The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-31 00:00:00

TIIE MASSACRE AT DAMASCUS.

The following are extracts of letters from a Ely
ropean resident in Damascus to a friend in Bet
rout :

" DAMASCUS, JULY 10, 6.30 A.M.
" A few minutes after I closed my letter of re
terday an uproar commenced in the street opposite
my horse. The Moslems—men, women, and boya'" ,„
began to assemble, crying out that all should go 1"
the Christian quarter to plunder, burn, and mar
sacre, and threatening not to leave a house or 0
Christian. I went to the street and spoke to sotao
of them, hoping it would come to nothing. It gre/or
rapidly worse. Every one was calling to others t
to come without arms, and the women were violentll
exciting the men. There was some fear expressel,
of the soldiers, but most declared the soldiers won!!
not interfere with them. I now found it prudent t 7
take the advice of some of my neighbours, att
keep inside my house. The street past my house P
about the shortest road from the Shughoor and tl6/
Meedan, the two worst districts in the city. So°
after I went into my house the ruffians began
of
return from the Christian quarter with burdens 3
plunder, while the numbers running towards
were increasing, and threats, imprecations,
yells were numerous and loud. Every sort and
of thing was carried past my house—mares ati
goats, gold and old iron nails, silks and cottons
chests large and small, tables, chairs, books, a?
every imaginable article. There was a regalfirt
stream of these plunderers past my door till at
sunset—nearly five hours. Afterwards they
came fewer, but they never ceased all night, an
with the dawn they again increased. As soon 6:
they. had plundered some of the houses they 96
them on fire. During the night, though tbe,,
_.'"„
was clear moonlight, the flames and smoke pr
°'
a sight as grand as it was awful. During
the first half of the night the flames present
an unbroken arc of a circle, as viewed from Ito
roof, of more than 70 deg., extending from a lit d
north of Bab Shurky to the extreme north poil3t,
the Christian quarter. Towards morning the t;
became shorter, partly because it had been steacbl
approaching me, and the Christian quarter as
comes this way grows narrower, and partly, Peso
haps, because the line of fire was not sweeping o,
houses on the north border of the quarter. Co
wards morning the flames also became lower, °I. lees*
violent, on most parts of the line, and fewer houses
were in flames at once. Still the fire is raging fear'
fully. There has been an increasing tumult d
cries, of the fire, of breaking open houses, &c•, au
mingled up together. I have no means of guessing
the amount of murder committed. Last night co!.
paratively few appear to have been killed, but the,,
is said to have been more butchery this morning'
I cannot go out of my door without being in the
midst of these hellish ruffians thirsting and crli°o
for blood and plunder. If one of the native Clarl,
tians in my house were to go out I believe he cow,
not reach the corner of the street alive. So IS
means of information beyond what I free and beet
of the flames and tumult and plunder are Ye?.
limited. We overhear. a good deal of their talk
the street and some of the talk of our Mosley
neighbours on the roofs.
" I believe it would not have needed a great eilt.
d.
on the part of the Government to prevent all till;
but not the slightest effort has yet been 111011
There were soldiers in the Christian quarter an
neighbourhood, others were sent in the evenina.
:
with four guns, and more this morning; but the),
have not at all interfered with the ruffians. Yet a
jority of the miscreants are actually women, b 9
and girls. I would affirm that there are not ill4l
more than a few hundred men—say, 509—m04
81,
the lowest of the low, and miserably armed. Not
one in 20 has a gun. A very large number btivi,
only sticks, the rest swords, pistols, daggers, of
axes. Opposite my door is a sort of stoppioc
place for them, and we can overhear their talk, all
I can affirm that from the first, and all through
they have had the greatest dread of the interferen°6
of the soldiers, and constantly ask one another tii
they meet whether the soldiers in such and such
direction are stopping the murderers or opposing
thew, and this although, during. 17 hours, the
soldiers have been perfectly passive. j believe
firmly that 100, or at the most 200 soldiers, or
armed resolute men, not soldiers, could have p,ui.
down the insurrection at the worst moment.
,_`-;
course it would have been easier to do so wit'‘,
the first hour or two.
"This meagre account does not give anythill
like an adequate conception of this most horrikil
and most disgraceful affair; that words could
hardly do. Horses, donkeys, and mules are eta:
ployed to carry plunder, and some of the soldier,
help themselves to a share. There were severs;
thousands of poor widows, orphans, and other
plundered and ruined refugees here, depending 01
the charity of the Christians for food, shelter, an".
clothes. They are now burnt out again amid the
horrors of last night, and those who were providing
bread for them are now as helpless and miserable
as themselves.

NooN.
" The plundering still continues, but theabuinteemi ing,
nournmbet
engaged in it seems greatly reduced
atopitgonte o :
and most of the articles now are of little value;
No effort has yet been
asy made
as to
it
wouldtop this
e re m
terror and destruction, e
and a Christian, at least a man, would., probablif
be in greater danger among the ruffia'os now tball
at any formerper
butod. I cannot Thehouseensrjarseo swtiellll,basurc
ing, though apparently not nearly so muck el
through the night,
cannot go so freely on my roof in the day as I could
during the night. We have madt a peephole over
the street from which we can see and hear withenv.
of me, and
being seen; for if seen we should probably be very
soon disposed of. These ruffians from the Meedam
liiaenci nArabs,art g i la
is ife sin,
yknce
1, g
h bamongneighbours
dtoh them, t
bkentrof,
rush past thinking only' of the,,
er, gay probably escape, but there are some 0'
tmnaChnoleletdrmhlsitinntriot to be trusted.' We arenot in human
hands, but in the hands of One infinitely wise anti good as well as infinitely powerful, and witholo
His permission nothing can befall us."

THE WESTERN BANK.—The liquidators of the
Western Bank of Scotland have advertised that they sr,e
now desirous to pay off all the deposits still left in 000
hands by the public, and any other debts due, and that
after the 31st of August next no interest will be allowed WI
any money not call]. for. It must be satisfactory to thes
partners of that unfortunate concern thus to receive
full relief from the claims of the public. The windingl
has been conducted very creditably to all concerned, 513
the shareholders are deserving a special commendation
for their prompitude in . meeting the heavy calls will°
they were required to make, as by thus not only suPi
plementing., but largely anticipating the realisation °,O
assets, they have enabled the liquidators, within Ilttf
more than two years, to discharge upwards of £6,000,000 o
debts.

GOLD AND SILVER.—In the first 6 months of the
present year the registered imports into this country of gold
,
and silver bullion and specie amounted to X 10,975,07
and the exports to i'10,880,886, or nearly the same sub,;
Of the exports no less than £6,114,527 went to Egypt/
transit to India and China, those dry and thirsty lel"'
which absorb so much treasure. France also took frog,
us £1,832,145 more than we received from her. 1111
supply which came from Australia, America, and the West
Indies amounted to £7,926,410, and little or none flowed
back,