The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-19 00:00:00

THE LONDON POST.

We beg this day to call the attention of the Post-
master-General and of Mr. Hill to the inconvenienct s
we suffer in France through the pig-headed obstinacy f
the captains of the mail steamers, who will go to Calais
and arrive too late for the trains, or, if they feel that
they cannot by any possibility reach the port, and enter
the harbour, remain snug at Dover, and care not one
fig what merchants or individuals may suffer for the
want of the letters quietly packed in their cabins ;
whereas, if they chose to, or were desirous of serving the
public, they would instantly sail for Boulogne and de-
liver their despatches with celerity and safety. We say
the captains, f ,r we cannot imagine that the heads of
either the Admiralty or Postoffice would order the captains
to remain with the mails at Dover when they could be
brought with the greatest facility at Boulogne when
accAs cannot be had to Calais harbour. Thus the last
Indian mail was detained twelve or twenty-four hours at
Dover, because the mail steamers could not make a pas-
sage to Calais. How many times during the late pre-
vailing east winds have we had to wait two days for our
letters, or have received them too late to reply by the
early post ? Yet the Folkestone boats have regularly
plied at their usually published houre, and have never
lost a tide. Why should this be suffered to car •
tinue ! why should children or parents be kept
twenty-four hours in agony for news of sick or
absent relatives because the director of the Mail
Company has his own private interests to serve
Why should the merchant lose caste or character, or
even run the risk of it, for want of letters of advice or
remittances ? In these days we know, unfortunately,
how ticklish credit is, and how the delay of a pot ru y
swamp the proudest firm. We hope the Postmaster-
General will reduce the thick-and-shin rupportere of Mr.
Ostee-ne to their prover dimensions, and compel them to
•tudy the pulilic interest, and not Celt of any looaliiye
That he may be enabled to form an opinion upee t e
subject, we beg to lay h--fore him the following fact-.
On Monday. the Ist cf March, a teiff eas.erly gale pre-
vailed; on Tuesday tn,reing had but very little abated.
We lett London at 8.30 f it Folkestone, an I on arriee,g
there went on board the Princess Helena, Capt. Jeukios.
the wind was mote than fresh, the sea up ea the shore
net very inviting,. Many were the waves that broke
furiously over the v, se I, particuhrly in crossing the
Varna ; but, for three quarters of an hour before we
reached Boulogne, we were, comparatively speaking,
sailing in smooth water. The ladies recovered their
composure, the gentlemen promenaded the wet decks,
and we entered Boulogne piers 2 47 after leaving Folke-
stone. What folloa el ? We had lef. London previous to
the early delivery of letters, but be had given special
orders, as we expected letters of importance by the post,
that they should be forwarded to us that day. The next
morning came, but neither letters nor London evening
journals arrived by post. The Folkestone boat, at 3 p
delivered the London journals of Wednesday, and from
them and their inch fatigable penny-a-liner correspondent
at Dover we learnt what, from the weather here, we
could not have believed, that the mail steamer preferred
lying snug at Dover to making any attempt to enter
Calais. such is the difference between Felke,tone and
Boulogne packets and those plying between Dover
and Calais. This, however, is not all. A
few days later we see a telegraphic despatch
announcing that, from the continuance of ea terly
winds, the port of Calais is blocked up by a bank of
sand. This intelligence is communicated to Dover, but
the captain or director of toe mail packet will have
them sail for Calais. Providence alone saved the lives
of all on board ; for it was with the greatest difficulty,
and after several efforts, that we were able to enter the
jetties. A 'gentleman on board, accustomed to the
sea, declared he never saw such a scene before,
and that to Providence alone were they in-
debted for their safety. Had they go:teedownosuhldorheavtoe
the westward of the pier,
been twice the case,
"We hope then, theta in
the boiling sea around them.nothinwghichuhle expected
saved them in
of the Admiralty, and devise such mea-
Postmaster-General will put himself in 'communication
with the Lords
that the lives of her Majesty's subjects will not be
r dangers, nor the commerce of France
inconvenienced or perilled to please the
supporters of Mr. Osborne at Dover.
Radical
andes xu rPe:Eeodg ltaGnBclintLija

BRUTAL MURDER IN MAYO.—A. very shocking
murder, consequent on the vice of intemperance, was
perpetrated in the town of Ballina on Thursday night
last.. The murderer is a butcher, named Michael
Cowley, who, returning at a late hour to his own house,
bru'ally assaulted his servant maid, named Catherine
M'Hale, with a felonious intent, but not succeeding, he
kicked and most savagely beat her, so much so that the
poor girl expired on Saturday last, having previously
made a declaration before Colonel Keogh, who has fully
committed Cowley for the murder:

COMMITTAL OF BRENNAN,se nTsi:ZonßwhaeLdNiav
At theß chdalePetty
sAFTcIaRy, ROBBER.—
At
Brennan was again brought before the magistrates,
charged with assaulting and robbing Mr. Wainwright
in a railway carriage. The particulars of this oase are
well known, having been given on several occasions
Evidence confirmatory of what we have already stated
was given. The prisoner endeavolF e to establit.6 at,
alibi, and hrn.ught forward several witues•es for tba.
purpo,e. Atter hearing the te,timony for and sgaine
the prisoner, the magistrates decided on committing
him for trial at the assizes. The case occupied nearly
Nix hours,