sons of C itnnierce, sine,- it has
been discovered that the murderers belong to his
tribe, the Abdali, and not to the Foodhli ? l'here i.
ao•ne mystery in all this, which must be solved it we
ire to be s-cure and to tnaurain our proper dignity
in this part of ArebLi
P.S. Toe wreck of the Sens of C ,mtnerce has been
sold by public suctioo at Alen. Tue principal pur-
chaser is the chief Arab resident of this town, a man
sometimes called upon to decide suits which require a
knowledge of Mahornedan law. The wreck was
knocked down for 2,450 r., and the day after two
boats (one belonging to the Government acing in-
terpreter) went off to the wreck. The Arabs of the
district, well knowing who had been the purchasers,
received their townsmen of Arlen with a hearty wel-
come. Sheep were slaughtered for their use, and the
united company had a jolly time of it. Moreover,
the natives of the place adjacent to the wreck gave
their compani,ns every assistance in dismantling the
vessel, and the two boats returned next day to Aden
laden with the spoil. Reflect here how different was
the reception given by these villains to the boat's crew
of the Elphinstone when she visited the wreck
Surely if the principal Arabs in Aden, who are en-
jnying our protection, can exert bo much influence
over their compatriots in the neighbourhood, could
their services not have been enlisted to rescue from
desecration the corpses of our two unfortunate coun
trymen?