The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-27 00:00:00

FRANCE.

CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES.—SITTING OF JAN. 24.
The President took the chair at halC-past one o'clock.
The Order of the Day was the adjourned discussion on
the Address.
The President observed, that as the amendment
brought forward by M. de Carrie on paragraph 1 had
ben disposed of the preceding day, the Chamber had
DOW to proceed to decide that of M. G. de Beaumont, by
which that gentleman proposed to repthce paragraphs 1
and 2of the Address. In order to show more clearly to

the Chamber what the Hon. Deputy intended by his
amendment, he should read both it and the paragraphs.
The latter ran thus :

" Sire,—When our session terminatc d a few months
back, complications which might have become serious
lisd excited your solicitude. On resuming our labours
at present, in the midst of a profound calm, we are well
pleased in congratulating ourselves with you on the bril-
liant success of our arms, and on the prompt re-establish-
ment of peace.
" To defend our possessions in Africa against re-
peated aggressions, war with the Emperor of Morocco
had become just and necessary. At your voice, Sire, our
armies by sea and land rivalled each other in gallantry
and ardour ; and, led on by chiefs familiar with victory,
they once na,re showed what France could do."

In place of them, M. de Beaurn9nt proposed the ful
•

lowing :

" Sire,—When our session terminated, a few months
back, complications which might have become serious
had excited your solicitude. On resuming our labours
at present, in the midst of a profound calm, we should be
well pleased to be able to congratulate ourselves un-
reservedly on the prompt re-establishment of peace, as
we applaud, in common with the whole of France, the
brilliant success of our arms.

" To defend our possessions in Africa against repeated
aggressions, war with the Emperor of Morocco had be-
come just and necessary. At your voice, Sire, our
armies by sea and land rivalled each other in gallantry
and ardAur. Guided by chiefs familiar with victory,
proud of seeing at their head, or in their ranks, three of
your sons—worthy of their older brother—they once
more showed what France could do."

2 L. G. De Beaumont—The g: ii,ra' question had been
decided yesterday, and on it no further combat could
arise ; but each person ought to have the right of
making his opinion known on particular facts. In
the front rank of these stood the affair of Morocco, in
which it was impossible to deny that, if the struggle was
glorious, the issue was deplorable.—(Dissent from the
Centres.) He must declare that it was not well done
is the Ministry, in an interest purely Ministerial, to
change the position of a young prince of heroic courage,
and covered with glory, and from an admiral to trans-
form him into a diplomatist, in order to protect the
treaty which they had alone concluded.—(A loud burst
of disapprobation.) He should not discuss the acts of
that young commander, nor of Marshal Bugeaud, for
glory ought not to be brought forward as a subject of
discussion ; but he should make some remarks on the
treaty which the Ministry had given as the termination
of the deeds of these gallant officers. The lion. Deputy
then proceeded to criticise the treaty, but advanced little
that has not been already alluded to during the discus-
sion. He blamed the fourth clause, so often adverted
to, in which it is declared that Abd-el-Kader is to be
treated with generosity. Referring to the indemnity,
he observed that to demand an indemnity from a bar-
barian Power was by no means a novel act, as, in 1830,
Admiral Rosamel had forced the Regency of Tripoli to
pay an indemnity of 800,000 francs, which, small as it
was, constituted the best means of making the Mussul-
men feel the ascendancy of the victors. Why had not
the Ministry seized on the occasion of the victories
gained by France, to insist on a settlement of the dispute
existing with 11orocco relative to the frontier limits ? It
would, perhaps, be necessary, in order to have that ques-
tion settled, to enter on a new war.

Marshal Bugeaud (from his place)—lt was not to have
the frontiers fixed that Morocco had demanded, but to
have a part of the territory of Algeria ceded. The
Moors wanted the French to withdraw behind the Tafra.
He had replied that France would guard the limits
to every one.—(Hear.) Since then they had accepted
that limit, and no longer contested the matter.
M. G. De Beaumont—That territory was too vaguely
marked out for a barbarian nation, aad would always be
a cause of disputes.
Marshal Bugeaud—The territory was perfectly well
defined when it was designated as that of the five tribes.
Each tribe in that country had its own ground in
common, its boundaries were perfectly fixed, and were
defended by arms when violated by another tribe.
M. G. De Beaumont must insist on his observation
of the uncertainty of that mode of fixing a frontier.
The Gallant Marshal had himself allowed as much
in the letter which he wrote to the Moorish leader
on the 17th of June last. The Honourable Deputy
then proceeded to remark on the fault committed in
not insisting on the seizure of Abd-el-Kader, which the
gallant Marshal, he understood, had looked on as no
difficult matter. Ought not also his suite, consisting of
a considerable number of men, to have been ejected from
Morocco by force, if fair means did not suffice ? He
concluded by stating, that it was generally believed that
this treaty, which was looked on with so much disap-
probation in France, had been drawn up in its present
state in consequence of a letter that had arrived from
London.—(Loud cries of " No, no.") In other words,
the affair of Morocco had been concluded by the treaty
in consequence of the dispute about Otaheite.—(No, no.)
Marshal Bugeaud—ln my quality of agent of the Go-
vernment, and having had no participation in the diplo-
matic negotiationsal might with perfect propriety have
refrained from replying to the explanations demanded
by the Hon. Deputy who has just spoken ; but not
wishing that a wrong interpretation should be put on my
silence, 1 decide on addressing the Chamber, and shall
do so with that frankness and sincerity which it has
sometimes found eXceasive. I admit that when the
treaty was signed takicsinot completely satisfied with it ;
will it be astonishing that the general of an army to
whom the conquest had cost so many sacrifices, so mueh
blood and so much labour, should have looked at the
matter in a point of view different from the Government?
The general has but one point of view—the interest of
Algeria. The Government has to provide for the general
interest, and this will account for the difference of the
appreciation of the treaty at the first consideration, and,
I confess, it did not completely satisfy me ; but refiec-
' tion, and what is now going on in Morocco, has made
me change my opinion. I learn that there are at this
moment insurrrectionary movements in different parts of
that country, and that convinces me that it would not
have been easy for the Emperor to have seized on the
person of Abd-el-liader ; and the Chamber will remark
that this is the sole point to which I attach any import-
ance, for I never had an idea that it would have been
advisable to have stipulated for an indemnity. My sole
desire was to be rid of that eternal enemy—of that man
of genius, who will never allow us any repose so long as
he can find a soldier to march under his standard. To
accomplish this object, it would have required more troops
than I had at my command ; this is what I thought ; I
also considered that it would have been necessary for
the fleet to have remained six weeks, or perhaps two
months, on the coast, and that would not have been unat-
tended with danger, from the bad weather, for, as it
was, we lost a very large vessel. Besides, to assemble
on the frontiers of Morocco an army sufficient to enter
on such a campaign, I was obliged to draw one battalion
from one point, and another from another, in order not
to weaken the important points of Algeria. I assembled
all these battalions very rapidly, and brought them to
the frontier, and thus it was that we were in a condition
to march. But allow me to tell you that this army of
Africa, which appears to you too strong when talked of
in connection with your budget—(Laughter)—is too
weak for the task which is imposed on it. The Hon M.
Thiers said the other day that the coast of Africa extended
to 200 leagues; that may be possible in a direct line, but in
reality the cnast has an extent of 250 leagues. Our army is
too weak to cover such a great extent. If it be made suffi-
cient for the task it is by multiplyingits duties—it is by
multiplying, if I may so express myself, the courageous
feelings of our soldiers, and if I had wished to extend
our occupation, to push the thing further, it would
have ben impossible for me to have done so for want of
a sufficient number of troops—it would have been ne-
cessary for the Minister of War to haveme
100,000 men.—(Sensation.) The army in Africa sent
does
not fulfil one part alone—it performs several. To the
fatigues of war succeed the labours of_ peace_ ;
when our
soldiers return from a campaign they have ouly three days
—three days only to repose themselves, to repair their
tattered clothing and effects; three days after their return
they are compelled to undertake fresh labours ; they
construct bridges and form roads. This is the manner
in which our soldiers employ their time in Africa.—
(Hear.) It has been alleged that we were taken by sur-
prise in that war ; even had it been so, it would not
have been astonishing ; but, nevertheless, the troops had
been placed en echelon, to be prepared for the first event,
and we were able to make head against all that took
place. The Hon. M. Thiers said in a former sitting
that we could not have advanced as far as Fez. That is
true ; and why ? It was then the 14th of August, and
the heat was overpowering ; the thermometer stood nt
41 degrees in the shade, and at 60 iu the sun.—(Great
sensation.) This is what rendered it impossible to push
on as far as Fez ; it was a la( at under which the men
could not support a long march. I make this remark to
enlighten the sensibility of certain persons who are much
more careful of the general interests of humanity than
of the blood and sweat of our soldiers. In Europe, there
are many more means of making war than there are in
6 Africa; the great oentres of the population may be taken