The Sun.
London, England, 1840-05-06 00:00:00

INTELLIGENCE FROM BOKHARA.

BONiDAY, MARCII 80.—The following is from a Ivtter
dated Bamean, February the 18th :
{. We are all quiet here. The King of Bukhara has
still got Dost Mahomed under his thumb, and has cent,
report says, 6,000 men to Kooloum, to fetch Jubbar Khan
and the Dust's family ; but, at all events, a messenger has
arrived at Tashkoorgaun ; and Jubbur Khan in a fright is
sending to us one of his sons, accompanied by a son of the
Wallee of Kooloure, and a son of Baba Beg from Heibuk,
to make terms with us rather than submit to the tender
mercies of the King of Bokhara. Ido not think we have
now any chance of a campaign in Turkistan in spring, as
was expected. It is very cold here. Thermometer daily
2 deg. above zero, but several sucerssive days we have had
it 10 deg. below zero, which we found too cold for plea-
' sure; however, we are in excellent health, and like the
climate amazingly.
Lieutenant Maule, of the artillery, was, we regret to
say, very severely frostbitten, and in mach danger,—...Agra
Ukbai-, March 19.

DISTURBANCE IN BUNDELCUND.

An express, from the political authorities in Bendel-
cund, arrived at Scepree on the 11th inst., direeting
Scindia's reformed contingent to proceed with all possible
haste to a fort called Jignah, in which certain turbulent
Thakoors have taken shelter and openly defied the British
agents. This hill fort is represented as being of consi-
derable strength, and from the circumstance of these
chiefs having shown every determination to resist at all
hazards, there is every probability that the fort will hold
out until the guns and howitzers of the contingent have
made a proper impression on it. We understand that the
Bundelcund legion had a skirmish, and drove off a large
body of men armed with matchlocks.

The contingent marched on the 12th inst., the day Bri
gadiee AEquetel was expected at Seeprce.

ARRACAN.

A few days ago we published a piece of intelligence de-
rived from a correspondent in Arracan to the effect that
the Burmese were stockading upon our side of the line of
demarcation. The following letter, received yesterday,
gives some farther information upon the subject, and gill:s
the affair of its warlike character:—
" ARRACAN, Fin. 8, 1840. Have just seen a letter
'from an officer who has visited the post of Alyce and
made particular inquiries, with the native officer's report,
anent the Burmese being building a stockade on our side
the mountains. The report, like many others given in by
the natives, is found to be an exaggeration. It is true
that certain subjects of the Golden Empire were on our
side the boundary cutting timber, but it has not turned out
equally correct that said timber was then and there fa-
shioned into the beams of a stockade, though for what
purpose the men were cutting timber has not been ex-
plained. Now, though the Indian Governmeat may not, and
certainly does not, require this timber forits own particular
wants at this present time, yet it is no less certain that the
i Burmese ' hewers of wood' have not a shadow of right to
trespass on the domains of their too unsusceptible neigh-
bours, and do havoc on the forest without so much as
saying, by ycur
.6 Again, the motive the Burmese may have for cutting
this timber remains a mystery ; that the timber is required
for transport does not appear probable, since the road is a
mere mountain tract, and carriage out of the question ; if,
therefore, they do not intend building a stockade on the
pass, I cannot conee.ve what use they intend making of the
timber ; it cannot be supposed men would labour without
an Ojeet in view."

LIST OF TGE PASSENGERS PER COLOMBO TU
Major and Mrs. Aubin ; Captain and Mrs. Mowatt; Mr.
and Mrs. Vertue ; Mr. Cassella ; Major Braybrooke;
Major Singh ton; Mr. Philips; Captain Smith ; Cap.
tain Ravestadt.

LIST OF PASSENGERS FEE COLOMBO TO COSSEIft.—
Mr. Udny; Mr. Casement; Major Nl‘Kinlay ; Mr.

(From the Bengal Ihrhara, Mardi 18.).
A cese of great importance was yesterday determined
in the Supremo COuit,'" Remsabuch Muilick se De
Souza,•' in which a grave question relating to the recent
opium proceedings in China was, for the first time, d!..
reedy raised. This action was brought by the consignors
of opium against the defendants upon a contract to gua-
rantee the sate return of the proceeds ; anti the defence
set up was, that the opium in question had been surren-
dered to one Charles Elliot, the :British Superintendent
(whose powers were fully set forth in the plea) under and
by virtue of a proclamation demanding the surrender, in
the name of her Majesty and the British Government.
The question was, whether this defence (the facts being
admitted) constituted a valid and sufficient excuse in law
for the non-performance of the express contract.
The Court admitted that if the Superintendent had ap-
peared distinctly to have been acting within the scope of
the powers with which he was invested by statute, an act
of obedience on the part of a British subject would have
excused the performance of a prior contract with which
that obedience would have been incompatible. But the
Court were of opinion that, as it appeared on the face of
the pleadings that the Commissioner was acting under the
constraint of a foreign power (for the Proclamation itself
was set out in the pica), he could not be considered
to be acti.lg in pursuance of the powers vested in him,
and that obedience, therefore, was not compulsory, end
furnished no defence. The Proclamation was in effect, in
the opinion of the Court, an act of the Chinese, not of the
Britisb Government, as the acts of the representative of
the British Government, while in'personal dutesFe, could
not be deemed the acts of the Government which he re-
presented.

We understand that there are other questions of fact to
be tried in this c2sc, and, as the amount involved is consi-
derable, there n iii, probably, be ultimately an appeal to
the Privy Council. We believe, too, that there are several
nearly similar cases, in which the parties have been "rest-
ing on their Oars," unt'l the decision in the present ca,e
should show e• how tb, land lies."

It the same view should be taken by the British Go-
vernment and the House of Commons of the binding
power and effieley cl Captain Elliot's " proclamations,"
hat becore:.s of the cl.airns of indemnity put forth by the
merchants who have surrendered their opium and look to
Government to foltil the engagements of their representa-
tive ? We shall take an early opportunity of considering
this tpvcion of the application or the law of duresse.
We regret to find, after all that has been said upon the
std .ct of the length of time occupied by the dak between
Calcutta and 13,nnbay, the force of prejudice is still so
strong at the former presidency that in the Bombay Tlinev
of the 7th instant it is asserted, in answer to the argument
in favour of a steam communication front Calcutta to Suez,
that " packets have been conveyed between Calcutta and
Bombay in seven days and a few hours, and from Madras
to Bombay in eve days and seven hours." The proper
answer to this assertion is, to repeat it with due adaptation
to what has also happened—that is to say, " packets have
been conveyed between Bombay and Calcutta in twenty
dais." The fair way of stating the matter then iF, not to
talle the instance of the Most rapid or most tardy con-
veyance of the dak ; but to take the average throughout
the year, which ma-, be calculated at 11 or 12 days.—
, Bengal Hurkurn, March 19.

( From the Bombay Press, March 28. )
BOMBAY PRICE CURRENT AND ►IERCANTILE REGhTER.

During the last month the INloharem and Holke Festi-
vals have interfered with business. We have no imp.ove-
meta to report in our market generally, nor do we expect
now to see any favourable change until after next rains.
The accounts from China received yesterday, up to the 20th
of January, report the seizure of two vessels at Whampoa
by the Chinese, on the plea that they had brought up
goods belonging to the English. The Emperor had con-
firmed all the acts of the High Commissioner against the
English, so we must new consider the trade with China
closed until the results of the present expedition are seen.
The English men•of-war were blockading the Canton
river.