The Sun.
London, England, 1845-07-24 00:00:00

THE FRENCH IN ALGERIA<
The followirg defence ler the atrocious masses-se in
the Dahra appears in the Moniteur Alyerien, of the nth
instent :
" In order that the public may be able to appreciate:
that fatal event, it is necessary that they ehaulo know.
how important it was, in a political and humane ,soint of
iew, to destroy the confidence which the people of the
Dahra and other districts placed in the grottoes of ()tiled
Rhin ; all those tribes, considering perfectly secure
ihose abodes, proved themselves at all times extremely
unruly. Under the Turks, they repeatedly refused to pay
the taxes and when the cavalry or the Government pre-
sented itself, the entire tribe sought refuge in the
caves and could not be compelled to pay their quota of
the tribute. Abd-el-Kader himself was treated in a
similar manner by the Ibehas, in their two revolts
against him. He succeeded, however, in reducing them
by means of his great moral influence, which enables:
him to prevail upon the neighbouring tribes to blockade
them and cut off their supplies, but such an expedient
would be inifficient in our hands ; the Arabs do not
serve the Christians as they would serve Abd-el-Nader.
Colonel Pelissier, after a successful ghazia on the terri-
tory of the Beni Zentes, summoned the Ouled Rhias to
submit. A portion of the tribe reluctantly acquiesced,
but the others having declined doing so, the Colonel was
obliged to attack them. Their warriors, beaten in the
field, withdrew into those famous grottoe,s; where they
had beforehand placed their wives, children, ere:We, and
furniture. Colonel Pelissier invested them, not however
without the loss of several of his men. When the
;r-
-vestment was complete, lie attempted to persuade theist
to come cut through the medium of some Arabs who had
repaired to his camp. The latter were fired upon anti
one of them was killed. Nevertheless, by dint of per-
seam raece, the Ouled Rhias were prevailed upon to open
a parley, which lasted the whole day, to no effect.
They always replied, " Let the French camp be re-
moved, and we will quit the caves and submit." Colonel
Pelissier repeatedly promised to respect their persons
and property, not to treat them as prisoners of war, and
merely insisted on the surrender of their arms. From,
time to time they were told that an abundance of fuel
had been collected to warm them, but they obstinately
refused to capitulate, and night was fast approaching.
\Ves Colonel Pelissier to be deterred from his purpose by
their obstinacy ? The soldiers and chiefs would have loudly
blamed him. The political consequences of such a de-
termination would have been fatal, for the confidence of
the natives in the security of their grottoes would have
increased. Should he attempt to carry them by force ?
This would have been almost impossible, and, at all
events, he would have lost many men in that subterra-
nean war, a result equally unsatisfactory for humanity.
Should he content himself to blockade them for fifteen
days ; he would have lost a most valuable time for the
submission of the Debra, and could have afforded no
assistance to Col. St. Arnaud, who was also operating in
that district. After consulting awhile he determined
to recur to the extremity suggested to him by the
Governor-General, in a case of such emergency. A
number of faggots were thrown from above into the
entrance of the cave, which were afterwards set
on fire. At one o'clock in the morning Col. Pelissier,
moved by pity, caused the fire to be extinguished, but,
unfortunately, it was too late, the catastrophe had oc-
curred. This cruel event, which afflicts us all and strikes
our imagination by its novelty in the annals of war, is
nut, in reality, more barbarous than many other prac-
ttees in European warfare, which are not reproved, be.
cause of their being regarded as indispensable evils.
\\Tar, policy, and even humanity require that recourse
be had to every means, however energetic they may be,
to hasten its termination as speedily as possible. This
is also serving the interests of philanthropy ; for wars,.
protracted by the use of feeble means, are the most
ruinous and the most destructive of human life. Those
incontestable principles once admitted, we ask If the
siege of the grottoes is more cruel than the bon.l-
- and famishing of the entire population of thee
a towns in Europe. It is apprehended that the
catastrophe of the Ouled Rhia will fill the hearts of the
natives with a deep hatred for us. The Arabs will cer-
tainly feel hatred towards us: that feeling has always
existed, and is likely to last much longer. This event
will not increase it much; but it will inspire them with
a salutary terror, which will be equally favonrable to
the victor and the vanquished. The Arabs now per-,
ceiling that they must submit to the French yoke, that
they possess no longer any secure retreat, will lay down
iheir arms and quietly employ themselves in agricultu-
ral and comm rcial pursuits, which will soon repair the
evils of war. If, on the contrary, they had merely ex-
perienced an easy repression, in accord with the in-
judicious ideas of philanthropists, they would be often
tempted to revolt, in order to recover their indepen-
dence, and these repeated insurrections would be at-
tended for them with disastrous consequences, which
would render their situation much more cruel than it is
at present, in consequence of the terrible blow with
which they have been visited. It has inflicted upon
them a serious injury, it is true; but its effects are
merely momentary.
" The interests of the victorious army, and of the en-
tire of Franc, have also their rights. If, by our forbear-
ance, we suffer the spirit of revolt to endure, we shall
often be compelled to repress, and consequently to sacri-
fice the limes of a greater number of soldiers and more
money than if, from the onset, we had made an example.
To follow such a course would not be serving the inte-
rests of humanity and philanthropy. Energetic repres-
sions produce the same results in all countries, whether
in ordinary warfare, civil wars, or erneutcs. It is prefer-
able, for the sake of society and humanity, to strike cue
decisive blow, than to be obliged to strike often."