The Sun.
London, England, 1862-02-15 00:00:00

TILE WEST INDIA MAILS.

The Royal Mail Company's steam-ship Atrato,
Captain F. Woolley, arrived at Southampton yes-
terday at 8 a.m., bringing mails in charge of Lieu-
tenant Rainer, R.N., naval mail agent.
The branch steamer Wye, from Jamaica for St.
Thomas's, was obliged to pass Porto Rico without
communicating, in consequence of bad weather.
A letter from St. Lucia, dated the 25th January,
says :

"The weather has been very boisterous for the
past eight days; continual heavy rains with high
winds. All out door work and field operations
sus-
pended ; if it continues much longer it will have a
serious effect on the present year's crop, which pro-
mises to be a good one, superior to that of last year,
and it was 636 hhds. more than in 1859. The island
is healthy. Governor Hincks has made another
descent on the island. The late administrator of
the Government when he was suspended went to
England to plead his case personally with the Duke
of Newcastle. However, he returned last mail un-
successful ; his dismissal has been confirmed by the
same mail. Mr. Justice de Brossard was ordered
by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to be dis-
missed the service, which has been done. Here
are one administrator and two special justices dis-
missed the public service (one of them, Mr. Jen-
nings, has obtained another place, chief clerk in
the secretary's office, at £lBO, in the place of £450
per annum he was receiving as a magistrate). All
this is in consequence of want of attention to the
Coolies, a large number of them having died, it
alleged, for want of proper attention by the admi-
nistrator and the two special justices—hence all
their dismissals. Three hospitals have now been
established in different parts of the island, and
medical men appointed to visit the estates where
Coolies arc located ; all this at a very heavy ex-
pense to the colony. The Coolies are no cheap bar-
gain; two Africans are worth five Coolies. Two
vessels from Europe have arrived to load produce,
the first this season ; several others are daily ex-
pected. Bank exchange the same as in my last;
however, now that the crop has commenced and
planters dmwing bills, it will soon fall 1 Der cent.
to 2 per cent."

Advices from Demerara, ore to the 23d ult. Go-
vcrnor Ilincics held a levee at Government-hou e
on the 21st, which was numerously attended. On
the 18th the bark Boadicea, belonging to Messrs.
Dunlop and Neill, of Greenock, was destroyed by
fire. She was nearly ready for sea, having had
nearly 200 libels. of sugar and 230 puncheons of
rum on board when the accident o3curied. The
son of Captain Andrews, her commander, end one
of the seamen were severely burnt, and the former
diedof his injuries ou the following day. The
wreck sank on the lee flat outside the mouth of the
river, whence the tide drifted it, the hull having
burnt to the water's edge. The cause of the fir,,
was not known, but is supposed to be spontaneous
combustion, The total loss was estimated at from

£B,OOO to £9,000, but it was understood that both
vessel and cargo were insured. The yellow fever,
which had prevailed among the shipping, had dis-
appeared, and the general health of the colony was
good. The apprehension of hostilities with the
United States being removed, holders of breadt3tuffs
had reduced prices, and the large stocks which had
accumulated were freely offered at rates below
those ruling previously to the late excitement. The
stock of rice was large, but held at quotations in
the absence of arrivals from India. Pork in heavy
stock. Codfish in fair supply, some old and infe-
rior still forcing at auction. Pickled fish not much
inquired for—a large quantity of herrings of in-
ferior quality depressed the market. Exports were
coming forward for shipment, but there had been
no sale for sugar since the new year. Tonnage
rather scarce, but a few arrivals had taken place
during the past three days.
The Grenada Legislature did not meet on the
10th of January, to which date it had been ad-
journed from November, Lieutenant-Governor
Kortright having, on the very eve of that day,
further prorogued the houses by proclamation to
the 28th. A second death had resulted from the
explosion of a magazine battering at the firing
of minute guns in respect to the late Prince
Consort (as reported by last mail), Gunner
Calder having expired after two weeks' suffering.
A public subscription had been opened for the
benefit of the sufferers from the explosion, and
the Artillery Corps were about to erect in the
parish church a tablet to the memory of their
two deceased comrades. Another fearful casualty,
resulting in the death of four persons and the crip-
pling of others, took place at Charlotte Town on
the 15th ult., by the falling in of a heavy mass of
earth and stones, burying all that were at work be-
low. The weather continued excessively wet, to the
great detriment of manufacturing operations on the
sugar estates, and much damage had been sustained
from a storm of wind, which laid prostrate, in dif-
ferent directions, fine ripe canes, that must be spoiled
or be devoured by rats if the manufacturing process
was much longer retarded by the wet weather.
Cocoa, too, and plantains received considerable in-
jury from these gales. The roads of the island were
in an execrable condition, in many places impassable
and hazardous to life. The ship Accrington, from
Calcutta, with 413 Coolies, had arrived at George-
town ; 15 deaths and three births occurred on the
passage. The Accrington sailed for London on the
18th ult.