The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1858-09-03
AN AFRICAN REVOLT.

There is war in Africa, and for once during
Oh. last five years, it is entirely disconnected
from French interests in Algeria, and also
from French intrigues with neighboring States.
On this subject the Philadelphia Inquirer
contains the following:
The truth is, a rebellion has broken out in
Morocco against the Emperor, Muley ADDER
Lsman. who Is now eghty-twO years of age
Sail he resolved to suppress the revolt, and
took the field, with his son, at the head Of
ssrv numerous forces. The rebels are the
ssmmurs tribes Of the interior,) and accord
;no IN the latest accounts, they have defeated
The Imperial troops in a battle. We llarn
from the Paris PAYS that the Emperor on the
DIST Of Nav, set out from Meekinez at the
head Of 5000 men Of the black guards, 1000
men Of the regular infantry, and 5000 horse
man to attack the Semmurs in their own ter
ritorv. while his son, Sidi Mohanmed, ad.
ysneed with 5000 men from Rabat for the
,.me purpose The rebels hastily re:reated
into the interior Of the country leaving their
tents aud baggage to the mercy of the in
y,ders The Emperor, deceived by Arab
guides whom he considered trustworthy, was
Suddenly, after reaching the mountainous re-
pions surrounded by the SemmuPs, and sus-
tanned a DISASTROUS defeat, effecting his return
TO Fee only by series of almost miraculous
escapes. But this is by no means the worst
feature Of the matter, for the revolt is fast ex-
tending to the neighboring tribes, and the
Amazirgs, who were conquered in 1928, after
a terrible and bloody war, have made com.
mon cause with the Semmurs. In a word,
the prestige OF Imperial Moorish power no
longer exists The Emperor is no longer re
garded es invincible. Separate Kingdoms are
the objects of the rebellion, and national in
dependence is the watchword. Should the
Empire of Morocco be split into fragments,
or even sundered into two or three separate
nations, there can be no difficulty in predict
ing European interference, at least so far as
respects Spain and probably France. Spain,
indeed, with her border African settlements,
must ever keep watchful eve on her dusky
neighbors, while France might look political
ly towards enlarging her acquisitions in
westerly direclions-especially inland, where
all the tribes are semi-barbarous. No one
will regret an exchange from the very worst
phase of Mahomedan tyranny, with ali Its
horrid Accomplishments of enslaved captives,
piracy, pOlygamy and capital punishments,
as they prevail in Morocco, for such reforms
as revolution would probably produce
WHILE perhaps, it may not be too much to
hope, that political alterations will lead to
the introduction Of christianity. The fate of
Africa generally, seems to be ameliorating
with every succeeding year. from the Red
Sea to the Atlantic, and from the Mediterra-
mean to the Cape of Good Hope. The ever
extending British colony towards the North
the French region of Algeria, the reforms in
Egypt the establishment of the Republic of
Liberia on the western coast by Americans,
the British stations at Cape Coast Castle, and
other forts and towEs, together with the
Spanish possessions facing Gibraltar, may be
regarded as SO many herads of better con-
dition of things in Africa-while the journey
ings of DR. Livingston into the interior of
that sandy continent promise to reveal to
the civilized world the mysteries of tropical
interior, which have thus far been as a sealed
book to the more cultivated portions of the
human family.