The Express.
London, England, 1861-05-27 00:00:00

INDIA.

By the arrival of the Overland Mail we receive de-
spatches from Calcutta to April 22 ; Madras, April
27. The news from Calcutta is five days later than
that received via Bombay. This mail brings to
England the report of the commission which has
been sitting in Calcutta to arrange the details of
the amalgamation of the armies. It was finally
amended and approved of by the Supreme Council
on the 19th ult.

The General Order which was published on the
22nd inst. occupies fourteen of the large columns
of the Englishman in small print.
Mr. Laing was to produce the budget of 1861-2
and make his financial statement in the Legislative
Council on the 27th ult.

In a debate in the Legislative Council on the
20th ult., the Chief Justice questioned the power
of the Governor-General in Council to make grants
of crown land in India without the orders of the
Secretary of State in Council.
Sufficient funds have been raised in India to
meet the wants of the famine-stricken districts up
to the end of July. Should the rains then fail it ia
said the calamity will be terrible.
The Scinde Railway has been thrown open as far
as Kotree, 110 miles from Kurrachee. A special
train started on the Bth, and general traffic com-
menced on the 18th tilt.

The Governor of Madras had gone to Calcutta to
sue the Governor-General.

A new planet has been discovered by the Madras
government astronomer. It is to be called Asia.
This is the first discovery of the kind ever made in
India.

Honorary magistrates are to be appointed in the
North West Provinces.

CHINA.

The following is from the summary of the China
Mail of April 15 :
The general tenor of the news for the past fortnight is of
• pleasing kind. The subject that continues to
public attention is the Yang-Use River. The expedition
under Vice-Admiral Sir James Hope has done it, work,
and, as mentioned in our last overland, the river is open to
British trade' and an expedition under Commodore &rib-
blip( is about to start with a view of making the neeessary
arrangements for that of America. It will be recollected
that • deputation from the Shanghai Chamber of Com-
merce accompanied our expedition by invitation of the ad-
miral, in order to report upon the commercial prospect, of
the Yang-Use. Agh meagre in details, it is perhaps
as full as the circumstances allowed, and in other respects

it is very well written. Out of much obscurity, k silt be
coafessed that a gleam of hope shines pretty clearV far the
future trading prospect* of this stream, but the presence of
the rebels on both of its banks throughout so large a district
of country is simply unfortunate. Aa the state of the in-
"urgent cause is pretty dearly exhibited by our COM.
spondee& letters, its not necessary to refer to it here.
Nothing whatever has recently transpired to alter the
opinion we expressed two weeks ago, that the re-
bellion was a grievous curse upon the land, pos-
sessing as it does no redeeming feature to attract
the approval of an outside spectator. It will be
seen from the accounts that the navigation of the Yang-
taze-kiang presents comparatively few difficulties. The
Poyang lake, however, has not come rap to the expectations
that were formed of it. It is shallow throughout, with the
exception of the river's bed that traverses it, so that
without an experienced pilot the waters of that lake are
not very well available for trading vessels. The expedition,
it is understood, found the assistance of Mr. Parkes most
valuable ; and this not merely owing to his knowledge of
Chinese, but to his indefatigable, perseverance in seeking for
information.

As regards Japan, there is nothing to indicate any change
in the state of affairs mentioned in Let Overland Nail.
There seems to be on all sides a desire to avoid the nns-
takes which, twenty years ago, we made in dealing with
their neighbours the Chinese. The system of always ap-
pealing to anus is beginning to be felt as not only unjust,
but also as profitless, and this bat consideration is
at length beginning to have its own weight.
The English public will, for some time to come,
preserve their acquaintance with Japan through the
medium of the illustrated press, an artist having set out on
a professional tour through that pleasant land. H.M.&
Actaeon will leave this place shortly upon a cruise of
survey round about the Japan Wands, and will do for
those waters what the Saracen has done for the Malay
Archipelago. The appointment of Mr. Laurence Oliphant
as Japanese Secretary of Legation is likely to result in
good, that gentleman's abilities and principles equally fitting
him for such a situation.

Thepastf;ririgiatadde little to our intelligence from
Pekin. The Emperor, by the hat edda., wee soon es.
panted to revisit the capital.

THE GREAT EASTERN.

By the Adriatic, vid Galway, we have received
New York journals of the 14th instant.
The particulars of the outward voyage of the Great
Eastern are fully chronicled. The trip occupied
nine days and thirteen hours, and would have been
quicker but for a severe gale on the 6th that., which
necessitated an abandonment of her regular course
for a while. This gale amounted to almost a hurri-
cane, and caused the great ship to roll in a manner
which had not been anticipated. Tables, chairs,
&c., which were not screwed down wore overturned,
an thrown together in a broken heap.

The ship behaved admirably, and, although she
was often covered with spray, it was quite impos-
sible for any sea to overleap her lofty aides. The
beat day's run was 348 miles. A speed of 14 knots
an hour was several time exceeded, but on the
whole voyage an equal average was not reached.
Sails were found to be of little or no service, and
their use was discarded. The almost absolute
safety of the ship, and the unparalleled comforts
she affords were fully demonstrated during the
voyage. The New York Times says :

It 4 now definitely andentood that the ship will be
offered for male to the government as a transport ship, but
should a sale not be negotiated she will accept of a charter
for that service. The government will, no doubt, imme-
diately avad itaelf of the opportunity to obtain so desirable
an addition to their mesas of offensive operations.