The Express.
London, England, 1859-08-11 00:00:00

CHLNA.

(From the &period Friend of China.)
The English mail of the 26th of April came to
hand on Sunday, the 6th inst., its forty-first day
from London ; and by the Azoff, which arrived yew
terday, we receive telegraphic new', coo Calcutta
and Singapore, to the 3rd ult.
By advice; from Shanghat to the 14th inst. we
learn that Admiral Hope left that port, in the gun-
boat Lee, on the 11th, bound, it was reported, to
New Chwang, the newly opened port in the
Gelf of Shantung, and thence to the Peiho,
whither his Excellency, on the 9th, O.
@patched the steam sloops Fury and Cruiser,
transport Hesper, despatch boats Cormorant
and Nimrod, gunboats Starling, Forester, and Kee
trel, followed on the 10th by the steam frigate
Highflyer, and gunboats Janus, Banterer, and
Haughty.
IVith the Lee the Chesapeake and Opragnm also
left for the Gulf of Pecheii. the Moistener, with the
marines, starting on the 10th. The British, French,
end American ministers were all at Shanghai when
the mail left. Mr. Bruce bad spoken of his Inten-
tion to leave for Pekin as on the 13th, but it was
quite uncertain when he woald leave. The Chinese

Commissioners, after an interview with the American
ambaroador, went to Soothow. Neither Britian not
French embassies held any communication with
them. Mr. United States Minister Ward offered the
Chinese plenipotentiaries one of the American
steamers to return to court in ; but they declined,
with an excuse that they preferred land to water
travelling.
This is about all we have to tell of what is known
of the movements of our chief diplomatists in China.
Changes of an important nature, however, ars
silently working in the organisation of the several
departments of the British diploma'ic service,
though but little notice is taken of them. And yet
it should be a matter of some record that the ester
blishment known as the Superintendency of Trade in
China has been altogether removed from Hong Kong.
Excepting Mr. Rennie to audit their accounts and
pass requisitions on the colonial treasury for money,
there is not now one officer here in any way con.
neeted with the old superintendency service. Thee
sweep, to our thinking, has been too radical to be
beneficial, and time may show it. Where, toe in-
stance, are the old records kept now, and who is
their keeper? It cannot be that the archives of the
defunct East India Company have gone to Shanghai
with the rest of the proem. A pretty place of de-
posit that—foreign territory—should England be-
come involved in a war with Russia—a power of
whose strength in these waters we are but just realia-
ing a slight sense.
Since the beginning of the year the following
have been the principal changes in the various con-
sular establishments in China :—Mr. Alcock, consul
at Canton, has gone to Japan ; Mr. Meadows, from
the consulate at Ningpo, has gone to Newchwang;
Mr. G. W. Caine, from the position of acting registrar
to the superintendency, has been made consul at
Swatow ; Interpreter Hart has resigned the eery
vice, and taken adeputy. inspectorate of customs under
the Chinese government ; and Mr. Groom, who wan
auditor's clerk for superintendency accounts, has
also gone into the Chinese Custom.honse service.