The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-15 00:00:00

CALCUT

"A MAIL,

By the Overland Mail we are in receipt of de.
spatches from Calcutta to July 8, Madras July 14,
and Hong-Kong June 29.

INDIA.
The Englishman, in its general summary, states
that—

" One of the top;cs of general discussion since our
last overland has been the newly-started project for
building wharves, docks, &c., for Calcutta. The
subject is of great interest to all who have to do
with India, and a report of the engineers, Messrs.
Brereton and Burden, has been addressed to the
provisional directors of the Calcutta Wet Dock and
Wharf Company on the subject. The want of dock
accommodation is patent to all in Calcutta. The
necessity for the improvement of this port has been
felt for more than 30 years, and for more than 30
years have merchants and chambers of commerce
been pressing the question on the attention of the
Government, and, though not rejected, have been
allowed to fall into neglect as complete as if rejected.
All who know anything of Calcutta will see at once
the absurdity of the ' health' difficulty. There are
far worse collections of water about Calcutta than
well kept docks are likely to be, the breeze blowing
from them at Chitpore would be no worse than that
blowing from them at Kidderpore, and as Garden
Reach is by far the most convenient place for their
construction, we trust that the company will be
strong to overrule such absurd objections, and pro-
ceed with their scheme as soon as possible.
"With regard to Bhootan the recent proceedings
of Government tend to strengthen our previously
impressed conviction that the viceroy will not allow
the insults heaped upon the British envoy to pass
unpunished. Active preparations have been going
oa in the arsenal, and we have been recently in•
formed that Captain Lance, of the Bengal Staff
corps, has been sent to the north-east frontier to
collect information regarding the Bengal Dooars,
and the hill country on the left bank of the Teesta,
to the west of Dalimkhote. His duty will, we bee
liev e, be to acquire all the knowledge he can of the
country, the roads, the passes iato Bhootan, and the
sources from which supplies can be obtained, in the
case of the Dooars being occupied, or an expedition
sent into Bhootan. He has also been ordered to do
all in his power to ascertain the temper of the dif.
ferent classes of the population in the Bhootan
territory on the other side of the border, the view
they are likely to take of British interference in the
affairs of Bhootan, the quarters from which assist-
ance may be expected, whether any of the Bhootan
chiefs would side with the English Government in
an endeavour to obtain a satisfactory settlement of
future relations between the two states, and what
inducements might lead them to adopt this course.
The same officer has been authorised to levy an
auxiliary force in Cooch Behar.
" Money continues very easy, and there appears
no immediate reason for expecting any change.
Exchange slightly improved on the arrival of the
China steamers, but is receding again. Bank shares
are not so much in request, but the share market
generally is buoyant, particularly for tea companies.
Produce now arrives freely, all the rivers being
open, and it is taken up as fast as it comes, there
being no heavy stocks of produce in the market.
The indigo prospects are poor, heavy and continued
rains have done much damage in Bengal ; dry
weather has kept back Tirhoot crops, and drought
has nearly destroyed the Khoontee crops of Benares.
But much was never expected from the north-west,
in consequence of the demand for land for cotton ;
on the whole, there is every probability of the crop
falling short of that of last year. The import market
is very dull. The long-expected demand from the
interior has not arrived, and it is difficult to account
for this slowness. It is said that weavers have be-
gun to weave English yarn again; if so, twists will
soon be in request ; there is even now some slight
movement in them,
" In a former number we alluded to the sitting of
a secret committee in England, appointed for the
purpose of deciding whether it would be advisable
to take over all the French possessions in India
except Pondicherry an I Karikal, and on what
terms. We now hear that the French authorities
here have demanded an enormous sum, rather more
than three crores—for Chandernagore alone, stating
that the sum realised by the sale of stamps exceeds
the actual value of the land. The papers have been
forwarded to the secret committee at home. We
imagined that cur Gallic friends would not place a
low value on their possessions here, and especially
Chandernagore, the revenue from which is compara-
tively very large.
" A correspondent in Cabul informs us that some
of the Sittana Hindustanec fanatics have applied to
the Ameer of Cabal for service. The Ameer is said
to have replied to them as fellows How can you
expect me to trust you when you have already be-
trayed and rebelled against your benefactors and
masters whose salt and bread you ate ?' The men
were at once ordered to leave Cabul, and it is re-
ported that some of them have been endeavouring
to recross the Indus.

"Letters from the Punjaub inform us that an
asylum has been granted at Rawul Pindee to Sirdar
Azim Khan, the fugitive brother of the Ameer,
who, until matters are settled in Cabal, will be
supported by the British Government; an instance
of good policy towards these people which they
may feel, if not appreciate."
_ _

From Madras we learn that his Excellency the
Governor left Madras on the 4th instant, accom-
panied by Lady Denison and his suite, en route to
,the Neilgherries, and safely reached his destination
in due course. He will be absent, it is understood,
for about three months, but will visit various parts
of the country daring that period.
The directors of the Madras Bank have declared
a dividend for the half-year ending 30th June of
75 rupees per share, being at the rate of 15 per
cent. per annum, or 3 per cent. in excess of the
dividend for the previous half-year.

CHINA AND JAPAN.
Political matters remain pretty much in statu quo
both in China and Japan.
With regard to the former the China Mail an-
nounces that—
'" The officer in command of her Majesty's forces
has left his head-quarters in Hong-Kong and gone
to Shanghae, probably to make arrangements for
the protection of that port in the event of the rebels
regaining their lost ground. There is not much
likelihood of such a change taking place; but now
that matters are out of our hands, it is only proper
to be ready for any turn that the present civil con-
tention may take.

" The state of the rebellion is briefly this :—A
considerable city named indifferently Woo-chow
and Hoo-chow, and situated to the scuth of the Tae-
hoo lake, is held by a large body of rebels, and is
most strongly fortified by means of stockades. In
addition to these the rebels have pitched a camp
outside the walls, and, not confining themselves to
the defensive, they make occasional sallies upon the
besieger; who have as yet been able to do no more
than hold their own. The latter number, according
to the latest accounts, scarcely 8,000, including a
force of 1,600 disciplined troops under command of
General D'Aiguebelle. The rebels have hitherto
been able to keep their opponents at a distance of
20 miles from the city, but the country round about
is so completely in the hands of the Imperialists
that all gUPplies to the rebels are likely to be cut
off. It is impossible to say how long this state of
things may continue. Two chiefs are reported as
having surrendered to the Imperialists, with 5,000
men, and to be engaged on the side of the besiegers.
This may only be a stratagem of war, for we hear
that traitors are suspected of being at work in the
Imperial army.

‘Of the Taepings who Were
dispersed we have
heard nothing beyond a rumour, which has never
been corroborated, to the effect that they had ap,
peered in marauding bands somewhere in the north
of the Canton province.
"Besides Woo-chow, Nankin alone is held by
the rebels, and is closely invested by a large army
under Tseng liwofan. Some successes are reported
as having been gained by the Imperialists on the
north side of the city, bat few people acquainted
with Chinese warfare will be sanguine of immediate
or decided success by the besieging army. The
fact that Tseng Kwo•fatt is opposed to the idea of