The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-17 00:00:00

single exception, according to this well.;
qualified and perfectly reliable authority, with the
solitary exception of that fight of the 25th, which,
as we have intimated, he designates as no more than
"a sharp little combat"—"all that has yet taken
place," he observes, " can hardly be said to be. more
than skirmishing." And he adds, with. a little
show of very natural derision under the circum-
stances, " I have heard one or two persons talking
of five actions in eleven days, and seeming to think
the campaign already begun, but this can be looked
upon only as an exaggeration, especially when we
have the great events of the Italian and Crimean
wars still fresh in our memories." Indeed, lie adds,
and with perfect reason in so remaskipg, " I shall
consider the campaign as fairly commenced only
when we make a decided move from this place ;
when we strike our tents and march for Tetuan or
Tangier." Rumour gives the preference to Tetuan
as the Spanish army's probable, destination ; but
here, as elsewhere, O'DONNELL appears to be at-
tempting a ludicrous travesty of his Imperial pro-
totype. As Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish
army he affects to be as inscrutable as the late Com-
mander-in-Chief of th 3 allied armies in Lombardy.
—so that as yet all is left 'to conjecture as to his
future movements. At any rate, until some move-
ment either towards Tangier or Tetuan be actually
adventured on, we do certainly concur in the rea-
sonableness of the above opinion, that the campaign
can scarcely be considered to have commenced.

While we write, there comes to us through the
second edition of our able morning contemporary
the Post, the following sinister intimation from its
Paris Correspondent :—" I hear," writes that
functionary as we may term him, as one among the
recognised representatives' of the Fourth Estate.
" I hz.nir from a traveller who has just arrived from
Madrid, one likely to be well informed, that bad
news had reached the QUEEN'S Government from
Morocco. The Moors are increasing their forces
daily and attacking th; Spanish forces." O'DONNELL
will assuredly find reasan to be on the alert—
lest he may be unconsciously rushing upon his
doom in this deplorable inisl in many re-
spects most unjustifiable expedition, It would
be a consummation, if not devoutly to be
wished for, at any rate most exemplary in its WV,
if here again the result were to be another and a
striking example of " vaulting ambition overleaping
itself," of the engineer being "hoist with his own
petard," of an adventurer seeking again "the
bubble reputation even in the cannon's mouth,"
after the ludicrous fashion of the ape, who is repre-
presented in the famous caricature as applying a
match to the touch-hole and at the same time look-
ing round the edge of the muzzle, down the grim
vista of the piece of ordnance, to see what would
come out of it at the instant of explosion
Calculating for a while the reported results of the.
three principal skirmishes and combats that have
already occurred there upon that restricted battle-
field in the vicinity of Ceuta, they can hardly be
regarded as results in any respect very satisfactory
to the Spanish Government. According to the
Spaniards themselves they Lost in the fight of the
25th between 300 and 400 in killed, wounded, and
prisoners. According to the Moors, on the contrary,
we learn that upon that day, while their own
loss (the Moorish loss) did not exceed 100 altoge-
ther, their enemies (the Spaniards) were under-
stood to have had as many as 2,000 put hors de
combat. The truth, in all human probability, lies as
nearly as possible about midway between the
two extremes. Under any, circumstances , the
conflict upon the 25th is so far clearly
entitled to the designation already given
to it (that of " a sharp little combat") by the razes'
Correspondent. And it is significant upon this
point to add that the Post Correspondent, writing
yesterday from Paris, observes,—" As I believe I
informed you some time since the Spanish journals
are not allowed to print any news of the war ex-
cepting that supplied by Government." An ar-
rangement leading every one inevitably to, the
instant conclusion, that the accounts so
furnished to the Spanish public have been
what Mr. TOOTS, or somebody very like
him, once suggested should be done with
the raw material—i. e. previously cooked. The
skirmish of the 30th ult., we now learn, cost the
Spanish army some 230 killed and wounded—
while the affair of the 9th inst. involved a loss to
the Spaniards, according to the second edition of
the Post of this afternoon of '• 750 killed [ob-
viously a misprint for 154killed1 and 290 wounded."
Yet for a little skirmish like this, resulting (to no
good end whatever) in so much death and suffering,
we are informed by the Madrid journals of the 12th
inst. that "as soon as soon as the Queen of Spain
was made acquainted with the affair of the 9th,her
Majesty directed the ad interim President of the,
Council to send a telegraphic despatch to the
General-in-Chief expressive of her satisfaction, and
declaring that she was well assured, on appointing
him :to the command, that he would justify her
confidence." Certainly as soon as we can-see an
end of this last of the little wars the better. No
wonder wars like this were deemed to be among
the world's most poignant calamities, by the clear-
headed, keen-sighted warrior Duke of WEL-

MN GTON.

The actual terms on which Lord CANNING has
restored their °states to such of the talookdars as
made a timely submission are now before us—if, in-
deed, we may rely on a letter from a private corre-
spondent. After all the comments which have been
made on the management of the Oude business,
fairness requires that this docume& should be ad-
mitted as one the terms of which were in the mind
of Lord CANNING when_he made his celebrated con-
fiscation proclamation. Our readers well know that
we are not amongst Lord CANNING'S admirers. We
never thought him equal to a much higher post
than that of head-clerk, or Cabinet-clerk, to the
Post-office, and our opinion is not altered. lie has
exhibited in India the conventional qualities of an
English lord, and but little more. But among these
qualities is the common-sense which told him that
the possessions of avowed rebels are confiscated to the
Crown, and he had the boldness to let the rebels know
it not unaccompanied, however, in issuing
the proclamation, by the intimation that repentance
would be regarded with favour by a,Government
notoriously prone to mercy. The party, squabbles
over the business it is now time to send amongst
other bygones. There was much right and much
wrong as usual on both sides. But at the time we
were amongst those who called for bold and firm be-
haviour in India, and we were not amongst those
who, as soon as a Governor-General adopted the
policy
we demanded, began to find fault with it.
The course actually taken was that that confisca-
tion was made, as it ought to have been, the basis of
dealing with the talookdars of Oude; but they were
invited to surrender themselves, their mud forts and
their arms, and to disband their followers by a fixed
date, if they wished to obtain any benefit from the
lenient disposition of the Government, and from the
'final amnesty. Never did a set of subordinate
chieftains, or petty rulcrs, for such these large pro-
, prietors were, more need to be placed on a right
footing with the supreme Government. They had
long been the revenue collectors on their vast