The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 3, 1860.

LAW LECTURES at THE INCORPORATED
LAW SOCIETY.
The several Courses of Lectures will be resumed by—
Mr. Frederick John Turner, on CONVEYANCING, Monday,
Jan. 9.
Mr. George Wip,-„man Hemming, on EQUITY, Friday, Jan.l3.
Mr. Frederick Meadows White, on COMMON LAw and MER-
CANTILE LAW, Monday, Jam 16.
ROBERT MAUGHAM, Secretary.
Law Society's Hall, Chancery-lane, London,
January 2, 1860,

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SPAIN AND MOROCCO.

(From the Times' Special Correspondent.)

CAMP IN FRONT OF CEUTA, DEC. 21.
The 19th inst., on the morning of which day I
sent off my last letter to you, was devoted to re-
pairing damages, repitching tents, drying the con-
tents of trunks and sandlebags, seeking things that
had strayed or been blown away, and re-establish-
ing, as far as possible, the status quo. The Moors
did not show; the storm had probably dispersed
and driven them to shelter. Yesterday was fine,
and our friends appeared again. There was skir-
mishing at various points of the line ; the Spanish
artillery fired a groat deal, and is supposed to have
done the enemy much harm ; at any rate, it made
them run fast enough. They Jo not at all relish artil-

lery, and we are accumulating a good deal of it for
their benefit. They showed some hundred cavalry
yesterday, and a staff officer assured me that he
saw the horsemen riding to and fro behind the in-
fantry, and urging them on with blows. It is cer-

tain that in recent encounters the Moors have not
come on with the same ♦igour and eagerness as for-
merly. Yesterday, for a considerable time in the
afternoon, they occupied a series of ridges opposite
our left, but showed no disposition to come within
short musket range, or risk a serious attack. Gene-
ral Ros de Olano's troops had orders to content
themselves with maintaining their position, and not

to advance, since to have moved out against the
Moors would have been only to expose the men
without possible advantage. For the present we
hold our lines, but do not desire anything beyond
them. So, as the Moors would not risk themselves
from under cover, and the Spaniards remained
motionless, the musketry was at very long range, and
a large number of cartridges was expended with

little or no result. The casualties on our side
were about 50, and, but for the artillery, which
punished them a good deal, I do not suppose
those of the Moors would have been very mush
greater, for they lie close under their banks
and hedges, stand up for an instant to fire, and
,& re down again directly. Our men, for the
most part' young troops, are more fond of firing
than sure of their aim (although some of the
Cazadore battalions are said to be expert marks-
men), and if their shots tell at the distance at which
they were yesterday shooting, and against targets
so dim and uncertain as the head of a crouching
Moor, it must be more by accident than skill. It
seems to me that, instead of this game of long shots '
leading to nothing except the expenditure of ammu-
nition, it would be better to let the men lie close
behind their parapets And not return the fire, and
then, if the Moors, emboldened by their forbear-
ance, ventured near, treat them with a volley, or
charge them with the bayonet. I doubt whether
th.y would come near enough to be caught in
general when the Spaniards, weary of skirmish-
ing, or just at nightfall, move forward from their
position in line without firing, the enemy scampers
away in all haste.
To-day the gunboats have gone a little way along
the Straits, and are firing at the Moorish camp in
rear of the Sierra and at some caves, in which the
Moors habitually shelter themselves. At this mo-
ment (3 p.m.) musketry has just begun upon our
left, some distance in advance. It is doubtless the
escort of the working party, returning home, and
followed up by the Moors. I believe there is no one
in the army who will not be glad when these weari-
some and fruitless skirmishes are over and we come
to something mare decisive.
Brigadier Sir Richard La Saussaye, who com-
manded the first Spanish brigade that came over
here (part of Echague's corps), and who has dis-
played military skill and conspicuous gallantry in
the various affairs that have since taken place, has
been raised to the rank of Major-General—a pro-
motion well-earned, and which I believe has given
satisfaction to those who have bees lately serving
under him. General La Saussaye is an Irishman,
and was formerly in the Spanish Royal Guard
when that corps &elite existed.

There has been some delay owing to bad
weather, and afterwards to breakage, in the laying
of the remnant of the Atlantic cable which came here
in the Tweedside, to connect the Spanish and Afri-
can coasts. To-day, however, all difficulties were
overcome. At a little before ten this morning the
Tweedside left Tarifa, paying out the wire, and at
two p.m. the connexion was completed, and mes-
sages were sent to Madrid, Paris, and London.
Colonel Gurrea, of General O'Donnell's staff, as-
sisted at the whole of the operation.

Beyond two or three Madrid journals not many
papers reach us here, but I occasionally get hold of
a number of the übiquitous Galignani, and from it
I derive the little knowledge obtainable here of
what is going on in civilised lands. In the impres-
sion of the 12-13th inst. I notice an article extracted
from one of your London contemporaries, which
makes it evident to me that there are very incorrect
ideas abroad as to the events that hare passed
around Ceuta during the last month. My letters,
If they have reached you, as I hope, will have dis-
pelled some of the delusions that sewn to have ob-
tained currency. The article in question, in speak-
ing of the actions of the 25th and 30th ult. in-
sinuates that the Spaniards had by no means the
best of
takenit.
place.
Thereseertehli
yes
they
do questiond i
n nearly
e ar
lbyu
et
vt
eh
ravt the
affairM thatoo Moors
has
attacked, and
It is not our object to attack
them. We merely
desire to hold the positions
andsh a l
la
ber e
ie readiness
e fortifying,adn ess
antscale, and in another direction.
and
eapNavraai
tt
et the es
we have
ma
menotr.we
bit
maeknpeonarltl
This is certain ; but it is equally so that, as often as
the enemy has presented himself, he has been re-
pulsed and worsted. It is completely untrue that a
gun was captured on the 30th ult., and I am ionorait
what can have given rise to such a report. No
Spaniards have as yet been made prisoners to the
knowledge of anybody here ; none have been re-
turned as missing. Marshal O'Donnell," the
writereeu n t s a
s
aking preparations to return to Madrid, ,t was represented by the last ac-
leaving the command in the hands of Zabale
There has never been the slightest rumour here of
such an intention on the part of the Commander-
in-Chief, whose
presence everybody considers as in-
dispensable, if the campaign is to continue. The
expedition was certainly undertaken, as the article
says, at a most unfitting time, but that it will
" spend the winter ;n Africa under canvas" is
highly improbable—if, at least, it be thereby im-
plied that it will remain all the winter in its pre-
sent lines. The writer then asks how it is to be pro-
visioned in a country " where the arrival of a single
traveller sometimes causes a scarcity." Luckily the
army is only alaout 15 miles from Algesiras, 10 from
Tarifa, a few hours steam from Cadiz or Malaga ;
so that there is a possibility of its escaping famine.
As to pressing forward into the interior of Morocco
at this season of the year, that is what no one
dreams of; it would be mere madness. Those of the
Madrid papers which only a few weeks ago so pret-
tily mapped out the route of this army, allotting so
many days to fighting, so many to marching, so

many to sieges, &c., and telling the whole force to
spend its Christmas or New Year in Fez, must by
this time be pretty well convinced of their presump-
tion and folly.

DECEMBER 22.

Very high winds all night ; a strong Levanter.
The mail due yesterday did not arrive—a great dis-
appointment always in a camp, where letters and
papers are eagerly awaited as the chief of the few
pleasures obtainable. General Prim's division is
just marching out of camp on its way to Monte
Negro, a mountain about six miles on this side of
Cape Negro, and considerably beyond Castillejos.
I understand that as the army advances upon
Tetuan, 22 steamers laden with stores and provi-
sions (they take 500,000 rations), besides the war
steamers, will pursue a parallel progress. I should
mention, if I have not do;e so before, that Castelejos
is the name given to two small square white houses,
having the appearance of stunted towers, which
stand some distance apart on nearly the last of the
slopes to be traversed before reaching the level
ground on the way to Cape Negro, and considerably
beyond our lines. Nearly all the field artillery has
arrived. The siege train will not be landed here.
Gen. Prim takes with him six battalions, some
hussars. and four batteries. He is going to blow
up some pieces of rock that encumber the road in
that direction, and will return in the afternoon.
Troops are thrown out in support and line the
heights in front of General Ros de Olano's camp.
There have been three or four shots just fired, but
the Moors do not yet show, and it is not expected
they will make much opposition, althekitil*
will doubtless follow up the troops as they retire.
Everything seems to indicate an approaching move
of the army.

Advices from Morocco, via Gibraltar, received at
Southampton by the mail steamer China, contain no
later intelligence from the seat of war than that
already to hand by way of Madrid.
The Gibraltar Chronicle of Dec. 15th has the

following:—
" Moorish accounts represent the action of the
12th inst. as a more serious affair than the Spanish
official notice of it would lead us to infer. In this
conflict, as in the preceding oNe, both sides claim
the victory. This is not perhaps surprising when
we consider that in all these engagements, after
contesting the field with great gallantry on both
sides, as is proved by the number of casualties, each
retires at the close of the day to his own ground
The following is a history of the 12th as given by
the Moors :—t an early hour a division of the
Spanish army (Prim's corps, as we learn from the
Spanish statement) advanced to a place called Merso
del Fneedak, which is about five miles distant from
Ceuta and on the seashore. Here they commenced
the construction of works, apparently with the ob-
ject of establishing themselves at this point. A
body of about 7,000 infantry and 150 horse, under
the command of Kaid Abbas Emkished, Governor
of Riff, was immediately detached from the Moorish
army for the purpose of attacking the Spaniards
and dislodging them from the position they had
taken up. In this the Moors assert that after a sharp
struggle they were successful; that they drove the
Spanish forces back upon their positions before
Ceuta; and that reinforcements sent out by the
Spanish General failed to arrest the retreat until
the Spaniards had reached the Ssrrallo. The works
at Merso del Fneedak were destroyed, the sandbags
emptied, and the bags carried off to the Mooris
camp. In its main features, as regards the actual
movement, this account does not vary much from
that we have received from Ceuta; in the latter it
is admittod that Prim's corps, after making an ad-
vance, retreated upon the Spanish positions, with
the object, it is alleged, of drawing the Moors
within range of the Spanish artillery. There are
violnt discrepancies as to the killed and 'wounded.
The Moors give their own loss as 15 or 16 killed
and about 40 wounded, and allege that the line of
retreat of the Spaniards from Merso del Pneedak to
the Serallo was strewn with Spanish dead. The
Spanish account represents their killed at four,
and wounded 46, and the losses of the Moors as
immense.

" The conviction seems daily gaining ground
among persons of intelligence who have watched
this contest from its commencement that an inva-
sion of Morocco from Ceuta is attended by difficul-
ties little appreciated by the greater part of the
Spanish nation who so eagerly urged their Govern-
ment to declare war. The nearest and only accessible
point from Ceuta is Tetuan, a distance of eight
leagues ; but the line of march to Tetuan is hemmed
in by the sea on one hand and Sierra Bullones on
the other, leaving, therefore, little room for strate-
gic combinations. Moreover, no road exists pass-
able by artillery or heavy stores ; and at this season
of the year heavy rains may at any moment render
the ground impracticable for military operations.
In the meantime the Moorish host assembled in
the neighbourhood of the Straits is receiving
daily accessions. Sierra Bullones affords unas-
sailable positions, whence wild hordes of irre-
gulars would operate upon the flank and rear
of the Spanish army, should it advance, and
threaten its communication with its base of
operations at Ceuta should it capture
Tetuan. O'Donnell's movements form, therefore,
at the present moment a subject of the deepest in-
terest. Whether with an army the effective
strength of which does not probably exceed 40,000
he can commit himself to an advance into the in-
terior, in the teeth of the fierce resistance and the
numbers of his enemies, the unfavourable nature of
the ground, and the difficulties of Commissariat and
hospital administration, is a matter of grave doubt.
The Madrid journals describe the state of the pub-
lic mind as one of feverish anxiety for news of a
more decided character from Africa; but we are
glad to observe that the journals themselves incul-
cate patience, and seem fully to understand that in
war there are difficulties which, even with the
bravest troops and ablest commanders, can only be
surmounted by time and prudence."
The Chronicle of the 20th says :
" The following is the Moorish account of the
action of the 15th instant During the night of
the 14th the Spaniards marched, in great force, to
the Aoyats, a small stream which falls into the sea
at a point about midway between Fneedak and the
Serrallo. Fifteen hundred irregular horse, com-
manded by Sidi Aitsalam Ben Ouda, the Governor
of Algarb, who had only just arrived at the seat of
war, and 1,200 Kabyles, advanced to attack them
the following morning, but had no sooner com-
menced fighting than they were driven back, partly
by the overwhelming superiority of the enemy in
numbers, and partly by a more than usually effec-
tive fire of shell from three or four steamers which
supported the Spanish operations on shore. The
Spaniards charged the flying horse, and would no
doubt have inflicted on them very heavy losses had
it not been for the Kabyles, who advanced boldly
to the front, and, making a most gallant stand
against the fearful odds by which they were as-
sailed, successfully covered the retreat of their
brethren. In the sharp hand-to-hand encounter the
Spaniards arc said to have had many men put hors
de combat. The loss on the part of the Moors was
trifling. Some Spanish muskets and ammunition,
as also an ambulance cart, fell into the hands of the
mountaineers, and 10 prisoners are said to have been
marched to the Viceroy's Camp in the neighbour-
hood. While the fighting was going on in the
Tetuan direction the Tangier division of the Moorish
troops, under the command of the Governor of
Riff Kaid Abbas Emkished, attacked the Spanish
encampment at Jama Burbash' (which is the most
westerly point yet taken by the Spaniards, and is
called after an old ruined marabout, or Saint house,
situated-at the foot of the high ground occupied by
them), drove the enemy back, and took possession
of his earthworks. The Spaniards returned to the
charge during the morning, regained the earth-
works, but were immediately after again repulsed
from ;hem. A sharp fire was exchanged between
the contending parties for the rest of the day, and,
although the Spaniards charged three times, the
Moors held their ground until after nightfall when
they retired quietly to their own camp. The
Moorish loss on this occasion amounted to six men
killed and 16 wounded.

" In comparing this with the Spanish account we
must bear in mind that, of the two attacks men-
tioned, the first was on the Spanish left and the
second on the Spanish right. The former appears
to have been repelled without much difficulty by
Ros de Olano's division. The latter was sustained
with greater vigour. The assertion by the Moors
that they gained possession of the Spanish earth-
works is not correct. At least they never advanced
so far as the Spanish redoubts.
"Another action was fought on the 17th, of
which we subjoin the Moorish account. The Spanish
report has not yet been received :—' The Spaniards,
who had during the precedin,, night occupied
Fneedak in force, were attackedt soon after day-

break by the Kaid Ben Ouda (who had sworn that
ho would this day retrieve the defeat he suffered
with his cavalry on the 15th) at the head of 5,000
men, of whom 500 were horsemen. Exposed to a
galling fire of shot and shell from the Spanish
steamers that accompanied the expedition, the
Kaid fell upon the enemy, and after a three hours'
combat succeeded in driving him back upon
Hamar,' the boundary of the Spanish Camp on the
Tetuan side. Here the fight continued till sunset,
when the contending parties retired quietly to their
respective positions. As a diversion, an attack was
made by 3,000 mountaineers, under Kaid Abbas
Emkished, on the Spanish right at Tama Burbash.
The Moors gave their loss on the 17th as 19 killed
and 50 wounded.'
" From this account we perceive that the Spanish
army is operating in the direction of Tetuan. The
actions both of the 12th and 17th would seem to
prove that Marshal O'Donnell intends to occupy
Fneedak, and we are anxious to receive the Spanish;
account of the affair of the 17th, in order to learn
whether the Spanish force has established itself
at that point."
'We take the following remarks on the tactics of
the Moorish forces, and the relative capabilities of
the rival armies, from the Chronicle of the 17th
ult.:—

" The conflicts that have taken place before Ceuta
since the Spanish army landed have been numerous,
but so similar in their general character that we are
now able to form a tolerably clear idea of the na-
ture of the warfare the Spanish invading army will
have to encounter. The Moorish tactics consist
simply in mustering in large masses under cover of
the rocks and woods that screen them from obser-
vation, making a rush upon what appears a weak
or vulnerable point of their enemy; and, if they
AMpt driven back,,:bnt imeeeed•in surprising and
cing'-up.si.detaehartentif thefretreatte-their mom-
tam fastnesses with the booty they can lay their
hands on. Private letters from the Spanish camp
fully admit the reckless bravery with which the
Moors rush up to the very muzzles of their guns ;
and, indeed, the very fact that they still persist in
taking the initiative by attacking the Spanish
army which occupies a strong position, covered by
a chain of redoubts, armed with the rifled ordnance,
shows that their valour is far ahead of their pru-
dence. Such attacks can only have one result,—
the repulse of the Moorish forces with greater loss
than they can hope to inflict on their enemies. At
the same time the casualties inflicted on the Spanish
army, though unimportant in each particular com-
bat, become serious in the aggregate, from the fre-
quency of the assaults. We may expect that the
Moors will gradually desist from their attacks on
an intrcnched position where the berms on which
they fight are becoming daily more =equal by the
completion and more perfect armament of the
Spanish works.

" The Spanish troops, though chiefly composed of
young soldiers, are described as lulling been from
the first remarkably steady in the presence of
the enemy, whose mode of attack was both
'novel and fierce. The strangeness is daily wear-
ing off, and the superiority the Spanish soldier
derives from discipline and more effective arms
must continually increase. The Moors, at least, the
irregulars who have been hitherto engaged, have
no bayonets to their firelocks, and consequently,
though individually brave they never stand a
charge. Indeed, we arc told they at once recog,ni:e
the Spanish bugle-call for the charge, and when
they hear.it face about and make off. The Spaniards
can thus always clear their front by a charge,
though they cannot succeed in closing with thir
enemy.

" may expect, therefore, that the Moorish
forces will never meet the Spanish in a general
action. If the ability of the Moorish commanders
is equal to the bravery of their men, they will not
be induced to offer battle unless in circumstances
that countorvail the superior discipline and tactics
of European troops. Though infezior in organisa-
tion, the Moors can, however, oppose to an invading
army a resistance of the most formidable character.
In a country where every man can use a gun, and
has a natural talent for guerilla warfare, the casual-
ties caused by general actions form the smallest
portion of the losses sustained by an invading force.
The experience of the Peninsular War of Indepen-
dence on this point must be fresh in the memory* of
the Spanish nation. In that war the losses the
guerillas inflicted on the French army by intercept-
ing its convoys, interrupting its communications,
and, falling on detachments, exceeded the casualties
occurring in battles between the regular armies."