The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-23 00:00:00

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

ITALY.

TURIN, Nov. 23,

The Official Gazette continues to publish lists of
the numerous municipalities which have offered to
pay the land tax in advance.

The debate on the Financial Bills will commence
in the Senate on Thursday next.

SPAIN.

111 ADRID, Nov. 22 (Evening.)
The general chctiona are proceeding very

quietly.
The Gyvernment has a considerable msjority in
the electoral committees of Madrid.

FRANCE.

BOURSE, Nov. 22.—The market has been more
buoyant, and the business done has been at an ad©
vance. Threes, for the Account, are now at 65f. 1 5c.,
and Mobilier at 905 f, Railway Market firm, with
an improvement on some of the lines, The market
became less firm before the close, and left off as
fonows :-
41 per Cents 92
Do. end month
3 per Cents
Do. end month 65 05
Credit Mobilier 905
Do. end month 903 75
Bank Shares , 3495
Credit louder 1190
Roman

Italian Loan 65 41
Do. end month 65 45
Ditto Threes." —
New Mexican
Russian

Austrian

Spanish Threes
Home Debt
Deferred

RAILWAYS.

Orleans ••••
Northern ....
Lyons and Mediterranean
Southern
Western
Eastern ....
Sardinian
Austrian
Lorbard . •
North of Spain
Saragossa
Ditto to Barcelona

Cash. Account.
840 842 60
986 25 .. 983 7b
881 25 887 50
585 .. 583 75
500 .. 505
480 478 75
312 50 307 50
445 .. 447 50
5,8 75 .. 511 25
375 375 25
425 .. 425 --
185 187 50

THE CAPE MAIL,

PLYMOUTH, Nov. 22.

The mail steamer Cambrian arrived hero this
evening with the above mail and 61 passengers. She
left the Cape on the 21st, St. Helena on the 29th
ult., and Ascension on the 2d inst.

The Governor was in the Free State engaged in
settling the boundary line between that country
and Basutoland. The utmost quiet prevailed in
Kaffirland. Kreli was settling down upon the lands
allotted to him. The despatch from the Home Go-
vernment upsetting the previous arrangements
made for the settlement of Trankeian territory had,
however, caused much dissatisfaction on the fron-
tier. Some of the Kaffir leaders were raising a
report that the English Government, frightened of
Kreli, had restored some of his country to keep him
quiet, but when a fitting opportunity arrived he
would retake the whole.
A fierce engagement had taken place between
the Dmas and the Namaquas, the former tribe
seeking to recover a large number of cattle stolen
by the latter from the celebrated traveller Anders•
sen. The Dames were victorious, but Anderssen
never recovered his property. He received a bullet
in the leg which shattered the bone, and was carried
to a missionary station, where he was left. John
Fairburn, the founder of the press of South Africa,
died at Wynberg on Oct. 5. Bain, the geologist,
died at Cape Town on Oct. 20.
Trade had improved, but the business done was '
below the average of the season, The first of the
season's clip of wool had come in. It was expected
that the clip would be large and the quality good.
The continued dry weather had effected the oats
and barley, the yield of which was not so large as
anticipated.
The wheat crop would be good. Money was
plentiful, and readily obtainable at 6 per cent.
The Cape Copper Mining Company continued its
operations in Namaqualand, Some large ship-
ments Of ore had recently been made.
Strong south-easterly gales bad prevailed along
the coast a few days before the Cambrian left, which
resulted in the loss of the barque Ballarat in Algoa
Bay, and the brig Devonia in Mossel Bay.
H.M.S. Valorous and the barque Urania oame
into collision off Cape Itaceif. Both vessels were
damaged.

'The Bishop of Cape Town had convened another
diocesan synod for next January. Lay delegates
were invited to attend.

The Cape Postaiaster.General was ordered to
make good the defalcations of the receiving-clerk,
lately discovered. _ _

The Norman arrived out in Table Bay on Sept.
22, and the Sncon on Oct. 8. The Eastern Pro-
euteSreptht.e2C;smbrian. It
and was to
leaveviae arrived Tab l Table Bay a t
threeA lg o B a
drys y
after
was generally expected that she would reach Eng-
land before the Cambrian.

National Rifle Association.—Official Trial
of Rifles,

Yesterday was the day fixed by the council of the National
Rifle Association for the periodical competition of small
absocreertriflesi n
the best
b
various firms, in order to
Queen's prize at the next annual prize contest of the associ-
ation at Wimbledon. At each previous competition held
at Woolwich for this purpose, the proceedings have been far
from harmonious, and disputes of some kind or another
have invariably taken place between the rival gunmakers
and the association. The present meeting appears to have
been no exception to the rule, the result being that no
competition has, in fact, taken place, the firing being
entirely confined ta Mr Rigby, of Dublin, and it remains
to be seen whether the rifle of that gentleman will be
finally adopted, or the protest of I\lr Henry, of Edin-
burgh, against the irregularity, if not the injustice of the
proceedings, taken into consideration, It appears that
the two gentlemen named were the only gunmakers who
entered for the present competition in accordance with the
printed regulations. Mr Henry duly forwarded his six
rifles, as required, on Monday last, when they were inspected
and said to be ineligible, as the bore was not of the size
required by the second rule. About 11 o'clock yesterday
morning the members of the association and others interested
in the proceedings assembled at the Royal Arsenal practice
range, where every arrangement was made for the firing,
which on this occasion was limited by the rules to the 1,000
yards range, the firing at 500 yards being dispensed with.
Amongst those present were the Earl of Aberdeen, Earl
Dude, Capt. St John Mildmay, secretary; Lieut.-Colonel
Halford, Captain Ross, Captain Page, &c.
At the commencement of the proceedings Mr Henry
handed to Captain Mildmay a written protest against the
decision of the council respecting his rifles—the chief points
urged being that the rifles objected to were 4501 in bore
(the second rule requiring that the bore should be 451),
and that this infinitesimal difference, being but a thousandth
part of an inch, could be obviated, and the rifles altered to
the required gauge within two hours. Also, that if he
(Mr Henry) was debarred from the competition for this
slight non-compliance with the rules, the objection applied
with still greater force to Mr Rigby, who was in contra-
vention of the two rules, inasmuch that his rifles had not
been forwarded to the council until some time after eleven
o'clock on Monday, the 21st instant, and that such
rifles, although made and shaped, were not finished,
and consequently, not in accordance with the rule.
The protest was received, but the decision of the council not
being reversed, Mr Henry was clearly out of court. He was
repeatedly requested to take part in the firing, but declined
to do so unless he entered the contest with the same ad-
vantages as Mr Rigby, by the reversal of the council's deci-
sion. Mr Rigby then fired off his three rifles, 30 shots with
each rifle, at the 1,000 yards range, eight trial shots being
allowed. Sergeant Gray, It,A., master of the practice
range, acted as marker; and the diagrams were taken by
means of powerful telescopes. As the firing was not com-
pleted, the state of the diagrams was of course looked
forward to with little interest. It may however be stated
that there was, from some cause or another, a marked
difference between the shooting of Mr Rigby at 1,000 yards
in February last and on the present occasion. Mr Rigby's
diagrams in February were almost within a decimal equal
to those of Mr Whitworth, the successful competitor, but
they were now far below the mark of really good firing,
Much regret was expressed at the result of the council's
decision, which precluded the competition of Mr Henry,
and several practical gentlemen stated that to prevent any
such mishap in future it was highly essential that the
council should supply each intended competitor with the
test upon which they regulated the bore of the weapon.

THE CONFEDERATE CRUISER SHENANDOAH (SEA
Knoa).—A report that the Shenandoah, Lieut. Waddell,
has been lest on the Desert Islands, in the vicinity of
Madeira, is discredited by the Confederate agents in this
country. When last heard of she was at sea, and far from
the Desert Islands.