The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-05 00:00:00

THE AUSTRALIAN MAIL SERVICE.

The contract between the Government and the Euro-
pean and Australian Royal Mail Company, together
with the programme of the mail service to be performed
r by the company for the ensuing year, was published
yesterday. According to the programme the first
steamer will leave Southampton, with a mail to be con-
veyed via Egypt, on the 24th of February next ; and
the supplementary mail, via Marseilles, is to leave Lon-
don on the 2d of March next.
The steamer is to reach Alexandria March 8, leave
Suez on the 11th, reach Melbourne April 19, and Sydney
the 22d. Subsequently the Australian mail will leave
Southampton on the 12th of the month, reach Alexan-
dria on the 24th, have Suez on the 27th, reach Melbourne
on the sth of the 2d month subsequently, and Sydney on
the 9th.

The usual time allowed for replies at Sydney will be
48 hours.
The first steamer will leave Sydney with a mail fur
England via Egypt on the 11th of April next. It will
be due in London via Marseilles on the 30th of May
next, and at Southampton at midnight on the sth June.
The Australian mail packet will in all cases leave Sydney
on the 11th of the month, arrive at Melbourne on the
13th, leave Melbourne on the 15th, arrive at Suez on
the 20th. or 21st of the following month, leave Alexan
dria on the 231 or 24th, arrive in London on the 29th or
30th, and at Southampton on the 4th or sth of the suc-
ceeding month.

The Australian mail packets will stop a day and a
half at Melbourne on their outward voyage, and two
days on their voyage homeward. They will occupy
twelve days between Southampton and Alexandria, three
days between Alexandria and Suez, thirty-nine days
between Suez and Melbourne, and four days (including
a stoppage) between Melbourne and Sydney.
The whole distance between London and Melbourne
via Marseilles will be performed in 49 days, and the dis-
tance between London and Sydney will be performed in
52 days.
The mail contract between the European and Aus-
tralian Royal Mail Company and the Government has
been ratified on the part of the company by John Orr
Ewing, of Ratho; Walter Buchanan, of Shandon; Allan
Gilmour, of Eaglesham ; John Sterling, of Kippingdarie;
John Dunbar, of Holme ; James Galbraith, of Glasgow;
Niel Black, of Dunoon ; John Houldsworth, of Glasgow;
William Connal, of Glasgow ; Thomas Augustus Gibb,
of London ; and Robert Smith and John Ponder, of
Manchester. They agree to provide not less than six
steamers to perform their contract. Those employed
between Southampton and Alexandria are to be 1,600 tons
burden and 400-horse power, and those between Suez and
Australia are to be 2,200 tens and 530-horse power. They
are to provide also steamers to convey the Australian
mails between Malta and Marseilles of 500 tons burden
and 200-horse power. The mail-packets are to touch at
Point de Galle on their outward voyages, and at King
George's Sound and Point de Galle on the homeward
one. The Alexandria packets are to touch at Malta.
The company are compelled to deliver the mails from
Sydney at Southampton in 51 days, exclusive of time
occupied in stopping at Melbourne, crossing the isthmus
of Suez, and calling at King George's Sound, and from
Southampton to Sydney in 54 days, exclusive of similar
stoppages. If they fail to do so, they are to forfeit 501.
for the first day thole, 1001. for the second day, 1501. for
the third day, and so on. For every day under the 51
and 54 days respectively in which they convey the mail
between the two ports, they are to receive a premium of
301, a day. If the company fail to have a steamer ready
to put to sea with the mails at the appointed time at any
one of the mail ports, they are to forfeit 1001. a day.
The company are bound to provide accommodation on
board their packets for any naval officer or Post-office
official who shall be appointed to take charge of the
mails on bard. The company are bound also to convey
a certain number of naval and military officers, civilians,
non-commissioned and warrant officers, seamen, ma-
rines, and soldiers, if required to do so, The sum to be
paid to the company by the Government for the convey
ance of the Australian mails is to be 185,0001. a year,
which is to include the mail service betwee❑ Southamp-
ton and Sydney, and between Malta and Marseilles. A
proportionate part is to be paid at the completion of
every entire voyage. The Government are allowed to
purchase or charter the oompauy's packets if they please.
The contract is to last five years. Should the company
fail to perform their contract, they must pay a penalty
of 25,000/.

THE PERSIAN GOVERNMENT AND 273 Z
BRITISH EXPEDITION.

The following article, alluding to the expediiioa
from India to the Persian Gulf, has been published
in a supplement of the Teheran Journal of Court

News :

" Reports are current here that an English ship
of war had arrived on the 13th of September:, in
the Persian Gulf, after ra
a passage of nine days fro,
Bombay. It is also said that as many as 20 other
sailing and steamvessels would shortly leave the
latter place for the same destination, and that
each would have on board 300 or 400 soldiers. We
cannot give a decided opinion as to the truth or
falsity of this news. We are completely ignorant
whether such a vessel or such vessels have or have
not arrived, but such a circumstance, so contrary
to their existing customs, could not fail to excite
very serious apprehensions. We are convinced that
seeing the perfect friendship which unites the two
powers, such a state of things could not take place.
We
presume also that the Ministers of his Majesty
the Shah too higLly appreciate the ancient friend-
ship of Persia with England, and the good disposi-
tions of the British Government to maintain the
conventions which are now in force to admit that
the latter would be disposed to break, without mo-
tive, existing treaties with Persia. The Persian
government places great confidence in the kind-
ness, the perspicuity, and the perfect equity of the
English Cabinet. If even the vessels were to enter
the Persian Gulf, as the rumour states, the cabinet
of Teheran would not consider that fact as an act
of hostility, but would demand from the British
Government an explanation of its intentions, in
order to be assured of the true cause of the event..
So long as it shall be possible,.thePersian Govern-
ment will not assume the initiative, and will
abstain from any attitude contrary to the old and
valuable intimacy which for many years has existed
between the two powers. We have, however, heard
from people of this country, and we are able to
infer from the prevailing tone of conversation here
that as soon as it should be really proved that
Great Britain, at the suggestion of agitators, and
incited by the words of her agents here and of
malevolent persons, had disregarded her treaties
of friendship with Persia, and had, notwith-
standing the conduct of the latter power, which
has never acted unjustly, committed an act, in
despite of the wishes of the cabinet of Teheran
contrary to the harmony which has existed for so
many years between them, in that case the Persian
nation, professing Islamism, and distinguished for
its zeal, would be obliged, to its great regret, firmly
to oppose the proceedings of the British Govern-
ment. Putting its confidence in God alone, it
would be compelled to protect the dignity of the
kingdom, and to defend its honour, its reputation,
and its true religion."

PREPARATIONS OF RUSSIA TO SUPPORT
PERSIA AGAINST ENGLAND•

The following appears in an Austrian journal,
published at Cracow, The Czas, of the 30th ult.
" While England, with much noise and ostenta-

tion, prepares an expedition against Persia, Russia
—in silence and noiselessly—is getting ready to
come to the succour of the Shah. The Orembourg
corps d'armee has just been considerably rein-
forced. It is commanded by Aide-de•Camp Gen.
Perowski. The outposts of this corps extend to
the very extremity of the country of Turan, upon
the rivers Oxus and Jaxartes ; and the military
flotilla of the Lake of Aral, placed under the orders
of the same general, is brought by the above-men-

tioned rivers to the frontiers of India. On another
side, great activity reigns upon the Caspian Sea,
and in the army of the Caucasus. Transport ves-
sels, having troops and munitions of war onboard,
pass incessantly between Astrakhan and the port
of Bakou, situated in the province of Schirvan,
bordering on the Caspian Sea, belonging to Rus-
sia, and at the frontier of Persia. The new Lieu-
tenant-General of the Caucasian provinces, Prince
Bariatynski, has received fuller powers than his
predecessors. Ho has lately inspected, on his way
to his destination, the flotilla of the Caspian Sea,
which has of late been considerably increased, and
partly left at his disposal. This flotilla can
easily take troops on board either of the corps of
Orembourg or the army of the Caucasus, and
convey them to the relief of Persia, disembarking
either at Astrabad or upon the neighbouring
coast of Teheran. The corps which forms part
of the army of the Caucasus, cantoned at Schirvan
and Erivan, and commanded by General Khruleff,
who distinguished himself in the Eastern war, can
also succour Persia by land as well as by sea.
Meanwhile the Russian Government neglects
nothing in replacing the war materiel consumed
during the late war, and continues to refill the ex-
hauste magazines."
Thus, in addition to the contracts which were
before announced to be tendered for, and the ob-
ject of which was to provide for the transport of
munitions of war, and of all sorts of army stores,
we have seen published very lately the authorisa-
tion for the conveyance of different raw materials,
to the amount of five million pounds weight, to the
military factory at Tula, as well as the putting up
at auction of the contract for the transport to
Schlossensk of four million pounds weight of gun-
powder and saltpetre.