The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-17 00:00:00

LOSS OF THE CALCUTTA STEAMER

AND MAILS.

We have received the following despatch
'rom Alexandria, dated March 13:—
" The Colombo leaves this afternoon with the

China mails.
" The Peninsular Company's steamer Granada
arrived at Suez yesterday with intelligence of the
wreck of the Ava near Trincomalee on the 16th
of February. The cargo and mails were totally

lost, but the crew and passengers all saved.
" Intelligence from Canton was to Jan. 18.

" Canton remains tranquil under the rule of

he Allies.

" Order has been completely maintained in

the city.

" Lord Elgin and Baron Gros are still in the

Canton River.

" No additional troops had yet arrived.
" Two hundred and fifty-three thousand pounds
treasure for the Bombay Government were on
board the Ava. Twenty-eight thousand five
hundred pounds have been recovered.
" The passengers included several of the

Lucknow refugees.
" Yeh continued a close prisoner on board the
Inflexible in the C3,nton River."

The following telegram from Mr. Acting-Con-
sul-General Green, was received at the Foreign-
office, via Corfu, March lith, 4.30 a.m. :

" ALEXANDRI A, 13TH MARCH, 1858.
" The steamer Granada arrived at Suez yester-
day afternoon from Ceylon and China.
" The Ava, from Calcutta, was totally wrecked
on the night of the 16th ult., off Trincomalee, with
the total loss of mails, oargo, and baggage ; but
the passengers and crew were all saved.
"No intelligence of importance from China had
been received by telegraph, and the steamer will
leave, with China mails on board, before the
delivery of the letters here.
" Yeh is still a prisoner on board her Majesty's
ship Inflexible. It is reported that the natives of
Canton are afraid to be seen speaking to Euro-
Ipeans.

" GREEN, Consul-General."

FRANCE.
PARIS, TUESDAY EVENING,

It is positively affirmed that M. de Persigny has
tendered his resignation as Ambassador in London;
and that, in the event of its being accepted, it is
probable he may be succeeded by the Duke of
Grammont.

The Moniteur contains a decree promoting
General Roguet, aide-de-camp of the Emperor, to
be grand officer of the Legion of Honour.
This day is the anniversary of the birth of the
Prince Imperial, who now enters on his third year.
Marshal Canrobert is to take up his quarters in a
few days at Nancy. The health of Marshal Bosquet
having become tolerably re-established, he will also
shortly take his departure fur Toulouse, the seat of
his military administration. _

"M. pigeon," says the Journal de Belfort,
"has been requested to surrender himself to un-
dergo his imprisonment of one month for illegally
wearing the decoration of the Legion of Honour."
_ _

- -
The First Chamber of the Imperial Court, at the
commencement of its sitting yesterday, registered
uvuliuuLdLioi, zu oby the Emperor in the
tence of de Rudio. The prisoner was present,
dressed in the prison costume. It was remarked
that his physiognomy had completely lost the easy
carelessness which characterised it during the trial.
After the formality de Rudio was taken back to the
prison of La Roquette.
The Imperial Wurt of Dijon has directed two of
its members, President Delacuisino and Advocate-
General Massin, to institute an investigation into
the attempted insurrection at Chalon-sur-Saone,
and these gentlemen have been in that town since
Friday last. The Courrier of Chalon, in an ac-
count of the outbreak which it publishes, says :
" A stranger to the town, who had placed himself
on the bridge excited the insurgents to stand firm
to the newly-established republic, assuring them
that this time it should be a veritable one. The
band was headed by a man playing on a trumpet,
and on approaching the station of the gendarmerie
he ceased, and the insurgents gathering into a circle
held a deliberation on, it is supposed, the question
as to whether the post of the gendarmerie or that of
the Hotel de Ville should be attacked ; and when
it broke up one of the men who were armed was
hoard to say, Since people now-a-days have no
courage, I refuse to go with them !' and he at once
walked off."
BOURSE, March 16.—The following were the
closing quotations :

4. per Cents 9.3
Do. and month._

Credit Foncier
Belgian 4;
Piedmontese (5)
Roman BB
Austrian
Spanish Threes
Home Debt . - -

iper Cent. ..... 69 40
D. end month 69 45
Bank Shlres.

Credit Mobilier 772 50
Do. Account 777 50

RAIL'
Orleans
Northorn
Now Ditto 7821
Lyon and Alediteran. 815
New Ditto 7BO

Geneva

Midi
Western 657i
Strasburg
Grand Central
Sardinian
Austrian

TURKEY.

CONSTANTINOPLE, MARon 6.

There is nothing to chronicle from the Turkish
political world. The Ministry continues in the
same state of beatitude as it has been in for the last
six weeks, feeling far too comfortable to be inclined
for an unusual display of energy, and enjoying
thoroughly this unwonted state of well-being. The
schooner Silver Key and the steamer General
1(nox, belonging to the American Wrecking Com-
panies which undertook to raise the vessels of war
sunk in the harbour of Sebastopol, have re-
turned, and are advertised for sale. The at-
tempt to raise the sunken vessels has completely
failed not one of them was recovered. The
Black Sea teredo, so often attributed to well calcu-
lated imagination of the Russian Admiralty, is a
stern reality. It has eaten up the body of the
Russian fleet, leaving only the outer shell. The
wheel of the Twelve Apostles has been brought
down as a specimen. Although it consisted of
strong mahogany, two years and a half in the
waters of Sebastopol have reduced its weight to
almost nothing. No external change is visible
beyond a few small holes, where thegreedy miners
sank their shafts. The most approved contri-
vances were tried by the two rival companies.
The vessels were caulked and made seemingly
water-tight, but when it came to pumping out it
was found that the timber was so rotten that the
water percolated everywhere through the galleries
made by the teredo. To this in itself invincible
difficulty must be added the fact that most of the
vessels had sunk from four to six fathoms into the
mud. Even if the ships had been raised they would
have been of no use. As they could not be raised,
it was tried to blow them up, in order to clear the
harbour, which at this moment is so blocked up
that only a narrow channel, marked out by buoys,
is left, through which small vessels caniwith difficulty
wind their way. The damage done to the timber
is, however, so great that not even the attempt to
blow the vessels up succeeded. As much as 5,0001 b.
of powder was tried with a two-decker, but, as the
rotten timber had too little power of resistance,
the result was that the weakest point gave way,
and the explosion tore out a small part in the side
of the vessel, having the rest altogether untouched.
The harbour must t 7 _us remain blocked up until by
degrees the work of the teredo is done, and the
ships fall to pieces.
According to the account brought down 81 ves-
sels were found sunk, which is much more than
ever was known or supposed.
The companies have brought up sufficient an-
chors, cab'es, 'Sze., to pay, at any rate, part of their
expenses ; and probably the Russian Government
will make up the difference.
A letter from Berlin, iu the Nord of Brussels,
says :
" The bill relative to the construction of a rail-
way from Ecenigsberg, by Insterberg and Gub-