The Sun. — London, England, 1858-09-20 00:00:00

103------lEATRE-ROYAL, DRURY-LANE. Under the Management of Miss L. Pyne and Mr. W. Harrison. THIS EVENING, Balfe's ROSE OF CASTILLE :Miss Louisa Pyne, Miss Susan Pyne, Miss M. Prescott ; Mr. Fer dinand Glover, Mr. A. St. Albyn, Mr. George Honey, Mr. Bartleman, and Mr. W. Harrison. Conductor—Mr. Alfred Mellon. To conclude with a Ballet Divertissement : Mdlles. Zilia Michelet, Pasquale, and 31orlacchi. THEATRE -ROYAL, HAYMARKET. Lessee, Mr. J. B. Buckstona. THIS EVENING will be performed THE RIVALS : Messrs. Buckstone, Howe, W. Firren, and Chippendale ; Mesdames Reynolds, B. White, E. Fitzwilliam. &c. After which, THE • DAUGHTER OF THE GUADAL• QUIVER. I'erea Nona. Followed by THE BALANCE OF COMFORT. And MY HUSBAND'S GHOST. Commence at 7. ROYAL LYCEU M THEATRE Manager, Mr. Edmund Falconer. Great Success. The New Comedy o TEXT Mellon (late Woolgar), Mrs. Weston, Miss Kate Saxon, Messrs. Emery, J. Rogers, E. Falconer, and Barrett, EVERY EVENING. To conclude with the New Farce, entitled TOO MUCH FOR GOOD NATURE. Messrs. Emery, J. Rogers, Mrs. Weston, and Miss Kate Saxon. Doors open at half-past 6, to commence at 7. Box-office open from 11 to 5 daily. ROYAL STRAND THEATRE. Lessee and Directress, Miss Swanborough. HIS EVENING, NOTHING TO NURSE ; Mr. Swan boTrough, Mrs. Selby. After which THE LAST OF THE PIGTAILS ; Messrs. C. Selby, J. Bland, and J. Clarke, &c. Followed by THE BONNIE FISH WIFE. And I'LL WRITE TO THE TIMES. Commence at 7 o'clock. ANTERBURY HALL, Westminster-road.- - N--/ OPEN EVERY EVENING.—The following Company of Vocalists are engaged for the performance of Selections from all the popular OPERAS, MADRIGALS, CHORUSES, GLEES, DUETS, &c., viz.:—Miss Russell, Mrs. Badsey, Miss Brunell, Miss Ray, Madame Bartoletti, Miss Montague, Mrs. Lawrence, and Mrs. Anderson ; Herr F. Jonghmans, Mr. Renshaw, S. Jones, J. Barker, W. Melling, S e nor Antonio, E. L. Rime, Mr. Badsey, Senor Tirol i, Mr. Cozens, Mr. Bell, Mr. Barnard, and Mr. St. Albyn. Mr. John G. Forde and E. W. Mackney. Pianoforte, Mr. Cecil Hicks—Harmonium, Mr. Courtnay—Director, Herr F. Jonghmans. Commence at 7 precisely. Suppers, dec., until 12 o'clock. NOTICE. -Arlie Proprietor begs respectfully to announce teat in the month of October, A FINE ARTS GALLERY, • now in course of construction, will be thrown open in con sexton with the above Hall. THE WEATHER.—SvN Orricr, SEPT. 19. THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE. 71—highest since noon yesterday. - 50—lowest this morning and during the night. 62—this day at noon. BAROMETER-40'10. Wisp, S.W. ; fresh, with rain. SEPT. 20. 62—highest since noon yesterday. 57—lowest this morning and during the night. 63—this day at noon. BAROMETER-30 .24 . WIND, South-Westerly ; light, with dull weather, and some rain in the night. THE SUN. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1858. Last week we once more pointed out that at all times, even when a monetary panic was destroying the welfare and prosperity of . Great Britain, and the independence and happiness of the industrial classes, it was not capital but currency that was wanting. We possessed substantial property in its most eligible forms. All the necessaries, comforts, and luxuries of life were at our command, but unfortunately a measure and representative was wanting ; and if the bank-note remained always convertible on demand—which converti bility, by the way, was only endangered by the precautions adopted to ensure it—property and commodities of all other descriptions were rendered practically inconvertible, because they could not be exchanged fora fair and bona fide equivalent. It is not fair to the manufacturer or the wholesale or retail dealer to expect that they should all sub mit to alarming and ruinous sacrifices in order that the " hard calculators" who advocate the PEEL OVERSTONE restrictions embodied in the Act of 1844 should be enabled to realise enormous profits on the commodity at their disposal—the only one that could be profitably parted with during the crisis. " The many" should not be ruined in order that a few should obtain the command of almost fabulous wealth. The money-changers were not the only parties to receive protection from the State ; there were many other pursuits having at least equal claims for sympathy and assistance. The real capital of a country consists in its accu mulated products of labour. It is by labour alone that raw materials are obtained, to be turned to still greater advantage by the application of other and possibly more skilful work. Even mother earth does not yield forth her fruits or cereals spontaneously. The experienced and careful hand of the husbandman is required to plant, prune, graft, train, and pluck the tempting produce, or to manure, plough, sow, reap, and garner up the harvest. The search for gold is but one class of labour— one the least eligible to its votaries, and which is not available to any of our home population. They cannot make gold, or dig it forth from their native soil, but still they must find it. The case has never been paralleled since PHAROAII ordered that the straw should be withheld from the Israelites, but that, , nevertheless, they should pro duce their daily tale of bricks. We have flocks and herds in abundance—every description of agricultural produce stored up, and machinery fabricated with almost miraculous skill and ingenuity, so as to render the toil of the work- ing classes less oppressive ; we have public build ings, and private dwellings admirably adapted for the purposes for which they are required, and furniture suitable for all classes, from the Sovereign to the peasant, and works of art by the most illustrious masters, and less pretentious ones, which, nevertheless, are well suited to advance a nation's taste. With these we should be rich, if there were not a single ounce of coined gold or silver in the realm, and it is ridiculous to say that we must undergo _periodical sufferings of a very fearful character, merely because it suits the cur rency quacks to introduce restrictive regulations on the very " life-blood of industry." What would be thought if the inhabitants of a district were in want of bread, and there was an abundant supply of corn at hand, they should be permitted to perish miserably, because the work ing gear of the corn-mill usually resorted to was out of order, and the authorities would not permit any other to be used. They - would certainly be termed knaves, and those who submitted to so ab surd a regulation would justly be regarded as fools of the most degraded kind. The simple fact which we last week referred to, that the rate of interest on permanent investments never varies more than from 1 to 1, or from, £3 to £3 10s. per cent., while the discount, or price, for temporary advances vibrates between 2 and 2 per cent., is another clear and convincing proof that our resources are still ample for every emergency, and that it is currency only that is wanting. In fact the people are tantalised by being starved in the midst of plenty. The cup is at their very lips, but is withdrawn at the moment that it should be quaffed. We have already stated that no more favourable o pportunity can be anticipated for a modification of our monetary system than the present time. Confidence has at lehgth been restored. The people do not care for bullion.. The aura sacra fames has , s ' ^ , I: •,•;,4 • - -11110 -ag6 •- 10 4 -,Atz, - 7, 11104 been appeased. There is no desire for hoarding specie. Anything that possesses the purchasing power, that can satisfy the demands of the tax gatherer, the rate-collector, the landlord, butcher, or baker, will be sufficient. This, then, is the time to shake off the incubus that has so long oppressed the country—the " old man of the sea," that has paralysed the energies of the modern SINBAD—a change that would be hailed with cordial approbation by every disinterested and unprejudiced person when there was no difficulty or distress, could not possi bly be introduced at a season of distrust and panic. The introduction of really national notes, recover able in payment of every duty, tax, and liability, and of convenient denominations, would be just as beneficial to the country as if an equal amount of bullion had been dug up in the heart of England. This is, or at least was, the doctrine of Mr. JAMES WILSON, and yet he has been an assenting party to the report of the Bank Committee to which we have already directed public attention. The despicable cowardice of the rebel forces in Hindostan has been apparent from the very com mencement. Their atrocities were perpetrated at the outset upon the most weak and the most help less—upon those who were the least capable of re sistance. Their swords were brandished against women and children. A single officer was cut down here and there when effectually surrounded by a mob of insurgents. Wherever a few faithful soldiers could be collected together under the lead of ast English gentleman—whether a member of the civil service, or a wearer of the QUEEN'S or the Company's epaulettes—it was in its effect upon the dastardly Sepoy multitude like the 'explosion of a bombshell. The swarms of murderers were scat- tered by the small but terrible apparition. Vent geance was emblazoned upon the banner of every British Regiment. Humanity, justice, right, truth, all lent their aid to strengthen the arm of every avenger of the murdered innocents. Hence it was literally as the advance of a little life-boat through the 'terrors of a tempestuous sea 'when General HAVELOCK advanced with his little band of heroes, and struggled on through that wilderness of rebe, lion to the wreck foundering in the distance—the beleaguered garrison of Lucknow. Had the rebel army possessed anything like an ordinary amount of courage they might have readily made such a stand against that comparatively (numerically) insignificant Forlorn Hope under Sir HENRY HAVELOCK, that they might, by the sheer force of an enormous preponderance, have held it at bay, if they could not actually have expelled it or doomed it to annihilation. Instead of which history will tell the glorious sequel—the survivors of Lucknow cut their way like a flaming thunderbolt through that multitude of insurgents right on to their remote destination. A handful of British troops proved more than a match for a host of Sepoy rebels. To speak thus is to give utterance to no idle vaunting—it is merely to record a fact that has been again and again reiterated. Addi tional testimony of this has been afforded by every mail arrived from Calcutta—the latest evidence being by no means the least remarkable. MAUN SING is besieged in his fortress at Shah gunge, in the vicinity of Fyzabad. General Sir HUGH GRANT, with a little phalanx of no more than 3,500 English soldiers, sets forth for the relief of that distant fortress—then sur rounded by a rebel army nearly 50,000 strong—an army consisting of 8,000 cavalry and 40,000 infan try, 10,000 of the latter being Sepoys. While GRANT'S force is yet fourteen miles from Shah gunge, the army of 50,000 insurgents breaks up into three divisions, and retreats precipitately. A correspondent at Lucknow writes—" The rebels at Durreabad, 10,000 strong, melted into particles on our approach.* It has been the same everywhere in that miserable scene of rebellion. Nowhere in Bengal have the rebels proved other than the meanest curs when opposed to the merest handful of the troops of the Company or of the Sovereign. Yet even now the most cruel of all the chiefs of the insurrection, NANA SAHIB, evades our grasp, having, according to the latest accounts, retreated with a considerable force, with no more, however, than four pieces of ordnance, safely and effectually within the Nepaul territories. The capture of this nhum an wretch would, without doubt, be better (with a view to the crushing out of the scattered flames of the rebellion) than the relit of another army of insurgents. It is earnestly to be hoped that justic€ will yet track him, and that speedily, beyond the frontiers of Nepaul. When he remains no longer at large we may hope, but not previously, to hear of the triumphal close of Lord CLYDE'S campaign for the putting down of the Sepoy Re bellion. COURT CIRCULAR. BAL3IORAL, SEPT. 16, Her Majesty the Queen and his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, attended by the Earl of Derby, Lady Churchill, and Major-General the Hon. Charles Grey, drone to Mar-lodge. His Royal Highness the Prince Consort went out deer stalking. The royal dinner party included her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, Lord and Lady James Murray, Miss Victoria Stuart Wortley, and Dr. Robertson. SEPT. Her Majesty the Queen drove with her Royal Highness Princess Helena and his Royal Highness Prince Arthur, accompanied by Lady Churchill. His Royal Highness the Prince Consort and his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales went out shooting, attended by Lord James Murray, Licut-Colonel Ponsonby, and Major Teesdale. Mr. and Mrs. Farquharson, of Invercauld, had the honour of receiving invitations to dinner in the evening. Mr. Edmund Constantine Henry Phipps, attache to her Majesty's Mission at Mexico, has been appointed attache at Berlin. DESPATCH OF AMERICAN MIILS.—LIVERPOOL.— The British and North American mail steamship Arabia sailed on Saturday with 90 passengers, a full cargo, and the mails for the United States. On Wednesday next the Canadian packet Nova Scotian sails for Quebec with the Canadian and North American mails. The box at the post ofilce closes at 8.45 a.m. On Saturday next the royal mail steamer Canada leaves for Boston with the American maiis. The box at the post-office closes at 7.30 a.m., with a late fee at 8.30 a.m., and at the landing at 9.30 a.m. THE CHINESE TREATY.—The Hon. F. - W. A. Bruce ' brother of his Excellency the Earl of El gi n, the bearer of the treaty between this country and the Emperor of China, arrived in town on Saturday from Marseilles and China. The hon. gentleman, immediately after his arrival, waited on the Under-Secretary of State, Mr. Seymour Fitz gerald, M.P., at the Foreign-office, and had an interview. A few hours later the Hon. Mr. Bruce left town for Knowes ley-park, Lancashire to meet the E ar l o f D er by, w h o was expected to arrive there on Saturday from attendance on the Queen at Balmoral. RISE IN THE RENT OF SALMON FISIIINGS,—On Friday last the fishings on the Tay, belonging to the Earl of Wemyss, were let by public roup, and brought £2,474 of annual rent ; last year's rental was £2,107, making a rise of £367. His lordship's fishings in the Earn brought £166 ; last year they were £l2l. Lord Gray's fishings have also been let privately, we understand, at a rise of from three to four hundred pounds. The rental of the salmon fishing on the Tay has risen as much as fourteen or fifteen hundred pounds above last year' s rent. It i s cer t a i n l y a great rise, but the alteration of the close time gives hope of a good spring fishing as the river is at present swarming with salmon.—Rdiniergh Express. DEATH IN A RAILWAY CARRIAGE.—On Friday a corpulent gentleman left London by the 2.30 a.m. train on the London and North-Western Railway. He was then in his usual health, appeared quite well, and conversed freely with his fellow-passengers until the train was a few miles from the station at Atherstone, when he was observed to droop his head on his shoulder, and almost immediately afterwards he expired. Tho body was removed from the carriage on the arrival of the train at Atherstone, where it awaits a coroner's inquest. At present nothing is known either of his residence or name, but in his pockets was found chiefly in gold.—Manchester Guardian. nearly £2 O TACKLE FOR LADIES.—The ne gives the following description of a patent, ated , RIGGING of ladies ' dresses. • the skirts Feb. 3, 1858 :—Sqmproved apparatus for girdle with cords united at one end consists in the uses of a th extremities a attached to the in a knot, whilst their o _er u ,Mechanics' t and .d H I lowering by han d e ar the knot the ganient. By drawing them P distance rg . aluired, uniformly all r ar ittn essi d will ,Tre r o a e is rds ed ttr to e the paSs ed over lillueYea" THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 20, 1858. LATEST NEWS. INDIA AND CHINA MAILS, (By ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.) SOUTHAMPTON, MONDAY MORNING. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam ship Pera, Captain Jamieson, has arrived. She left Alexandria on the 7th inst., Malta the 15th. She brings 18 packages specie, value not stated, 1.777 bales and 15 cases silk, 59 cases shawls, &c. She also brings 162 passengers, and landed 40 at Malta. The Hon. F. W. A. Bruce, with the new treaty concluded with China for the signature of her Majesty, proceeded via Marseilles ; also the Mar quis de Bellecourt, bearer of the French treaty for the autograph ; and Doctor Bradley, bearing the American treaty. FRANCE. PARIS, SUNDAY. BOURSE, September 18, Two o'clock.—The mar ket has been buoyant, and prices show some im provement. Threes have been done at 73f. sc. and 73f. 15c. ; Mobilier varied from 967 f. 50e. to 9601. ; Orleans, 1,432 f. 50c. to 1,435 f. ; Northern, 1,0051. to I,olof. ; Lyons, 877 f. 50c. to 885 f.; Eastern, 750 f. to 755 f. ; Southern, 612 f. 50c. to 617 f. 50c. ; and Austrian, 6901. to 687 f. 50c. At half-past three the following were the last quotations :- 41. per Cents. .... 96 Credit Foncier 675 Do. end month .. Belgian 41 3 per Cents. 73 Piedmontese (5) Do. end month.... 73 10 Roman 92 50 Bank Shares 3140 Austrian — Credit Mobilier 962 50 Spanish Threes Do. Account 962 50 Home Debt 4O city the deaths for the week ending the 7th were 450. Two or three persons had been killed by an cident on the Hudson. River Railroad. The mission to Paraguay had been tendered to Judge James B. Bowlin of Missouri. The returns of the Vermont elections showed the following result : —Republicans, 50; Democrats, 11 ; no choice, 1. The vote for members of Congress ran nearly with the State ticket, and each of the Republican candidates were elected by a very large majority. Advices from Great Salt Lake City report that the election had resulted in favour of none but Mormons. The average vote for them was 1,018 ; that for the " Gentile" list 37. Advices from Mexico state that the Liberals, cap tured Tampico on the 25th ult. Gen. Miramon and the Reactionists were hotly pressed. Gen. Vidaurri was concentrating 10,000 men at San Luis, with the intention of marching on the capital. Funds were plenty. A fearful gale and inunda tion occurred at Brazos on the 26th ult. The New York commercial advices of the 7th report the rate of exchange on London as 109 , 1 to 1091. The bank statement of the week, as com pared with the preceding returns, showed a decrease of 198,584 dols. in loans, and 580,367 dols. in the nominal deposits, while there was an increase of 214,460 dols. in the undrawn deposits, 231,658 dols. in specie, and 281,403 in circulation. Cotton was active ; the quotation for middling Uplands was 12a to 131. Breadstuffs were heavy and unsettled, at a reduction of about sc. to 10c. for all common and medium_iit , SEPT.Kgra 9 ? EVENING. grades. The demand for wheat was fair. Corn was rather lower. NEW yo The sales of cotton in this market during the past lands firm, two days foot up 4 , 000 bales. Prices iiiiddli r n e g ve u ry p b and n g generally quotea s 1 1a li c t . 1 y lower r e r while for wheat Breadstuffs have a declining tendency. Flour is easier, but not quotably i3g and Indian corn prices have receded lc. .to 2c. per bushel. Provisions are steady at the prices advised per mail. The stock-market is dull, and prices of the lead ing securities are rather easier. Messrs. Neill, Brothers, and Co., under this day's date, quote middling uplands here at 131 e. with a firmer market. Their account? of the growing crop tontine bad, and the receipts and exports are quite ght. HALIFAX, SEPT. 9. The royal, mail steamship Asia; from Liverpool, arrived here early on the morning of the Bth, and we learn from Webee that the steamship North American has reached that port. NEW YORK, SEPT. 9. The screw steamship City of Baltimore sailed hence at noon to-day for Liverpool, having on board 26 cabin and 200 steerage passengers. 'BY ELECTRIC AND INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH, LIVERPOOL, SEPT. 20. The screw steamship64W Baltimore has ar rived in the Mersey, bringing advices from New York to the 9th inst., and 97,341 dols. in specie and gold bars. On the 9th the City of 'Baltimore passed the steamer Pacific and the ship Towler, bound in ; on the 17th the barque Chieftain, bound west ; and on the 19th, off Maiden Light, the royal mail steamer Arabia, bound west. This passage of the City of Baltimore is one of the most extraordinary on record for a screw steamer. The suspension of despatches by tie Atlantic Telegraph had occasioned anxiety, and Mr. Cyrus Field had published the following despatch " Sir,—l have received from Newfoundland a despatch informing me that although the insulation of the ocean cable remains perfect no message has come over it for several days. " The last telegraphic despatch that I received from England was dated London, Sept. 1. "What may be the cause of the cessation we don't know, but conjecture that it is the change of the shore end at Valentia, which I was informed was about to be made ; but it should also be stated that Professor Thomson was to succeed Professor Whitehouse in a series of experiments upon the cable ; and, although his system was re garded by all practical telegraphers in England as perfectly childish, it is quite possible that the pre sent delay in transmitting , intelligence is attributa ble to Thompson's experiments. " It was also known at the sailing of the Africa that the directors, despairing of satisfactory results from the sysiems of Professors Whitehouse and Thompson, had arranged with Professor Hughes to take charge of the electrical department of the com pany's business, and it was expe - Aed that the Hughes's printing telegraph instrument would be placed at Trinity Bay and Valentia on or about the 20th or 21st inst., and from the experiments made while the cable was at Plymouth there is no rea sonable doubt that Professor Hughes will be able to transmit , intelligence through the cable reliably, and at the rate of about 300 words per hour." " CYRUS W. PIELD. " New York, Sept. 8." The Goyernment had agreed to accept the offer of the COlonisation Society in respecf to 'the-cap tured Africans. The American and Republican Convention were in session at Syracuse ; the lion. Daniel T. Jones was appointed President of the former, and the Hon. Daniel Ullman, President of the latter. The closing prices of stocks were as follows : New York Central, 791 to 79a; Erie, 181 to 181 ; Reading, 49 to 491 ; Galena, 831 to 831 ; Rock Island, 721 to 721 ; Hudson River, 281 to 28a ; Toledo, 341 to 34a • Michigan Southern, 241 to 24a ; Milwaukie and Mississippi, 17 to 171 ; Michi gan Central, 581 to 581 ; Hadem, 101 to 101 ; Mis souri Sixes, 841 to 841. The foreign exchange-market was unchanged. Ashes were quiet. Cotton was firm, and more active. Scotch pig iron in moderate request. Sales of molasses moderate. Spirits of turpentine weak. Breadstuffs unchanged. Freights to British - ports rather firmer. Sugars without change. PROGRESS OF 4 USTR.ILLI. In 1835 the first settlement was made inVictoria, whence, up to 1851, the population went on increas ing. gradually until it reached 77,345 .souls in a period of 16 years ; but from that date to March 31, 1851, little more than six years, it jumped, it may be said, to 469,637 soul s . The revenue, which in 1651 was only £316,532 derived from all sources, was £3,308,589 in 1857 ; of which latter sum hod of receipts t u rue s r e cee , ii i pn n t c B3 l ü bB s s y i l N: , seva o al f s.l3l: g r4 : o l l d 9o,o4 e x,900p08,0r consequently;t d 3u u t t in . £1,595,283 was derived from receipt s a tth e Custom erlela s y h e e i n d e e x x p c e e n s popu lation required greatly increased expenditure, and unavoidable outlays for roads, bridges, and other public works. The expenditure in 1857 was, not withstanding, far within the revenue, andamounted to £3,163,689. The number of vessels employed in carrying on the export and import trade of the colony has increased 208- per cent, since 1851, when there were 710 ships entered inwards at the Custom-house at Melbourne, but 2,190 in 1857 ; the tonnage has advanced between the same dates 438 per cent., from 128,959 to 694,564 tons; and the hands employed 549 per cent., from 7,735 to 34,777 men. The exports in 1851 were declared at the value of £1,422,909, but at £15,079,512 in 1857. The imports in 1851 gave a total value of £1,056,439 ; but in 1857 they were returned at £17,256,209, the greater proportion of which were from the mother .country. As, to postal. inter course, which is a safe barometer of the progress of nations, .we find that no less than 2,415,933 letters, and. 1,333,639 newspapers were de livered inland; "and a shipment made to other countries of 1,484,048 l e tt e rs, and 1,648,531 neWspap e r s , i n 1857. In reference to pub lie works, these statistics show that in 1851 there was not a single mile of'macadamised road made . beyond the towns of Melbourne and Geelong ; but at the close of 1847 there were 450 miles of road formed, 270 of whi c h were • m acadamised ; 300 bridges erected, a n d many miles of viad ucts con structed, at a cost a l toge th er of £4,12 1 , 848 ; and without referenc e t o out l ays to a considerab le extent, by district r oa d boards. Two line s of rail• way had been const r u c t e d by private companies. The first from Melb ourne to H o bsOn's , Bay . , with a branch to St. Kild a , a t a cos t of £365,240 inclusive of rolling s t oc k, on w hi c h th e profits are about 19 per cent., a n d a ft er d e d uct i ng expe nses and adding. to the reserve f un d, le ave 14 per cent. pev annum to the shareholde rs . Th e o ther line is that of the Geelong and Melbourne, open to Williamstown, 40 miles, at a cost of £590,576. Two trunk lines are to be constructed by the Government. Of commu nications by electric agency, no less than 701 miles have been established in the colony, at a cost of £70,000. There are 22 stations, at an annual expense of £lB,OOO. The lines are to Sandhurst, via Castlemaine, 102 miles ; to Belvoir, Murray River, 191 miles ; t o th e S o uth Australian boun dary, near Nelson, Gl ene lg River, via Geelong, Ballarat, &c., 336 miles to Port Phillip Bay , at Queenscliff, via G ee l ong , 70 miles; and to Sand ridge and the harbour o f Hobson's Bay, 24- miles. Such are some of the heads given in the report, and they are sufficient, we think, to show the vast im portance of this colony, and the probability there is of still greater increase in every department ; but if anything further is necessary, we will mention that in 1851 there were only . six banks, and that now there are 54, the p a id up capital of which £5,423,694. .2 .Tournae of Sept: 18. 'IIE PRIArCE A LF_RED AND MILFORD HAVEN. ' RAILWAYS. Cash. Account. Orleans Northern lOOO .. 1005 New ditto. 845 .. 845 Lyons and. Mediterranean BBO .. 885 New ditto — —. .. —.— G eneva — .. 665 Midi Western 650 .. 652 50 Eastern Grand Central Sardinian 466 25 .. 465 Austrian SPAIN. The Madrid journals of the 14th have reached us. The Gazette publishes telegrams from Lugo, stating that their Majesties and the Royal family arrived there on the preceding day in perfect health, and were received with acclamations ; their Majesties spent the day at Lugo, received the authorities, heard. . mass in the cathedral, visited the hospital and nunnery, and presented their children to the people, the most enthusiastic ac clamations being raised at the sight of the Prince and Princess, The Gazette contains a Royal decree by which some unimportant modifica tions are made in the laws of public instruc tion. Hopes were entertained that the cabinet, in the bill on the preis which it is preparing, will propose the abolition of the censorship. Some of the journals again demand a reduction of the im port duties on foreign paper. A ministerial organ says :—" A rather unusual number of journals have been seized during the last few days, but that is on acconnt of cynical remarks having been made by them on subjects that are not within the proper domain of the press. No newspaper needs fear seizure, if it keep within the limits that alone can make a press a legitimate organ of public opinion." A pardon had been granted to M. Juanco, respon sible editor of the Epoca, who was lately condemned to several months' imprisonment for insulting M. Collantes, an ex-Minister. The police had dis covered a clandestine gunpowder manufactory at Alcazor de San Juan. The Queen had made a valuable present to Mlle. Valeria de Paniega, who is about to marry the Duke de Malakoff. A letter from Santander mentions the arrival of Baron Hub ner, Austrian Ambassador to the French Court, and states that he intends visiting the Asturias and the provinces of Leon and Old Castille. AMERICA. LIVERPOOL,Sm. 18. The Royal Mail steamship Canada, Captain Lang, has arrived with the New York mails of the 7th, Boston of the Bth, and advices from the former port via Halifax to the 9th. She has brought 101,250 dollars in specie on freight. The Canada passed the Asia on the 9th, and on the 11th the ships Oceana and Bothnia. The Fulton had reached New York, after landing advices at Cape Race. The Pacific, from Galway, reached Halifax on the night of the 4th. The destruction of the Quarantine buildings at Staten Island and the brutal treatment of the sick had elicited a very strong proclamation from the Governor of New York State. At the conclusion of it he says : " And I declare that by reason of the acts and proceedings herein referred to, and the refusal of the Sheriff of the county •of Richmond (although repeatedly notified that threats had been made to destroy the public property at the Quarantine) to take any steps to prevent the consummation of those threats, and the absolute necessity for an adequate force to protect the buildings to be erected for the sick on the very site where they stood, until provision shall be made by law for the removal to some other place, and to release the police force withdrawn from the general service of the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and now stationed at Quarantine, that the county of Rich mond is in a state of insurrection, and in order to assist in preserving and to protect the property of the State, and the lives of the sick that a military force of silfficient strength shall be detailed and stationed at the Quarantine till the returning sense of the people of Richmond county to their duties and obligations as useful citizens shall render its presence unnecessary, or until the Legislature shall otherwise direct." Large sheds were being erected for the temporary , lodgment of the invalids. They had suffered most severely. A newspaper, referring to their treatment, says : " We think a good deal more of Nana Sahib now than we used to do. His atrocities at Cawnpore were horrid enough, but were they more horrid than the conduct of certain individuals on Staten Island towards the sick during the hospital burn ing there on Thursday night last ? According to the (official) report of Dr. Bissel, the treatment of the yellow fever and smallpox patients was of the most barbarous description. Indeed (we quote the Doctor), during the whole time they were half suffocated and roasted, and the nurses and others had to throw water over them every three minutes, to keep them from burning to death !' If this be true, then, in the name of humanity, let us try and christianise Tomkinsvill, before trying to redeem the barbarians of Caffraria, Polynesia, or Japan. But is it true ? Can it be true ?" A number of persons -occupying . high positions have b'een arrested. The frigate Sabine had been anchored near the shipping . at Quarantine, by order of the Commodore at the Navy Yard, to afford any protection which might be required. It is stated that 500 of the National Guard had been ordered to the scene of riot. It is reported that the captured Africans were to be landed on the coast of Liberia, under the charge of a special agent, and kept and supported there by the United States Government until they could be otherwise provided for. The American Colonisa tion Society had proposed to the Government to take care of the Africans on their arrival at Liberia, and maintain them one year for 50,000 dollars, and in the meantime send them to school, and teach them how, by industrial pursuits, to support them selves after the expiration of that period. A number of persons had waited upon Colonel Carew, the Sheriff of Charleston district, and laid before him formal information of the fact that a large number of free persons of colour had been brought into the harbour of Charleston, in the Echo, contrary to the Act of Assembly, passed in November, 1835. Acting on this information, the negroesNwc Therebr Sheriff addressed notes to Hon. J. W. Haynes, Attorney-General of the State, and Messrs. Whaley and Lord, his legal advisers. The latter argued that in States where negro slavery . exists to them must be left the manner in which free negroes entering therein are to be dealt with, and there fore advised the Sheriff of Charleston district to take into custody the Echo's negroes. James Conner, the United States' District Attorney, in structed the United States' Marshal to retain the diwanbnci Charleston I .m o lfees custody,in thtuhtenoAf; t ioh v erheni disease e c ), y_ h e jGl h o e e wn w ewfre a was svl e. Orleans was n a t a l h e i s na o on p o r sus taineda t be ginning to spread into the country. At the former TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,—In The Sun of Thursday, the 16th, there is a brief paragraph announcing the departure of the Prince Alfred from Neyland Pier, Milford Haven, on the previous Monday, with passengers for Australia and New Zealand. Short as that paragraph is, it contains two inaccuracies ; one of which, and the most serious, you will permit me to correct. Your correspondent states that the Prince Alfred left Neyland at 3.45, but " she only went so far as Milford, where, on account of some certain custom-house routine, she was detained until the following day ; another proof of the inconvenience to the trade and commerce of Pembroke Dock from the want of a custom-house at that place." The advantages of having a custom-house at Pembroke Dock would be undoubted ; the necessity of retain ing the one at. Milford is indisputable. The issue raised here by your corespondent, however, it is not now desirable to discuss ; but it is important to state that the Prince Alfred was clear of the Custom-house before two o'clock in the afternoon—that she left Neyland a little after five and steamed down to Milford in about half an hour. She then slackened speed to allow her owners — Messrs. Pearson and Coleman, of Hull—and about 50 invited guests and others, to disembark at Mil ford ; and after a detention of about five minutes she left, and she had steamed outside the harbour's mouth by seven o'clock that same evening. There was no delay whatever at Milford, save the five minutes to allow the owners and their friends to leave the vessel. The detention for a day on ac count of some Custom-house routine was purely imaginary on the part of your correspondent. I went down from Neyland to Milford on board the Prince Alfred, and therefore affirm only what I know. I have, moreover, seen the Custom-house offi cers on the matter, and Mr. Patterson, the collector of the customs, will, I am assured, corroborate my statement, if corroboration be necessary. I am, Sir, yours respectfully, W. P. WILLIAMS. Haverfordwest, Sept. 18; 1858. TO TWE EDITOR OF THE SUN. SIR,—An article in your paper of yesterday, copied probably from the Daily News, states that the Prince Alfred steamship, whick t left Milford Haven for Australia on the 13th instant, was de tained at Milford, after having started from the railway terminus at Neyland, by some Custom house difficulty, which proved the necessity for removing the Custom-house from Milford. Who ever furnished the information for that article must have known nothing of the facts, for I was one of , the visitors on board the ship, entertained by her hospitable owners, Messrs. Pearson and Co., and can vouch for the fact that the vessel only stopped a few minutes in the roadstead off Milford, on her way down the Haven, for the purpose of landing the owners and those of their visitors who had re mained on board to that point ; and as I was amongst them, I can also 'state that I saw the vessel continue her course,' after we left her, to the mouth of the Haven, six or seven miles past Mil ford. Perhaps :the key to the story may be found in the fact, that a party at Neyland is trying to obtain the removal of the Custom-house from Milford to that part of the Haven. [A VISITOR. Milford, Sept. 18, 1858. THE WET DOCK OF VILLAFRANCA (From Galignani's Messenger.) A correspondent sends us the following amusing letter from Nice, dated the 16th. The portion which gives information to persons seeking that seaport for the autumn months is well worth attention : " The inhabitants of this town and of the whole line of coast as far as Genoa are in a wild state o excitement in consequence of a report being cur rent that the negotiations pending for some time past between the Sardinian Government and the Russian , Mediterranean Steam Navigation Com pany,' for the cession of the wet dock of Villa franca, have been at length brought to a satisfac toiy conclusion. One journal of this town goes so far as to name the amount which is to be paid by the Russian company (four millions), and it further announces that a monument will be erected by the inhabitants of Villafranca in honour of the Russian General Baggawoodt, who is said to have brought hie negotiations to a happy issue. These are, I believe, irresponsible statements ; and, al though no doubt exists with regard to the cession of the dock, it would be imprudent to consider the question definitively solved until the presence of the company's steamers shall have placed the matter beyond all dispute. There are political views mixed up with this cession which I will avoid discussing, particularly since it is not certain whether the ad vantages of the excellent port of Villafranca will be exclusively enjoyed by the commercial company, or be shared by the Russian vessels of war which may enter the Mediterranean waters. It is more satis factory to look at the practical features of the ques tion, and to feel assured that the welfare of the population of the coast will be greatly promoted by the presence of the Russian vessels. Where inaction now prevails, commerce and its healthy results will be introduced ; and the stimulant to industry which now fails will then become uni versal. As a proof of this, I may mention that hopes of facilitating the above cession inspired Lie municipality of Nice with the idea of forming a road along the coast to Villafranca. This idea was warmly embraced by the owners of the pro perty which the road would have to traverse ; and they willingly consented to waive all claim to pecuniary compensation. Villafranca stands at the extremity of a magnificent bay formed in por tion by the promontory which partly shelters the bay of Nice. The port is capacious and safe, and is at times visited by Sardinian war _vessels. The town is small and uninteresting ; it is at present garrisoned by a regim ent some two thousand strong, whereas a couple of companies held it in former days. The bay is tolerably well fortified, but no very effectual resistance could be offered to heavily-armed gunboats. Villafranca is con nected with Nice by a road open to carriages, but the hilly character of the country renders that mode of travelling most distressing. It is far more agreeable to walk the distance, which may be effected in a good hour and a half. The new road projected by the town of Nice will place the two ports within easy distance of each other, and Nice will naturally profit largely by the neighbourhood of the Russian company. _ The season has not yet commenced in Nice, and the few strangers who have already arrived feel themselves uncomfortable in the midst of the bustling, gesticulating popula tion of lodging-house keepers who fill the streets, chattering . over the winter .prospects and awaiting w ith feverish anxiety the arrivals of diligence and steamer in the hope of entrapping strangers. To wards the end of October the arrival becomes numerous, but long before that period the im patient lodging-housekeepers have despaired of the season and are willing to let their apartments at reduced prices. I should, therefore, recommend persons who intend passing the season at Nice to take their departure from Marseilles early in Octo ber ; they will stand the chance of finding a sea sufficiently calm to permit them to take the steam boat instead of incurring the martyrdom of a dili gence. Very rough weather can alone justify the adoption by travellers of the latter mode of travel ling. It is, however, only fair to add that the steamboat accommodation is most unsatisfactory, and speaks little for the commercial enterprise of Nice or Marseilles. The traveller would do well, on arriving in Nice, to look well about him before he engages apartments ; he must remember that it is the winter mistral he has to provide against, and not the heavy autumnal heat which oppresses him on his arrival. Let him, therefore, select a spot well favoured by the sun, and resist the blandishments of over-pressing house-owners. No thir g can equal the perserverance with which this class e_rive their business, as the following instance may prove :—On the steamboat which conveyed me from Marseilles were two members of the in terest in question—husband and wife. The lives of the passengers were rendered miserable by the incessant appeals of this couple. If a particularly beautiful sweep of the glorious coast excited the ad miration of some passenger, a voice at his elbow pre2laimed that the view from her windows was immeasurably superior. At a very moment or. period I asked for a basin ; the same voice in stantly offered me two furnished rooms and a kitchen. There was no escaping the nuisance, for the husband took up a formidable position afore, while the wife vigorously carried everything before her aft. A rival to Nice is starting up in the principality of Monaco, which enjoys a climate perhaps superior to Nice, and offers the pleasing recommendation of novelty. A sail from Nice to Monaco is delightful ; the native bark flies over the azure water in view of the most beautiful line of coast that can be desired. Villafranca, Beaulieu, St. Hospice, with its famous bouillabaisse, and Mount Gros are successively seen— their white walls emerging from groves of orange and lemon-trees, large, and heavy with fruit. Fig-trees and immense tracts of olive rise above these groves, and higher up still tower singularly-shaped rocks and mountains relieved by a sky of surpassing love liness. Monaco stands on a bold rock which rises abruptly from the sea. Fortifications venerable with age, and impregnable in days of old, frown on the traveller, who doubles the rock and enters a captiva- ting little port. The ascent to Monaco is so steep that a new town, with excellent hotels, is springing up for the accommodation of visitors in the valley bathed by the port. A bathing establishment and a magnificent cursaal have been commenced here by a Societe de Jeux' on the Baden-Baden and Homburg principle. But this establishment over-estimated its strength, and entered into building enterprises above its re sources. The consequence is that the buildings are deserted by workmen, that the bank has been compelled to close, and that the croupiers—in order to avoid the endless inquiries of the in habitants as to when the debts which are owing to them will •be liquidated—retire into sheltered nooks of the rock, where they angle for fish, en attendant that the arrival of funds shall permit them to cast their nets for more profitable prey. It is said that these funds will shortly be supplied by the shareholders of the Wiesbaden establishment, who apparently find this species of investment more profitable than old-fashioned three per cents. with the guarantee of the State. At a short distance from Monaco stands the town of Menton, equally beautifully situated ; this town formerly belonged to the Prince of Monaco, but it is now in possession of Sardinia. Further along the coast rise the towns of St. Remo, Oneglio, with a good poit, twice ravaged by the French in the first invasion of the republican army ; Alassio, Finale, famous for its apple and its orange trees (some of the latter bear as many as 8,000 oranges) ; Savone, noted for its wine, its fruit, and above all for its flowers ; and then the traveller arrives at the bee-hive and treasury of the Sardinian monarchy— Genoa." THE CHERBOURG ALARM. At the annual meeting of the Royal Ilsley Cot tagers' Society, held at Langley . Hall, near New bury, on Wednesday, Captain Leicester Vernon, in proposing the toast of the "Army and Navy," ob served He could assert, without fear of contra diction, that the tinited services have always, how ever adverse the circumstances, realised the expec tations of their cotmtry. England ought to be proud of her army and navy, for they are second to none in the world. That being so, he would ask how came it that the bold Britons were liable to periodical, he might almost say constitutional, fits of terror and alarm ? It was because the people were always conjugating the verb of self-alarm into every mood and tense. (Laughter.) Their first bugbear was Russia, and people were angry when Cobden said Russia could be crumpled up like a sheet of paper, and considered such an expression little short of blasphemy ; but yet he was right. After a two years' war her armies were destroyed, her stronghold ruined, her fleets imprisoned or sunk, her finances crippled, and her resources ex hausted. In fact, Russia was crumpled up like a sheet of paper. That alarm passed, and then came the terror of French invasion, which, however, by dint of geography and by dint of history, was over come. The first assured the people that England was still an island, and the second taught them that it was the habit of England to invade France, and not France to invade England. They also recol lected that they had once military occupation of Paris, and that no foreigner ever trod on British ground except as a prisoner or a guest. No doubt London would be a capital plunder, but the ques tion was, how to get it ? When the allied sove reigns were in London, they were taken to the top of St. Paul's to see the panoramic view of the Me tropolis. Blucher accompanied them. " Fine sight, marshal," said an attendant. " Ya, ya," replied the old Prussian, with his keen eye firmly fixed on Fleet-street, and the wealth of the world. " Ya, ya, it is a very fine sight, but what would it be for one plunder !" The next alarm came from America, and there was a " difficulty" with cousin Jonathan (laughter) which, however, passed away. Cousin Jonathan's red hot politicians sometimes fire broadsides at us, but the sensible mercantile part of his community took care not to have their guns discharged against their best cus tomer. Glory was a fine thing, but they saw no great harm in the almighty dollar. All that was passed and gone ; they were now called upon to be frightened to death about Cherbourg, for that being finished the French have a famous ambush in which to hide a fleet. He remembered that Louis XIV. began Cherbourg, not the harbour, but the fortifi cations ; France had then a fleet, but he recollected that it was destroyed by Russell and by Rooke at the battle of La Hogue, which battle was fought so near her shore that a French army, intended for the invasion of England, saw the destruction of the fleet. He (the chairman) also remembered that in the reign of Louis XV. Cherbourg was besieged by the English ; it surrendered at dircretion, and there wiere 27 ships of all sizes in the harbour, all of which were taken, and the batteries and forts were blown up. Louis XVI. recommenced the works and harbour of Cherbourg, and the French had a fleet there, but he recollected that a Rodney had destroyed it for them in the West Indies. Napo leon the Great carried on the works with vigour ; the French had a fleet then, but he (the chairman) again recollected it was destroyed by Nelson at the Nile and Trafalgar. The works were now finished under Napoleon 111., but he had not, as yet, any fleet to occupy it. They were, nevertheless, told to be alarmed ; he confessed that he felt none. When he looked down the English list of seven or eight hundred men-of-war, and saw it filled with scores of French names, he saw what nation built the ships, and what nation took them. (Laughter.) He concluded that what British sailors had done before, British sailors could do again. It was the fashion to say, " things are altered; battles will now be fought by steam," but that was simply absurd. Battles would always be fought by men, and their battles would be fought by Englishmen ; therefore he felt no doubt or alarm as to the result. God forbid that there should be war either with France or America. The interests of commerce, the interests of humanity, the interests of civilisation, and, above all, the interests of Chris tianity, were opposed to it. But should such an unfortunate event take place, then with such an army and navy as they had, England may say with the poet— ' The mind we sway by and the head we bear Shall never sang with doubt, nor shake with fear." Reading Mercury. THE AMERICAN STEAMSHIP ARIEL SOUTHAMPTON, SATURDAY, The United States mail steamship Ariel, of the Vanderbilt line, Captain G. D. Ludlow, passed Hurst last night on her way to this port, with the mails, &e., from New York, of the 4th inst., but unfortunately got ashore off Stone-point, at the mouth of the Beaulieu River, on her way up the Solent, where she remained till this evening, when she was got off, and resumed her voyage to Havre and Bremen. She brought £16,000 in specie for England, and a considerable quantity for France ; also 70 passengers for this port, 50 for France, and 60 for Bremen—in all 180. A telegram received last night from Hurst stated :—" Apparently the Arid, from New York, passed at 8.50 p.m." Nothing being seen of her in the river up to half-past 11, a steam tender was despatched from the docks, which, on getting round Calshot into the Solent, found that the Arid had run on shore at the place named, which is about ten. miles 'inside Hurst and five from Calshot. She was.in chargeof an Isle of Wight pilot 'at thntime, and had gone considerably out of her course or she could never have got into su c h a p osition. The tender took out the mails and passengers for this port, and arrived in dock about half-past three this morning, those for Havre and Bremen remaining on board. As soon as -possible two steamtugs were de spatehed to render assistance, followed early in the morning by a third, with the necessary towing a pplicances. Mr. Dun lo p ( of the firm of Dunlop -- and Schoales, agents of the Vanderbilt line at this port), accompanied by Captain Wm. Vincent (the superintendent of the Royal Mail Company) and Mr. Philip Hedg er (the dockmaster), went - down to the vessel, and attempts were made with the morning tide to release the Arid from the beach, but u nsuccessfully. Messrs. Dunlop and Hedger then went to Portsmouth to obtain the assistanc e o f a Government tug, and Admiral Greyimmediately g ranted the use of the Echo, which ms despatched with a couple of stout hawsers. At high tide in the evening another attempt ivas made to float the Arid, which was fortunately successful, the com bined exertions of the Echo, Aid, and Phoenix, getting her off intodee p water, and sh e was t owe d into Cowes-roads, whence she sail e d su b sequen tl y for Havre a n d Bremen, it being found on examina tion that the hull of the vessel had sustained no injury. How the steamer came to be so far out of her course is a mystery to every one who is at all ac quainted with the locality, and we presume that an inquiry will be held by the proper authorities to ascertain • the fact. The night, it appears, was clear, and. not thick and ha z y, as at fi rs t s t a t e d. The vess e l was going at full speed at the time, and she ran with great force on the beach, which is a gravelly . shingle: TILE 'EIR. The Athencennt of Saturday contained the fol lowing paragraph :—" William Weir is a name which may not be known to the world at large ; but, three days ago it was worn by as honest, truth ful, and genuine a man as that world at large could produce ; and now he who answered thereto an swereth no more, and again one of the great intel lectual labourers has gone to his rest, dying, as it were, at his post, leaving to those who survive him for a while, much sorrow and a bright example. Mr. Weir was editor of the Daily News ; he had occupied that honourable position since the death of Mr. Hunt in 1854, and he had maintained it with such straightforwardness of spirit, such honesty of principle, such vigour and such courtesy, as to win for himself not only the affection of his friends and colleagues, but the respect and admiration of his political opponents. He was a man of great en dowments, of strong natural sense, of gentle heart— a learned, a modest, and a wise man—in the ranks of literature there was no nobler or more unassum- ing soldier than he ; and if the nearest and dearest to him may look on his grave with weeping eyes, they may turn from it too with a mournful pride in their aching hearts." In the Spectator of Saturday we read :—" The death of Mr. William Weir, the editor of the Daily News, is a public loss. He died on Wednesday last, after a short illness of only four days' duration ; its fatal conclusion created little surprise, as many had noticed the effect of wear and tear in his aspect, and previous illnesses had been sharp and not un frequent. Born in 1802, Mr. Weir, we believe, was originally educated at one of the Scottish univer sities ; at Gottingen, with the prosecution of his classic studies he laid the foundation of his know- ledge of Germany and its literature; afterwards ex tending his studies to the languages and literature of France and Italy. He was destined to the bar, and with a rare industry he had made progress in the law, with excellent prospects; for to his other qualifications he added those of a fluent and eloquent speaker. But his course of life was changed by an infirmity which attacked l im. early deafness that increased with his years; and he transferred his great abilities and multiplied attainments from the bar to the journal. He ob tained a distinguished position as editor of the Glasgow Argus, a journal set up by the Whig party with a view of conciliating the support of the liberals in general. Mr. Weir succeeded admirably in that object, but at the expense of " going fur ther " than the Whigs ; and in 1839, in the thirty seventh year of his age, he resigned his post, and came up to London. For some years he was a valued contributor to our own journal ; he was, we believe, amongst the earliest to be engaged on the Daily News, and on the death of Mr. F. Knight Hunt, Mr. Weir accepted the Editorship. He brought to his office an extraordinary array of qualifications, for on many branches of law, history, geography, literature, biography, and bibliography, his active and retentive memory served him like a cyclopcedia. Our readers scarcely need to be re minded of the manner in which he conducted his journal as the most independent of the daily press in the guardianship of popular rights, needful reforms, and social improvement. Weir was a man of strong personal sympathies, but his mind was essen tially above party politics, and the most constant aim of his life was to recover for mankind what others had given up to party. Of late he had applied his influence to the difficult task of considering how to rescue the Liberal party from its compli cations of inertia, and how to reconstruct it for renewed and healthy action. We had hoped that the weight of his authority, and the influence of his well-known and spotless integrity, might have contributed to the success of that needful but trou blous work. The task remains for other hands ; but, in common with all the best interests of the country, it has received services from William Weir, of which the useful influence will long sur vive. A great artist has said, that even the tran sient performer • aids in developing the resources and spirit of art, and thus the perishing executant survives in an immortal service. How well may this rule be applied to a man who, master of what intellect had done for the world thus far, contri buted so powerfully to keep other minds right, and confirm the lasting encouragement of patriotic aokon.' THE COMET. Mr. J. R. Hind, in a letter dated Mr. Bishop's Observatory, Regent's-park, Sept. 10, says :—I availed myself this morning of the first opportunity that has offered for several days past of viewing , the comet in the N.E., shortly before daybreak, when the sky in London is usually verr much clearer than for some hours after sunset. About 4 o'clock a.m. its appearance was fine in the extreme. To the naked eye the nucleus far exceeded in bright ness any of the stars in Ursu Major, and, indeed, was little inferior to Procyon, the bright star in Canis Minor. The tail would be traced 7 deg. or 8 deg. With Mr. Bishop's large refracting telescope it was a grand object, and when attentively examined was found to present several of those singular irregularities of form which have beeit previously remarked in great comets, particularly in those of 1680, 1744, and 1835 (Halley's) and are doubtless to be attributed to the action of the sun upon the matter of the nucleus when the comet is near its perihelion. The luminous gas-like jet thrown out therefrom, which was indistinctly per ceptible on the 13th, was steadily visible this morn ing ; it appeared to foim the origin of a second tail interior to the main one, and which could be traced about half a degree from the nucleus. The tail itself was sensibly curved, the convexity being, as usual, on the preceding side. The ray of light thrown off the nucleus in the direction of the sun, to which I before alluded, was tolerably distinct. As viewed , with the naked eye the tail exhibited coruscations (of course due to atmo spheric circumstances) which at moments appeared to lengthen it considerably. High magnifiers could not be used so advantageously as on the 13th. Calculations founded upon the observations of the past week show that the comet will continue visible in the evening to the naked eye in this coun try until the middle of October, though it will 4113- appear from the morning sky at the beginning of that month. Its brilliancy will be nightly on the increase until October the 9th, or thereabouts, when the maximium will be attained. Judging from its present appearance there can be little doubt that this comet will shortly rival the celebrated one of 1811. On the sth and 6th of October it will be situate near the bright star Arcturus, and will pro bably bear comparison with it on the score of bril liancy. In a few days I shall be able to furnish positions which I hope will render daylight observations easy to the numerous amateurs in this country who are provided with powerful equatoreally-mounted telescopes. Meanwhile, I would suggest to those who desire to see the comet to advantage, to be on the look-out between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morn ing during the next few days, before the moon approaches it. _ _ On the 20th of September the comet will rise at 1 10 a.m., and set at 10 30 p.m. ; on the 24th it will rise at 1 40 a.m., and set at 10 20 p.m. ; and on the 28th it will appear above the horizon about 2 30 a.m., and set at 10 p.m. IRELAND. DUBLIN, SATURDAY MORNING. THE DEFENCES. The Dublin Mercantile Advertiser learns that it has been determined greatly to extend and strengthen the defences at Spike Island, which occupies so commanding a position at the entrance of Queenstown harbour. For a long time there has been a convict depot at Spike, but it appears that some of the convicts have already been removed to other establishments, and that it iS 'in contempla tion ultimately to break up the depot there, It understood that all the defences at Queenstown, including Carlisle and Camden Forts, are to be placed in the highest state of efficiency. THE HARVEST. The great heats of the-early part of the week were suddenly dissipated last night by a change of wind from south to west, when a heavy gale sprung 111 3 which lasted till this morning, leaving a pure and cool atmosphere. On Thursday there were sharp thunderstorms all over the country, followed, as usual, by torrents of rain, but, happily, as yet there are no reports of any damage being done to the outstanding grain crops. • All this day's accounts are as satisfactory as could be expected. actin and 1 busir. show the 1 more wool incre highs very repor for ci kets 1 busin Amer cester Be: in the 235. p India Ai the F dis. tc and t have 29 H per C ‘l3u: in g been taken chaste had Great Noiti The trine] Craw Canal value Joi depre Londe Uuioi about In have liomi BRIT a dew :iN eve ; Long Dit India Ditto Cons( DIG fact The i enter dema Exeb.i Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto, rßic Duet), Dit Peru Dit Dit Dit Ports Dit at um sa•in Dii Tark Dii Dit Dii Vert(