The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-05 00:00:00

:MARCH 5, 1849.

barely 34 when ho foug ht the battle of Assaye, and he
closed his military caree rat 45, Bonaparte was 27 when
he overran Italy, and d tfeated half a dozen Austrian
armies. Alexander was about the same ago when ho
vanquished Porus on tt tat spot were Lord Gough did
not vanquish Shere Sin, ;h. Conde won the battle of
Rocroi at a yet earlier at 73. In a word, nearly all great
commanders have prove d themselves great commanders
in their youth. It stand ato reason that it should be so.
When a soldier has IN issed the flower of his days in
subordinate service, he has had no opportunity of ac-
quiring that independent lo of action, that self-confidence,
and that comprehensive' Less of view, necessary to the
man who commands the whole army. How few of the
Generals who adorn th t Army List, and stir up the
bile of financial reforn ten, have ever had an inde-
pendent command, or do se anything but execute orders!
Such, however, is not the way in which the Horse
Guards view the long rt ►Il of military worthies. Suffice
it to say, that Genera I Elphinstone, that gouty old
gentleman, who strangle y dosed a long life of fashionable
gaiety by perishing with . an entire British army in the
snows of Central Asia, wan thrust by the Horse Guards
upon the remonstrant B De rd of Control. Elphinstone,
however, went to Caubu l in what seemod days of puttee
Will it be believed that t he Horse Guards have now pro
duced a fellow to that u of ortunate appointment for this
conduct of a difficult t met disastrous war ? Sir W.
Gomm, who has been di ca 3ted to hold himself in readi-
ness for the Punjaub, has never commanded a regiment,
and has not seen service it i any capacity for thirty-five
years. He has spent all It tat time in semi-civil employ-
ments, and has not sh o wn therein any remarkable
administrative capacity, ' a ut rather the contrary.
The whole empire d( utands the appointment of the
very best man that cant to found. To find the best man,
the Horse Guards mu: at lay aside its "long service"
claims, and the Duke r emember that ho, too, once was
young. Government m mat remember that it is respon-
sible for the nomination ; the authorities of Leadenhall-
street must remember th at, the Indian empire is not a
personal affair; and, if our words could reach Lord
Dalhousie in time, we w vuld also remind him of certain
powers vested in him for such emergencies. All
the parties concerned in the government of India
must be reminded that .when the supreme hour of that
empire shall come they will be called to account for the
discharge of their sever it responsibilities. They must
❑ow send out the best m nn—one in whom his army will
feel confidence, and who vi his officers will respect, under-
stand, and obey; one v rlrom the enemy will fear, and
whose terror will retain en subjection even those whom
his arms do not reach. We cannot believe that the Hon.
Board of Directors have ar.ited on the pique that has been
ascribed to them, and so precluded themselves from full
liberty of choice. They • tr,3 good subjects, and aro bound
to administer their high -trust in subordination to their
still higher quality as lo2r al and patriotic men.

THE UNI`TED STATES.

LIVERPOOL, SATUR DAY. - The ship Wisconsin,
Captain Munford, wh'iet t arrived to-day, has put us
in possession of accoul its from New York to the
14th ult.

The steam-ship Niai;alra arrived at Boston on the
10th ult.

The West India mail steamer Dee arriyed at Mo-
bile on the 31st of Jan Limy.
The loss of the Fopth is confirmed. The steamer
when on her passage to Vera Cruz had lain three
days at the island of P erez, and at the motment of the
disaster, it is stated, the look-out was not at his post.
Fortunately, of the 160 passengers on board, none
were lost.

The Congressional proceedings comprise a message
from the President touch ing the protocol to the Mex-
ican treaty. This doca went argues, first, that the
protocol is of no moment, because the Mexican Con-
gress had sanctioned the e treaty before the adoption
of the protocol; secondly, that the protocol does not
in any way affect the am endments made to the treaty
by the United States Se nate, but is merely explana-
tory of the character and effect of those modifications ;
that it was not considers d of sufficient importance to
deserve promulgation with the treaty. To this defence
the Opposition journals reply, that the protocol is
inimical to the treaty, tb.at that treaty was not sanc-
tioned previously, and that without the protocol as
part and parcel of the whole, Mexico would never have
acquiesced.
A Washington letter says—

" The Senate was engaged for several hours in exe-
cutive session yesterday„ upon a resolution offered by
Hannegsn from the committee on foreign relations,
authorising the Presidout to negotiate for the acquisition
of the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company below the
49th parallel. After a long and animated discussion it
was laid on the table.. The subject may be resumed
hereafter. The object of this projected negotiation is
not so much to acquire the territorial possessions of the
company, though that might be sufficient and important
in some considerations, au to secure the undisputed right
of navigation to the Columbia River, which, by the
Oregon Treaty, together with the portages on the snore,
was, jointly with us, guaranteed to the Hudson's Bay
Company, and all British subjects trading with it. Look-
ing to the future settlement of the country on the Pacific,
it would seem the part of wise statesmanship to remove
every probable contingency of collision and war be-
tween the subjects of Great Britain and the citimens of
the United States. Hence this measure has been enter-
tained with favour by distinguished men in both
parties."
The accounts from California are exciting, but de-
plorable. The dates from San Francisco are to the
25th of December. The following extracts contain
the pith of the intelligence :
"Since I last wrote to you, affairs have been getting
worse. We have no government, either civil or military,
and the country is full of lawless men, who are commit-
ting the most shocking outrages. Murders and robberies
are of daily, and I might almost say, of hourly occur-
rence. Not an arrival occurs from the north, south, or
the interior, but notifies the community of new acts of
rillany which go unpunished. Within six weeks more
than 20 murders have occurred in a white population of
loss than 15,000 souls. The people are now acting in
self-defence; and four or fire days since three men were
hung by Lynch law, 60 miles from this place. The
United States revenue laws are now in foroe here, and
will yield an income of say 450,000 dolls. the ensuing
year, and perhaps more, And four-fifths of this amount
will be collected at this port. Much dissatisfaction exists
at the payment of such a tax on the part of the inha-
bitants without either a Government or a representation.
This feeling is gaining ground from day to day.

" I wrote you a very long semi-official letter, some
time since (Sept. 18), going at length into the history of
the gold mines. I trust that you have received that
communication, as it accompanied other official papers,
all of which, I am informed, were correctly sent from
Masatlan to Vera Cruz about six weeks since. I have
only time now to inform you, that everything in that
letter has been more than realized up to this date.
The gold mines continue to bens rich as before, although
the rainy season has caused many to suspend their work.
There can be no doubt that at least 4,000,000 dolls.
of gold, at 16 dolls. per ounce troy, has been taken
from the mines. The most accurate estimates lam
able to make show that 1,500,000 dolls. has been sent
from the country, and 1,000,000 of it has gone from
this port.. One vessel took 400,000 dolls. Two-thirds
of all that has been exported has gone to foreign
countries.—l am, dear sir, in great haste, yours truly,
" J. L. FOLSOM.
" General Jesup, Washington, D. C."
The New York Herald says—
" There has not been as much sickness at the placer as
WQ were led to suppcse; neither is the state of society
there as bad as had been intimated. Fever and ague
prevail there to a certain extent, and attack those who
are careless in regard to their health; but with ordi-
nary prudence persons can get along without any sick-
ness. About a dozen of persons have died at the gold
diggings, principally from want of prudence and expo-
sure. The whole value of gold which has been gathered
in California is estimated by those acquainted with the
matter at three millions of dollars, two of which left
there in various ways, and the remainder is on its way
to the United States. It must not be supposed, how-
ever, that every one gets rich there on the moment; for
the work of getting the gold dust and washing
it is very arduous. Captain Daly, of San
Francisco, organized an expedition of ten men, who
went to gold digging, and were absent three weeks;
but they did not gather enough to cover expenses,
and wore disbanded. Real estate was selling at enor-
mous price; lots 25 yards square selling for 10,000 dolls.
Provisions were abundant at San Francisco and the dig-
gings. Flour poured in in great quantities from Chili
and Oregon, and came down in price, from 25 dolls. per
barrel to 16 dolls. at San Francisco. The probability is,
that that article has fallen still further, perhaps to 10
dolls. per barrel. Board in San Francisco was 10 dolls.
per week. Great as the discoveries of gold are they are
equalled by those of quicksilver. The metal is found in
various parts of California, and the quantity is as abun-
dant as it is in the mines of Spain. Mr. Forbes, the pro-
prietor of the mines, had 30,000 dolls. worth of the article
on hand at Tepee, ready for market. It is found even
within 3 miles of San Francisco. About 2,000 emigrants
had arrived in California from Oregon, the Sandwich Is-
lands, and different parts of South America and Mexico. In
fact, the gold fever rages as fiercely in Mexico as it does in
Ike United States, and there as well as here expeditions are
formed. The ship Huntress was sold for 40,000 dolls.,
and her purchaser intended to send her to Valparaiso for
a cargo. At that place there was, at the last dates,
great exitement in regard to California. The cargo of
the ship Undine, which was reshipped at Valparaiso, was
sold at San Francisco at 500 per cent. profit. The vessel
was sold at Valparaiso for 12,000 dolls., and afterwards
re-sold at San Francisco for 25,000 dolls. Captain
Phelps, of the barque Moscow, and Captain Lindsay and
Mr. Mellows, are on their way to the Atlantic, with
100,000 dolls. worth of gold dust. Edward H. Hanson
is appointed collector of San Francisco, and will pre-
vent the ingress of speller into that port. The barque
Tasso sailed from San Francisco for Valparaiso, but could
not engage a crew under 50 dolls. per month to each
man, and 75 dolls. to the steward, with an ageement
to take theta back to San Francisco. The Californian
Star and the Californian are united, and the new paper
is issued under the name of the Californian. The brig
Mary was to leave San Francisco for Mazatlan about the
let of January, with gold dust."
The Sacramento river is said to be naviga
vessels drawing eight feet from the ocean to stibtlteerf,o3r.
and for a hundred miles further by vesses o
fort, a distance of 150 miles from San Frfarnctherscto,
burden.
Cboleonfaellse.Stevenson and
Captain Masey are reported
The rumours concerning
to i
Old The reported discoveries
fabof
ul g
oold in Oregon and
elsewhere are in in 005

Captain Stout, the agent of Howland, Aspenwall,
and Co., had gone to Vancouver's Island for the
purpose of arranging for a supply of coal for the
Pacific steamers. The Mexican Government would
not allow the United States steamers in the Pacific
to touch at Mazatlan or Acapulco, for coal, in conse-
quence of the tonnage duties.
The Canadian accounts are scanty and uninterest-
ing. The St. Lawrence had been frozen over from
shore to shore opposite Quebec.
We learn that at Havannah the quarantine was still
in force, but modified so as to operate more especially
against vessels from London and Glasgow. Ships
from other parts were at liberty to enter free.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
NEW YORK, FEB. 14.
The money-market—the Secretary of the Treasury
having postponed until April the call on the contractors
of the loan for the balance due—is somewhat relieved.
The encouraging accounts from Europe by the Niagara,
and the intelligence from California, have tended also to
the same mid; and on the 12th Treasury notes brought
91; United States Sixes '6B, 101; and Pennsylvania
Fives rose nearly 2 per cent. A very buoyant feeling
prevailed. In exchange the market was unsettled, and
without any change of note.
Cotton—Yesterday the advices by the Niagara being
considered favourable, the sales reached 2,900 bales.
The sales of the last three days amount to 5,500 bales,
of which 2,500 bales were Upland and Florida, and 2,000
bales Mobile, New Orleans, and Texas. The following
are the quotations:—New Orleans and Texas—lnferior,
6h ordinary, 6i; middling, 7k; good middling, 7i;
middling fair, 7/; fair, 8e; fully fair, 8/. Mobile and
Florida—lnferior, 63.; ordinary, 61-; middling, 7i; good
middling, 7i; middling fair, 7i; fair, Uplands—
Inferior, 6h ordinary, 6; middling, 6i; good middling,
7i; middling fair, 71}; fair, 7i; fully fair, 7/.
Breadstuffs—Yesterday Western Csnal flour was in
fair request, and holders firm. Common Westerns, 5
dolls. 44c. to 5 dolls. 50c.; fine Genessee, 5 dolls. 87io.
to 6 dolls.

Freights—To Liverpool 5-16 d. was asked, but ship-
ments have been made at id. To California there is no
change. A barque was taken for Glasgow at 275. 6d. per
ton, and 2-Bd. for cotton.