The Sun.
London, England, 1862-07-02 00:00:00

COLONIAL BANK.

The half-yearly meeting of the Colonial Bank took place
to-day—Mr. Charles Marryat in the chair. The report
presented to the meeting gave the net profit for the six
months to 31st December last at £37,265 7s. 6d., out of
which it was proposed to pay a dividend of 6 per cent, for
the half-year, free of income tax, which would amount to
£30,000, and therefore leave a balance of £7,265 7s. 6d. to
be added to the reserve fund, which will then amount to
£109,195185. 9d. The chairman proposed the adoption of the
report, and after briefly alluding to the progress of the
bank's operations, said he believed that the disturbed
state of America must inevitably injure the business in the
colonies. Already the price of sugar in this country was
less than it was sold for abroad. This fact was attributable
to Havannah and other places not having so large a market
for their produce in the United States. He also alluded to
the subject of slavery, in which Spain, after receiving
money from this country to emancipate their slaves, allowed
them to be imported into Cuba, and the result was that
England had to contend against forced labour. The report
was unanimously adopted, and, after a vote of thanks to
•
the &rectors, the meeting terminated.

A penSiOn of 'XIOO a-year, we rejoice to learn,
has just been,, conferred upon Mr. Leitch Ritchie,
in consideration of his literary abilities, by the
generous decision of Lord Palmerston.
DEATH OF THE DUCHESS DOWAGER OF BUCKlNG-
futm.—This lady died at Stowe on Saturday last, after a
lengthened illness, alleviated by the attention of her son
and daughter. Her ladyship was the youngest daughter of
the first Marquis of Breadalbane, and, distinguished in all
the relations of life, she has died regretted by a very nume-
rous circle of friends. _

AN INNOCENT AMUSEMENT.—A Court-martial
held at Agra on the 24th of April last presents one or two
novel points. Lieutenant Glover, desirous of testing the
penetrant power of clay bullets, compelled one Meer Khan
to stand target, invested only with a coarse quilt. Of course
Meer Khan came to grief, but the Court-martial recom-
mended that Lieutenant Glover be dealt leniently with, on
the ground of indiscretion and boyish folly. This has given
occasion to the Commander-in-Chief to read a sharp lecture
to the officers composing the court, refusing their request,
ar;d winding up, characteristically, by observing that "his
Excellency cannot believe that if the act had been com-
mitted on any friend or relative of any member of the court
they would have come to the same conclusion." And so the
frolic lieutenant is consigned for three months to the fort of
Agra—a punishment which Sir Hugh Rose pronounces by
far too lenient.—Homeward
Mr. Grantley Berkeley, in answer to a letter in
the Times, says :—" Before any one writes himself as hav-
ing gono to the dogs' he should be quite sure that, when
placed in that enviable position, he thoroughly understood
the 'tail' he dealt with. Sir Edwin Landseer, if he asserts
that our rounding' of a foxhound's ears is an act of cruelty,
or the taking off their dewclaws' either, and for that rea-
son that those hounds should be prohibited from competing
for a prize, commits a monstrous mistake. If we did not
' round' the ear and render it less in the way of briars, fox-
hounds would suffer terribly in their passage through
cover; and if the ' dewclaw' was not taken from all hounds
and dogs used for speed, they, too, would be more often
lamed than they are now. I speak under my well-known
love for animals, and under the tuition of a life's experi-

ence."
THE DANISH GUNBOATS.—The Thames Iron-
works and Shipbuilding Company of Blackwell, and Messrs.
John Penn and Son, engineers, of Greenwich, have within
the last few days completed two very fine iron armour-
plated gunboats for the Royal Danish navy. They are
about 603 tons measurement, with engines of 100-horse
power, and at the mile trial attained a speed of about 111
knots. The first of these, the Absalon, left Blackwall on
Sunday last, at noon, and arrived at Copenhagen (against
contrary winds and bad weather) on Wednesday. The
Second, the Esbern Snare, will leave the Thames to-morrow
morning. They are exceedingly beautiful vessels of their
class, and too much praise cannot be given to Captain
Schonbeudcr, R.D.N., who has been sent by his Govern-
ment to this country to superintend their construction.
RAILWAY AND PUBLIC COMPANIES IN PARLIA-
MENT.—Yesterday, in the Lords, the bill for the Mid-Kent
and Addiscombe Railway was passed. The Mayor of New-
port and other witnesses were examined on the West Mid-
land Company's bill, and Mr. Rowbotham, manager of the
North British, in favour of the Amalgamation of that com-
pany with the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee, and West
of Fife. The opposition of landowners and of the inhabi-
tants of Cheltenham is now on in the committee on the East
of Gloucestershire Railway, and the proceedings on the
Stafford and Uttoxeter have also reached that stage. The
London, Chatham, and Dover Company's extensions to
Deal and Dover and St. Mary's Cray, the Llanidloes and
Newton, IVlid-Wales and Manchester and Milford, Birken-
head, Caledonian, and Bristol and South Wales Union
Railway Bills were passed in Lord Redesdale's committee.
In the Commons, the case in promotion of the Ellesmere
and Oswestry lines was concluded ; and the opposition of
Lord Brownlow was opened in evidence.
VOLUNTEER MUSKETRY INSTRUCTION. The fol-
lowing circular has been issued from the War-office :
46 Classes for the musketry instruction of rifle volunteers,
under the provisions of article 171 of the volunteer regula-
tions, will be formed at the School of Musketry at Fleet- ,
wood on the 15th instant, and at the School of Musketry
at Hythe on the 29th instant. Officers commanding rifle
volunteer corps in Scotland, or in any of the following
counties, viz., Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmore-
land, Durham,Yorkshire, and Lancashire, wanting to send
a Member to the class at Fleetwood, may send in their ap-
plications for permission to do so to the War-office on or be-
fore the Bth instant, and officers din rifle. volunteer
corps in the remaining nortionoefoGn2rmeaatnßrigtam may apply
for permission to send a member of their corps
commanding-
officer's the class
at Hythe on or before the 22d instant.
application should in each case
T be accompanied by
ch
a certificate in the form given in apllll
5 of the vol
teer regulations.—M. M`Munno, War-office, July 1,1862
tcdt::% vvVhi
VOLUNTEER EFFECTIVES.—The followingtihc
cir-
cular has just been issued from the Wae on
r-
offie
i zti—e
view to the better understanding of the
constitute an effective volunteer according to the provisions
of the Volunteer Act, the Secretary of State for War thinks
it desirable to point out to officers commanding volunteer
corps, that no member should be returned as effective unless
he has attended at the annual general inspection of the
corps, or is accounted for as absent with the
Officers commanding volunteerleve
corps
therp s
officer commanding•
may rely that every care will be taken that the general in-
spection ordeeed by the act should be held each year at the
time best suited to meet the convenience of the volunteers.
--TRQKAs Cilicataz 13Aniziv,