The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-28 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, TUEhDAY.—Pierre Gondre, the French
seaman who had his arm shot off whilst saluting his
royal master on his late visit, left Haslar Hospital yes-
terday quite recovered from the effects of his calamity.
He expresses himself most grateful for the kindness
with which he had been treated ; his own vessel, La
Heine Amelie, carrying no surgeon, he was removed
immediately after the accident on board the Victory,
where the surgeon of that ship, Mr. J. 11. Acheson, per-
formed amputation above the elbow in a most skilful
manner ; he was then removed to Hasler, and placed
under the care of Mr. James Allan, the surgeon and
storekeeper of that establishment, for whose kindoess he
could never be too grateful. Ile acknowledges with feel-
ings of very apparent pride and gratitude the receipt of
101. from our benevolent Queen, through tho hands of
the Commander-in-Chief, Sir C. Rowley, and also the
pension of 600 f. per annum, conferred by his King.
A seaman of the Espiegle, 12-gun brig, one of the ex-
perimental squadron, who had the three last fingers of
his right hand blown off, and arm shattered, whilst
saluting at the same time as the above, has also received
101. from her Miijesty, and is doing well in Haslar Hos-
pital.
The Albatross, 16, Commander Yorke, was at Sierra
Leone on the 20th of September.
The Cleopatra, 26, Captain Wyvill, was at Simon's-
bay on the 16th of September.
The Pickle, 2, Lieutenant-Commander Bainbridge, left
Port Royal for Honduras on the 17th ult.
The Wasp, 16, Commander Usher, was at Sierra Leone
on the 25th of September.
The Conway, 26, Captain Kelly, arrived at Algoa-
bay, from the Cape of Good Hope, ea the sth of Sep-
tember, all well.

The Dolphin, 3, Lieutenant Hoare, was at Rio on the
13th ult., as were also the Alfred, 50, Commodore
Purvis, the Racer, 16, Commodore A. Reed, and the
Crescent, 42, receiving ship.
The Vestal, 26, Captain Talbot, arrived at Simon's-
bay on the 9th of September from the River Plate.
The Gorgon steam-sloop was still ashore at Monte
Video on the 20th of September.
The St. Vincent, 120, Captain the Right Hon. the
Earl of Hardwicke, arrived this day at noon, and brought
up at Spithead, where she saluted the Commander-in-
Chief, Sir C. Rowley, with 17 guns. The St. Vincent
beat her two three-decked competitors, the Queen and
Caledonia, in the late cruise, which lasted 34 days. The
squadron did not fall in with the Albion, 90, Captain
Lockyer, until two or three days after touching at
Lisbon, when the four ships sailed in company to within
about 80 miles of Madeira. They experienced very
heavy gales during the early part of this month, but
latterly the weather was fine. The trial has fully proved
the great inefficiency of Sir W. Symond's (the Surveyor
of the Navy) ship Queen, which has been beaten by
long odds upon every tack. The St. Vincent weathered
upon the Albion, but the latter, carrying more canvass,
carried off the palm. The Albion parted company with
the rest of the squadron, and mode for Lisbon on the
20th inst.

The Excellent, gunnery ship, Capt. Sir Thos. Hastings,
struck the flag of Admiral Sir Charles Howley, at sun-
set, and it w.ll be re-hoisted on board the St. Vincent
to-morrow. Seamen gunners from the Excellent were
exercised in rocket practice this morning on Southsea-
common, the rocket being of a new description, and
constructed on board that ship. The result, we are
informed, was highly satisfactory. There has been no
shell practice upon the Swiftaure from this ship since
Thursday. We are informed the next shell tried will
be Colonel Dansey's,
Orders have arrived at this port from the Admiralty
for the officers' cabins on the gun-deck of line. of-battle
ships to be in future fitted upon a different plan to that
hitherto practised. The mode adopted hitherto has been
to construct them of mere frames of wood, with panels
of canvass, secured to cants below and aloft. The new
instructions are, to form them of canvass exclusively,
nailed to the deck above, and secured below by a cordage
to staples; this will be at once more simple and portable,
and give infinitely less trouble in clearing decks for
action.

The Scourge, steam-sloop, has been jury masted, and
is now being rigged with all speed, in order to get her
into the river by the time specified in the contract
between her engine-makers and the Government.
The Snipe, cutter, Lieutenant-Commander Raymond,
arrived from Devonport on Monday, with seamen paid
off from the Cornwallis and Nimrod, and sailed this
morning for Sheerness and Chatham, with supernume-
raries fur the Amazon and Eagle.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TOWER

OF LONDON.

This ancient fortress is about to undergo extensive
alterations and improvements. For months past Govern-
ment surveyors have been engaged, at the direction of
the Board of Ordnance, in surveying different parts, and
for the better guidance of the Honourable Board an
elaborate working model has been formed, under the
superintendence of Major Hall, of the Royal Engineers.
A new grand entrance will be made facing Upper
Thames-street, and will be approached by a draw-
bridge. To effect this alteration, the well-known Spur
Gate is to be demolished ; that part of the old ditch be-
tween the Warders' Hall and the Spur Gate filled up,
and a new one in a line with the ditch that runs along
the water side is to be made, so as to run outside the
grand entrance, in accomplishing which a large space of
ground will be added to the fortress, although no en-
croachment on the public right of way on Tower-hill.
The Spur Gate barracks, the well-known menagerie
buildings, the New Ticket-office, the Spur guard-room,
and the ramparts adjacent, are all to be razed to the
ground, and on their site to be built substantial erections
for public offices. The Warders' Hall, now fronting
the Stone Kitchen, is to be destroyed, and a new one to
be erected, which, together with the ticket-office and
guard-room, will form the buildings at the grand
entrance.

The two archways almost at the extreme eastern end
of the fortress, leading to what is termed the Irish bar-
racks at the south-east angle, are to be removed, and the
Irish barracks, now used for the accommodation of the
troops, are to be converted into store-rooms. The en-
tire row of buildings on the opposite side of the way are
also to be demolished, and the whole space to the ram-
part wall will be cleared away, affording a commodious
thoroughfare. At the end of the Irish barracks are a
number of smiths' shops and lofts ; all those are to be
levelled to the ground as far as the Old Mill barracks,
to the end immediately beneath the Jewel House. The
houses fronting the barracks in a line with the King'",
Arms public-house, about forty in numher, are to share
a similar fate; at least those as far as what is called the
School-room. Nearly opposite to those buildings are the
officers' residences, and which are intended to be appro-
priated fur the accommodation of the warders. A large
building, between the Beauchamp Tower aLd the
officers present quarters, is to be converted into an in-
firmary for the troops, an institution so long required in
the garrison.

The alterations intended immediately adjacent to the
grand parade are equally as extensive. The houses on
the right, after passing under the Bloody Tower to the
parade, now the residence of some of the warders, will
be destroyed, also the guard-room, and all the buildings,
in fact, contiguous to the White Tower aro to be swept
away, so as to throw that interesting and stately struc-
ture open to the view of the spectator, many of its beau-
ties being hidden by the unsightly buildings that are
attached to it. The carriage-way is to be abolished and
raised level with the parade, which will certainly be one
of the finest exercising grounds any fortress can boast
of. It will be approached by a wide flight of steps close
under the Bloody Tower. On the ruins of the grand
store-house is to be built a magnificent building for the
accommodation of 800 soldiers, the style of which is to
be in strict keeping with the White Tower. Extensive
excavations are now going on in order to secure a good
foundation, for which purpose the whole of the burial-
ground attached to St. Peter ad Vincula has been de-
voted, the bodies therein having been removed and de-
posited in a spacious vault.
Some of the buildings to the west of the parade are
to be pulled down to make room for more substantial
erections. The houses on the terrace, known as the
Map-office, are to be used as officers' residences, the
roofs of which will be made to correspond with the
White Tower and the intended new barracks. The
Beauchamp Tower, which stands on the west side of the
parade, will be thrown open to public view, and when
the records are removed to the new houses of Parlia-
ment, the White Tower will be open for public in-
spection.

ATTEMPTED ROBDERT AT TDB LONDON DOCKS.—
Two or three days since, several bladders were disco-
vered lying in a craft, which was at the time full of
bonded goods, which had been shipped override from a
vessel recently arrived in the dock, to be housed else-
where, and as the appearance of their being concealed in
such a place was very suspicious, they were taken pos-
session of by the dock authorities, to await any further
particulars which might come to light on the subject.
It has since been found that a cask on board a ship
recently arrived, and lying near theoraft in question, has
been plundered of a eonsiderable quantity of Grandy, to the
amount of several gallons ; although it is not known by
whom, or in what manner the abstraction has takenplace,
there is very little doubt but that the brandy pillaged from
the cask alluded to, formed the contents of the bladders
in question, and a representation has been made to the
Commissioners of Customs, requesting that it may be so
considered and the spirit returned to its original place of
deposit. Tho matter is at present under the considera-
tion of the Board. The case is somewhat suspicious, as
it is extremely difficult to conceive in what manner, or
at what time, the spirit could be so taken and deposited
in the barge to await its exit from the dock, without the
knowledge of the parties concerned. It was very fortu-
nate, however, that the attempted robbery was so dis-
covered before the craft had left the dock, as there is no
doubt if it had been sceurely removed, it would have
been very difficult to have found its place of concealment,
and in consequence the brandy would have been entirely
lost to the owner and the duty to the revenue.

SINGULAR TRIAL 0
FOR KILLING HIS CI

IF AN ARAB
ONCUBINE.

A trial for murder, peculiarly interesting from the
party accused, the circumstances leading to and at- .'
tending its perpetration, the witngssei exanained,_ and:
the nature of their evidence, was-heici-lea-tfri 15
and 16th inst., before the Court o&-1.4isi'zlecifbi.‘thi.7
department of the Var, sitting at Drago,.lnan. The
prisoner was Abdel Kader Ben Aottti, formerly
Dacherchaour, or chief of the armed police of the.
Emir Abdel Kader, and the charge against him was
the murder of one of his wives, named Fathwa Beni
Aball Kader.

At an early hour the Court was crowded; includ-
ing a great number of ladies, for whom seats were
specially reserved. But the most striking part
of the scene was a numerous body of Arabs, en-
camped as it were in the enclosure reserved for
the witnesses. They were almost all very fine
men, tall, handsome in features, though deeply
embrowned by the sun of the African deeert,
their eyes shining brilliantly through the
white burnous with which they were cavered fi om
head to foot. Each, as a true believer, wore a chaplet
or rosary on his arm, or round his neck, eel sit-
ting crouched, seemed to take no notice of what was
passing around him, but from time to tr..ne re-
peated verses from the Koran. Among them was
only one woman, a negress, so covered with her
white kack, that she might have been taken fur
a man, but for the delicacy of her legs and f et,
arms and hands, which were naked. They were all
prisoners of war brought from Algeria, and cone
fined in the island of Ste. Marguerite, sum-
moned as witnesses for or against the prisoner.
Ben Aoufi is a man of about forty-five years of
above the middle size, with a healthy complexi,al
high forehead, aqualine nose, and most brilli,nt
eves, but a countenance expressive of the greatest
mildness and strong intelligence, and his de-
meanour was grave and dignified. Two interpreters
were sworn. The prisoner had always shown great
veneration for his mother, who, with his son, was at
his request brought from the Island of Ste. Margue-
rite to he present at his trial.
After the usual formalities the indictment was read.
From this it appeared that, two years ago, after the
capture of the sinalah of the Emir, Abdel Kader Ben
Aoufi and his family were then taken prisoners, and,
being brought to France, %vela, sent to the depot in
Sainte Marguerite. Two otie r families were made
captives with them, and at their own request were
placed together in one apartment of five rooms. Ben
Aoufi formed a close intimacy with another Arab cap-
tive, Abdel Kader Ben Rebah, who had been an aga or
captain in the Emir's regular cavalry. For some time
their friendship remained undisturbed, and Ben Aoufi
appeared to have full confidence in the fidelity of his
No wives. Afterwards, however, he became jealous
of them, and accused one of them, Fathina, of a
guilty intercourse with Ben Rebah, with whom 1.6
broke off all connexion. In October or. Novem-
ber, 1843, Ben Rebah assumed a seat in the
mosque to which Ben Aoufi claimed to he en-
titled, and demanded it in insulting terms. Ben
Rehah retorted, saying that Ben Aoufi had no light
to talk so high, as his house was nothing but
a house of debauch, and that he, Ben Rebah,
had the night before lain on one side of_Fathina, while
he, Ben Aoufi, was on the other side of her. He used,
indeed, terms which we cannot repeat. Their quarrel
became desperate, but they were separated by their
friends. From that day Ben Aoufi became inveterate
against both his wives, but particularly against Faili ma.
One day he determined to kill her with a knife, but
be was deterred from doing this by the supplica-
tions of his mother, who represented that Patlima
was with child. About a fortnight before the
murder, the Marabouts, or priests of their religion,
endeavoured to reconcile Ben Aoufi and Ben
Rehah, and for a moment the former seemed
to yield ; but his jealousy returned upon him
with greater force. He every evening locked
his door and carried the key about his
person, depositing it at night under his pillow,
sleeping between his two wives. A negro, named
Mobarek Ben Mokear, became a marked obj. et of
his suspicions, believing that he afforded Ben
Rebah opportunities for approaching Fat hma.
In the evening of July 28, he felt per-
suaded that his wives took the key of
their room from him. He made a terrible
scene, and went to bed almost in a state of frenzy.
The next morning, Fathma rose before daylight, and
having performed her ablutions, bent herself with her
head to the ground in prayer. He, hearing her,
sprung also from the bed, and reproached
her with infamous conduct. She protested
her innocence, and he, having ascertained
that there was no strange person in the
room, anti that the door was still locked, went out
to perform his ablutions. Returning, and find-
ing her in the same attitude, he took up a
log of' wood, and beat her with it on the head
until she expired, notwithstanding his mother,
who was present, did all in her power to p-eify
his rage, in fact, was so ungovernable, that
he male a blow with the log at his other wife ; lut
the avoided it, and it fell upon a female sli.ve
who was near her. At this moment the negro
Mobarek Ben Mokear crossed his path, and was
knocked down by him. Believing he had killed
him, Ben Aoufi exclaimed, " I have but an-
ether to destroy, and then I shall be at rest."
This was Ben Rebah, and he was going out in search
of him, when the concierge of the fort, hearing the
noise, arrived at the moment and stopped him. While
being taken to the prison he struck an Arab who was
in his way on the face with the log, which he still re-
tained.

At his previous examinations he acknowledged his
crime, but stated that he was under the influence of a
frightful dream, and when he woke he believed he
heard the rattling of keys. On being interrogated in
court, however, he changed his tone, and, insistin
that Fathma had violated the law, her hour, he said,g
was come, and the Prophet allowed him to kill her.
After the examination of some of the witnesses,
Ben Rebah was called, and gave an account of the
quarrel between him and the prisoner in the Mosque,
and partly admitted his having thrown imputations
on the fidelity of the two wives, but greatly softened
the language said to have been used by him. He gave
an account of the reconciliation between him and Ben
Aoufi, in consequence of the desire of the commandant
of the fort that they should live together in peace. He
stated that they met at a religious festival, and being
seated at the same repast they reciprocally put into
the mouth of each other, in sign of oblivion of the
past, a small quantity of vermicelli, and the wit-
ness by desire of the Marabouts, as being the youngest,
first kissed the head of Ben Aoufi in sign of amity.
lie protested that he had never had any intimacy
with Fathma, and he said what he did because Ben
Aoufi had provoked him by first saying that his own
wife, who remained in Africa, led a disorderly life
with the French soldiers. Ben Aoufi insisted that
the evidence of Ben Rebah was false, and affirmed
that. Fathma, having deeply insulted him for the
scandal he had thrown upon her, by avowing her in-
discretion, he had caused her to he killed by the
negro named Mobarek. In the course of the exami-
nations, the President of the Court cited passages
from the Koran, contradicting the assertion of Ben
Aoufi that he was authorised by the Law of the Pro-
phet to kill his adulterous wife.

At the conclusion of the evidence the Procureur
du Poi delivered his requisitory, and the counsel for
Ben Aoufi replied. The President tlult asked the
prisoner if he had anything to add in his defence.
Ben Aoufi required that his judgment should be post-
poned. Being told that this was impossible according
to the course of justice in France, he asked that his
mother might be allowed to sit by him while his sen-
tence was pronounced. The President refused, say-
ing that an innocent person could not be placed on
the bench with one under accusation of crime. Ben
Aoufi then turned to the interpreter, and said, " If I
am condemned to death, pray that I may be buried
according to my religion." The President then
summed up, and the jury withdrew.
After three-quarters of an hour they returned
with their verdict, and at the entrance all the Arabs
rose from their crouching position, and from their
white burnous, seen by the dimlight of evening (it
being near six o'clock), they looked like so many
ghosts rising from their graves. The jury negativeil
the question of murder, but declared tLe prisoner
guilty of giving blows and wounds causing death,
but without premeditation, and also found that there
were extenuating circumstances. The sentence pro-
nounced by the Court was four years' imprisonment.
On hearing this judgment, Ben Aoufi said that it was
too much for him to bear. But he retired smiling ;
for, although he had been repeatedly told that he
could not be condemned to death, he was always con-
vinced that that would be his fate. When the Pre,i-
dent went to the prison after his condemnation, he
and his mother both expressed their gratitude for the
leniency which had been shown to them.

We understand that at the Privy Council to be
held by her Majesty at Windsor Castle to-morrow, •
proclamation will be Agreed upon for the proroguing
Parliament from Thursday, the 12th of December, to
Tuesday, the 4th of February, then to meet for the dis-
eyenngt,., M
according .P. ,
to a
dis-
patch of business.—Evening paper of yesterday.
At r2enit., aaunddit3,(:Nl.llr7.e. 1I 3.
re-
duction
thoef
last
101., 0
exigencies of his tenantry.

Count de Kalnoki, Count Neiney, and Baron Van-
genheim, arrived in London y esterday afternoon, by the
General Steam Navigation Company's steam-ship Earl
of Liverpool, from Ostend.
DEATH OF SIR A W. CAI.LCOTT, R.A.—This RR-
complished artist died at his residence at Kensington
Gravel-pits, on Monday last, in his Gsth year. He
was the son of T. Calleott, Esq., by the daughter of
Wall, Esq., of Kensington. Married, 1824, the
daughter of Ezar-Admiral G. Dundas, sad relict of
eqtaiLl Tilollllls Graham, R.N.