The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-07 00:00:00

/WU+

Pitieß 41). STAMPED, sr.

nation had to intrigue for in this land ? The French,
owing to a similarity of religious creed and other
reasons, have more influence in the province than
we have, but that they have intrigued or do intrigue
to gain this is a weak fable which can no more bear
proof than can the opposite one of England intrigu •
ing amongst the Druses—in fact both are equally
false, both equally wantin g in anything approaching
to proof, and both equally mischievous for either
French or English to speak or print at the present day.
One thing is certain, that here in Syria there is
but one opinion about the occupation. English
French, Austrian, Russian, and native Christians are
of opinion that it is the one only move which can
save Syria from utter ruin. There has not—as I
have all along prophesied in my letters been the
shadow of a rising on the part of the Moslems
owing to the French troops landing, but on the
contrary they have been humbled and subdued, in-
stead of arrogant and insulting, towards the Chris-
tians on all possible occasions. We have not yet
had time to hear what effect the landing of the
troops has produced in the interior, but I still main-
tain that both Moslem and Druse will be frightened
into good behaviour rather than goaded into insur-
rection. The effect which the occupation has had
in re-establishing confidence in the place is wonder-
ful. Men now go about their occupations certain
that their lives and those of their families are
secure. Trade too is gradually but surely reviving,
and business is a hundred per cent. more brisk than
it was a few days ago. Some of the Druses talk
very big of meeting the French should they move
towards Damascus, and disputing their entrance
there by force of arms. However, this is but talk.
The Druses have perhaps yet to learn the difference
of fighting from behind stone walls and of the attack
of European troops. They are brave as the tiger
or bloodhound is brave—that is, they would tear in
pieces their unarmed enemy. But courage as it
is accounted in Western lands they know not, and
would no more hold their own—not even in the
mountains—against one-fifth of their number of
regular troops, than a London mob would stand
against a troop of Life Guards. I firmly believe—
and I have seen no little eastern mountain warfare
in Afghanistan, a country defended by a far braver
race of men than the Druses—l firmly believe that
with three thousand such infantry as he has here,
and a few mountain guns, General d'Hautpoul
could walk from one end of Southern Syria to the
other. He could drive every Druse out of Leba-
non, restore perfect order to Damascus, and punish
all the miscreants who have committed murder in
the land. The Druses, Bedouins, Kurds, and Mos-
lems judge of other regular troops by what they
have seen of the Sultan's Nizam soldiers, but they
would find it a very different affair if they came
to measure arms with Frenchmen, and it would
perhaps be quite as well if they received a lesson
which they would not forget in a hurry. If time
allows it to-day, I must here add an appeal to Eng-
land on behalf of the suffering refugee Christians of
Syria. The night before last another caravan of
these poor people arrived here from Damascus. I
rode out to meet them, and the sight was enough to
excite the pity Eitel anger of any one. Could one
man from each parish in England, France, Austria,
Switzerland, and America, have seen these poor
creatures arrive, there would be preached and car-
ried out such a crusade against Islamism as would
quite throw into the shade the like expeditions of
the middle ages. The caravan numbered about
2,000 souls, and contained at least 20 women to one
man. Where were the natural protectors—the hus-
bands, fathers, brothers, and sons of these women ?
Cut off, murdered, butchered—massacred in cold
blood, massacred unarmed, massacred as trouble-
some vermin might be, simply and solely because,
imperfect and faulty though their creed be, yet
solely because they bore the name of Christians.
And this, too, by a people who were supported by
a government which Protestant England and Catho-

lie France shed the blood of thousands to save from
a foreign foe. In that caravan that came in the
other day there were no fewer than six infants at
the breast that had died because fear, hunger,
worry, and fatigue had dried up the milk of their
mothers. The sickness amongst them all (from the
life they had led at Damascus, the great heat and
annoyance of the journey, and the bad food they
had been fed on for weeks) is fearful. Our English
and American fund is working well, and doing
great good : £2,500 have reached us from home, and
more will follow, no doubt. But will no one contri-
bute blankets, coarse cloth, rags, old clothes—any-
thing whereby the horrors of the cold damp Syrian
winter can be mitigated for these poor creatures ?
The names of the home committee are well known.

Sir Moses Montefiore and Sir Culling Eardley are
at the head of the movement ; and the bankers are
Hey woods, Coutts, Drummond, and the Ottoman
Bank. Food of any sort, clothing of any kind, even
fuel of any description would be most acceptable. In
Beyrout, Mr. Moore, the English consul-general, Mr.
Johnson, the United States consul, and all the Eng-
lish and American residents, are of the committee,
so that subscribers may feel pretty certain that their
funds will not be misapplied. Nor is the affair at
all sectarian. On the list of those relieved by our
Anglo-American committee there are about eighty
Protestants, and more than 4,900 Catholics and
members of the Greek Church. In the name of all
that is merciful, then, let England come forward
with her subscriptions, for greater misery or need
never existed than we have here now. Coarse warm
cloth, or other winter material wherewith to make
up dresses for these poor people, would be most
acceptable, and should be sent out in as large quan-

tities as possible.
From Damascus I hear that Fuad Pacha has exe-
cuted four Druses of the Hauran, who were impli-
cated in murdering Christians of the villages near
Damascus. These are the first of these miscreants
who have as yet met with their reward ; let us
hope they will not be the last. Nearly all the
Druse Sheiks have sent to ask Fuad Pacha whether
he will receive them. He replied, No ;" but that
" when he did went them he would send for them ;
and he advised them to obey the summons. I hear,
and hope it is true, that the French will i
make it a
sine qua non that all feudal power be taken from
the Druse Sheiks throughout Lebanon. Without
this, and the punishment of allwho took any part
in the murdering or The 042 A ; ,
plundering,no settlement can
ever be made in this countrcountryh .Leta i return
of Christians murdered in Damascus
during the
iurered in the town.. 4 200
massacre gives the numbersd as follows :
Christians of Damasous 7l
Ditto of other towns, refugees in Da_
se
sacred at the same time ............
.. U.
.... ,
2,330

T0ta1......
.. ,530
There are rumours afloat that Fuad Pacha has
positive
proofs of this Plot to crush out the Chris-
tian element throughout Syria being set on foot by
men in authority at Constantinople, and that h ur-
sehid and Aehmet Pachas did but obey orders. I
have reason to know that there is no small degree
of truth in this, and that whenever the commissioners
for Syria assemble some very strange facts will be
brought to light, and a most complete refutation
be given to those senseless reports about French
intrigues having brought about these massacres.
We have now here ships from every navy in Eu-
rope almost. There are no less than 24 pennants
now before Beyrout, viz.:—

Turkish—Two line-of-battle ;ships, a frigate, and
two despatch boats—total, 5..

English—One line-of-b'attle ship, a frigate, and a
gunboat--total, 3.

French—Two lir4e. of-battle ships and two de-
spatch boats—trjcal, 4.
Austrian--!Two frigates and paddle-wheel steamer
—total, 3.

Dutch--Two frigates—total, 2.
Sardinian—Corvette and paddle-wheel steamer—
total, 2.

Greek—Corvette and three small steamers--
total, 4.

Russian—One frigate—total, 1.

PRESERVATION OP
SHIPIVREa
A ineeting of e Royal Nation—al-Lb,
tution was held yesterday, at its house, John-street
Adelphi, Sir Edward Perrott, Bart., in the chair.
The minutes of the previous meeting having been
read,

A reward of £l3 was voted to the crew of the.
Lyme Regis lifeboat, which belongs to the institu-
tion, for going off on the night of the 20th ult.,
during a gale of wind, and assisting, by putting
some of her crew on board, to bring safely into
port the schooner Ceres, of Shields, and her crew of
five men. It appeared that when the vessel was first
seen she was at anchor on a lee shore, 15 miles to
leeward of Lyme. Although the night was dark
and boisterous, and the ship so distant from their
station, the lifeboat crew lost not a moment in
launching their lifeboat, and proceeding to the ves-
sel's help. After a hard pull of several hours they
succeeded in reaching the schooner and in assisting
to bring her safely into harbour. The lifeboat was
reported to have behaved adalirably, and to pull
very well on the occasion.
A reward of ..C7 10s. was also voted to the crew of
the Southport lifeboat, which has recently been
brought into connection with the National Lifeboat
Institution, for putting off very early on the morn-
ing of the 26th ult., to the rescue of the crew of
three men of the smack Hope, of Dublin, which
during a heavy gale of wind, was seen in distress
on the Horse Bank, near Liverpool. The sea at the
time was making a complete breach over the wreck
and the poor men who were in it had given them-
selves up for lost, as, owing to the darkness of the
morning, they did not see the lifeboat until she was
within 200 yards of them. With some difficulty
they were rescued from their very perilous situation,
but it was at last successfully accomplished through
the able management of Rockliffe, the coxswain of
the lifeboat, and the shipwrecked crew were after-
wards brought safely on shore. The lifeboat on this
station is old, and the National Lifeboat Institution
has decided on re, ' ing her with a new one, and on
building a new ana .eommodious lifeboat house at
Sot.: hp,e.t, which, on account o I its proximity to
Liverpool, is a most important and desirable life-
' boat station.

The thanks of the institution, inscribed on vel-
lum, were ordered to be presented to Mr. A. Gould,
captain pilot at Aberdeen, in testimony of his
va,uable services in assisting with the Aberdeen
lifeboat and other means in saving, during the last
two or three years, the crews of several vessels
which had been wrecked near Aberdeen. The life-
boat at Aberdeen was built by Messrs. Forrestt, on
the plan of this institution, and is kept in first-rate
order.

A reward of £4 was given to a boat's crew, for
putting off and taking from the rigging, at consi-
derable risk of life, the crew of two men of the
sloop Britannia, of Preston, which during a heavy
gale of wind had sunk off Southport, on the 26th.
ult. The poor men had been in the rigging five
hours when rescued, the vessel having sunk imme-
diately after taking the ground.
A reward of £6 was also voted to the crew of the
life-boat of the institution stationed at Lytham, for
putting off with the view of rendering assistance
to vessels in distress during the heavy storm on.
Sunday, the 26th ult.

It was reported that the institution had just sent
new lifeboats to New Quay, in Cornwall, and to
Banff, on the north-east coast of Scotland. The
cost of the former boat had been defrayed by a lady,
and that of the latter by Messrs. Macfie and Sons,
of Liverpool.

A free conveyance had, as usual, been readily
given by the several railway companies for the two
boats and carriages.
Lifeboats were ordered to be built for Penar tb, on
the Glamorginshire coast, and for Selsea, on the
Sussex coast.

It was reported that some benevolent ladies had
presented to the institution £2OO, to enable it to
plant a lifeboat at Llandudno, near Liverpool, in
memory of a departed relative.

A letter was read from Mr. Ferguson, harbour-
master of Victoria, Australia, of June 20 last, ex-
pressing his thanks for the various papers the
society had forwarded to him. and stating that in
addition to the five lifeboats built on the plan of
the National Lifeboat Institution, they were de-
sirous to build some single-banked lifeboats on the
principle, and desiring that a drawing of the same
might be forwarded to him.
A communication was also read from Mr. Wood-
bride, swimming master of the lake in Victoria
Park, stating that he had within the past few
weeks been instrumental in restoring three ladfi who
were apparently dead from drowning, by treating
them according to the instructions of the 'institu-
tion. These rules are based on the prim;iples of
the late eminent physiologist, Dr. Marshal' t Hall.
These facts, taken in connexion with th e impor-
tant services which the lifeboat of the institution
are constantly rendering to shipwrecked crews,
proclaim their own importance; and •vhile the
National Lifeboat Institution can hope to bestow
boons of such value on suffering human',ty, it may
expect to retain its hold, with God's blessing, on
the esteem and gratitude of mankind.
Payments amounting to £BOO were ordered to be
made on various lifeboat establiliaments.
The institution earnestly appealed to the public
for assistance to enable it to meet the very heavy
and continued expenses on .ts large fleet of lifeboats
now numbering one lund.red and six.
The proceedings P.ien closed.

TB IS DAY'S MARKETS.

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THEATRE-ROYAL, HAYMARKET.
Lessee, Mr. J. B. Buckstone.
THIS EVENING the performances will commence with
THE OVERLAND ROUTE. Messrs. Charles Mathews,
Buckstone, Comp, Chippendale. Rogers, Mrs. Charles
Mathews, Miss Weekes, and Mrs. Wilkins.
After which, USED UP. Sir Charles Coldstream, Mr. C.
Mathews ; Lady Clutterbuck, Mrs. E. Fitzwilliam.
To conclude with THE KING'S GARDENER.

Commence at 7.

ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE.--
Lessee, Mr. A. Harris.
THIS EVENING, will be performed MACBETH. Mr.
James Anderson and Miss Elsworthy.
After which, THE FIRST NIGHT. Mr. A. Harris and
Miss Maria Harris.