The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-10 00:00:00

2.11.10
16

£70,86s for the corresponding period of 1859. The
proportion of the South. Junction receipts accruing
to this company from January 1 to April 1
amounted to £5,262, as against £5,741 for the cor-
responding period of 1859, and the expenses to
£2,906, as against £3,123.

SPAIN AND MOROCCO.

A letter from Tetuan, dated March 25th, says
—The most severely contested and, as it has proved,
the decisive and final action of the Spanish cam-
paign in Morocco, was fought the day before yes-
terday. Of the bare facts of what has occurred, of
the battle, the Moors' courageous defence, their
final complete defeat, the heavy loss of the Spa-
niards (larger than has been admitted by official
returns to have been suffered in any other action of
this war), of the renewed negotiations, and the
final signature of peace by Marshal O'Donnell and
Muley Abbas, you will already have received
tidings.
At four o'clock on the morning of the 23d inst.,
the diuna sounded in the streets of Tetuan and in
the camps in front and rear of the city ; tents were
struck, mules loaded, and before six the whole
Spanish army, between 20,000 and 25,000 strong,
was in motion westwards. In Tetuan remained a
slender garrison of barely 1,500 men ; the three
forts near the sea, known respectively as Martin,
Custom-house, and Star, were intrusted to the care
of a small force of infantry of the line and of a few
companies of the Basque contingent, besides the
necessary artillerymen for working the guns. It
was evident the General-in-Chief expected to have
occasion for every man he could muster.
The action commenced at a short league from
Tetuan ; the ground where it terminated, and where
the Spaniards encamped, is about Weague further
off. The river Guad el Jelu, or Martin, changes its
name in more than one place, and at a league and
a half from Tetuan, where it makes an abrupt turn
to the right and crosses the road under a bridge,
it is known as the Guad el Ras. The road to Tan-
gier is rather more like a road than the imperfect
tracks which generally bear that name in this
country. The positions successively held and aban-
doned by the Moors on the line of advance of the
main body of the Spanish army were of an advanta-
geous nature, a series of hills partially covered with
brushwood with here and there a dollar, or hamlet,
of the poor huts the rural population herabouts in-
habit. To give you a correct detailed account of
the action is scarcely possible, owing to the extent
of the ground over which it was fought, and because
it was in great measure a collection of desultory
combats. The plan of the Moors was evident
enough. They are, as you know, but poor tacticians,
and judging, it may be supposed, of others by
themselves, they imagined that the Spaniards would
advance along the valley without guarding the
lofty and extensive heights upon their right.
Thither, however, General Rios betook himself,
and soon became aware of the presence of a large
force of the enemy, estimated at about 12,000 men.
While that general, making a wide circuit checked
the advance of this left wing, Eehague, Prim, and a
small portion of the 3d corps, were fighting their
way along the lower ground and over the hills that
diversified it. The most severe conflict was after the
passage of the river, where the Moors held very
strong positions opposite to the Spanish left. Here
the army changed its front about their quarters to
the left, and Prim attacked a village in which
the Moors had established themselves in great force,
and where they made a most obstinate resistance.
A charge of cavalry directed against it proved, as
might have been expected, utterly fruitless, and was
repulsed with the loss of about 80 men and horses.
Twice was the village taken and retaken, until at
last the Spaniards permanently occupied it. There
can be no question that the Moors fought on Friday,
better than they have ever yet done in this cam-
paign. Their leaders had found means to inspirit
them, notwithstanding their many previous defeats,
to redeem which they made a desperate effort.
Fresh troops had evidently been brought up from
remote parts of the empire. The black cavalry were
there in force, and displayed great intrepidity.
There were several hand-to-hand conflicts, in which
bodies of Moorish infantry boldly attacked Spanish
battalions. In one instance a mere handful of men
rushed fearlessly upon the Spanish line, dying upon
the bayonets, but not until some of them had ac-
tually penetrated the battalion. Wherever there
was a position favourable to the irregular mode of
fighting of the Moors, these stubbornly defended it,
and were more than once driven out only at the
point of the bayonet. Doubtless, the leaders were
for some time in hopes of their fire being responded
to by that of the force which had been sent along
the heights to get into the Spanish leer, but to
which Rios opposed a barrier. 0 wing to the nature
of the ground, and to avoid being himself outflanked
by the large body of the enemy he encountered,
Rios had to make a very wide circuit, and the
Moors, seeinb this, attempted to push in between
him and the main body of the army, and to turn the
flank of the latter. They were repulsed, and after
that, as already mentioned, the principal contest was
on the left. From ridge to ridge, from one captured
position to another, the Spaniards at last came in
sight of the Moorish camps, These were three in
number, and great hopes were entertained that, as
on the ith of February, they would become the prize
of the victors. But the enemy had profited by ex-
perience, and no longer entertained a blind confi-
dence in their power of successfully defending any
position. With extraordinary celerity their camps
were raised. It is true that they are not generally
encumbered with much baggage, and most of them
had probably little to transport beyond their can-
vas dwellings and a few old clothes and blankets ;
nevertheltss the rapidity of the operation was sur-
prising. A staff officer, who was observing and
sketching, assured me that not more than 10 or 12
minutes elapsed from the time when every tent
was standing to the moment when the last had
disappeared.
Soon after four o'clock all was over, and nearly
the last shots fired were by the two batteries of
field artillery at the dispersed Moorish cavalry.
After half-past four no more shots were heard, and
this is worthy of note, as showing how completely
the Moors must have considered the game up and
have felt themselves proportionately disheartened,
for in previous actions (except in one or two, when
heavy rain seemed to have the effect of rendering
in
variably,
even firearms unserviceable) they have
even after they felt themselves beaten, kept up
skirmishing until dark. The killed were nume-
rous, the wounded much more so, but the hurts
of many of the latter were slight, and at. least
200 or 300 were able to walk back to Tetuan,
and the next day to the seashore for embarka-
tion. There was considerable loss of officers,
as usual, in this war. All the commanding
officers of C'a:culeres, light infantry battalions, en-
gaged were hit. The heaviest loss (about one-half
of the whole) fell upon Prim's corps, which was the
most engaged ; Echague's troops had nearly 300
killed and wounded, including 3 colonels or lieu-
tenant-colonels and about 30 officers. The official
return gives 7 officers and 130 men killed, 97
officers and 1,026 men wounded. General A lcaly
le
Galiano, commanding the cavalry, was slightly
wounded. Colonel Jovellar, of the head-quartershe total
staff, received a ball through the arm.
loss is 1,260 killed and wounded, but a large pro-
portion of the wounds are of little l
e importance,
those who have received them will be a
to their duty in two or three weeks.
blet oreturn
and

in Manchester, and
who g 'me
e wholesale millinery
Good Friday afternoon, a very melancholy accident occured
MELANCIIOLY BOAT ACCIDENT AT
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establishment of Mr. Purdy, of York; Jabez Davies a
clerk to Mr. M'Cullock, coal agent to the Great Northern
COnlatr hahe aisiaamc river
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Railway; and Jonas Smith, in the service of the North-
Eastern Railway Company, hired a boat at King's Staith,
for the purpose of proceeding up the river. Davies took
the oars, Miss Hampson sat near the stern of the boat, and
Smith sat behind her for the purpose of steering. After the
party had reached the curve of the river, near the Water-
works, about a mile and a half from the place where they had
started, Smith, at the request of Davies, rose for the pur-
pose of having a turn at the oars. As he was passing up
the boat his foot caught in Miss Hampeon's dress. The
young lady immediately arose to her feet, when the boat
becoming suddenly overbalanced, Smith fell backwards in
the water, followed by Miss Hampson. The latter, in her
struggles in the water, seized the former by the throat, and
they went to the bottom together. Smith, however, by
some means liberated himself, and on rising to the surface
the second time, was saved by Davies. Miss Hampscn was
only seen once after she first sank, and, about an hourafter-
wards, was taken out a corpse. At the inquest on Saturday,
it was stated that only a few minutes before the fatal occur-
rence, whilst joking with her companions, Miss Hampeon
had remarked, " If I should fall overboard, I should not
drown on account of my crinoline." A verdict of " Acci-
dental death by drowning" as returned.