The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-30 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING,

OVERLAND MAIL

(From the Times.)

We have received by cur ordinary semi-monthly
express from Marseilles our letters and papers in an-
ticipation of the overland mail, which left Bombay on
the 26th ult.
Our correspondent writes as follows :

"India contintrs tranquil. No further incursions
have been attempted by the hill tribes of the Indus
frontier. The direct pass to Kohat remains closed,
and robberies are still frequent ; but the circumstance
of two neighbouring chiefs having been ordered to
make good the property stolen within their districts
on a recent occasion of the kind is likely to tend to
the security of the roads. The enlistment of Seikhs
in the native regiments is proceeding rapidly; the
number allowed is 100 per regiment. Sickness pre-
vails at Lahore to an unusual degree for the season
of the year. In her Majesty's 96th Foot there were
by the last accounts 160 men in hospital.
" The principal news taken home by this mail is
of storm and shipwreck. A series of hurricanes
had swept Ceylon and the eastern coast of India,
occasioning, as far as yet known, the loss of sixteen
vessels; among them were the ship Columbo at
Ceylon, and the barque Emily at Madras. Serious
apprehensions are entertained for the safety of the
steamer Bombay, now six days overdue, from Cey-
lon. The storm extended a considerable distance
inland, and put an end to the scarcity of water which,
prevailed at Madras by filling all the tanks there.
The storm did not reach Bombay or the western coasts,
but a hurricane, probably one of the same series, dis-
masted several ships at the Mauritius.
" The opium clipper Ariel has been burnt off Cal-
cutta, the fourth ship belonging to that port destroyed _
by fire in the last two months. No doubt exists that
the fire was the act of an incendiary. These fires are
supposed to be occasioned by an enactment by which
Lascar seamen are entitled to three months' pay in
advance before sailing ; if their ship is destroyed they
are generally able to return with this advance to their
families or to make other engagements. The Falk-
land, a large iron river steamer, lately launched at
Bombay for service on the Indus, and dispatched
under convoy of the Berenice, was, owing to her own
faulty construction, totally lost sixty miles off Kur-
rachee ; in calm weather, and with only a long swell
against her, she broke in two in the middle, and sank
in seventeen fathoms water, Her cost is stated to have
been nearly 20,0001.

" The Governor-General reached Simile on the
9th of May, three days before he was expected; he
proceeds to Calcutta immediately after the rains. It
is generally reported that he is anxious to relieve Sir
J. Littler of the government of Bengal, and that on
doing so he does not propose to pay Sir John the
usual compliment of reappointing him Deputy-Go-
vernor. it is certain that the Governor-General has
disproved some of the recent acts of the Government
of Bengal, and that some disagreeable discussions
have taken place, and found their way into the papers,
regarding the non-admission of the naval Com-
mander-in-Chief into the Government-house, and the
propriety of Lady Dalhousie's travelling expenses
(when not accompanying the Governor-General)
being charged to the Bengal Government.
The Governor-General is by no means popular in
India. It is complained that, though extremely fond
of display and magnificence (new silver state how-
dahs, and so on) at the expense of the Company, he
is himself by no means given to hospitality to the ex-
tent expected by the Governor-General.
Lord Dalhousie, too, is accused of unduly favour-
ing his, fellew-countrymen and personal friends in
the dispensation of his patronage. He has recently
occasioned much dissatisfaction in the Nizetn's army
by appointing a young officer of bis own staff to a
brigade in it over the heads of many much his
seniors, who had served in the Nizam's army for
many years, and were, consequently, generally con-
sidered entitled to succeed to its brigade commands.
It cannot, however, be denied that Lord Dalhousie is
one of the most able men of business that have ever
come to India, and that, with the assistance of the
Lahore Board, be has succeeded in settling and or-
ganizing the Paejaub better and with more enlarged
views than any newly-acquired Indian province was
ever settled before.
" Since the establishment of the screw steamers we
have received news from the Cape, via Southampton,
as rapidly as we can get it direct from the Cape by
bailing vessels. The regiments that were warned for
service at the Cape have been paraded, and informed
that their services will not now be required. The
Ajdhaha, one of the steam-frigates that had been
prepared for their conveyance, bas been visited by
cholera. which carried off eight of her crew in one
day. She was ordered to sea, and has returned with
ber crew in good health. The cholera also broke
out on board the Peninsular and Oriental Company's
steamer Pekin, lying in the Bombay harbour ' the
crew were taken on shore, and no fresh cases have
occurred. It bus also been prevalent among the gar-
rison since the dispatch of the lust mail ; the men of
the Marine Battalion and 6th Native Infantry having
suffered severely, were removed from their barracks
and encamped on the esplanade of the Fort of Bom-
bay; since which the disease has abated. Accounts
from Java also notice the prevalence of cholera in
that island.

" The Nizam's affairs are going on as usual.
Everything,' says the Delhi Gazette,
" Steals to promise the utter impossibility of our
allowing the Nizam's dominions, or the kingdom of
Oude, to continue much longer in their present condi-
tion. Our protection though exercised with the most
paternal intention, simply enables the otherwise power-
less tyrant to become a despot and irrational governor
instead of an abandoned and libertine puppet.'
_ _

The Arab mercenaries are becoming all powerful in
the Nizam's territories, and there is no doubt that
nothing but our protection prevents the Nizam being
deposed, and an Arab dynasty established.
" Mr. W. E. Frero, the senior member of the
Wheel-tax Commission, proceeds immediately to
Baroda with a special commission to inquire into
certain circumstances connected with the robbery
and other wrongs inflicted on Joita•Bhaee. This
lady was the widow of a great broker at Baroda,
flume Bhutee Paruck, who was under British pro-
tection, and who died worth a million some years
since. There ore stories of corruption and attempted
corruption of several servants of Government in re-
spect of this affair, which have been rife in the Ba-
zaar for some time ; it was this busineis that detained
Lord Falkland so long at Bombay, and brought
down Colonel Outram from Baroda.
" The affairs of the Oriental Bank continue to en-
gage a considerable share of public attention. Some
months ago it was discovered that the bank had dis-
counted forged hoondies (native money orders) to
some enormous extent, the amount of which was kept
a perfect secret;' this appeared to have been managed
by some of its own servants; the discount slips upon
which money was paid for these forged hoondies
must have been signed for payment by some of the
officers of the bank. A few das afterwards the bank
was robbed also by its own servants of 9,500/. worth
of bank-notes. Simultaneously with these frauds
forged cheques to a very large, but as yet unknown
amount, were discovered to have been passed at the
bank. When these forged cheques were discovered
and first mentioned in the papers, the managers
of the bank wrote to deny their existence, but
denial is now no longer possible, as some of
the forgeries are at present the subject of in-
vestigation at the police-office. About 4,9001.
worth of the notes has been recoverered, but
by some negligence the stolen notes had not been
registered in the bank's books, and it is feared there
will be therefore a difficulty in convicting Dorabjee
of having stolen them from the bank. Nothing is
known concerning the total amount of the forgeries
on the bank. The single case at present the subject
of inquiry in a forged cheque of 2,000/. only,:but it is
admitted that there are several others. The Bombay
Gazette states, that there is a widespread belief that
the amount of the forged cheques at the Oriental.
Bank, through the instrumentality of its employe's,
equals 15,0001., and the Telegraph and Courier esti-
mate the amount at 20,0001. at least. When the'
first news of the losses of the North-West Bank of
India reached England the statement was emphati-
cally contradicted by the English agent of the bank,
though such losses had been then only stated at
12 000/. The directors themselves now admit a loss
of 80,000/., and it is stated, apparently on good au-
thority, in the overland editions of the Delhi Gazette
and Calcutta Englishman, that even this is very much
under the real amount of the bank's losses. Ten
lacs,' says the Englishman, at the least, be re-
quired to cover the losses, and able management only
can prevent its being a much larger sum.
" The monsoon is expected to commence on thee
30th inst. Notwithstanding the scantiness of last
monsoon, no serious inconvenience has been felt as
regards water. A great and distressing scarcity had
been apprehended, but would seem to have been
averted by the number of new wells that were dug
after the scarcity of 1846. A much greater number
have been constructed this season. The Board of
Conservancy have now nearly 4,000 workmen em-
ployed doily, most of them on wells and tanks. The
great Mattra banker, Ram Lall, has expended 3,500/.
on works of a similar character; and, when all the
works now in progress are completed, no apprehen-
sion need be entertained regarding. scanty monsoons
in future."

COMMERCIAL IN rELLIGENCE.

THE BOMBAY MARKETS FROM THE 14TH TO THE 24TH

OF MAY, INCLUSIVE.

BOMBAY, SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 24.

The large amount of bullion lately arrived bas not hi-
therto had any epparent ElLet on our money•roarkc-t,
which continuos tight and unsatidtkelory. The authori-