The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-22 00:00:00

and " not to put too fine a point upon it," the dirty,
sickening, picturesque, but pestilential Serpentine.
Several portions of the evidence recently given
before the committee of inquiry, by witnesses emi-
nently qualified to pronounce an opinion upon the
matter, such men, for example, as Mr. PAGE and
Mr. FOWLER, the civil engineers, may be pro-
nounced in Yankee phraseology as positively
" cautionary." Nothing could be more temperate,
at the same time that nothing could well be more
crushingly conclusive. Take merely a portion of
Mr. FOWLER'S evidence. Having said—" With
regard to the plans which have been suggested for
supplying the Serpentine with water, I should
prefer a supply of fresh water to the process
of filtration recommended by Mr. HAWKSLEY,".
Mr. FOWLER remarked, in answer to Lord
FERMOY, " I do not think that the filtration of
60,000,000 gallons of water, at the rate of 2,000,000
per diem, would secure the filtration of the whole
body of water every thirty days. I do not think
you could wholly change the water in less than six
or twelve months. Mr. lIA.WIijESLEY'S plan is a
very good one under certain circumstances, but I
am satisfied that he would prefer to havo a clean
bottom to begin with." Or again, " I must say I
do not think that the lake can be kept in a satis-
'actory state unless a constant supply of fresh water

is passed through it. The present supply of fresh
water is evidently insufficient, or the lake would
never have got into the state in which it now is. I
do not think the whole of the mud could be
thoroughly dried in a month, but it might be
drained, and the crust sufficiently dried to enable
a gravel bottom to be formed above it." ,
Mr. PAGE'S evidence may be summed up in that
pithy reply of his to an inquiry from Captain
ARCIIDALE—" I believe that without a fresh supply
of water you can never make a good job of the Ser-
pentine, and if you do provide a fresh supply and a
clear bottom any process of filtration will be ren-
dered useless."
That, really and truly, says everything that need
be said upon the subject. Having quoted these
words of Mr. PAGE verbatim, we may here content
ourselves for the moment with saying, like the
laconic M.P. told of in the Parliamentary " Joe
Miller," " Ditto to Mr. BURKE ;" we may say now
simply, " Ditto, ditto to Mr. PAGE ! " Pro Tide a
fresh supply and a clear bottom to the Serpentine,
and you will make a good job of it, and render use-
less any process of filtration.

THE PENINSULAR MAILS.

SOUTHAMPTON, THURSDAY.

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamer
Euxine, Captain Babot, with the above mails, has
arrived. Her dates are Lisbon, 17th ; Vigo, 18th ;
and Oporto, 18th. Sho brings 16 passengers, 34
packages specie, also 687 half chests oranges, 332
packages sundries, and 559 boxes eggs.
At Lisbon were her Majesty's ships Royal Al-
bert, Edgar, Abouki, Queen, Donegal, Mars, Al-
giers, her Majesty's frigate Melpensone, and two
Dutch frigates.
The Minister of Marine, Mauricio Ferri, when
speaking on the loss of the brig of war Mondego,
in the Chambers, was attacked with a paralytic
stroke, and died on the 14th inst. He was buried
with all the honours attending a Minister of the
Crown at sunset on the 15th,

The Mondego was lost in the Indian Ocean.
She sailed from Singapore on the 20th December,
and foundered on the 22d January, with 144 hands
on board. 66 were saved on board the American
Ship Uriel, which took them to the Mauritius.

The Milford Haven steamer Brazil, from Rio,
when 50 miles north of Cape St. Vincent, was ob-
liged to make for Lagos Bay on the 14th, having
sustained damage to her machinery, and want of
fuel. She has 80 passengers. Left Rio on the sth
February. The steamer Athognia was sent on the
15th to render assistance.

Continued disorders are taking place on 'the
landing of the British troops, who are annoyed by
the fruit vendors and others, resulting i❑ their
being robbed of all their money, and left in a shame-
ful state of drunkenness and nudity.

Lisbon exchange quoted-30 days, 531; 60 days,
531 ; 90 days, 531 ; Rentes, Three per Cent., 47 to
471 ; Coupons, 46 to 461.

AMERICA.

QUEENSTOWN, MARCH 21.

The Liverpool, Now York, and Philadelphia
Company's screw-steamer Edinburgh, Capt. Ken-
nedy, from New York on the 10th inst., has arrived.
The steamer Nova Scotia, from Liverpool to Port-
land, put into St. John's on the Bth inst. short of
coals.

The ship De Witt Clinton, from Liverpool to
New York, was ashore, broadside on, at South
Squaw Inlet. The passengers were landed safely.
The Alfred Thomas, steamboat, blew up at Easton,
killing 10 passengers. The Indians were commit-
ting horrible outrages on the Mexicans. The
people of Chihuahua had invited General Houston
into their territory as the only means by which
order could be restored.

The goods saved from the Hungarian were to be
sold by auction on the 14th, and the wreck on the
23d, inst. for salvage.
NEW YORK, March 9, 6 p.m.—Money easy. Ex-
change flat. Stocks buoyant, at a further advance.
Cotton active, but prices unchanged ; sales 3,000
bales. Flour firm, and some descriptions have ad-
vanced sc. to 10c. Export during the week to
Great Britain, 1,100 barrels. Pork less active, at
lower quotatiods. Beef and bacon firm. Coffee
and sugar steady: Freights for cotton to Liverpool
9-32; to Bremen, 15-16 c.; to Havre unchanged.

LIVERPOOL, MARCH 22.
The screw steamer Edinburgh, which touched
at Queenstown yesterday, has arrived here.
The Canadian Parliament voted 8,000 dollars per
voyage to Canadian mail steamers, and 10,000
dollars a year for telegraph to Belleisle.