The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-05 00:00:00

WEST COAST OF AFRICA.

PLYMOUTH, THURSDAY AFTERNOON,

The African Steam Navigation Company's mail
packet Retriever, Commander A. M'intosh, ar-
rived to-day.
Her homeward dates are Bonny, July 24 ; Old
Calabar, 25th ; Cameroons, 27th ; Fernando Po,
30th ; Lagos, Aug. 2; Accra, 4th ; Cape Coast,
6th ; Liberia, 10t1i; Sierra Leone, 13th ; Bathurst,
17th ; Goree, 18th ; Teneriffe, 25th; and Madeira,
27th.

She brings 2,090 oz. of gold dust, and her cargo
iucludes 206 casks of palm oil, 113 pieces and 2
cases of ivory, 54 bags of cochineal, wax, tobacco,
wine, &c.

The rains at Sierra Leone have been unpreco-
dentedly heavy, and have had a depressing effect
on trade. Mr. Barlow, Queen's Advocate, died
there on the 13th of August.
The Spanish mission is doing well at Fernando
Po. Trade is brisk at Cameroons and dull at Old
Calabar. It is partially stopped at Bonny, owinc,
to the unwillingness of the natives to receive the
price of oil ; a quantity lying on the beach at Lagos
could not be got off in consequence of the surf.
The continuance of the drought at Accra would,
it was feared, cause great scarcity of provisions.
Since the abolition of the poll-tax peace had pre-
Tailed.

The Government of Goree continues unpopular,
and trading vessels proceeded on to the Dutch set-
tlements to discharge.
The ship Eivina Owens arrived at Liberia on the
10th of Aug. with 300 emigrants. On the passage
from Savannah 20 died from various causes.

The natives are peaceable atßaura.
In consequence of the recent disturbances in
Spain. the Militia at Teneriffe are disbanded--a pro-
ceeding highly satisfactory to the men.
The cholera is disappearing. from Madeira. 5,000
have fallen victims in a population of 16,000. At
Funchal the cases have been reduced lately to five
or six daily. It is severe at Porto Santo, to which
place the Retriever, at the request of the Governor,
towed a schooner laden with medical stores.

The paddlewheel steam sloop Alecto, 5, Com-
mander James Hunt, left Fernando Po on July
26 for St. Paul de Loando. Commodore Adams,
in the paddlewheel steam ship Scourge, 6, with
the brig Childer, 12, Commodore Victor G. Hick-
ley, and the screw steam gun vessel Teazer, 2,
Commodore Walter J. H. Grubb, and the brigan-
tine Dolphin, 3, Commodore Edmund Webber,
were on the South coast.

At Lagos, on Aug. 2, were the steam sloop
Plumper, 12, Commodore William H. Haswell ;
the paddlewheel steam sloop Prometheus, 5, Com-
modore Charles W. Hope, sailed July 22, for the
Windward coast. Off Accra the Retriever passed
two steamers, supposed to be the Hecla and the
Prometheus ; the paddlewheel steam vessel Blood-
hound, Lieut. Commander George B. Williams,
had recently returned to Sierra Leone from a cruise
off the Rio Pongas, where the paddle steam vessel
Myrmidon, 8, Commodore Edwa:d. Shaw, had
burnt a large slave schooner, 19th of May, and
destroyed a barracoon capable of holding 600 slaves.
The paddlewheel steam vessel Firefly, 4, Commo-
dore George F. Day, and the Bloodhound were at
Sierra Leone on the 13th Aug. The paddlewheel
steam vessel Merlin, 6, Commodore Cecil W. Buck-
ley, sailed same day for Rio Pongas to relieve the
Myrmidon, which was to proceed to Fernando Po.
The French war steamer Zele was at Goree, and
the United States frigate Jamestown at Teneriffe.
The African mail steamer Candace arrived at Sierra
Leone on the 12th August. A steamer, supposed
to be the Niger, was noticed off Madeira on the
night of the 29tIi August. Several losses of mer-
chant shipping have occurred on the coast. The
barque Brisk, of London, was wrecked off Grand
Bassa on the 13th of July ; crew sated, except
Joseph Ballantyne. The British schooner Teazel
was wrecked off Tradetown on the sth of July ;
crew saved ' and the French ship Cepholide was
wrecked at Mellicouri River on the sth of August;
master and part of the crew saved ; portion of the
remainder unknown. Some fishing-vessels and
boats, with several lives, have been lost near Sierra
Leone in consequence of the severe weather.

The coast anti the shipping are in a healthy con
dition.

VISIT OF THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE
TO FORT. GEORGE.

The Commander-in-Chief, as our readers are
aware, is at present staying at Gordon Castle.
On onday last, accompanied by the Duke of
Richmond, and Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar,
he drove over from the castle and paid an unex-
pected but most welcome visit to Fort George. A
most minute inspection of the place was made, and
his Royal Highness expressed his determination
to have various improvements made for the comfort
and convenience of the troops.
The barracks are immediately to undergo re-
pairs, and be made available to contain a battalion
consisting of four Highland depots. At present
the 92d depot occupy a portion of the barrack,
and a company of the 79th, the latter consisting
of three officers and under 100 rank and file. The
72d, 79th, and 91st are expected shortly to aug-
ment the present small garrison. His Royal High-
ness found an order existed which prevented the
officers or men from playing cricket or quoits on
the grass in front of the barracks, and with a re-
freshing absence of red tapeism he immediately
cancelled the order, to the great delight of the
officers present. He also made a searching in-
quiry into the number of quarters occupied by
clerks and other officials about the buildings, who
never hesitate to appropriate roomy and large
quarters for themselves, and very frequently leave
but one room for a military officer to exist in as he
can.

AMERICAN AND AUSTRALIAN MAILS.—LIVERPOOL,
Sept. 4.—The Postmaster-General has refused tLe appli-
cation of Messrs. James Baines and Co. to detai❑ the
M:,rco Polo till Sunday in order that she might take out
replies to the Kent's advices. The Marco Polo and an-
other ves,el, the Acadia, will consequently sail for Mel.
bourne about ',noon to-morrow (Friday). On Saturday
the Cunard mail-steamer Asia will sa,ll with the mails to
New York. Let ters will be received at the Liverpool
post-office on Saturday morning till 11 a.m., with late
fees to 12 at noon, and on the landing stage at 1 p.m.
To-day (Tnur,day) the Arabia, a supplemental steamer,
sailed for fla!ifax and Boston with the mails and 113
pasengers.

- THE MAILS. —SOUTHAMPrON, Sept. 4.—The Peninsular
and Oriental Company's steam-ship Indus, Capt. Brooks,
sailed this afternoon for Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexan-
di is, with the India, China, and Moc.iterranean mails,
120 passengers, 838,1171. in specie, of which 818,1171.
is for India and China, and the remainder for Alexan-
dria, and a full general cargo. Among the passengers
.ire Dsputy Commissary-General Lawrence, Commander
Joliiffe, Major Vaughan, Captains Burton, Dunstef.
helm, and Haste, and Lieuts. Harris and Craster. The
Sultan, Capt. Cooke, is preparing to convey the next
outward Peninsular mails on the 7th inst. The Aden,
Captain Weeks, with the next mails from the Peninsular
ports, is expected about the 13th inst. The Alhambra,
Captain J. K. Joy, is appointed to leave on the 10th
inst. for Malta and Alexandria, for the purpose of con-
veying the surplus cargo remaining from the regular
mail packets. We understand that it is the intention of
the Peninsular and Oriental Company to despatch an
extra boat regularly every month. The Royal mail
steam-ship Avon, Captain Revett, will convey the next
Brazilian and River Plate mails on the 9th inst.
LANDS ON LAKE HURON.—Part of the northern
and southern portions of the island of St. Joseph, in
Lake Huron, will be offered for sale by. the Government
in this city, on the 15th of September. The upset
price will be 2s. 6d. currency an acre ; one-fifth of the
purchase money to be paid down, and the remainder in
as many annual instalments. The purchaser will have
the option of paying the whole amount at any time and
receiving their patent. The island lies in the course of
the steamers proceeding to and coming from the Sault
Ste. Marie; and will find in the raining reg*ons of Lake
Superior a market for its produce. The extreme length
of the island is about 17 miles, and the extreme width
about 12. The surface along the south and south-west-
ern shores is generally flat and swampy, being in many
places very thickly timbered. The north and north-
eastern shores, on the contaary, rise with a gentle in-
clination from the water. The interior has a rolling sur-
face, and the large level areas of their summits on the
hills are covered with hard wood. The flats and valleys,
often so low as to be swampy, are thickly timbered with
cedar, spruce; balsam, and turmeric. At the summit of
the island there is an area of 5,000 acres of slightly un-
dulating table-land, covered with beech and maple ;
the soil being a sandy loam of good quality, in
some places a little stony, but free from rock and we 1
adapted for farming purposes. The height o the summit
is abcut 400 er 500 feet above the lake, if the estimate of
the engineer who surveyed the island can be relied on,
for he had no opportunity of taking its altitude. Besides
the swamps along the coast, already mentioned, there
are several of considerable dimensions in the interior ;
some of which are, however, nearly dry, and will some
day be fit for settlement. Except one spot near the
centre, the island is generally well watered. There are
several small lakes in the interior, of which the principal
is Lake Hilton, in which the most considerable stream
in the island has its source. Besides this, there are the e
other principal streams and several small ones. Lek e
Hilton, situated a little west to the centre of the island,
is of considerable depth ; it has a sandy bottom and
gently rising banks. From some of the smaller lakes
no outlet has been observed ; but the surveyor of the
island is of opinion that they have an underground con-
nection with the streams that rise near them. There
are some prairies on the island, growing long grass, and
in some cases being slightly covered with water. Of
these, the largest ist near the extreme southern point of
the island ; it is composed of sandy mud, and covered
with long glass and reeds ; having, in the opinion of the
surveyor, been formed of a deposit, carried in s Motion
during storms, from Mud Lake. The surface soil of the
island generally consists of a red sandy loam, or clay
and sand mixed with mould. There is, however, to be
found white sand, as well as brown or red clay.—Cants-
-4444 Nom