The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-30 00:00:00

THE WEST INDIA MAIL•

SOUTHAMPTON, AUG. 291,
The Royal Mail Company's steam-ship Atral^'
commanded by Captain Woolley, arrived this tt
about twelve o'clock, with the usual mails, 1111',..-
the charge of Lieut. Charleton, Admiralty agent"

The p—asseugers by the Atrato- number 1.15.
On freight, the Atrato brings specie to the amol
of 1,65,514 dollars, 161 serous of cochineal,
barrels of coffee, 57 cases of cigars, 293 bales
tobacco, 9 packages of beeswax, 4 cases of soca°io

and abMit paclages of sundries.
At St. Thomas, H.M.S. Devastation, and /ELI'
French steamer Ardente.
At Grey Town, H.M. schooner Bermuda. iot
Espiegle had sailed for Grey Town, but had
arrivH. ed.
M.S. Arab on her way to Turks' Island, 9'l
AThe Atrato passed the ships Louisa and St. the
August 26. lat. 48.12, long 15.00 W., and on 0
27th, in lat. 49.14, long. 8.4 W., the Oste, frig
ig
Gibraltar; also No. 41 transport, and the ),41
Verbena. She also passed H.M.S. Boscawent
Scilly.
The Conway was at St. Thomas, from the vT1:l,
ward Islands. She was infected with cholera, "701
therefore, not allowed to enter' the harbour. 0
on board, except the mails, were left for the 11'
ship. 'At
There is little news to report by this arrival'
Jamaica cholera was rapidly disappearing, tuneo
other respects, the island was healthy. Bu9co
was dull ; in short, no change had taken place .39,100
the last arrival. Exchange was quoted on L 041,,
for bills at 9U days' date, par 60 ; per cent. F-c-
-30 1 ditto.

CALIFORN lA.
f
By the arrival at Southampton yes'erdaY °hoe
[loyal Mail Company's steam-ship Altrato welbree
dates from California to the 15th of July. .0
fearful fires had broken out—one at Coln 'l,y
flourishing mining town in Tuolumne conut3iijoe
which property to the amount of half 3, 't• the
dollars was destroyed, and the larger portien ()Oil
town laid in ashes. Immediately followiei fitio
at San Francisco, three blocks were burn;
004
property of the value of $200,000 destroyed ;0, 0
about two days afterwards Sacramento Op ad
flames, and twelve blocks of the city have bed 0'
stroyed, amounting to $400,000 worth of PI",
During the past fortnight the mining 1,11 usuP
of the country have gone forward with t'!orioll
prosperity in older and well-known mining r;,cl 0'
whilst authentic information has been reeelrecioo
the further discovery of rich deposits of the Pf 0110
metal. In addition to this the discoverieg 0 „god,
of coal of immense extent have been coh.
and some partially opened. A mine of of
Of surpassing richness has also been reP
being discovered in the interior of the state*

•oII,SS, I.a
THE BATEMANS AND THE PA-T to 0-,
We had a slight disturbance in the stOefihert/
other day, which curiously illustrates tiLie 1;00%
ofth thef press in this free country. gr• Priinvi:
fur
ather of the two little actresses, so vreu"no. yel
thefhardin precocity of their talents, and wil-„,--roe °'
$l2OOO
fEngland some time ago, offered ri Elarells
or a drama to be enacted by the cuiol;
tThere were 21 competitors, but all the comp
ions were rejected on the round that they 1/0.4
not suit the children's talents, and a d..11',504641
afterproduced the award, it was discovered that the ° t,ll
piece was written by Mrs. 133tentib0 o,
.mother,. and she confessed that she thre- of the
a n incredibly short time. The editor ii..cor
_California Chronicle, an exceedingly- eV at.'
ducted paper, in a sharp criticism, easi_i icliicP
counted for the facility and despatch
cwituth°t it
the prize drama was produced by the -acti v or,
was plagiarised—taken wholesale from a Psivibielh
farce written for the stage some time This
the scene was laid in California. This die titer'
created a great sensation and Mr. Batethalita the
mined to take his revenge, " accordihg, .00°'
manner of the country." He waited, riltii; 006
of his friends in the street, until the eait°iibis i°
by, when lie attacked him with his fist' editor
the proved testimony as given by the isto+
" A friend parried the blow. I drew 11l Pe lii°
(tie had been warned, and armed hirnseh seized
way to his office), and at the instant WO , tep,o,
from behind, and my arms pinioned by a stohvbeieg
tahnroacwcnessuoproyntmo
ythkisneaetsteimupttheedsTruurgdgeire ; od' ilia
I;eaatpon, one of Bateman's friends held° hire°t3ll,:rilt:
h• enian fired at me twice from behind is'firing
hereupon took place, and,
iv ere he had shieldetl himself." A gene° Or°
as the streetsuis fb
rate),
crowded, and 10 shots were fired, it see.. sfao
natter i 8•
miracle that no one was killed. The
investigatedt before the Recorder (the police gie of
$3OO imposed upon Mr. Bateman. Jougl-47akell
and he punished the offence by, itn, froo
the Recorder's reasoning, had the firing not
- 0 of
vplaee in the public street-s,l here the lives 0.
the
women and children" were put in danger, TV
sailant would have been let off scot fre...ae. alia
editors of this country are in continual sorsr7t se
• tiwo Pi
several of thorn have: bees ,hot for their

'

I<K'

COMMERCIAL IN TELL 1 GENUE„

CITY, TN NO o'CLOCK.
The sales of cotton at Liverpool yesterday were
estimated •at from 6,000 to 7,000 bales, including
2,000 American taken for export and on specu-
lation. The market was firm but tame, without
alteration in prices. The sales comprised 140
Peru= and Maranham, at 5 d, to 6.4 d., 100
Egyptian at 51d.. to WO., 300 Surat at 3d. to
3d., and the remainder' American. Railway
Shares were firm at higher prices.
The foreign exchanges yesterday afternoon for
three months' bills were rather weaker. Paris,
however, ruled firm at 25 274 to 30. Amsterdam,
11 17 to 17± ; Hamburg, 13 5i to 6; Frankfort,
1184 to 1184 ; and Trieste, 11 32 to 36.
The Atlantic has arrived from New York with
700,000 dollars on board. Her accounts are to
the 19th inst. Money was still easy. Flour had
advanced 4 dollar per bushel.
The intelligence from the West India Islands by
the Atrato, Royal Mail steamer presents few fea-
tures of interest. From Jamaica to the 11th of
August we have a repetition of the complaints
respecting the scarcity of labour, chiefly attri-
butable to the extensive emigration of the negro

labourers to Panama, where work on the rail-
way was paid so much higher than could be
afforded on the plantations or even in the towns
by the planters and merchants. How to re-
medy the evil, which was an admitted
obstruction to the increase of cultivation and the
prosperity of the island, was a question of anxious
discussion. Various experiments, involving con-
siderable cost, have been resorted to since eman-
cipation was disposed of to meet the urgency, not
only without success, but with an absolute
failure and loss. Those efforts were made, how-
ever, to supply the want of adequate labour
occasioned by the natural repugnance of the eman-
cipated negro population to submit to the same
continuous drudgery on the estates as was exacted
from them in the state of slavery. The introduc-
tion of free labour was attempted from Europe and
Asia, but without effect. The Coolies brought from
India returned on the completion of their hiring.
The European white element either could not with-
stand the climate of the plains, or emigrated to the
United States. The free black immigrants alone
from the coast of Africa were found serviceable,
and had readily amalgamated with and became a
part of the population. But these could only be
attracted or procured in very insufficient numbers,
and, meanwhile, the native inhabitants had been
swept away by thousands yearly by the plagues
and pestilence of small-pox, scarlatina, and cholera.
Under these circumstances the proposition for
permitting the introduction of a particular and
select class of convicts from the mother country
was obtaining more and more a favourable conside-
ration. It was observed that the objection to the
unsuitableness of the European constitution for
field labour in the plains was of local application
only. "Of the salubrity of the mountain ranges"
in the interior of the island there neither was nor
could be any doubt. They are habitually the re-
sort of sufferers from disease and convalescents,
both native and from the United States, ih the
sultry heats of summer. In such salubrious locali-
ties it is proposed the convict immigrants should
be exclusively located, there to remain under
proper regulations and surveillance of appointed
authorities. A portion of the produce of their
labour would be their own, and at the end of their
time they would be induced to settle and become
part of the people, as small proprietors or free
labourers, and thus promote the great end iii view, '
of increasing the population without reference to
favouring the cultivation of the plantations, which
hitherto had been the prime object in view. It
was the free range of the towns, and free access to
the grog-shops which had been the bane of former
European immigration.
The English Stock market again presents an
animated appearance. The splendid harvest
weather, the largeness of the expected yield, the
favourable foreign news, and the easy money market,
all tending to' force up the prices of the Funds.
Consols are now to per cent. higher than at
this time yesterday, the rates for money being 95
to 95/, and for account 951 and have so been
done. Bank Stock is firm at 2081 to 21.01,
and India Stock 226. Exchequer Bills are
par to 2s. premium, and the Bonds of 1859 are
quoted 98k. The New 31 per Cents. have ranged
from 951- to 9G, and the 3 per Cents. from 95 to
95k.

Foreign Stocks are at enhanced values generally.
Mexican have improved to 2412-, to 25. It is under-
stood that the Committee have received powers to
draw against the Messila Valley indemnity money
such a sum as will be sufficient, together with
the amount now in band here, to liqui-
date one of the dividends in arrear.- Chi-
Eau Bonds, Six per Cents., are 104, and the
Three per Cents. 73. Sardinian Bonds are rather
flatter, being 87t. Spanish Three per Cents, have
risen to 371 to 38, and the New Deferred to 18! /.
Dutch Two-and-a-Half per Cents. are 62. The
Turkish Scrip, which closed yesterday at 54 11, has
rallied to-day to 61 and 64. It is believed that the
difficulties which have arisen between Messrs.
Trouve, Chauve], and Stanley, on the one part,
mid the promoters of the loan on the other, are in
course of arrangement.

The following are the nominal prices of Foreign
Stocks :—Grenada Deferred Bonds 6to Mexi-
can 24 to 7, Peruvian 71 to 73, ditto 3 per
Cents. 52 to 54, Portuguese 4 per Cents. 40 to 42,
Russian 5 per Cents. 99 to 101, ditto 4-?; per Cents.
86 to 88, Spanish New Deferred 18i to 18g, ditto
3 per Cents. 37 to 37k, ditto Certificates 41 to 5,
ditto Passive 3/ to 4.
The Railway Share Market has shown further
symptoms of improvement to-day, but the business
done is chiefly in connection with the settlement.
The generally unfavourable reports from the various
companies, and the expectation that the meetings
for the most part would be unsatisfactory, have
caused the Bears to preponderate. The rise in
prices is about 1 per cent. on the heavy lines. The
French lines are quiet but buoyant.

Mines are inactive, and iu Joint-stock Banks
and Land Companies the dealings are limited.

BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY.—CLOSING PRICES.
(From the Cfficial List./

•
Pus,ne.. -on,
Bank Stock
3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities 9sj 5 § 2
3 per Cent. Consols Annuities 95 445153
31 per Cent. Annuities .
New 24 per Cent. Annuities
Long Annuities, Expire sth Jan., 1860
Ditto 30 Years, Expire sth Jan.,1860 4A
India Stock 226
India Bonds, .ClOOO
Consols for Account 13th Sept.
Exchequer Bills, 24d.
£lOOO
.....
2500 par 2 pm
Small 3 1 pm par
Exchequer Bonds 1558, 34 per Cent. 93'
Ditto 1859, „
PRICE OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS' DAY.
Buenos Ayres Bonds, 6 per Cent 55
Milian Bonds, 6 per Cent... .........
Ditto 3 per Cent
Mexican 3 per Cent.
Sardinian Bonds, 5 per Cent B7i
Spanish Bonds, 3 per Cent 3.4 4 8
Spanish New Deferred, 3 per Cent lBi a
Spanish Committee Cert. of Coup. not fun 54
Turkish Scrip
D vidends on 'r r shove pay able in London
Dutch Exchange, 24 per Cent. 12 Guil 62
THREE O'CLOCK.
Console 953 4
Ditto Septereb .r A.C,'""‘

iLARENDON MINING COMPANY OF JAMAICA. —This
company has issued a report of the progress of
tperatioty,ns
since April, at the various localities on their
property,
which it was agreed should be tested. According t,)
this, the inlications at two places, called Stamford-hill
and Mount Pleasant, offer a prospect of remunerative
returns for the labour employed, and the cost of which,
up to the present time, has been limited to 2,7001- The
present current expenses are about 30 1. per month,
whic'i the directors consider sufficient until the success-
ful yielding of the mines now in course of advancement
shall encourage a further extension.
A mastership in St. Paul's Grammar School has be-
come vacant by tho death of the !ley. Charles Colehy
Roberts, M. A. The rev. zentleman was also curate of
Bt. Olive's Jewry, in the city of London.
EN mmous SHEET OF PAPP:H.—A day or two since
Mesas. Evans and Arrow,ruith, of Bri,tol, received at
their I.:.,tablishmeilt a sheet of paper weighing 3 cwt.,
and measuring 2,784 feet in length, or more than half a
GA*