The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-01 00:00:00

WEST INDIA MAILS.

The Royal Mail Company's steam-ship Magda-
lena, Captain Chapman, at Southampton yester-
day evening at six o'clock,. from the West Indies,
with the usual mails, in charge of Lieutenant
Young, Admiralty agent. On her homeward voy-
age the Magdalena experienced heavy weather soon
after leaving St. Thomas, with a strong head
breeze. She was free from all disease.
The latest dates brought by the Magdalena are—
Vera Cruz, August 4th ; Tampico, July 31st ; Ha-
vana, August 10th ; Chagres, Bth ; Carthagena,
10th ; Jamaica, llth ; Demerara, 9th ; Barbadoes,
11th ; Grenada, 3d ; Porto Rico, 13th ; St. Thomas,
15th ; Antigua, 13th ; Jacmel, 12th ; Grey Town,
Gth.

The Magdalena brings on freight, 966,215 dollars
on merchants' account ; platina, 6661. 13s. 4d. ;
132 serous of cochineal ; pearls, 2,6571. 18s. 4d.; 9
tierces and 11 packages of coffee ; 4 bales vanilla ;
150 cases of cigars ; 586 bales of tobacco ; 96 bales
of sarsaparilla ; 4 boxes 1 barrel tortoise-shell, and
172 packages sundries.

INSURRECTION AT TORTOLA.
This packet brings accounts of an insurrection at
Tortola, the principal of the Virginia islands,
which broke out on the Ist of August, the day fixed
for the payment of the rural taxes of the island.
This tax has recently been increased, but the people
resolved to resist it, and went in a body to the
Treasury, tendering the original amount of the tax,
which being refused some disturbances occurred,
and several of the ringleaders were taken into cus-
tody, fined, and put into gaol. The people there-
upon assembled together and rescued the prisoners.
They then broke out into open revolt, took posses-
sion of the town, and burnt it to the ground.
Roadtown was left a mass of ruins, and the white
inhabitants were flying in every direction. Co-
lonel Chads, President, administering the govern-
ment, sent to St. Thomas's for assistance, and a
sailing vessel with troops was dispatched after some
delay, but they arrived too late to prevent or mo-
dify the excesses committed. At the latest ac-
counts the insurgents had retired to the interior,
and the troops from St. Thomas's had taken pos-
session of the remains of the town.
Only one of the insurgents seems to have been
killed, and several wounded.
In Tortola 25 houses were burnt down, and seven
plundered and destroyed. Several houses met a
similar fate in the country.
Yellow fever is stated •to be on the increase
throughout the islands, although on the decrease
amongst the shipping.
The St. Vincent's papers contain no news of im-
portance. The New Era, in an account of the state
of the crops in that island, says :
" Since our last report on the crops, we have not
more cheering intelligence to offer ; many of the estates
will not complete the crops in the usual time, from the
continued rains ; the cropping season, as it is, is far
g decreasing
advanced, and the yieldin
every week •
many of the planters talk of sto in sugar making t
for
the present, and commence again in gOctober ; this would
be practically the most advantageous course for those
planters who are late to pursue, as thecanes left over
would get age and give a far greater return than could be
expected now, and the wear and tear of stock and carts
over bad roads would ;
be materially diminished the crop
for next year requires now the undivided attention of the
planters."