The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-03 00:00:00

THE INDIA AND CHINA MAILS.

The heavy portion of these mails, in charge of
Mr. U. Ronayne, of the General Post-office, arrived
at Southampton on Saturday afternoon, in the
Peninsular and Oriental Company's screw steam-
ship Para, Capt. T. Jamieson, which also brought a
further portion of mails and 54 packages of baggage
saved from the Colombo. The Pera brought 38
passengers, viz., 21 first and 17 second class, among
-whom were Commander Parkin, R.N., Col. Bruce,
Dr. and Mrs. Poole, Mr. Mongan, &C. On freight
she had five packages of specie, value not stated,
four packages of valuables, 1,504 bales of silk, four
casks of wine, 94 quarter-boxes and 183 boxes of
oranges, 40 empty casks, and 194 packages of
general merchandise.
The Pera left Alexandria on the 18th of January,
Malta on the 22J, and Gibraltar on the 26th. She
had strong gales from Alexandria to Malta, fine
weather with easterly winds thence to Gibraltar,
light fair winds and fine weather to Cape St. Vin-
cent, and along the coast of Spain and Portugal,
and fresh south-easterly and south-westerly winds
across the Bay of Biscay, with considerable sea.
On the 29th ult., in the Bay of Biscay, the Pera
spoke the Peninsular and Oriental steamer Delta,
with the outward Bombay mails of the 27th.
The only ships of war at Alexandria when the
Pera left were a French frigate and the usual
Egyptian fleet.

Her Majesty's ships Marlborough, Magicienne,
Psyche, and Hibernia were at Malta ; and the Fire-
brand, Procris, and Redpole at Gibraltar.
The Prussian screw frigate Gazelle, Capt. Heldt,
left Gibraltar for the westward at 11 20 a.m. on the
26th ult.

The American screw sloop Tuscarora, Commander
Craven, put to sea from Cadiz on the 18th.

The Stearner Gibraltar (late Sumter) was cruising
up and down the bay this morning (says the Gib-
raltar Chronicle of the 22d),apparentlywith the object
of testing her machinery ; but, whatever her object,
the United States' gunboat Chippewa, at Algeciras,
was on thealert, and steamed at onceto the entrance
of the bay, prepared to intercept the Gibraltar if
she had made a dash for the Straits. With a favour-
ing black " levanter," absence of moonlight, and a
bay five miles wide at the mouth, the chances seem
greatly in favour of the Gibraltar giving her inqui-
sitive enemy the slip.
A collision occurred in Gibraltar Straits at five
o'clock on the morning of the 22d ult. between the
British bark D. B. R., Capt. D. B. Robarts, from
Glasgow and Greenock, bound to Trieste, with gas-
pipes, &c., and the Spanish bark Cefiro, Captain F.
Clar, from Barcelona, with a cargo of wine, soap,
&c., for Cienfuegos and Havannah. The crew and
passengers of the Cefiro took to the two boats, one
of which proceeded to Gibraltar, and the other to
Algeciras. The Cefiro filled and turned over on
her side, but the buoyant nature of her cargo pre-
vented her from sinking entirely, and she was picked
up about 20 miles to the eastward of the rock by
the Lion Belge steamer, and towed into Gibraltar.
The fore part of the vessel was under water, and the
stern projecting a few feet above the surface. The
D. B. R. lost jibboom, cutwater, &c., and would have
to repair before proceeding on her voyage.
The British brig Morning Star Capt. J. Delargy,
which arrived at Gibraltar on the 23d from Sicata,
with sulphur for Falmouth, was in collision with
the Spanish brig Recurso, of Barcelona, at 9 p.m.,
on the 21st, off Cape de Gatt, and lost sails, jib-
boom, &c.
The schooner British Queen, from Malta, with a
general cargo for Gibraltar and Liverpool, which
arrived at Gibraltar on the 22d, spoke the schooner
Lily, from Yarmouth for Venice, on the 19th ult.,
off Almeria; and on the 20th the schooner Excel,
Capt. Sprague, from Genoa for London, off 111otril,
with loss of topmasts, 'yards, sails, &c.
The merchant steamer Memnon, Capt. Y. Carroll
51 days from Liverpool, for Malta and Alexandria,
arrived at Gibraltar on the 19th ; the Eva, Captain
J. Boylond, seven days from London, for Malta and
Odessa, on the 21st ; and the London, Capt. W. G.
S. Hall, eight days from London, with Government
stores for Gibraltar, on the 25th.

The following vessels, all laden with coals, had
also arrived out at Gibraltar :--Jan. 19, the brigan-
tine Tyre, S. Steward, from Liverpool ; the schooner
Zion-hill, W. Griffiths, from Newport; and the
schooner Magar, E. Jones, from Liverpool. 20th,
the schooner Gowerian, E. Evans, from Cardiff; the
schooner Crescent, J. Kemper, from Swansea ; the
bark Alice Wilson, E. Bold, from Cardiff; the bark
Despatch, A. Eastland, from Swansea ; the schooner
Alberta, T. Davies, from Cardiff; and the brigan-
tine Farmer's Lass, J. Lodwig, from Swansea.
22d, the bark Viking, J. Wiggins, from Newport.
25th, the brigantine Enterprise, J. Hughes, and the
schooner Duke of Cornwall, W. Phillips, both from
Swansea. The schooner Affines, J. Jenkins, from
Cardiff with iron for Gibraltar, arrived out on
the 22d.