The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-05 00:00:00

THE WEST INDIA MAIL.

A summary of the foil
pression of yesterday :
SOL
By the Royal Mail si
Valler, with the mails
Gulf of Mexico, andPaci
Tampico
Vera Cruz

owing appeared in our im-

TTHAMPTON, JAN. 4.
team-ship Tyne, Captain
from the West Indies,
Lc, we have dates from—
' Demerara
Trinidad — 10

Havannah ....... 10
Greytown
Carthagena
Jamaica
Porto Rico

Barbadoes
Grenada
Martinique
Antigua
St. Thomas

- 12
- 10
- 13
- 14
- 18

The Tyne brings 55 passengers, among whom
aro Commander Cochrane, Surgeon Mostyn, and
Lieut. Carter, of the 2d West India Regiment ;
on freight, $3,156,313 in specie, value—say,
631,0001. sterling, of which $lBB,OBB is from Tam-
pico, $427,329 from Vera Cruz, $60,000 on account
of the Mexican dividends, and $lBO,OOO from the
Pacific Ports. The specie received by this vessel
weighs 89 tons. The cargo consists of 47 serons of
cochineal, 19 serous of jalap, 95 cases of cigars, 113
bales of tobacco, 176 bags of cocoa, 110 bales of
cork, and a large cargo of sundries.
The Tyne experienced strong winds and a heavy
swell on leaving St. Thomas's. On the 22d of De-
cember the wind was from the westward, with
moderate and fine weather. On the 28th and 29th
she experienced strong north-westerly breezes,
with heavy swell, and on the 30th exceedingly
strong gales from the westward.
The Plata arrived at St. Thomas's on the 15th
of Deo. in 12 days 15 hours from Southampton.
The Wye steamship, with the mails from Ja-
maica, in consequence of heavy weather did not
arrive at St. Thomas's until the night of the 18th,
and the Tyne was accordingly detained.
The hurried manner in which the Tyne left St.
Thomas's prevented our usual Jamaica files from
being transferred from the Wye, and the despatches
from that island have not therefore come to hand.

HrMedea, coming to St.
Thomeas'sMajy
foretshte's
Admiral's ship
letters at Bermuda, was
detained some days in Antigua, in consequence of
meeting there the United States' sloop of war Cyane
of 20 guns, which refused to salute the British flag.
The cause assigned by the Cyane was that an Ame-
rican subject (a slave) had been taken out of an
American vessel at Antigua. The Medea left St.
Thomas's for Bermuda on the 17th ult. The Cyane
had reached St. Thomas's when the Tyne left.
On the 3d inst., off Scilly, bearing N.E. 15 miles,
the Tyne exchanged signals with the bark Olivia,
from Jamaica, bound for London.

The Cunard screw steamer Curlew had broken
down, and was repairing at Bermuda. Governor
Hincks, of Barbadoes, was on board. The mails
were sent express by a man-of-war from Bermuda
to Barbadoes. _

The ship Severn, with a cargo of coals for the
Peninsular and Oriental Company, bound to the
East Indies, had put into St. Thomas's in distress,
and was discharging.

_
From Demerara we learn that the Court of Policy
was in session. The New Manner of Proceeding
Bill, introduced by the Chief Justice, had been
passed, and would come into operation on the Ist
of May, subject, of course, to the approval of her
Majesty. The charge of the Lord Bishop of the
diocese had been delivered. The difficulties of the
keeping up of a staff of clergy were alluded to, and
the whole of the diocese was regarded by the Bishop
as essentially missionary. The schools throughout
the colony were stated to be less flourishing than
they were 12 years ago. In reference to the
weather, state of the crops, and the business posi-
tion of the colony the Royal Gazette says :
" Although we are in the middle of what in ordinary
years is considered the short rainy season, the weather
still continues dry, and there are no indications of rain
setting in. If the weather does not break up on the
change of the moon, we may look forward to a continu-
ance of dry weather for another month at least. The
Buck Indians who have come down from the interior
state that there will be no rain for some months to come.
They give several reasons for coming to this conclusion.
One is that, notwithstanding the long continuance of dry
weather which we have already experienced, the creeks
and rivers continue full—a certain indication, say they,
that although there has been no rain on the coast, there
must have been an abundance of it in the interior of the
continent, and at the sources of the rivers. Another
reason assigned by them is still more curious. They say
that a flower which is never known to blossom except in
seasons of excessive drought, is now in full bloom. We
hope they may prove to be false prophets, as the conse-
quences will be very serious not only to the planters, but
to the inhabitants generally, who will be reduced to
great privations for want of fresh water it the dry wea-
ther continues much longer. The young canes will be
stunted in their growth, and the next year's crop will
be ruined. This is a cheerless prospect to look forward
to, but we are not yet without hope that a favourable
change may shortly take place. The supply of rain water
in the city is getting very short, and people are begin •
ning to lock up their vats and to economise their water.
" The sugar crop of 1855 is now nearly gathered in,
but on some estates operations have been impeded and
brought to a stand, for want of water to convey the canes
to the buildings and work the machinery. The rise in the
price of sugar, the intelligence of which was brought out,
by the last mail, has raised the drooping spirits of the
planters, and those who a few months ago were walking
with downcast eyes, dreaming of ruin, now look up with
hope, and cheerfully anticipate better times.
"The exports from the colony during the last fort-
night have amounted to- -Sugar, 4,165 hhds, 314 tierces,
40 half-tierces, 1,9076 barrels, 509 bags ; rum, 2,271
puncheons, 378 Wads, 141 barrels ; molasses, 75 barrels;
cotton, 26 bales ; coffee, 1 barrel ; cocoanuts, 6,550 ;
20 tierces of foreign sugar ; greenheart, 121 logs, con-
taining 7,500 feet ; letterwood, 7 pieces ; wallaba, 1
log ; old copper, 10 casks ; old brass, 5 casks ; old lead.
10 kegs and 9 pieces ; 1 box of wine. Of these 268
hhds, 7 tierces, and 39 barrels of sugar were exported to
New York ; and 31 hhds, 10 tierces, 146 barrels sugar
53 puncheons, 20 hhds, and 2 barrels of runs were
shipped to Bordeaux.
" Business among the merchants is not so brisk as it
usually is at this period of the year ; this slackness of
trade is attributable in part to the high price of provi-

sions at the present time, and also wto the increased
number of coolies who are employed upon the estates,
and who do not require so many dry goods as the creole
labourers or even the African immigrants. Provisions
at present are double their usual price.
" There is but little shipping in the port, and freights
continue hiah."
A Mr. Francis Burke, a gentleman from Mont-
serrat, bad arrived in British Guiana, and applied
to Government for a patent to protect an invention
which be has discovered to separate and prepare in
an efficient manner the fibres contained in the plan-
tain, banana, aloe, and other vegetables, for vari-
ous manufacturing purposes.
At Barbadoes congratulatory addresses had been
presented to Sir W. M. G. Colebrooke, Governor
and Commander-in-Chief of the island, previous to
his departure. The House of Assembly met on the
4th ult.
At Grenada the legislative business of the session
was opened on the 27th of November. In conse-
quence of a difference which existed in reference to
the Money Bill for 1856, the house sent an address
to the Executive, praying for an adjournment un-
til the 17th of February.
This not having. been
granted, the house had refused to meet, and it was
rumoured that his Excellency intended convening
it by proclamation for the 18th of December. This,
it was believed, would lead to a dissolution, which
would be fraught with great inconvenience to the
public. The weather continued favourable to the
was unusually good.
plantations, seasonable showers had
rtaiindad.dsowmeelefianren that the crop of sugar
fallen.
F 10
Trinidad
m
stomßakiciongthe cholera, after raging for some
whichtime
Atapb
about
had 2 entered San Juan,
and was committing great havoc among the inha-
bitants. was
the outskirts,
Yellow fever was also existing at Martinique.
The English sloop Etna, which bad arrived at
St. Thomas's from Curacoa, reported the loss of
the American bark Governor Von Oxholme, which
bad gone ashore on the rocks off Bonaire, whether
she was bound with salt.

Resolu-
Tariff of Net of last tiong car-
-1852. session. ried
Sept. 13.
a. d. 5. d. s. d.
Brandy
Gin 6 0 9 0 10 0
Whisky
Rum
Cordials
Perfumed spirits
Wine containing more than 25
per cent. of alcohol of a spe-
cific gravity of 823, at the
temperature of 60° of Fah-
renheit's thermometer — 10 0
All other wine
Tea, per lb.
Refined sugar, per cwt.
Unrefined ditto 2 6 5 0
Molasses, ditto
Coffee, per lb.
Chicory - 0 2
Cigars. per lb.
Manufactured tobacco, ditto 1 0 2 0
Unmanufactured ditto, ditto 0 8 2 0
Snuff
Ale and bear in wood, per gal. 0 1 0 1
Al. and beer in bottle