The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-15 00:00:00

INDIA AND CHINA.

ONE MONTH LATER FROM AUSTRALIA.
We have received by extraordinary express in
anticipation. of the Overland Mail, our private CO'
respondence and journals from Bombay to the 13th
February, Calcutta to the sth Feb., and Song
Kong to the 28th Jan. By this arrival we have
received Adelaide papers (South Australia) to the
10th of January. The mail of the Bth of Jan'
reached Bombay on the sth of February.

BOMBAY, FEB. 12.
The mail leaves this presidency two days earlier
than the date announced for its departure, in c°ll,:
sequence of some of the usuall bad arrangements
concerning the departure of the Calcutta steamer,
which vessel the Hon. Company's mail .paoket fro!
Bombay has to meet at Aden. During the glom
seven months there have been no fewer than fine
mistakes in the departure from or arrival at 130 e;
bay of the English mails. The great advantal
which Bombay ought to enjoy from her geograPlL:t
cal position with regard to England are aim
entirely lost, and all because the Honourable Com-
pany will persist in carrying the mails in their own
vessels instead of making over the contract to het,
Peninsular and • Oriental, or some other PriAvtahe
company, as is done in every other part
world. Owing to the present arrangeracriv, d
which the mail is dispatched on the 12th ins will
of the 14th, none of the up-country letters
be in time. The notification of the change
only made on the 10th, and to those,
at a greater distance than Poonah or Al° it
nugger it is perfectly useless. But even uovr,eo
is very doubtful whether. the Hon. Ccin,Pallge
steamer Queen, which takes the mail, will 'l'
PaliP
to overtake the Peninsular and Oriental Coin 1. 031
therefered,
steamer from Calcutta at Aden ; and in aLle,„l"..ty
event, all the Bombay news by this opPc"—hos
will be a fortnight behind its time when it reae
London.
The latest news from Burmah is dated harp,' t,
and can hardly be said to be of any general inte„,,—ned
although more stirring events have P the
during the first month of peace than during The
twelve months' war under General Godwin• bioli
news of a revolution in Ava, a 'report of wtisi,
went by the last mail, is confirmed ; and a 33' of
embassy, under charge of Colonel Handsconihe,d,
the 40th Bengal Native Infantry, has beelike a
spatched to the capital, in order to neg°e
treaty of peace with the authorities. The the
Minister of the late King was foster-brother t° ore
latter, and seems to have usurped the throne °leo
for the purpose of saving a portion of the Binh $
empire from the British conquerors, than eof
view of satisfying his own ambition. The 11et, be
the new King is Ming-de-Meny ;he is said ese
one of the most influential amongst the 8ur.400.
nobles, and to be anxious for peace on any to
The late King is said to be in prison at Avaireto
nothing certain can be learned until we hear., to
Colonel Handscombe's mission, now on its 117 as
Ava. The colonel was accompanied as, ''`-rno,
Meaday by a force of seven hundre,_„Au win,
under the personal command of General ur(; belt
At this place the majority of the troops lv,oo.
until the result of the negotiations is ]in that
A newspaper published at Rangoon reports de,
the force under General Steel had met with a& of
Stanrepulse on attacking the strong stone
g ; but the report is not even alludea being
the letters from the seat of war, such letters boye.
of a later date than the print referred to a, jet°
Two boat expeditions have been dispatche°
the creeks near Donabew, in pursuit of so_),lfeted,
rauders, with whom the whole country is
One of these expeditions had failed in its 0000
and it found one or the creeks to' be se stree° etia
stockaded as to be impassable for boats. The
expedition under Captain George Grenville to
of her Majesty's ship Winchester, was ah°llasist
start when the latest news left, and was to co f
' bet
of 300 soldiers, and 100 seamen, in the boats lyjs
Majesty's ships Fox and Winchester, and her
jesty's steamer Sphinx. reins
Throughout India the most profound peace rule'
The" north-west frontier is no exception to this takes
The Governor-General is at Barrackpore, an,"400
his departure for Arracan very shortly. n tenant-
out by a north-west paper that the Lieu Luck
Governor of Agra is very shortly to proceed to
iory
now, with the view of making all the prelta,pg of
arrangements for effecting a transfer of the P•.`
e iii'
Oude's territories from that sovereign to
tish. It is said that the above prince has ac
of his
applied to our Government to relieve hini . „ for
sovereignty, and to provide a liberal proviSl%ooo
the support of himself and family. The r°.° eocl
of the Oude state is said to be nearly a niiiiitj,r
a half sterling, even under the present viand no
oo
ment ; under the East India Company it isotwbje
doubt very shortly amount to something like cl°ll-
the above.
sot,
Sir Henry Pottinger is at his seat of Goveruill+ter
Lord Falkland is at present in Bombay. Theil.-ia
goes to the Mahableshwar Hills next nwn" the
returns to Bombay in order
rk iibipasl to emba
steamer of the Ist of May. His
lordshiT .
in
the
the last few weeks of his sojo • urn in -1-n— ds of his tits o
same manner as he has spent two-t—lr
away from
since he has been Governor of Bombay —. the
t°
the proper scene of his duties. According ttee,
evidence lately given before the Indian cornrai
State,vthese pleasures trips will have cost thes
39,0001. during the five years of his lordsnir
_44
ministration. Every one is now anxiously wirilope
to see who our new Governor is to be, and a laatia
that some one better qualified. than Lord Fa 1,00-
for the post will be appointed. Natives and 0,5
peans—the servants of the 'company, .57„, that
merchants, lawyers, &c.—are agreed in. wisu7' sot
some person of Indian experience should, discus'
out to rule over an Indian presidency. T.e cried
sion upon the Baroda Blue Books is gM Fart i$
on by the local press, and public opine
is
greatly against the gross mismanagement of oTs
matters as exhibited in these volumes. It ,nr•
gular with what avidity these Blue Books air late
chased and read by the natives, and how tfeuisrlf
acts of the Bombay Government, more part's wed
their dismissal of Colonel Outram, are Inc' oeor
amongst the more enlightened portion of tu„eoder'
munity. All cry out that a governor who
stands India is the crying want of this mossir
naged presidency. The nomination of eithe fan
G. Clerk, Sir George Anderson, or any otheriipo
of local experience, would certainly be lookedfancli
as a blessing of which Western India stands
in need.

frow -
Lord Frederick Fitzclarence is suffering 7nt,1,501
severe attack of gout and fever. Our new 1;6'03
judge, Sir Charles Jackson, and his family,3—AlDS,.
here, from Calcutta, on the Ist inst. A rflevso
was held on the 31st ultimo, for the plorssiel.
contributing to a memorial to the Duke e„, e 0
lington. The ship Governor Higginson 1-01
tirely destroyed by fire in the Madras roads 3
time ago. the
The Government Gazette Extraordinary loor
29th ult. re-published a notification in theTodiol
cial department by the Government of -1-00 t,
dated the 22d, intimating that the Five Per the
Transfer Loan, comprising the book debt a`b of
10th of August, 1835, the book debt of the 11 the
January, 1836, and the promissory notes ° djs•
loan, dated the 31st December, 1834, will 194.1ce off
charged on the 23d of April, 1854. This 'net
payment will be conside:ed equal to a tie_.llocl
payment on the above dr.-e, from which pel,:`„,k
interest is to cease. All proprietors of the er'n the
the above loan will be permitted, on or befn,o
22d of July next, to subscribe the amountel: per
new loan, to bear interest at the rate 01 oat.
cent. In consequence of closing the Five per
ritiO
Transfer Loan, the value of Government 00.001
and of shares in the Bombay Bank, Banks,
Bank Corporation, Commercial and Agra ,d bf
have risen, and large profits have been see'rocle
all the banks upon their Government paper.
is brisk, and a considerable amount of busese'
been transacted since the last mail. holig
The Money Market is animated, but e 0 pp,
has a downward tendency owing to the Chi 123004,
not having brought the quantity of paper ellebeen
and principal shipments going on here havill.p fa
previously drawn for. The rates of the daY7tsp
Baring's credit 2s. lid., and best local 4r4alicla
1-id, per rupee at six months' sight, on -r-4115 100,
Exchange on China is Rs. 219 to 220 per (111 per
at 60 days' sight ; and on Calcutta, at Bs- 9
Rs. 100, at 60 days' sight. too to
Freights keep up at 3/. 15s. to 41. Per,,,
London and Liverpool, and a vessel has been
tered to China at Rs. 20i. per candy.
At Calcutta the Exchange according to the leltiect
accounts is, for first-class credits, 2s. ld. to per
per rupee; documents, 2s. Id. to 2s. liuf
rupee. The following are the freight rates ° 6a. ;
day at Calcutta :—To London : Sugar, .317, 78,,ttei4
saltpetre, 3/. ; rice, 3/. 17s. 6d. ; jute and
3/. to 3. 2s. 6d. ; hides, 3/. 10s. ,• oilseelnzice
shellac, 3/. ; lac dy
per bag, payable thereB at; 10
e, 3/. 15s. To Mauritius 60
Co.'s Rs. nominal
cents, per rupee. To China : Opium, clre'
per chest; cotton, drs. 3 to 3 25 per bale.

MILITARY INTELLIGENCE' grr,Tcs
CASUALTIES BY DEATH IN THE ARMIES OFINDII.
THE DEPARTURE OF THE MAIL ON THE 2915 4:0
Her Majesty's Troops.—Lieut. Martin, °-1-I.—ec.,
78th Highla.nders, at Malta, on the 1701: ot
1852; Lieut. Westropp, H.M.'s 51st' il'eg•
v"
poonamallee.
Bombay.—Cadet H. G. Fraser, at Atfeh, 011
4th Jan. , at
Madras.—Lieut. W. Dallas, Horse Artiu-e"
Madras, On the 28th January, of cholera; SI"

J. Mathison, Med. Est., at Vaniembady, on the
26th Dec. ; Lieut. F. M. Minchin, 35th Regt.,
N. 1., at Prome, on the 20th Dec. ; Quartermaster
R. Palmer, 28th Regt. N. 1., at Perambore, on the
26th Jan.

Bengal.—Capt. Turner, 51st N. 1., at Calcutta ;
Lieut. G. Miller, 40th N. 1., of fever, at Bunnah ;
Capt. C. S. Reynolds; 19th Regt. N. 1., at Assam;
Major Minchin, 67th N. 1., at Rangoon.

(From the Bombay Times of Feb. 12.)

We mentioned in our last that the Aeng Pass,
through which our troops in Lower Arracan com-
municate by a short cut with Prome, had been
strongly stockaded, and that 3,000 of the enemy
held a post 5,000 feet high, from the front alto-
gether unapproachable. A chief named Makeekay
having described to us the enemy's position, Cap-
tains Nuthall and' Sutherland, with a party of the
Arracan battalion, proceeded to a place called
Thorawa on the Ist of January, where they
learned that a Burmese force had left the neigh-
bourhood to attack Prome, and that the defenders
of the stockade had become careless of their
charge since the British troops had quitted their
neighbourhood. The most careful inquiries have
been instituted, and all the requisite arrangements
mad 6, the attacking party started before dawn on
the sth, and proceeding through the jungle found
themselves about nine a.m. within eight hundred
yards of the pass on the Burmese side of the moun-
tain. Here they rested for the day, while Captain
Nuthall pursued his inquiries, and just before dusk
they were moved on to within two or three hun-
dred yards of the pass, and so as to be within reach
of the high road. They were under arms by two
o'clock on the morning of the 6th, but so difficult
was their progress that it took thein two hours to
clear the jungle. They now formed, and proceeded
in the most profound silence in the direction of the
barricades, which they reached, as had been de-
sired, just before dawn. Captain Nuthall having
himself proceeded to inspect the works found the
enemy sound asleep, and suspecting no danger. Capt.
Sutherland was ordered to advance infull force against
the gate, which he carried, and entered the stockade
at once,while Capt. Nuthall, who had seized on pur-
pose an eminence close by, caused a volley to be
poured upon the head of the sleepers which spread
death and dismay in all directions. The enemy
never for a moment raffled, but scampered off as
hard as their feet could carry them, leaving the
stockade, and everything in it behind, including
their arms, all loaded. They had not been allowed
so much time as even to fire. This decisive and
brilliant affair, the most brilliant and decisive that
has occurred during the war, which opened up to
us the country at once, shows what our troops can
do when disencumbered of a general, and proved
how easy it would have been to have pressed for-
ward on Ava when Prome was captured ten
months ago, and dictated our terms in the capital.
The enemy having disappeared in considerable
strength near Martaban, General Steelmoved out at
dawn on the 14th, with the whole force in the gar-
rison, one company of each of the native regiments
excepted. His advance consisted of a party of
seventy-five men of the Madras, and a similar num-
ber of the Bengal Europeans, and companies of the
Bengal 10th, and Madras sth Native Infantry, a
detachment of Irregular Cavalry, and two 24
pounder howitzers. The road lay through a thick
entaigled jungle, barely passable by carts. The
enemy were first seen behind a strong breast-work,
stretching along the base of the hill, as our troops
cleared the forest, and approached the plain on
which they had intended to encamp. We were
received by a, salute from their guns, followed by a
brisk fire of musketry and jingalls, while the
inert were debouching. A couple of well-di-
rected discharges from our howitzers, the shells
bursting right over them, followed by some
rockets, sent the enemy scampering, and when
our troops pushed on they found the works,
which were singularly strong, abandoned, the place
having fallen into our hands without the loss of a
single man. The enemy's artillery were found to
consist of short pieces of bamboo, bound round with
cord—they had all burst on the first fire. Every
precaution had been taken to cut off their retreat,
but this was found impossible from the nature of
the ground. An immense number of carts and
120 elephants had now been collected, and a march
in the direction of Shoegeer and Sitang was ordered
to commence on the 17th ; the force to return by
Pegu, within 14 miles of which the enemy were said
once more to have collected. No authentic parti-
culars as to their further operations have yet
reached us. The mishap said by the Rancoon
Chronicle to have befallen them is generally dis-
believed, and we have little doubt that when we
next hear from them, we shall be able to give an
excellent account of them, as they will of the ene-
my. A large flotilla of boats, with a man-of-war
convoy, started for Prome with commissariat stores
on the 25th. A boat expedition was dispatched on
the 22d, up the creek between Donabew and Hen-
zanda, after a brigand, who had been plunder-
ing the country with a large band of followers.
The banks of the creek werejudulngsti3k in safetyrecipitous,
and high, so that the enemy co
on the crest, and fire down upon us with fatal
effect. They were compelled to return to Ran-
goon,
which they reached on the 24th, without
securing their capture—one marine having been
killed, and eleven sailors wounded ; one officer was
very severely hurt. A second expedition against
the same enemy was under orders for the 27th,
commanded by Captain Lock, with Captains Shad-
well
and Rowley Lambert. It consisted of 300
soldiers and 100 seamen, on board the boats of the
Fox, Winchester, and Sphinx, and there seems
every reason to hope that on the present occasion
they will be successful. Such is the string of stir-
ring events with which the first month of peace
presents us. It is well that General Godwin. was
not on the spot, or he would, in all likelihood,
have still b3en waiting for reinforcements. With
the affairs of Burmah our intelligence for the fort-
night begins and ends. Profound tranquillity
reigns throughout India, and even our north-west
frontier scarcely supplies us with an accident or
event.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
CALCUTTA MARKETS—FEB. 5.
(From the Calcutta Englishman.)
The Precursor, with the London mail of Dec. 24 last,
arrived in the river on the 3d inst., and the letters were
delivered yesterday. The advices regarding colonial
markets are upon the whole satisfactory.
In our expoi market sugar has been quiet during the
past foi ;;ntht, and operations in it have been chiefly con-
fined to the lower kinds of new date ; refiners, deterred
by the high rates required, are not yet at work on the raw
material. 1,445 maunds of raw silk have been exported to
Great Britain during last month ; the article is in eager
inquiry. Filature silks have been contracted for at 12 to
14 Rs. per seer, and comparatively high prices have been
paid for native produce. A fair quantity of torahs
(59,209-pieces) had gone forward to Great Britain in
Jan. Of late the'demand has abated, owing to holders
requiring an advance of 2 to 3 rupees, to which only a
few pi.rties have been found to submit. The export of
saltpetre to Great Britain during the same period has
been 45,747 mds. The demand for this salt has fallen
off, and its value has declined about 2 annas per md.
Rice has also been sent to the same market in large
quantities. The exports in January amount to 291,757
!rids. The finer kinds of jute are nearly out of the mar-
ket, but the middling qualities are taken up with avi-
dity at full prices. The crop is stated to he a short one.
Turmeric is regaining favour ; 2,717 mds. had been sent
to Great Britain and 5,871 to France in January.
We regret that we can report no improvement in our
import market, which remains depressed. Holders of
cotton goods are as anxious as before to realise, while
the local inquiry has not improved, and the up-country
demand still continues inert. The absence of that demand
at this season particularly is unaccountable, as it is known
that stocks in the interior have been reduced. It would
be impossible to place goods in quantity at .the reduced
current rates. The accounts received from home of the ex-
port trade there are also of a nature calculated,to have an
injurious effect upon our market, inasmuch as the large
shipments lately made and in progress, and the speculative
spirit displayed, tend to destroy the firmness of holders,
and make them anxious to realise. So long as parties
at home continue to throw in larger supplies than can
be absorbed by the demand in our market, no improve-
ment can be hoped for ; on the contrary, certain loss is
sure to result. Copper is dull, and has further receded
in value. With the exception of bars and hoops, which
are in fair request, and pig, which is in active demand,
all descriptions of iron are depressed. The price of
Bpelter has fallen to Ct. Rs. 7-12 and 7-13. Lead is
also dull, and looking down.
The Money market keeps well supplied. The share
market has been made firmer by the move above re-
ferred to in Government Securities.
Exchange after the date of our last report rose to
2s. lid. and 2s. lidi, although a few transactions have
transpired on better and some on worse terms. Drawers
are now unwilling to part with their paper at the above
rates, while remitters are holding out for them. At
going to press very little had been done, and it remained
undecided which party would give way.
Freights declined a little, but are again much as they
Were. Our quotations now are :-31. 2s. 6d. to 3/. ss.
saltpetre ; 3/. 7s. 6d. to 31. 10s sugar ; and 4/. rice to
London. •
lndigo.--Soon after the dispatch of our last report,
the French relaxed in their demand, and as English
buyers would not come forward on the same terms, the
market. became dull, with a decline of about Rs. 10 per
• Five sales have been held since the 17th ultimo, at
which 2,988 chests were brought forward, out of which
I,were withdrawn and bought in. Since the 24th
ultimo no sale has been held, and the only transaction
Which 9 has transpired is one by private contract of 57
:chests Wise and Glasse's indigo at 160-0. Shippers are
l!in in refusing to meddle with the article at the prices
uaerrtnanded and holders generally have been waiting the
ival of the home advices before submitting to conces-
8.
I°Pi- The mail has just arrived, but sufficient time has
not yet elapsed to allow the effects of the advices re-
ceivede_e to develop themselves. 9,259 chests have been
rted up to the 24 of February, inclusive of which