The Express.
London, England, 1847-02-26 00:00:00

COLONIAL.

SINGAPORE.—We are in reeett of files of the
Prey Pre and Straits Timm, from toe 4th of December,
1846, to the 9th of January, 1617 (inclusive). There is no.
thing of stirring interest in them ; and what of interest there
is, relates rather to other settlement* than to Singapore it-
This is natural, considering how favourably it is situ-
ated for becoming a central depot of intelligence.
The second session of oyer and terminer was opened at
Singapore on the 10th of December. The Free Press gives
the Recorder's charge to the grand jury; but neither in that
paper nor its competitor is any amount of the trials to be
found. Yet one of them, at least, must have powinsed inte-
rest. It was an indictment for slave-dealing. The Recorder
stated: " It was not necessary, to constitute the crime, that
the woman should have been offered for sale in Singapore
it was sufficient if, from the evidence, it appeared that shit
I had been brought there with the purpose of being treated
so a slave." The Free Press of 24th December contains an
interesting account of the Examinations of the Singe-
pore Institution Free Schools. It is noticed inciden.
tally that the junior clames contain Kling*, Malays,
and Chinese, as well as Indo-Britains; but the names of all
I the boys who received prizes indicate them to he of Enro-
I pees race. Admiral Sir J. T. Cochrane arrived at Singe-
pore on the 19th of December ; Mr. Brooke, of !Immesh,
on the 20th. Mr. Brooke accompanied Sir J. T. Cochrane to
Penang on the 22nd, where the admiral intended to await
li the arrival of his sucmeor. . _ .

-117enTi;teame31;Ibeen rather irregular in December.
Up to the morning of the 9th of Januery neither the
steamer from Galls nor that from China had arrived.
H.M.S. Replogle had brought the mail/ from Hong Rom,

the Lady Mary Wood not having arrived share the`
of December, when the Eapiegle sailed.
At !logo HMCo there had been few urivaLi from rft
coast during the month of December. Complaints ore eeftde
about the high rate of duty levied on soiree earthenware ft
Assay contrary to the promise of Keying. The
querns has been that all the mane earthen...
from that port is shipped by amagglers at se
outer anchorage : and the British gaffes by haviny
resident oonsul, as he must of mune discourage arauggifty.
Sir John Davis's unpopularity Walls to increase. A triumph
has been achieved over him in the reversal of the sentence-
Mr. Compton by the Chief Justine. The remarlu of the
Chief tlnstice are couched in a manly sad independent sea
lie pronounces the sentence to be unjust: " Mr. Common,
received sentence under one ordinance, and was heed under
another, which is contrary to all principles of }:nglieh jut.
tire." Besides considering the question in its It gal bearing,
the Chief Justice entered into an examination of it in ;
general point of view es regards the charges preferred by
Keying against Mr. Compton and the English mereharna
and apparently credited by the English plenipotentiary. TS
Chief J malice considers that the English had a perfect riot
to rept 1 the Chinese from the factorize--" there is a ey
distinction to be made between a person acting in defences'
his person, in which case he ought to withdraw, and one de.
fending his property, who ha. a right to pursue the assailants
until they are driven away. Throughout the transaenft
nothing appears more natural or more proper than the
course followed by the English." In reference to the attempt
which was made both by the Chimes and English authuri.
ties to connect the riot, which took place on the 891 Juli,
with Mr. Compton's conduct on the 4th, and on tthich a.
semed connection the necessity for fining Mr. Compton is
based—the Chief Justice declares that the ear nection
assumed without the slightest evidence. It would hoe, berg
a most extraordinary circumstance if Mr. Compton or any
other Englishman, on being struck, had not returned the
blow—l should have been astonished if he had not."
Our Singapore files also contain relent information from
the Australian colonies. Regarding New EBIALAND they sup.
ply some details of Cook's Straits, again omitted so the
Auckland papers last received. Rangihaeata was understood
to be building a strong pah near Otaki ; and antieinatine a
renewal of aggressions from that quarter, E Puni's people
were constructing a strong pah at Petoni. The convened
natives, between Weikanee and Rangitiki, express a Inns
fur perms ; the unconverted, looking upon Rangihaeata as
the last and almost the only stay of their ancient customs
and usages, have decided on taking the field to ask his.
A meeting of natives was held at Ponnta in the beginning of
September to discuss the events arising out of the war.
They showed an inclination to petition for the release of
Rauperaha. The ligatiewa tribe and the European settles
are strongly opposed to such • step. That chief has lon
caste, but his craft and cruelty would enable his
to do much mischief. A body of hostile natives
had appeared in the Wairampa district ; the genic -s sought
refuge with the nations of the district, who them t mid the
intruders with death if they meddled with the Europeans,
or their docks or herds. _

From VAN filLICE11;8 LAND it ia intimated that Mr.
Latzabe has been formally inducted as " administrator of
the government." A communication is rid to have been
made to Sir Eardley Wilmot, from Mr. Gladstone, through
Sir Charles Fitzroy, to the effect that until certain report
are cleared up, it will be impossible to confer any appoint-
ment upon him. Sir Eardley, it woe added, was about to
call a committee of inquiry, imposed of the members of the
late executive council. . _ _

From SOUTH AUSTRALIA, journals had been received at
Singapore to the 29th of October. The extracts given add
little to the intelligence we published yesterday. The U•
bourers at Port Adelaide; had struck for higher Mages,—bad
secured 6s. a day,—and even at that rate it was difficult to
get hands to load and discharge ships.
The only items of intelligence from New SOCITU WOLF),
relate to a report at Sydney that some '<puttee, had traced the
Boyne river to where it crosses the 26th degree of latitude.
It is described as being there a navigable stream of fresh water,
joined by a river from the northward, supposed to be the

From BATAVIA, it is reported that a measure will pro-
bably be announced, in the course:of the *arrant year, for the
total abolition of the domestic slavery which still prevails in
Java.

INDIA AND CHINA.

By the regular mail, which wu delivered yester-
day, we have received oar files and correspondence.
From the latter we now give the following extracts,
some portion of our correspondent.' letters having
been anticipated by what appeared in our paper
yesterday :
. _ _

BOMBAY, Jnv. 15.
The recent ill-succore of our troops on the frontier of Seinde
has given great offence to the general. though apparently to
have attacked the Booghtiss in the position they had taken up
on a hill would have been productive of nothing but defeat.
But Sir Charles Napier knows not what it is to 'urn his back
on an enemy himself, probably from
placed in the predicament in which Col. Stack found himself,
and therefore can make no allowances for such a manceuvre.
Sukkur was rather unhealthy—but at the best of times rhea
was it otherwise ? Kurrachee and Elydrabad were healthy.
The harvest is Scinde is this season most abundant; sad the
traffic by the Indus rapidly increasing. It is time it should,
if the saying of Lord Ellenborough is to be realised—that
ships of all nations will float on its waters.
The Niyana's dominions, for • short while thought to be
in a promising condition, have again commenced to relapse
into their former state of anarchy and oonfaaion. The Prince
would seem to bear his new minister no good will ; on the
contrary, he looks on him with diagnatus the creature of the
British government, and endeavours to annoy him in
every poes ado manner. Added to this, the Vuxeer has not
realised the expectations entertained of him on his brat
esiuming office. Some recent proceedings at Hydralad
have come to light, which throw anything bat credit on his
notions of justice. Our government must eventually inter-
fere in the affairs of this state more energetically than it has
hitherto done if it wishes to see it either contented or pros-
perous, and the sooner such interference commence-, th►
goofier will the desired result be brought about.
The Ameer Mohamed Khan and his two sons, the instiga-
tors and leaders of the late rebellion in dm province of lihe-
pal, have been sent prisoners for life to the hill fortress of
Aeseerghur, in the Bombay presidency.
The new governor of our presidency, Mr. G. R. Clerk,vin
probably be with us by the 24th. If he radians the expecta-
tions formed of him, Bombay will be happy under his rule.
Death, with equal band, has again been dealing in high
quarters. Titarrawadie, the lad ex-king of Ihirmah, boo
been gathered to " his fathers." He warped the OMB
in 1838 having deposed his elder brother. Some sammtbs
ago, after exhibiting much violence and oonfirmed looser.
he was in turn deposed by his eldest sea. What effect his
death may have on the policy of the country, internal and
external, we are not prepared to give an opinion ; but think
an attempt might be made to place • resident again at the
court of Ann, as it is possible the views of the son may differ
somewhat from those of the father.