The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-12-20 00:00:00

FOREIGN INTEL L IGENCE.

FRANCE.
(From the Private Correspondence of the Standard.)

THE EXPEDITION TO CONSTANTINE.
PARIS, Dec. 15.—You will remember that the bulletin of
Marshal Clausel yesterday terminated with the word " but,"
and which was of suspicious augury, and an evil omen after
what had preceded it. In order, however, that the meaning
may not be misunderstood, I will begin by giving the whole
phrase, and continue the report up to the point where once more
the bad weather, it is said, interrupted the further communica-
tion of this most important document :
" I caused a brisk cannonade to be directed on the second
day against the gate of Cantara. It was continued on the third
day, and the gate was beaten down, lint badly. I wanted tl4
post some sappers and a few companies of grenadiers there, in
order to effect an entrance to the city, but the attempt (lid not
succeed. The only alternative left was to withdraw the troops,
because we had no provisions. Out of our, 15 days' allowance,
the half almost buried in the mud of Mansoura was abandoned,
and pillaged by the soldiers charged to defend it.
"On the 24th, towards eight o'clock iu the morning, we left
our position at Mansoura, at 120 toises from the place, and that
of Condiah Ali, at the south gate, where the advanced guard was
stationed. We were at first followed by some hundreds of men,
who left the place to do so. Horsemen came from all direc-
tions. and their number increased to 2,000. They decreased on
the following days, and were seen no more after the fourth day
at Bach-El-Agba. where, according to some accounts, we are
all to be destroyed. Our retreat was effected in good order.
The soldiers " (interrupted by the weather.)
The following is the termination of the report of Marshal
.Clausel stuck up at the Bourse :
.

" The soldiers, though ill, were perfect in their conduct. We
bring back with us all our cannon, and I have a good garrison,
principally of natives, at Guelma, which is a stronger post than
Constantine.
.Our Arabs see with pleasure this arrangement.
We thus raise a power against a power, and according to the
state of opinion and feeling, I have the right to think, that the
power of Achmet will fall before that of our Bey. Perhaps by
this means there will be no occasion to send another expedition
to take the town of Constantine, which is more fine, large, and
important than Bona, Algiers, or Oran, His Royal Highness
the Duke of Nemours participated with,the army in all its perils
and fatigues, and continues to enjoy excellent health."
The Charte de 1E330 endeavours, indeed, to derive some conso-
lation from the fact that the losses sustained by the French
army have not been the result of defeat:—
,` We have sustained deplorable losses; this is the only thing
which is irreparable; and still it is our duty to recall to public
attention the fact, that in the army marching onwards, the re-
duction of a number of combatants has other causes than death.
Besides which, the honour of our arms has not been tarnished.
A reverse of fortune is not a defeat. Rivers which have over-
flown their banks, rain, cold, snow—in one word, causes inferior
to human will, alone rendered useless the courage of our
soldiers."
And then comes the assurances that the safety'and future
prosperity of the colony are not in danger—that the expedition
of Constantine was uddertaken to complete the present system
of occupation, and that " from henceforth Algiers is indisso-
lubly bound up with the destinies of France."
The Courrier Francais says—" The lamentable intelligence
from our army of expedition in Atrica has excited a deep sen-
sation among the population now in Paris, all of whom concur
in reproaching ministers with the impediments and delays with
which they met the pressing remonstrances of Marshal Clause!,
when, at the close of September, he dispatched his aide-de-
camp, M. de Uanct% to France. The disastbr is universally
attributed to the members of the Cabinet ; and if any judgment
may be founded on the language of even the inest moderate of
the deputies of the centre, the question of Algiers is likely, at
the opening of the session, to become a source of as much em-
barrassment to the ministry as the Spasish question."
The Duke of Nemours is said to have arrived at Toulon in
good health,
Bore's, Nov. 30.—(Private letter.)—" We arrived here this
morning from Constantine. Our expedition has proved a com-
plete failure. We were unable to enter that unfortunate city.
1 shall not of course speak to you of our successes, but of our
reverses. We extricated ourselves from a situation out of which
we were too happy to escape. We were strangely deceived.
The. Arabs did not come to meet us ; we encountered a powerful
resistance, and our means were too limited to triumph over our
fierce adversaries. We attempted all that human power could
do. The honour of our army is safe. We remained three days
before Constantine; we threw 1400 projectiles into the place,
and made two assaults on it, but all in vain. Retreat became
unavoidable; the men had nothing to eat, and the horses were
without forage for three days, and we were surrounded by 10,000
or 1.2,000 of Achinet's horsemen, who expected that not one of
us would escape. We were within eight days' march of Bona,
and our atnmunitiou almost entirely exhausted. Still we arrived
here, but in what condition, and at the price of what sacrifices!
How many unhappy wounded, and men exhausted with fatigue,
were we obliged to abandon to the discretion of the Arabs?
What sufferings fur the remainder! More than one-fourth of
our army has perished, and those who have been fortunate
enough to return are in the most deplorable state imaginable.
As iu the campaign of Moscow, the elements were against us.
You can form no idea of the rain and hail of this country.
Snow fell during seven days. Numbers of our soldiers died of
cold, but what is still worse, a multitude of them have had their
feet frozen and mortified. Constantine being situate in the
midst of mountains, snow is as frequent in its environs as in the
north of Europe.
"General Trezel was wounded in the neck; the Chef d'Esca-
dron Richepause was killed ; he received three balls in the
breast. Gen. Golbert is dangerously ill, and sails to-day for Tou-
lon. M. Saigon, a gentleman well known in Paris,-who had
accompanied the expedition as an amateur, died yesterday. He
had become insane from fatigue."
Another letter states that Gen. de Rigny, who commanded
the advanced guard, did n-t behave like a soldier, and that,
having refused to march forward, General Treael took the com-
mand, and was wounded by a ball in the neck at the gate of
Cantara. The 47th regiment gave way, and but for the Light
Infantry, who protected the retreat, and presented an impene-
pices along the rout. • • - r,t haves ,:caned