The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-19 00:00:00

EGYPT.

A LEXANDRI A, JUNE 26.—Couriers have been despatched
to all the provinces, ordering the new wheat to be brought
down without delay, but there is so little water in the. canal that
for another mouth we cannot expect any arrivals of importance.
The Pacha is naturally anxious to avail himself of the reported
demand for England to obtain high prices, and endeavours to
induce offers now, while he reserves his decision until the
wheat shall have arrived here. Ile is about to dispatch a
frigate he has in the Red Sea (built some time since in Bombay )
with a cargo of wheat to the Mauritius, under the superintend-
ence of an English merchant here, whe sails with the vessel,
entrusted with the charge of opening markets in the Eastern
seas for Egyptian produce.
During the past week a case of ridiculous exaction and com-
promise, unaided also by the British Consulate has occurred.
Ihe wife of a Maltese resident last week died of plague—
' her son was clerk in the counting-house of an English
merchant, at which, by the by, he had not attended
since the nature of Isis mother's illness was known—
and her house consequently shut up by the Board of Health,
who nevertheless insisted upon the young man's en-11,1°3er per-
forming quarantine ; his counting-house was forcibly shut up
for two days, but fortunately being at some distance from his
residence, he retained his liberty, and was eventually able to
get possession of his counting-house, by allowing the Board of
Health to perform the farce of depurgating it with chloride
of lime.

Englishmen here generally suppose themselves, owing to
their exemption from Egyptian laws, to be subject only to that
of England, which has until lately been administered by the
Consul in cases of complaint against British subjects by
a modification of the form of trial by jury, the Consul
calling the assistance of two or four assessors, and the ac-
cused being confronted with his accuser, and allowed the
privilege of cross-examining the witnesses against hire ;
but by a newly-adopted system these formalities are dis-
pensed with, and in several instances before the public the
proceedings have: been the following : —The written corn-
plaint of the accuser is forwarded to the accused, and he is
called upon to reply in writing. In the meantime the written
deposition upon oath of the accuser, and any witnesses he may
have are taken by the Consulate, unknown to the accused, and
so far from affording him the opportunity of cross-examination,
the depositions against him are withheld from him. Upon
these documents, vie., the accusation and reply, and the writ-
ten depositions, the Consulate, on their own responsibility,
give and enforce a sentence. If a Frenchman misconducts
himself, he has, at all events, the satisfaction of knowing that
his Consulate bold a code according to which they must assign
a punishment, if the offence be proved, and it is to be regretted
that some such code is not given to the British Consulate, who
have the great advantage aver a Justice of the Peace in England,
that they are here amenable to no higher authority. An action
at law will lie in England against a Justice of the Peace who ex-
ceeds the limits of his authority, but to proceed legally against
a Levant Consul, the party aggrieved must wait till the
Consul's return to England, and even then the expense of such
a proceeding must preclude the hope of redress to many parties
arbitrarily or unjustly condemned. It was only yesterday that,
a Maltese, against whom proceedings were in progress, and
who was advised by his lawyer to protest against the turn pro-
ceedings were taking, with a view to ulterior appeal, was ar-
rested by the Consul for presenting his protest, his watch and
money taken from him by the Consulate Janissary, and his per-
son confined for nearly an hour, when, upon further considera-
tion, he was released ! A Magistrate in England has undoubt-
edly the power to arrest any person in the same way, but he
renders himself liable thereby to an action for false impeison-
merit. I reserve for a future letter a note I have taken of se •
veral }err discrepant sentences given by the Consulate latterly,
which have excited much attention in our little society.
No tidings yet of the India.