The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-25 00:00:00

THE LABOUR MARKET.

At the date of our last overland summary, by the
Madras, on 22d September, there was some excitement
among our working classes in consequence of a portion
of them being out of employment. It now appears that
this was little more than a temporary clog on the wheels
of industry, which can be easily explained. The work-
ing men of Victoria have had the honour of building and
adorning Melbourne and Geelong. The people of Castle-
maine, of Sandhurst, of Ballarat, of Beechwortb, and of
fifty other townships, have patiently wated till this was
accomplished. The moment it was announced that
there were unemployed men in Melbourne anti Geelong
applications poured in from Portland, from Warrnam-
bool, from Gipps Land, and from the distant interior,
and now we quote from the latest reports of labour
markets as follows :—Geelong says, " There is little
to note in the state of the labour market since last
circular. Most of the surplus labour has been drafted
off." And Melbourne is still more emphatic—" There
has been a considerable reduction in the labour mar-
ket; more activity has prevailed, with fewer hands
offering. Many hirings have occurred during the
week for agricultural and pastoral purposes, and
many mechanics have migrated into the interior,
and obtained employment. A storekeeper at Sand-
hurst, lately in town, mentioned to us his intention to
build a stone store, and that the wages of masons were
365. per day. He also stated that a workman at Sand-
hurst can live cheaper than in Melbourne, because, al-
though groceries and provisions generally are dearer, his
rent, wood, water, and butchers' meat are less expen-
sive. The prices of labour, which have boon fluctuating
during the last four or five weeks, appear now to have
settled themselves down to the rates enumerated below.
General employment has been slack, bat is now some-
what more brisk. At this time of the year hirings for
the busy season of the agricultural trade may be said to
commence, For the skilled mechanic in all branches of
the building trade wages appear to have settled down to
from 20s. to 255. per day, and employment is decidedly
more plentiful for both skilled and unskilled labour.

THE CONTICT QUESTION.
Melbourne has also been in a state of agitation on the
convict question. At a meeting held on the 25th October
at Melbourne the following resolutions were passed
with the utmost unanimity :-
1. That this meeting emphatically protests that the
Sovereign of the British realms neither hath nor ought
to have right, prerogative, or power, warranting the
letting loose in the colony of Victoria of the convicted
criminals of other countries or colonies.
2. That, as the certain effect of acting upon the sug-
gestion of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in his
recent despatch, would render the Royal prerogative odi-
ous to the colonists, and would seriously endanger the
cow:Idol between this country and the parvut state, thiA
_ _

The Sitka carries to England her former captain
and his wife, as well as two or three of her crew,
taken to England " for examination," as is usual,
with the view of her having her condemned. The
President, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore
Frederick, is still here, waiting the arrival of the
Panama mail, hourly expected. 6he sails for Val-
paraiso as soon as the commodore receives his let-
ters. It is reported that the Russian frigate Diana
is hovering about the coast, but the report is not
credited, as it is pretty well known that she is ice-
bound and laid up for the winter, with the rest of
the Russian squadron, in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Some excitement was caused here for a few days
by the novel proceeding of an application for the
discharge of the Russian prisoners on board the
Sitka. On the 24th ult. a petition was presented
in the name of a Russian subject in San Francisco,
on behalf of two of the prisoners confined on board
of that vessel, to one of the common law courts of
San Francisco, praying for a writ of habeas corpus
in their favour on the plea that they were unlaw-
fully detained. The judge granted the writ on
motion of the petitioner's counsel in the usual
manner on the 25th, making it returnable on the
27th, and it was served on board by the sheriff.
The Sitka sailed, however, on the intermediate
day—Sunday, the 26th—for England ; and when
the case came up on the 27th neither ship nor
prisoners being then within the jurisdiction of the
court, the judge suggested that a representation
of the matter be made through the Executive of
this State to the Secretary of State at Washing-
ton. Had the Sitka not left, and no appearance
been made by or for the officer in charge of her,
no doubt an attempt would have been made by
the civil authority to bring the prisoners ashore,
in which case the commodore would have removed
them to the President and kept them at all hazards,
while, if an appearance had been made, and the
case had been gone into on its merits, some nice
legal questions as to the rights of belligerents and
of neutrals, the comity of nations, &c., would have
been raised, all of which, I think, it is well to have
avoided. The gist of the pleas upon which the
prisoners relied for their release were—first, the
illegality of confining them on board of the Sitka,
which was not a man- of-war of either of the belli-
gerent:, but a merchant vessel belonging to the
Russian American Company, not yet condemned
even, and which could not legally be converted
into a prison ; and, secondly, that it was contrary
to the law of nations to bring them into a neutral
(American) port after they had once been taken to
and confined in the territory of one of the captors
(Vancouver's Island, to wit).
The simple facts of the case are that the Sitka
,srEeecei by tiro Proaidont 111
the Bay of Petropaulovski on the 7th of September,
having on board provisions and munitions of war
for that garrison, with several civil and military
officers in the service of the Emperor of Russia des-
tined for that place. She was then taken to Van-
couver's Island. Some of the prisoners were brought
to San Francisco by the French squadron, and some
by the English. The civilians—at least some of them
—were released by the French admiral. Finally,
such of them as it was determined to send to Eng-
land were transferred from the President to the
Sitka, and, in justice to the commodore and the
other officers, it should be stated that their removal
from the President was proper and necessary on '
sanitary grounds, as the vessel was overcrowded,
and the habits of the Russian sailors were by
no means cleanly. Every possible attention and
kindness were paid to them. Some of the officers
were frequent guests at the captain's table, and
made much of, and mutual friendships had sprung
up between them. And such was the consideration
paid to the captain of the Sitka that he has been
allowed to occupy his own cabin, with all his ar-
rangements unmolested, and all his own and his
family's comforts attended to just as if ho wore
still in command. All this has, of course, no-
thing to do with the legal question which has been
mooted, and I mention it merely to show that
the habeas corpus was not sued out by reason of
any harshness or other ill-usage. It is represented
as a pettifogging attempt to gain a little eclat, and
as a means of venting a little national spite, and,
perhaps, making a little political capital at the
expense of " John Bull," who is rather unpopular
in San Francisco at present, the sympathies of
" Young America" being on the side of the Czar,
however inconsistent such may appear on the part
of Republicans.

San Francisco has always been the purgatory of
masters of trading vessels from the annoyances of
pettifogging attorneys who fasten upon them as
soon as they anchor. It appears that these " pro-
fessional thugs," as ono of the newspapers calls
them, Are now resolved to strike at higher game,
as will be seen from the following report of two
suits brought against the captain of an American
man-of-war as she was all ready to leave the port
tie other day :
" Commander Buchanan, of the United States steam-
frigate Susquehanna, appeared before the Recorder yes-
terday to answer to a charge of falsely imprisoning one
of the crow, who was the plaintiff in the case, named
James L. Chapman. it appeared, by statements made
before the court, that Chapman, about 15 months since,
had been tried, as is usual, for insubordination by a
court-martial. Commander Perry had committed the
plaintiff Chapman to the charge of Commanderßuchanan,
with written instructions, which were produced in court,
to keep him in irons until he was inclined to do his duty,
or on arriving at an American port he was to be dis-
charged. The counsel for theoplaintiff based his com-
plaint on the grounds that the time for which Chapman
had engaged to serve in the squadron had expired before
the court-martial had been held and the order for him
to be detained in custody given ; and also,alleged that
plaintiff should have been discharged immediately on the
steamer's arrival. Colonel James and Mr. G. C. Bates,
counsel for defendant, proved that the plaintiff had not
been detained any longer than the time required to make
out the papers for his discharge, and argued tbat defen-
dant would have incurred a serious liability by act-
ing otherwise than he had done in this matter. In war
time failure to comply with the demands of a superior
officer, as explicitly laid down as these orders were in
the letter produced, would subject the commander to be
punished by death. Judge Waller, after fully consider.
ing the case, concluded to dismiss it, as he said it was
beyond his jurisdiction.
"Immediately on leaving the Recorder's Court,
Commander Buchanan was served with a warrant
issued from the court of Justice Rix, on complaint
made by one of the late musicians on board the
Susquehanna, charging the commander with as-
sault and battery. Colonel James waved all pri-
vilege of making any objections, and requested to
go at once into the trial, as the Susquehanna was ready
to go to sea, steam up, and only one anchor down. The
trial proceeded. It transpired in evidence that this mao,
with the rest of the band, was on shore, with the sanc-
tion of the commander, and, at the hour fixed for their
return much difficulty was experienced to get some of
them on board. The next morning he was brought
before the commander, who, irritated at his conduct, hit
him over the mouth with his hand. Justice Rix fined
defendant $100."
We learn from Honolulu that it is the general
belief there that the annexation of the Sandwich
Islands is now fully determined upon ; that the
k'reu9l3. Rua gDgli§ll reprooeutatim lave giT44ll up

Artificers are employed fitting the Caesar, 91, screw,
Capt. Robb, at Devonport, for the reception of troops.
The Nile, 91, screw, Captain Mundy, will be taken
out of Devonport on Friday next.
The Majestic, 81, screw, Captain Hope, is still at
Sheerness, being principally under the hands of the en-
gineers. Her main shaft is still at Woolwich. A few
shipwrights are working at her, and her crew are all on
leave; but her masts are all on end and rigged complete.
The Cressy, screw, 81, Captain Warren, hauled out
of Sheerness basin yesterday, and has taken up her
moorings in the Fairway this day. She is getting her
guns on board, and provisions, &c. Her crew are very
busy fitting her out for immediate service, if required.
The Euryalus, 51, screw, Captain Ramsay, was paid
wages at Devonport ea Saturday, and her crew granted
14 days' leave.
Amphion, screw, Captain Key, is still under the sheers
at Sheerness, her four boilers are still on deck, her
masts are all out, but her guns remain on board ; many
mechanics are working at her.
Esk, 21, screw, Captain Buck, will come alongside
the sheers-jetty to-lay to step her mainmast.
Penelope, 18, paddle, Captain Caffin, hauled out of
Portßmouth basin yesterday afternoon, and went along-
side the coal depot.
Pylales, screw corvette, Captain D'Eyncourt, is in
No. 1 dry dock, Sheerness. Her boilers are'nearly
stowed away, and minor fittings proceeding with. Her
lower masts have the rigging over the mastheads, which
is being turned in ; her topmasts are pointed, and every
possible facility is being given to bring her forward.
Desperate, screw, Commander White, hauled into the
basin, Sheerness, on Tuesday as the Cressy hauled out
She is made fast over on the east side. Her machinery
is defective in many points. She is barque-rigged, and
has her topmast; housed, &c.
Sprightly, tender, Master Commander Allen, left
Portsmouth fur Plymouth yesterday morning with su-
pernumeraries and seamen belonging to the Nile.
Janus, paddle, has returned to Sheerness from Chat-
ham, and has taken up her old moorings over on the
west shore waiting orders.
The Stag, convict-ship, arrived from the Thames to-
day to embark convicts for Australia from this pori, in
number 53.

Commander J. P. Luce (1854), recently promoted
from Lieutenant-Commander of the Lynx, Lancaster
gun screw steam-vessel, on the Mediterrantan and Black
Sea station, is appointed tl commission and command
the Arid, 9, screw steam-ship at Portsmouth. Assis-
tant-Surgeon James S. Ayrst (1847), recently serving in
the late Victoria and Albrrt steam yacht, has been ap•
pointed to the Calcutt:), 84, at lli,vonport ; and Clerk's
Assistant F. L. Pag,, to the Duke of Wellington, 131,
screw steam-ship, at Portsmouth.