The Sun. — London, England, 1858-11-08 00:00:00

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough. THIS EVENING, WOOING IN JEST AND LOVING IN ;EARNEST: :Messrs. Selby, Parselle, and Miss Swan orough. After which THE MAID AND THE MAGPIE. Followed by THE LAST OF THE PIGTAILS : Messrs. C. Selby, J. Bland, J. Clarke, atc. And THE BONNIE FISH WIFE. Commence at 7 o'clock. THEATRE -ROYAL, DRURY-LANE.—Under I the Management of Miss Louisa Fyne and Mr. W. Harrison. _ , .„ - '1111; EVY,NING,Auto;.'s ran Opern, TM?, (TOWN DIAMONDS : The cnaracters by Miss Louisa Pyne, Miss Susan Pyne, Mr. Geo. Honey, Mr. A. St. Albyn, Mr. Henry Corri, Mr. Bartleman, Mr. Terrott, and Mr. W. Harrison, Conductor—Mr. Alfred Mellon. - • ' To conclude with a new Ballet Divertissement, LA FLEUR IYAMOUR: Mesdlles. L. Michelet, Morlacchi, and Pasquale. ROYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE. Under the Management of Mr. Charles Kean. THIS EVENING will be presented Shakspere's Tragedy of MACBETH. Macbeth, Mr. C. Kean ; Lady Macbeth, Mrs. C. Kean. • Preceded by the Farce of AWAY WITH MELANCHOLY. THEATRE -ROYAL, HAYMARKET. ' Lessee, Mr. J. B. Bnckstone. THIS EVENING will be performed (second time) THE TALE OF A COAT. Mr. Charles Mathews. • After which, THE DOWAGER. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mathews. _ 7i;`cliowed by THE ETON BOY. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Mathews, Jzc. .And JACK'S RETURN FROM CANTON. Commence at 7. A STLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE, Westminster-road. Sole Lessee, Mr. William Cooke. Astounding and Expensive Parisian Engagement. •TH IS EVENING, and during the week, will be presented THE WOODMAN'S HORSE, introducing a trebly company of•equestrians and the finest Stud of Horses in the world. Characters by Messrs. Holloway, W. Cooke, Anson, Francis, Mark Howard, Anderson. Followed by the inimitable SCENES OF THE ARENA, in-which Mr. W. Cooke, Mr. Runnels, Miss Kate Cooke, and Madlle. Blanche will appear. After which, 3ladame Amilie Maurice, from Paris, will make her Terrific Ascent from the Stage to the back of the Galleries. Mons. Maurice will also have the honour to introduce his extraordinary Dogs. To conclude with A MISTAKEN STORY. Dress Circle, 3s. ; Upper Boxes, 2s. ; Pit, Is. • Galleries, 6d. Private Boxes from £1 Is. to £2 2s. andupwards. Stage Manager, Mr. R. Phillips. CANTERBURY HALL, Westminster-road.--• Proprietor—C. MORTON. The public is most respectfully informed that 'the FINE ARTS GALLERY, in connection with the above Hall, IS NOW OPEN DAY AND NIGHT, from 11 o'clock a.m. until 12 o'clock p.m. The New Gallery contains an extensive Collec tion of Pictures, by Ancient and Modern Masters, and is also devoted to Art productions generally. The Proprietor feels he may confidently assert that, viewed altogether, the exist ing Music Hall, the New Fine Arts Gallery, and the recently added Ante-Hall, will present an attraction which, whether as' regards the architectural beauty of the structures them selves, or the varied and hitherto unattempted combinations within, will be found to be wholly without parallel in the Kingdom. The MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT commences as usual at Seven o'clock. THE WEATHER.—SUN OFFICE, Nov. 7. ^ T HERNIVIIETER, IN THE SHADE. - 50—highest since noon yesterday. - 42—lowest this morning and during the night. - 47—this day at noon. - - BABoMETETt-30'42. WIND, North-Eastorly ; light but cold, with fine sum: shiny weather. Nov. 8. 48—highest since noon yesterday. 46—lowest this morning and during the night. 48—this day at noon. BAROMETER-30.33. Northerly; light, with dull weather, and some rain in the night and this morning. It is, when there is an absence of excitement on any matter, that great and important ameliorations can be effected. It will then receive the calm and attentive consideration in all its details which can not-possibly be given when the public mind is in a feverish state, and the people smarting under some real or imaginary hardship. Personal feeling may then influence the legislation, and the dictates of reason and prudence be for a time forgotten. There cannot be a more convenient time for entering into a discussion on the banking and mone tary laws of the country than the session now rapidly approaching. Nothing can be more unsa tisfactory than the present state of affairs. The Bank holds but a precarious existence—its charter may at any moment be set aside at twelve months' notice to the Directors. Surely this is not a proper position for a quasi National Bank, whose notes constitute a legal tender, and must be accepted by all classes throughout the length and breadth of the land. During the two last sessions it was announced that this . all-important subject would be brought before Parliament. Sir G. C. LEWIS, however, preferred appointing a judiciously arranged committee, whose deciSion was a foregone conclusion, and the nature and effect of whose report might have been confi dently predicted, even before the examination of a single witness. The late Chancellor of the Exchequer, although moving the appointment of this Committee, took care to give full expression to his views, which were to support the Act of 1844 in every point, without change or variation of any kind. He would not sanction any addition to the amount now issued on securities which should be maintained at the same fixed sum, although the trade and commerce of the country had far more than doubled in the interval, and there had been a very decided increase of population. He would not even grant a relaxing power to the Government, although the act had been necessarily suspended twice during ten years, in order to save the Bank itself from suspending payment, and the nation from the most fearful misery and wide-spread ruin. In vain Mr; DISRAELI pressed him to bring forward a bill, declaring that the question was fully ripe for legislation, and the country had ample information on the subject. The right hon. Gentleman clearly perceived that the proposed inquiry was merely a solemn farce, a mockery, and a delusion. Sir G. C. LEWIS S could not, however, be moved. He saw a mode' of frittering away another , session and sh e l v i ng the matter, un til th e losses and sufferin gs o f November, 1857; should have passed from the public mind, and the public should resum e t h e apathy and indifference, which alone enabled " the hard calculators" to carry out their designs. Could the people be once awakened to the ,magnitude and importance of .the questions at issue, could they be made to understand hew completely the welfare, happiness, and prosperity of themselves and their families depend on a proper solution of this interesting probl em , th e present code could not stand a Single month. There would a be a universal demand for its repeal-- pressure from without, which it would be utterly impossible for any Government or any Parliament to resist. We hope and believe that the Chancellor of the Ex chequer will approach this great subject in an e n _ li (+toned; a comprehensive and impartial spirit. He had ample opportunities to weigh and maturely con sider the evident? of allrthe witnesses —to balance the various theories that have been promulgated — and to ascertain the extent of the evils occasioned, or, at all events, greatly aggravated by the in auspicious law. Ho has also the admirable Report of the Select Committee of the House of Lords 1848, which exhausted the• subject, and was quite sufficient, not merely to justify, but to imperatively demand, a total alteration in the system. He will not waate these valuable materials, or. permit the golden opportunity to be neglected or misapplied. Should he bring in a bill satisfactory to the nation, he will acquire the great est popularity for the Go vernment of which he is al prominent and influen- . • „,..., ai, q, V 5t.. ~..0 15}u :•mA t.„... .. ,_..' 4: i 1 S4.E . ' ' ' ' .-li. ?Z , . , ... ,f - ' 4 •4 ,- / ~ ' - 1 ‘ ' 4. - - 1. •' .;( o!" , '' i bum - 1; , ''''' • 1 I ' N , . . THE SUN. MONDAY. NOVEMBER 8, 1858. tial a member, will ensure a prolonged tenure - of office, and may safely - set all the machinations of the disappointe factions at defiance. Should an appeal to the country be deemed advisable, the people will promptly and enthusiastically respond to the w'shes. of those who will have given the most convincing proof that they have the true interests of the people sincerely at heart. It is desirable, then, that every monetary reformer should endeavour, to the best and utmost of his abilities and opportunities, to direct public attention to the subject, and to remove that mysti fication, which is the great stronghold of " the hard. calculators." They strive to complicate the question so as to disgust the community, and in duce them to. leave the matter in the hands of those who have made themselves masters of the abstruse and difficult. Even amongst those who fancy themselves to hold seats in Par liament, and to make laws for the future government of the nation, there is, with at least four out of five, or probably nine out of ten—an unblushing avowal of ignorance. They have not had time, forsooth, to study the topic. They admit its vast importance, while, at the same time, they are willing to legislate on it in profound darkness. The subject is by no means so difficult as it is advisedly made to appear. We see that, under one system, the nation has been enabled to carry a protracted and formidable war to a successful ter mination and to sustain a lavish outlay, such as was never encountered by any kingdom of the world for an equal period. We find that the people enjoyed prosperity and comfort notwithstand ing the enormous weight of taxation by which they were oppressed. The rate of discount remained equable—never more than 5 or less than 4 per cent. for more than a century-and-a•quar- ter. Fortunes were realised, trade flourished, and every one of the industrial population was cer tain of that great desideratum, " a fair day's wage for a fair day's work." Trade flourished, gold and silver were purchased for the adjustment of balances. at their fair market prices, but there was no diffi culty thereby imposed on our merchants. It was an additional element to be considered in their cal culations, but they were always sure of being en abled to obtain cash or bank notes for any safe security. Such was the state of affairs with inconvertible £1 notes circulating from hand to hand, "worth less rags," as they were contemptuously designated by the "hard calculators." What was it in 1847, when that perfection of human wisdom, the Peel - Overstone Bill, was in full operation ? Mr. T . &tows, M.P.- for South Lancashire, •eloquently described it. He said " there was a complete want of confidence • between man and man. Hardly a contract could be entered into. Such, indeed, was the general feeling of instability and alarm, that by the last packet advices had been sent by many firms to America countermanding the orders they had given for the importation into this country of articles of prime importance as food. The same distress pre vailed in other branches of trade in Manchester, and producers of goods for foreign exportation were most unwilling to go on increasing their stock, and were activelyattempting to convert their hills into bullion. In fact, both as to imports and ex ports, we were at a dead lock. * * The alternative arose of either allowing the drain to continue until we parted with our remaining gold, or of permitting the people to starve. The position of the country was simply this—that mills and manufactories were closed and closing, that operatives were being thrown out of work, and that artisans and work men of all sorts are being reduced to an equally distressed condition. Let the people look on this picture and on that, and say which was the most beneficial for the nation—the reign of paper or the reign of gold. The Metropolitan Board of Works has a magni ficent power which it is above all things desirable should be used with daring, though not with reck lessness. Hitherto we cannot but think there has been an over caution in the adoption of any s weep ing measures of improvement. Wheneer, for example, it has been suggested that a monstrous obstruction, such as Middle-row, Holborn, should be rased to the ground for the advantage of one of the main thoroughfares—the proposal has been set aside, timorously, as altogether impracticable. A similar proposition has often been mooted in regard to the block of houses standing obstructively in the centre of the Strand, wedged in between the two picturesque churches of St. Mary•le-Strand and St. Clement Danes. But that notion also has been no less summarily dismissed as altogether out Of the question from its presumed extravagance. This, moreover, notwithstanding the obvious ad ditional advantages certain to accrue from the re moval of the. Strand obstruction by the consequent destruction of the most pestiferous little byeway in all London—a 'moral plague-spot, branded upon the map of the metropalis by the tainted and noto rious name of Holywell-street. Sweep away the southern side of Holywell-street, and the - northern side, by being laid bare, would have, as a matter of necessity, to be rebuilt and beautified—it would be Holywell-street no longer, but one of the noblest parts of unquestionably the noblest street in the English capital—that " Strand"— which has been so eloquently eulogised as the finest street in London, by the present Chancellor of Her MAJESTY'S Exchequer, in one of the. Right Honourable Gentleman's popular novels that Strand, which has been - designated the world's highway, by N. P. Wm.'s, one of the most obser vant of living Americans. The bodily removal of what may be accurately termed the Middle-Row of the Strand, would, beyond a doubt, be one of the most noticeable and splendid • metropolitan improvements that could well be adventured upon. It would bring out to view yet more pic turesquely than ever the two curiously situated churches standing in the centre of the great thoroughfare—the two remarkable churches already particularised. It would serve not only for that doubly decorative and not obstructive effect but would open up a clean sweep of the Strand from Temple Bar to Charing-cross. It is, in its way, an improve ment as obviously , desirable as that long sug gested—but the realisation of which has never yet been attempted—the opening up of Sir CHRISTOPHER WREN'S great master- piece to the river by a grand thoroughfare leading directly from the Thames to the south side of St. Paul's Cathedral. These, however, are pre cisely the kind of improvements that are carefully avoided by the Metropolitan Board of , Works. The hammer it disdain s •to use ofl' it. Nay, is in its grasp, and Nay, a smaller im provement than any -we have y e t men ti one d —but still a very o b v i ous improvement— has just now been all but rejected by the board as wholly impracticable, as altogether too expensive, as one not to be thought of for one instant. Yet it i s an improvement the cost of which would ac tually not exceed the sum of £3,232 10s.—being restricte d s imply to the setting back of fi ve houses i n Newgate - stre et, namel y , Nos. 78 , and 82. Granted that the se t , tiri e g s Bo back 81 of those five tenements would be a really remarkable improvement according to the report of the Works Committee, it is riot to be dreamt of for a moment—it is positively monstrous, according to Mr. WRIGHT, to dream of such extravagance. It would be such simple prodigality to spend in this way three thousand two hundred and odd pounds out of the funds of so very impoverished a city as London (so the report aforesaid suggests that it should be dropped at once by the Metropo litan Board of Works, as something wholly pre posterous. Nevertheless, it must be observed with some satisfaction that the Board, with a certain degree of inconsistency; resolved at the very same meeting at which the Newgate-street improvement was suggested to be thrown aside that ar rangements much more expensive should be completed as speedily as possible, for the purchase of old Berkeley-house, Spring-gar dens, to the end, of course, that it shall, imme diately upon the completion of that purchase, be razed to the ground, and so open a fitting com munication at the south-east corner of Cock spur-street by means of a thoroughfare running between DENT'S, the clockmaker's, and FARRANCE,the confectioners—connecting Trafalgar square and St. James's•park. A very remarkable improvement this will undoubtedly be; and for the ready adoption of the idea of it the Metropolitan Board of Works is highly to be commended. Let us hope that its completion will be almost simultaneous with the substitution of noble foun tains in the midst of, the finest site in Europe, in lieu of those two wretched little squirts upon the dumb-waiters—with the depositing at last of the four colossal granite lions at the base of the Nelson Column—above all, with the, commencement of a new - National Gallery worthy of containing the art treasures of England, in place of the stone criet stand so long our architectural disgrace and laughingstock. LATEST NEWS INDIA AND CHINA. AUSTRALIA. By the arrival of the European we have received our private correspondence and files of papers froth Melbourne to the 15th September, and from Syd ney to the 10th of September. (From the Melbourne Herald, Sept. 15.) _ The dreary parliamentary recess is approaching its close. Ministers have issued their mandate, summoning parliament to re-assemble on the 7th October. It is fully understood that the business of the coming session—which will be, in'any case, the last session of the present Assembly—will be restricted to the passing of the estimates for the en suing year in the lower house, and to the passing of the Reform Bill in the upper. But even if the Council should reject the Reform Bill a second time, there will be a speedy dissolution of the As sembly, a general election, and the early convoca tion of a reformed house. Not till then will the present government bring forward their grand pro gramme of leading measures ; so that, although we have had a partial revelation of the character of these measures, it would be premature to subject them to detailed criticism. There may be a few minor measures of a pressing nature introduced during the coming session, but nothing, we believe to indidate definitely the broad policy of the go vernment. At least it is satisfactory to know that they have such a policy; for it has really seemed for sometime back as if they had not yet wakened up to the necessity of anything of the kind. But they are now speaking out with some frankness, and, naturally enough, they appear to be pro portionately rising in popular estimation. In these democratic communities the strength of a Govern ment lies in its free intercourse with the public. EVerything in relation to its administrative action and its prospective policy must lie open to public view ; or else distrust, suspicion, and thence de clared opposition, are certain to result. As regards their conduct of the administration, it must be avowed that the present Cabiriet are rising in popular favour. At first, many even of their own supporters had strong misgivings touching their ability to carry on the business of government, and especially. as to their imparti a lity in the distribu tion of patronage ; and doubtless there were some grounds shown in the character of a few of their first appointments, for distrust on the latter point ; but we think the feeling is now dying out, and that the Ministry have now before them as fair a field for the exhibition of whatever statesmanlike qualities they possess as men could possibly desire. There is, at bottom, a strong sentiment of justice pervading the mind of this community, which all public men may turn to good advantage, if they choose. The following telegram, dated Malta, from Mr. Acting Agent and Consul-General Green, was re ceived at the Foreign-office on Sunday, November 7, at 5.45 p.m. : " ALEXANDRIA, Nov. 4. " The steamer Ima arrived at Suez from Ca' cotta on the 2d inst. " Dates—Calcutta, 9th October ; Madras, 15th October ; Shanghai, 20th September ; Hong Kong, 38thISeptember ; Singapore, 7th October. " There is no news of the slightest importance The Chief Secretary has seized the opportunity afforded by the long recess to visit the interior, for the purpose of personally noting the requirements, both material and political, of the people, and particularly of the mining population. At Bendigo, the feeling in his favour was raised almost to enthusiasm by a speech which he made at a large public meeting, held in the open air, in the course of which he indicated the main points of his future policy. We are glad to be able to state that Mr. Gavan Duffy has quite recovered from his recent severe and protracted illness, sufficiently at least to resume his official duties. Meantime the elections for the upper house, con sequent upon the termination of the first period of two years—when, according t® the Constitution Act, one-fifth of the members retire by rotation,--- are proceeding. In addition to the six vacancies so created, two others have fallen in by resigna tions ; so that there are no less than eight new members wanted for the council. Perhaps the most significant political incident of the month has been the defeat of Mr. W. Nicholson, who has recently returned from Great Britain, at the election for the district . of South Melbourne. Mr. Nicholson will be remembered in England as the feted hero of the ballot, and although the result of the tlection was certainly not in the least affected by any change in public feeling with respect to the new mode of voting, it was, no doubt, to a con siderable extent by the " hero worship" alluded to. The electors of a Victorian constituency are very sensitive in their independence, and have a particular objection to be patronised even by the friend and associate of the magnates with whom Mr. W. Nicholson hob-nobbed. The successful candidate, Mr. Anderson, is the Chairman of the Municipal Council of Emerald -Hill, and a gentleman of very respectable mental qualifications into the bargain. The ballot showed the following result :--For Mr. Anderson, 924 ; and for Mr. Nicholson, 891, giving the former amajority of 33. Mr. Nicholson's inde cisive views on the land settlement question ope rated . greatly to his prejudice ; his opponent swallowed the whole programme of the Convention, and was-rewarded by the support of the adherents of that bogy. _ from India. " Lord Elgin awaited at Shanghai the Commis sioners for arranging the tariff, &c., who were ex pected from Pgkin at the beginning of October. " All quiet at Canton, and trade recommencing. The Chinese are returning to Hong Kong. " The Dutch expedition against Jarnbe has been successful. The landing took place on the 6th of September, and Jambe is in the possession of the Dutch. The loss of the natives was considerable; on the side of the Dutch 4 killed and 34 wounded. " The French and Spanish forces have landed at Touran, a port of Cochin China. The place was taken without the loss of a man. The bay and river of Touran are held in a state of effective blockade by the forces under Admiral de Genouilly from the Ist of September. " Mr. Loch is proceeding home by this mail with the Japan Treaty. " This telegram arrived. at Alexandria by the contract steampaeket Ceylon at 11.30 a.m. on the 7th of November. THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 8, 1858. the men to. " knack off" as they came up to them: Mr. :obertson, the superintendent of the works' was insulted, and his horse severely kicked, and affairs at one time looked so threatening, that it was found advisable to despatch a strong police force from Melbourne to protect the officials, and those of the men who were willing to work. The demands of the men on this occasion were to be paid at the rate of 10s. a yard for ballast, or 12s. a day, and a proviso that there should be no sub-con tracting. We believe that the disturbances have since entirely ceased, and that work has been gene rally resumed. The Hobson's Bay Company continue their course of success, and the Melbourne and Suburban Com pany are pushing on the works of the line with re markable vigour. THE. SLAVE QUESTION. LETTER OF, THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON. PARIS, MONDAY MORNING. The ilonitcur• publishes the following letter, which -the Emperor has addressed to his cousin, Prince Napoleon, Minister of Algeria and of the Colonies : " St. Claud, Oct, 30, 1858. "MY DEAR COUSIN,—I lim'e the liveliest desire that, at the moment when the difference with Por tugal, relative to the Charles-Georges, has termi nated, the question of the engagement of free labourers on the African coast should be defini tively examined and finally settled on the truest principles of humanity and justice. . " I energetically claimed from Portugal the resti tution of the Oharles-georges, because I will always maintain intact the independence of the national flag ; but, in this case even, it was only the pro found conviction of my right that I risked, with the King of Portugal, a rupture of tho3e friendly rela tions which I am glad to maintain with him. " But as to the principle of the engagement of the negroes, my ideas are far from being settled. If, in truth, labourers recruited on the African coast are not allowed the exercise of their free will, and if this enrolment is only the slave trade in disguise, I will have it on no term;, for it is not I who will anywhere protect enterprises contrary to progress, to humanity, and to civilisation. " I beg you then to seek out the truth with the zeal and intelligence which you bring to bear on all affairs about which you employ yourself. " And as the best method of putting a term to what is a continual cause of dispute would be to substitute the free labour of Indian coolies for that of the magroes, I beg you to come to an understand ing with the Minister for Foreign Affairs to resume with the English Government the negotiations which were entered upon a few months ago. " On this, my dear cousin; I pray God to have you in his holy keeping. " NAPOLEON." COURT CIRCULAR WINDSOR, Nov. 6. Her Royal Highness the Princess of 1. einingen and his Serene Highness dined with her Majesty yesterday. Colonel the Hon. Sir Charles and Lady Phippt, the Dean of Wind sox: and the Hon. Mrs. Wellesley, and Sir James Clark had the honour of being invited. The band of the Grenadier Guards attended in the Castle, and played during dinner the following compo sitions : • Overture, "Le Domino Noir" Auber. Waltz, " Seelenspregel" Selection "Don Giovanni" Algretto Selection, " Sinfonia in F" Gelop, "Malakoff" Her Hajesty's private band afterwards perfoimed in the Drawing-room the following selection : Overture "Le Roi d'Yvetot" Ada m. Morceau d' Ensemble, "Le Domino Noir" Auber. Selection, "Robert le Diable" Meyerbeer. Menuet du Bcnuf Geschwind Marsch _ _ _ The Queen and Princ,e Consort, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Leiningen, went to Sandhurst this morning, attended by Lady Macdonald, Lord Charles Fitz roy, and Colonel the Hon. A. Hardinge. Her Majesty inspected the Royal Military College, and with the Royal party, honoured the Governor, Major- General Sir Harry Jones, with her company at luncheon, and afterwards returned to Windsor Castle. Prince Arthur and the Princess Louise took a carriage drive. - - His Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, her Royal Highness the Princess of Leiningen, his Serene Highness the Prince of Leiningen, and Lady Anna Maria Dawson dined with her Majesty. The party also included the following, who arrived in the afternoon :—The Marquis and Marchioness of Abercorn and Lady Louisa Hamilton, the Right Hon. Sir E. Bul- Iwar Lytton, a n d th e H on . M r .. Cartier, the Prime Minister of Canada. The Counte is of Craven and Lady Beatrice Craven have left town for Aohdown Park, Berke. OUR GOLD. The shipments of our " grand staple" for the last four weeks continue satisfactory, and, i n d ee d, ex hibit an important increase over the aggregate quantity exported in the corresponding period of last year. The totals for the four weeks ended 11th September, and of the same months of the two yearslast preceding, were as follow :- 1856 1857 1858 07. 218,382 oz. 138,459 oz. 173,781 Showing a balanc? in favour of the present year over last of 35,322 oz. , The escort returns for the four weeks ended re spectively 11th September, 1856, 1837, and 185 8 show the following results :- 1858 i 1857. 1856. Week ended— oz. oz. oz. August 21 48,418 • • 57,931 27,259 August 23 4 8 ,070 .. 47,998 58,382 Sept. 4 Sept. 11 49,750 .. 49,828 54,485 197,095 .. 208,405 .. 176,129 There are now no discoveries of importance to record. Some reefs of promising appearance have been recently opened near Boroondara, a locality within a few miles of Melbourne, but the opera tions employ only a very few men. RAILWAYS AND PUBI r IC WORKS. • Geelong was the scene of high festivity on the 26th ult., the occasion being the official inaugura tion of the works •of the Geelong and Ballarat Railway. A procession,luncheon, and ball were the three chief collateral incidents of the event, subor dinate, of course, to the ininiatory " excavating and navigating" which was performed by his Excel lency Sir Henry Barkly, in the presence of several thousands of the citizens. The demonstration passed off most successfully. So excellent a begin ning, it was hoped, would have operated as a favour able induction to the real work, but only a few days after occurred an event which completely dispelled any illusion of . the kiUd the holiday feeling might have produced. A large number of the labourers em ployed on the line by Evans and Merry struck work in consequence, as they alleged, of an attempt on the part of their employers to introduce the " truck a%d tommy" system. The contractors had taken on a number of men, without in many in stances, it seems, having pieviously made any di rect stipulation as to wages. The men, many of whom were in a state of destitution, appear gladly at first to have resorted to the board and lodging accommodation provided by the contractors, but subsequently disgusted by the reductions made in their wages for this consid.eratien, they raised the cry referred to and left their work. The grievance, however, by some process of metamorphosis with which we are unac painted, became converted in a few days to one of a very different character from that which it had originally assumed. The cry of " No truck, no tommy," was soon changed to one for higher wages, and advancing their demands from 7s. 6d. a day—the rate offered by the contrac tors—to 10s. 6d. Several strikes, too, have recently occurred on the Melbourne and Murray River Railway works, and on more than one occasion, were attended with serious disturbances. The men not only grumble at the rates of wages, but at the manner in which the contractors pay them. On the 31st a large number of the laborer marched down the line, compelling MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL, Contrary to general expectation, the mail steamer Australasian, with the English July mails, has utterly failed to accomplish the passage from Suez to this port up to this date ,; and there now appears to be every probability that the European, with the outward mails, will take her departure before the arrival of the first named steamer. The immediate effect of this delay in the receipt of later advices has been to increase the dulness which has of late prevailed in mercantile circles, and to entail serious inconvenience and loss upon importers, as well as upon the commercial community at large. On the 3d inst. the members of the Chamber of Commerce held a meeting for the purpose of taking into con sideration the present unsatisfactory aspect of the postal question, and after some discussion it was decided to appoint a special committee to delibe rate upon the subject. A special general meeting of the chamber was held on the 10th inst., when the report of the committee in question was sub mitted, as also the rep9rt of the committee with reference to a river and harbour trust. H. W. Farrar, Esq., occupied the chair. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The CHAIRMAN then read the circular convening the meeting, and requested Mr. Hammill, as chair man of the committee on steam postal communica tion, to read the report of the committee. Mr. HAMMILL then read the report, which was as follows : Report of the Special Committee of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce appointed at a special general meeting of the chamber, held on the 3d instant, to consider and report on the best means of efficiently carrying out a mail service with England. As the result of their consideration of the sub ject assigned to them, your committee have to report : Ist. That they are of opinion that the time has not yet arrived for the Australian colonies to un dertake the conveyance of the mails, either for the whole, or a part of the distance to England. 2d. That the interests of this colony demand the establishment of a thorough line of communication via Suez to England. 3d. That in the altered position of the postal ques tion in these colonies, your committee are of opinion that the chamber should urge upon the Govern ment the desirableness of this colony undertaking to pay a moiety of the - subsidy requisite for the monthly conveyance of the mails via Suez, reserv ing power to recover from the governments of the adjacent colonies payment of their proportions rate ably with the advantages they derive from a parti cipation in the same. 4th. That in any contract for the postal:service , it should be stipulated that the company under taking it should make provision for spare vessels at the termini ; and your committee believing that the length of the voyage between Melbourne and Suez renders it impossible to maintain the perfect efficiency of the vessels throughout, recommend that a steamer should be kept in readiness at Galle to which the inward and outward mails and pas sengers should be transhipped. sth. That an alteration should be made in the dates at prevnt fixed for the departure of the home ward mail, in order to afford the neighbouring colonies sufficient interval to reply to the inward correspondence. W. HAMMILL, Chairman of Committee. Melbourne, 9th September, 1858. This report was adopted by the chamber, but the consideration of that relating to a harbour trust was postponed. We may observe that the govern ment of New South Wales have determined to place a sum of £50,000 per annum, for a period of seven years, on the estimates, as a subsidy for a line of small steamers, via the Isthmus of Panama. In the local money market capital is freely offer ing for investment, at rates ranging from 10 per cent., but the scarcity of first-class securities is so great that few negotiations have been completed. Business in the Stock and Share Market has been well sustained during the past month, and prices have in some instances slightly risen. Colonial Bank shares have recently changed hands at £6 25., and sellers are unwilling to realise at less than £6 2s. 6d. Bank of Victoria are held for £39, but sales have been effected at £37 10s. Victoria In suranse are quoted at £55, and Colonial Insurance at 355. The further issue of Australasian Fire Insurance shares has necessarily affected quotations, and they cannot at present be valued at a higher figure than 305., at which rate, however, there are not many sellers in the market. Mel bourne Fire Insurance are generally held for 145., although sales at 12s. 6d. are reported. Melbourne Gas Company's first issue, have been done at 35 per cent. premium, and new at £4. 7s. 6d. The half-yearly meeting of the Studley Park Bridge Company was held on the 26th, and a dividend at the rate of 12 per cent. per annum was declared. The report and financial statement were highly satisfactory. Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Rail; way shares (old) have been purchased at £l7, and the company's debentures, due 1868, have been done at £lO5. It is stated that a Melbourne company will be formed to carry out the objects contem plated by the promoters •f the Ovens Gold-fields Water Company. The cost of completing the scheme is estimated at £36,000. The demand in the local markets for imports has not been well maintained, in consequence of the extreme anxiety with which intending buyers have been looking for the receipt of later advices from England. The intelligence received by the June mail was not calculated to restore the confi dence of buyers, as it was only too apparent that home shipperis were again entering with singular activity into the Australian trade. We are not in a position, owing to the non-appearance of the over due steamer Australasian, to form any" estimate whatever of the nature and extent of the exports from the United Kingdom to this colony in all June ; but we would again emphatically declare that unless the transactions of exporting houses are very materially restricted, an exceedingly low ranger of prices will rule in these markets for nearly all descriptions of imported goods. The simple truth is that we are fully capable of pro viding for our own requirements, and of calculating the limit of our wants so accurately, that the pro ceedings of speculative shippers only tend to pro duce mischievous results, and to reduce our markets to a state of depression. IMMIGRATION AND THE LABOUR MARKET. We have prepared the following statement, showing the extent of colonial immigration and emigration during the current year. The returns are made up to the 11th instant. Those for August and the present month representing the arrivals and departures taken at the port of Melbourne only : Arrived. Departed. January 2,650 .... 1,939 February March 3,884 .... 2,529 April ay July ''`August 2,840 .... 1,040 *September (to 11th) .. • 26,716 13,444 D: duct departed Nett M immigrat * ion 13,342 elbourne only. The following vessels have also arrived within the last two days :—lnvincible, with 169 passen gers ; John Owens, 273 ; Albion, 164 ; Conflict, 36; total, 642 arrivals. With reference to the labour market, matters arc gradually assuming a more satisfactory state. PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Since our last, Professor Anderson has appeared at the Theatre Royal as Rob Roy, and William in " Black-eyed Susan," drawing numerous audi ences, but in the end leaving a decided impression that he had better have stuck to his conjuring. As a reply to the unfavourable notices of the Melbourne press, Mr. Anderson placarded the walls with the Times' estimate of his histrionic abilities. He is now giving his magical entertainment at some of the diggings. The principal attraction at the Royal since his departure has been Miss Mortyn, who, in addition to the " Unequal Match," in which she made her debut, has appeared in the " Daughter of the Stars," the " Housekeeper," and " Janet Pride." This last piece has been played several times, the part of Richard Pride, in which Mr. Webster ob tained an European reputation, having been ably sustained by Mr. R. Younge. Miss Kate O'Reilly, who has had considerable experience on the diggings, played for about a fortnight, at the Princess's Theatre, principally as the heroines of the Adelphi melodramas. She commenced with Cynthia, in the " Flowers of the Forest," and she wound up on the occasion of her benefit and last appearance with Miami, in the " Green Bushes." She is a good melodramatic actress, but ,not a star of sufficient magnitude to create a sensation. Master Pole, a boy sixteen years of age, who had previously played atßallarat,has made two appear ance at each of the Melbourne houses, and his pre cocious talent astonished his audiences. The charac- ters in which he appeared we're Macbeth, Hamlet, Claude Melnotte, and jticliard 111. An opera company is now performing at the Princess's. The principal artistes being Miss Har land, Mesdames Carandini and Hancock, and Messrs. -Farquharson, Sherwin, and Conlin. The season, which is only to last a month, opened with Maritana," which was very satisfactorily repre sented. SYDNEY, ALBURY, SEPT. 14. I send you Sydney news up to last Friday even ing. The principal political topic of interest was the second reading of the Electoral Bill, which had been moved in the Legislative Council. The debate had continued three nights, and the house was still engaged on it when the despatch left. M. Plun kett is likely to be returned for the North Riding of Cumberland. Moyse, who was convicted of the murder of the mate of the Oliver Jordan, was hanged on the morning of the 7th, at Darling hurst.. The convict met his death with fortitude, and was apparently penitent. He did not confess his crime, but admitted that he had led a wild life. He asked the Rev. Mr. Threlkeld to write to his only relative,—an unmarried sister. The Herald considers that his life should have been spared. There was great excitement prevailing in conse quence of the news from the Port Curtis gold-field. Twelve vessels were laid on for that port. There is no advice with reference to the flour market. Capt. cadell has succeeded in navigating the Murrum loidgee up to within 20 miles of Wagga Wagga, which place he expected to reach on the 10th inst. WARRNAMBOOL, SEPT. 14. A melancholy and fatal accident, by which three lives were lost, occurred off Warrnainbool to-day. About half-past ten o'clock this morning a fishing boat containing four men capsized, one mile beyond the five fathom bank. Three of the men were drowned, the remaining one being saved. GEELONG, SEPT. 14. Some curiosity prevailed to-day in the neighbour hood of the Police-court to ascertain the result of Mr. Bashford's re-application for a publican's license. There were altogether 15 magistrates on the bench, and after a variety of opinions had been enunciated, it appeared that nine were in favour and only three against the application, while three remained neutral. THE BRITISH ARMY IN INDIA. (FROM THE TIMES' SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) BOWLEE, IN BUSSAHIR, HIMALAYAS, SEPT. 14. It can scarcely be expected that in my present locality I can collect any very useful or important information respecting the progress of events in Lower India ; but such inteligence as I receive tends to confirm me in the belief that our rule is gradually acquiring its old strength and re-assert ing its supremacy with daily increasing vigour and success. The gallant affair of Colonel Robertson's column in Central India cannot but produce a most salutary effect on the disaffected. Nearer to the north swift punishment has overtaken the madmen of Mooltan. The Sultanpore district, in Oude, which lately swarmed with rebels, is now so quiet that Sir Hope Grant was, by our last accounts, about to ride to the shores of the river opposite Allahabad, and to cross over to the quarters of the Commander-in-Chief. The surrender of the Rajahs of Rampore and Shahghur is a most significant index of the state of the insurgent cause, and of the prospects of their leaders. But few, indeed, except those who despair of mercy, are arrayed in arms against us outside the king dom of Oude, but it cannot be denied, never theless, that we have taken over the charge of the Indian Empire from the Company in troublous times. Let her Majesty's advisers take good heed lest it prove to the Crown a " damnosa hereditas." India is not secure, and it never can be securely ours till a great change has been effected in the feelings of the people and in the machinery of Government. True it is that India has never known a rule under which she has enjoyed so large a measure of peace, prosperity, f. ecurity to life and property, and justice. True it is that, whatever may be the objections of Hindoo or Mussulman to our persons, our manners, our religion, • or our institutions, they will admit that our rule has in general been just and our pur poses high. They may dislike the Englishman, but they must allow the Sircar Company has been in the main an able, a powerful, and a just Govern ment. But that is not enough ; for the future there must be changes in the whole system of Government and in our social relations with the people of India, and it must be established in practice, as it is proclaimed in theory, that the time is come when India shall be, governed for its own good; and not for the advantage of a small fraction of a small class of Englishmen. The native prophecy has now been justified. The rule of the Company lasted 100 years ; it has ceased to exist in the very year which popular seers and popular passions fixed upon for its extinction, but in its place has- arisen the throne of England, and the same race under a different name and aspect will hold sway over the vast provinces and the myriad populations which have been given to us in trust for some greater purpose than the growth of indigo, or the cultivation of sugar and cotton. It will no longer suffice for us to be content with the limited credit which may be derived, from the com parison of our administration with that of Akbhar or Aurungzebe. After a long and troubled infancy, India has been weaned, and is now handed over to the Imperial Government. But it has been weaned in tears and in blood ; it is torn by fierce passions, and it will require many a year of anxious care before the effects of the contest have been effaced. We are now for the most part engaged in pro viding restraints and taking security against future excesses. In these very securities there is danger. In providing them we are exhausting our own means of self-protection, and in doing so we fail to do all that is required, for we still feel the necessity of using the native element in large proportions. As we have used it hitherto that element is full of hazardous matter. I venture to say that if the history of the Bengal army were written battalion by battalion, it would be found that nearly every regiment in it sometime or other had been disaffected and was tainted by traditions of disorder and infidelity. But there was a great conspiracy on the part of the Company, of its officers, and of the officers of the Queen's army to keep the country in the dark as to the real state of affairs. General after general lavished encomiums on an army which they now say they always knew to be unsound. General order after general order lauded the conduct of regi ments in the field wherein the sepovs had behaved notoriously ill ; Governors-General one after the other praised the army which was their secret fear and dread, or left India in ecstacies at its fidelity and discipline, till one more cautious, sagacious, and foreseeing than his predecessors told them that he left them without any just ground of complaint. As to the personal courage of the natives of India, either Hindoo or Mussuhnan, there is ample evi- clence, but it is iadividual and personal rather than collective and national. With great attachment to the externals they combine indifference to the spirit of discipline. They were more anxious to look like than to be soldiers, and, quiet and orderly as they were in appearance, I am told that the' Sepoys in reality were very great grumblers, readily discon tented, and very difficult to please. But so long as they were 40 inches round the chest and 70 inches in height, were well set up, looked well on parade, were smart at drill, and were clean and neat on duty, their officers opened their. eyes and shut -their ears. There is an illustration of Lord Clyde's which perhaps places their qualities as fighting soldiers on too low a level, but which is characteristic and strik ing :—" Take a bamboo and throw it against a tree —it will rebound and fall harmless to the ground. Tip it with steel and it will pierce deep. The bamboo is the Sepoy, the steel tip is the European soldier and officer." We are growing crops of these bamboos and have scarce enough steel to point them all. Let us try to use them as policemen's batons, instead of soldiers' spears. Let us, at all events, endeavour to prevent the resuscitation of the vices in the new corps which rendered the Sepoys different from the rest of their countrymen, and which gave them, as it were, a peculiar cha racter of their own. The Hindoo is easily satisfied; the Sepoy is readily discontented. The Hindoo is peaceable and humane ; the Sepoy has shown him self to be turbulent and cruel. Hew is the nature of the man changed in our service ? There are many people who will delight in proving that there is no change at all, and that the natives of India are all diabolical in thought, word, and deed, and, oddly enough, these are mostly the men who have come to India either to make their own fortunes, • and who view mankind through the vistas of a merchant's office or of a cotton-field, or to preach the Gospel of Christ to the benighted heathen. If these gentlemen be right, no attempt can be more hopeless than that of civilising the natives, or of converting them, and our efiorts are a huge mistake. But for my part I doubt it much. In addition to the many proofs of kindness, fidelity, and devotion of natives to Europeans, in the midst of the excesses and fanaticism and cruelty of the late rebellion, I have the testimony of many great and good men who know the faults and virtues of the natives well, and I learn that the Hindoo has many noble quali ties mingled with the vices of our common nature. The narrative of the escape of Mr. Dudman and his family through Oude, which appeared lately in the Delhi Gazette, abounds in most touching instances of the delicacy, generosity, and humanity of the peasantry of that unhappy province, at a most trying period.. I am no admirer of the Hindoo civilization or of the Mahomedan democracy, but I cannot be insen sible to the fact that there is an extremely ancient, refined, and complicated civilization among the Hindoos, and that there is a freedom and liberality in the social system of the Mussulmans in all that relates to the rights of the natural man which serve as some counterpoise to their intolerant and fanaticalreligions system. When we in England. talk of the barbarous tribes of India, or write of the barbarian empire of Hindostan, we are, to a great extent, guilty of the same ignorance and arrogance with which we justly taunt the Chinese. The legal judicial, and landed systems of India are exiremely ancient, and frequently so good that we have been glad to adopt por tions of them. Their police is one of, if not the oldest in the world. They have a written literature, ioetry, history, and religion. They are adepts in the fictile arts, in the manufac ture of beautiful fabrics, in plastic productions, in the work of the loom, and, though I cannot join the worshippers of their schools of music, painting, or sculpture, I may admit their antiquity, and give an ignorant adhesion to their merits. A Hindoo will tell you caste is the very extreme result of high civilisation, and if you argue with him he will point to your bearer, or indulge in reflections on some supposed wrongs of London chimney-sweepers and coal-whippers. It is urged against the Hindoo in the very words of one of the most powerful and able journals in India—one of the salt cakes that keeps so much poor meat from putrefaction--that we may well look with scorn on the race to which he belongs, because it "dare not eat what it likes" without the permis sion of its priests, or marry without their " con sent." But are there no other races in the same category? Nay, how many centuries have elapsed since our forefathers were in similar thraldom ? The races which discovered a new world and enriched the old were under these very influences. But I am satisfied, whenever there is sufficient cause for .it, all such unnatural restrictions will be disregarded, and. the Hindoo will:act in regard to them just as he does now when he is called upon to overcome his prejudices against a sea voyage for purposes of profit or business. He sees our superiority in most of the arts 'of life; and, even now, in spite of his prejudices, he is anxious to know something °Rho history, the language, and the faith of his masters. I am obliged, unfortunately, to say "he" for "she" —the great civiliser is at present out of our power. The Indian wife and mother—Hindoo or Maho medan—who should be our best ally, is often our greatest foe. The largestbenefit that could be con ferred on India would be done by him who should. devise the means of availing themselves of that gentle and all-powerful agency, and who could enlist the sympathies of Englishwomen in India in the cause of their own countrymen and in the cause of our Imperial rule. This is a vital question, to which I would respectfully invite the consideration of all CI ristian philanthropists. If we must have trmios of police and legions of Sepoys let us endeas our to elevate the men to the rest of their countrymen. The Brahmins were the most violent and prejudiced and troublesome of Hindoos. They were the favourite staple of our army. But just consider the force of prejudice. Listen to the voices of the Indian press. One gentleman writes : " Our police force has its head-quarters at the Dilaranake-Kotee, and every morning one may witness the drilling of that force which, with the aid of Europeans, is to hold Lucknow and Oude in future. It is a pity that so many regiments of this force are composed chiefly of miserable looking low caste fellows, who will never be able to look Jack Pandy in the face." Another says--- "Pandy has gone wrong and deserves all that he is getting ; but until he went mad in 1857, he was a good orerly and after every Pandy who has borne arms against the State has been hung, there is no reason why other Pandies should not be en listed ; for myself, I would rather serve with them than with the dirty, unworthy, ungentlemanly (Pandy was a gentleman) set of strange bedfellows, with whom misfortune has made us acquainted." Now for another phase of opinion. A man of inquiring mind, amid a long string of questions addressed to an Agra paper, has the following : "If there is any intention of raising a foreign legion in the south of Europe for India, men of warm latitudes are far more likely to be useful soldiers than these snivelling blacks of India, with their treachery and caste. " I earnestly hope that there will now be no more colonial regiments or artillery whatsoever ; for to me it appers dreadful the thought of colonial, service in a climate like India, surrounded by lying Hindoos and Mahomedans ; and, though I believe the Bengal Artillery to be the finest in the world, still is it fair to expect regiments who never go home to England to equal those who periodically do so?" " Snivelling blacks," " treachery , and caste," " lying Hindoos and M a h o m e d ans , ' " low-caste fellows," " Pandy was a gentleman," &c. Here is a strange melange for you, and yet it is a fair repre sentation of what is called " Indian public opinion" on this and many other questions. We may well invoke the influence of the calmer and sounder sen timents which prevail at home, and feel thankful for the opportunity of their legiti ma t e exerc i se i n the great field which is about to be opened to the o t r ic e g , n our a settlements, domestic statesman and the atte l im e o g n, is oo la fu t r o j r usf . our Ci ur revenue adin i administration policy, will all require the application of fixed prin ciples and the scrutiny of our ablest men. In the hills amid which I am now writing our policy has been so diverse and fantastic as to have endangered ty o o u e a r sr hs reputation cs for sus h . n o p n o l oi s ef t y t te o a r n r dto avoidryj u s a t t m i h c e e o . nh It S sh e a ne m md o . We, therefore, religiously respected the Hindoo rights of adoption, and in defect of heirs we sought out distant relatives and placed them on the " gud dees" of those little principalities. Now, our policy is a'tered—we desire the acquisition of territory in the Hills. There is a daydream of colonisation and tea planting in the minds of some of our people, and we wish to " define our frontier," therefore, the right of adoption is denied. We rigidly scru tinise the claims and the legitimacy of heirs, and the natives, whose memories are long, look on and wo a der. There is among the Hindoos, as there is among all nations which possess great antiquity and historic families, a profound respect for old houses, and for tne descendants of those who were coeval with the early records of their race, no matter in what po sition fate may have placed them, or their own per sonal insignificance, or the worthlessn es of their forefathers. Mea Beer Sein, who boasts that he is sprung from " 40 generat i ons o f Ragpoots in the Hills," is to his people an object of attachment, ipsafitcto, to which th e most philanthropic governor of our race could never pretend. But when, in addition to this, it is notorious to all his neighbours that his father was one of our bulwarks against Ru ijeet Singh, that he withstood the wiles and force of that great chief, and persisted in his alli ance with the strangers, their sympathy with his ~" -.