The Sun. — 1836-12-20 (London, England)

FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE  FRANCE. (From the French Papers of Sunday.) All the events of the last week have been of a grave character, tinged with the mournful colour of our African horizon, and with the gloom of those calamitous days of the expedition against Constantina, which have witnessed the death of so many of our young and brave soldiers, and added a new page to the history of our disasters. The sacrifice of so many lives, without either glory, compensation, or result, must be for France a source of the deepest affliction. Those who are no more are entitled to our regret, the survivors to our sympathy, but all demand vengeance and a glowing satisfaction ; national honour and justice imperiously require it. Can any one now entertain the least doubt respecting, the intentions of a certain pensee immuable, who has contemplated, since 1830, the abandonment of Algiers ? Every thing done in the country since then was so incomplete and so badly managed for the purpose of proving the impracticability of preserving the colony ; a secret joy was felt at every check suffered by our arms, as a murderous proof the more of the necessity of adopting that measure. This is not a mere conjecture, here are some facts that will bear  out our opinion. In 1830 M. Mole had been for a short period Minister of Foreign Affairs, when M. de Talleyrand was appointed Ambassador in London. The old diplomatist called, for form sake, to take his instructions from the Minister, for he had already received them in a higher qUarter. We are assured he thus addressed M. Mole :—" I think you view the question of Algiers in the same light I do ; we must evacuate the colony as soon as possible ; it is a toy that has cost us rather dear ; we must only choose our time. You authorize me, of course, to announce it to the British Cabinet as a resolution of the French Government, that will afford me great facilities in London." M. Mole replied, that the question was too serious to be thus solved in a conversation, and that it should be referred to the Council. Eight days afterwards it was accordingly brought forward by General Sebastiani. Every one knows in whose name the General habitually spoke. Count Sebastiani contended that Algiers ought to be abandoned, for the very same reasons adduced by M. de Talleyrand in his visit to M. Mole. There is one circumstance which the members who then composed the Council must remember—namely, the verbose discourse in which the pensee itnnzuable explained his numerous objections to retaining the colony —" You will find later that I am right, gentlemen," said he, in closing the discussion. _ _ .  From that moment everything done towards the colonization of Algiers appears to have been a reluctant concession to public opinion. The Government did not relinquish it because it was in dread of the country and of the Chambers, but the pensee immuable nevertheless, persevered in its con vi ction.—Nouvelle Minerve. It appears no other expedition will be undertaken against Constantina before April. 20,000 or 25,000 men will be assembled in the meanwhile at Toulon, so as to be able to strike then a decisive blow.—lbid. It is reported that Marshal Clausel's resignation of the government of Algiers will be accepted, and that the Court intends to confer it on the Duke of Mortemart. It was not without some good reason that the Duke went to vigit Algiers. Since his mission to Russia he enjoys the entire confidence of the Tuileries ; a more exalted station yet awaits him.—lbid. _ . .  We have received several other letters frem Africa, which confirm the particulars we published a few days ago respecting the disastrous expedition against Constantina. One of them contains a calculation of the losses of the army. 1,500 men perished in the campaign, three-fourths of whom died of cold and hunger. 2,000 able-bodied men returned to Bona, bringing with them a long convoy of between 3,000 and 3,500 sick and wounded. The hospitals are completely full, and fever rages in them with so much violence that very few, it was feared, will recover. It was reported that General Trezel had died of his wound.— National.