The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-02 00:00:00

THE INDIA AND CHINA MAILS.

The screw steamer Per; belonging to the Penin-
sular =ld Oriedtt mparry, Captain T. Jamieson,
arrived at SouthaniPin on Saturday at 1 p.m.,
with the heavy portion of the above-named mails,
in charge of Lieut. Percival, R. N., Admiralty agent.
She left Alexancliia on the 19tH July, Malta the
22d, and Gibraltar at midnight on the 26. h. The
Pera brings 94 passengers, specie value 4001., precious
atones 12,510 rupees, garnets -mill() 1,650 rupees,
diamonds value 8,800 rupees, jewellery wine 1,765
rupees, 576 bales of silk, 29 bales of elephants'
tusks, 4 cases of plant, 3 cases of pictures, 2 cases
of tortoisesitell, 6 packages of wine, and 141 pack-
ages of general merchandise.

On her outward passage the Pera experienced
fine weather and favourable winds, and ran from
Southampton to Gibraltar in three days 21 hours,
thence to Malta in three days and a-half, and from
Malta to Alexandria i❑ two days 19 hours, averag-
ing throughout 12-i knots per hone. Homewards
she has met with strong westerly winds in the Me•
diterannean, and for 36 hours after leaving Malta
experienced a regular hard summer's gale from
N.W. ; up the coast light head winds and northerly
swell ; across the Bay variable winds from N. to
E., when it blew fresh with a heavy northerly
swell ; up the channel fine clear weather, and the
water as smooth as a millpond. The Pera is four
days and a-half from Gibraltar, and has arrived
earlier than any previous packet has done. She
left Southampton the 4th of July, and has arrived
home before the end of the same month. The
man steamers have frequently arrived on the Ist
of the ensuing month, but never before on the 31st
of the month in which they left.
The numerous friends of Mr. Albert Smith will be
pleased to hear that that gentleman reached Alex-
andria and landed from the Pera on the day ho
told them he should when he took his farewell, on
the 2,000 th time of his exhibition of Mont Blanc—
viz., the 17th of July, and proceeded on his way
to China, in hia usual robust health and excellent
spirits.

Her Majesty's surveying steamer Medina was at
Alexandria.

At Malta were ber Majesty's ships Marlborough
(bearing the flag of Admiral Fansbawe), Hibernia,
Vigilant, Osprey, dtc. The rest of the fleet were
cruising in the neighbourhood of the island.
Her Majesty's ship Curlew was at Gibraltar on
the 26th.

The mail steamer Alhambra arrived at Gibraltar
from Southampton on the 24th. The Colombo, in
4 days and 6 hours from Southampton, also put in
at 11 p.m. on the 24th, and left for Malta at 2
a.m. on the 25th, after receiving from the post-office
clerk on board the Samarang the mails made up on
the Saturday evening.
This new arrangement for exchanging the mails,
&c., during the night, was also carried out on the
Pera's arrival there on the homeward voyage. She
anchored near the Samarang at 10 p.m., delivered
her mail, received another, exchanged passengers
and cargo, took in her stores, and left for South-
ampton at midnight, accomplishing the whole with
ease in two hours. Had the old plan still been in
existence the Pera could not have got away till 10
o'clock the next morning, thereby losing nearly
half a day in arrival at Southampton.
The British steamer Pactolus, Capt. C. Mills,
eight days four hours from Liverpool and Tangier,
with a general cargo for Malta and Alexandria,
arrived at Gibraltar on the 24th ; the Dom Pedro,
Capt. W. Taylor, 11 days from Gla,ggow, and 44
hours from Lisbon, with general cargo for Gib-
raltar, &c., on the 25th ; and the Peninsula, Capt.
J. H. Jones, eight days from London, with a
general carge;for Gibraltar and Cadiz, on the 26th.
During the voyage home the Pera spoke the
following ships :—July 22d, the Royal Mail
steamer Cambria, 20 miles south-east of Malta,
steering S.E. ; same day, the British barque
Pelican, entering Malta harbour; 29th, on Cape
Finisterre, exchanged colours with three Spanish
men-of-war steamers steering N. E, ' • same day,
250 miles S.W. of Ushant, exchanged colours with
the British bark Affghan and the Dutch bark Per_
tntigeS.W.; 30th. at 3 p.m.
screw steamer Thalia,'
2doinmanildesansd.
PV. s,
ua, shtaenetr,i
steering S. W.
The Pera brings home in all 94 passengers,
among whom are Col. D'Aguilar, C. 8., and lady,
and Mr. Bally and family, from Calcutta • Mr.
and Mrs. Tod and Dr. Pearce, from Madras ;
Capt. Dowell, R.N., several naval officers, and
Col. Burmeister, 59th Regiment, from China • Cap-
tain Hallett, from Malta ; also several gal-
lant young officers who have distinguished them-
selves in India during the present campaign, and
a few ladies who have shared in the general suffer-
and three children, widow ings, viz. :—Mrs. Casey
of the late J. A. Casey, legal accountant and assistant
Reid engineer to the Chief Engineer at Lucknow.
She narrowly escaped by running into the in-
trenchments, losing everything. Her husband
was wounded by a musket shot, and died a few
days after, Her youngest son, two years old, died