The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-28 00:00:00

THE SITi4, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 28, 1862.

INDIA AND CHINA MAILS.

We have received letters and journals from Cal-
cutta to the 22d March, and from Hong Kong to
the 15th. The following is from the fortnightly
summary of the Friend of India :
The accession of the Earl of Elgin dates from
Wednesday the 12th of March. With a reputation
greater than any living English statesman has been
enabled to achieve without adopting parliamentary
life, he comes to the vice-royalty of India with sin-
gular advantage and prestzge. Famous throughout
Asia for two successful expeditions to China and for
having opened Japan to the commerce of the world,
he brings the authority 'of a great name to the
government of a great cmpiite. And as ex-Governor
of Canada and Jamaica he has had the opportunity
of accumulating experience of colonial government.
Last Wednesday ho presided for the first time in
the Imperial Legislative Council, and on taking his
seat used the following words:—" I cannot take my
seat in this place in sucession to the great and good
men who have preceded me without expressing my
gratitude for the wise policy they have pursued, and
my sense of the advantage which I shall derive from
the counsel and assistance of those by whom I am sur-
rounded. Nor can I avoid giving expression to the
hope that our efforts here may be made conducive to
the moral and material interests of this great empire,
and to the happiness, prosperity, and contentment
of all classes of her Majesty's subjects." Besides
the Hon. J. Hovell-Thurlow, who accompanied
Lord Egin from England as his private secretary,
the following appointments on the staff have been
made :—Lieut.-Colonel Seymour J. Blane, of her
Majesty's 52d, to be military secretary; and Major
A. Scott, of her Majesty's sth, Captain Baring, of
the late Ist European Cavalry, and Lieut. the Hon.
A. Stewart, R.H.A., to be aides-de-camp to the
Viceroy.
One of the most prominent topics in Calcutta,
and one which excites great dissatisfaction in every
quarter, is the manner in which Sir Charles Wood,
according to the last advices received from home,
suppressed the truth with reference to certain mili-
tary details which India naturally regards as a great
grievance. Mr. Laing stated, not long ago, to the
Madras Chamber of Commerce, that the cost of the
actual above the established strength of the Euro-

pean force for the past year, would have sufficed to
reduce the import duties on manufactures to the
old rate. The established strength has been fixed
at 71,000 men, which requires a depot of 5,000 re-
cruits in England. But the actual force has ranged
from 83,000 to 74,000 men, and an extravagant
outlay has been necessitated to support in depot
from 20,000 to 14,000 recruits until some reduction
was made in the course of last year. The cause of
the reduction was an arrangement made with the
Horse Guards, by virtue of which the War-office be-
came, as it were, contractors to keep up the Indian
army to a stand of 71,000 men for £l3 10s. a-head.

Then it became the interest of the authorities at
home not to keep the recruits in depot, but to ship
them off for India, and thereby get £l3los. a head
for them. Accordingly they soon discovcrd the
14,000 men in depot to be totally unnecessary, and

so the number was reduced by the last English

military estimates below 7,000, and
.reeruiting

was stopped. The result of this to the Indian

Government has been that the estimate for regi-
mental and depot expenditure for 1861.62 has con-
tinned at £1,460,000, which is £500,000 more than

,he established force would have cost under the

arrangement to pay £l3 10s. a head. The 5,000
or 6,000 supernumerary men have been billetted on
India, in order to lighten the home estimate and to

cover the failure of Mr. Gladatone's financial

schemes, which were based upon the plan of re-

ducing taxes in the face of an, obvious deficit, and
had been thrown into confusion by the unexpected

cost of the war in China.

The Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting
held two days ago, rebel-red " that a memorial from
the Chamber of Commerce be presented to his Ex-

cellency the Governor-General in Council, praying
for the early reduction of the import duties to the

rates ruling in 1859."
The Chamber further resolved to present an ad-
dress of welcome to Lord Elgin, and adopted the
following resolution :—" That on the occasion of
the relinquishment by the Right Hon. Earl Can-
ning of the Governorship of India, this chamber
records its gratitude to his lordship for the closing
act of his administration, viz., the bringing in ' a
bill to provide for the sale of Waste Lands and for
the redemption of the Land Revenue,' as also for
the many other important measures advocated by
this chamber which have from time to time received
the sanction of his lordship's Government." Lord
Canning's last acts of patronage consisted of the
appointment of Mr. Temple to officiate as Chief
Commissioner of the Central Frovinces, and of Mr.
Bowring as Chief Commissioner of Mysore; the
former of which has met with general approval,
while the latter has excited some astonishment on
account of his youth and inexperience. It is, how-
ever, to be observed that Mr. Bowring has now the
opportunity to falsify, at least in one instance, the
remark that Lord Canning never made a man—an
opportunity of which we wish him success in his
endeavours to avail himself. _ _ _

Sir J. P. Grant has at last taken action in the
matter of the rent struggle in Nuddea. It will be
remembered that on the llth January last the Go-
vernment of India, in a letter to the Bengal Secre-
tary, which it communicated to the Landholders'
Association, expressed its dissatisfaction with the
local government for misunderstanding the Gover-
nor-General's instructions as to the duties of the
Special Rent Commissioners, and not sufficiently
supporting these gentlemen. Sir J. P. Grant at
once fastened on a certain vagueness of expression
which characterised the censure, and took advan-
tage of the too notorious fact of the dilatoriness of
the Supreme Government, which continued to re-
ceive its subordinate's reports without remark, to
declare that he was wronged, and to ask for a re-
view of judgment. The tone of Sir J. P. Grant's
letter is characterised by an insolence happily rare
in official documents, and none the less to be re-
gretted that his reply was dated only a week before
Lord Canning's departure. The grievance of which
the Governor-General really complained was the
Lieutenant-Governor's unwillingness to support the
special commissioners, his continued opposition to
every reform advised by the government of India,
and his resolution to do nothing himself.
An extra, published by the Englishman on the
22d March, thus announces the death of the Hon.
Wm. Ritchie, late Advocate-General of India :

The William Ritchie of Thackeray's touching

comparison with his cousin Sir Richmond Shakes-
peare is dead ; almost before ho can have acknow-
ledged that kindly tribute of an old and worthy
friendship. We write the dreary words again and
again, and can yet scarcely realise their sad truth.
Just twenty years ago he came to India, where all
that time he has worked with untiring energy,
high aim, and full success, occupying from the
first a position at the bar calculated to inspire
his competitors with envy ; and for the
latter part of it a position with the Govern-
ment and a share in the imperial councils, making
him the mark for all men's criticism. And the
highest praise that a successful public man can claim
is his. No man is his enemy ; all men will sincerely
mourn him. All parties will acknowledge that at
this eventful period almost any man could have been
better spared. What higher testimony can we bear
than those who Lave most closely criticised his:pub-
lic acts unite with those who knew him best in his
kindly, honourable, private life, in declaring that
the testimony borne by Thackeray to his friend of
earlier days is paid by all who have later known
the ripened and busy public servant thus cut off in
the midst of his great work. Last Saturday we
heard that he was unwell, on Wednesday that he
wag Absent from his place in the Supreme Council,

dangerously ill with his internal inflammation ;
then the sorrowful recognition of imminent danger,
the temporary rally cheating his friends into hoping
against hope, and then this morning that hope was
past ; at last the insensibility of absolute exhaus-
tion, and at 4 o'clock that the kindly heart had
ceased to beat; that the busy brain, teaming with
the results of an experience invaluable to the coun-
try at this juncture, was at rest; that the open
hand and generous nature which, had helped so
many in their need were cold for the first time to
all appeals. Such consolation as can be afforded to
his bereaved family circle by the warm sympathy of
a whole community is theirs, for death never struck
down one in British India who commanded more
entirely the esteem and good feeling of all with
whom he came in contact, whether in public or in
private life, whether among Europeans or natives,
than did William ltitchie.

existed since the country was opened, The old
complaint that the rules for residents are not fol-
lowed by those who made them has broken ciat
more virulently than before. There is evidently a
lack of consular integrity in the country; by next
mail we shall know the grievances in detail.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
(From the Overland China Mail, March 15.)

The London.ir ails of Jan. 27 arrived here by the Behar
on the 12th, but had been anticipated by the Thunder,
which left Singapore the night before the mail steamer, and
reached this on the 10th.
As was the case last overland, we have very little to re-
port on business matters. The northern ports in the Gulf of
Pct-chee-lee are still shut in by ice, and those in the Yang-
trze-li lung aro scarcely opened forthe season, though a brisk
trade is expected when they are. Shanghae trade is stopped
by the rebels, and the only business at Ningpo is in rice and
other articles of food. In the south, importers of manufac-
tures are more disposed to meet the views of native dealers,
but no extensive transactions have yet taken place.
At Tientsin, Chefoo, Hankow, &c., we have therefore
nothing to report. _ .

Shanghae, March 6. Sales of imports, 7,500 pieces grey
shirtings, and a few whites, 1,000 pieces T cloths, and as
many chintzes, with 600 spotted shirtings and 200 brocades,
aro all that are reported. In exports 450 chests black (Ning-
chows) and 1,300 half chests green (Moyune and Fychow),
are the only transactions. Of silk, 3,500 bales had found
buyers. Exchange, 6s 11d for bank, 6s 2d for credit.
Freights, £5 to £5 10s for tea, £6 to £6los for silk. Ships
loading—for London, Cambala, Damio, Gabalva, Hadassah
James Paton, Saturnus, and Spray of the Ocean.
Fuhchau, March 10.—In imports, little doing. The sales
comprise some 1,200 pieces grey shirtings, 500 brocadez,
and a few hundred pieces of other goods. The transactions
in teas since our last are 16,000 chests and 11,000 half-chests
congou, 350 chests flowery Pekoe, 1,000 half-chests Oolong
and 900 boxes, scented. The market is now pretty well
cleared of stocks. Freights to London £5 10s. Ships load-
ing for London, Alarac and Harkaway.
Amoy, March 10.-600 bales Bombay cotton, 250 yarn,
4,400 pieces grey shirtings, 1,500 T cloths, 400 American
drills, 450 fancy goods, and 300 pieces chintz are the sales
reported. In exports some purchases of sugar have taken
place.

_
Canton—Of imports, sales, 4,500 bales cotton, 5,000 pieces
grey shirtings, 1,500 American drills, 1,400 piculs hoop and
bar iron, 24,000 piculs rice, and 6,000 piculs sugar. Of teas
the settlements are, 15 chops congou, and 1,000 half-chests
Canton picked, 5,000 boxes scented orange pekoe and 9,000
caper, 7,000 -boxes gunpowder, and 3,500 half-chests, 1,600
boxes young hyson. Nothing done in silk. Freights to
London, £4los.

THE DEFENCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI FROM
TENNESSEE TO 114.EW ORLEANS.

A writer in a contemporary says :—The surren-
der of No. 10 Island could surprise no one, for the
wonder is that it held out so long. These islands
are all composed of 4 the river silt deposited during
freshets, and raised by the vegetation that forms
upon them. They rise but little above the level of
the water, contain no stone, and the scrub that
grows upon them cannot be regarded as timber.
Hence their material capabilities for defence are
miserable, and render remarkable the tenacious hold
of the place against such a force as that bombard-
ing it. It has served the intended purpose, for the
loss of a month's time to the Federals has not only
enabled Beauregard to organise an army from the
previously scattered detachments, but has entirely
ruined the prospects of the present campaign on
the Mississippi. There were but three months at
command, and half that time is gone, while the
flotilla has only overcome the first and one of the
smallest obstacles to its progress.
There are those who think that this event opens
the Mississippi to Memphis ; but this is not the
case. The next position to be challenged is Fort Ran-
dolph, a strong defence on one of the Chickasaw
bluffs, unlikely to be much affected by shells or to
be captured, except by attack from the land side, to
which, like Columbus, it is exposed. Before an at-
tack of that kind can be made West Tennessee must
be occupied—a district intensely Southern in senti-
ment, and not as yet invaded. Assuming Fort
Randolph to fall, there remains, before reaching
Memphis, a formidable obstacle in an island much
better adapted for defence than No. 10. This island
is surrounded by smaller ones, forming a group by
which the channel is narrowed greatly and the cur-
rent proportionally increased in rapidity. Here the
Southerners, who hold both banks of the river, have
established batteries upon them, which, with those
on the head of the island, will bring a triple fire to
converge upon any approaching object. It is stated
by those connected with the district that this island
has been fortified with the utmost care, and opera-
tions such as those against No. 10 afford little pros-
pect of success against defences of much greater
strength, and surrounded by circumstances which
enhance so greatly the difficulties of naval attack.
After this has been overcome Memphis may be
approached. This city was fortified at the com-
mencement of the war, and the year which has since
elapsed has afforded ample time to stregthen it.
The river front of the bluff is crowned with a ram-
part of cotton in bales eight deep, packed with
sand and secured with heavy timber. The old
Navy-yard is converted into a battery, and another
commands the mouth of Wolf River, while heavy
guns are planted at intervals along the ridge of the
bluff. On the land side a deep ravine or bayou
runs south from Wolf River, and encircles the
town at a favourable distance from it. This strong
natural defence is said to be continuously lined with
redoubts. Hence no operation has yet been at-
tempted by the North which approaches in difficulty
the capture of Memphis; and if we suppose it to
be taken by the Federals will then be 780 miles from
New Orleans, with Natchez, Vicksburg, and Baton
Rouge to pass, and with the country on both sides of
the river in possession of the enemy. There are
many points of difficult navigation for the ordinary
steamers; how much more so for gunboats, mortar-
vessels, and a crowded fleet of transports
One difficulty usually unnoticed may be men-
tioned. The only fuel on the Mississippi. is wood,
_ _ _

which is always stacked dry and ready for the steam-
boats. This will be burnt as the flotilla comes down,
and it will be impossible to land, cut down timber,
and burn it green. For this, provision has been
made by constructing the gunboats so as to burn
coal; but every vessel must be of light draught of
water and small carrying capacity—a point of little

importan\ce, so far, within reach of friends and

depots. In proceeding, however, to a distance of
1,000 miles from Cairo—and there is no coal obtain-
able down the river,—the consumption of a great
fleet of steamers, and its supply, will become matters
of extreme difficulty ; for a steamer once out of coal
must make fast to a bank in the bands of the enemy,
or be swept by the current into their arms. This is
but one of the minor difficulties of this enterprise,
but practical men who consider it, who weigh the
operations required to reduce the first island, and
the number and strength of the positions to be en-
countered without failure at any one of them, will
take a less hopeful view of this matter than those
who have imagined it to be in the nature of an ex.
cursion with just danger enough to give a zest to it.
And the end of this unpromising voyage would bo
New Orleans—a city of 160,000 inhabitants, fire-
caters to a man, spurred by a Vigilance Committee,
with large resources, inspiriting traditions of suc-
cessful defence, and a large French element in its
population—a race little likely to hold back from a
barricade or any other kind of fighting. Here, in
addition to its own resources, would be accumulated
all the steamers and combatants driven down the
river by the Federal advance. It is not improbable
that the fleet of gunboats, iron-roofed batteries, and
steam rams, under the command of such men as
Maury and other of the best officers of the former
navy, will exceed in number and power the force
coming to attack them. On land, fortifications,
prepared long since, will be defended by numbers
equal to those of the assailants. What the proba-
bility of success in such an enterprise is the reader
may judge for himself. Great stress is, indeed,
laid on the effect of the mortar-boats; but shells, a
powerful auxiliary in an attack, cannot decide a
contest. There has been ample time to proNide for
them, and wherever earth, bagging, and timber eau