The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-29 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY IVIORNINEC AUGUST 29, 1844.

LORD BROUGHAM'S INSOLVENCY

THE LATE COLONEL CAR-
MICHAEL.
We have the painful task of announcing the pre-
mature death of our gallant countryman, Lieutenant-
Colonel Lewis Carmichael, which took place at Forres
on the Bth instant. A braver soldier, or a man of a
more gentle, affectionate, and modest, yet independent
nature, never existed. Colonel Carmichael com-
menced his military career as an ensign in the 59th
Regiment, in 1809, whilst he was yet a mere boy.
His first campaign was in the Peninsular war, when,
towards its close, he was four times wounded, and on
one of these occasions ve_ry severely. He was en-
gaged at the battle of Vittoria, at the siege and
capture of St. Sebastian, the battles of the Nieve and
Nivelle, and at the crossing of the Bidassoa. After
the escape of Napoleon from Elba, the Colonel
was with his regiment at Waterloo, and was next
engaged at the storming of Cambray. Shortly
after the peace he joined his regiment in India,
where he served in the Mahratta war of 1817
and 1818, and in the commotions of Ceylon
in the following year. In 1826 he particularly dis-
tinguished himself at the siege of Bhurtpore, being
then Aide-de-camp to Sir Jasper Nicol. •n some
of these occasions his conduct and bravery were made
the subject of special mention in general orders. In
Canada also, during the late disturbances, his ser-
vices merited and received similar acknowledg-
ments. He was in command of the regular and
militia forces when Beauharnois was given up by the
insurgents, and afterwards commanding at Co-
teau-de-Lac, he was as efficient in keeping the
quiet of the provinces as he had been before in
quelling the insurrection. He attained his majority
by purchase after leaving India, in 1829; his Unattached
1 Lieutenant-Colonelcy was the reward of his service
in Canada. At St. Sebastian he was the only officer
out of thirteen who accompanied the advance that
entered the town; and at Bhurtpore he did signal
services at the greatest personal risk, by examining a
part of the interior defences three days previous to
the assault. Some of the trophies taken at Bhurtpore
were handsomely presented to him by the Indian Go-
vernment. On the occasion of the shipwreck of a
portion of his regiment, on board the Lord Melville
transport, near Kinsale, in the year 1815, he displayed
his admirable courage, coolness, and the influ-
ence he possessed over his men, and was mainly
instrumental in conducing to their preservation. In
Canada, the Glengarry Highlanders looked up to him
as a brother, while they obeyed him as a chief. The
cairn raised by them in honour of Lord Seaton, was
planned at the suggestion of Colonel Carmichael,
and his own assistance in rearing this singular
structure was not . wanting. He was greatly
attached to all relating to the Gael, and cherished
their language, their customs, and the remembrance
of all connected with the north, in whatever part
of the world his destiny led him. The duties
of private life he discharged in the most exem-
plary manner. He was a devoted and affectionate re-
lation, an attached and constant friend, and a highly
agreeable and intelligent companion. His constitu-
tional firmness and intrepidity were united to the
mildest disposition and most unassuming demea-
nour. The respect in which he was held was
strikingly evinced on the occasion of his death,
which was felt by all who knew him as a personal
calamity; while his funeral was numerously attended
both in Forres and Strathspey. At the former
of these places, nearly all the respectable inhabitants
followed his remains, and many of the neighbouring
proprietors (among whom were the Earl of Moray, Sir
W. G. G. Cumming, Bart., &c.) joined in the same
mournful tribute to departed worth. He now sleeps
in his " narrow bed" amongst his native hills in the
church-yard of Cromdale. Peace to his ashes—ho-
nour to his memory!—lnverness Courier.

LAWS.
(FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
" The children who have eaten their cake, are the natural
enemies of those who have their cake to eat."—BENTIIAM.

It is the vice of lawyers that they cannot under-
stand
or ever see a new principle, much less see the
time when a new principle must be known and ap•
plic d. They saw, and rightly enough, that the old
insolvency-laws were brutally severe, but, instead of
taking the old procedure all to pieces, and devising a
rational one in place thereof, they only meliorated the
old plan by applying egregious absurdities thereto.
While they were justly horrified at the hanging of
men for offences (as bankrupts) wi.ich deserved a
much milder punishment, the lawyers went on
patching and patching, and still their work remains
an incorrigible heap of inefficient errors. The ad-
justment of bad debts was made a subject of equity
jurisdiction, burdened with the cumbrous and ex-
pensive machinery of Chancery, or a punishment was
inflicted at once on the alleged debtor without due
trial and proof. As well might men be charged on
oath with stealing watches, and then be consigned to
prison until they or their value were - refunded, as
when it was found the prisons.were crammed, and
when countless indiscriminating acts of oppression
were committed, the odd device should be hit on, of
having a periodical goal delivery, and that failing, to
construct a court for the regular relief of pickpockets.
Belief from indefinite punishment, afforded to men
who had been merely charged but never tried, and
yet had endured a certain sum of imprisonment!
Yet such was the remedy hit upon to cure insolvency,
which has been since improved further by Lord
Brougham, not only by liberating all indiscriminately
who had been as yet untried by any court, but by
shutting the prison doors almost entirely against all
insol vents. From a wild and unconstitutional punish-
ment, the Legislature has run into the opposite error
of no punishment at all. Thus giving practical im-
punity to all persons who, no matter what may be the
cause, did not fulfil their promise and pay their just
debts ; for, except in rarest instances where the in-
jured creditor is animat©d by vengeance, a very rare
fact, there are no means by which a debtor can be
punished, he who is, in almost all cases, deserving
punishment. All this arises from an unwillingness to
expound the principles on which insolvency laws
, should be founded.

These principles are—
], All men who make contracts, if they be lawful,
should be required to fulfil them, being liable to
certain sanctions if they do not.
2. He who receives money or goods from another,
under bargain or contract to restore the same at a
fixed time, should be bound by law so to do, and
should be visited by puishments of due severity if he
do not, unless he act involuntarily.
3. He who incurs a debt, makes this sort of con-
tract, and he must pay the whole debt, or being
unable t..) pay it, he must do so to the utmost extent
of his ability ; and
4. He must endure punishment, in order that other
people may be deterred from breaking the like sort of
contracts if, as the evidence shows, is almost univer-
sally the case, he has voluntarily rendered himself
unable to do so, that is, by acts over which he had
more or less control ; and
5. He has done so voluntarily, who has become in-
insolvent, because he has been idle, has neglected his
business, and not kept proper accounts; or who has
been extravagant, and has enjoyed more pleasures
than his own means would allow ; or who has been
dishonest, and has concealed and removed beyond re-
covery all or part of the effects, without his creditors
incur an expense equal to, or greater than the value
to be recovered.
The evils the insolvent has inflicted on society are
great indeed. Ist. He has misapplied the wealth, the
produce of other men's toil, and with which other men
have entrusted him, and in violation of his solemn en-
gagement, thus rendering property insecure (except
that protected by special laws) ; he has weakened the
motives to be industrious, and to accumulate, and thus
diminished the quantity of wealth in the land; he is
a public enemy. 2d. He has wasted the wealth he
sh,aild have husbanded and productively invested.
3d. He has forfeited voluntarily his word, and thus
diminished confidence between man and man ; but it
is of the very greatest importance that in all cases
the simple word of a man should be absolutely received
with confidence, especially in a commercial nation.
The baneful act of the insolvent (a modification of
stealing) is felt all through society to diminish that
indispensable confidence, and laws which do not punish
him encourage a social pestilence. 4th. He injures
directly, trade and commerce, because in order that
there may be national prosperity it is desirable that
the greatest number of persons should be in the highest
credit, so that they may obtain an v amount of credit,"
at any time, on their mere word, "I promise to pay ;
which should in all cases (as in millions of cases it
does) pass with the same value as coin. The labours
of Lord Brougham (who is in a state of stolid igno-
rance on the subject he has legislated about) would
not be more mischievois if he had repealed all Acts
relating to forgery and to coining, and the uttering
of base coin, and told the people (a 3 he has done with
regard to that much more universally circulated me-
dium a word-of-mouth-promise-to-pay) that they
must mind what coin and what notes they accept, for
the law shall afford them no protection any more than
if they were in Negroland.
It these principles be true—and • they are incontro-
vertible; Lord Brougham can no more disprove them
than he can disprove the law of the triangle—it fol-
lows that our commercial code must be constructed
by other hands than those whose " frantic" presump-
tion has, and is continuing, to confiscate the treasure
of the middle classes, whose very social existence i 3
placed in peril by bad insolvency-laws, just as that of
the lower classes has been destroyed by long continued
bad laws. Insolvency-laws are to the middle classes
what poor-laws are to the lower classes.

MAUCHLIN E.—LORD GLEN LEE.—On Monday the
.2th inst.' Lord Glenlee entered upon the 90th year of
his age. A handsome entertainment was dispensed at
Barskimming to the people in his Lordship's employ-
ment ; and in the evening about thirty of the inhabitants
of Mauchline met at supper in the Black Bull Inn, to
drink his Lordship's health, Dugald Hamilton, Esq., in
the chair. The chairman, in proposing the toast of the
evening—the health of the Venerable Baronet—passed a
high and just encomium upon his character and useful-
ness ; and the Rev. Mr. Fairlie, minister of the parish,
in proposing the health of Miss Miller, stated that he
had that day received from this benevolent lady the sum
of 10/., to be distributed amongst the poor of the parish.
A number of other appropriate toasts were given ; and
the evening was spent in the utmost harmony..
NEW THRESHING MACHINE.—There is DOW in
operation at Tywarnhale experimental farm, a threshing
machine, which, from its simplicity of construction, and
its great power, is a vast improvement on the former
threshing machine, or those now generally used. It
performs the work of three horses, and threshes 125
sheaves of whew, and 225 sheaves of barley or oats an
hour ; and this is performed by a poor pony of thirteen
hands high. The improver is a miner, named Michael
Harris, a poor man residing at Silverwell, in the parish
of St. Agnes, who is possessed of surprising natural
genius, and therefore deserves support. He carries the
whole apparatus about in a small cart, and contracts with
the farmers of the neighbourhood at per 100 sheaves.
Several gentlemen have seen the machine, and pro-
nounced it to be the greatest improvement yet made.—
West Briton.
RAILWAY INTERCOURSE AND NATIONAL ANTIPA-
THIES.—The Hon. Mr. Liddell, M.P., at the late open-
ing of the Newcastle and Darlington Railway, is stated
by the York Gazette to have spoken on this subject as
follows :—" He could show them the truth of the adage,
that great events often spring from apparently trifling
causes, and how, in fact, it appeared to him that nothing
was more likely to preserve and maintain a universal
peace than the establishment of railways in this country
and over the whole world. They had all been very
much in the habit of attributing a fictitious and tinsel
glory to the blaze of war ; whilst the trials which it
necessarily involved, and the dangers which it held out,
were known only to those who were called on to perform
a part in the scene. They had heard of their natural
enemies from childhood, and in their infancy France
had been painted to them as their greatest foe, and
consequently they had been induced through life to
CLOSE OF THE CROWN BUSINESS AT LIVERPOOL. look with feelings of
hostility on their continental neigh-
-Yesterday afternoon the Lord Chief Baron disposed of hours. He had been livin-
g lately in the neighbourhood
all the cases in the calendar. As his Lordship has of a railway—the Folkestone and Dover line—and on
declined, most probably on account of the fatigue Whit-Monday last he had seen the whole population
the
of
he has undergone upon the circuit, to take any the neighbourhood of the metropolis,
forth
an d
ourieg also
of the Nisi Prius causes still standing over for trial, he counties of Surre
will leave for London this morning. It is worthy of re- their myriads to take the advantage of the holidays,
Y, Kent, and Sussex, p
mark that, at the present assizes, no prisoner has been anedLmingdrate for a time, through the instrumentality of
left for execution. We believe it is quite impossible that th o on and Dover ,line, amid fresh scenes and pros-
the assizes can terminate before Monday or Tuesday pects, anrdcwhiling away their leisure in a trip to Bon-
, Which, but for the formation of rail-
e been spent in encouraging feelings of
ninegx.tththeereswooenreesnt,naise,waetrthtehrainsintgweonf
twenty
-four
lw.oagynse,
.ino
ightalhaaisv
twelve special jury causes remaining over for disposal by Tatiation against their natural enemies. This was but a
yet it spoke volumes to a reflecting mind
fl‘nlrrm. Jiduasbtilcee Camrensusnwtello.f on
extension of
results which must be realised from the
although he has now been sitting for nearly a fortnight,
_ ofrailway interests."
HbuissinLe
many of the undisposed-of causes bein° of considerable A NEW rEicK.
ossrdsyheitp
thoas,getth7herfoerneg,hg, sing_e example,
—lt has become a maxim among
those who supply
length.—Liverpool Courier of Wednesday. the labourers on the railway lines with
necessaries, to
A BATTLE BETWEEN TWO HARES.--On Easter have the money in one hand before they
deliver the
Sunday, in the afternoon, as I was proceeding with my
t lit -of beinggoods from the other, to prevent any possibi-
brother-in-law, Mr. Carr, to look at a wild duck's nFsh
raYctised b - cheated. The following device was lately
in an adjacent wood, we saw two hares fighting witds
Practice. ir:ende of those workmen to evade this safe
inconceivable fury on the open ground about 150 yar
like Pshoemakersresiding at Shap. The labourer, having
ordered a
two bull dogs resolutely bent on destruction. Havhinng
the mannerPanif! of shoes, with particular direction as to
watched them for about a quarter of an hour, we t
' a similar their make, went to the other, and gave
entered the wood, I observing to Mr. Carr that we should order, with the like directions •, both pairs to
the be ready b
find them engaged on our return. We stayed in
s ready by
a Calledthe for his shoes, and played his part so
aPs to mane
hares still in desperate battle. They had moved along
away
with rim, by;► some petty excuses, to get a shoe
the hill side, and the grass was strongly marked with
f them. A shoe foroal each, place, without paying for
their down for a space of twenty yards. At last one on each foot was all he wanted ; and, of
course, he left the
the sylvan warriors fell on its side, and never got up osons of St. Crispin to condole with
each other on their
its legs again. Its antagonist then retreated for a yard loss.—Kendal Mercury.
d MANCHESTE
or so, stood still for a minute as if in contemplation, an
then rushed vengefully on the fallen foe. This retreat HILL.—The R TESTIMONIAL TO MR. ROWLAND
Committee, we perceive, have issued an
the '
and advance was performed many times ; the conqueror address to
striking its prostrate adversary with its fore feet, and employed in establishments, from which we make the
clawing off great quantities of down with them. In the following extract e 5..,,, To Mr. Hill, whose services as yet
meantime the vanquished hare rolled over and over are unacknowledged, the public owe a great debt of grati-
again, but could not recover the use of its legs, although tulle.
political services and military achievements are
it made several attempts to do so. Its movemements rewarded, ed ,
yet, whatever may be thought of their value,
put you in mind of a drunken man trying to get up from what are they in comparison with the peaceful triumphs
the floor after a hard night in the alehouse. It now lay of commerce, civilisation, knowledge, and religion, which
still on the ground effectually subdued, while the other arise from theh more easy intercourse of mind with mind,
continued its attacks upon it with the fury of a little and which t, e_epenny postage system has so essentially
demon. Seeing that the fight was over, we approached promoted ?" i6ibeloarlelyclosing the subscription, which has
the scene of action—the conqueror retiring as we drew already been
and tradesmensupported by the merchants, ma-
near. I took up the fallen combatant just as it was nufacturers, _ _ of the town, it has been
breathing its last. Both its sides had been completely thoiht desirable
other persons employed in warehouses,
from its back and belly. It was a well-conditioned buck- &c., to express their gratitude to Mr. Rowland Hill, from
hare, weighing, I should suppose, from seven to eight whose system. they have, in common with other classes
pounds.— Waterton's Essays on Natural History. derived inestimable advantages. It is hoped that every
contribute
BIRTH OF TWINS AT SEA.—On Monday afternoon individual will according to his means and
1 ter Guardian,
the steam-ship Royal Adelaide, Captain Allison, arrived ebility.—.Manc Les ardian.
at St. Katherine's steam-packet wharf, London, from STATE or THE POOR IN EDINBURGIL—It is grati-
Leith. During her passage she unexpectedly received lying to be able t
°state, that the health of the city
an accession to the number of her passengers. Whilst among the poorerf classes is better at the present time
between Flainborough-head and the Dudgeon, Mrs. than it has bees or miens, years past. The fever that
Currie, a second-cabin passenger, was suddenly taken ill. scourged us s
_evere r f
.last year, has now almost en-
Fortunately there happened to be a medical gentleman tirely disappeare.d, a solitary case occurring only occa-
(Mr. MSLeish) among the cabin passengers, who, on being sionally to remind us of its former severity. It ap•
informed of Mrs.. Currie's indisposition, instantly ten- pears, also, that employment is much more general—a
dered his assistance, and in less than half an hour after- state of matters whichF the harvest will, of course, still
wards communicated the result of his labours—Mrs. further increase. From the combined influence of these
Currie's safe delivery of female twins. Mrs. Currie was two causes, the num
ther of applications to the Destitute
proceeding from Leith to London to join her husband, Sick Society during arter that has just passed is
who is a respectable tradesman. He was waiting his fewer than has been known fur many previous years.—
wife's arrival on the St. Katherine's-wharf, but not ob- Caledonian Mercury.
serving her among the passengers on deck, he made in- THE ARTESIAN WELL OF GRENELLE.—The Pre-
quiries of Mr. MVallum, / ssthe steward, of the second ca- feet of the Seine, accompanied by M. Arago and the
bin, if she was on boaru. He received an answer in the engineers of the city of Paris, yesterday visited the
affirmative, and, moreover, that she had brought 'to him basins of the Estrapade,into which the water of the
two presents, but that neither Mrs. Currie nor they could artesian well of Grenelle was introduced for the first time.
be handed over for at least a day. He looked unutter- The flow was in the highest degree satisfactory. There
able things, and exclaimed, " Has she been seized with are two basins placed at the angle of the Rues Clotilde
smuggled whisky ?" "No, not exactly s°9" replied Mr. and la Veille Estraparde ; each of them will contain
M`Callum ; "you'd better come down and see The about 50,000 hectolitres, and is 30 metres higher than
husband did so, and found his better half with two beau- the mouth of the well, which is 548 metres in depth. At
tiful babes lying beside her. His surprise may be easily the mouth of the well the flow of water is equal to 100
imagined. On Tuesday afternoon the mother and in- fountain inches, or 20,000 hectolitres per day ; but the
fants left the Royal Adelaide, where every kindness and reservoirs will only receive half this quantity. About
attention was paid them by Captain Allison and others 20 inches are destined for the supply of subscribers, and
I
on board, for Colnbrook, near Windsor, in a private the rest for the public fountains. The source which
carriage and pair, accompanied by the husband and Mr. ' supplies the water is 512 metres below the level of the
Warwick, the obliging steward of the first cabin, and sea ; the height to which it rises is 60 metres above that
arrived safely at their destination the same evening. i level.—Gdignani of Saturday.
We understand the twins are to be baptized respectively 1 A large finner-whale was caught near Spurn Point,
"Adelaide" and " Allison," the former being the name lon Wednesday morning last. It was alive when taken,
of the ship, and the latter that of her kind and attentive 1 but died in the afternoon. It measured from 35 to 40
commander.—Cakdonian Mercury. I feet from the tip of the nose to the tail.

FRANCE AND MOROCCO.
FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
HERALD.—The news of the brilliant victory
obtained by Marshal Bugeaud over the Moors, as re-
corded in the recent telegraphic dispatch from the
French camp, appears to have produced a singularly
opposite effect upon two of our Contemporaries ; for
whilst it has filled one with the gravest apprehensions, it
has supplied an apparently fruitful source of merri-
ment to the other. Their mirth and despondency
appear to us to be equally out of place. We can dis-
cover nothing ridiculous in the statement that the
private baggage of the Emperor's son, as well as the
tents and artillery of his followers, was captured
(the shaving tackle of Napoleon formed part of the
spoils of Waterloo) ; or in the fact that eight hun-
dred of the enemy were left dead upon the field.
Still less can we understand why so decisive a battle,
and one which holds out so fair a prospect of termi-
nating the dispute between the two countries, at
once, should have produced dismay instead of exul-
tation in the minds of those statesmen and politicians
who are anxious for the maintenance of the peace
of Europe. Much as the frightful loss of life
recorded in the Marshal's dispatch is to be de-
plored, it is far better that such should have
been the case than that thousands upon thousands
should hereafter be sacrificed in a long and
fruit less contest, in which victory on the
part of the French could purchase no corresponding
advantage, and which might eventually lead to con-
sequences disastrous to the rest of Europe. What-
ever may have been the merits of the original
dispute, it cannot be denied that the Emperor of
Morocco has behaved, in all his later negotiations,
with great perfidy and faithlessness. At Tangiers,
as well as on the Moorish frontier, his sole object
appears to have been delay. The Prince de Joinville
has been blamed for having commenced operations
against Tangiers with the knowledge that the Em-
peror had signified to Mr. Drummond Hay his
acquiescence in all the conditions imposed upon him
in the ultimatum of the French Government; and
this charge, although it has been more than once
satisfactorily refuted, was repeated no later than yes-
terday, by a Contemporary, as still demanding ex-
planation. Now, so far from there being any
foundation for such an imputation, it has been dis-
tinctly shown that whilst the Emperor refused to
comply with four out of the seven demands of Spain,
he insisted on the withdrawal of Marshal Bugeaud
altogether from his frontier ! It moreover ap-
pears that whilst these negotiations were in progress
his son was hurrying to form a junction with
his father's main army, with a reinforcement
of 20,000 men I The Prince de Joinville had, there-
fore, no alternative; and has even been abused for
avoiding, as much as possible, the destruction of life
and property at Tangiers. The Marshal, on the other
hand, appears to have found the same difficulty in ob-
taining anything like a definite answer to the ulti-
matum of his Government ; and it was not until he
became satisfied that the army before him would
soon be increased, by the arrival of the Maroquin
Prince, from 20,000 to 40,000 men, and that affairs
" were every day becoming more menacing," and
until the enemy had assumed the offensive, that he
was induced to attack them ; and looking at the com-
paratively small force at his disposal (from 10,000 to
12,000 men), his victory appears to have been most '
decisive. Now so far from such a defeat being
calculated to lead to a protraction of the war, it
is much more likely to put an end to it altogether.
If the French deserve credit for their assurance
theat they have no view to ultimate occupation in
their present operations, and if we accept this
disclaimer, we can have nothing to fear, so far
as the general peace is concerned, from this quarrel,
end when it may. To infer its prolongation, how-
ever, from such a defeat as has just been sustained by
the Maroquins, at the hands of a force vastly inferior
to them in numbers, and that too on their own van-
tage ground, is most perverse. Had the Moors
beaten the French, there might have been some pre-
text for the apprehension ; for in that event the Em-
peror would have begun to consider himself invin-
cible ; and it might have taken some time and large
reinforcements to have altered his opinion. It is true
that he cannot fail to be aware of the extreme diffi-
culty of penetrating into the interior of his country,
but be has witnessed the sacrifices which the French
have not hesitated to make (whether wisely or not is
not the question) in Algeria, and may fairly infer
therefrom that, even if he should be enabled to make
head against them, he can only do so at a severe cost
to himself. Such are the reasons for our belief that
so soon as the first fever of his resentment has sub-
sided he will discover the folly of further resistance,
and yield, on all reasonable points, to the conditions
demanded of him.
CHRONICLE.—The tidings brought by the
above express are indeed important. Another port
of Morocco bombarded, and an island occupied and
garrisoned! Here is the cases belli so recently and
so vauntingly demanded by our Ministerial Contem-
porary. Here is a considerable " endangerment of
our convenience." Here is " occupation !" It may
be said that the occupation is but of an island, only
two miles in circumference, and at least a quarter of
a mile from the shore. This island forms the port of
Mogadore, and since the defences of the town are
destroyed, it of course commands town, port, and
bay, and is, to all intents and purposes, an occupation
of all three. Yet it evades, rather than directly con-
travenes, the wish of the English Government that
France should not occupy. It is but a quasi-occupa-
pation, and Admiral de Joinville and his sire may
laugh in their sleeves at what they no doubt consider
a mystification of Lord Aberdeen. The dexterity,
indeed, with which the French have gulled, and
tricked, and deceived our Foreign Minister into
confidence for the last few months would be
amusing, if our interests were not so deeply con-
cerned. At first they were all pacific, all dis-
interested, and when the quarrel arose between
Spain and Morocco, they pressed the English
Government to act mediator, and declared it to be a
most injurious calumny to suppose that they urged
the Spaniards to make difficulties or demands.
Then came their own quarrel, got up so adroitly
in conjunction or in continuation of the Spanish
one. On this the mistrust of the British Ca-
binet was of course excited, but then it was
lulled by france coming forward to declare that
she required but three things—the dispersion of the
Moorish troops, the punishment of the Moorish offi-
cers, and the sending of Abd-elsKader to some dis-
tant province. But, whilst M. Guizot made these
demands, the conduct of Marshal Bugeaud on the
frontier was so provocative, that he never gave a
week's time to the Emperor of Morocco to accept or
act upon such propositions. At length Mr. Drum-
mond Hay was commissioned to try his powers
of persuasion with the;Emperor, and our accounts allege
that he perfectly succeeded, the Emperor yielding all
demands. The letter which we published was a friendly
one, written to convey the general fact and impres-
sion, not a diplomatic or precise statement. The
Journal des Debats has evidently sought for informa-
tion on the subject at the French Foreign-office, and
from this information impugns the exactitude of our
letter. The terms of its contradiction are as follow
"Everyone knows that the Emperor refused four of
the seven conditions demanded by Spain, and that he
demanded the recal of Bugeaud.' Now, it is pretty
evident from this that the Emperor did grant the
three demands of France. If he had not, the Debats
would have been able tocontradict the assertion. And
it is very natural that when the Moorish Emperor
consented to recal and disperse his army, to punish
his officers, and force Ab-el-Kader to retire, he
should demand that his efforts to do this might be
facilitated by Marshal Bugeaud's retiring also from
his menacing position on the frontier. Such a de-
mand on the part of the Emperor was not unreason-
able, and even if the French had objections to grant it,
nevertheless, the Emperor having ceded all their de-
mands, ought to have had at least the effect of
inducing the French to postpone hostilities. But,
although it appears that all their own conditions had
been obtained, the French had another excuse for
keeping open the differences, and prolonging hos-
tilities. This was the demand of Spain. In answer
to our letter, the Journal des Debats triumphantly
exclaims—Oh, the Emperor would consent to but
three of the seven demands of Spain! We have not
now time to enter into the justice of all these de-
mands, of which we feel certain that the Emperor
ceded the material part; but we remember that Lord
Aberdeen, on the 13th of June, declared that both
Spain and France desired that England should em-
ploy its efforts to mediate, and bring about an ar-
rangement. If so, is it not hard that France should
bombard, because all those demands were not uncon-
ditionally granted ? But independently of such con-
siderations, we must most strenuously protest against
France thus assuming the exclusive protectorate of
Spanish interests, and against her bombarding, block-
ading, and occupying the ports of Morocco, in order
to enforce, not a French, but a Spanish ultimatum;
and we must say, that if Lord Aberdeen has suffered
this, he has, indeed, put the cope-stone upon a series of
the most imbecile and pusillanimous policy that ever
disgraced a British Administration.
TIMES.—The spectacle of the Mauritian expedi-
tion continues to animate the ardour of the French
marine, and to amuse the imagination of the French
people. But will it end in nothing beyond spectacle ?
beyond
the i
Willntnhoce chapter
ohfoacf revealartillery,
sry
,
and
over-
throw of ill-conditioned forts ? Will the cannonading
always be restricted to the functions of a national
scold? Will the Prince Admiral content himself
with punishing a covert and passive foe ? Or
that which
will
was the natural penalty b
castigation diverge into aggression, and
theno nothing
gti
of insidious hostility e dis-
torted into an excuse for a scheme of vast and dan-
gerous aggrandizement ? These are questions which
are necessarily suggested by the very character and
origin of such a war as the French are waging
against Morocco ; and every day which passes in-
creases their urgency and their importance. Since

his cannonade of Tangiers the Prince de Joinville
has attacked Mogadore, and after having razed '
the town and fortifications, taken possession of
the island and the port. This latter fact is one which
may add to the embarrassments of diplomatic nego-
tiation, unless after-information modify or explain
it. It is the first instance, during the expedition,
of the French having occupied the place which
they besieged. It is not indeed a departure from the
general understanding which prevails in such cases,
but from a promise given either explicitly or by
implication in the present one. But at the same time
it is such a departure as may be palliated by the prac-
tice and necessities of aggressive warfare. The terms
of hostilities between two independent nations are
not of course to be dictated by any third party. Eng-
land cannot direct France how to besiege Moorish

towns or demolish Moorish forts. She cannot say to

the French Admiral, " You must always anchor
your ships at such a distance ; you must never set
foot on an island which commands the object of your
attack ; or having once landed, you must embark
again within such and such a time." Language like
this would be equally arrogant and absurd. But she
has a right to say to any country carrying on a mari
time war in the the vicinity of her own possessions,
" You shall not make this a war of aggrandizement ;
you shall not make acquisitions injurious to the com-
merce and influence of England ; you shall not add to
your, nor infringe upon .our, empire in the Mediter-
ranean. You shall not retain one rood of land, what-
ever may be the success-of your arms, or the submis-
sion of your foes." England may speak thus in the
spirit of self-assertion and self-defence, of salutary
jealousy and politic precaution, and with the help
of a strong arm and large resources to support
her both in her remonstrances and her demands.
Yet it is easy to see how these conditions of hosti-
lity may appear to be violated even where there is a
full intention of adhering to them with good faith.
The island off Mogadore has been occupied by the in-
vading squadron. This is prima facie a violation of
a compact between France and England. But it is
not necessarily so. The island, we believe, commands
the town, fortification, and port, in such a way as to
render its occupation a condition necessarily prece-
dent to the successful attack of the town itself. If
this be the case, it is as yet only a seeming, not a
real, infringement of their engagement on the part of
the French. But if this occupation continue after its
necessity has ceased—if other places are occupied in
the same way without excuse, or retained after the
causes which may be supposed to justify their occu-
pation have ceased to exist—then we shall have no
hesitation in declaring that a breach of trust has been
committed—a gross wrong done, for which this coun-
try is bound to demand explanation and redress. In
the meantime, however, we discern no reason for
suspecting our neighbours of any such intention, or
convicting them of such misconduct. And it were
rash—worse than rash, it were unjust, insulting, and
quarrelsome, to rush to the conclusion—a con-
clusion which would militate against the positive
assurances received from France—that the occu-
pation of the island near Mogadore is only
the prelude to a system of African conquests and
European annoyances. We hope better things. W e
trust the good sense and the good faith of the French
King and his Ministers will exclude this new element
of strife from the too ample magazine of feuds and
jealousie-. We trust that the self-knowledge of the
French people will prevent them entering on the mad
attempt of raising a maritime empire in Africa. And
when we say this—speaking as we do with a know-
ledge of, and a firm confidence in, our own resources
—we would not be understood as impugning the cou-
rage or personal prowess of our rivals. An unneces-
sary and superfluous amount of indignation has
been kindled in Paris by a hurried phrase in an
extempore contribution to our columns. No one,
least of all a British officer, would deliberately charge
Frenchmen, whether sailors or soldiers, with whole-
sale cowardice. But any one, and especially a British
naval officer, might be expected to criticise the sea-
manship, the gunnery, and the nautical address of a
French Admiral and a French fleet. Nor would any
one be so likely as British officers to see and un-
derstand the deficiencies and errors of those whom
they criticised. Accustomed to the quick, neat, noise-
less, manceuvres of an English man-of-war—to the
rapid dash of an English frigate—to the admirable
precision of English gunnery—they would of course
exult at the comparative slovenliness and awkward-
ness of French tactics and practice. Nor should
our neighbours be so intensely disgusted at this sort
of criticism. It is no fault of theirs that they are not
born sailors. But it is the fact—a strong, unalterble
fact. They are not for the sea, nor the sea for them.
It is not in their rule. Their genius loves the land.
With us—but why repeat the familiar boast, which
the experience of the past has made a household pro-
verb, and which it were indeed treason to doubt but
that the future will confirm ? For the result of a
maritime collision with France, or any other power
of Europe, we have no fear whatever. Our men, our
ships, and our skill, are as they were in the best days
of our history ; and we hope not to he driven to the
necessity of war, much more than we dread the pro-
bable issue of a contest which, on every other ground,
we are earnestly anxious to avoid.

THE FjtENCH IN MOROCCO.
(From the Times.)
OaAN, Ana. 17.—Before the arrival of the news of
the grand victory obtained by Marshal Bugeaud over the
Moors on the 14th inst., we had heard that the Mar-
shal was nearly surrounded by the enemy, and expected
to be attacked every hour. The enclosed proclamation
gives you all the information which I have on this last
affair on the frontier, which is indeed grave, and will
convince all that war has begun in earnest.
The Marshal continues to receive fresh troops, both
from France and other parts of Algeria. The two ca-
valry regiments are now complete. The Hussars, con-
sisting of 588 men and 501 horses, have already joined
the Marshal; the 10th Chasseurs, consisting of 505 men
and 359 horses, have arrived here. The best riders are
to have Arab horses, which is the reason the horses do
not equal the number of men. Five more regiments of
cavalry are expected—one of Lancers, one of Chasseurs,
one of Hussars, and two of heavy horse. Without ca-
valry it is impossible to proceed in the interior, infantry
not being sufficient to cope with the vast numbers of ca-
valry which the Moors are capable of bringing into the
field. However, 500 infantry came yesterday in:the steamer
from Algiers, who had previously arrived there from
Port Vendres. It is rumoured that kogiii-20,000 addi-
tional troops are expected. The fresh troops are to be
distributed on the coast, and the troops aguerres are to
join the Marshal. But. ihis is evidently exaggeration.
Nevertheless, if the Marshal intend seriously to invade
Morocco, and to march to Fez, several additional regi-
ments will be needed. Perhaps, however, this victory of
Isly may induce the Moors not to expose themselves to
fresh diasters, but to listen to peace. Yet we must not
be too confident; on the contrary, this defeat may ex-
asperate, not humble, the Moors. Extermination alone
may reduce the Moors of Morocco.
It was the intention of the Marshal to have remained
on the defensive, and to have waited the result of the
naval operations of the Prince de Joinville on the coast
of Morocco, as the Marshal found himself in want of
cavalry as well as provisions and military stores. The
Marshal is also encumbered with sick. A few days ago,
250 sick were brought from the hospitals of Tlemcen to
Oran, and 1,000 mattrasses have been sent to that place
for the accommodation of invalids. As the season
advances, the sick are expected to increase, and these
mattrasses are a provision for them. The Marshal
would, undoubtedly have remained on the defensive, had
he not had a good opportunity of attacking the Moors.
It seems he sought the enemy for fear of being over-
whelmed with increasing numbers.
As to the exact amount of troops which the Marshal
has now with him, I cannot tell you. A person who has
just come from the camp says about 17,000. It is ex-
pected that the troops will be sent direct from France to
Jemaa El Ghazaout, near the mouth of the Malwia, so
that it will be difficult for us to learn all the movements
of troops in this province.
We were here all a good deal astonished—though,
where French officers, employes, and diplomatists are
concerned, nothing should astonish us—at the receipt of
the news of the bombardment of Tangiers, which reached
us last Sunday. We had heard of nothing but peace,
and up to the last moment the highest military authori-
ties here gave out that things were in statu quo, that
is, up to the moment of the arrival of the news
of the bombardment. Indeed, a proclamation, con-
taining the preliminary arrangements of the peace, had
been published in Oran on the sth, dated the 4th inst.,
and nothing to the contrary had been heard of the
affairs of the frontier. But the grand puzzle is, that
whilst on the sth instant peace was proclaimedhei nO
4thr a
tno,
orders had been dispatched from here on
bombard Tangiers, and which was bombarledo
hear rt the
6th. This affair, if we may judge from what we hh
see, has confounded the authorities of Oran as much as
w ourselves, whilst whilst it has completely driven mad ith
d piece of chi-
scion the people of Gibraltar. Agr
canery or treachery has beenhtu played off
the n eanby someof the partiesborn-
The steamer which brougsnews .
bardn3ent of Tangiers was the Etna. There had been
reports that English vessels were supplying the Moors
with arms and the munitions of war, so the Etna (French
steamer) called on her way at the mouth of the river,
on which is placed the port of Tetuan. There the Etna
saw two merchant vessels, a Portuguese and an English
vessel. A boat from the Etna hoarded them, and I be-
lieve attempted to search them. The English captain
was not very communicative ; the French man-of-war
boat was more successful with the Portuguese. How-
ever, the affair ended in nothing. This little event
shows not the less the animus of the French, and their
disposition to do something to involve France and Eng-
land in a war. I imagine you will hoar of this via
Gibraltar.
Amongst local topics, we have again the Garde Na•
tionale. The son of the late English Vice-Consul, Mr.
Enos Welsford, was this week put in confinement, for
having obtained a substitute for an hour when on duty.
His punishment is five days' imprisonment. People are
getting in prison every day for these breaches of dis-
cipline. But the most galling is, a person is not allowed
to find a substitute. This is the way the French civilise
and colonise Africa ! lam quite convinced that if the
French authorities were aware of the infinite annoyance
which they give families, they would moderate this mad
system. lam sure they would permit persons to pro-
Tido substitutes.
On Monday last there was a proclamation given out,