JB_024_438.xml

Title: [1823 Jan¼y¼. 25 Tripoli. H. to Q.A. ?.1.]

Description: 1823 Jan¼y¼. 25 Tripoli. H. to Q.A. ?.1. Reigning and H.'s family etc

It is by him and him alone that I have been led to look to the United States as

affording the only example of a government in which the greatest happiness of

the greatest number is the object really pursued: by him, I have been encouraged

and supported in the wish which with so much ardour I have for many years

entertained © the wish of contributing to impart the blessings of it, to the

oppressed and suffering country in which I drew my first breath.

For a purpose such as that in question The state of the other countries of North

Africa is pretty sufficiently known to me Before I left my own, my fathers

situation in it enabled me to obtain a conception more or less particular

á³á[...?]á³áand correct on that head in relation to every one of them, not to

speak of the less civilized countries of the interior to the South. To Tunis I

had made several visits, and formed an acquaintance with the leading characters.

In regard to Algiers in addition to what I possessed at that period I have very

recently obtained much and valuable information from Hamdan ben Othman Khoja © a

most intelligent and worthy man who is high in the confidence of the Dey. for

more than three years he has been in London making considerable purchases. I

have been on terms of intimacy with him. A few weeks ago he returned to Algiers

by way of Paris and Marseilles. With him at his request I have entered into a

confidential correspondence, having for its object the impressing the

inhabitants of North Africa, with the persuasion, that good government, as near

as may be approaching to that of the United States, would be the effectual, and

the only possible, means of relief from that state of insecurity, and consequent

penury, of the miseries of which they are so universally and acutely sensible.

At our request Mr Bentham has consented to endeavour to procure in this view

insertion for articles which Khoja requested permission to send him from time to

time in the most liberal and best conducted of the London Newspapers.

Unfortunately, Khoja, though a man of learning in the Mahometan stile, and

though in conversation he expresses himself, with more or less facility, in

English as well as French, is not able to read in either language. But he takes

with him a son of his, aged eighteen, who for these three last years had been at

a Boarding School near London, and is said to have made such a proficiency in

English as to be capable of passing for an Englishman.

In Egypt, amongst others, my Father and I have a confidential correspondent in

”Ibrahim Pacha•:© a man well known to the Officers of the English Army that

served in Egypt: he having been the means of their getting possession of

Alexandria. He resides there, with the function of Ambassador from our Sovereign

to the Pacha of Egypt a function we obtained for him for his greater

security.

JB_024_437.xml

Title: [Tripoli. H. to Q.A ?.1. Reigning Family]

Description: Tripoli. H. to Q.A ?.1. Reigning Family ?.1 Reigning and H.'s family etc

Now, as to my own family

My father, Mohammed D'Ghies has now for these á³á á³á years, namely since the

year 181. been Secretary of State for foreign affairs

He is about á³á á³á years of age He has four sons 1. His eldest son, Myself

Hassuna D'Ghies á³á á³á years of age, born Ao á³á á³á 2. His second son Mohammed

D'Ghies á³á á³á years of age: born Ao á³á á³á 3. His third son á³á á³á D'Ghies

á³á á³á years of age born á³á á³á 4. His fourth son á³á á³á D'Ghies between 13

and 14 years of age born Ao á³á á³á

Daughters, the two abovementioned.

About seven years of his life, my father passed in visiting and making his

observations in several countries in Europe. He was at that time the only man of

distinction in Tripoli perhaps the only man of any class in that State or any

other of North Africa, who has been ever in possession of any such advantage:

except in so far as here and there a short diplomatic mission to some particular

Court may have made exception.

By his experience of the benefit derivable from such a source of intellectual

culture he was led to communicate it to me his eldest son. I had been bred to

that part of the official Establishment by which under the religion of Mahomet

the functions of religion and those of Judicature are united. For qualifying men

for those offices, besides ordinary Schools we have two Seminaries which may be

termed Universities: one of them Tanjiura about {ten} miles to the west of

Tripoli; the other, Zanzour, about { } to the East. In the Mahometan

Universities in general, The subjects of study, in addition to the Coran and

Grammar as applied to that subject, are Mathematics, Logic and Rhetoric:

Mathematics little applied to practice: all three derived from translations made

of old from the Greek. Of no branch either of Natural History or Natural

Philosophy is any cognizance taken. At Tanjiura our family has an estate. For

between 3 and 4 years, namely from 18.. to 18.. I studied at Tanjiura. To

Zanzour likewise I made occasional visits, deriving instruction from the

Professors there. In the month of á³á á³á 181., I left Tripoli and landed at

Marseilles on my way to Paris. I passed my time in France till the 8th of March

1821: on which day I set out for Brussels on a tour through the Netherlands: In

that country I continued till the á³á á³á of June 1821 on which day I arrived in

London with the character of Ambassador from the Sovereign of Tripoli to the

King of Great Britain etc. At Paris I endeavoured to fill up in some sort the

deficiencies left in my education by our Universities. In France my acquaintance

was extensive: it included many men of eminence in different lines. I had once a

conference of some length with the King. In England my acquaintance has been

still more extensive. By a friend of Romilly, Mr Scarlet, who, as you must know

is at the head of the profession of the law in England, it was recommended to me

to make acquaintance if possible with Mr Bentham. I tried: and at length, on the

á³á á³á of June 1822, I succeeded.

JB_024_475.xml

Title: [1823 Feb. Trip. H. ?.1 Family etc State]

Description: 1823 Feb. Trip. H. ?.1 Family etc State

Daughters, the two abovementioned

About seven years of his life, my father passed in visiting and making his

observations in several countries in Europe. He was at that time the only man of

distinction in Tripoli, perhaps the only man of any class, in that State or any

other of North Africa, who was ever in possession of any such advantage: except

in so far as, here and there, a short diplomatic mission, to some particular

Court, may have made exceptions.

By his experience of the benefit derivable from such a source of intellectual

culture, he was led to communicate it to me, his eldest son. I had been bred to

that part of the official establishment by which, under the religion of Mahomet,

the functions of Religion and those of Judicature are united. For qualifying men

for these offices, /we have/ besides ordinary schools, we have two seminaries,

which may be termed Universities: one of them ”Tanjiura• about 12 miles to the

west of Tripoli: the other Zanzour about á³á á³á miles / the same distance/ to

the East. In the Mahometan Universities in general, the subjects of Study, in

addition to the Coran, and Grammar, applied to that subject, are Logic and

Rhetoric and Mathematics: all three little applied to practice: all three

derived from translations made of old from the Greek. Of no branch, either of

Natural History nor Natural Philosophy, is any cognizance taken. At Tanjiura our

family has an estate. From between 3 and 4 years namely from 18á³á á³á to 18á³á

á³á I studied at Tanjoura. To Zanzour likewise I made occasional visits,

deriving /receiving/ instruction from the Professors there.

In the month of á³á á³á 181á³á á³á, I left Tripoli and landed at Marseilles, in

my way to Paris. I passed my