The Express.
London, England, 1848-06-02 00:00:00

THE AUSTRALIAN COLONIES.

We are in receipt of parrs from Sydney to the 9th
of February, from Hobart 'town to the 31st of January,
from Auckland to the 19th, and from Wellington to the Ist
of January.
By the Sydney papers we are reminded that the 25th of
January was the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the
colony. The seventh do aide of its history commoners with
the arrival of the &shops of Al-!bourne and Newcastle at
their respective •4, x. A new and safe entrance has been dee.
covered into Port Curtis; and, in consequence of this dis-
covery, a desire appears to have been awakened in Sydney
that the project of a settlement there should be resumed.
The puldie meeting at Sydney to deprecate Earl Grey's new
constitution for the colony has been followed by one held at
Parainatta for the same purpose. The abstract of the revenue
of New S iuth Wales (exclusive of the Port Phillip district)
for the quarters endirm 31st I) mealier, 1816 and 1847 re-
spectively has been published. Under the head general re-
visite we find an aggregate increase on certain items of
6.150/ , countN•balaneed by a decrease of 3,2191. on others.
Under the head of crown revenue we find an increase on
certain items of 8,2581., csunterbalaneed by a &maws of
2.40.4. on where. The increase en the total revenue of the
quarter ending 314 December, 1817, over the c parading
(porter of UM is 9 082/. The increase in the general re-
venue is occasioned principally by augmented rs cella. from
spirit duties and th, sale of town allotments near Circular
(lead; the counterbalancing decrease by a falling Off in the
menus from tobacco duties, harbour due., and assessment
on stock. the increase in th, crown revenue no less than
7,9131. is derived from quit-rent. and redemption of go:t-
rent.; in the returns from the sale of lands there is a falling
off of 1,3901.
The Ilubart Town papers announce the opining of the
session of the Legislative C.,until by the lieutenant-governor
on the 26th of January.
The New Zenlaod news from Auckland is in effect that
Governor Grey took the prescrilal calls and assumed the
alminiitratinn of the colony under the charter un the lit of
January. The other officers of the government were duly
sworn in at the same time. But the I;overnor had resolved
not to issue writ.' for elections until he received EMI Grey's
eeply to the despatches he sent home on first receiving a
copy of the charter. On the 3rd of January the governor
sailed from Auckland for the southern settlements. Ile did
not intend to return before the beginning of March, and he
contemplated a visit to the Chatham and Auckland islands
during his absence.
From the Wellington papers it appears that the natives in
the s nith are both quiet and industrious. Seven hundrs
bushels of w heat hail been received at Wellington front
Waikanae, c .nsigntd by the natives of that place to Messrs.
Rhodes and Co., who arc commissioned by them topurchase
a small vessel for the purpose of conveying their produce to
Wellington. A good breadth of land was also sown on the
cast coast.

OVERLAND INDIA MAIL.

CALCUTTA, APRIL 22.

Very little of interest or importance has transpired
here since I last wrote. The Union Bank and its
affairs continuo to engross much of public attention,
thrie being hardly any thing else to contest with it its
hold on men's minds.

One of the wealthiest shareholders of the bank,
'taboo Aushootosh, is likely to fling off his load of
reeplnsibility. It appears that, previously to Novem-
ber last, he had been gradually selling out, and that
iu the month mentioned he sold seven sharer, the last
he held, to one Kalliskiesen (Hate, at Itr. 300 each.
The transfer was recorded at the bank, and the
purchaser has since paid the pro rata contribution
upon the shame. liut, under the act enabling the
b tuk to sue and be sued through its secretary, a
transfer is not complete till regis'ercd in the
Supreme Court. This registration is by the act to be
made within twelve months of the transfer, and the
change in the pninrietorahip of these share. not I iavi-g
yet been made, Aushootosh was still legally liable fur
them. lie applied to the court for a mandamus,
calling on the bank to register the memorial, but the
Chief Justice, not being satisfied with the affidavits,
and evidently suspecting an attempt to evade liability,
refused to interfere. Subsequently, however, on fur-
ther affidavits being put in, a ruse /del has been
granted. The present state of the wreck, the present
attitude of the shareholders and their creditors, is
well set forth in the following article in the Zig:is/s-
-mall :

THE UNION BANK.—The affairs of that most unfor-
tunate concern, the Union flank, appear to be approaching
a state of inextricable confusion—a condition long ago anti-
cipated by us, from the want of any decisive and rig virus
steps on the part of the shareholders. The committee ap-
pointed by them has suffered the time for action to pass by,
exrecting the forbearance of creditors to last for ever;
they now find that it is a race among th se sufferers
who listened to propositions sa long as they were not in
a condition to act for themselves ; but, having obtained
their judgments, have now resolved to enforce them. The
seals of court have been put upon the bank pre-
mises—its property is everywhere scotched for to effect
the came process—and, what is a crushing blow to the opera-
tions of the bank committee, their debtors are served with
formal notices to withhold payment from them. The exe•
cutions put in force are shoe of Messrs- Glyn and Co. for
ten lacy, Mr. O'Dowila for twe and•a-half lei., and Nlessrs.
Kettering and Co. for about a lac and • half. We ran scarcely
be surpristd at this result, because the confidence of en -
ditors is gone, the progress milking towards a settlement
of their claims being itnperceptibl:. The preset,. s crc-
tary of the bank addressed Messrs. attorneys
on the 13th instant, expressing his belief thrt the
whole of the tangible assets of the bank would not
realise a lac of rupees ate sheriff's sale ! In another letter,
addressed to the same parties, the secretary clews the ease's
of the bank under eight distinct heads, as follows : 1. The
hank premises, the legal estate being in trustees, who have
contracted to sell them. 2. Indigo concerts', of which the
legal estate is also in trustees. 3. An equitable mortgage
only on a Talookh and three houses. 4. Shares in joint-
stock co.npanies, unsaleable at present. 5. Indigo, the
whole under pledge for specific claims to different
parties, and very little surplus expected to be available.
6. Debts duo to the hank, secured by nerociable in,tru-
ments, or unadjusted balances, only reelieslile by indulgence
and the greatest forbearance to the debtor.. 7. Claims on
various insolvent estates. fl. Cash balance in hand required
for winding up the affairs of the bank. This is certainly a
beggarly account of empty boxes, and it is not surprising if
I the creditors, seeing so little prospect of a settlement of their
claim., should have now threatened proceedings against the
individual shareholders. Seventeen of the fattest or readiest
victims have accordingly been selected, and are threatened
with process being issued against them on the 211 h instant,
unless they can point out property of the bank to meet these
claims. It appears to us, we acknowledge, that the execu-
tive committee must relinquish their task. The parties who
have obtained judgments being, some, at least, agents, cannot
relinquish the priority they have obtained, and the assets
will be forced off to meet their claims. The shareholders,
therefore, will have obtained no advantage by the efforts of
the last three months ; on the contrary, they will be more
completely stripped of everything available than could have
happened by any other arrangement, and will he left indi•
viduelly liable to the creditors. Some of them, watching
the coming storm, have already fled, and others, we see, are
endeavounng to be relieved from their responsibility by pro-
cess of law. We mentioned in our overland paper that a
proposal was about being made to pay all the creditors
eight annas in the rupee, provided they would accept it in
full of their demands, the parties advancing the money taking
over all the assets, and making the most they ean out of them.
fled this been offered at first, it might perhaps have been
accepted ; hut it is doubtful now whether those who have
obtained judgments, if, acting for others, can relinquish their
hold, and they may expect to squeeze the whole of their
claim out of the seventeen selected victims, though in this
we think they will be disappointed. Never was such inex-
tricable confusion in any commercial establishment, and the
revelations yet to ho made, will, it is expected, cause still
greater surprise to the unfortunate shareholdere. With one
of these we shall treat theta to.morrow. —Englishman,
April 21.