The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-18 00:00:00

EXPEDITION TO THE COURT OF

MOROCCO.

(From the Scotsman.)
A curious expedition was lately made under the orders
of the British Government, of which little notice has
hitherto been taken by the public journals. It consisted
of an Embassy to the Court of the Emperor of Morocco,
at his residence at Meknaz, or Mequinex, some 200 miles
in the interior of the country—a place which has but very
rarely been visited by Europeans. The object of the
Embassy was to endeavour to promote a settlement of
the differences between the Spanish Government and the
Moors as to the payment of the indemnity extorted by
the former as a condition of peace. The Embassy con-
sisted of Mr. Drummond Hay, the British Minister at
Morocco; his attache, Mr. James Hay; Captain (now
Admiral) the Hon. Charles Elliott, Dr. Evans, R.N., and
Captain Hood," aide-de-camp to the Governor of Malta.
The cavalcade left Tangier on the 11th July. An escort was
in attendance, varying in number during the day from 200
to 1,200 horsemen, besides a body guard of about 12 men.
Extensive arrangements were necessarily required for the
subsistence of so large a cavalcade camping out each
night in the open country. Accordingly the governors of
the provinces through which it was to pass had been
warned to furnish the necessary provisions. The sup-
plies which were intended for the ambassador and his
retainers alone (independently of the escort, bat including
the servants and muleteers in charge of baggage), were,
under the designation of "Mona," daily presented at his
tent soon after the halt. The following account of what
was provided on one occasion is a fair specimen of the
usual "Mona :"-1 bullock, 30 sheep, 100 fowls, 1,000
eggs, 30 bushels of barley, a dozen large and excellent
dishes of coscosoo—the dishes being about three feet in
diameter. Coseosoo is a food much used in Morocco,
the staple of which is semolina. In addition to
this, butter, honey, sweetmeats, &c., were also supplied.
On the eighth day they reached Meknes. Their reception
was magnificent. At least 20,000 troops, chiefly cavalry,
were turned out upon the heights and roads through which
they passed on entering the city. In compliance with
etiquette, our distinguished travellers, upon their arrival at
Meknas, became prisoners of State. Four whole days were
they confined to the precincts of the house which had been
allotted to them ; nor were they set at liberty until the
ceremony of presentations to the Emperor had been com-
pleted. At seven in the morning, the hour appointed for
their reception, the strangers found themselves riding in
company with the high officers of state to the Sultan's
Palace. After passing through a handsome Moorish arch
at :the outer gate, a court was crossed, and another gate,
leading to an inner court, was reached, the whole distance
being lined with troops drawn up on each side as a guard
of honour. Having entered the court they then dis-
mounted. Round the square troops were placed all on
foot. Here, standing in front of the chief officers of state,
the Europeans took up their station opposite the gateway
through which the Sultan was to approach. Presently
he arrived preceded by some handsome led horses, and by
about a dozen men walking two and two—one of them
being an executioner with an axe. The Sultan was the
only person mounted. An officer having announced him,
he stood still, and the company gave utterance to some
expression of submission and goodwill, bowing their
heads to the very ground, except some GOO regular troops
who presented arms. This having been repeated, the
Sultan came forward to the centre of the court; the
Europeans then saluted him by taking off their hats, and
being beckoned to advance, made their bows to his
Majesty. He was mounted on a white horse—the emblem
of peace. His Majesty is very dark, his mother having
been, it is believed, a pure black. The population of
Morocco, is, in fact, now very largely intermixed with
negro blood, and persons of all shades of colour, from the
comparatively light complexion of the Arab races to that
of the African negro, are to be found throughout the
country. There appears to be no prejudice on account of
colour between the different races and tribes of men. A
large body of black men has long been maintained in the
military service of the Sultans of Morocco, of which
Meknas is the head-quarters. A very extensive forced
immigration of this race, with their wives and families,
from the south, took place about 200 years ago, and from
this and other causes the population has undergone con-
stant modifications. These men, now numbering many
thousands, are entitled the "Sultan's Black Guard," and
are held to military service which is hereditary amongst
them.

Complimentary speeches having been interchanged
between the parties, the Europeans were free to return
home. During the remainder of their residence at Mek-
nes, they were occasionally invited to tea parties at the
houses of the chief men—an honour to Christians almost
unprecedented, for which they were indebted, no doubt,
to the orders of the Sultan, whose anxiety was great that
every attention should be paid to his guests. The mem-
bers of the mission had an opportunity of witnessing, by the
Sultan's desire, a meeting of one of those extraordinary
religious sects whose worship consists in bodily extrava-
gances of the most violent description. These people are
in the habit of lashing themselves into a state of in-
tense excitement, under the influence of which they sup-
pose themselves to be insensible to pain, and in proof of
their insensibility they certainly inflict upon their persons
the severest wounds. Eight or ten men of one of these
sects entered the court, beating drums of a peculiar con-
struction, and producing the most discordant tones.
They were speedily joined by some of the servants and
soldiers of the special escort of the mission, who belonged
to the same sect, ono of whom took a loading part in the per-
formance. Operations were commenced by one of the party,
who, contrary to custom, had at once attained the requisite
pitch of excitement, wildly cutting himself down with a
sword, which he wielded with such force as to make the
blood spirt out from his face in half a dozen wounds. The
whole party then danced, at first calmly, and gradually more
and more wildly, to the music, working themselves up to a
frantic state. One of the soldiers—the most frantic of the
party—jumped up and seized, one after another, two great
earthenware jars, and smashed them over his head, making
the blood run, and rushing about as if perfectly mad. An
old man of 70—one of the guard—could not resist joining.
He stripped, and went madly to work like the rest. When
in a state in which apparently they might have committed
any crime, the quieter ones of the party stepped in and
soothed the rest, by changing the music from the drum to a
milder instrument like a harp, and by making movements
not unlike the passes practised to bring persons out of a
mesmeric trance. Peace was thus gradually restored, some-
what to the relief of the audience, amongst whom a Jew,
frightened from the court below, had taken refuge. His
al= was not unreasonable, considering that only a few
years ago a member of his race was actually torn to pieces
under similar circumstances. A very customary act of these
people is to tear a live sheep to pieces and devour it on the
spot. There are, it seem, three sects of this kind in Morocco.
One of these is milder, the other even more extravagant,
than the ono which held its religious meetings in the court-
yard of the British Mission ; and it is not known for certain
which of the three is the true sect, though it appears that
on this occasion the Moderates enjoy the patronage of the
Sultan. The mission left Meknes on the 14th August, and
arrived at Tangier on the 18th, after a journey of exhaust-
ing heat. What the political results of the expedition may
be, in suggesting means for the relief of the Moors from the
continued pressure of the Spaniards, remains to be seen.
The Sultan of Norocep appears to be fis man of reflection And

education: He is much addicted to the science of mathe-
matics. On one occasion three persons called by appoint •
ment at the British Mission—a hlack man and two youths.
The black man, a small and not it itelligent-looking indivi-
dual, opened the conversation on mathematics and astro-
nomy, but he soon got out of his depth' • The younger of the
two students, an intelligent youth, with a fair share of
Moorish blood in his veins, then came forward and asked
several questions on points he did not um.erstand—such as
how the logarithmic numbers for sines and tangents were
obtained. He had an English " Hutton's Tables/' with their
preliminary explanations ; and he bad also a very neat manu-
script in Arabic—a translation of, or notes from, Hutton—
which turned out to be the Sultan's own doing. He asked
questions also regarding the variation of the compass,which
were explained to him. He understood the use of the then•
dolite, and how to carry on a survey, and seemed a really
intelligent young fellow. He also asked whether the
English yard is as►y particular division of a degree,
and approved of the French measures of distance and
weights as affording facility for calculation. The other
student said but little. It is a curious fact, however, that
these youths are pupils of the stuttering Sultan, and that
their mathematics and modern teaching are from him.

LABOUR _RIOTS IN AUSTRALIA.

(From the Melbourne Herald.)

Oar summary announced the completion and opening of
an additional section—from Sunbury to Woodend—of the
Murray Main Trunk Railway. Almost from the date of
that event the progress of the works on the line has been
interrupted by one of those convulsions of the labour
market known as a " strike." For reasons which we do not
profess fully to understand, the contractors, about the end
of last month, intimated to their workmen—the " navvies
and other labourers"—their intention to reduce the wages
from seven and eight to five shillings a day. This intima-
tion was, as a matter of course, received with considerable
disapprobation by those most affected ; and, ultimately, a
general turn out was the consequence of it. The " strike"
commenced on Monday, the 22d of July, at Malmesbury,
and rapidly extended along the line to Kyneton, and thence
till it :reached Woelend. All the works have been at a
standstill almost ever since. The first week the men kept
quiet; but at the commencement of the second week the
city was startled by telegrams, announcing alarming riots
on the part of the men of a very serious character. On Mon-
day (29th) the " turn .outs" marched "up" the line (from
Malmesbury) in a body numbering between five and six
hundred able-bodied men ; and, on their way, they destroyed
and injured a good deal of property belonging to the contrac-
tors. In the neighbourhood of Kyneton 25 trucks were
smashed by being turned over the embankment; and cranes,
picks, shovels, and barrows were similarly dealt with to a
large extent. Not content with this, the mob assaulted Mr.
Duxbury and Mr. Jackson, the sub-contractors for the
Malmesbury and Kyneton sections of the line, whom they
met early in their career on the first day of the strike. The
first named gentleman was severely maltreated on the spot,
and was with difficulty rescued by his foreman. Mr. Jack-
son, managing to stick to his horse, got away, and rapidly
rode home to Kyneton. Thither, however, he was speedily
followed, and the mob, having surrounded his house, de-
manded his appearance, threatening that if he did not
come out they would pull down his house. Mr. Jackson
presented himself, with a view to pacify the rioters,
but he had hardly left his door when he was set II
upon by some ruffians and severely handled. He fortu-
nately managed to get away with less injury than his col-
league had received. The wickedly wanton spirit of the
rioters was next shown in their unprovoked ill-treatment of
two farming men whom they found working in a field, en-
tirely unconnected with the railway works. Elated ap-
parently by their success in mischief, they proceeded en
masse to Woodend ; in whose vicinity we almost forgot to
mention the repairers on the working line had, on the previ-
vious Saturday, been compelled to knock off after suffering
some rough usage. Here, however, from some unaccount-
able cause, the large force did not resort to any violence;
nevertheless their presence was regarded with some degree
of apprehension. The Kyneton Mounted Volunteers were
in the meantime called out, and a troop of about 50 stanch
yeomen, under the command of Capt. Tucker, rode into the
township of Woodend, and by their presence (however much
the judiciousness of their proceedings may be questioned)
no doubt somewhat awed the lawless mob. The conduct of
Mr. Lavender, the Kyneton police magistrate, was more
than praiseworthy. He boldly met the mob, and learning
from them their reason for the strike, he did all in his power
to pacify them by exhorting them to order and respect for
the law, and promising to proceed to town and lay their
grievances before the Government. He had an interview
with the Chief Secretary the next day, the result of which
a body of the men calmly awaited, while the majority re-
turned to their tents. As it was to be expected, the reply
of the Government to the representations of the men was
that it was beyond their power to interfere between the
employers and the employed under the railway contracts—
that the question of wages was one to be settled between
themselves; but that they must enforce the law by putting
down disorder and violence by every means in their power.
On the return of Mr. Lavender from Melbourne, he was ac-
companied by Capt. Standish, the chief superintendent of
police, and a strong reinforcement of constables. A guard
was stationed at the several places where valuable stock
and machinery were kept, and a detachment of police ac-
companied the repairers on the line used for traffic ; as un-
til such security was furnished the government workmen
were afraid to resume operations. The mob, after hearing
the decision of the government, acted on Mr. Lavender's
advice, and peaceably dispersed, though with no disposition
to " give in" to their employers. They complained bitterly
of the reduction in their wages, saying, and with some
show of truth, that it is altogether impossible to live on ss.
a day, more especially as they are employed only two or
three days in the week, because the contractors will not go
on with the works during the wet weather ; and that as it
had been raining almost incessantly about Kyneton and
Woodend during the past five weeks, in that time they had
not done more than a fortnight's work altogether. They
expressed their determination to hold out for ti e higher
rate of wages, and also to prevent others from going to
work at the same. Many of them complained of being in
debt to the storekeepers, and although they had money in
hand they refused to pay it away, in their uncertainty
of getting more. The value of the property destroyed by
therioters on on the occasion referred to has been estimated at
between £2,000 and £3,000. The order that prevailed among
the: men at Woodend is in a great measure attributable to
the presence of mind of Mr. Lavender, who appears to be
very well liked among them. Of course the volunteers
were commanded to return home upon the arrival of the
police. Nothing more demonstrative than " monster meet-
ings" for the consideration of their grievances and for ex-
citing the sympathy of the general rtublic, and particularly
of the storekeepers, was heard of the turnouts for nearly a
fortnight. But on the 13th inst., news reached town that a
mob of about 200 had swept the line, and driven off the Go-
vernment workmen and their police escort. The response
to this was, the immediate despatch to Gisborne and Wood-
end of a large armed force of police, under the immediate
command of Capt. Standish, whose presence had the effect,
if not of intimidating the rioters, at least of compelling
them to maintain a quiet exterior. Some reports were cir-
culated of attempts to upset the night trains by placing
obstructions on the line. Upon inquiry, some of those
rumours were found to have their origin in fact ; but whe-
ther the dastardly act of endangering the lives of passengers
is to be laid to the charge of the strikers is still a matter of
uncertainty. Government have offered a reward of £2OO for
the apprehension of the offenders or any of their accomplices.
Under the large body of police now stationed along the
line the traffic is uninterrupted, and the Government work-
men carry on their operations without danger. It is be-
lieved by those who know them best that the strikers
generally are not disposed to violence; but that there are
some unscrupulous ruffians amongst them who, while tak-
ing good care to keep themselves clear of the police, are
utterly regardless of the peril they may force their unfortu-
nate and less calculating companions into by excitirtg their
passions. However, in order to put an end to the unhappy
differences between the employer and the employed, an offer
was made to the men on one section of the works of 7s. a
day if they would return to their work. They were willing
to accept the offer, but they would not return to work until
they had consulted the whole of the turn-outs on the other
sections. The dispute is therefore not yet arranged, but we
have little doubt that after this last show of amity it soon
will be at an end—at least we hope so.

I think the following is about as good a sample
of what we call Scotch "pawky" as any I know :—A
country man had lost his wife and a favourite cow on the
same day. His friends consoled him for the loss of his
wife ; and being highly respectable, several hints and
offers were made towards getting another for him. "On
ay," he at length replied, "you're a' keen anench to get me
anither wife, but no yin o' ye offer to gie me anither cow."
—Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character.
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THE H0.7,1' LAND.

-

A letter from jerusalom., 26th ult., says
" Alarming news was a wet* back brought here
from Karak, on the confine:4 W' Arabia Petrea—
namely, that sanguinary con flit is had taken place
between the Mussulmans and th e schismatic Greek
Christians, and that among th a latter several were
killed and a considerable num bar wounded. The
wife of the famous Sheikh M oudjelli, Governor of
Karak, who, until recently, rel fused to recognise the
authority of the Pasha at Jei rusalem, and to pay
tribute, hits been sent here toe xplain what occurred,
and to dem,and prompt assists .nce. A column, con-
sisting of 40( soldiers, 200 Bitshi-Bazouks, and 200
Nizares, with one rusty on] y cannon, 'was immedi-
ately despatched to Hebron, from which place it is
to proceed to Karak, by way of the southern ex-
tremity of the Dead Sea. It is alleged, however,
that these troops have not been able to reach their
destination because the Ambs have seized the passes
in the mountain. itn a few days the truth on this
matter will be know n. Hebron is a day's march
from Jerusalem, but to g o from Hebron to Karak
three days are requi red ; the last-mentioned place
being on a steep moan tain, it is difficult of access,
and it has only one gate, situate at the entrance of a
sort of tunnel passing t It the foot of a fortress, which
is extremely strong b oth by position and by art.
The brother of Godfrey de Bouillon (Baldwin)
6eized the place in 1415., and gave it the name of Mont
Real. It is also designated in old chronicles as Crac,
a corruption of Karak.. Salah-ed-Dyn took the town.
from Renaud de Chatillon, who disquieted the Mus-
sulman caravans on their, way to Mecca. For a
long time the Moho idans of Egypt kept their trea-
sures in that fortress, 'which was considered im-
pregnable. In the 1 ast centuries of the Church this
town was made the seat of a bishopric. Monsignor
Meletit.'s, vicar of th a Greek schismatic patriarch,
who almost resi,ies t Constantinople, is now bishop
of the see. The ntumber of the
,faithful is very
small, and they are almost all grouped round a
little church which: was built in 1850. In the
town itself, where there are not altogether 2,000
Chritians, some Gre k priests.officiate, and they are
almost as ignorant t is their flocks, who have little
more of Christianit: v than the town. The town,
although rather larao, contains only about 7,000
inhabitants, most of iem Mussulmans. Generally
the Christians live en good terms with them, be-
cause there is differen cc' between the two, either as
regards morals or relit gion. In the place, among
the Mussulman wome a, the singular usage prevails
of having their childr, an, if ill, baptized by Greek
priests, their belief bei'vg that baptism will restore
them to health. The^a reek priests administer the
sacrament in question 'w-ithout troubling themselves
about the future reiigious career of the children.
Some persons at Jeruoal em think that the conflict
at Karak between the 1 tussulmans and Christians
has been got up in ardor to afford the Pasha a pre-
text for sending troops to cause the authority of
the Sultan to be recognis ad, and levy the taxes or
tribute. On his part, thtl Sheikh Moudjelli, who
is reconciled with the 0, ttoman authorities, will
take advantage of the presence of the troops to
attack certain Arab sheikto who resist him and
embarrass his arbitrary admioistration..”

COUNTRY MARKETS.

MANCHESTER-Om. 17.

English wheat was in fair demand, at an advanee of is
to 2s per qr. ; foreign was held for 4d to 6d per 100 lb over
former rates, which checked sales. English and foreign
flour is per sack and barrel higher, but a linctited business
done. Oats and oatmeal unchanged. Egyptian beans and
Indian corn is to 2s dearer.

BIRMINGHAM—OCT. 17.
At to-day's market there was a short supply of English
wheat from the farmers, and new qualities advanced 2s
per qr. Old and foreign descriptions held for is more
money. In barley, oats, and beans the trade ruled slow,
but unaltered in value. Peas at is to 2s per quarter above
last week's currencies.