The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-16 00:00:00

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LONDON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 1844.

BOMBARDMENT OF TANGIERS.
The following appears in the Journal des Debats of
Thursday morning :

"PARIS, AUGUST 15.
~ We are assured that the Government received
last night the following important news from the
coast of Africa.

"The answer to the ultimatum sent to the Em-
peror of Morocco by the Prince-Admiral, command-
ing the French fleet, not having appeared satisfactory,
his Royal Highness the Prince of Joinvillo had :
Com-
menced his fire against the advanced works which
protect the place of Tangiers. The works had been
destroyed.
" The European quarter of the town had been
spared.
" The English Consul, Mr. Drummond Hay, had
found refuge on board of the ship of the French Ad-
miral.

"We can add to the above that the bombardment
commenced on the 6th, at seven o'clock in the even-
ing. The telegraphic dispatch which announces this
fact was intercepted by the bad weather, but it ap-
pears as if Mr. Hay had been in some danger, as the
dispatch says---' . Hay was saved.'
"The outer works were completely destroyed, and

the bombardment of the town was still going on when
the accounts came away."
This is an event of the most serious importance.
Whether it has arisen from the obstinacy of the
Moors, or the eagerness of the young French Admiral
to have a little amusement opposite Gibraltar, matters
not much. The simple fact that the bombardment of
a town belonging to an ally is heard by the garrison
of Gibraltar, together with another fact of equal con-
sequence—namely, that we have no fleet in that
quarter to act as a check; cannot fail to cause the
greatest sensation both in this country and France.
But we must suspend our judgment till we know the
terms of the ultimatum which the Emperor refused
to accept.

Our first duty, in recurring to a letter in another
part of our columns, headed " New Insolvent
Debtors' Act," and signed " A Prisoner " (whose
case, upon his own statement of it, presents a most
powerful appeal to the sympathy of all our readers),
is, to endeavour to answer his question—whether,
under the New Insolvent Debtors' Act, which en-
acts " That all persons in execution at the time of
passing this Act upon any judgment obtained in any
of the Courts aforesaid, in any action for the recovery
of any debt, wherein the sum recovered shall not ex-
ceed the sum of twenty pounds, exclusive of the costs
recovered by such judgment," he (our Correspon-
dent) does not come within the scope of the relief
thus proposed to be afforded ? Not desiring to pledge
ourselves to the legal and technical accuracy of our
opinion, we are bound to express our fears that the
case thus submitted to us does not come within the
contemplation of the Act in question. It may well
be that circumstances of such unexampled hardship
—such an inconceivably iniquitous working of the
old law—should form a "casus °minus" in the pro-
visions of the recent statute which has been framed
for its amendment. But we will presently endeavour
to suggest a remedial course, that seems to be still
open to our unfortunate Correspondent. His case
may be thus put. We state it, advisedly, as an A B
case. We know nothing of the parties assumed to
be implicated—not even their names, addresses, or

occupations, and, therefore, intend no personal ap-
plication. 'We have no means of testing the truth or
falsehood of the allegations in this letter; enough for

U 3 that such facts are too possible, that we proceed

to illustrate the terrible operation of a bad law, or
the frightful tendencies that connect themselves with
the abuses of a good one.
A, a thriving tradesman in a seaport town, sup-
plies goods on credit, at various times, on a running
account, to B, a gentleman residing at some distance,
but occupying a splendid house, and living in a style
of corresponding expense. On being applied to for
payment of his account, amounting to 45/., B induces
A to take, in liquidation of the debt, his (B's) accep-

tance at three months, payable at B's bankers in
London. At maturity the bill is " duly" disho-
noured; and A, at considerable inconvenience to him-
self, is compelled to take it up. Under instructions
from A, his attorney instituted the usual proceedings ;
a plea and declaration are prepared, the cause called

on, and (for ought that appears to the contrary) no

defence is offered to it; and a verdict (judgment ?)
is obtained for the plaintiff A against B. In a very
little time afterwards, plaintiff is apprised by his at-
torney, that on application on behalf of the defendant

to one of the Courts at Westminster, to have a

nonsuit" entered in this case, on the ground of in-
formality or error in the declaration or plea settled
by counsel, a rule nisi to that effect has been granted.
In the Court of Exchequer, Hilary Term, 1842, this
rule is made absolute, after argument, the late Chief
Baron observing that, "however much he might re-
gret the inability of that Court to have regard to the
equity of this matter, it was clearly precluded from
doing so in this instance, by reason of the doctrine

laid down in Holies v. Johnson.' " In that case it
was clearly held that a similar defect in a declara-
tion, in laying certain matters not proved in evidence,
or omitting certain averments necessary to found the
plaintiff's case, entitled defendant to a nonsuit ; and,
therefore, the Court must place A in a similar posi-
tion. Costs of suit being taxed at 941., the unfor-
tunate A is finally arrested for this amount at the suit
of B, his debtor, and the defendant in the original
suit, and thrown into prison, where ever since—a pe-
riod of two years—he has remained incarcerated.

In his letter, he seems to suppose " that, being de-
tained for nothing but costs, and there being no other
debt, he is entitled to his discharge under the recent
Act." We have already intimated our opinion, that
he is not. But if "A Prisoner" will refer to the
Morning Edition of yesterday's Sun, he will there
find what we suppose we may call Lord BROUGHAM'S
analytical instructions for debtors proposing to take
advantage of the new statute. We would recommend
him so far to extend the form of petition therein in
corporated as to introduce the special matter of his
own case, in a brief but expressive statement. Let
him then obtain leave to appear in person before the
superior bankruptcy jurisdiction ; and, we should say,
the Court will assuredly, under the circumstances, and
in the exercise of the large discretionary judgment
reserved to them, direct his immediate discharge.

But we cannot dismiss this case without pointing
attention to the remainder of his story. Soon after
our Correspondent's imprisonment in:the county gaol,
having been arrested, he says, by his own debtor (!)
the day after his arrival in town, his wife died. This
ruined man, with his motherless children, driven to
distraction, would have committed suicide but for the
sympathy and encouragement he received from the
governor of the prison. The heartless ruffian, who
had taken a detestable advantage of a technical over-
sight in his creditor's declaration—(with the aid, he
writes, of one of those attorneys who are the nui-
sance, the shame, the offscouring of the profession, a
pest to society, the scorn of honest men, the contempt
of those who know them, and the human Ogres who
prey upon those who know them not)—to turn upon
the wronged and tormented sufferer, as if he had been
the original, offending, or dishonest party, denies
this wretched man the last melancholy satisfaction of
following to the grave the mortal remains of that be-
loved partner who had fallen a victim to her affliction
for his unmerited misfortunes, and the blighted
prospects of their once happy family. It is in the
land of " equal laws"—it is in the boasted sanctuary
of personal rights and the security of property—that
this enormous wickedness, this bold, daring, callous
invocation of the powers of justice to work out a
scheme of nefarious and vindictive oppression, at the
instance of crafty and sordid villany, is openly and
successfully preferred ! It is in this country, distin-
guished among the nations for probity and honour—
in this social system of ours, where private integrity
and public morality are upheld, expressly or
pliedly, in all the institutions and relations of civil
life—that right and wrong are thus permitted to change
places—that the successful plaintiff, by some worth-
less manoeuvre of dirty legal chicanery, may be trans-
formed into the cast defendant, and made to suffer the
very penalty which unchangeable equity has already
decreed and recorded against his debtor, but which
fluctuating law has, by a sanctioned cheat, thrown off
from that persecutor upon himself! Truly the laws
of debtor and creditor want still a thorough, organic
revision, if these enormities can be with impunity per-
petrated under their authority. The " Prisoner"
himself, who had so recently occasion to complain of
the apparently vicious facility extended to the debtor
by the recent Act for the amendment of the Insolvent
Debtors' Act, will soon, we trust, in his own person
and experience, find reason to greet with thankful-
ness that first step towards a sounder principle of
egislation.

The Dublin Evening Post of Tuesday, in an article
suggested by the close of the session, observes of Sir
R. Pinar, :—" It is certain that this Minister is by no
means a favourite with his own party. He has disap-
pointed them sorely ; and they apprehend that worse
remains behind. They would revolt to-morrow if
they could find a leader. We learn, in point of fact,
that something of the sort is contemplated ; but we
doubt the power of the majority, though not their
disposition. A House of Commons that allowed it-
self to be dragged in the mire of the Factory Bill,
and a Ilouse of Lords whose last act was that of dis-
gracing itself by reversing its decision on the
Irish Law Bill at the beck of the Minister,
are not persons likely to adopt a manly
course of action. For our own part, we have little
hope that such a blessing is in store for the country
as the removal of her MAJESTY'S Ministers. At the
same time, we repeat it, there is a very prevalent
opinion, even in their own ranks, that th© present

Administration is approaching its terminus." Pre•
valent as may be the the opinion of the ricketty state
of the PEEL Cabinet, there is, to all appearance, but
little foundation for it. The Premier, notwithstand-
ing that, on three or four very remarkable occasions
during the session, he has been severely tried, has
contrived with his usual tact to stand as fast as
a rock, and has maintained his reluctant majorities
undiminished. We say reluctant, because there can
be no doubt that the support given to him by
some of his adherents has been most unwillingly given,
and wrung from them solely by the grinding pressure
of necessity. Not a few of those who sit on the back
seats of the Treasury bench, and cheer with apparent
cordiality every smooth clap-trap that falls from the
lips of the most specious of Prime Ministers, would
gladly compel him to abdicate and raise a RICHMOND
or a BUCKINGHAM to the vacant helm, could they, by
so doing, establish on a more safe and solid basis the
old-fashioned principles which they have so much at
heart, and which they cherish just in proportion to
their antiquity and utter uselessness, as bibliomaniacs
cherish old editions, and virtuosos old porce-
lain. But cheerfully as these more bigoted
Tories—who are constantly haunted by the
threatening phantom of free trade, and never
retire to bed but :to dream of Mr. Con-
DEN—cheerfully, we say, as these bigoted but
timid men would oust Sir ROBERT PEEL, and substi-
tute some Minister more devoted to the interests of
monopoly, they know full well that it would be the
height of imprudence to do so ; that no Tory Go-
vernment could hold together for a single week that
had not the Tamworth Doctor for its head; conse-
quently—however painful and humiliating be the
necessity—that they must still continue to submit to
his sovereign will and pleasure; to swallow, and,
if possible, digest his most unpalateable measures ;
cheer his most obnoxious sentiments ; and—
hardest task of all force a laugh at his
worst jokes, at the imminent risk of suffoca-
tion. Twice or thrice during the session, the
more desperate of the Tory squad have given evidence
of a discontented and rebellious disposition ; on
one occasion, indeed, they broke out into open
mutiny; but a word—a glance from the Premier
sufficed to restore instant subordination among their
ranks ; and now, he is more absolute, and they are
more dependent, than ever l We agree, therefore,
with our Dublin Contemporary, that at the present
moment there is not the slightest prospect of the
downfal of the PEEL Cabinet. It is as fixed as
Mount .2Etna. The apathy of the people on
all political matters, and the manifest indifference
—might we not add, contempt ?—with which
they regard the twe great antagonist parties
of the State, tends not a little to confirm the
stability of Government; and, indeed, we can see no
very urgent reasons why they should be removed, for
opposed though we are to them on many points of
their policy, it is but common justice to state, that
they are as liberal as the motley and wayward cha-
racter of their supporters will allow them to be, and
have lately evinced a disposition to put the helm about,
shift the sails, and make a tack in the direction of
free-trade.

Madrid journals of the Bth have been received. It
would appear that the delay in publishing a decree
for suspending the sale of national property arises
from a disunion in the Cabinet. A meeting took
place on the 7th to consider the question, but the re-
sult was not known.

On the Bth the Three per Cents. were done at 271
cash ; 28 for 60 days; and the Fives at 20 for 60
days.

The French papers of Wednesday do not contain
any news of importance, and it is singular that the
Government papers in general make no comment on
the extraordinary telegraphic dispatch from Alexan-
dria, published in The Sun yesterday. The writers

in those journals that advert to the retirement of
MEHEMET ALI seem equally puzzled with ourselves
as to the cause of this event, The Opposition journals
of course look to it with hope, because it may lead to
the re-opening of the Eastern question, and to their
darling object, a war with England. The National
alludes to the abdication in these terms :

" Four years ago, this news would have produced a
deep sensation in Europe. Now, it is merely a feeling
of deep curiosity which is excited. Why is this abrupt
and unforeseen withdrawal ? What has taken place ?
Is it the effect of a spontaneous resolution, or the result
of some violence, either domestic or public ? However
the matter may be, this resolution explains itself suffi •
ciently by the situation of Egypt. It is not a govern-
ment which Mehemet Ali had constituted on the
banks of the Nile, but an immense speculation
in all the agriculturej industry, commerce, riches, and
life of a whole people, for the profit of one
man I A man might support all the burden of such
an enterprise, so long as
,he remained in the full en-
joyment of his physical, intellectual, and moral strength;
but when these faculties become weakened, the task is
found to press on him too heavily, and, if he has not the
wisdom to leave it, he falls, crushed beneath its weight.
What will be the fate of Egypt after him? Will Ibrahim
succeed without difficulty to the Government, and, if he
does so, will he preserve it? The treaty of 1840 en-
sures him Egypt ; but, if he has no other title, the future
fate of himself and family cannot admit of doubt. The
authority of Ibrahim will also meet with an obstacle
amongst the subjects of his father of a personal charac-
ter. His enemies have affirmed and repeated, on all
occasions, that he is only the adopted son of Mehemet
Ali ; and this opinion, which has been widely circulated
in Egypt, has been generally accredited. It is doubtless
a calumny; but persons well acquainted with Egypt and
Mahometan countries are inclined to think that this
calumny will have disastrous consequences for Ibrahim.
At all events, the fate of Egypt is again put in hazard—
the Eastern question is again thrown open for Europe."
The following remarks appear in another Opposition
paper, the Courrier Francais :
" What are we to think of the termination of a career
so illustrious and so eventful ? Mehemet Ali finishes,
like Charles V. It has been given him to astonish the
world to the latest day of his existence. A soldier of
fortune, he became Pacha of Egypt and Syria, and,
twice conqueror of the Sultan, his master, he in 1840
reached the highest pinnacle of his glory. Arbiter of
the fate of the Ottoman Empire, he then divided Europe,
and held it in suspense. The world was about to be-
come embroiled for or against him; the whole diplomacy
of Europe was occupied with his affairs ; and, after
having carried his intrepidity to the utmost extent of
his strength, he bent before the decree of fate, preserving
to his family the hereditary government of a country,
in which, but forty years before, he had landed as a
simple adventurer. Is it from an impulse of paternal
foresight that he thus abdicates ? Is it only to
secure, during his lifetime, to his heir the peaceable
transmission of his authority, and to assist him,
before closing his eyes, in the establishment of his
dynasty, which internal rivalries, complicated by foreign
intrigues, might probably disturb after his death ? Has
he only wished to disconcert the projects already founded
on his heritance ? We think not. For the last four
years Mehemet Ali has bitterly felt disgust at his re-
stricted position, and regret at his forced want of power.
With a soul panting after movement and activity, he can
no longer do anything—his career is closed ; Egypt is
to him only a prison, on all points of which he is nar-
rowly watched. Men of his character consider them-
selves as fallen when they can mount no higher ; and as
he despairs of being able to add to his grandeur, and
does not feel inclined to engage in a mad struggle, he
retires from the world. Whither does he retire ? From
being a Pacha he becomes a Marabout ! He goes to
Mecca—to that city which gave birth to Mahomet is
retired to end his days, the most illustrious of the living
children of the Prophet—the last grand Pacha of the
Mussulman world, to whom it was given to wield with
eclat for the last time the shining sabre of Islamism."

Several other journals assume a warlike attitude,
and call upon the Government to increase the navy,
and, above all, the steam navy. The Quotidienne, a
Carlist journal, while professing to show that the
curious article in the National, published yesterday, is
not quite correct as to the comparative strength of the
English and French navies, at the same time shows
as pugnacious a spirit as its Republican Contem-
porary. One remark will make the naval officers and
the gallant tars of England smile at the vanity of the
writer, who ought to know, from experience, that the
reverse is the fact. " Our officers," he says, "less
numerous than the English, are generally more able
men, and better instructed in naval tactics, and our
gunners are superior to those of our neighbours."
Still, somehow or other, his courage fails, and he
asserts that as France can no longer reckon on the
aid of other naval Powers, it would be unwise to
enter on a maritime struggle. The following extract
from the article contains some details of interest to
an English reader :
" Certainly, if France were in a regular normal state,
we should fully agree with:our Contemporary,l.but unfor-
tunately such is not the case. We have, it is said, 24
sail of the line and 80,000 seamen, whilst the English
have only 90 ships of war and 150,000 seamen ; their
armament and their manning are carried on more slowly
than ours, and, after all, the first events of a war would
be in our favour. Such is the argument, in reference to
which we say that, in the first place, the English have
120 sail of the line, and not 90 ; and their number of
seamen 200,000, and not 150,000 ; but the question does
not relate so much to the amount of their effective forces,
for those forces would not be immediately available at
the moment of a war, but to this fact that, 13:.:eause
the English have tt stronger Davy than ours, their