The Express.
London, England, 1850-01-21 00:00:00

•

was regeheall ealmiesi the nay. Oa the evening of the 16th,
the shipmate et 1111.wlisire it was ascertained that
flat W lea Yea flee days previous, for the
emblilleiLthe boate bottoms. Cin the 16tk the
rabid aff the latter place, and were informed
dreg Ilk &Mee had proceeded farther down the coat to a
plow WWI ais.aeng la Cochin China. Here were manifest
plush of the eatrages eonunitted by then vagabonds, a
leadimetWei ration of the town being In ruins from
the ethnic whisk had bees made on it by the pirates,
they baring likewise killed a number of the in-
' habitants end tarried off many of their women. Ti..
reple autemeasi Wong and Mr. Caldwell, who had gone
lea elmais ter Weeeettest and on their knees with tears
=hem In wino marauders and release their
Oa the a/tenon of the 18th the vessels arrived
at the island whichtowsbaa, a favourite was Ship-
"agstsel, near plasm sae of his scout boats fallen
is with and burnt. On the afternoon of the 10th
I die expedition reached oo.nong, shore the inhabitaws
were so much b dread of the pirates that it was with
the utmost difficulty they .said be brought within talking
diatom. At last, however, they stated that the pirate
fleet was then blookadiag a town called Cho.kum
at a few miles distance, and that their inten-
tion was the next day to attuk Prfung, another town
in the same vicinity. Early en the morning of the 20th,
as Captain Hay was about to proceed in the direc-
tion pointed out, a large fleet of junks was observed under
the land. and apparently standing out, which they continued
to do until their hulls became quite visible, when upwards
of 60 sail were counted from the ships' deck.. Shortly
alter, they were observed to alter their course and stand in
for the shore. The man-of-wer immediately got under
weigh ; but owing to the went of pilots to take them into the
river. at the entrance of which there is a formidable bar,
they did aot get within range until about half-past four that
afternoon, when a number of large junks anchored at the
entrance opened fire upon them, which was instantly re-
turned by the ships ; the conflict then became general for
about halt an hour, when a rocket from the Phlegethon blew
up one of the largest junks, afterwards ascertained to have
bean Shap-'ng-tsei'a own, and which set fire to two or three
others nur her. Shortly after clerk, 27 of the largest junk.
were in a blase, the explosions of powder end of the loaded
guns, vb.& went off as they became heated, added to the
grandeur of the scene. The next day, the wort of destruction
was resumed, and bcore night 24 more of the [bet were de-
stroyed, the men who escaped on shore being hunted down by
the Cochin• Chinese who lined the shore, armed with spears
and spikes, and spared none. On the 22nd, six more junks were
dutroyed, those being the last remaining in the river.
Shap-'stg.tsei is said to hove escaped through a shallow and
narrow passage with six of hie vessels. On the 23rd the ships
put to sea, and arrived at Hoi.how on the night of the 24th,
tram which place, in consequence of a gale of wind, they
did not get under weigh again until the morning of the 28th;
and after bevies experie,,ced considerable deny end diffi.
coley in crossin• the bars, the expedition arrived safely at
Hongkong on Thursday the Ist of November. During the
whole of the operations, the 11. C. steamer Phlegethou was
of the greatest service, owing to her exceeding light draugi.t
of water; and bad it not been for her, Mr. Caldwell could
not have obtained the hiformatini to which the success of
the expedition is to be attributed ; and as the vessel's steering
qualities are very poor, great credit is due to Captain Ntblett
and Lis tfficiers for the expert manner in which they carr.ed
her through the various creeks and sands.
SINGAPORE. _

DEC. 6.—There is nothing to report from this set-
tlement. Recent accounts from Malacca represent
the aspect of affairs there as somewhat troubled. Tne
Resident Councillor has, it appears, ordered all dealers
in provisions to sell them only in public market.
Even shopkeepers are not exempted from this order.
A spirited resistance was offered by the inhabitants;
for some days the native shops were clocd, and all
business was at a stand. The inhabitants cf Malacca
were threatened with starvation. Troops were sta-
tioned in the streets, and the Resident w-nt ebout
attempting to argue the matter with the shopkeepers.
Rice was supplied to some extent from the goe ern-
ment stores. The petty and meddling regulation
which excited this commotion was formerly in force
in all the three Straits' stations, but had been allowed
to fall into abeyance. Titers were also some disturb-
ances among the miners at Kassung (in the territiry
of Malacca), in consequence of an kttempt, under go-
vernment auspices, to revive a monopoly without prc-
. vions intimation. Verily, the officials at Malacca
need looking after. _ _ .

LABUAN.
We have received advises from Labuan to Novem-
ber 20. There was but little sickness ; the place was
destitu'o of every article of food, and to supply the
coolie labourers and other residents it was found neces-
sary to indent on the rice in the commissariat stores be-
longing to the detachment of Madras troops :rationed
at the settlement. Sir Jas. Brooke was absent from the
colony at Sarawak ; in the meantime the heutcaant-
governor, by his vagaries and ignorance was doing
all that lay in his power to close the ca. eer of
the colony. The officer commanding the troops,
Captain M'Caskill, had been arrested by the
lieutenant-governor, in consequence of the latter,
a civilian, erroneously supposing that he was
invested with military control. Captain Nl'Caykill
was ordered by Sir George Berkeley, commander-in-
chief at Madras, to proceed to Singapore on court-
martial duty, and intimated to the civil authorities at
Labuan the object of his departure ; but the lieu-
tenant-governor arrested the military officer just as
he was about to embark, and did not release him
from arrest until a fortnight after.
We desire to call attention to an incident, well
authenticated, which is one only of many atrocities
committed in Borneo, since our adoption of Labuan
as a careening place for those engaged in the civilisa-
tion of Borneo. In the Singapore Straits Tim o,
Nov. 20, we find the following notice of a gross out-
rage perpetrated at Kalifas:—" A few months age,
some Malays are reported to have murdered a Kling
man on one of the little insulated specks of land
called dependencies of the island of Labuan,
from whence they were reported to have fled
to Kali's, on the mainland of Borneo Proper. The
government agent, Mr. Low, demanded of the
Sultan [of Borneo] that the accused parties should
be given up; but the men (if they were
really there, which is doubtful) having refused to
obey the Sultan's mandate and yield themselves up,
Pangeeran Macota was sent on in the steamer to
Kalias, whither the Nemesis proceeded. Arrived at
Kaliae, the demand for the surrender of the accused
was renewed, and an answer returned that, having
fortified themlelyes up the river, the people could
usither by moral suasion nor by force compel their
appearance. Upon this reply Pangeeran Macota gave
an order to the people of Kailas to bring the accused
dead or alive, or, in the event of not doing so, their
houses would be burned and themselves punished.
On the following day a small canoe was paddled
round the steamer containing two ghastly heads and
four handy, suspended from a bamboo attached to the
stem and stern of the canoe. We have been accused of
dragging revolting seenesbeforethe public, but a sense
of duty, a love of natural justice, and an honest deter-
mination to put a stop to barbarities encouraged and
promoted under the British name and influence de-
mands it. This disgusting, barbarous and revolting
exhibition—two ghastly beads and four livid hands—
is held up to the gaze of the Bomeans as our symbol
of civilisation !

monsoon baying set in favourably, the amount of
sickness has decreased, but the small-pox is raging
with much virulence amongst the Javanese popitb,
tio3. Tte most active measures have been adopted by
the governmen t to place the vaccine operation within
the reach of all classes of the inhabitants. The Go-
vernor-General still remains at Soursbaya, and is
very ill; hopes are entertained for hie recovery and
for his return to the seat of government.

COLONIAL.
CEYLON.

The Overland Colombo Observer, of Dec. 14, con-
tains the following summary of the events of the pre.
ceding month :
Ole columns will be found to contain ample information
end most interesting disenuier.s on the subject of enffee plant.
lag, together with a notice of cocoa nut planting at Jaffna.
The litter is far leas encouraging than we anticipated or
.•ld have wished. The coffee crop, it will be observed, is
expected to fall short of the estimate farmed at the come
meneement of the season. One of our correspondents, whose
experience is great, calculates on no more thee 300,000
for the crop of 1840-60. Heavy reins, in • majority of
the districts, have belied the promise of the beginning of the
seeson, and sadly interfered with the despatch of coif .e fast
estates. This circumstance and the scarcity of rice in the
Colombo market, have tended to reduce the price of bandy
hire The rice market as we write is assuming an alartnct:
aspect. About 100 vessels are said to be detained by &deer"
winds at Peumben, while an estate agent swum us that ha
bee sought is vain for a quantity equal to 26 bushels at gm
one bazaar in Colombo. The result of all tLis is that rice,
which on Wednesday morning was selling at 30. 3d. pee
bushel, rose rapidly during the day to 3e. 6d. and 3.. ,jd,
Y sterday, at noon, the price was 41. And it is cot supposed
that on the arrival of the laden vessels there will bs a Cltris
eponding fall. The coolies on the estates must be fed, sad
the Madras pap( re bring alarming &neonate of the failure of
the nottb•caet monsoon rains, on which the rice harvest 01
B-.uthern India and the supply to Ceylon entirely depend.
Freights are plentiful and moderate. The mail of Oct. 6
' reached Colombo from Bombay on the evening of the 1;:k
of November : that r 4 the 24th reached Belle by steno• r
the 29th. The subject of cattle trespass still continuo, on. I
the eoreat and most pressing. We have Lrouzlit
into one view the history of legislation on the 'to.i.ot
with the laws now in force ; while government, we
learn, have the draft of a new crdinance in cireuletids. r,

no other subject perhaps are opinion so diverse, and intern%
so opposed. Lord Torrington and his friends we prs,,,z,
btsve now completed that body of evidence in his hymn Is
which so many persons have been s• cretly and lius.:y
gaged at Queen's-house, in the colonial secretary'srEcs, s,L/
elsewhere, night and day, for some months. Mt ra..n
headmen have been induced to favour the governor with at
address, and his lordship has been attempting his owr. delet.ci
in the shape of a complimentary or& r addressed to hie
tary struments. Lord Torrington would have d tae wi,e
by imitating Earl Grey and waiting for the decision ot
committee. _ . _

Tnere i* a complete change is the cceupants of the L!.t'
offices in consequence of the departure for England of
Emerson 'foment and Illessra. Selby and Cripps, and
abience on leave of Mr. Templar. Mr. M'Carthr,
the son in law of Mr. hi awes,of course succeeds Sir
'Foment in the Secretariate ; Mr. Gibson act. as
General in the room of Mr. lal,Carthy

corn.* acting treourer in the room of 'Mr. Tempter;
James Stewart enters tne Executive Council s.; b
Queen's Advocate ; while the Hon. (I. C. Talbot

Mr. Cripps as ectirg government agent of the see:Leen
vine*. Much has been nid of the litigious pewee
the natives, bat intelligeat natives can retaliate wht r. •
lee k at the case now going on between two Britisa ers.
While the coffee market ir improving, and the qu.. .
further el-strings in Ceylon is being disctusad,•Le t7a.,
els :wue re liven of land cleared end still aettlabh.
intereet. It will he observed that, while upwari4 '
urn have been already cleared and planted. the s •
teeny good land available in private hands does tu•
110,000, while of that unsold there is probably not
proportion fitted fur planting. Much kcal it:
of an interesting and a valuable notate e .
f iund in the present number of the Orrrlawl
extricted from cur Sheet Almanac f r
the rest is a table showing that in half a eueic
the enser.d.ture of this unfurtunate *felony wu a •
from 361.01M11 to 618,0004. Ns wonder, then,
years the de fi• it amounted to 65001. Newt. 11:e
Lion of the parliament and people of Britain hat. I, • .
riously directed to our Olin, we may leek f.r •'!I
&ileum to this in the neat eight years. The nor r :
stems spre►ding from England to Ceylon. Ter..
have had their throats cut by a murderer.