The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-21 00:00:00

MADRAS MONEY-MARKET.

We have no change to notice under this head. Money
continues scarce, and investments of all kinds difficult
of realisation. The rates for accommodation at the Bank
have not undergone any amelioration.

FREIGHTS.
To Liverpool—dead weight.
London.
Rice
Sugar
Salt Petre
Red Wood
Seeds and other
miscellaneous 4 0
goods
Measurement goods
Cotton
Indigo
Whampoa Cotton, 7. to sr& per bale.

CHINA.
(From the China Mail of May 20.)
Rumours of an attempt on the part of the Chinese to
surprise Hong-Kong have prevailed during the past
week, and slight circumstances have been looked upon
with suspicion which at another time would have been
passed unheeded. The military and police have been on
the alert; but, though this is highly commendable at all
times, we greatly doubt that any peculiar necessity exists
for it at present, and suspect that the whole originates
in a report of some vapouring officials at Canton, who
have been beseeching Keying to allow them to take ven-
geance on the outside barbarians. s

Upwards of a month ago our Chinese correspondent
at Canton informed us that on the 22d day of the second
moon, Yeung, the Prefect of Sinhing-fu, a district in
Kwang-tung, had come to Canton with 2,000 soldiers,
and offered to exterminate the English, but Keying re-
fused, and three several applications on the same subject
were equally unsuccessful. Wei, the salt commissioner,
was next entreated to affix his seal to a declaration call-
ing upon the 'people to rise en masse and slaughter the
barbarians. This Wei positively refused, and admonished
the people of the illegality and danger of any such pro-
ceedings as they contemplated.
The blood- thirsty Yeung does not seem to have been
at all satisfied with these rebuffs, for our correspondent,
writing on the 24th day of 3d moon (May 8), informs us
that the Prefect had been tempting Keying with
fresh proposals. The following is a translation of the
letter :

"It is reported that his Excellency Yeung, the Prefect
of Sinhing-fu has come to Canton with some brave men
to beseech Keying to give orders to slay and extermi-
nate the English but Keying would not grant his
request. Then Yeung privately advised some of the
people to gather secretly some brave men and to come
to Hong-Kong, pretending to be traders; until they
had all assembled and were ready at once to set fire to
the buildings, and come over to slay all the soldiers.
At that time they had 200 or 300 men, who, dividing
into separate companies, were to arrive at Hong-Kong
at the same time in the passage and post boats. Unless
caution and care are exercised, disastrous consequences
may ensue.

a Taukwang, 27th year, 3d moon, 24th day (May 8,
847)."

We do not believe there is any ground for apprehend-
ing an attack on Hong-Kong ; and at Canton foreign
residents are now more free from molestation than
formerly.

(From the China Mail, May 44.)
The following is the Emperor's rcply to Keying's
dispatches announcing the recent occurrences at Can-
ton :

" We have received the official notification presented
to us by Keying, informing us that on the 19th day of
the 2d moon the English merchants, with a number of
soldiers, suddenly entered the provincial river. Accord-
ing to the investigations of the Viceroy, the said
merchants alleged that their object was to revenge the
insults they had received from the people of the flowery
land ; they also desire to go to Fuhshaa to converse
and argue with the people, besides making a deter-
mined request to enter a portion of the provincial city.
Since the establishment of peace the said foreigners
have been tolerably quiet, until now that they have
suddenly entered the country with soldiers, and it was
certainly impossible to foresee such an occurrence, and
arrange accordingly. We imagine, however, that they
have some other reason for being so anxious to enter the
city, though in itself this is a matter of small impor-
tance. The said Viceroy and his colleagues must not
be disconcerted at what has happened, nor must they ex-
hibit the least remissness, but command both di") civil
and military officers effectually to suppress the disturb-
ance, and not permit the existence of any cause of alarm
to the inhabitants.

" As the guns of every fort were spiked, Keying must,
therefore, demand the 4nost severe punishments fcr
those officers who were charged with the defence of the
passes, but he must deliver up all the less important cases
to the board of punishment.
"After the matter has been decided, again present a
statement.

, " This must travel 500 le (about 160 miles) per day. I
Command it to be known. Respect this."
This document shows that those were mistaken who
supposed that Keying would either greatly falsify his
statement to the court, or that it would be answered by
his degradation ; for it now appears the Emperor has
been pretty correctly informed as to the main facts, and
seems more inclined to encourage than censure his Vice•
roy. The entrance into the city is termed " a matter of
small importance," as it has always been esteemed by
Keying himself, as well as by the more judicious among
our own countrymen ; and the inference about our
having ulterior views in urging it is, under the circum-
stances, perhaps not unnatural. No allusion is made in
the Imperial reply to the concession of land on fionan, a
point of much more importance at present, and one
which, without great prudence and forbearance on the
part of both the Chinese and English, seems not unlikey
to lead to trouble.

The spot proposed to be selected is private property,
in the possession of numbers of people, who are not will-
ing to sell, and question our right to compel them, quot-
ing our own treaty against us. Their views are stated
in a very long, but well-drawn and temperate memorial,
presented a few days ago by a deputation of the old men
of the villages to the English Consul, a copy of which we
have received, and shall endeavour to give a translation
of it in our present issue. The survey which was re-
cently made of the ground has created a ferment amongst
the people, who have held numerous meetings, both at
Honan and Canton, where, however, the speakers were
more vehement in their denunciations of Keying than of
the English.
On the breaking up of one of these meetings, held on
Thursday last (the 20th), at the Consoo-house, some
vagabonds set fire to the new wooden boat-house, and to
a mat shed in the neighbourhood, outside the factories;
but the flames were speedily extinguished without doing
any serious damage. " The excitement (a correspondent
informs us) seemed greater among foreigners than among
Chinese."
It is impossible, of course, to calculate upon what a
people
who rabble will attempt, wrought upon by p
who believe that theirrights of property, which are sacred
cied
even from the arbitrary grasp of their owai mandarins.
are to be invaded by the hated foreigner;
.but experience
has shown that unprovolted outrages on tne part of the
Chinese are of extremely rare occurrence, even when but
slight means of resistance have existed; and it seems
improbable, therefore, that an attack will ho attempted

in the face of the Scout and Pluto, anchored off the
Factories, with a company of the Royal -Irish quarterel
within them.

Bat if the matter is not settled satisfactorily now, it
may be
..`a perpetual source of inquietude, though few
tner,!liants will probably be disposed to incur the odium
and annoyance of erecting warehouses on Hunan, so hag
33 the present facilities for storing goods are offered by
the brokers.

It would certainly be very desirable that the goods
were under the merchants' own charge; and it is to be
regretted that a more eligible site than Ronan had not
been suggested. Its unsuitableness, however, ought to
be a sufficient reason for proceeding no further in its ac-
quisition; and as Keying is probably as desirous to get
out of a difficulty wigs his countrymen as ours are to
improve their position, we trust the Plenipotentiaries
may fairly consider the matter and come to some more
satisfactory arrangement. Dane's Island has been
spoken of as greatly preferable to Honan; and as it has
large portions of ground unbuilt on, it would probably
be much less difficult to obtain what is wanted there
than at Honan. We have never been on Dane's Island
ourselves, but it has been carefully examined by several
intelligent mercantile men, and one of them especially,
on whose judgment and experience we place great con-
fidence, speaks of it as containing the most eligible sites
for warehouses in the Canton river.

This matter is operating at present in keeping up
irritation and a feeling of uncertainty most injurious to
trade; but the present dullness may in no small degree
be attributed to other causes. The general lull at this
season has this year been increased by a prostration of
native credit, in consequence of the failures among the
/longs; one of the oldest of which (Linching) has fol-
lowed close upon those of Foo-tae and Aming. The
debts in the present instance are said to amount to seven
lacs of dollars, partly arising from old losses, and partly
from Linching's forced contribution to the Canton in-
demnity money, in IS4I, which was almost entirely
squeezed out of the Hong merchants—a mode of paying
the claim which has crippled the trade of the city ever
since, and thus probably caused more damage to foreign
commerce than the value of the payment to Great Bri-
tain. Many of the wealthy Hongs have since with-
drawn from business, leaving it in the hands of a few
smaller traders, who have been speculating far beyond
their means.
We are assured that the native failures in four months
have been to the amount of three million of dollars,
while the aggregate assets do not amount to a fifth.