another very small inland town, &c.; Bona, its eastern government and sea-port; and Orun, the westernmost. The entire population of all these places, as well as the adjacent parts of the country, and the eighty thousand Moors, Arabs, and Jews, which are the population of the city of Algiers, are kept in subjection by, at the utmost, four thousand Janizaries: indeed, no other armed force is allowed, except in cases of the greatest emergency, when the Arabs and Moors are called to their support. From among the Janizaries, the Dey is chosen, or rather put on the throne by the strongest party of them: and, so far from the office being hereditary, the sons of the Dey are no more than common soldiers. As a yet stronger proof of the insignificance of this government, the Cabailes, or resident Arabs, are in possession of their own independent state, which is in sight of Algiers, and they make the subjects of Dey pay them tribute; so you will see that it; is not the natives of Algiers who commit these tyrannical horrid crimes, but only as many Janizaries as there are in the state. As for its sea defence, it has nothing but the formidable appearance of its white washed batteries, which have too long been the bugbear of Europe, to prevent its being razed to the ground in a very short time, by any power which sends a proper force. The Tunisians are at war with Algiers, which never yet was so weak as at this moment; so that if England only command them to release the Christian slaves, and not to make any more, I have no doubt, from what I have heard and seen, that it will be immediately complied with: it is surely worth trying.
“I have read their new treaty with the Americans: it is certainly, in all respects as good as America could wish, save and except the emancipation of all the Christian slaves. The captured Algerine frigate and brig were restored, not by that treaty, but at the humble request of the Dey, to save his head.
“I have found myself obliged to make this letter much longer than was my intention, and I hope I may have excited some interest on a subject, which ought, I think, to be even nearer to the heart of a Christian than the abolition of the African slave trade. I have the honor to subscribe myself. &c.
(Signed)“Walter Croker, Commander, R.N.”
“P.S. It is but justice to the memory of one humane Turk, that I add this postscript, to state that before he died, he left his whole fortune for the purpose of providing one small loaf for each christian slave in the bani, on Friday, the day they get nothing to eat from the Algerine government.
“W. C.”
In Sept. 1815, this memoir was sent to the gentleman for whom it was originally intended, who then held an important office under Government, and who undertook to lay it before His Majesty’s ministers; observing at the same time, that it might “possibly be conducive to the accomplishment of the
