The Sun.
London, England, 1841-04-15 00:00:00

REVIEW OF EASTERN NEWS

Proni the Asiatic .16urn7f—or April, puir!ishccil

12th Instant.)

Our files of paol7§ by tile April overland msil arc to the
toiloWirig ddtes :—Caldtitte ianOdary 186; Madras,: Feb:
20th; Bombay; March Ist; and China; Feb. 2lf:
As we anticipated last month, the state of affiiirs has im-
proved under the management of Commodore Bremer.
The Chinese Imparizil Commissioner, in pursuance of the
policy which had succeeded in removing the fleet from an
in inconvenient proximity to Peking, dommanced a system
of procrastination at Canton, which our Plenipotentiary
tamely suffefed to continua for nearly three weeks, wheel
he thought proper to transfer the conduct of the negotia-
tions to the mere capable and energetic hods of Sir Gor-
don Bremer. That officer, without loss of tin:, made
vigorous arrangements, by which, with vary trifling loss oil
our side, the Chinese forts were placed in our possession,
and the Chinese Commander-in Chief, in conjunction with
Commissioner Keshen, agreed to preliminary stipulations,
a measure which ought to have preceded the departure of
the British squadron from the Pih-hr. These stipulations
were necessarily arranged between the Chinese authori-
ties and the British Plenipotentiary ; and he-e the con-
spicuous want of judgment of the latter became again ap-
parent, in consenting to terms so far below those which it
was in his power to have exacte 3, and which afford to the
Chinese negotiators means of procrastination which they
did not possess.
These terms are, first, " the egssion of the island and
harbour of [long Kong to the British Crown ; all just
charges and duties to the empire upon the ecffirrlPrce
carried on there to be paid as if ne trade were condtid:ed
at Whampoa." Now this cession is worth comparatively
little. " Chuaan," as one of the Canton papers obscrv?s,
" would have cost us nothing, for a very light impost on
the trade would very soon have paid every expense ; Kong
Kong. on the emtrary, will be a most expensive establish.
ment for no object. It can have no revenue,
.for thfat is

to be given up to the Chinese ! It can scarcely have any
trade, for the regular trade can be conducted better and
cheaper at Canton, and the smugglers will have no in-
ducement to go to Hong Kong, when subject to Chinese
revenue laws. It might, no doubt, have been made an em-
porium for British commerce, had a stipulation been made
that Chinese vessels and merohant3 of all places might
come and freely trade there, and that no hindrance of any
kind shnuld be given to such a trade by the Chinese autho-
rities; but as the foreign trade is to be restored to its
former tooting, the Hongs will still possess the monopoly."
The next stipulation is "an indemnity to the British
Government of 6,000,000 dollars, 1,000,000 payable at
once, and the remainder in equal annual instalments,
ending in 1846." The whole of this "indemnity," if
realized, will not cover one-half the cost of the expedi-

,ion. The third stipulation, that there shall be " direct
official intercourse between the countries, von an equal
fioting," is the only one of any value. Then follows

" Details remain ma•tcr of negotiation." Nothing is said
of the opium trade; no:hing of any indemrification for
the loss of the surrendered opium, or of any commercial
facilities, or reduction of charges, or mitigation of the
restraints upon Europeans in China ; nothing is said of the
indignity supposed to have been offered to the rcprc!enca-
tive of the Queen, one of the !mime grounds of the war ;
moreover, it is objected to Captain Elliot, that by check-
ing the Commodore in his career, and not following up
the success at the two minor forts of Chnenpec and Ty-
kok-tow by the capture of the more important fort of
Anunghoy, he has, in fact, induced the Chinese to belicve
that the strength of the latter made him fear the result of
an attack, and eager to receive pacific overtures. In shorn,
the whole conduct of Captain Elliot, which is as incom-
prehensible as the bombastical language of his circulars,
has provoked the contempt as well as the vivid reproac:u•s
dnd remonstrances of his countrymen both in India and in
China.

ft is Ea!isfactory to find that the accounts from Chusan,
which are to the 12th Janua-y, represent that, with the
cold weather, sickness has disappeared, and that the gar-
rison was plot:Cluny supplied with provisions. The island
's, however, to be Lvaeuated, and no port is to be opened
to the northward.

Important events have occurred in the Punjab. Shore
Sing, whose abdication excited our astonishment, knowing
that pusillanimity was not reputed to be one of his quali-
ties, has been, meanwhile, maturing a plan whereby a
counter revolution has been effected in his favour. After a
fierce struggle, attended with much bloodshed, this adopted
son of old Ruoject has, in spite of his base birth, re-eceu-
, pied the garli ; and the widow of Kurruck Sing has
withdrawn, like her competitor, into retirement, with a
liberal stipend. The state of the Sikh army, however,
and the disordered condi:ion of the country, render the
scat of the new ruler, though at present unmolested, in-
secure; and must impose upon the Anglo-Indian Govern-
ment the duty of keeping up an establishment to watch
so formidable a neighbour.
In Affghanistan and Scinde, matters seem returning to a
state of tranquillity. The rebellion affair turns out, as we
expccted,to have been much exaggerated. A collision did,
indeed, take place between our troops and the malcontents,
which ended io the discomfiture of the latter, with small
loss to the former, who behaved with gallantry. The
origin of the insurrection is represented in a private letter
to have been this :—The political agent despatched some
Affghan sowars, with two guns, to collect tribute at
Ghirisk ; the people refused its payment, seized the guns,
and sent back the sowers. Colonel Wcalace, thereupon,
sent a force which recovered the ordnance and compelled
the payment of the tribute. The district of Zamin Dower,
in which Ghirisk is situated, is reported to be much dis-
turbed, and the people generally disaffected; otherwise
Affghanistan continues tranquil, and the influence of gar
Mahomed amongst the tribes, to which some of the ac-
counts had attributed the instigation of the rebellion, is
very trifling. Nusseer Khan, it seems, has not yet come
in, but his surreeder was hourly expected ; and, mean-
while, the restless spirits in Belooch:stan were becoming
petitioners for peace.
Both Nepaul and Burmah are quiet. No intelligence
has been received from Persia. Some hostilities have
taken place, upon a small scale, in the Southern 11Iahratta
country.

The domestic transactions at the Presidencies demand
little notice. The Governor-General in Council has in-
flicted a severe punishment upon the regiment of Bengal
Native Cavalry, which so shamefully abandoned their
officers and disgraced the name of soldiers by a shameful
flight at the battle of Purwen Durrah. The plea of the
offenders is at variance with all the excuses, or rather
reasons, for the desertion, suggested ia the newspapers.
Not one of the dastards ventured apparently to allege the
act imputed to Lord Kean as a motive for their miscon-
duct. With reference to the transaction just alluded to,
it will be seen that a writer in the Agra Ulthbar, where
the charge against his Lordship appeared, has given the
same account of the transaction as Sir John Hobhouse,
which fully justified it.
At Bombay, Sir James Carnac (whose health, we are
glad to find, is re-established) has adjusted at Baroda the
grounds of dispute with the Guicowar, and has returned
to the Presidency. Mr. Farish, senior member of Coun-
cil, and Sir John Awdry, the Chief Justice, have resigned
their offices, to return to England. The retirement of
the former—a gentleman well esteemed and respected in
private as well as public life—was marked by a high com-
pliment—namely, a resolution passed at a public meeting
to raise a subscription for the establishment, at the new
Grant Medical College, of some scholarship, for deserv-
ing natives, which should bear his name. Notwithstand-
ing this object, so well calculated to eonciliate the natives
of the Presidency, and in spite of the amiable character
of Mr. Farish, the connection which that gentleman had,
or is supposed to have bad, with the attacks made upon the
religious opini,?.ns of the natives, and especially with the
conversion of the two Parsee youths, induced the respect-
able members of that part of the community (two only ex-
cepted) to absent themselves from the meeting. Even
at the sale of that gentleman's furniture, the natives ab-
stained from bidding, and consequently the prices were
materially reduced. These are indications, which should
not provoke (as vie regret to perceive they provoked.in
certain quarters) violent and acrimonious reflections upon
the native gentlemen, who are guilty of nothing more than
the exercise of a just privilege, but should inspire the
ruling euthoi hies with an additional degree of caution.

FAST-DAY IN SCOTLAND.—The following
from a Scotch paper gives a strange account of the mode
in which sacred days are observed in Scotland. Addi-
tional watchmen were required to keep in order the thou-
sands who poured in by steam-boats and railroads to wor-
ship in this city, so renowned for its religion : —Thursday
last being Fast-day in Glasgow, and the weather being
exceedingly fine, we had an immense number of visitors.
On the joint line there were about 6,000 passengers con-
veyed—on the Greenock lino about 4,ooo—and on the
Ayr line about 3,000 The Canal Company, too, had far
more than they could take in their gigs, and had to set on se-
veral trading boats to convey the surplus. The number
carried amounted to 3,072. The steamers on the Clyde
were filled to overflowing, and the Renfrew Railway was
well patronised ; but we have not heard the numbers stated
that went by either of these conveyance?. The streets
were, of course, much crowded during the day, but all
went on quietly. The night watchmen were increased in
case of need, but there were no disturbances worth notice,
and before eleven o'clock the town was as quiet as usual "
JOHN KNox.—At the anniversary meeting of
the Literary and Antiquarian Society of Perth, very
great interest was excited by the presentation, at the same
time and from different quarters, of the walking-stick of
John Knox, and the candle-stick which stood before him
at the time when an attempt was made against his life, and
through which the bullet passed which was aimed at him
through the window of his lodgings. The cane was a
donation from Mr. Laing of London. The candlestick
was a presentation from Mr. Murray of Aytoun, and both
were accompanied by memoranda, which left no hesita-
tion as to their being veritable memorials of this great Re-
former.
SPONTINI, THE COMPOSER.—The Leipsic
Gazette, in a letter from Berlin of the 3d instant, gives
the following:—" For some time past the public having
been displeased with Spontini, the composer and director
of the Opera, he had not presented himself before them,
but a new opera having to be performed, he resolved on
leading the orchestra. He was informed, however, that
if he did so he would be roughly treated. Last week,
whilst walking lit the Garden of Plants, the King, who
was not aware of the displeasure against Spontini, met
and conversed in a friendly way with him, which led him
to suppose that his offence to the public had been forgot-
ten, and he resolved upon appearing in the orchestra,
although advised to the contrary, and told by the police
that it would not interfere to protect him. Yesterday
evening he took his teat in the orchestra amid murmurs
and hisses, and cries of Leave the place.' Spontini
remained firm until the anger of the audience became so
great that the police, fearing serious consequences, sent
the stage-manager into the orchestra to invite the directur
to withdraw. He had, however, taken alarm, and before
the stage-manager had arrived he had disappeared."
THE LATE DUCHESS-DOWAGER OF MARL-
BoKotion. —The remains of the late Duchess Dowager of
Marlborough were, on Monday last, deposited in the Emily
vault in the chapel at Blenheim Palace, to which they bad
been removed from her Grace's residence in London.
' The funeral was strictly private.