The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-31 00:00:00

Ceylon for change of air. Mr. J. I'. Grant has sue.
(veiled Mr. Halliday as Home Secretary to govern-
ment of India. The Bank of Madras has given a
dividend of 141 per cent. per annum. Colonel Mo.
berly, stipendiary member Madras military hoard,
died on the sth inst. It is reported that Sir
Armstrong has been ordered down from the lulls
to Madras, sick or well, to superintend the embarka-
tion of the large reinforcement for the Rangoon army,
to Ito embarked from Fort St. George in the end of
next month. The sum realised by the seventh go.
vcrnment sale of opium at Calcutta, the 12th inst.,
was 331,00111. M. E. de Valbezen has been appointed
consul for France at Calcutta.

During the post three weeks the community of
Bombay has lost two of its members—Mr. John Hol-
land, a barrister of the Supreme Court, who died un
the 12th ; and Mr. Alexander Sutherland, a incr.
chant, who died on the 3rd inst. The fernier gentle.
man had an extensive practice, and was considered a
very talented man. The latter had risen by Cavern
as u merchant, and was universally respected fur his
I integrity and meekm as and gentlemanly behaviour.
We have now only four barristers in Bombay, via,
Mr. Le Metaturier, whose duties as advocate-general
preclude him from practising largely, and Messrs.
1 fickinson, lloward, and Jenkins. Mr. Crawford has
withdrawn almost entirely from the Supreme Court
since he became first judge of the new small cause
court on a salary of 1,14001. a year.
The governor has quite recovered aguin—if, in-
died, anything serious ever ailed him, and seems to
be enjoying himself at Dapoorie. We were
perfectly disgusted, on the evening of the
13th, to find the Atelaha re-entering port with
the mail of the 25t June from Bombay. It
appears she had on the 7th reached within 71)7 miles
of Aden, when her commander turned the vessel's
head to Bombay, instead of beating up for his desti-
nation. Ilis excuse was that his coals had been
burnt out, and under sail he never could reach Aden
with such head winds to contend with. A court of
inquiry was ordered by Sir 11. Lecke, who gest: it as
their opinion that commander Barker had acted
very wrong in what he had done ; he has been
severely reprimanded by government—his previous
services and good character alone saving him from a
court martial. Ilis vessel, it seems, had 100 tons
of coal on board when she reached port—she
had sailed back. So our mail of the 25th June
is sent back in company with to-day's, and it is to
be hoped will have better luck this time.
P.S. The H.C. sloop Elphinstone came into har-
bour this morning with the English mail of the 24th
June and two passengers, Dr. Malcolm Mackenzie,
and Lieut. Lawrie, 3rd M.N.I. The mail had just
reached in time to allow of answers being sent back
by return of post. Sir W. Gomm is to be at Cal-
cutta in October to superintend the embarkation of
troops for Burmah. Of the reinforcement, Bengal
is to supply ILK 29th, 2nd European Fusiliers,
10th, 33rd, and 37th N.i., the regiment of Loodhi-
ana, and 2nd brigade horse artilery. Colonels
finish and Dickinson are to command the two bri-
gades, Sir 11. M. Wheeler commanding all. Lord
Dalhousie is to be accompanied in his tour to Burnah
by Mr. Courtemv, private secretary; Mr. Allen,
foreign ditto ; Major Banks, military ditto ; and Cul.
Hawkins, commissary-general. Sir F. Currie is to
act as president in council, Bengal, during the Go.
vernor-General's absence. Lieutenant W. D. Free-
man, 80th Foot, died suddenly in Fort William, on
the 12th July ; and Lieutenant W. Wheeler, adju-
tant 2nd M.N. Vet. Batt., at Arcot, on the 13th
inst. The 6th, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, or Nth Bengal Ca-
valry, go to Podia% ur, Nyogong, Kurturpore, and
Meerut, respectively, in course of the relief, which
this season will embrace some forty corps in all. The
16th irregular cavalry and 4th N.l. had returned
from Peshawur to Rawul finder.

The Lahore Chronicle of July 3, says:
Within a comparatively short time of the military men-
pation of the Punjab by u Brirish force, the prineiples of
free trade began to develop themselves in the reduction of a
considerable amount of the vexatious duties leen d along
the frontier and within the empire itself. No Pounce had
the Sikh kingdom become a British province, than even
those few items of taxation that still continue to disfigure
the customs tariff dissppertred from the schedule, and the
merchant of the Punjab was free to export or to import
every article of trade, raw or manufactured, without living
subject to a single demand on account of the state. Salt
remained the only tax-paying article, and the result has
amply answered the expectations of those who carried out
in the Punjab the liberal views that are rapidly
extending iu Europe. Free trade is an absolute
fact in the most extended sense of the word in the
newly-acquired province. The whole of the measures that
led to this most desirable resuit were fully described by us
in three articles that appeared in the Chronicle of June,
1850. But while these wise resolutions were introduced on
both banks of the Sutlej, at a period that would hardly have
been anticipated by the most sanguine, it was found (the
fact was discovered almost by an accident arising out of the
complaint of a merchant conveying goods downwards) by
the authorities irs the-e provinces, that the boasted freedom
of navigation on that portion of the Indies running through
Sind, so pompously proclaimed by Lord Ellenbomugh, was
a myth, and that goods passing through that country were
su luect in many instances to exorbitant demands in the shape
of transit sad river dues, all the more entroue fur being let
out to farmers. We have for some time had before us a
tabu'.ar statement, divided into three schedules, from which
we learn (Sched. A.) that no less than 31 articles of goods
were subject to duty if imported by land into Sind, and
that many of them, such as spices, manufactures of iron,
etc., paid ten per cent. if imported on British bottoms,
which means, we presume, by British merchants, and
that this per eentage was double in the case of goods
imported on foreign bottoms ; 2ndly—from schedule B.
that cotton, tobacco, and " all articles not above enume-
rated," exported by land from any part of Sind, were sub-
ject, in the great majority of items, to three per cent. on
the value, doubled as above ; and 3rdly—from schedule C.,
that comparatively speaking, heavy duties were levied on
grain of all kinds, cotton, silk, copper, iron, tohaisco, im-
ported or exported by the river from and to foreign coun-
tries. These schedules, were calculated to ruin the trade
of any country, especially one adjoining a province in which
the must liberal measures of free trade had been introduced.
It is with much satisfaction, therefore, we have the pleasure
to announce that a portion of these duties, that is, the river
and export demands, which, notwithstanding their vela.
thins minuteness, yielded only an annual re-venue of
46,579r5. (thus divided: Shikarpoor, 10,448r5. ; Ilaiderabad,
13,533r5. ; Hurachee, 5,325r5.), have been abolished by
order of the Governor-General. Though much of the credit
of this measure (a public notification may be immediately
expected) is due to the representations of Mr. Freer, the
commissioner of Sind, the board of administration fur the
affairs of the Punjab has some share in the adoption of a
resolution of a measure calculated to prose of great benefit
to the province of Sind.