The Sun.
London, England, 1860-08-20 00:00:00

for some time wishing to leave Damascus and other towns
for fear of their lives, have been prevented by the Pashas;
who will not give them a teskere (pass), although they have
not the slightest right to withhold it, for any subject may
travel about the Ottoman dominions at pleasure.
" It is difficult to see how many Christians have been
killed in all the mountain massacres. The numbers are
rated very differently, some rating the number of deaths at
4,000, others at as many as 10,000. This last number is a
very great exaggeration, and I should place the maximum
at 4,000; for, from the best information I have been able
to collect from many sources, I rate the number of killed at
Deir-el-Katumar at 1,100 to 1,200; at Hasbeya and Re-
sheya, 700 ; at Sidon, 550 ; so that in the three great man
nacres from 2,250 to 2,350 males fell. Above 200 refugees
were cut to pieces on the 30th and 31st of May, near Bey-
rout, and if 1,000 more Christians were killed in the villages
I should say that was quite the outside ; so that I shall not
be inclined to think that more than 3,500 have actually
perished—but 3,500 males ; and that takes a great deal out
of a population whose whole wealth and prosperity depends
on its energy.
"On Wednesday, the 11th of July, a Turkish line-of-
battle ship and two frigates entered the bay, having on
board about 3,000 troops. This caused a fresh panic, and
all thbse who had lingered here now made their prepara-
tions to depart, for the Consuls insisted on the Pasha per-
mitting those who wished to leave to embark.

" The Christians of Beyrout felt now that it was all over
with them. Hitherto they had looked with comfort to the
foreign men-of-war at anchor in the bay ; now they feel
they are between two fires, and this great additional mili-
tary force being landed, instead of giving security, adds
only to the insolence of the Moslems and, consequently, to
the danger of the Christians.
" So far goes my sketch of the war in Lebanon. This war
(it is a farce using the term when the whole has been a
butchery) has now been concluded ; and would that my re-
lation of horrors could conclude with it I Almost the yew,
day on which peace was proclaimed a fanatical ;.utbViar
broke out at Damascus. We had been expectin6 it." Indeed,
all those best acquainted with Syria have for three or four
years foreseen that some dreadful tragedy would be en-
acted in this country, especially in the capital. In no place
is the fanaticism stronger than at Damascus, and the Chris-
.

tiaas are in such a minority that the very thought of a
general slaughter there is too dreadful. The Moslems
number about 130,000, and the Christians not more than
15,000.

"The train, which had been long laid, was fired on Mon-
day, the 9th of July, at 2 p.m. The house of the Russian
Consul was the first to be attacked, then some of the houses
of the leading Christian merchants, eich, according to the
abominable custom of this country, being set on fire. This
work was found to be too slow for them, so they went off to
the Aleppo-gate (Bab Tuma), and commenced burning the
whole Christian quarter systematically. lam not going to
enter into further details, as the affair of Damascus is not
yet over ; but up to the moment the last despatch went,
which was eight days after the commencement of the affair,
the Christian quarter was still burning, the cry of theMos-
lem still raging, and the thirst for blood not yet satiated.
No one is safe. The streets are crowded by fanatics who
continually shout Death to the Christians ! Come, let us
slaughter the Christians; let not one remain.' The Euro-
peans, up to the time of the last despatch, had escaped, no
thanks to the people, for they have burnt all the consulates
except the British and Russian, and call loudly that the
Russia". and French consuls be delivered up to them.
"The very few Europeans at Damascus have found re-
fuge with Abd-el-Kader or with Mr. Brant, her Britannic
Majesty's consul, who by his firm and splendid behaviour
has been the means, up to the present, of saving many lives.
But he is regularly besieged, with some 100 refuges in his
house, and any moment may be his last. To add to these
horrors, the Arabs and Kurds have come into the city, and
besides plundering and murdering the men, they carry off
the women. And the Pasha has done nothing. Ahmed
Pasha never ordered the gates to be closed ; and the Otto-
man troops have distinguished themselves by their eager-
ness to slaughter the Christians and illtreat the women.
" Othmar. Beg, the same who was at Hasbeya, entered
Damascus a few days ago, and received the honours of a con-
quering hero. Nething can be more infamous than the be-
haviour of Ahmed Pasha and of all the officials.

"We all tremble for Aleppo, Homs, Haman, even for
Jerusalem. May these places escape ! I fear not. At all
events Aleppo will hardly remain quiet."

" CONSUL BRANT TO LORD J. RUSSELL.
" Damascus, July 16.
"I dare not attempt to give any details of the destruction
by fire and pillage of the Christian quarter of Damascus, a
city of itself. Europe will be astonished to hear that a
Christian community has been attacked, and possibly a third
part of the male population massacred, with scarcely an
attempt at resistance on their part, and a very feeble effort
on the part of the authorities to avert or arrest so awful a
calamity.
" The surprise will not be diminished when it is added
that this has occurred without any provocation, in a time of
peace, not by an irruption of tribes inimical or exasperated
against the Christians, but by a portion of their fellow-
citizens, apparently stimulated only by a fanatical hatred of
tbo Christians and by the lust of plunder,
" That there must be a great misconduct somewhere will
bo easily conceived, but it will not be so easy to fix on the
, guilty parties. The respectable part of the population was
well disposed, and has to all appearance used its influence
and power to maintain tranquillity. Strangers and people of
the villages in the plain have been concerned in the tragedy
to a limited extent ; the greatest damage has been effected
by the evil-disposed portion of the population. The military
force was small, it is true, but I have little doubt that if it

had been actively employed it could have mastered the out-
break and prevented the calamity. Grave suspicions rest on
the conduct of the Pasha, in whose hands were combined
the civil and military power, and who appeared paralysed.
It is, however, almost inconceivable that a soldier who
holds the elevated rank of Mushir, who was engaged in the
Crimea during the war in a high command, should be so
overcome by fear as to have acted as his Excellency has
done ; and this gives at least plausibility to the opinion
strongly entertained by some that the whole affair was a
plot of his own contrivance. In this opinion I confess I
cannot concur ; but so many reasons and facts are adduced
that my opinion is staggered, and I must suspend coming
to a decision until a rigid examination of facts has been
made and competent witnesses have made their depositions.
" The facts apparent to every one are these :—The Chris-
tian quarter was set fire to on Monday, the 9th inst., and as
no attempt was made to arrest the conflagration, it was still
burning on Sunday night, the 15th ; every church and con-
vent has been plundered and burnt afterwards, and some
possessed a large stock of silver church plate and orna-
ments, but the Greek Patriarchate was the richest, as well
in church plate and jewellery as in gold coin; these things
were not allowed to be plundered by the rabble, but were
removed by soldiers. It is notorious that for some days the
Algerines of his Highness the Emir Abd-el-Kader saved
from the ruins several hundreds before the Pasha thought
of doing so. That his Excellency neither thought of re-
moving or burying the corpses until I entreated him to do
so to prevent a pestilence, and when he did order something
to be done, it was so little as almost to be useless. That,
although his Excellency promised to adopt my repeated sug-
gestion that the gates should be guarded, and no strangers
be admitted, it was done tardily and ineffectually. That
while the Christian quarter was given up to plunder, neither
the Jewish quarter nor the Meidan, whence the plunderers
poured forth in swarms, was injured or disturbed—a fact
so singular demands inquiry and explanation. I know in
what direction to look for it when the time of inquiry shall
come, but the inquirers must be armed with power, and be
able to protect those who will give evidence.
" The Pasha should be called on to explain why he was
never seen without the walls of his Serai •' why the greater
part of his troops were kept to defend his. Excellency ; why
no officer of rank ever headed the detachments of troops
occasionally sent out ; why cannon sent to the Christian
quarters to clear it of the plunderers were never used; and,
during the whole course of the massacre, why the troops
fired but few shots, and those mostly without effect. These
and similar questions can only be put by persons acquainted
with the facts from the beginning to the end.
" The members of the Municipal Council should be called
upon to state the advice they gave, and why that advice
was not acted upon. The Pasha would seem to lay the
fault on them, while they say their counsel was unheeded.
" I entreat that pecuniary assistance be furnished me. I
have no means of my own, and the calls on me are so heavy
that I cannot long respond to them. I have altogether
under my roof nearly 200 people who depend on me for food,
and I cannot foresee when they can quit this asylum, or
whither they can go. All are houseless, penniless, and with
only the clothes on their backs. I dread a sickness follow-
ing. I have but a small stock of medicine, and no doctor
to assist. I will not fail in my duty be it as severe as it
may, but I cannot do what is beyond my physical powers
and my pecuniary means. lam puzzled what to do, and
my hope is that my earnest appeal for aid in these trying
circumstances will not be without effect. For the moment
appearances are favourable to the restoration of tranquillity,
but after what we have witnessed, no one can say that we
are safe from one hour to another.
" I deeply regret the murder of the Rev. William Graham,
a Protestant missionary, when near my house, to which he
was directing his steps, after being driven from the house
where he had taken refuge, the owner of which. was a friend
of Mr. Wood's, and through whose patronage and kindness
he amassed money during the Crimean war. The mur-
derer is known, and openly avows his crime ; the reason he
gives for committing it was, that he believed him to be a

consul.
" CAPTAIN PAYNTER TO VICE-ADMIRAL MARTIN.
" Exmouth, Beyrout, July 19.
" Sir,—The postscript of my letter dated the 13th of July
placed you in possession of the latest news received from
Damascus up to Thursday, the 12th of July. I have now
the painful duty to report that the tragedy is consummated.
From Monday, the 9th, until Saturday morning, the 14th,
the game of blood, fire, and treachery went on, with the
following result.
" The whole Christian quarter of Damascus (a city in it-
self) has been ruthlessly plundered and burnt to the ground,
loss estimated at £1,200,000 sterling; 2,000 dead bodies lie
unburied amid the ruins (Mr. Consul Brant's letter to Mr.
Moore states from 3,000 to 5,000); and 20,000 houseless
wanderers, whose only crime was that they were followers
of Christ, now live on charity, and ask for justice from the
hands of Europe.
" The cowardly or treacherous Achmet Pasha, whose first
duty it was to have shown himself at the head of his troops,
and dispersed the robbers, proved faithless to his trust, either
from his fears or his fanaticism ; he kept within his palace
during the whole period of the massacre • his troops, still
fresh from the slaughters of Hasbeya andDeir-el-Kammar,
joined the Moslem mob in murdering and pillaging a popu-
lation it was their duty to defend at the peril of their lives.
" Five atrocious massacres within six weeks attest the
power of evil or the miserable incapacity of the local Turkish
authorities in Syria, and every mail that leaves this port
takes to Europe harrowing details of those transactions,
which, when known, will sicken the inhabitants of every
Christian city in the world.
" I sincerely trust that Aleppo is safe, as precautionary
measures have been taken to prevent that city sharing a
similar fate.
" Yesterday, the 18th, an express arrived from Damascus.
Mohammar Pasha and the troops had arrived. Order was
being gradually restored ; the gates are closed against arm d
bodies of men. They were burying the dead for fearn of armed
bodies
the
plague ; and some vegetable and provision
no Christian
shops
Mahomedan quarter are open for trade
dare show his face. Troops are clearing' but
the road between
Beyrout and Damascus, and I have no doubt that the
majority of the fugitives will soon find their way to this

poit.
" On Wethauday, the 17th, Fttad Pasha, the Minister for