The Press.
London, England, 1853-10-08 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

master for a newly•peopled district, awl to find for
that district a couple of messengers and bags. Thus
much do the palwrs smty sit the post-settee mismanage-
ment within the cottony. As tor the transmission of
correspondence is, England, and the delivery of
letters front the neither country, the complaints are
still more frequent and acrimonious. A curious protest
on this point has been published and signed by tifty-
two gold diggers of Forest Creek, Castlemaine, corro-
borating the statements which the colonial papers con-
tain of the gross neglect that characterises the whole
conduct of Australian administration, but which in no
0110 department makes itself so generally and pain-
fully fell as in those post-ottices, which appear to be
established for the retention and suppression of
correspondence :
" Seldom, " say the protestors " does a letter from
friends—from wife, sister, or brother—ever reach time
unfortunate immigrant. We travel about seventy
miles to Melbourne Issr a letter. We live at great ex-
pense while there. It costs us at least twelve shillings
per slay. We spend hours, tor days together, under
a bunting sun, before we can see an impertinent
clerk, who, with perfect coolness, informs us there
are no letters—ay, often without looking. If this
answer does not dismiss the applicant, we frequently
find a letter is at last given, and the postmark and
slate prove that the letter has been lying at the office
for weeks past."
The system evidently sets a premium on bullying.
A modest retiring man, who has perhaps travelled its
miles, spent several pounds, and waited two or three
slays bet Ore he gains admission, will turn away foot
sore and sick at heart, mad, exasperated by his want
of success, and taught by the example of others, he
blusters and threatens until he becomes a nuisance
and must be got rid of, tuts( then, perhaps, a letter is
foimd. As for letters from home, min delivery is the
rule—delivery the exception. The letters which are
posted for transmission to England are of course
beyond the control of the senders, and are dealt
with accordingly. On this head, the appeal of the
fifty•two gold-diggers of Forest Creek is as explicit
as it is touching. They say :
" Pray inform the friends of immigrants at. Victoria
that they are often written to—that they are not for-
gotten—and, worse than all—tell theta that they
are never heard of. We have much to over-
come: many trials are before us. We still love to
hear from the land of our birth."
A partial explanation of the growth of this iniqui-
tous system is furnished by certain letters and para•
graphs which now and then figure in the Australian
papers. The Colonial liovernment has, to a greater
or less extent, lost. the power of controlling its
servants. A Oovernment situation at the present
time is not so desirable as it was before the discovery
of the gold fields changed the social aspect of those
colonies. salaries, though raised to meet the
exigencies of the time, are no great prizes in a
country where navvies are paid at the rate of from
as. to Ills. per any : where the wages of journeymen
bakers and saddlers attatunt to 3/. per week with
rations; where gold-diggers now and then turn up
small fortune in a month, and where enormous sums
are made every year by cunning speculators and
enterprising tradesmen. Industrious, clever, and
energetic men, with eolonial experience, do not covet
tiovernment situations, nor do they care to retain
them. tiovernment clerks, who are called upon to
pay as 11111111 relit for a small house in Victoria as
would obtain for them a mans in England, either
resign their posts, and turn their talents and energies
to better account, or, if they have neither talents nor
energy, remain where they are, and idle away their
time at the expenst—in mono than one respect—of
the public. Suds conduct cannot of eourse, enhance
the respectability either of the serviee or of the ser-
vants, stud it is a lamentalole Lot not 811 astonishing
fart. that the adistinistration of Victoria is scarcely
ever mentioned by the colonists except in terms
indicative of disgust and bordering upon contempt.

llusstA AND Ti ItkEV.—Thei following answer has
been received from the Foreign-office, in reply to the
memorial from the public meeting at Sheffield, pray-
ing the Government "to take prompt and decisive
measures to cause the immediate evacuation of the
Danubian principalities : to mako hear all
the e•pettses consequent upon her lawless proceed-
ings; and to prevent her again outraging justice and
internati tttt al law" : . .

" ForefiTll-oMee, mept.2tl, 1574:

" sir,—l ant iiirected by the Earl of Clarendon. to *Aiwa
the receipt of your letter of the loth memorial
atTree.l upon at a meeting of the inhabitant, of tiltetlichl. praying
that the British 1;0\ 4'lllllloll will take prompt I e tiara•
ann... to eau..., the iinineiliate evacuation of the Danubian prim
ellailitley. to make Iltholia bear the e Venn.% a the 11....111ellit•11
1110.4.. E..% ince., mail to prevent her Gina again 11;i% no: reeour.e
to similar pnweeilittim. I suit 1.• paste Its ion iu reply thst her
hiej.-4)*utioverunteut. are tidly setteible of the shock given to
the independence of Turkey by the late rreeeedittize of Hubei* In
forcibly taking IMWAtIII4OII of t portion tit the 0110111511terribuieb;
awl it% her NtuJesty's ILION-eminent .•otuinnr to he of opinion that
Ili' himilit.'isalwe "(Lite isidepeudettee of Turkey is esmeniirl, not
only for Itritiblt interrste, but for the genersliattereMe 01.1.:unope.
the ioeniortaliats may *.al übbitroti that her Mnie*tY.* novena
.till urglect its moistures which they may thick Debt esleu•
fated W sovure so Luportaut au objset. • ILA. ADDlMuiva,"

SATURDAY,

THE CHINESE REBELLION.

Sou': interesting &tag respecting the revolt in
t 'hina are presented in the following letter from a naval
officer on the Ching station, under date of Shanghai,
July 9 :
" I take this olipoitunity of writing a few lieu about
the important and interesting .elliellt here, 0411' boats
having just returnell from chingliung-fixi, where the',
hail been ill Steial•li cf some &metiers from the Sala Imostdr;*,
enticed away by tile 1'1111U...14 ( (1111105 W I.loVellllol*.s ) pet Tie
"They report that the insurgents, by the confession of
the Imperialists, haul taken Fung-yang, the capital of a
department, some time since, anal hail beateit a large fibree
which we knew to be somewhere there under lieslien. The
rebels further stated—and I have int doubt of it—that they
hail taken also ille capital of a ilepiutinent, rani
close to the Yellow Itivcr.

From the few vessels at the mouth of the Grand ('anal,
as compared with what there were there when we passed,
and bum the few troopa at t'hiug•kiaug4uo (from $,140 to
400), as compared with what then were there 150,4100 or
00,0001, they t have a large force in the north.
Many have been inclined to say that they were. hosing
all the uiural etteet of their capture of Nankin, and that
the) showed themselves unequal to an emergency : but it
appears to 1111. that their plaits have lieu and are admirable.
They brought away a quantity of children, and, 1 suppose,
women. from Iluamg•si, whom it would have embanussed
thew exceedingly to have Nulled on at present ; so they
notified snail provisioned Nankin fur their reception : suit
then, or rather at the same time, commenced fortif,ing
Chingdinuig-foo, as the key to the firma Canal, leaving
force enough in them tin• defenve, and, by occasional
sallies, to keep the Imperialists under the impression that
their forces were greater. and so thaw oft attention from
what. was their real object all along—viz., the capture of
Pekin. I had no I doubt that their intention. when we were up
in the Hermes, was to proceed thither with all convenient
haste, but they vistaed our question by saying, We are
waiting orders from the Tae-ping-wang or, ' Waiting fur a
revelation as to where we shall go.'

" While the insurgents were fortifying these places they
were building sir altering boats—l presume to entry their
connui,siniat, ria, us they have sopped the supplies going
north. they world resolve to take suplies with them.
Building or altering vessels ow; necessary, because this is
rather a low tiute of the year for the canal.
" Yon will observe that the places taken rather indicato
that they are not travelling by the canal. 'ibis way be
partly because it is low, and partly to heat the forces up-
posed to them in detail, or to prevent a junction between
the Manehoo army under lisesben and the Chinese army.
under Ileang near Nankin, ho, though they should inset.
upon Pekin, it would be fatal for them to lose Nankin.
There is a large Tartar furor in Whagnan. near the month
of the Yellow River, and they way wish to avoid this for
the psvitclit.
" They still keep up their strictness. I have it from a
very intelligent Chinese Scripture•reader. who has been in
i:itgland and speaks English very well, that lie was told by
a soldier. near Nankin, where be bad been, that 1.4M10
soldiers offered to join the insurgent ranks, but would not
lie accepted ituless they embraced Clnistianity, which they
refused to do.
" The whole country seems hostile to the Manchoos, and
will tutu instantly the insurgents arrive at Pekin and issue
their mandates. They have excellent infin-mation from
all parts. Thos, there was ft large stun of money coming
up &son Canton ter the Imperialists; they sent a party of
1,0109 fixim Nankin, who made a sweep round to the south,
cut off the party escorting the treasure, and returned to
Nankin in s.ifety, passing through the Imperialist army
each time.

"'They reeeived our orlieers and the eonsular interpreter
most graciously. but expressed a wish that European?.
:11011141 not visit tla of 11111e101 they initialed staying, as tin*
luriw•rialists would take their heads. and say the insurgents
had done it. They were etidently lulwilling that we should
know flair nnweno•nts, lust they should transpire, and the
Itupw•rialists become swan• of them ; but 1 think the latter
am getting app►ehensive, and nee drawing their forces by
&awes away front thing-ki►mg-fro. They admitted to our
of ievne that they had no expectation of retaking any of the
places, and are, indeed. getting quite reek!ess as to eonae-
pollees, see g more concerned to kntr.v where Hutton
was to be hail than anything else. The first question th••y
naked was.' Have you ant• opium to sell and, on our
people visiting their junks, they found nearly all were
bpittnointokers, certainly all the mandarins. 'flies,. fellow"
ut•trr go into action, and twilit quite eoutelt if the
lire both skit's, regardless of whether they hit anything, or
whether there be anything to hit. They have urine fl Wrist',
and, because not mite!' or sunk. they report a triumph.
" The insurgents are daily I wet oiling more popular. tiec•
lug that they do violetwe to so many of the feelings of the
Chinese, th.• wonder is how they should be so popular as
they are. It can only be that the %maws awe intensely.
unpopular.
'Mere has been a demand for Christian lbooks, mole
especially from Shang-tong, for the last month or more.
and it continues unabated. Others. .enitt. ask,for hooks of
the a • religion as that of the insurgents, and some have
even asked for instructors to he sent among them.

" The insurgents are wonderfully satisfied as to their
ultimate and surly success—they talk of two or three
months. The general at Ching-kiang-foo said, I 31111
getting an old man now, but I could b at any twelve of these
fellows 4)111)0.1 11 to iir4 and, %peaking of arms—' The mug-
kets often miss tII bee aitae our powder is bad : and. as for
those with clips. why. we flout understand them, and if we
did we could not make the caps; now, the spear notr
tire, and the Imperialists are afraid of it.'
" The greater number of the junk% that were feat from
the Fel•bo for grain are gulag back entity, uetu•ly all 114 e

OCTOBER 8, 1853.

licottle refusing to lay their laud•tat:, Then. have Levu
Imminent distu►•lanees near here, iu eonsetittenee of their
sitteuipting to force it, and the tioven►wcut has in each
caw Levu obliged to give in."