The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-26 00:00:00

TUE SUN, LO ON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 20, 1864.

The Bombay and iifauritiu.s.Mails,

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's screw

steamship Poonah, Capt. G. C. Sparkes, arrived at
Southampton at 10 a.m. yesterday, with the heavy
portion of these mails, in charge of Mr. Ronayne, of

- - -
,he General. Post-office. She brought 55 passen-
_

gers (viz., 19 first-class, 17 second, 12 children, and
7 deck), among whom were his Excellency Rain-
andrainandrain, his Excellency Rainiferingie, and
the Rev. Mr. Duffas (interpreter), the Madagascar
_ _ _

Embassy, from the Mauritius; also, Capt. Main--
prise, R.N., and Lieut. Bromilow, R.N , from
Malta ; Capt.. Crealock, 95th Regiment, from Gib-
raltar, &c. Oa freight the Poonah had 10 cases of
valuables, 276 bales of siik, 30 cases of indigo, 95
boxes of oranges, and 48 packages of general mer-
chandise. _ _

The Poonah left Alexandria on the 12th inst.,
Malta on the sth,and Gibraltar oh the 20th. Between
Alexandria and Malta she experienced strong winds
from N.N.E. and fine weather; thence to Cape de.
Gatte, moderate head winds ; to Gibraltar, fresh
westerly gales along the coast of Portugal, fine
weather and light easterly winds ; across the Bay
of Biscay and up Channel, strong easterly gales and

heavy sea.
9a the 20th the Poonah signalled the bark :Mi-
chael Miller and the steamer Havrocordator, both
bound east; on the 21st, off the Burlings, the Royal
Yacht Club steam yacht Cam panern, bound to

Corunna ; and on the 22d, 70 miles north of Cape
Finisterre, the Peninsular and Oriental steamship
Para,from Southampton on the 20th, with the India,
China, and Australian mails, bound to Gibraltar.
Her Majesty's ships Royal Oak, Cossack, Meannee,
Marlborough, Firefly, Resistance, Phoebe, and
Hydra were at Malta on the 15th; and the Racoon
and gunboat Procris at Gibraltar on the 20th. The
Racoon, Captain Count Gleichen, nine days from
Malta, arrived on the 18th.. The Orontes, Capt. H.
Hire, six days from Spithead, arrived at Gibraltar
on the 14th, with detachments for the garrison, and
left during the night of the 15th for Malta, pro-
ceeding thence to Corfu, where she would embark
the 2d battalion 6th Regiment for the West Indies,
and return thence to Spithead with the Ist battalion
14th Foot. The Magicienno, Capt. Armytage, from
Mazagan and Tangier, arrived at Gibraltar on the
17th, and left at 4.15 p.m. on the 18th for the east-
ward.

Sir Moses Montefiore and the gentlemen who
accompanied him on his mission to the Court of
Morocco returned to Gibraltar, from the coast of.
Barbary, in her Majesty's ship Magicienne, on the
17th inst. It is satisfactory to know that the efforts
of Sir Moses Montefiore on behalf of the Jews in the
Sultan's dominions have been fully successful. He
has obtained an Imperial edict, the effect of which
cannot fail to improve the position of the Jews of
the interior, and otherwise to advance the cause of

civilisation.
Letters from the coast report that the number of
persons killed by the explosion of a powder maga-
zine in Morocco (as reported previously) is esti-
mated at 900.
A letter from the Spanish African fortress of
Alhucemas describes the assassination by the Moors,
on the 24th of January, of the crew of two Spanish
boats, consisting of eight persons, who had left
Alhucemas for Cape Morro for the purpose of col-
lecting the coarse grass (esparto). While passing
some small islands near the Cape, a Moor swam off
and invited ,them to come in and purchase vege-
tables. On reaching the shore the Spanish party
was attacked at close quarters by a number of
Moors, and all were massacred, The murderous
attack eras seen from Alhucemas, and on being re-
ported to the Governor, he opened with his artil-
lery upon the Moors, though apparently without
effect. The dead bodies of the murdered men were
subsequently recovered and interred by the autho-
rities of Alhucemas.
A letter from Malaga received at Gibraltar
gives some details Of the seizure in that port of the
British steamer Princess for a breach of the Cus-
tom-house laws. The Princess, from England bound
for Ancona, put into Malaga for coal, and the mas-
ter reported her in ballast. She was detained a day
or two while the master obtained, through the tele-
graph, from his employers in England a credit to
enable him to purchase the requisite amount of coal.
When the arrangement was completed the usual in-
spection of the vessel by the officers of the port took
place, to verify the description the master had gtven
of her lading. By a mere accident it was discovered
that she had a false hold on which the ballast was
deposited, and that beneath this, in her true hold,
were stowed a quantity of arms and military stores.
The letter are said to comprise 6 rifled cannon for
mountain artillery, 3 guns of heavy calibre, 4,000
sabres, 1,000 Minie rifles, a number of pikes, and
400 uniforms, The master of the Princess is impri-
soned, and it is believed the steamer and cargo are
liable to confiscation for the violation of law. Hos-
tilities in the north of Europe and the clandestine
transport of arms in the extreme south would seem
at first sight to haVe no connexion. But the steamer
was bound to McOne, 'and it would not be a very
wild conjecture to' suppose that her cargo' was
destined for some southern province of Austria, in
anticipation of the opportunity which coming events
may present.
Exchange quotations at' Gibraltar were as follows
—London, 90 days' date, 50 3-16 to a ; Paris do.,
5f 28c; Marzeilles, do., 5f 29c ; Genoa, do., 5f 31c
to 32e; Madrid, eight days' sight, par to- pm.;
Cadiz, do., 1 die.; Seville, do., die. ; Malaga, do.,
par to I dis. ; Barcelona, do., t pm.; Almeria, do.,
par; Valencia, do., par; Alicante, do., par. Pre-
mium on five-franc pieces, one per cent. pm.
The following British merchant steamers had
arrived out at Gibraltar :—Feb. 15, the Powerful,
Captain S. Hughes, 11 days from Newcastle for
Alexandria ; the Orontes, Captain H. Mathias,
eight days from Liverpool, for Malta ; 16th, the
Demetrius, Capt. W. Folland, seven days from
Liverpool, for Malta; 17th, the Ellora, Capt. W.
C. Angove, 51 days from Southampton, with mails,
&e., for Malta and Alexandria ; the Tripoli, Capt.
J. R. Bell, six days from Liverpool, for Palermo;
18th, the Europa, Capt. T. Partridge, six days from
London, for Genoa, Leghorn, &c.; the Cadiz, Capt.
J. Russell, eight days from London, with Govern-
ment stores ; the Hawthorns, Capt. J. Rose, eight
days from London, for Alicante ; 19th, the Persian,
Capt. S. Pyne, six days from Liverpool, for Genoa,
Leghorn, and Naples.
The British bark William Leckie, Captain G. E.
Best, from Sunderland, with coals for Callera, ar-
rived at Gibraltar on the 13th leaky, making five
inches of water per hour. The bark Pelican, Capt.
A. Freeth, from Newcastle for Rhodes, arrived. at
Gibraltar on the 13th, and the schooner Bezaleel,
Capt. W. Vincent, from Cardiff for Gibraltar, on
the 18th, both laden with coals.

THE SHAKSPEREAN TERCENTENARY CELEBRA-'
TION AT STRATFOBD ON-AVON.-02 Wednesday
last, at the meeting of the committee, the mayor (Mr. E..
F. Flower) in the chair, it was announced that the following
gentlemen had accepted the office of vice-president ;—Lurd
Sudeley, M. Victor Hugo, M, Antonio Panizzi, Sir Frede-
rick
Madden, Professor Owen, and Mr: Howard' Staunton.
The mayor stated, that 'Mr. William Stirling, M.P., and
Mr. J. Beresford-Hope, had consented to act on the
Monumental Memorial Committee, and that a deputation
is coming to Stratford on Monday next to decide upon a
suitable site for the memorial. The committee now in-
cludes the Earl of Carlisle, K.G., tho Earl Somers,F.R.G. S.,
Sir Robert N. C. Hanilton, Bart., K.C.8., Sir Coutts
Lindsay, ,Bart,, Mr. Charles Buxton, M.P., Mr. Robert
F.R 8.L., Layard, M.P., Mr. 'William Stirling,
M.P., Mr. J. Beresford Hope, Mr. Theedore Martin, Mr.
C. L. Gruneisen, Mr. Gambier Parry, Mr. Tom Taylor,
Mr. John Ruskin, and Mr. Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L. (Poet
Laureate). The estimate of Mr. S. H. Mountford, of Wor-
cester, for the supply of refreshments during the festival,
was conbidered and agreed to. The building committee re-
torted that the work at the pavilion was advancing satisfac-
torily; that the building was nearly roofed in, and would
shortly be ready for the decorator.

ANOTHER OVERFLOW OF THE THAMES.—Owing
to the continuance of the strong north-eastErly
wind having driven a large boiy of water in the Thames,
and being full moon springs, the water rose far above the
usual height, overflowing the river banks in several places
at high tide. The water neatly topped the wharves at Ell-
iingsgate and the Custom-house, and a number of wharves
on the south side of the river were inundated. In the
afternoon and in the evening workmen were employed iu
taking precautions to'prevent barge should another over-
flow take place to-day.