The Sun. — London, England, 1841-01-07 00:00:00

~r•-~ ;k5 ; ,)?; of illy Op" . ate xis, )1311 M.ORNING EDITION HIN AND T ~~ ~ _~. EGYPT• OVERLAND MAIL FROM INDIA. (From the Timcs.) We have received by extraordinary express from Uars e ill es letters and journals from Bombay up to the 16 t of December, as well as advice' from Alexandria t° the 24th and letters and journals from Meita to t he 28th. The intelligence from China is of the highest import 4nee—no less than the near settlement of the China question. Shortly after the capture of Chusan, Admiral Elliot, Proceeding to the Peiho river, was met by a manda rin of the third rank of the Chinese empire, though some 4ee°4ll tB say b e th e E mperor hi mse lr, w hil e ot h ers ~ - " 1.4 that Ad m i ra l Elli ot h a d arr i ve d at P e ki n, an d had an audience of the Emperor. T he Emp eror h as agree d to pay 3,000,0001. for L4 ` l expenses incurred by the British in making war ; °that authorities state °,000,0001. sterling as indemnity for the opium seized, and 1,000,000/. for the expenses t ,, f the wa r . T he Emperor, either h i mself or through 4401licers,has expressed pacific intentions to the Ad- Il t cli ra!, and h e di savows the actions of h i s Commissioner kt n. This latter, indeed, has fallen into disgrace, and the Etriperor offers to surrender him into the bands of the British to be dealt wilt as they may think pro- P er . Two Commissioners were to be sent either to 1-4titon or Ningpo, with full powers to negotiate a Treaty. Chose n is not to be given up until the Treaty be sign e d . T hQ above i nte lli gence, wh i ch i s up to t h e Ist of Calcutta, was brought by her Majesty's ship Cruiser to No movem ent southward i s expected from C hosen before Oct. 15. The Admiral was to leave Chusan for Ning'pa in one o f the steamers on Sept. 30, an d the h h • ("" `v" warping out for the same destination. The Emperor is great ly annoye d at our occupat i on o f Ch uslo. end his Mi n i ster hi nte d " that tine Admiral's visit had prevent e d t h e marc h o f fierce soldiers to re take the island." The Malacca papers have got up a story, that ac counts have been received there that our ships-of-war Lad taken the Bogus forts, and after forcing the pas !age of th e B occa Tigris had proceeded to Canton. I t 18 feared that this is not correct. G reat comp l a i nts are ma d e o f th e un h ea lthi ness o f t he r aea in the expedition against Chusan ; the wea ther at this place is represented as cold and unhealthy. 4 artality appears to prevail. Captain Steen, of her 4ejesty's 49th, had died. The fleet, however, was Plentifully supplied with provisions. The intelligence from India is also highly important Our extraordinary express from Marseilles received this mornin g 24 th , brings i n t e lli gence f rom Al exan d r i a to t h e the" inao ult.th., on which d a y th e G reat Li verpoo l sa il e d w i t h andri mails. Her t r ip f rom F a l mout h to Al ex - I ; a a .3 t u hoa r f r e shortest on recor d— v i z ., 14 d ays an d one were clr tt Port t o port . 12 d ays an d 11 hours only Al ex 'P e nt at sea . Th e p l ague h a d appeared in h aodua a m ont h ear li er than usual, and three deaths ad beets officially notified. The Indian mails and 18 -Passen g er sli t were l an d e d at Suez on the 18 t h ar a nd escort e d across t h e D esert b y a ;es il of GO h orsemen furnished by the Paella to erv e them f rom the attacks of the Bedouin Arabs, Agothe Pacha l ately become hostile and dangerous, seizing a froll C stores, and attac ki ng t h e p il gr i ms en route arr:l. airo to Mecca. Ibrahim Pacha was still with his Y `lt Damascus, to which he had returned in ill ilit:,lvelt? and b eset by th e mounta i neers, h op i ng (i t was be turn ' I ) 4to a `" l him se lf o f t h e N ap i er C onvent i on to re ae E gypt pe acea b ly and by sea. Mehemet Ali had irr t : r ' e n p n aa3d itte to n . s t o en t ( ‘;•dmiral St o pf or d on th e 21 s t u l t ., an d another message to expedit e the re lied e_ Ibr '' h iln anti h's army. Sir Charles Smith rrived in the Hydra at Alexandria on the 17th and had iiiter:iew with the Pacha on the 19th plaeed the .I.lldra at his service to convey his des .4,l,,eb ilu t :, ) . l\ larmo r i ca ' on the '..."2(1 ult. Sir Charles left ha`d titria in th e G reat Liverpool. Serious sickness cons Prevailed at Acre. The storm that visited the ni t. 11 f Syria w i t h suc h v i olence on the 2d and 3d an the Produced an alarming scarcity at Beyrout and eeekle mountains wher e t h e new Turkish Governor had " th _ 51 Y stop pe d t h e supplies of grain arriving, and lisio Mountaineers were again nearly driven into col en‘enr I '4 l l the aut h or i t i es b y desperation. No hope is tained that the Porte will b e a bl e to govern Le b a- Ali 1 : 1 1 °:v that th e pop u l a ti on i s re - armed. Mehemet e a s r s d t tl en - i tit;l,l raisin g r batteries an d exerc i s i ng hi s troops had g i ven not i ce to t h e N ational 4h/es !° l. Al a e i x d Alexand r i a th at t h ey were to cons i der them tuakin is r egular so ldi ers. At the same time he was pri vate g regular f or the better cultivation of his tad his es tates, and had appointed his son, Said Bey, ttistrato rs gran in d'°o• Abbas P cts aella, to be resid en t a d m i- , separate distri. C HI NA. (r 0t the S upplement to the Bombay Gazelle of Dt , cerober I.) Our Cak fro and pers of t h e 1 6t h of November have 41‘rived in ; great measure confirm the new s we fdhot.ve w m C husan. Th e E mperor has received Admiral ith distincti on , and agreed to a treaty to be `; gotiated at Ca nton. 3,000,000/. is to be paid before °4tihusan is f orced th evacuated. In th e meant i me a l etter has receivhad ede at M a l acca, which states that our ships t ile fo rts, ssag e of the oeca and proceed]d on to CBanton.Tigris, captured CHUSAN. dy e bast th e B ombay Times.) _.asten to plac e b e f ore our readers the following itiraet from a l e t ter we have just received, dated " usan, Sept. 30. S everal others are much more full t ` Particulars but th e following, contains the " head uld front" of the news from China : f Admiral Elliot arrived in the Wellesley on the 28th u re in the Gulf of Pe-che-lee, as I before told you. The 4 ea wit tit _of his. negotiation, at ' the mouth of the . Peiho, t ful l" the third in rank in the Chinese Empire, is no to Y known ; but I may say, that the Emperor is willing onaaPologize for the insult inflicted upon Capt. Elliot, , p 4 t hat his Excellen c y Lin is to be punished in any c e 3 ' w hich we please. The chops were couched in eprtYlicetisvil language, containing none of the offensive tasio so , freely applied to Europeans . on . former oe- f i„, ' l s. 1 he Emperor had been kept in ignorance o 1 14 :: s Peoceedings, but many of the nobles of the Court d il ''' Perteet information relative to the Viceroy's COll tohet, at Canton. In referring Admiral Elliot to Can ;t, " f or o re ' sail, through his deputy, that ' granting all which fe O 4 4 Y to he true, it would be exceedingly unjust L' o , el nn Lin without givin g him a hearing ; besides, i ni l b - ,, 8 . re port is quite different from yours. I will send pe oft' Lentiaries to Canton to make more inquiries, and who Cerriards will arran g e with you there.' This co urse may - A ov e been a d o pt e d f or the 7dteiral purpose of rem ov i ng t h e from the vicinity o f t h e cap i tal ; in that the '4°Peror has succeeded, but nevertheless, the expedi ip,, t tli i has effected something ; the men of war have care 'Y surveyed the Gulf of Pe-che-lee, and have partially IPlored the mouth of the Peiho. The Madagascar tt ea :;.'r.(l1 -vessel crossed the bar at the mouth of the Peiho, ascended the river for about two miles. The vessel t0 ,, -4kt ed great astonishment in the minds of the people j r , - "R i regated on the banks and on the neighbouring hills. t o ' e , t ne . !eulf the weather was clear and cool, the thermo u deter falling as low as GO. The fleet was plentifully -4Pl3lied with sheep, bullocks, vegetables, and fruits ; Bo ne- the latter were excellent pears and apples. . to The David Malcolm and the Ernaad are bringing o ‘ ivrl Sheep and bullocks, which will be truly acceptable c ot The Isabella Robertson has arrived. 1 have kit Yet received any letters or papers from her. The , . L i e . armed vessel, was sent under the command of t o 11,,tenaiet Douglas, soon after the taking of Tinghae, ,o-rtvue mouth of the Yang-tse-Keang, for the purpose of th, i e Y i ng ; it is supposed that she has been wrecked, as to o •-le u tenant in c h arge, the Captain's wife (Mrs. Noble) I,\,ltlßeo ' coin e lasears, arc i n the hands of the Chinese, a t i With ~ weo t.,•eat th em and Captain Anstruther . also ir ess ; u n til t h e Chinese informed us of the e'il kindn Il i Th stai.c e , we I:new nothing of the loss of the Kite. e er 't the Vessel hu s b een wrecked, I believe, is an iii tei"len ony, from the fact of the Lieutenant and others nO Prisonersof the Chinese." 1 „The followine- F---:----7—iehly interesting extracts are from . c .. i . . following hi gh) c titi oll: Lf . our correspindents with the China cape , " TINGIIAE (CHUSAN), SEPT. 28. li 4 d 'i T h e sickness continues to increase daily. The 2Gth day!"2o Yesterday, and I believe they have more ton etb, Yesterday. quarters for the whole regiment i 11%,, vt3 ; Louses in the city were allotted. This should 11 4bi t l i , u 'en done long ago, and much sickness in all pro -4lneel wn tild have been spared. Our first casualty r 4 t , oflicers took place last night in the death of poor he, ll ' rl S teen, of her Maiesiy's 49th Regiment, w io lle Znilyoi.been ill about 4 al week, and prior to which ~ H ° Ning as well as possible. ."-------- has come back, but fie says he found the Admira land everybody in the ship very busy writing to by file T.:r7 , sent opportunity,-and he Ult, away the impression that we should remain here at least five months more ; Cris is a sad blow to most people, for most had made up their minds that we should be °lithe island very soon. The Admiral says the whole of the troops must be housed as fast as possible. Report says that the Blenheim, 74, is to go to Ningpo immediately, and that the Admiral will follow in a few day s ; that a Commissioner has arrived there from Pekin of high rank, and of the blood Royal, for the purpose of negotiating. I suppose it will take a few months to get an answer from Calcutta, and perhaps the Admiral will await the orders of Lord Auckland. I ready believe that all hostilities have ceased, but 1 very much fear that the business of bringing the nego tiwim,s to a close will be protracted to a sad time by the Cainesi, if they are not dealt with in a proper rn.thr,:r. It ought to be made their interest as well as ours to bring matters to a speedy close, and then we should all be on board ship fast enough. We shall be very uncomfortable here in winter. Not a house has a fireplace or the means of having one to give warmth. EXTRACT OF A LETTER DATED CHUSAN HARBOUR, SEPT. 29, 1840.-110N.COMPANY'S STEAMER MADAGASCAR. I sit down to write you a few lines to give you an aeci,unt of my trip up to the mouth of the Peilio, or Pekin ;iver ; from this place we had a very fine run up with fine weather, and arrived off that place on the 9th of August, the squadron consisting of the following ships :—tha Wellesley, with his Excellency Rear-Ad miral G. Elliot, C.B. ; the Blonde, Modesto, Volage, Pylades, Madagascar steamer, and the Ernaad and Malcolm, with coals and provisions. On the Ilth Cap tain C. Elliot, R.N., proceeded into the mouth of the river in the steamer, with the boats of all the men of war present, manned and armed, and on our arriving at the bar the steamer anchored, and the boats proceeded into the river with a flag of truce flying ; on their arri val off the forts at the entrance a mandarin boat pushed off to them and received the Admiral's letter, and after the expiration of six days, the time granted by his Ex cellency, a chop was received, stating the Emperor re quired ten days to consider, which time being agreed to, the squadron proceeded to the different islands in the Gulf of Pc-cite-lee to water and procure bullocks, the Ernaad transport proceeding with them. They succeeded very well in obtaining a supply, and returned to the anchorage by the 27th of August, the day ap pointed, and the imperial chop was sent off to the ships, and on the 30th an interview took place between Cap tain Elliot and Khe Shan, the Imperial Commissioner, who is the third man in the empire, a Mandarin of the first class, and red button, and ever since (that is, up to the time of our departure from the Pieho, on the 15th of September) negotiations have been going on, and, from all we can bear, it is generally believed that the Pleni potentiary is to proceed to Canton to meet Kbe Shan. and there to settle affairs, if possible. A portion of the troops remainto hold this place until inatters*are finally settled. When the interview took place, Kin; Shan, the ' imperial commissioner, gave the party a splendid breakfast. The Chinese Government are much alarmed at our being in possession of Chusan ; they do not like our being so near their capital, and they will endeavour to keep us to the southward. The island of Lantao is spoken of as the place most likely where the English will be settled at, but the Chinese would prefer our not having any settleisient at all. They have offered to punish Lin in any way the English propose. The troops are very sickly at this place, and we are all looking out for a speedy settlement of affairs. Cap tain Anstruther, of the Madras Artillery, was out sketching a short distance from the city of Chusan, and was seized by the Chinese and made prisoner ; he is now at a place called Ningpo, and v ell treated ; the authorities at that place have sent over to say they have twenty more prisoners, but whom they can he we cannot make out ; they say, if we will give up Chusan, they e ill give up the prisoners. The Alli gator had a brush with them ,at Amoy, and returned to this place ; the day after the affair 400 chests of opium were sold at very high prices indeed-1,184 dol lars a chest, so it is said ; the Chinese come on board the ships here to purchase, thinking we have conic here to sell opium only, and they will have the drug at all risks ; in fact, the smugglers benefit much by the war and they hope it may last. Supplies of all kinds, in the eating and drinking way are in great demand. The Indian Oak was wrecked on the Loo Choo Islands„ crew all saved. The Nimrod man-of-wa: has been sent to bring them to this place, and is hourly expected. When at Pe-che-lee, I went into the Peiho, or Pekin River, with the steamer ; on our approach to the river, the forts, two miserable affairs, were manned with Chi• nese soldiers. We had a flag of truce flying, and a man darin boat came off to us. When we anchored about a mile below the forts the whole of the beach was crowded with thousands of the inhabitants to see the steamer. They were quite astonished. The forts had three old guns mounted on sand bags, but they never expected that we should attempt to pass the bar, it being shal low. However, we managed to cross, and can say we are the only European vessel, and steamer, in the world that ever was in she river leading to the capital of the Celestial Empire. During our stay at Pe-clic-lee, we had a trip to the Great Wall of China with the Admiral. The end comes down into the sea about half a mile ! There is a fort on the end of it with a large tower. It is one of the most stupsndous affairs I ever beheld. It appears about 30 feet high, and about the same width. It has a watch-tower about every mile on it. The land is very high in the vi cinity, some of the bills about 3,000 feet, and the wall goes completely over the tops of the mountains, and is seen as far as the eye can reach. It is impossible to say anything for certain regarding politics, but it is generally supposed the Chinese will come to terms. Our stopping their trade entirely, and the takins; Chu san and the barrier forts at Macao, bring the Chinese Government into very low reputation with its own sub jects, and at this the Court at Pekin are much alarmed, fearing a revolution may break out. All junks are stopped and detained, but have in some instances been released again ; the whole coast is now in a complete state of blockade, but the inhabitants at Chusan ap pear to be coming in. Should our Government hold Chusan it will be a place of much importance ; the whole trade would be thrown in here ; the Pekin autho rities are well aware of this, and would rather do any thing than have a protracted war. Under these circum stances, I think matters will be soon settled. I have now given all the news that the time will admit of—the signal was only made half an hour ago that the vessel starts this evening, so I bring this to a close." (From another Letter.) TINGHAE, SEPT. 30. The Admiral has returned from Peiho and the Gulf of Pe-che-lee ; his reception is said to have been good, and that the Emperor is anxious for peace. Lin is to be tried by some Chinese commission, and I have no doubt will be sacrificed. They want us to give up Chusan and to take Lantao, opposite to Macao, and they offer 2,000,000/. sterling in cash. The force it is believed will winter here, all but a small detachment of Artillery and one European regiment to accompany the Admiral to Macao, where it is supposed peace will be concluded. The troops are dreadfully sick ; quarters are taken, and they are to leave their bill, and come into town, when the rain ceases, which we have had for some days. The Cameronians have lost 30 men, the 18th about 24, the 49th about 15, and the Vo lunteers 24, the Artillery only one man, but have been more sickly than any other. The Cameronians had yester day 545 men unfit for duty. This is a dreadful state of things. This island has been drained of supplies, in stead of their being obtained from the mainland. The Admiral goes to-day with Captain Elliot to Ningpo to try and recover poor Captain Anstruther (Madras Artillery) and Mrs. Noble, Captain Noble, and the crew of the Kite, who are all prisoners. The Viceroy has written to say that they shall all he taken care of, and invited the Admiral to treat, as the Prince's guar dian had been sent from Pekin for this purpose, as also a relative of the Emperor. You will hear from Macao the result sooner than we shall here. We have not one shop open in the city, nor a single article of food now to be purchased but from ships. Of paddy there are thousands and thousands of maunds in the town, but fresh meat is what we want for our men. The weather is cool and pleasant, but very damp. It, however, has rained for some days. The scenery is beautiful beyond anything I have ever seen, and the island is most richly cultivated, but John Chinaman thinks to starve us, and that is not pleasant. Since writing this I am told that all the troops at present here are to continue at this place until after the winter. Parties varying from 50 to 200 men have been making frequent excursions in different directions, for the pur pose of discovering armed men, but have always failed. Two officers and four men on a foraging excursion were attacked, and with difficulty escaped ; one Chinaman killed, and several others wounded in the affray. Capt. Anstruther, Madras Artillery, was carried away pri soner to Ningpo whilst making a survey of the country ; the wife and family of the Captain since taken prison ers themselves. Sickness amongst the troops on the increase, and deaths more numerous. The wreck of the Indian Oak, off the Loo Choo Islands, crew and cargo saved ; the natives there so kind, that on the Cruiser being sent to bring them back they refused to come, as the natives were building them a junk out of the wreck. The capture of twenty Europeans, one lady, and several Lascars at Ningpo, reported to belong to the brig Kite, since supposed to be the crew of some opium schooner wrecked ; the assurances of the Ningpoites that they shall want for nothing, and that they shall he given up as soon as the island of Chosen is vacated. The arrival of the Madagascar from Pe-che-lee with intelligence that the Emperor is most anxious to treat, and offering Lantao in exchange for Chusan. Several transports have been ordered to be in readi ness for sea, and it is supposed two regiments will be sent to take possession of Lantao. The following is extracted from the illalacca Weekly Regis/cr, but we believe there is no truth in it : " We kern that a private letter has been received at this settlement by a Chinese gentleman from his friends in China, communicati n g the important intelli gence of her M a j esty ' s ships of war having forced the passage of the Bocca Tigris, captured the Bogue Forts over which the British ensign now floats triumphantly, and gone ❑p towards, Calton. This intelligence, if true, will be the most decisive and important blow that has been struck since the commencement of hostilities. MACAO. DEFEAT OF THE CHINESE. (From the Canton Press, Aug. 8.) On Tuesday last her Majesty's ships Druid, Colum bine, Larne, Hyacinth, and Nimrod anchored in these roads, and left again on Thursday last, with the excep tion of her Majesty's ship Larne, the two former for the Bogue and Capsingmoon. the Hyacinth for the Broad way-, and the Nimrod for Chusan. The reports which we noticed last week as to their probable movements hive not been confirmed, but we hail the entering of the Hyacinth into the Broadway as an earnest that the blockade of the Canton river will henceforward be strictly enforced. It is with the deepest sorrow we have to announce that a British subject has probably fallen into the hands of the Chinese. Mr. F. Stanton, formerly tutor to the sons of the late Mr. It. Turner, left his lodgings on 'Fitursthy morning, es is supposed, about 5 o'clock, to bathe in Casilla Bay, where he had made an appoint ment to meet with two friends, who, however, on ar rival there, found him not, nor any traces of him. 'The most probable conjecture is that, in consequence of the rewards offered by the Chinese authorities, for the cap turing or slaying Englishmen, he was, while on his way to Casilla Bay, in the twilight of the morning, surprised by Chinese and hurried away, and it is probable, at least so we hope, now on his way to Canton, there to be delivered over to the authorities for the promised reward. :, k: !•.ti THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7. 1841 make known at the earliest period the result of this officer's mission. I have, &c. " H. SMITH, " Commanding the Blockading Squadron. To -, Esq., and other British subjects in Macao." An attempt was made, a few days since, to set fire to the transport Nazaruth Schah, but detected in time to prevent injury. A man had mixed among a crowd of boats, which were at the time alongside, and was ob served to throw something overboard, but it was only after great exertion that the incendiary was secured. When become aware that he had been detected, and that the boats were being lowered to seize him, he jumped into the water, and, diving under the bottom of the ship, reappeared on the other side. For some time he eluded the grasp of his pursuers by diving and hiding among the Chinese boats, but he was at last taken, and is now in irons on board the Druid. 1 IN DIA. (From the Bombay Gazette.) The Indian intelligence for the past month possesses unusual interest. The first important item is the sur render of Dost Mahomed, the ex-ruler of Cabul, to our envoy at the Court of Shah Soojah, Sir W. M'Nagh ten. 'Taus, after a struggle of two years' duration, we have finally established our point, and Shah Soojah is undisputed master of the throne of his ancestors. Tile second item of importance is the death of the Maharajah Kurruck Singh of Lahore, and that of his son, Nou-Nahal Singh, by the fall of a beam in a gate way through which he was proceeding to the river Re vee, to perform his ablutions after his father's obsequies, as prescribed by the Hindoo law. He has left no living heir, but we are informed that one of his wives is in the third month of her pregnancy, and that her mother has possession of the fort, and refuses to give it up to Shere Singh, whom the Lahore Durbar proclaimed Sovereign of the Punjaub on the 7th inst. We believe that by a treaty entered into with Runjeet Singh, we agreed to guarantee the lineal succession of his descendants to the Guddee of the Punjaub ; and, in the event of the correctness of the report tof the pregnancy of the Renee, we opine we shall be obliged to take her under our protection. Shere Singh is the son of one of the wives of Runjeet, but he was disowned by him from his birth, which happened in 1809. He is represented as being the idol of the Seikh army, brave as the lion, whose cognomen (Singh) he bears, but cruel, sensual, and debauched. He was appointed Governor of Cashmere, by Runjeet, who, notwithstanding his alleged illegitimacy, took him into favour, but he behaved so ill there, and managed his government so miserably, that he was rec tiled in disgrace, and for some years has been in obscurity. The sudden death of the heir to the throne has called him before the world again, but we are very doubtful whether our Government will recognise his title to the throne of the Seikhs. A very large army is assembled at Ferozepoor, and the Seiklis themselves are reported to have assembled a force at R•impuor. On all points the British star appears to be in the ascendancy, the troubles in Scinde are fast sub siding, and only one melancholy catastrophe cast a gloom over the news from that quarter. Poor Lieut. Loveday, the gal:ant defender of Khelat, had been conveyed as a prisoner within the camp of Nusseer Khan to the at tack of our post of Dadur. After sacking that town and making an unsuccessful attempt on the British in trenched camp, which was a mile from the town, the advance of a force under Major Boscawen of her Ma jesty's 40th Regiment caused the enemy to retreat. In the pursuit, the body of poor Lovoday, the late political agent, with the head almost severed from the trunk, was found chained to a kujawah (a sort of camel chair). His servant was weeping over him. He was quite warm, and the poor fellow said his master had just been killed by a Sower on the alarm of the approach of the 40th. Thus fell a gallant young fellow, cruelly murdered in the moment when the shouts of his victorious coun tr!. men must have resounded in his ears, and pro mised him a speedy liberation from his severe and protracted sufferings. His only clothing when found was a pair of drawers. We have no doubt that General Nott will make an example of his murderers, as he is now master of Khelat, which he marched into without any opposition. Since he has occupied it, which was on the 4th of November, the place has been quite tranquil, the townspeople have re turned, and the shops and bazaars have been opened. Nusseer Khan is reported to be near Llehree with a host of Beloochees, but nothing certain is known of his movements. He is followed by Major Boscawen's force, who, it is to be hoped, will give a good account of him and his rabble followers. The Nepaulose, it is said, have again been threaten ing our frontier, and keeping our Envoy, Mr. Hodg son, a prisoner in his house, and that they have 28,000 men ready to rush down on Katmandoo, being instigated by the Chinese to attack us. However, this was re ported some time ago, and some of the Calcutta Papers seem to throw doubts on its authenticity. We have very little news from Burmah or the Straits. Our pro ceedings in China appear to have struck them with awe. Aden has been exempt from attack for some months, and the fortifications are being strengthened, which is a proof that it is intended to be retained in perpetuity. The climate agrees with Europeans, but the native troops suffer much from scurvy, brought on as it is said from want of good vegetables. There is no domestic news of any importance. The army still continues over worked, and stands wofully in need of an addition to its numbers. Events have shown that nothing but a large army cantoned in Scinde can keep it quiet. In the event of an European war breaking out, there is not, we believe, one of her Majesty's ships of war, except the Childers and Cruiser (which are both at Calcutta), be tween this and China, while the French have two or three ships of war in these seas, to which we have nothing to oppose but our armed steamers, and they are constantly employed carrying the mails between Bombay and Suez. Since writing the above we find that Khelat was occupied without resistance on the 4th of November, by General Nott's force. INDIA MAILS. The Cleopatra steamer left Bombay on the Ist, at 8 p. in, and arrived at Suez on the 18th, at 3 p. m., with mails, and the following passengers :—Colonel Sergeant, Lieut.-Col. Smyth, Major and Mrs. Hook, Captain R. Farquhar, Lieutenants Beachcroft, Law rence, and Hume, Mrs. Grey and two children, Messrs. E. P. Thompson, G. Parbury, and John Mylne, and the Right Rev. Dr. Connor, all of whom, except the last, arrived at Malta in the Great Liver pool, and, with the e xcept i on of L i eutenant• C o lon el Smyth (who landed at Malta,) proceed on by her to Southampton, and likewise Sir William Eden, Bart,, who 'came from the coast of Syria and Egypt. The Berenice steamer arrived at Bombay, No vember 22, from Suez the Ist, and Aden the 12th, without mails. The London mails for India of November 30th and December 4th were landed at Alexandria on the 17th and sent on immediately to Suez. BOMBAY, DEc..l, 1840. November has been an important month in India. The points of highest interest are four—viz., Affghan istan, Scinde, Lahore, and China. In Affghanistan the attempts of Dost Mahomed to master that country have failed. He was totally de feated on the 2d of November, by Major-General Sir Robert Sale, and having escaped from the battle, he fled to Cabul, and surrendered himself to the British Envoy (Sir W. M‘Naghten). Several excellent officers have fallen in the conflicts—viz,, Captain Conolly, Dr. Lord, Lieutenant I3roadfoot, and Lieutenant Crispin, and others were wounded. The surrender of the Dost will, it is hoped, secure peace to Schah Soojah. In Scinde there has been some fighting. 11Iisseer, the young King of Beloochistan, with 5,000 men, at tacked, plundered, and burnt Dadur, in sight of an en trenched camp of 400 British Sepoys, who dared not hazard thernselve out of their fortified position. The Beloochees took their plunder to the hills, but before they left Dadur one of their chiefs, who had the care of Lieutienant Loveday, the late British political agent in Khelat, had him murdered beside a tree, to which he was tied as a prisoner. In Lahore, Maharajah Kurruck Singh, the son and succcs;or to the far-famed Runjeet, died on the sth, as it is said, of the effects of poison and bad treatment. One of his wives and some female attendants were burnt with his body. His son and heir, No u -N e p al Singh, a vio'ent opponent of the British, on returning from the funeral met with an accident ; the great beam of one of the gates fell on the elephant on which he was riding, killed one of his friends, and so severely injured the young king, that he lived but a few h ours. His death has lessened the risk of war in Laho re . S hore Singh, an illegitimate son of Runjeet, has b een raised to the throne. : i f p h e c ac ß e r i i s tis t h b e t r r e o b o y p s c ontinue in th e ne i ghbourhood, There have been rum ours curre nt of an imp en di n g war with the Nepaulese , bu t t hey are discredit e d. The Khelat jewels have been sold for littl e more than 5,000/. The great anxiety is about the ch ances of war in Europe. The underwriters demand war premiums, from fear of its having broken out. secured. FIGHT AT THE BARRIER. It will be; seen: from the circular copied below, ad dressed by Captain Smith to the British subjects resi dent here, that his Excellency the Governor informed him that the Taoutae had left Macao on the 11th of this month for the sole purpose of laying before the Vice roy Lin the strongest demands for the releaseof Mr. Stan ton. On Monday, the 17th, the Taoutae returned, but without Mr. Stanton, and we are informed that the only answer he gave was, that it was impossible that Mr. Stanton could be liberated, he not having been seized on Portuguese territory, and that besides he, the Taoutae, had brought with him a number of sol diers to assist the Portuguese in driving away the En glish. It was known before, and we stated it last week, that strong additions had been made to the fortifications at the barrier, and to the number of the garrison there, and a great many boats filled with sol diers were on Tuesday seen to pass through the inner harbour towards the barrier, where also were stationed eight war-junks, which before had been anchored oppo site the town of Macao. The Hon. Company's steamer, Enterprise, left the road here for Capsine moon soon after the return of the Taoutae was known, and reurned on Tuesday, in company with her Ma jesty's ship Druid, and towing the transport Nazaruth Sehah, having the Bengal Vclunteers on board. From the Taoutae's answer it was evident that the Chinese had hostile intentions towards the English resident in Macao, and there seemed but the alternative of quietly awaiting the attack or to check them by falling upon them first. On Wednesday morning, the 19th, her Majesty's ships Hyacinth and Larne were seen getting under way, standing towards Fisherman s Bay, and the Bengal Volunteers were embarked on board the steamer, whilst we saw nine boats filed with marines and seilors leave the Druid, and following in the same direction as the Hyacinth and Larne. The weather was favourable, a light southerly breeze wafting the ships very soon to a- favourable position right in front of the barrier and the fortifications there, a dis tance of only about 600 yards. At about half-past one o'clock the Hyacinth began the cannonade, which was answered by the Chinese from their fort, or rather breastwork. consisting of pyramids of sandbags, having each a foundation of about nine yards square, and upon which the 82-pounders made little or no impression. The Chinese had altogether 24 guns in the embrasures of this fortification, 15 of which were pointed towards the ships, but their fire was very soon silenced by the Hyacinth and Larne, after the guns had been only thrice fired. The neck of land on which the barrier is built is just there only about 100 yards wide, and close to the land on the inside were anchored the eight junks already mentioned, cf which from the ships only the masts could be seen, the hulls being hid and in a great measure sheltered from shot by the land. There was besides, on this side of the barrier, and on territory hitherto considered as subject to Portuguese jurisdiction, a joss -house, or temple, where there were several cannon, from which a brisk tire was kept up upon the ships, and it was ob served that these guns carried further than those from the junks, many of whose shot fell short of the ships. Though several balls passed over the ships, they re ceived no injury in their hulls, but a few balls passed through the awning and sails of the Hyacinth. After the engagement had begun, the garrison at the joss -house was reinforced by about 300 Chinese soldiers, who marched to it from the town of Macao. There was be sides a considerable encampment filled with soldiers just behind the barrier, and sheltered by a sandhill, and it is supposed that there .must altogether have been about 2,000 Chinese soldiers on the spot, of whom a consider able proportion were armed with matchlocks. The distance from the barrier to Macao being scarcely two miles the whole of the engagement was witnessed from the town, and numerous spectators, Chinese as well as Portuguese and foreigners, crowned the adjacent heights. From half-past one until about half-past three o'clock the ships kept up a heavy fire upon the fort and the junks behind, which was latterly only faintly answered from the junks, but with more spirit from the joss-house. Parties of soldiers were seen running to and fro between the barrier and the joss -house, often interrupted in their course by the shot passing over them or ploughing up the ground near them, when they would cower down, or creep along on all fours. Twice we saw them remove a dead or wounded soldier. At about half-past two the English troops began to be landed on the beach at some distance from and on the Chinese side of the fort. Some Chinese soldiers here favoured by the rising ground, crept and fired upon the parties landing, but a field-piece was brought on chore and planted on the height, and a sharp fire kept up from it upon the Chinese encampment below, upon the junks, and latterly also upon the joss -house, which by the positive orders from Captain Smith had till then been spared, as being considered on neutral ground ; but when the firing from it continued, all pretence to neutrality of course ceased, and a great number of soldiers were soon seen flying out of it and from some matsheds, through which a few balls were sent, and running back to Macao. At a little after 4, all the troops being landed, (180 sipahis, 120 marines, and 80 seamen, commanded by Captain Mee, of the Bengal Volunteers), they marched upon the fort, which they found deserted, but a fire, when already in the fort, was opened upon them from the junks and the joss-house;whivh-was-soon silenced by the musketry from the volunteers. The Chinese still on board the junks tried to save themselves by leaping into the water, where many, it is supposed, were killed. Two of the guns in the fort (they were very large and heavy, in bulk equal to 32-pounder car ronades, though bored for 18 pounders only) were dis abled, the carriage of the one being splintered, and the other broken to pieces by a shot. All the guns were spiked, and everything else in the fort destroyed and burnt. A powder magazine blew up, and two men, we are sorry to say, were severely hurt by the explosion. The Chinese encampment was next burnt, and in fact everything found on that side of the fort destroyed, with the exception of the junks, which escaped being burnt from there being no boats available to get at them. Many of them were, however,so much injured by shot that they will probably never float again. The joss -house, from which the liveliest fire had been kept up, escaped destruction, as being on neutral ground, very much to the disappointment of the assailants, who could only by the strictest orders be restrained from attacking it sword in hand. Indeed, (iuriog this affair, Captain Smith seems to have been most anxious not to violate in the slightest degree the neutrality of the territory of Macao, although the Chi nese had no such scruples, for not only was the joss house on this side of the barrier, and therefore on Por tuguese ground, but the greatest part of the soldiers that occupied it, marched to it from the town of Macao itself. _ _ V The English had four men badly and two slightly wounded ; a marine had his arm shattered by a ball, and had to submit to amputation of the limb ; another was shot in the body, and two, as we have already said, badly injured by the explosion of the powder magazine. The loss of the Chinese cannot be known with any de gree of certainty. Those connected with their manda rins state it at only four killed, but other statements are about 50 or 60 killed, and double that number wounded, and are probably more correct. One shot was seen to strike a tanka boat plying between the junks, and pul led by two women ; the boat was shivered to pieces, and nothing was seen of the poor women, who, it is possible, however, may have escaped, they being all ex pert swimmers. We hear that the Chinese soldiers ascribe their de feat to the cowardice of their officers, who they say were the first to run away, and that they were there fore obliged to follow their example. What the result of this affair may be it is difficult to foresee, but we hope, that having received this severe lesson, the Chinese will hereafter refrain from troubling Macao. The Chinese population here has been very quiet ever since, with the exception of many families removing. The Taoutae, it was rumoured, had disappeared since the fight, but we learn he is now at Casabianca. The Keun-min-foo and Tao-tang have also left Macao. The following letter was circulated on Monday last : " MACAO, AUG. 17. _ _ " Sir,—As the British community residing in Macao must be deeply interested in the fate of Mr. Stanton, lately seized by the Chinese, I have now to request you will be pleased to make known to them, that assurances have been received from the Governor of Macao by her Majesty's officers that the Taoutae, Yih, left Macoa at seven P.M. on the 11th inst., for the sole purpose of la)ing before the Viceroy Lin the strongest demands for the release of the aforesaid 13ritish subject ; and his Excellency has been kind enough to state that he will r ,. • • t,4:!•i"z EGYPT. wen p E e n r g fo ia rzi in g the quick- ALEXANDRIA, D EC . 23. The Great Liverpool arrived here a t sunset on the and Egypt. evening y , o g f e the 16rtehenirndsttn aftere Captain Engledue left Falmouth fiv e at o'clock in the afternoon of the 2d instant , arrived at Gib ra l tar at e i g h t o'clock in the morning of the 7th ins tant, departed at six o'clock in the afternoon, arrived at Malta at six o'clock P.M. of the 11th (a four days' run), left Malta at ten o'clock P.M. next day, and arrived off Alexandria at six o'clock P.M. on the 16th. The sun had set, and no pilot would venture out, otherwise the steamer might have entered the harbour the same evening. The total time was 14 days end one hour between Falmouth and Alexandrie, of which 12 days 11 hours were spent as sea, and 38 hours in the harbours of Gibraltar and Malta. This is a great improvement on the previout . , • . e -•- Th r • voyages, and is ascribed principally to the good effects of the better quality of coal employed on the present trip. Capt. Engledue brought a letter to the Pacha from the Directors of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, acknowledging their sense of obligation which he had con , ferret' on them, in common with all their countrymen in terested in the free, safe, and speedy intercourse with India, by the liberal protection he had granted to their enterprise at such a crisis. The letter was accompanied by presents of some valuable varieties of young apple trees and strawberry plants, specimens of preserved fruits of every kind that England could furnish, and some splendid fresh turbot and salmo❑ brought out in ice. The Pacha was much pleased with these tokens of acknowledgment, and was particularly struck with the fine condition of the fish, brought 3,000 miles, and still as fresh as if just caught. The wonder rang through the palace, and even the very cooks were con vinced of the superiority of steam navigation in the hands of the Inglese. We have to regret the early appearance of the plague here. Two " suspicious cases" occurred last week in two private soldiers of the 20th Regiment, one in the Egyptian fleet, and one on there. Then came the official notification of a decided case on the 16th—a boy who died in the vicinity of the Paella's magarmes in the western harbour. The following day another death from plague was notified as occurring in the 20th regi ment. Again, on the 21st inst., a third death was an nounced at Raselteen (beside the Palace) of an artiz in employed in the arsenal. The disease has set in thii year a month before the time of its appearance last season, and it is feared that in the crowded state of the city serious consequences may ensue before it runs its course. These occurrences will also have a depressing effoct on travelling and commercial intercourse in the Medi terranean. The quarantine at Malta will be increased to twenty-five days, the rapid steam communication be tween Egypt and England deprived of half the advan tage that justly attaches to it. It is a disgrace to civi lization that these tedious impediments to free inter , course should be still suffered to exist, when it is ad mitted by every medical man who knows anything about the plague or its symptoms, that two days are quite sufficient to allow the peculiar appearances to develope themselves in anybody seized with the disease. The fact of its never being carried into the holy cities by tens of thousands of pilgrims annually, nor into Persia, nor across the desert anywhere, nor even into Upper Egypt, the grand route of the Nile, ought to convince every in telligent mind that it is an affair of locality. The dangerous state of affairs in Syria still claims con siderable attention, both on the part of the Pacha and of the allied forces. Sir Charles Smith arrived here in the Hydra steamer on the I 7th inst., and had an interview with the Pacha on the morning of the 19th. Subse quently to the ceremonial of pipes and coffee, the attend ants were ordered to withdraw, and the remaining por tion of their intercourse was carried on in haled, as the Turks express it, which is not precisely equivalent to tete-a-tete, for there is the Draeoman's head and tongue in addition. Three subjects of the Paella's conversation have, however, transpired—the continuous mischievous intermeddling with Russia in his affairs, to which he at tributes the greater part of the opposition his pacific pro positions have experienced at Constantinople ; the shift ing and shuffling conduct of France, with which he is now heartily disgusted ; and lastly, the very peculiar po sition in which Ibrahim Pacha is compelled to remain, despite the wishes of everybody to the contrary. He had just received information, through the British Vice-Consul, that the state of disorder still prevailing in Syria was attributed by the Allies to the prolonged stay of Ibrahim at Damascus :—" But how can he or I help it, concluded Mehemet Ali, " when your Admiral stops and sends hack my messenger who bore the order for Ibra him's return ?" It appears that the Paella and Sir C. Smith agreed upon this point, and the good result has been, that yesterday tho Hyd:a was despatched to the A liniral, at Nlarmorica, with a letter from the Minister, Boghos Bay, of which the following is a translation— ALEXANDRIA, Dec. 21, 1840. " Monsieur l'Amiral,—Your Excellency will have perceived, on perusing the letter addressed by the Viceroy my master to his Highness the Grand Vizier, that we had been indirectly informed by an overland despatch, dated the last days of Ramazan, that his Highness Ibrahim Pacha proposed to effect his retreat from Damascus o❑ the 3d or 4th of Chavral (the 26th or 27th of Novembar), and to re- enter Egypt with all his army. This news has, it appears, been further con firmed by advises received by your Excellency, and in consequence of which you have thought proper, Monsieur l'Amiral, to send back to Alexandria Hamid Bey, who, conformably to the clauses of the convention concluded with Commodore Napier, had been forwarded to your Excellency with despatches for his Highness Ibrahim Pacha. " Mr. Larking having made known to me, that, ac cording to the information forwarded to him by the steam-boat which brought General Sir Charles Smith to Alexandria, that the state of rebellion in which cer tai❑ parts of Lebanon still continued against the autho rity of the Sublime Porte was attributed to the pro longed sojourn of the Egyptian General-in-Chief at Da mascus, and having further expressed to me his opinion that it would be proper to forward to his Highness Ibra him Pacha a repetition of the order to evacuate Syria, I hastened to submit this information to the Viceroy. His Highness having been pleased to take it into his consideration, has ordered me to state to your Excel lency that the communication by land with Syria is corn pletely interrupted in consequence of the state of anarchy in which that province is plunged at present ; and that it appears to him impossible to keep his Highness Ibra him Pacha au courant by that route, of the results of tlae late negotiations. His Highness also re minds your Excellency, that the return of Hamid Bey (who was previously charged to forward his orders to the General-in-Chief) had left him no other resource, no other means of communication. Considering the existence of-these difficulties, the Viceroy wishes (if the apprehensions of Mr. Larking are well founded, and if your Excellency still possesses any means of communi sting with the head-quarters of the Egyptian General) that you would be pleased, Monsieur l'Amiral, to send a steam-boat to Constantinople to carry anew to Syria Hatnid Bey, together with the English officer who may be charged by your Excellency to second him in his mission to Ibrahim Pacha. " Your Excellency is in a position to form a just idea of the actual state of things in Syria, and I beg you will do me the honour to transmit to me, as soon as possible, your opinion on this important point, to the end that we may promptly conform to it our ulterior pro ceedings. " I avail myself with eagerness, Monsieur l'Amiral, of this occasion to offer to your Excellency the expres sion of my high consideration, Sto„ " BOGHOS JOUSSOUF. " To his Excellency Admiral Sir .Hobert Stopford, Commander-in-Chief of her Btitounic Majesty's Naval Forces in the Mediterianeart." It would appear that Commodore Napier's convention for the evacuation of Syria is in a - fair way of being car ried out after all, although it is freely denounced by the allied authorities " as an act of insubordination." The Paella's two steani-boais and a corvette have had orders to hold themselves in readiness to take on board the sick and wounded, who it was expected were at Gaza, but by a courier recently arrived we learn that not a single man of Ibrahim's army had reached that fortress. As far as we can learn he is still at Damascus, whither he had returned with all his army, after having suffered considerably in health from his recent attempt to penetrate southward. He was very ill before the march commenced, and was obliged to travel in a litter. His attendants laid him down on the road two or three times, thinking he was dead, but by the latest accounts he still sur vived, though much reduced by dropsy and recent at tacks of dysentery. The state of Damascus is said to be truly lamentable at this crisis. " The reign of terror" was established there, and accusations of treason brought destruction on the heads of numbers. The commercial houses at Cairo in correspondence with the disaffected or suspected had been closed ; for a little sufficed to compromise a man. Report bad been spread that Scheriff Paella had bee❑ massacred by the inhabitants of Damascus, and that Menikli Achmet Pacha had deserted Ibrahim's standard with 500 men, but tilie two assertions are discovered to be without foundation. The report, however, o the sufferings of :the Turkish troops at Acre and the other garrisons from dysentery, and similar causes, is too true, and it was at one time an open question whe ther any British soldier or marine should be left o❑ land in Syria. By the last arrivals, the hospital at Acre contained only 101 patients, and the deaths had fallen from eight or ten a-day to one or two. I translate the follo - wincr letter, which has just arrived in Alexandria ; though the date is not very recent, still it contains interesting news to us. However, now that the blockade has been officially raised by the Porte, we may daily expect to hear more important intelligence : " Beyrout, Dec. 9, 1840. " On the 2d and 3d inst., we had here a tempest so violent, that it threw upon the coast eleven merchant vessels of the country—not one European. Among the number were three from Alexandria, laden with corn, and just arrived. The cargoes are all lost. Such a storm is not on record for the last eighty-five years. The Austrian corvette La Lipsia has been seriously damaged, and was obliged, in the ensuing calm, to be taken in tow by an English steamer to be repaired at Marmorica. In the Bay of Acre, at Kaiffa, the Eng lish brig of war Zebra had been driven on shore, where she still lies without hope of being helped off ; and her companion, the Pique, had her masts carried away. All the Arab barques and boats in our road and harbour have been destroyed without a single exception, and all the coasts whence the news has reached us have suf fered similar calamities. " By these shipwrecks, we are left in a serious defi ciency of grain, and, but for the arrival to-day of two vessels laden with corn from Alexandria, the scarcity would have been felt both in town and on the moun tains ; and we should, perhaps, have had an insurrec tion on the part of the mountaineers, deprived, as they are, of supplies of grain from Jaffa and Kaiffa by their new Governors, for reasons which nobody knows. The *,_ wheat discharged from the two vessels was sold at 17 piasters the roubi, which equals 123 piasters the ardeb. Mis supply will not last above a week, for both the mountain and the plain are unprorided. We are ob liged, from want of wheat, to make flour of barley. This grain sells at Bto 8-4 piasters the roubi. If we do not receive additional supplies from you, we do not know what will becom e of the country, or what the price may become. Rice is 175 the couffe (basket), but as soon as the communication with Damascus shall be thrown open the price will increase. " Ibrahim Pacha is still at Damascus. From confi dential letters received yesterday, dated the 4th inst., we learn that he had taken the precaution to put his troops into winter quarters there, placing them in houses throughout the city, which he had obliged the owners to evacuate for their use. The Druzee Sheik, Jous snuff Ahmed, with 600 men, had ventured to attack a body of Egyptian troops encamped outside the city, but the assailants were surrounded by a superior force, and nearly all destroyed. Eleven prisoners had their heads c it off before the gates, and suspended over the walls, as a warning to the mountaineers, who will probably find an opportunity, before the Egyptians leave the country, to retaliate with interest." It appears that the retreat of Ibrahim to Damascus (after having quitted it subsequent to the period above mentioned) was influenced, not only by the fact of his own bad health, but by the vengeful opposition of the mountain tribes, through whose territories he would have to pass, encumbered, as he was, with immense numbers of women and children, who followed the camp for safety and sustenance ; and, also it is said, by in formation which reached him overland of the negotia t.ons in progress to procure him and his army a safe r , usage home by sea. The opinion is not now merely general among the Franks of Alexandria, but universal through the Le vant, that the fact of the distribution of 30,000 stand of arms amongst the mountaineers has rendered them virtually independent of the Sultan, and that hence forth they must be allowed to govern themselves accord ing to their own notions of right and wrong. Letters from Candia say that Prince Vogorides, of Samos, is paying his court at Constantinople, and mak ing every exertion to procure his nomination to a new Princedom and Government of the island of Candia. To-day Lord Exmouth's yaeht, " The Rover of Yarrow," arrived from that island in four days' sail. The proceedings of Mehemet Ali in Alexandria still :eresent a riddle to the uninitiated. One day we have eymptoms of peace, conciliation, and goodwill to man ; the next we see evidences of obstinacy or tours de Jorce for stage effect, or the ruling passion for warfare carried to a pitch of monomania difficult to conceive. The engineers are now busy with their platforms, sandbags, and breastworks in the Eastern harbour adjoining the Parlamenta building, and all this week the artillerymen have been kept in practice, either firing the guns in their batteries along shore, or pretending to fire them. One ay we have a hot press for conscripts for the National Guard ; the next the most active recruiting agent is bastinadoed, and all individuals in the service of the Franks are formally exempted. Recently 80 pilgrims :(Turks and Arabs), on their way from Cairo to Mecca, were set upon by 250 of the Bedouins well armed and mounted on dromedaries. The pilgrims were also armed and fought stoutly, but suffered severely in the conflict. All were plundered, some were wounded, and some were killed outright. Speaking of the sinews of war required by the Pacha, he has recently been offering to public sale quantities of rice, saffron, flaxseed, senna, coffee, gumarabic, lentils, and beans ; but the sales effected have been very.trifling —viz., 4,291 ardebs of Rosetta rice, at 216 piasters per ardeb, one-half payable in two months, the other in tour months ; 72 cantors of senna, at 105 piasters per canter ; 500 canters of gumarabic, at 126 piasters per canter ; and a lot of flaxseed, at 25 piasters per canter ; the three latter articles payable in ten days. A cargo of beans was also sold to-day, at 30 piasters the ardeb, duty free (164 ardebs of beans equal to 100 quarters British). The Pacha seems to he aware that his finances do do net receive the most disinterested management, and he has been heard to say lately, " If I could find six honest men to help me, I should be a rich and happy Pacha. I stand alone, without any one but Boghos Bey to second me." At present his attention is directed to working profitably the land he has taken into his awn management, and several individuals have already been appointed to oversee his different estates, with a view to the establishment of a better system. Messrs. Briggs and Cu. received intelligence from Cairo yesterday of the arrival of the steamer at Suez on the 18th, at 3 o'clock p. m. The Indian mails, 18 passengers, immediately proceeded to Cairo, accompa nied across the desert by an escort of 20 of the Pacha's regular cavalry, and 40 irregular (Bedouin) horsemen. They had arrived safely at Atte at half-past 9 o'clock his morning, and were embarking at the Mahmoudicb canal when we last heard of them, but they had not reri‘.ed in Alexandria at sunset, their passage being retarded by a strong northerly wind. ALEXANDRIA, DEC. 24, NOUN. The Great Liverpool is starting with the Indian mail and passengers, and I have only time to mention that the Pacha has received intelligence (through the French Consulate at Damascus) that Ibraham Paella had a desperate engagement with the Druses on the 4th of this month, at Zahle, in which he had defeated them, with the loss of 5,000 men, and twenty of their chiefs. The latter were put to death after the battle. Ibraham's force is estimated at 70,000 men, with :;0,000 women and children. He had put his troops in winter clothing, and was intent on resuming his march southwards, to enter Egypt as soon as the wea her permitted. The mails and passengers from Suez have crossed the desert in safety under the Pacha s escort of horse, arrived here an hour after midnight, and were taken on board without delay this morning. Sir Charles Smith is also on board the Liverpool, going certainly as far as Gibraltar, perhaps to England. He leaves Colonel Mitchell in command on the coast of S)ria. Reinforcements are spoken of as absolutely necessary to compensate for the sickness experienced there by the British as well as Turkish troops. The Cleopdtra steamer left Bombay on the Ist of December, and arrived at Suez on the 18th, at three P.M., and at Alexandria on the ?4th, at one A.M. MALTA, DEC. MEHEMET ALI'S SUBMISSION. 28. Up to the moment of departure of the Acheron for Marseilles, the steamer expected from Marmorica, with the result of Captain Fanshawe's mission, has not ar rived, but we may venture to anticipate it by stating that we have strong reason to believe that the Sultan will not receive the submission, and consequently refuse to reinstate Mehemet Ali, in which case the Pacha will resist to the last, and will, if pressed, retire into the interior, even as far as Sennaar, with Ibrahim Pacha and his army ; but it appears doubtful whether the troops will remain faithful ; in a contrary case, Mehe met Ali and his son will be obliged to surrender, should they escape with their lives. Unfortunately for him, his submission was only nominal, and not accompanied by acts. He should have shown his sincerity by at once sending back the Turkish fleet, which he could readily have done, as the Turkish seamen remaining were sufficient to navigate the ships, and, if not, he had only to add some of his own. Should the Sultan refuse to reinstate him it will be highly interesting to know whether France will interpose, or leave the obsti nate Pacha to his fate. The Messager (the Evening Official Journal of the French Government) published on Monday night the following most important despatch, ad dressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs by the French Consul at Malta : TELEGRAPHIC DESPATCH. " MARSEILLES, JAN. 2, Six O'CLOCK IN THE EVEN ING, RECEIVED IN THE AFTERNOON OF THE 4TH. " MALTA, DEC. 28. " THE CONSUL OF FRANCE TO THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS. " Kurruck Singh, King of Lahore, died on the sth of November. During the funeral ceremony his suc cessor, Nou-Nehal Singh, was killed by accident. Shere Singh was to mount the Throne. " The affairs of China are on the point of being set tled. The English are to receive three millions ster ling as as indemnity. " Dost Mahomed has definitively surrendered to the English." AVERAGE AGE AT WHICH PERSONS MARity.—l subjoin the result of an examination of the recorded ages, in 4,858 marriages, which, as they are not selected instances, but belonged to districts varying greatly in situation and character, and included every marriage in such districts, thus comprising persons of every class, may be presumed to be a fair example of the ages at which marriages occur throughout the whole kingdom. The re sult of calculations founded on this abstract shows, that the average age of marriages was, for men, about 27 years; for women, 25 years and a few months:— Age. Men. Women. 15 and under 20 159 688 20 ... 25 2,586 2,327 25 . 30 1,150 861 30 —. 35 398 320 35 ... 40 219 157 40 ... 45 156 234 45 ... 50 103 76 50 ... 55 70 38 56 ... 60 35 17 60 ... 65 19 6 65 ... 70 4 4 70 ... 75 4 0 1 75 ... 80 0 4,858 Genera.. 4,858 school for the Instruction of the Second Annual Report of the Registrar. schAoolmsaisntgerisng of day-schools and S uaday-ichools, is shortly to be o pened at Exeter Hall, under the patronage of the National Education Committee. ---SpITALFIELDS SCHOOL OF DESIGN.—O❑ Monday evening a preliminary meeting for establishing a Branch School of Design, in connection with the parent institution at Somerset House, was held. MORN INO EDITION. DEATH OF EARL SOMERS. This Noble Earl, who warn his 81st year, died at Brighton on Tuesday morning, soon after six o'clock. His Lordship took a carriage-airing on Monday afternoon, and after dinner complained of serious illness. He was ill during the night, and shortly after six o'clock he requested to be taken out of bed and placed in a chair, when be almost immediately expired. John Somers Cocks, Earl Somers, Viscount Eastnor, of Eastnor Castle, in the county of Hereford, and Lord So mers ; Baron of Evesham, in the county of Worcester, and a Baronet ; Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of Herefordshire, Recorder of Gloucester, and Chief Steward of Hereford, was born on the 6th of May, 1760. His Lord ship was married, first, on the 19th of March, 1785, to Margaret, only daughter of the Rev. Treadway Russell Nash, D D., who died on the 9th of February, 1831 ; and secondly, on the 3d of June, 1834, to Jane, fourth daughter of his uncle, the late James Cocks, Etq., and widow of the Rev George Waddington. The late Earl has left two sons and one daughter— Viscount Eastnor, who succeeds to the titles; the Hon. and Rev. James Saniers Cocks, Prebendary of Hereford Worcester, born the 9th of January, 1790; and Lady Mar. Garet Muria, born the 6th of August, 1791. Viscount Eastnor, now Earl Somers, M. P. for Reigate, and Colonel of the Herefordshire Militia, was born on the l 9 it of March, 1788, and married, on the 4th of March, 1815, to Lady Caroline Harriet Yorke, fourth daughter of Phillip, third Earl of Hardwieke. By this lady, who was born onthe 15th of October, 1794, his Lordship had issue : —The Hon. (now Lady) Caroline Margaret, a Maid of Honour to her Majesty, born the 6th of August, 1817 ; thu Hon. Charles Somers (now Viscount Eastnor), born the 14th of July, 1819 ; the Hon. (now Lady) Harriet Catherine, born the 23.1 of January, 1823 ; and the Hon. (now Lady) Emily Maria, born the 16th of November, 1829. By the decease of the late Earl, and the accession of Lord Eastnor, to the Peerage, the Lord Lieutenantcy of 11 , 2referthltire, and a seat in Parliament fur the borough of Reigate, become vacat. DE ATH (ii? REAR-ADMIRAL SIR PHILLIP VERE BROKE, BART, K. C.B. The melancholy intelligence of the death of the above gallant naval officer was received at the Admiralty on TUN day morning. lie died on Sunday last at Broke-hall his seat in SufLik. The deceased Admiral was son of Mr. P. B. Broke, and was born in 1776, and married, in 1802, Miss :Middleton, daughter of the late and sister of the present Sir Wm. Middleton, Bart. The date of his entering the navy is Jan., 1789, arid his commissions are dated as fol low :—Lieutenant, Aug. 19, 1797 ; Commander, Jan. 2, 1799; Captain, Feb. 4, 1801: and Rear-Admiral, Jan. 22, 1830. When midshipman he was in L'Eclair at the re duction of Bastia, and in the Romulus in Lord Hotham's actions in 1 795. Was Lieutenant of the Southampton when she so gallantly cut out the French Corvette L'Utile from under the batteries of Porquerolles in 1796. \Vas in the battle of St. Vincent, and was in the Amelia at the capture of La Hoche by the squadron of Admiral Sir J. Warren. When commanding the Shannon was ac tively engaged at the surrender of Madeira, and subse quei,tly commanded that frigate in its memorable engage.. ment with the American frigate Chesapeake in 1813, n hen he was severely wounded. For his brave conduct on that occasion he was created a Baronet and received a gold medal. He was also presented with the freedom of the City of London, and received many other public testimo nials commemor a ti ve of th a t h ar d- earne d victory. In January, 1815, he was nominated a K.C.B. The de ceased Baronet, who was brother of Sir Charles Broke Vere, M. P., and Major G. Broke, leaves tit° sons and-a daughter, the eldest one, Philip, succeeding to the family honou: s. • " WOOLWICH-TUESDAY. ROYAL ARTILLERY. The difficulty of obtaining recruits for the regiment has led to the exrthent of reducing the standard one inch— viz , from 18 to 22 years of age, 5 feet S inches, end from 17 to 18 yeas of age, 5 feet 7 inches. The corps by this arrangement will soon be completed, but it is to be feared, not with the stout and robust a; til lerymen of which the regiment ought to be composed. The number of weakly subjects unfit for the duties of the profession they had adopted, and who weie on that ac count discharged last year, was in a gr, at measure the result of a similar older, particularly with regard to those enlisted in Ireland. It was formerly the pride of the hardy sons of the Scottish peasantry to enter this distinguished branch of the service, for which their healthy frames and patriotic spirit rendered them well adapted ; bat since the reduction of the pension allowance to 61. a day after 21 years' service, none, except those who have lost that cha racteristic of their countrymen, an anxious desire to pro vide for old age, can be induced to enter her Majcs'9's set vice. When it is considered how few are pensioned after 21 years' service, out of the number that enlist, and the expense attending delicate persons who are sel dom out of the hospital, it is probable that a return 3 a pension of one shilling a day would, in the end, prove most economical. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. The Falmouth sailed on Saturday --- fOrD;ptford. The Lightning steam-vessel, Lieutenant Commander John M. Waugh, arrivel at Woolwich on Suaduy from Sheerness. In coming up the river she came in contact with the Duke of Sussex steam-vessel, by which her lar board paddle-box and wheel were very much damaged, and the figure-head and cutwater of the Duke of Sussex carried away. The cress cf the William and Mary, the Firebrand, the Lightning, the Falmouth, and officers and men belonging to the ordinary, were paid their wages yesterday at the pay-office in the dockyard. The Pluto s:earn•vessel.—Mr. Duffill has joined as Se. cond Master, in the place of Mr. Pettigrew, sick. The Lizard steam-vessel.—Mr. C. Walker has joined as Clerk in Charge. ROYAL ARSENAL. The Leeds schooner arrived on Saturday, with a cargo of shells from Messrs. Wood and Co. The Eliza schooner arrived the same day, with a cargo of grape-shot from Messrs. Graham and Co. The Iriel schooner arrived at the same time, with a cargo of shot from the same contractors. The Ebenezer ordnance sloop arrived on Monday, with old guns and other stores, from Portsmouth. The Queen ordnance sloop arrived on Monday, with gnus and other stores, from Devonport. It appears that the Prince Regent transport ship could not contain the whole of the 79th regiment (Cameron Highlanders), and that the remainder were embarked in No. 11 transport ship, which has towed down the river by a steam-vessel, and passed Woolwich at 9 o'clock on Sa turday morning for Gibraltar. THE BRITISH ARMY IN INDIA. The following is an extract from a private letter written by an officer in India, under orders to proceed to the dis turbed part of the Company's territories, and dated Oct. 17, I_B4o : We have just received orders to take the field imme diately, and we march the day after to 'morrow towards Kurnaul. We are not told where we are ultimately to go ; but we all know that is against the Punjaub. Iler Majesty's 31 (Buffs), 9th, 44th regiments, and 3d Dragoons, three regiments of native cavalry, some horse artillery, and six or seven regiments of native infantry, are the first named to move forward ; but several others expect to receive orders to proceed in the same direction in the course of the week. Affghanistan is still in a very unsettled state; this, together with our having a large force in China, has made the Nepaulese very saucy ; however, the assemblage of a large force on their frontier soon brought them to their bearings; but the Government have intercepted a correspondence carried on with the Court of Lahore and the Nepaulese, promising them money and military stores if they wou'd still continua to annoy us, while they would do all in their power to prevent our sending any assistance to our troops in Aff ghanistan. The Government have always had an eye on the Punjaub, which is the richest and most fertile country in the world, and they now seize upon this as a favourable opportunity of possessing themselves of it, particularly as it is between their possessions and the Indus. Govern ment have certainly managed to make all the arrange ments with admirable secrecy. A few hours after the or ders arrived, upwards of 1,000 camels made their appear ance at the static ns as if by magic. Should I not be able to write from Kurnaul, I shall probably write from La hore or Unuitzhur, where all the Sheikh's treasure is kept, said to be upwards of 30 crores of rupees. What glorious prize money ! I am building castles in the air, as per haps, we are doomed to disappointment the same as we were at Feruzpore. DUBLIN. 0 squadrons of the 6th Dragoon Guards (Cathi neers) march from Dublin on Monday fur Dundalk, where they will arrive on the 6th inst., and occupy barracks. Major Johnstone, of the 27th, arrived at T e mplemore on the 26th ult., from the servic e companies of his regimant at the Cape of Good H o p e , an d a ssumed the command of the depot companies. Ensign Paget Bay, ly, of the 30th, joined the depot of hi s regiment at Enniskillen, on the 3lst ult., from the service companies at Bermuda. Major Marshall, of the Royal Engineers, has joined to do duty in this country, and has been appointed to the charge of the engineer department in the Munster district (head quarters at Cork), in s uccession to Lieutenant-Colonoi Slade, who is about to embark for foreign service, wTikit7RDER-.—On Satutdav last a n inquisition - I, L as taken at the Geo rge the Fourth, ' East road, befoCroQtl Mr.CORN-LAW v A Cooper, coroner of this borough, on view of the rr t t h eos e ni ,d s joannugdoifhn s t i r ,F go i ey e ; u s l . t ar ui nao t 1 :1; 1 t a G b t o ao u s I a t e twenty cars, worksneet body of NVilliam Jolly, aged two years. The deceased which-lane. only 9e. he has to pay Is . 6d. a week for rent. fie out of Work lately, and his wife and child were a s since for several days literally in want of bread. but two blankets ; one was pawned in the sum mfboi:e.autehvvxdt ch il d sum mer, oywbhefaeee re ahneser was ske s d, the other the poor woman was obliged to pawn on Tuesday, the 22d ult., at a time when the deceased child was suffering from illness. That night it became worse, and died in the course of a few hours ; no medical man was called in, the poor woman being unable to pay for any assistance of that kind. The family, it appears, sleep on a mattress placed on a brick floor, without sheets or blankets, and with no other covering than an old sack, the man's great coat, and the woman's cloak. A post mortem examination was made, from which, and from the other evidence, the Jury came to the conclusion that dis ease, which had terminated fatally, had been brought on by the inclemency of the weather and the want of sufficient bed-clothing, and returned a verdict accordingly._ Cam bridge Advertiser. REGISTRATION OF LETT ERS.--Yesterday the new Post-office regulations relative to the registration of letters came into operation, by which a system of regis tration will be adopted applicable to all descriptions of let ters without distinction, whether they contain coin or other articles of value or not. The registration fee is ls., which, w i t h t h e postage, must be paid in advance. Foreign, co onial, or ship letters' registration will not, however, es lend belend the port of despatch. 1