The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-19 00:00:00

THE

French writers fanaticism, increase with their difficulties, and
they have assumed such a tone of d: fiance, and are so bent
on avenging their wrongs, that nothing but the total extir-
pation of the race will secure the territory to France.
What adds to the difficulties in which the French
Government has involved itself is, the total want
of sympath,y in their system of subjugation, manifested
by all other nations. England does not stand
alone in this respect. The whole of Germany, Turkey of
course, and even Spain and Portugal, and we may add, every
civilised and uncivilised state, are opposed to this attempt
to eonquer a vast territory by sheer force, by means, too,
hitherto unknown in regular warfare, and by acts of vio-
lence and cruelty, against which the whole of France has
indignantly raised its voice. What then are the Chambers
to do ? The present force, amounting to at least 120,000 men,
is unequal to the contest, and should Ann-EL-KADER suc-
ceed in rousing the whole population of Morocco
to his aid, a result now hardly to be doubted.
an army of 200,000 men would barely suffice to keep the bes-
tile tribes at bay. To conquer them is out of the question.
They will not amalgamate with the French ; they prefer
death to slavery. They have the sympathy of the world
with them ; and as far as any one can judge of future events
by present appearances, the conquest of Algeria and Morocco
may be declared impossible. The French Chamber of Depu-
ties have repeatedly refused to vote sums demanded
by the Government as absolutely necessary to carry
on the war ; but what has been already demanded is a
trifle compared with what is in prospect. Another ominous
feature in this ill-managed s,:,heme is the demoralisation of
the troops. The army is daily acquiring habits of predatory
warfare; it is constantly engaged in razzias, which means
carrying off men, women, and children, with their herds and
flocks, and all the little property necessary for their
daily subsistence ; the troops are taught that this
is a part of their duty, and like good soldiers,
they, of course, obey the orders of Marshal
BUGEAUD, or those of his Lieutenant—the notorious PELIS-
SIER. This is a dangerous habit to infuse into regular
troops, and the more so when it is known that in these
inroads, razzias, and skirmishes with the Arabs, they are not
learning the art of war, which may fit them for meeting
European armies—their generals, in fact, will soon forget
the regular tactics, and become leaders of di►vioions adapted
only to such ignoble achievements. The commotion
which is now general in Morocco must add even
to present difficulties, and give rise to changes which
cannot by any possibility turn out well for the invaders.
Hut on that subject we will not enter. We will merely
give the French Government and the Chambers a little
advice. They have been making war on an erroneous
system. It is radically bad, it never can succeed, and the
sooner it is abandoned the better. The French nation
bas gained glory enough in its battles with the armies
of Europe; it can therefore afford to be magnanimous,
admit its error, and adopt a plan which would
meet with general approbation. Let her withdraw her armies
from the interior of the country, confine her operations to the
maritime districts of Algiers and Oran, form colonies in these
quarters, encourage trade and friendly intercourse with the
natives, and thereby establish their dominion by the blessed
effects of civilisation. In time the advantages would become
.-vident, and her territory in that part of the world would be
increased to an extent which all her wealth and her most
powerful armies cannot accomplish. The Chambers will be
compelled to come to this conclusion at last.

It has been but too often our lot to find grievous cause of
complaint in the mode adopted by some of the police consta-
bulary farce in the exercise of that, perhaps too extensive
power, which the Act establishing and organising their hod.)
nas vested in them. military discipline, a quasi-military uni-
form, military indulgences, and a sort of military esprit du
corps, all very good things in themselves, may be bad in com-
bination with a civil municipal establi.hment. The police
constabulary of the metropolis appeared to us, from its firs
inauguration, to be much disparaged by these military incidents.
We much doubt whether its military usefulness is increases
by them. We are sure that the consistency of their character
with the general system of our old " watch and ward," such
as it exhibited prior to the abuses of the last 120 years, is
essentially destroyed. Whatever ridicule may have attai hed
to the imbecility and ineffectiveness of the watchmen as the
have existed since about the period of the Revolution—what-
ever objections may have been taken to them on account o.
those deficiencies, which were but the natural results of their
miserable arrangement, wretched pay, and feeble manage-
ment—it cannot be denied that the system, as we derived it
from our Saxon and Norman ancestors, was good in
itself, and might have been rendered excellent
by better remuneration, better control, and more
attention to their morale, on the part of parochial and civic
authorities. One advantage of their constitution was that
they were not, in virtue of their employment, segregated from
their fellow-citizens, but retained,with a community of privi-
leges, a community of feelings and interests with them. The
PEEL Police force is a very questionable, a more than spurious
- copy of a French " gendarmerie," wanting its arbitrary power
in their excess, indeed, but therefore wanting in at
enormous degree in their effectiveness. Not citizens, the
are not soldiers either. Nothing could be snore ludicrous
than their assumption of the latter character, and
their attempts to shell themselves out of the former, were it
not for the incessant acts of unnecessary and bruta
outrage, to which this motley character, under-
stood neither by themselves nor their inferiors, is
perpetually prompting them. The late " manslaughtei"
(as the verdict of the Coroner's jury against an inspector of
the force at Chipping Norton mildly terms it) is one oi
the most flagrant and unpardonable of all the criminal de-
linquencies which, year after year, disgrace the annals 0'
this " pseudo-military-civil force," and are fast rendering is
a public nuisance instead of protection, and one which can-
not be much longer tolerated by a public of freemen.
What an example of respect for the laws, of self-possession.
of forbearance, of courage, of humanity, of temper, does the cast
of the scandalous and fatal assault committed by the ruffles
to whom we allude convey to the tenantry. Poor SLAT-reit.
if the account we copy from a provincial paper be correct it
its main particulars, was murdered; but if the accused, Non
is to have the benefit of the technical construction to b.
put on the verdict of the inquest, when put on his trial at
assize, we do hope that the facts will be most accurately
weighed as well as deposed to. If Norr is innocent, be hi;-
gone through the most surprising fatality in the world, it
thus killing a man without meaning to do it. If he be
guilty, the most signal punishment that ever was inflicted.
I for s crime short of "murder" in its legal construction, ought
to be unhesitatingly inflicted upon him.

Madrid journals of the 10th have been received, but we
find little in them of interest to the English reader. From
all accounts the new tax was levied in Madrid with great
punctuality and rigidness. Three days of grace are giver.
after which summary processes are instituted against the
goods of those who refuse to pay. It was reported that a
conspiracy had been discovered at Barcelona.
But little business was done in the Funds. The Three per
Cents. closed at 35 % for time, and the Debt without Inte-
rest at VA ; the Five per Cents. remained the same as on the.
Bth.

Two of the French Government papers contain articles a
the prospect of affairs in Algeria and the state of Morocco,
from which it is easy to gather that ABD-EL-KADER is mote
powerful than ever, that he is idolised not only by his own fol-
lowers, but generally by the inhabitants of Morocco ; and should
the EMPEROR attempt to expel him, or put him down
force, a general rebellion against his authority would ensue.
The enthusiasm of the people is excited to the highest pitch,
and ABD•EL-KADER is regarded as the only Chief in that
quarter capable of avenging their wrongs and reconquering
the land of Islam. " Advices," says the Epoque, " from
Djemma Ghazaouat ir.form us that the occurrences of the
latter end of September have made an extraordinary im
pression throughout Morocco, especially in the Riff, where
tidings of the expedition directed by us against the E3lll
in person are impatiently expected. ABD-EL-KADER'S
name is on every lip. All the tribes that hitherto
lived in almost a complete state of independence, now ac-
knowledge him whom they call the prince of believers, and
they are ready to march under his banner. The tribes of the
west of Algeria that have crossed the Tafna have been re-
ceived on the territory of Morocco with an enthusiasm Oa•
cannot be described. But what is more serious still, is, that
the movement in favour of ABD-EL-KADER is spreading
with unheard-of rapidity, and that ABDERRNAMAN will
most probably be placed in the sad alternative of declaring
war against France or of being dethroned. It is not thought
that the EMIR has returned to the province of Oran, in
hopes of conquering a part of Algeria; he has only wished to
strike a terrible blow, the first result of which has been to
place at his disposal the larger part of the Oran tribes.
General CAVAIGNAC must be informed of these events ; per-
haps he has entered into communication with the Kaid of
OCCIIDA, if the latter have not embraced the cause of ABD-
EL-KADER. We ought now to have a large carps d'armie
on the frontier, for the people beyond the Tafna are so excited
that we cannot adopt too many precautions."
The accounts in the Journal des Debuts are not more sa-
tisfactory, and altogether it is evident that Marshal BUGEAUD
must fight his battles over again. That paper concludes a
long article on the subject in these words :
" In the absence of official news, since General Lamoriciere's
movement in the direction of Mascara, many reports have circu-
lated at Oran respecting the steps adopted by Abd-el.Kader, but
we find nothing positive in these various rumours. Some state him
to be encamped at the guetna of his father, Mahidden, between
Bel Abbas and Mascara; whilst others represent him to have re-
entered Morocco with the view of availing himself of a rebellion
said to have broken out against the Emperor Abderrhaman. Al-
though Tangiers' letters of the 2d of October make no mention of
a movement of this nature, there is every reason to believe that a
great effervescence prevails in that part of Morocco, extending to
the town of Taza and the Riff Mountains unto Ouchda and
our frontier. According to a letter from Oran, the
Emir's triumph at Sidi Brahim, and the sight of three hun-
dred French heads, and three hundred prisoners whom he has
carried about afar, have kindled the most violent raptures among
that barbarian people. Their fanaticism and enthusiasm for the
holy war have increased at the aspect of the emigrated Algerian
tribes proclaiming that they can no longer live under the yoke of
the infidels, and that they have come to implore their brethren to
march with them and reconquer the land of Islam. These unfore-
seen events have produced an excitement which is carried unto
delirium. Abd-el-Kader's lieutenants are engaged in procuring
cantonments for his tribes in Morocco, in organising a sort of army,
and in inspiring a common plan in all these various people, who
may ultimately fight and plunder one another, but whose transient
concord seems likely to bring back affairs to the point they were
at when the battle of Isly to.ik place. The Government of Igo-
rucco will no doubt be the firs: to understand the very critical po-
sition in which so confused a movement places it."
Several of the journals make comments on a dispatch of