The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-15 00:00:00

(No. 20,043.)

PUBLICATION.

THE NEW NOVEL.
Now ready at all the libraries, in 2 vols 2' s
A R THUR BRAAf v 0 N,
NOVEL.
Hirst and Blackett, Publisbers, success •rs to Henry Ctlburn, 13,
Great Marlborough-street.

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at 73arbadoes. The irpsdrea Wan 10.401.15.4^
h altby.
:The weather at St. Thomas has been extreritily a S
hot, with occasional showers. On the 28th ult. a
very severe shock of an earthquake was felt. It
lasted about five seconds, during which time a few
buildings were cracked. A few deaths by cholera
occur daily on shore.
Our ad vices from Jamaica extend to the 27th ult.
Matters remained tranquil. Anxiety was rife as to
the probable successor of Sir Henry Barkly in the
government of that colony. The Legislature
was prorogued to the end of October, and
it was generally supposed that it would not meet
before the second week in November, which is
about the usual time. The weather had been in-
tensely hot for several days, the thermometer
ranging from 92 deg. to 95 dog. in the shade.
There had been one or two sudden deaths, which,
in a great measure, were attributed to the heated
state of the atmosphere. Fever was very prevalent,
and several deaths are reported. There is little to
notice in commercial matters. Alewives continued
dull of sale at 17s. per barrel. Good quality but-
ter was much wanted, and no Irish had arrived.
Sales of corn had taken place at Bs. Gd. per bag.
Flour was realising 425. per Barrel. Exchange
on London, for bills at 90 days, was quoted at 2
per cent. pm. ; GO days, 21 ditto ; 30 days, 3 ditto.
Merchants' bills were realising 14 per ceut. pm.
Her Majesty's vessels at Port Royal were the
Imaum, Eurydice, Espiegle, and Euryalus. Vessels
in Kingston harbour—The barks Lady Bute
(English ; the Mary Chapman, and Elizabeth J.
(American); the brigantines Liberal (English), and
Sarah Bernice (American) ; the schooners Dolphin
and Liberty (American).
The American brig Abbe Francis, from Navy.
bay, bound to Port-au-Prince, put into Kingston
harbour on the 12th of August, for medical aid,
crew sick with fever. The English brigantine Li-
beral, from Navy•bay, bound to St. Thomas, also
put into that port, on the 17th of August, for me-
dical aid, captain and part of her crew sick. The
American brigantine Merlin, from Rio Janeiro, 71
days slut, bound to New Orleans, put into Port
Royal on the 25th ult. for a supply of water.
The West India journals speak of a terrific storm
which swept over some of the Islands on the 13th
ult., doing considerable damage. It appears to
have been felt principally at Grenada and Barba-
does. A gentleman writing from Carriacou, on
the 14th ult., says :
" One of the heaviest storms on record here since the
great hurricane of 1780 set in yesterday afternoon, and
continued with more or less violence till early this morn-
ing. The morning of Wednesday was gusty and lower-
ing, and about noon strong squalls commenced with
rain, which increased towards evening, when it blew a
heavy gale. About 8 p.m. this increased to a hurri-
cane, and so continued for fully two hours ; after which
it gradually abated, though still blowing hard. The
whole island this morning presents sad evidences of the
strength of the storm—the roads impassable, on account
of broken and uprooted roots, and debris of various sorts
—cattle pens unroofed, and labourers' cottages in many
instances levelled with the ground, with a large propor-
tion more or less damaged ; plantain trees, cora, and
other provisions torn up by the roots or laid prostrate.
From the long.coatinued drought the cane cultivation was
not sufficiently advanced to suffer materially, but where
it had attained any degree of growth it has been quite
levelled. The brig Dorothea, at anchor in Hillsborough-
bay, dragged her anchors for a time, but by serving out
75 fathoms on each this vessel rode out the gale in
safety. The fine sloop Blossom, belonging to Captain
John R. Desbat, was less fortunate; having taken in a
load of sugar for the Dorothea, the gale came on about
the time the lading was completed, and, being obliged
to remain at anchor, she drove for the night and got
beached ; it is said that she will be got off, and that her
cargo is not to any great extent injured. All the estates
have suffered to some extent, especially Beausejour, the
buildings of which, lying at the base of a gorge, are
pecu:iarly liable to be affected by heavy gusts ; and, for
the same reason, many of the labourers' houses have
suffered. Happily, so far as I can learn, this visitation
has nob been attended with loss of life. Providentially,
the gale did not shift its course mere than three points,
the direction of the heaviest part of it being from the
north-east, and at no time was the barometer below 80
deg. It is feared we may hear still more disastrous
accounts from some of the other islands, and that vessels
at sea may have suffered."
Demerara intelligence is to the 23d tilt. The
Court of policy has been occupied during the fort-
night with the consideration of numerous impor-
tant measures. Among the bills passed were an
act to amend the law for the punishment of petty
offences, a bill to improve the law relating to va-
grancy, and a bill for raising a loan for the pay-
ment of bounty to Indian immigrants. The
amount proposed to be raised is 50,000/. In re-
ferring to the Vagrancy Bill the Royal Gazette
says:

" This measure is much wanted in the colony, and
we anticipate from this, in conjunction with other ordi-
nances relating to the improvement of the population.
the best p01381b16 103..1ue5. /3 Lun ‘,//t 610 UL I,u/p
110 ever since the emancipation.
There are thousands of creoles in this colony who will
not settle down to steady habits of industry, but they
prefer to lead a vagabond life, wandering about from one
part of the colony to the other, and subsisting by plus.
der. If this measure should have the effect of checking
the vagrant habits of a large proportion of the creole
peasantry it will be of great benefit to the colony, and
all classes will rejoice at it. But unless the bill be fol-
lowed by a measure for the compulsory registration of
the people, we do not think it will be productive of any
substantial good. Such a measure is essential to the
well-being of this colony, where society is composed of
such an heterogeneous mixture of races. In addition to
the European colonists we have the creole population—a
complete medley in itsolf Hindoos, Chinese, Portu-
guese from Madeira, the Azores and Cape Verd, Afri-
cans, and others. It is necessary for the preservation of
good order among such an incongruous variety of people
that the whole population should be registered."
The Town-council of George Town had determined
to petition the Governor and Court of Policy to
reform the municipal constitution, by reducing the
qualification of members for a seat in the Council
to $1,440 in the books of the receiver of town taxes,
and to extend the right of voting in the election of
members to parties paying an annual rental of $4BO
per annum. The town tax for the present year has
been fixed at 1± per cent., and the experiment of col-
lecting the sanitary rate from the occupiers of houses
was about to be tried. A disturbance took place
on the West Coast, at plantation Flankenburg, on
the 12th, between two rival parties of coolies, who
wore celebrating some religious festival. A proces-
sion of one party met the other, and a fight ensued,
and the party which got the worst of it wont to the
village of Anna Catherina and enlisted a number of
creoles, and returned and beat their opponents,
who were overpowered and compelled to fiy.
Many persons were severely wounded, but no lives
were lost. The riot was becoming very alarming,
when a body of rural constables came up and
dispersed the combatants, and captured a num•
ber of them. They were tried before the sti-
pendiary magistrate, and were sentenced to
various terms of imprisonment ; two of the ring-
leaders were sentenced to receive in addition
39 lashes. The weather during the fortnight
was showery, but the dry weather, it was believed,
had set in. Vegetation during the last three
months had been thriving rapidly, and a little dry
weather would bring the canes to maturity. Little
sugar was being made, but in the course of another
month grinding would become general throughout
the estates. Trade was still dull among the mer-
chants. Freights were moderate and produce
scarce. The exports during the last fortnight were
—sugar, 440 hhds, 22 trcs, 93i brls ; foreign sugar,
21 hhds ; rum, 390 punohns, 43 hhds, 4 lath ; mo-
lasses, 166 punchns, 2 hhds ; coffee, 18 bags ; hard-
wood timber, 6,222 ft ; 29 packages of old metal ;
pork, 14 trcs, 59 brls ; beef, 547 half-brls ; flour,
650 brls ; coals, 2 trcs and 3 bags.
The bark Hamilton Mitchell arrived at Demerara
on the afternoon of the 23d lilt with 65 African
immigrants from St. Helena. They were all boys,
and were captured as they were being conveyed in
a barge to a slave ship.
At St. Lucia there had been some changes in the
judicial department of a temporary nature. His
Honour the resident Judge had been removed to
St. Vincent, to fill the chief justiceship of that
island during the absence of Mr. Sharp. The Hon.
L. Lucaze had been appointed at St. Lucia as act-
ing resident Judge. The schooner William, of Bar-
badoes, which was supposed to have foundered
during the gale on the 13th ult., had arrived at
Castries with the loss of the foremost. Her cargo,
which consists of 24 puncheons of molasses, was
uninjured.
At Grenada the weather had been very unsettled
and the crops had experienced great damage by the
late gale. Mach time would be lost in again put-
ting the roads in good repair. There was no im-
provement noticeable in the trade of the colony.
Native provisions were extremely dear, and im-
ported articles were held at a price which almost
prohibited consumption. The sanitary condition
of the island was satisfactory.
At Barbadoes the young cane crop had consider.
ably improved, owing to some fine rains falling.
American produce was not abundant, and rates were
consequently high. The island continued healthy.
There are no casualties of importance reported in
the Barbadoes journals as having been caused by
the late gale.
News from Trinidad reports the weather fine and
the crops promising well. Flour was still wanted.
Meal was in better supply. Cod fish continued
dull.

ALISTRALIA.—ARRITAL OF THE SARDINIAN.-Livn.
row., Saturday.—The White Star mail-ship Sardinian,
Captain Shert,an, arrived in the Mersey this morning
trout Melbourne, from which port she sailed on the 25tk
of June. She landed her gold (65,000 ounces) to-day
and it will be duly forwarded to London. Her new■
has already been published.