The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 20, 16'44.

TANGIERS.

MEHEMET ALI.
The Journal des Debats gives the following inte-
resting particulars connected with the abdication of

rented by the British' authorities, and by them in part
sublet to British merchants, It will contain the con-
sular and viceaeonsUlar residences and officers' and
merchants' houses, and altogether will consist of 18
houses. The houses are to occupy either side of the
ground on the west and east, and through the centre
runs a street 40 feet wide, but shaded on either side
by a verandah 12 feet wide, connecting the upper
parts of the houses, and protecting passengers against
sun and rain. The consular residence being the
largest of the projected houses is to face the square or
river on the south-west ; and the opposite corner in
the south-east has been granted to the same firm
formerly in possession of the Creek Hong. The vice-
consulate is to be immediately behind the consulate.
The well-known Respondentia walk is now narrowed
by a wooden railing, supported by pillars of masonry,
which incloses the whole of the square in front of the
six centre factories that still remain. This has been
laid out tastefully in walks and shrubberies, and in its
centre has been erected a splendid flagstaff, brought
out for the use and protection of Americans by the
United States frigate Brandywine, and erected by the
crews of American merchant ships at Whampoa. In
melancholy contrast to this newly painted flagstaff and
its glittering vane, are ,the fire-blackened stumps of
those from which once floated the British and Dutch
flags, and still left standing memorials of the strife.
The company's garden; formerly stocked with many a
rare and beautiful plant and flower, has been sadly
neglected, many of its denizens having been trans-
planted to its more .prosperous neighbour. The
younger of the foreign residents here find a little ex-
en be
i boatsn times is
on f not
ol
ex-
ercise in playing at-ninepins and quoits, nor seem
aquatic sports to be forgotten, although the number
of
fwwhaties
it andsed pleasure
to.
wherries
meansyetd. lany
Jackass
Point, on which in days of yore the quid-nuncs used
to assemble, now offers the disagreeable spectacle of a
mass of dirt and rubbish, for which it seems to have
become the privileged receptacle, much to the re-
proach of the foreign residents, who might easily con-
cert measures to do away with that nuisance; which,
however it is to be hoped, will he much abated after
the new garden shall have been extended,- as it is
about to be, to the brink of the river. With the ex-
ception of the foreign factories and their immediate
neighbourhood, down to the river, not much change
has taken place. Old China-street is exactly what it
always was, and New China-street has been rebuilt in
exact imitation of its former self; and only four or
five shops there remain to be built to obliterate all
traces of the late disastrous fire. With extraordinary
activity the Chinese have repaired the damage done
by that fire, and the streets have everywhere been
rebuilt, nor does the visitor dream that destruction
has been at work there only a few months since,
the new streets and houses being mostly rebuilt
as they formerly were, the only difference now
striking the beholder being the fresh and gaudy
colours of the new signboards overhanging the
streets, in lieu of those sobered down by age.
The British flag noW floats in front of Howqua's hong,
where the British Consul is at present domiciled, and
where a British sentinel, a marine, paces in front. If
old Howqua is permitted from beyond the grave to
cast a look upon the scene of his commercial success,
he will quickly avert his eyes from a spectacle by no
means calculated to please him, who to the very last
was averse to the new order of things. It now only
remains for me in this short sketch to notice the glo-
rious river, the Chokiang, with its hundreds of thou-
sands of boats and vessels of all sizes, admitting,
free from danger, the largest line • of-battle ships,
and, at the same time, nourishing and bearing
on its bosom thousands of families that know no
other home than the small boats it rocks on its
waters. For miles, all the length 'of the provincial
city, it is now, as ever before, covered with a multi-
tude of boats of all descriptions, from the humble tanka
to the flaunting flower boat, disposed in regular streets
and squares ; in fact another city upon the waters.
From the factories are visible, in the direction of
what used to be called Red Fort, the masts of a
frigate built by the Chinese, in imitation of a Euro-
pean ship of war. This vessel is said to be well
built ; but her cost is money utterly thrown away,
as she is not likely ever to be of any use in the de-
fence of her country; but she may, in case of an-
other war, prove a valuable prize to her captor.
The feeling of enmity so frequently manifested of
late by the populace of Canton towards foreigners,
seems, according to all I have been able to learn, to
be making room for better impressions; and there
can be little doubt that it is the firm and fixed in-
tention and wish of the Canton authorities to pre-
serve uninterrupted the present amicable relations.
But as stated before, the late war has revealed to
the people generally the inefficiency of their rulers,
and the credit of the mandarins has suffered immea-
surably by the conviction it has afforded to the
masses, that however willing instruments they may
have been for their oppression, they have been alto-
gether unable to protect them. The Chinese autho-
rrities seem to be perfectly aware of this, and dread
nothing more than the gathering of a mob, which in
China is more easily collected, and more ready for
every mischief, than perhaps anywhere else.

The following particulars relative to Tangiers will
be read with interest at the present moment :
The city of Tangiers is very strong by its position
and the number of its batteries, which are well
armed. Its old walls crenellated, and flanked with
round and square towers, are perhaps capable of a
greater resistance than their appearance indicates.
Several bastioned towers have been repaired, and put
into a state of defence within the last few years.
The city itself is of little importance; it is poor, and
has little trade. Tangiers -has no interest but from
its being the residence of the European Consuls,
for its population only amounts to from 8,000 to
9,000, and its commerce is inferior to that of some
other ports, notwithstanding its proximity to the
European coast. The houses of the Consuls
form the only ornament of the town. It is situate
on the declivity of a calcareous mountain, part
of which is not built upon, and presents a naked and
unpleasant coup d'ceil. The town, like all other places
in Morocco, is surrounded by a wall flanked by round
and square towers ; this wall is enclosed by a ditch,
2,200 metres in extent, but which has no counter-
scarp. It is protected by a Moorish kasbah (fortress)
of imposing appearance, and'by a fort of Portuguese
construction, bastioned in the modern style, but half
in ruins.. The kasbah is mounted by twelve pieces of
cannon, which command the straits of Gibraltar.
The ditches round the city are filled with trees,
and cultivated as kitchen gardens, the letting of
which belongs to the Governor, and who would
take good care not to sacrifice the revenue
he enjoys from them 'by putting the ditch
in a proper state of defence. The rampart oppo-
site the sea is remarkable for having two tiers of
embankments with embraiures mounted by guns.
On the north side the city is defended by steep rocks,
which prevent the approach•of a besieging force. The
principal defences have been raised in front of the
landing-place near the marine gate. They consist of
two batteries, mounting sixty pieces of heavy calibre,
and eight mortars, all bearing on the port. The plat-
forms of the batteries are very narrow, the parapets
are of masonry, but only three feet in thickness, and
the embrasures are not far enough apart, which tends
to diminish the strength of the battery. The landing
place is flanked on either side by two batteries. Be-
sides these defences of the port, the bay of Tangiers is
defended by six batteries in masonry, one built on
Cape Malabata, and the other on the ruins of Old Tan-
giers (the Tingis of the Romans). They mount to-
gether forty guns. The two batteries which flank
the roadstead at its two extremities are raised on
small hills about 150 feet above the level of the sea ;
the others are at the water's edge. To attack the
place by sea, it would be :necessary first to destroy
those batteries, as well as those in front of the port,
but in order to get into the town three inclosures
must be forced, each having'a very strong gate lined
with iron. To do this cannon must be landed, or
else a mine or the petard be had recourse to, but
during this operation the assailants would be exposed
to a murderous fire from the garrison, if the inhabi-
tants should be resolved to defend their city.
By land the point of attack would be on the
sands, and the low hills to the south,' between
the Fez road and the sea, after effecting a
landing on the beach of Old Tangiers, out of reach
of the sea batteries. Once established on these points,
the plateau on which the market is situated would be
gained. On this plateau there is space enough to
form an entrenched camp, to serve as a point d'appui
for the troops acting against the town. The western
rampart being only of earth, might readily be de-
molished. The last attack against. Tangiers was in
1790, when it was bombard'ea by the Spaniards. The
inhabitants abandoned the place with all their effects,
and peace was soon after concluded. The English
draw their supply of beef, 'mutton, fruits, and vege-
tables from Tangiers and Tetuan. Tangiers is dis-
tant seventy leagues from, Fez and Mequinez, and
one hundred and fifty from Morocco, these being the
three Imperial cities at which the'Sultan alternately
resides. From eighteen to twenty days is required
to send a dispatch, and get an answer, from Tangiers
to Fez, and from Morocco requires from forty-five to
fifty days."

Mehemet Ali I

" ft is not astonishing that, in presence of the dis-
organisation which was extending itself more and
more in the provinces under his domination, Mehe-
met Ali should have felt his usual courage and perse-
verance giving way. At his age, and after the active
life that he had led, lassitude became natural, and the

circumstances which accompanied the still pi•oblema-
tical act of his abdication, prove that the weight of
affairs had begun to become too heavy for him. Some
time previously to the late events the Pacha had been
ill, and his return to health was marked by a measure,
the prudence of which was not perhaps equal to its
clemency. He had opened the doors of all the prisons
of Egypt, and in one day 2,000 prisoners, thieves,
assassins, and innocent men, were, without distinction,
restored to liberty. It was not by such measures
that the deplorable abuses of the Government, and the
unhappy state of the country could be reformed. The
evil had become so great, that the most faithful coun-
sellors of the Pacha felt themselves called upon to en-
lighten his mind at any price. It appears that Ibrahim
Pacha himself laid aside the extreme reserve which
he had until then maintained. The Pacha, con-

stantly habituated to find in his way only docile in-
struments, was at first surprised, and appeared to be
for an instant vanquished by a contradiction which
was so unusual. He manifested equal astonishment
and grief at what was told him, and announced his
intention of applying a remedy. But this moderation
did not last long, and in a new access of passion the
old Pacha went so far as to threaten to send Ibra-
him Pacha bound hand and foot to Cairo, and to
keep him there a prisoner. Two or three days
passed in irresolution. On the 25th, the day fixed
for sending his children to France, the Pacha held a
council at which a report was made to him of the state
of the provinces. It appears that the facts as stated
in this report were exposed with so much plainness,
that none of the Ministers had dared to communicate
it to the Pacha. Mehemet Ali, however, had it read
to him, listened to it in' silence, and left the room
without making any observation. On the following
day, however, he gave sudden orders for his departure,
and, as there was no steamer in readiness, he shut
himself up in a kiosque of the garden of Moharem Bey,
placed two sentinels at the door, and ordered that no
person should be admitted to him. It was in vain that
Ibrahim Pacha and 30 or 40 persons of the Court pre-
sented themselves at the door : they remained there se-
veral hohrs without being able to obtain admittance.
The Pacha's physician,Gaetanißey,andKosreffßey,his
first dragoman, could alone reach his presence. It was
to them that he declared his intention of proceeding to
Mecca, adding that they might remain in Alexandria
to be of use to Egypt, but that, for his part, he re-
nounced it for ever. Then, as they remonstrated
with him, he begged them, with tears in his eyes, to
withdraw. Ibrahim and Said Pacha, his two sons,
and his principal officers, addressed a letter to him, in
which they assured him of their devotedness to his
person ; but the Pacha replied that he was resolved to
retire into the Hedjaz, and that he renounced Egypt
for ever. No other reply could be obtained from
him. In the night he asked for a sum of 125,000 f.,
and on the following day it was known that he had em-
barked, again declaring that he renounced everything,
and was going to reside at Mecca, where he would take
the name of Hadji (pilgrim). As soon as the depar-
ture of the Pacha was generally known in Alex-
andria the agitation became extreme. The evil dis-
positions of the Mussulman population, and the
presence in the city of a crowd of malefactors, whom
the opening of the prisons had let loose on society,
were of a nature to inspire the Europeans with great
uneasiness. The consuls held a meeting, and ad-
dressed a collective note to Ibrahim Pacha, request-
ing him to inform them. if he had taken the necessary
measures to maintain order. When the last news
left, Ibrahim Pacha had not sent his answer, but so
long as he remained in the city, no disorders were
apprehended. The 'Marquis de Lavalette had written
to the commander of the Levant station to send him a
ship Of the line."
The following letter, addressed to Mr. Court, the
Secretary to the Underwriters' Association of this
town (Liverpool), from the agent of the association
at Alexandria, gives the best and most detailed ac-
count we have yet seen of the movements of Mo-
hamed Ali, the Pacha of Egypt :
" Alexandria, July 17, 1844.
" Sir,—Since closing my letter, per French mail, I
find the steamer is detained till the evening in conse-
quence of the excitement prevailing in this city
from the sudden and unpremeditated departure
of Mohamed Ali for Cairo, for which a variety
of reasons are assigned. I can only give the pre-
vailing rumours, as, at the present moment, it is im-
possible to ascertain, the truth. One report is that Mo-
hamed All, yesterday, abdicated in favour of his son,
Ibrahim Pacha; who, however, refuses to set during
his father's lifetime. Another, that, in a fit of religi-
ous enthusiasm, Mohamed Ali set off on a pilgrimage
to Mecca; that he was induced to this step by the
reproaches of his harem, in consequence of his having
recently sent his son to France for education. From
another quarter we hear that there has been some-
thing like a revolt in' consequence of a meeting held
at Cairo, Mohamed Ali's grandson (Abas Pacha),
Sheriff Pacha, and others presided, and that it was
agreed that Mohamed Ali was now too old, and ought
to give up the reins of government; that, on this in-
telligence reaching Mohamed Ali, he was greatly
enraged, and set off to restore order by his presence,
giving out the report of a pilgrimage to Mecca to lull
suspicion.
" Whatever may be the true state of the case, it is
certain that Mohamed Ali's departure was most
precipitate, and induced by some extraordinary cause,
as he left Alexandria without any intimation to the
Government authorities or instructions for their future
guidance. It is also certain he is seriously unwell.
Her Britannic Majesty's steamer Geyser, Captain
Carpenter, is in port; but the British authorities have
been inquiring for a fast-sailing British vessel, to take
dispatches to Beyrout ; it is supposed to order down
to Alexandria her Majesty's ship Tyne, or any other
man-of-war on the station, as it is apprehended some
crisis is approaching. Mohamed Ali's son, Admiral
Said Pacha, has requested a steamer from the P. and
0. Company, to follow his father, and endeavour to
learn the cause of his extraordinary departure; it is
said the French Consul-General will accompany him."
•Liverpool Albion.

HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS OF TANGIERS.
Tangiers is situated near, the western entrance to
the Straits of Gibraltar, built at the entrance of a
bay, on the side of a hill overlooking the sea, and
about 14 miles west of Cape'Spartel. It has a popu-
lation of 9,000 souls ; and, in conjunction with Te-
tuan, supplies Gibraltar, Cadiz, Lisbon, and other
ports on the coast of Spain and Portugal, with fowls,
beef, mutton, and fruit. During the memorable siege
of Gibraltar, 1779-82, Tangiers was of considerable
importance to the English, • from whence much valu-
able information respecting. the movements of the
French and Spaniards was constantly transmitted.
It may not, however, be generally known that
Tangiers was formerly in the possession of the
English, having been ceded by Portugal in 1662 to
King Charles the Second, on the occasion of his
marriage with Donna Catherina, infanta of Portugal,
as part of her dowry. In the spring of 1680, Tan-
giers was besieged by an army from Morocco, and
Charles recommended the Parliament to take mea-
sures for its preservation. The occupation of Tan-
giers was said to be of importance to the Levant
trade, and it was feared that two millions embarked
in that commerce would be lost. Consequently,
detachments from each of the three troops of Life
Guards; 260 officers and men from the First
Foot Guards; and 130 officers and men from
the Coldstream Guards, under the command of the
Earl of Mulgrave, were dispatched to garrison the
fortress of Tangiers, and on their arrival were styled
" the King's battalion." These were followed by the
Earl of Dumbarton's regiment (now the Ist, or Royal
Regiment), and the Earl of Inchiquin's (now the 2d,
or Queen's Royals). MuCh fighting took place be-
tween the Moors and the English, with varied suc-
cess, and Tangiers was closely besieged by the bar-
barians. On the 27th September, 1680, a general
sally of the garrison was made on the Moorish lines,
where 15,000 troops were encamped. The action
soon became general, and Dumbarton's renowned
veterans quickly carried the redoubts, although with
immense slaughter; the 'Guards and the Queen's
Royals equally suffered, for the returns give an ag-
gregate loss of 11 officers and 100 men killed, and 34
officers and 334 men wounded.
King Charles 11. found the maintenance of a suffi-
cient garrison at Tangiers to be too expensive ; and
the nation refusing to grant supplies, the fortifications
and mole were blown up. On the retirement of the
English, the Moors quickly occupied the place, and it
has ever since continued ui their possession. Whilst
the English were masters of Tangiers, the works on
the land side were considered as almost impregnable.
In April, 1684, the troops returned to England ; and
only 235 effective men of the Guards joined their re-
giments in London.
It is a singular historical fact, that " rifles " were
introduced into the British service in the year 1680,
and were first used by the Life Guards at the siege of
Tangiers. It is also remarkable, that about the same
period the Grenadiers were introduced into the
army, and did good service at this memorable
siege. According to the quaint language of the
day, " a company was formed of men who each
carried a large pouch filled with hand-grenades. These
men were instructed to ignite the fusees, and to cast
the grenades into forts, trenches, or amidst the ranks
of their enemies, where the explosion was calculated
to produce much execution;" and the men, deriving
their designation from the combustibles with which
they were armed, were styled " Grenadiers." Al-
though the hand-grenades, have long since been laid
aside, yet one company, which is designated " The
Grenadier Company," continues to form part of every
battalion in the English service.

TWEED FtsaiNc4-- --The late rains. which at this
season are to be regretted for the sake of the grain
crops, have produced a most beneficial effect on the
salmon fishings. Last night the River became flooded, in
consequence of which an immense number of fish has
entered it, and the boats, as they arrived at the quay,
this morning, were literally filled with fish. These for-
tunate takes have not been confined to a few stations or

any particular part of the river, .but have extended ovi r
the whole as far as the tide flows. The appearance of
the fish-house at the quay this morning has not been
equalled during this, •or, indeed, any previous season.—
Berwick Advertiser. _ . .

SOMNAMBULISM EXTRAORDINARY.—Tuesday night
a lad named Smith, in the employ of Mr. J. Cottrell,
farmer, of Cleeve, awoke in a great fright, on finding
himself crammed into some dark corner, nearly
smothered and blinded with dust and soot. Not being
able to make out his whereabouts, he tried for a few
moments to collect his scattered senses, and, found him-
self with an indistinct recollection of having dreamed of
climbing to take a rook's nest in his master's field ; con-
cluding he was still up in the tree, and being unable to
get down, he cried out lustily for assistance, but without
effect. After bawling for some time he became ex-
hausted, and was compelled to relinquish his hold, and
fell with great violence on the hard ground. Groping
about he found himself still in his own bedroom,
and, glad to escape so easily' he scrambled again into
bed, and fell asleep. But, on waking in the morning,
the mystery of his night's bird-nesting was unravelled,
for, to his great discomfiture, he found his person and
the bed and bed-clothes, as well as the floor of the room,
completely covered with soot, and,
from a quantity of
the same material
lYieg in the fire-place, there is no
doubt that the poor fellow got up in his sleep, and at-
tempted to climb the chimney, and, getting jammed in
the narrow part, some seven or eight feet up, awoke with
the sensation before described. Fortunately, his rapid
descent occasioned no other injury than a few slight
bruises on his person, and the damaged state of the bed
and bedding was easily repaired by a plentiful applica-
tion of soap and water._Cheltenham Examiner.
CATS MEAT AND HORSES' TONGUES.--Wednesday,
Mr. Wakley, M.P., held an inquest at the Elephant and
Castle, King's-road, St. Pancras, on the body of John
King, aged fourteen. It appeared in evidence that de-
ceased was a deputy vendor of cats' meat, and got from
his employer 2s. 61 a week and his breakfast and dinner
each day. On Monday hist he knocked at the door of a
customer in Henry-street, Hampstead-road, and the in-
stant the door was opened he fell into the passage and
died. He was subject to fits. The Coroner—His must
have been a very laborious occupation, for he must have
travelled a long distance with a large quantity of meat,
which I understand is sold at a penny a pound. before
any profit could be realised. A Juror—Oh dear no; cats'
meat is sold at fonrpence and threepence a pound. and
he would not have to wheel more at any time in his
barrow than half a hundred weight. A good cats' meat
walk is a fine fortune, and the proprietor would not sell
his vested interest for a trifle. The Coroner—l believe
it is boiled horse flesh they sell. Did any of you ever
see them sell for cats' meat boiled horses' tongues? The
Jury—Never. The Coroner—To be sure you never did.
They are salted and dried and sold for ox tongues. A
Juror—Yes, many of the so-called pickled and cured
neats' tongues come from the knacker's yard. The Co-
roner—lt requires, lam told, a nice palate to distinguish
the flavour of an ox's tongue from that of a horse's. I
do not see why it should not be so. A gentleman—The
prejudice against equine flesh is not universal. The
celebrated sausages of Arles, in the south of France, are
principally composed of asses' flesh and condiments.
They are considered a great delicacy, easy of digestion,
and extremely appetissants. The Jury returned a ver-
dict of " Natural death."
ANTIDOTE FOR PRUSSIC ACID.--We feel much
pleasure in announcing in these columns that some re-
cent experiments made by Messrs. T. and H. Smith, of
Duke-street, Edinburgh, with a view to discover an anti•
dote for prussic acid, have been brought to a successful
termination. It was previously well known that the acid
might be neutralised, but a perfect neutralising power,
innoxious to the stomach in itself, easily used, and
readily to be procured, has hitherto, as far as we are
' aware, been a thing altogether unknown. The sulphate
of iron, commonly called green 'vitriol, was lately stated
by Sir G. Lefevre to be an antidote to this poison, in the
pages of the Lancet. It is not so, as the Messrs. smith
showed in reply. However, the presentation of oxidized
iron to the deadly acid is in reality the fundamental fea-
ture of their own discovery. Only it was necessary to
find out bow to present it to the acid in the shape in
which the acid will combine with it, and to do that
safely is a difficult matter, as all medical men well know.
The iron, as the late experiments demonstrate, must be
in a state
partly of peroxide, and partly of protoxide,
when combined with which, only, will the acid form the
desired compound, a compound well known as Prussian
blue, which is perfectly harmless in the stomach. It was
the observation that in that salt the iron was peculiarly
and doubly oxidized, which, while showing the useless-
ness of common
sulphate of iron, suggested the forma-
tion of another combination of the sulphuric acid with
the oxidized metal, *bich might take up the prussic acid
and form Prussian blue- The accomplishment of this
combination constitutes the antidote. The prnssic acid
is turned in the stomach into Prussian blue; there an
inert, harmless body. We only give what may be held
enough to satisfy tbetriformed, as well as the uninformed,
of the possibilitr-the. chemical possibility—of the re.
Meciy.—Seetsman.

CANTON ITS 'CONDITION BE
FORE AND SINCE THE LATE WAR.
(From a Correspondent of the Hong-Kong Register of
April 22.)
When in May, 1839, after an imprisonment of abou
six weeks, the foreign community found themselves
once more at liberty, they, with few exceptions, left a
place where they found themselves to be completely
at the mercy of arbitrary power, and to a degree that
same feeling of insecurity seems still to prevail, but
a small proportion of the former residents having as
yet chosen to return, and to pitch their tents again on
the scene of their former captivity, although two
years have nearly elapsed since the peace has been
concluded.
But at present how much is that scene itself
changed from what it formerly was ! Of a goodly
row of thirteen hongs, presenting a rather imposing
front to the river, Ave years back, now only seven re-
main ; three of them, including the splendid hall of
the East India Company, having been destroyed in
December, 1842, by a riotous mob, and the other
three on the opposite, or west end, having shared the
same fate, occasioned by a fire, which at the same time
reduced a great portion of the suburbs of Canton to
ashes, in October last. It is true that some progress
has been made in rebuilding the Spanish and French
bongs destroyed by the last fire ; but the Danish has
been converted into Chinese shops, and thus has the
small space formerly allotted to foreign residence been
still more reduced, instead of having been extended,
as we might have had a right to expect, and for
which the accident of the fire might have offered a
fair occasion and pretence.
On the eastern side of the factories nothing has,
however, yet been done, for rebuilding the other three
hongs destroyed by the mob, except clearing the
ground, which at present offers a dreary enough
spectacle. The considerable extent of ground from
which the princely company used for many years to
supply the English market with tea at a hundred per
cent. profit, and where its agents were famed for en-
tertaining themselves and others with unbounded
hospitality, offering nothing now to the eye but heaps
of rubbish, and mounds of bricks pilel up here and
there, ready at hand for the buildings it is now in
contemplation to raise there. The ground has been