Parisians looked upon the cortège as they would upon any other magnificent spectacle, amusing them for the hour and then for gotten.

ALGIERS. In our last volume we briefly mentioned that a renewal of hostilities had taken place in Africa at the close of the year, between the French army there, and the Emir Abd el Kader. The facts are shortly as follows. By the treaty of the Tafna in 1837, peace had been concluded between this warlike Arab chieftain and general Bugeaud, on the part of the French, whereby, the former acknowledged the sovereignty of France over the possessions which she had acquired by right of conquest in Africa. These possessions were divided into three districts or provinces, Algiers, Oran, and Constantine. Of the two latter, Oran lay to the east and Constantine to the west of the principal province of Algiers. One of the chief points in the treaty of peace, was the establishment of commercial intercourse, between the colonists and inhabitants within the pale of the French possessions, and the Arabs of the desert. The consequence was, that the markets in the plain of the Metidja were frequented by the Arabs, who soon evinced eagerness to exchange their products and horses and camels, for the cotton, silk, iron, steel, and other commodities, offered to them by their more civilized neighbours.

Abd el Kader, however, seems to have looked upon the French in no other light than as hostile invaders of the soil, and to have cherished throughout feelings of hatred, which he concealed only until the time came, when he conceived he might strike a blow with effect. He established a strict mo

nopoly of all the articles of merchandise, and employed for this purpose the Jew, Ben Durand and his consul at Oran. The Arabs were obliged to place their corn and other commodities in the hands of these agents, and receive through them whatever was obtained in exchange. This system, however, was odious to all parties, and was interrupted by the sudden death of Ben Durand, who was supposed to have been poisoned. Not long afterwards Abd el Kader issued a prohibition, strictly forbidding all intercourse between the Arabs and the Infidels. former were not allowed to frequent the markets in the province of Algiers or Oran, and fifteen days only were given them to wind up any commercial transactions in which they might be engaged, at the end of which period they incurred the penalty of death, if they attempted any intercourse within the French lines.

The

In the meantime every expedient was resorted to by the Emir, to excite the hostility of the Mussulmen tribes against the Christians, and urged them to engage in a sacred war to extirpate the invaders from the African soil. For this purpose emissaries were sent amongst the different tribes, by Abd el Kader, and he himself moved from place to place busily employed in preparing for the outbreak which he meditated, while he was in the neighbourhood of Oran and Mostaganem, the markets were deserted by the Arabs who trembled at the terrible effects of his displeasure, at Hemsem he drove away and dispersed the inhabitants congregated in that town, and endeavoured without success, to bring over to his views the tribes who acknow

At last Abd el Kader thought the time favourable for declaring war. The number of French troops in Africa did not amount to more than 40,000 men, who had to occupy a territory extending 250 leagues along the coast, and penetrating far into the interior, where thirty or forty garrisons had to be maintained, in the midst of a hostile population. These troops also were suffering severely from the unhealthiness of the climate, and the whole effective force ready for service did not exceed 25,000 men.

On the 18th of November, 1839, Abd el Kader addressed a letter to marshal Valée, who commanded the French army in Africa, in which he stated that all the faithful Mussulmen had determined on a sacred war against the Christians, that he had used all his efforts to prevent them, but that no alternative was now left him, but to side with him and obey the law of his religion, which commanded war against the Infidels.

On the 20th of November, the Emir crossed the Chiffa with his Arabs, and began the work of devastation and massacre in the great plain of the Metidja. Clouds of Bedouin Arabs, surrounded the French posts which were attacked and driven in, and half of a bat talion was cut off and destroyed.

The farms and villages of the colonists were set on fire, and they fled for refuge to the camps. The suddenness of the attack had taken the French by surprise, who at first suffered considerable loss. The fiercest of the Arab hordes

consisted of the tribe of the Hadjoutes, who are described by marshal Valée in his despatch to the government as the most warlike and violent of the enemy.

On the 2nd of December it was officially announced in the Moniteur, that war had again broken out in Africa, and that vigorous measures would be taken to maintain the dignity of France, and that a large reinforcement would be immediately sent to the army in Algiers. It would be tedious and uninteresting to our readers, to give anything like a detailed account of the actions and skirmishes which took place this year, between the troops of marshal Valée and the Arabs of Abd el Kader. It will be sufficient to state, that the French army there was reinforced, until it amounted to upwards of 50,000 men, and many brilliant exploits were performed. The war, however, was not brought to a close, and it will, therefore, be better to defer an account of it until our next volume.*

In the APPENDIX, however, will be found a despatch from marshal Vallée,

giving an account of the operations of the French armies during the campaign.

together the embarrassed Question of the East; and that ultimately a conference was established in London, at which the ambassadors of those Powers were to meet with full authority from their respective governments to bring the matter to a definitive issue. M. de Brunow was the Minister despatched from the court of St. Petersburgh; and the final adjustment of the question by this conference is generally known by the name of the Brunow Convention.

We have in another part of this volume stated the views of France as to the settlement of this question between the Porte and Pasha of Egypt. She had throughout been favourable to his ambitious projects, and there was good reason to believe that she had secretly encouraged him in his hostile acts, and importunate demands. When Achmet the Capitan Pasha, or Turkish admiral turned traitor to his sovereign, and went over with the whole fleet under his command to Egypt, the general voice of Europe denounced such an act of treachery, and exclaimed against the detention of the ships by one who still professed to style himself a vassal of the sultan, and there is little doubt that the representations made to Mehemet Ali to this effect would have had the result of the restoration of the fleet, had not that crafty Viceroy relied on the active assistance of France, in case he persisted in his refusal, and the demands of the other European Powers were enforced at the mouth of the cannon.

In the early part of the year Said Pasha, son-in-law of Mahmoud, the deceased father, was appointed capitan Pasha in the

• See p. 177.

room of Achmet, and a firman was sent to Mehemet Ali who had still possession of the Turkish fleet to that effect. The promulgation of the Hatti Scheriff was everywhere received with the greatest enthusiasm and joy, and in the beginning of the year the ministers of the Porte were busily employed in discussing and framing the laws and regulations necessary for its due execution. At Rhodes it was published on the 6th of January, in the midst of great pomp, and in the presence of all the consuls, the Ulemahs, the Greek Archbishop and Primates, the Rabbi of the Jews, and an immense multitude of people. One of the principal reforms introduced by the new system, was the abolition of the former mode of directly levying the Kharacht or Capitation-tax, which was for the future to be collected by the Elders of the different municipalities elected by the people themselves. By this means the arbitrary and oppressive mode of exacting this tax which had caused much discontent, was remedied. Fixed salaries were also for the first time given to the judges, and thus a better chance of their integrity was secured.

While the negotiations were going on in London, which were conducted with great secrecy, general rumour announced that three of the contracting powers, England, Austria and Russia, had come to the determination of compelling the Pasha to evacuate Syria forthwith, and restore the fleet to the Sultan, before they would entertain any proposition on his part to be allowed to retain Egypt, or any part of Syria in hereditary

* See vol. 81, p. 414.