The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-10 00:00:00

THE RIFLE ASSOCIATION.-DISTRI-
- UTION OF THE PRIZES.

Points

labour. You have been accustomed to the, lazy not succeed in gutting at the missing mails, though
Palermitan beggar, and had an idea that the Sici- they recovered upwards of 100 packets of bullign,
lians in the interior were rather worse, and now you together with a small quantity of luggage. Among
her Majesty's auto-
see an incredible amount of production for a small tho latter are case's eentijning
number of inhabitants. Of course, a model farmer graph letter to the Emper4: of China, Lord Elgin's
would toss up his head at the imperfections, but 1 credentials and instructions, and his orders of the
have rarely seen so much production with such Thistle and the Bath. The utu.r is legibie, though.
scanty means of labour. The soil repays it amply. much discoloured, while the cr,edentials are in
I have counted some of the ears of wheat, and very fair preservation. Baron
Gros has also re-
found as many as 97 grains in one. I begin to covered his " papers," which word linust be construed
understand that Sicily was the granary of Rome. literally, as the ink is all but obliterated. The
The Crimean war and the war in Italy have given a autograph letter of the Emperor is a blank sheet.
great impulse to the production, so that millions of The luggage is utterly ruined by the salt water and
ducats have found their way into the pockets of the
the bilge, the opium and oil, the coal dust and filth,
landlords. If Sicily was once under a good Govern-
wherein it has been submerged. A partion which
ment, which would encourage instead of stifling in- was insured sold by auction for a mere song.
dustry and trade, as the Neapolitan has done, there On Saturday the divers were obliged to cease
would be soon no necessity to search for grain on work, owing to the heavy swell setting into the
the Danube and on the Black Sea. With reservoirs bay. When the morning of Sunday broke, the
to keep what is now wasted by the torrents and Malabar had entirely disappeared, with the excep-
artesian wells, two crops could be easily obtained tion of the top of her funnel and masts. Sh,e has
now swung broadside to the swell, and, as the
weather is squally and threatening, she will pro-
bably soon break up. The poop deck is.gone,
and-
the main deck threatens to follow its example.
Should the ship go to pieces, great difficulty will
experienced in recovering the bullion buried in the
deep and shifting sands. Curiously enough, the
Colombo has brought a new diving apparatus from
England, and an instructor in the art of recovering
lost treasure will follow by next mail. He will
have ample opportunities of exhibiting his skill,
and so farewell to the -Malabar For many a day
under the burning sun of North China shall we
regret the necessary comforts lost in that ship.
But it is simple justice to the passent7ers to declare
that they have acted with exemplary
'thence for-
titude, and good-humour, under eirct,'
instances
which prove of what metal men are made.
I cannot leave Ceylon without a parting ti:ibute
to this, the fairest of Colonies, and to the Goven.ler
who so hospitably received us both at Galle an.l
Colombo. Sir Emerson Tennent has done but jun.-
tice to the extraordinary beauty of the scenery
between these towns. For some 70 miles the road
runs close to the sea, through groves of cocoanuts
and plantains, pines and banyans, cinnamon and
bamboo, with parasites trailing and festooning
among them in tropical luxuriance. Every variety
and shade of verdure is here, every hue, from the
delicate green of the plantain to the long brown
stem of the cocoanut. From Colombo the scene
changes. As the road approaches Kandy
it passes over the Kadugenavu pass, rising
some 2,000 feet in three miles. We are now in the
coffee district. Hill rises over hill, no level ground
being visible. Snug planters' bungalows meet the
eye at every turn, and the background is framed by
a magnificent line of mountains. Comfort and pros-
perity are everywhere apparent. There are no
beggars, a magnificent climate, and abundant food.
for the few wants of the native population. To
them the cocoanut serves as meat, drink, and lodg-
ing. Their houses are thatched with its leaves,
while the fruit forms the principal part of the daily
food. The fibre is sold in exchange for their scanty
garments, and they live a life of luxurious indo-
lence, the greater part of the labour on the roadS
being performed by Southern Indians and Malabars.
The progress of the colony during Sir Henry
Ward's five years' administration has been most re-
markable. When appointed governor, in 1854, the •
revenue was £408,000, while in the past year
(1859) it amounted to no less a sum than £747,000.
In fact, it has nearly doubled, and there is every
reason to expect that ere long it will reach
£1,000,000. There is not a farthing of public debt,
and a large surplus income. This great increase is
mainly owing to the impetus given to the improve-
ment of internal communication, to the formation of
roads, the opening of canals, and the construction
or restoration of large irrigation works, which have
facilitated the application of capital to land, Sir
Henry Ward has been most unwearied in promot-
ing these works. Of active habits and great energy,
he traversed the island in every direction, and has
made himself perfectly acquainted with the wants
of each district. His last work has been the con-
struction of a bridge at Kattegastotte, near Kandy,
over a river which runs through the heart of the
coffee districts. Hitherto it has been crossed by
ferries, always dangerous and often impassable,
the river rising 20 to 30 feet in a night during the
rainy season. With a balance of nearly £lOO,OOO
in hand over and above the revenue of the current
year, it is no wonder that Sir Henry has been po-
pular in the island. A few months back a petition
was forwarded to the Home Government signed by
all the principal colonists requesting that he
might remain at Ceylon after the expiration of his
term, and offering an addition of £2,000 per annum
to his salary:
Between Colombo and Randy is an enormous
traffic, over an excellent road made some 30 years
ago. The annual expense incurred in keeping this
road in repair is no less than £35,000. This is the
line of the proposed railway which has caused so
much anger and jealousy. Captain Moorsom, who
was the first to survey the line, estimated its cost at
£856,000; while Mr. Doyne, the late resident engi-
neer, declares it cannot be completed for less than
£2,214,000. The Colonial Government have agreed
with the present company to guarantee 6 per cent.
on £BOO,OOO, and £5 per cent. on any additional
sum required for the construction of the line. The
enormous difference between the rival estimates has
caused considerable alarm, and the works are all but
suspended, while the whole question is referred to
Mr. Hawkshaw. The Governor has taken a very
can,
but
active part in promoting the railway, seeing the
resultson ,t,litawould
apsrocbhaebalpylyensue
you
mits comple-
tion. makeple-
ti
it," is what he was constantly impressing on all
parties. The planters fear it will not pay if the
cost amounts to the large sum required by Mr.
tki
eotn. there
But we ovue
even
d abt e
thea girneearte
increarisesed
Doyne. They also think that during its construe-
i ens
ttihme
altaeb, ot uhre mg
gua-
rantee rantee would amount to about £120,000 per annum ;
while £35,000 is yearly expended in the mere re-
pairs of the present road. Mr. Churchill, Chief
Labour Commissioner, declares that any amount of
men could be procured from a different source to
that which affords the present supply. Instead of
going to Southern India, he would draw them from
the northern division of Madras. It is most de-
sirable, in the interest of all parties, that the ques-
tion should be at once set at rest, as the steady pro-
gress of the colony is undoubtedly checked by the
present state of uncertainty.

in a year.
Verily the interior of Sicily is preferable in every
respect to the towns on the seacoast.

THE BRI7IBII EXPEDITION TO C !UNA

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
POINT DE GALLE, JUNE 5
The Colombo has arrived from Suez, and the
Pekin from Bombay. The latter vessel sails this
afternoon for China, with the two Ambassadors and
their suites, the passengers of the Malabar and those
who came out by this mail. For an entire fortnight
have Lord Elgin and Baron Gros remained here, at
the greatest public inconvenience. Madras, Bombay,
and Calcutta are but two days' to a week's distance
from Galle, and there is telegraphic communication
between them. Yet the Peninsular and Oriental
Company had no vessel at any one of these ports to
supply the place of the Malabar, and convey her
passengers and mails to their destination. The old
Pottinger was sent from Madras on the 30th ult., but
the crew refused to take her to China, on the ground
that their time of service had expired. She there-
fore went round to Bombay. The Company must
look to its laurels, which are fast fading. In four
successive years four fine ships have been wrecked.
The Erin, the Ava, the Alma, and the Malabar
have been totally lost, while the Bengal had a
narrow escape from a similar fate in this very har-
bour. One vessel is laden up with a broken screw,
another with a broken shaft, and notwithstanding
the large subsidy received for the conveyance of the
mails, those saved from the Malabar have been
quietly reposing since the 22d at the Galle post-
office. The loss and inconvenience occasioned by
such an event on the whole trade of China cannot
possibly be exaggerated, It is surely not too much
to expect that at some one of the great Indian
ports the directors should have a single vessel avail-
'able in case of disaster. When the Singapore ar-
rived from Hong Kong Lord Elgin proposed to
Mr. Bailey, the Peninsular and Oriental agent, that
the mails should be transhipped either on board
the Cyclops or on board the Pottinger, when she
arrived, and that the Singapore should return to
China with the mails and passengers of the Malabar.
Captain Pullen was quite ready to carry the mails
to Bombay, though he had no accommodation for
passengers. Mr. Bailey, however, declined to avail
himself of the Cyclops, nor would he consent to the
Singapore's return, and to the mails being forwarded
in the Pottinger, unless Lord Elgin would write
him a letter, and state that it was of the greatest
moment to the public service that such a step
should be taken. The mail agent expressed him-
self desirous of giving every assistance to the Am-
bassador, and also suggested that the mails might
be sent by the Cyclops, which was again objected
to. He then said he could not land the mails until
he knew precisely how they would be forwarded.
Lord Elgin felt that he might make the Government
responsible for insurance, in case any accident hap-
pened to the Pottinger or her cargo en route to
Bombay, if he wrote such a letter as was required.
He was a mere passenger on board the Malabar,
and it was the company's business to forward him
and the other passengers to their destination. So
the mails were not transhipped, the Singapore went
to Bombay, and we remained at Galle. Finding
there was no chance of a steamer for China until to-
day, I started at the early part of last week for Co-
lombo and Kandy. On my return I heard that Capt.
Pullen had, at the request of Sir Henry Ward,
proceeded to take the evidence as to the cir-
cumstances attending the loss of the Malabar, in
which inquiry he was assisted by Lieut. Armstrong,
of the Cyclops, and by Mr. Macdougall, a master in
the navy, who has come out to survey the Bass
Rocks. The investigation commenced last Wed-
nesday, and continued until Saturday. The Court
sat at the office of the Peninsular and Oriental
Company, and Capt. Pullen states that it was per-
fectly open, but he requested that it might not be
inconveniently crowded with passengers. Many of
them have complained to me of being absolutely
excluded from the Court. It was certainly never
Capt. Pullen's intention that such a course should
be adopted, nor did he anticipate that no passenger
would be allowed to attend on the first day. Two,
who went at the request of the others, were desired
to leave by a gentleman in the Company's employ-
ment, on the ground that the inquiry was private,
and they could not be admitted, I am informed
that the Court will forward the evidence to the
Board of Trade without any formal report of their
own. Some comment has been made on the chief
engineer (Mr. Crawford) having been sent to Bom-
bay in the Singapore at the very time that the
agent was asking for an inquiry, and immediately
before it commenced. It was, to say the least, in-
judicious to prevent Mr. Crawford giving his testi-
mony. It is certainly material, and must be forth-
coming hereafter. The balance of evidence goes to
show that the ship was in her proper berth, and
that she dragged the single anchor with which she
was moored. Several other ships were in port
when the squall struck the Malabar, but, according
to the regulations of the harbour, they each had
two anchors down. No accident occurred to any of
them, and although the Fides dragged one anchor
she was brought up by the ether. True it is that
the Peninsular and Oriental steamers are frequently
in the habit of riding in this port at single anchor.
It will be for the Board of Trade, however, to decide
whether the Malabar, in Galle harbour, at the burst
of the southwest monsoon, was sufficiently moored
with one anchor only and no steam up.
The greatest dissatisfaction has prevailed among
the passengers in consequence of Mr. Bailey refusing
to pay the hotel bills incurred during the past fort-
night. Ho grounds his refusal on the plea that the
Company is " not liable for detention or delay of
passengers arising from accident or from extraordi-
nary or unavoidable circumstance," a notice te that
effect being endorsed on the passage tickets, The
wreck of a ship under the " circumstances" attend-
ing that of the Malabar may be "extraordinary" if
it be not " accidental or unavoidable." Certain it is
that the passengers were in no way responsible,
though they have been heavy losers by the event.
Many of them landed without a shilling, and with
no means of procuring money. Some of the China
merchants on board, whose names are known in
Ceylon, have, with the greatest kindness and consi-
deration, become security to the Bank for advances
made to their less fortunate fellow-passengers—men
whom they had never seen before leaving England.
Mr. Bailey also has advanced money from his pri-
vate sources to such as required it,
draughts or promissory notes in exchange, taking their
t
one farthing will he pay for the company c
h
by
meet-
ing
was held yesterday afternoon, at
b which
made
resolu-
tions were passed that a formal protest
all the passengers against tahreedeboympaanneytaarnydanitds
agents. This protest was p •ep
delivered to-day. _
Whether the Peninsular and
Oriental Company be liable for the value of the
roerfinlsoet,
pitayims
esnutreelyf uthne-
Npvroorpt
he ryt yo
of
lost
suchin
ath body wreck
to
necessary hotel bills incurred in a case like this.
Lord Elgin, Baron Gros, and the Comte de Bastard
ed wek
have served the agent with separate protests, and
the directors will do well—if only in their own inte
rests—to reimburse the passengers. Petty economy
on such points is totally unworthy of a great public
body, nor do I believe it will be sanctioned by the
men who constitute the Board of Directors.
The divers were at work last week, but could

The report of the Bank of New -South Wales
presented at Sydney on the 25th of April, for the half
year ended the 31st of March, showed an availa e
total of £50,553. A dividend was accordingly declared at
the rate of 15 per cent. per annum, leaving £3,277 to be
carried forward. In consequence of the losses from the re-
cent failures no addition was made to the reserve fund. A
branch has been opened at the new goldfields on the Snowy
River.