The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-13 00:00:00

THE OVERLAND MAIL.

We have received the Bombay papers to the
16th of April.
We take the following from the summary of the
Bombay Times :
" T►►e past fortnight, like the previous half dozen
of its predecessors, continues in matters of intelli-
gence a blank, and for anything in the shape of a
summary at all we are compelled to travel from
Hindostan to C ntral Asia. Post Mahomed con-
tinues.at Candahar, where he has narrowly escaped
assassination, and is suffering from the usual embar-
rassments of an empty treasury and mutinous army.
He is said to have written to Persia, that he
asked the friendship of the British Government
because of their possessing strong posts iu his
neighbourhood, and because the Shah had not at
the time applied for his favour. The report is in
all likelihood untrue ; if not, the reply is contra-
dictory. It need in no way concern us which of
Ithe alternatives is adopted. It is quite clear that
the Cabul, Candahar, and Herat chiefs are just as
thorough ruffians, as powerless for evil or for good,
and as unworthy of our notice as when first made
known to us by Muuntstuart Elphinstone half a
century ago.
"We have heard nothing of late of the move-
ments of Persia, we have at present no reason to
suppose her feelings towards us hostile, but it is
matter of the most supreme indifference whether
they be so or not. When the Hon. Company's
steamer Victoria left Bushire on the 20th of March
the town was being put in a state of defence, but
not certainly with any very alarming degree of
skill. The loopholesand embrasures were so arranged
that the guns could neither be moved horizontally
nor vertically, and could only fire straightforward
from the position in which they were originally laid.
In trying the guns in position, the firing was al-
ways found to shake, often to bring down, the
walls, so that an enemy would be saved the trouble
of battering them. The wild savages, who were
brought from the interior under the name of
soldiers, looked very fierce and truculent, and were
disposed to be insolent to our people until the Go-
vernor taught them manners by the rattan. There
were rumours at Bunder Abbas that Dost Ma-
homed had been beaten at Herat, where 40 of his
guns had been captured, and 20,000 of his people.
We have no reason whatever to believe that the
Ameer could bring such a force into the field at all,
or for that matter that ho had ever got beyond
Candahar. There is certainly nothing in the way
of exaggeration on the face of the earth like a Per-
sian rumour.

" Profound peace continues to prevail throughout
India, and we have heard of no disturbance of any
description on any of our borders. The arrange-
ments in Oude proceed peaceably and quietly, as
they have done from the first ; and it ought to be
considered something for the integrity of the press
of India, that in spite of the resources at the dis-
posal of the dethroned Monarch, and the lavish-
ness with which he seems inclined to expend them,
scarcely a single journal among us has stood forth
in his defence. The preliminaries for the absorp-
tion of the Baroda dominions are beginning to be
taken.

"Heavy showers and thunderstorms have begun
to make their appearance up and down throughout
the country, and we now begin to hope for an early
fall of rain. We are suffering less from scarcity
either of food or water than it was apprehended
we should do, and with an early fall, and through
the prudent measures that have been pursued, may
probably to a great extent escape.
"The Governor-General is at Calcutta; it is said
that he proposes remaining in Lower Bengal during
the hot weather and rains, proceeding to the upper
country in November. By this time he will have
fully mastered the state of matters at the seat of his
administration, remaining in Lower Bengal at a
season when most of those who have the choice
would be very glad to leave it, indicating that he
thinks more of his official duties than of his bodily
comforts. Lord Harris is at Madras, but is ex-
pected to proceed on a short visit to dotaca.mund.
Lord Elphinstone remains at the seat of Govern-
ment.

" The pressure in the money market has given
way, but the state of. the market for cotton-piece
goods is not encouraging. Freights are firm.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
BOMBAY MARKET.
(FROM THE 2D TO THE 15TH OF APRIL.)
The Overland Moil of the 10th ult. arrived at Bombay
per Peninsular and Oriental steamer Ganges on the 9th
of April.
The pressure on our money-market has, during the
fortnight, abated to some extent, and, as anticipated in
our last report, the banks have reduced their rates of
interest 2 per cent. all round ; and, as bullion in quan-
tity is arriving both from England and China, we are
of opinion that a further reduction in rates must take
place soon.
We have no marked change to report in Government
or other securities.