The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-20 00:00:00

Floating Debt, 63i at 60 days ; Coupons, 251, to the
28th of September. Exchange, London, 371.

We have received the Paris papers of Wednesday.
The Moniteur, of that date, contains the following
official confirmation of the intelligence from Otaheite,
stating that a collision had taken place between the
French and the natives, which appeared in the Eng-
lish papers some days since :
" The Government has received the following intelli-
gence from Otaheite, of the date of April 24 :—` After
having vainly endeavoured to bring back to their obedi-
ence the rebels who made the attack at Taravan, Go-
vernor Bruat went out to meet them at Mahahisna, where
they had made themselves entrenchments,_ defended by
3,000 men, and three pieces of cannon. On the 17th,
Governor Bruat landed with 441 men of all arms. The
redoubts were taken by the bayonet, the enemy having
102 killed, their colours taken from them, and their
cannon spiked. The next day we destroyed their works,
and carried away their arms and ammunition. On our
side we have to lament the loss of two officers—M. Nan-
amity, enseigne de vaisseau, and M. Seignette, of the
artillery. We had, besides, 52 mem wounded."
This intelligence has produced great excitement in
Paris, an excitement which has been increased by
the silence of the Government papers, which content
themselves with publishing the official account with-
out observation or comment. Not so the Opposition
papers. They are furious in their denunciations of
Mr. PRITCHARD and the English missionaries. The
Courrier Francais says :
"On whose head ought all this blood to fall ? Ought
it not to be on that of the intriguer, the mischief-maker,
whose fanatical harangues excited the people of Otaheite
to arm themselves against France ? Ought it not to be
on that Consul who infuriated their resistance to our
domination, by promising theta the support of England?
Ought it not to fall upon the head of Pritchard ? And
yet this man will receive the price of blood when he is
paid the indemnity which the French Government has
agreed to allow. Already, for having dared to imprison
this man for openly sowing the seeds of rebellion and
war, a French officer has been publicly reprimanded !
Is this all ? This blood flowed in the name of Queen
Pomace, and our brave sailors, after being compelled to
fight against her, are to be condemned to re-establish
her in the sovereignty of the island. For this woman it
is that an Admiral has been disavowed. This disavowal
of Dupetit Thouars—the reprimand given to d'Aubigny
—all the blood of our officers and soldiers that has been
shed—these are what we owe to Pomare and Pritchard.
And this is not all—for Pomare is to be restored and
Pritchard indemnified !"
The Constitutioanel, the organ of M. TUIBRS, ac-
cuses the Ministry of having purposely kept back the
intelligence. It says—
" Now, these facts were known in England on the 9th
inst. ; necessarily, therefore, several days must have
passed since our Government received this news. It has
been, no doubt, unwilling to give it publicity so imme-
diately after making known to France the arrangement
of Pritchard's affair. It hoped that in eight days all
would have been forgotten. This, however, is the state
of things—Mr. Pritchard, on quitting Otaheite, left us
war behind him. He had blown the sparks of rebel-
lion, and the flames soon burst out and spread. This
man, therefore, is responsible fur the deaths of two
French officers full of honour and courage, and for the
wounds of our bray e soldiers. He raised the island,
and our situation in it became intolerable. Famine, an
armed conflict, a disputed possession, a protectorate ren-
dered impossible. are what we owe to Mr. Pritchard.
Twice has France made apologies to him, twice has she
disavowed her officers to give him satisfaction. Ho has
caused the deaths of Frenchmen, and for the inconve-
nience which so many kind cares for us has caused him
we grant him an indemnity ! M. d'Aubigny, who too
well comprehended the part p'ayed by Mr. Pritchard,
and the consequence of his intrigues, is reprimanded
for having come to an energetic and legitimate resolu-
tion ; and we are to pay Mr. Pritchard the price of our
own blood which he has caused to flow ! For Admiral
Dupetit Thouars and Commandant d'Aubigny, dis-
avowal and reprimand ! For Mr. Pritchard, an in-
demnity ! '
The National is, as usual, more violent than any of
its Contemporaries :
"A vessel which reached Brest on the sth instant
(says that journal) brought dispatches from Otaheite.
The Minister carefully concealed the contents of these
dispatches. They were communicated to him, and
nevertheless ho triumphed at the blame expressed against
M. d'Aubigny and the indemnity to be paid to Mr
Pritchard. This indemnity has been well earned. The
intrigues of this firebrand have borne their fruit. To
the gold which is to be given to him may be added the
blood of the French officers and soldiers. You may be
convinced of it by reading the accounts published in the
Messnyer thirteen days after their reception. Is it not
just to give an indemnity to the principal instigator of
the revolt ? Two officers killed, 52 men wounded, out
of 441. Is not that worth the 25,000 f. promised to
Pritchard ? And had not M. Guizot a right to rail at
the Opposition, and to show himself lull of pride for
having terminated without disgrace the affair of Ota-
heite? Will this revolt be at least the last? Has there
not been another battle? We cannot say, but no doubt
the Minister would have assured us of the tact had he been
assured of it himself. All that we know is, that out of a
population of 7,000 men, there were 1,000 armed and en-
trenched against us ; that they were provided with cannon,
and that for indolent beings they defended themselves
with most unexpected bravery. All that we know is,
that French blood flowed at Otaheite ; that our establish-
ment there is insecure, and that we are acting no longer
as protectors, but as conquerors ; so that the present
Ministers, whose cowardice is beneath contempt, have li
found means to bring on their hands the most sttpid of
wars, and they have arranged them so as to render their
expense of men and money completely sterile. For, in
fine, what is there at the conclusion of these battles ?
There is the disavowal of Admiral Dupetit Thouars—
the blame of d'Aubigny—the indemnity of Pritchard.
But we demand, not of our friends, but of every citizen
who has a drop of blood in his veins, what effect can such
measures produce ? If the possession of Otaheite had
been tranquil, our power in those seas would have been
seriously weakened. But the English have succeeded in
exciting an insurrection. We have fought three battles,
and before our wounded men are healed, and at the

moment, perhaps, when our mariners flatter themselves
that they hare conquered security by their devotion and
their courage, Admiral Hamelin will have landed to
fulfil his glorious mission. He will say to Queen Pomare,
Resume your throne.' To the English, You were right
to protest against our occupation.' To M. d'Aubigny,
You are blamed.' ro the friends of Mr. Pritchard,
' We are sorry for the injury which has been dons to
him, but he is to be indemnified.' We cannot coolly
contemplate such a position ! We cannot discuss in-
famy ! We point it out 1 Let the man of Ghent boast
of these— tln•y belong to him ! He may with a proud
attribute make his journey to England. He can never
receive as much homage there es he deserves execration
in his own country I That man is responsible for the
death of two French officers full of honour and of courage,
and for the wesunds of our brave soldiers. He has ar-

rayed the entice population against us, and our situation
is intolerable..' Famine, an armed struggle, a disputed
possession, an impracticable protectorate—all these aro
the work of Mr. Pritchard. And yet France has twice
apologised to him, and twice disavowed her own officers,
in order to give him satisfaction. He has been instru-
mental in the death of Frenchmen, and for his trouble in
organising the revolt we have indemnified him ! M.
d'Aubigny, who detected him in the act and too clearly
perceived the consequences of his intrigues, is blamed'
for having come to an energetic and legitimate resolu-
tion, and we pay Mr. Pritchard the price of the bland
which he has caused to be shed ! We disavow the con-
duct of Admiral Dupetit Thouars and Commander
d'Aubigny, and award an indemnity to Mr. Pritchard."
It is somewhat remarkable that in the official ac-
count the Otaheitans should be designated as rebels.
The French Government having repudiated the
assumption of sovereignty of Admiral DUPETIT
THOUARS, can scarcely be justified in designating as
an act of rebellion the resistance of the Otaheitans to

that acknowledged injustice.
The following article in the Presse is considered to
indicate that a change in the French Ministry is by
no means improbable :
" It is easy to accuse every Ministry of want of skill
and of feebleness. It is easy to aggravate their faults.
It is easy to pervert their intentions. What Ministry
ever forted favour in their eyes ? None. But would
another Cabinet have done better than that in exist-
ence ? That is the question, and experience answers in
the negative. Place yourself for a moment in the posi-
tion of MM. Mole, De Broglie, Thiers, and Guizot, and
suppose that you were told—' Serious events are in
preparation. If France yields, it is the sacrifice
of dignity. If France resists, it is the sacrifice
of peace.' Your first movement would be to reply—
' There must bo no hesitation between disgrace and
war.' But, what would be your second answer
if it were added—' France has not sufficient horses
to remount her cavalry and artillery, should the
war be prolonged. She can fight but one battle, and she
may lose that one. We must choose between an act of
weakness or a disaster ?' You would, in the face of
such facts, lower the tone of your voice, and you would
bend your head, in order that the course of events might
pass over it. And when the danger was passed (as you
would not have sufficient time to study so many serious
questions which remained to be resolved—as you would
find that there was too much to be done, you would d..)
nothing)—you would attend to the most pressing mat-
ters, the business of the day. You would net like all
previous Ministers, and you would, like then, fall
under the weight of the task, without even having en-
deavoured to raise yourselves. It is thus that official
business is conducted, and there is reason to fear that it
will continue to bo so conducted. Our great fault in
Franco is to have too great a contempt for the minutiae
—for nviterid P, -A organisation. May we become con-
vinced of this fact, and at a later period, perhaps, we
shall repair the fault."
The same,journal (La Presse) s!atcs that—

" The ovLnii-Lg papers, including the ;Whiten'. Pari.sien,
attribute :Le fall of 50 centimes which took place at the
Mune on Tuusday, in the Five per Cents., and of 45
centime: in the Three per Cents., to the degree of con-
sistency assumed by the report of the approaching con-
clusion of the loan, notwithstanding certain assertions to
the contrary. We believe that we can further assign as
a cause for this fall what has transpired relative to a
plan f.r the conversion of the Fve per Cents. into a
stock bearing four and a half per cent. interest, which is
at present under the consideration of the Minister of
Finance, who appears to have taken the vote of the