The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-03 00:00:00

THE BOMB AY MAILS,

The Peninsular and Oriental Company's screw
steamer China, Capt. Neil Cook, arriTed at South-
ampton yesterday morning with the mails from
Bombay, in charge of Mr. Douglas, of the General
Post-office, She left Alexandria on the 14th ult.,
Malta the 19th, and Gibraltar the 26th. A large

portion of the passage home has been performed
under canvas alone, in consequence of the loss of
two blades of her screw, and hence the China's pro-
tracted voyage. She experienced strong head winds
and heavy seas throughout.
This packet brought 21 passengers, £550 in
specie, 998 bales of silk, 63 bales of wool, 512 bales
of flax, 29 packages of tusks, 130 boxes of oranges,
300 boxes of raisins, and sundries.
On the 31st ult., in lat. 49 40 N., long. 16 11 W.,
the China fell in with and boarded the ship St. Vin-
cent, of Bristol, steering to the eastward, with loss
of foremast and bowsprit, main and mizen top-
masts, &c. Assistance was offered and accepted,
and the ship was taken in tow for three hours, but
the ropes parting after dark, the China lay by
her all night. At midnight another attempt was
made by the China's lifeboat to carry hawsers to the
ship, but the captain declined receiving them till
daylight, and made sail on his course. The vessel
is supposed to have put into Falmouth. She was
dismasted on the 25th ult.
Her Majesty's ships Marlborough, Brunswick,
Victor Emmanuel, Caesar, Doris, Orion, Neptune,
Cadmus, Vulture, Mohawk, Quail, and ltedpolo
were at Gibraltar; also the French steam frigate
Foudre, the Portuguese steam sloop Sagres, and the
Sardinian steamer Tripoli.
Off Algesiras. the French squadron, under com-
mand of Admiral Desfosses, consisting of five ships of
the line, Brigadier Herrera's squadron, and the Aus•
trian steam sloop Dandolo, were in Algesiras Bay.
On the 23d ult. the Spanish Admiral commanding
the squadron at Algesiras paid official visits to Ad-
mirals Desfosses and Fanshawe of the French and
English fleets in Gibraltar Bay. The Spanish Ad-
miral was received with the customary salutes, which
were returned by the Isabel 11. line-of-battle ship.
The following British merchant steamers had ar-
rived at Gibraltar :—Dec. 15th, the Marco Bozzaris,
Capt. G. Stayers, 10 days from London and five from
Plymouth, with general cargo and Government
stores for Gibraltar, Malta, and Constantinople;
16th ; the Pera, Capt. T. Jamieson, four days four
hours from Southampton, and proceeded to Malta
and Alexandria ; 20th, the Cora Linn, Capt. W.
Taylor, nine days from Glasgow, and 29 hours from
Lisbon, with general cargo for Leghorn and Pa-
lermo ; 21st, the Melita, Capt. G. Langlands, five
days from Liverpool, with general cargo, for Malta
and Constantinople ; same day, the Albanian, Capt.
J. Bates, 61 days from Liverpool, and 32 hours from
Lisbon, with general cargo for Genoa, &c.
The Royal St. George Yacht Club cutter Caro-
line, 31 days from Portsmouth and seven from Co-
runna, arrived at Gibraltar Dec. 16.
The Royal Thames Yacht Club schooner Shark,
seven days from Southampton, arrived at Gibraltar
on the 17th;
Latest quotations of exchange at Gibraltar were as
under:—London, 90 days' date, 51 to 501, ; Paris,
ditto, Of. 33c. ; Marseilles, ditto, Of. 32c. ; Genoa,
ditto, Of: 37c. ; Madrid, eight days' sight, 4 dis. ;
Cadiz, ditto, a dis. ; Malaga, ditto, par ; Seville, do.,
dis. ; Alicante, ditto, 1 dis. ; Valencia, ditto,ldis.;
Barcelona, ditto, par. Spanish pillared dols. 3 per
cent premium—none and no demand.
Freights to Brazil and River Plate, 12 dols. per
ton, and ten per cent. ; Gulf of Mexico and Havan-
nah, 12 dole. per ton, and 10 per cent.; Malta, Leg-
horn, Genoa, and Marseilles, 4 to 5 dols. per ton,
and 5 per cent. ; lead, at less.

PROSPECTS OF THE COTTON TRADE
FOR 1860.

(From the Annual Circular of Mr. Maurice Williams
Cotton Broker, Liverpool.)
To such an extent have the favourable anticipa
tions of last year proved correct, and so remune-
rative has the trade become to manufacturers, that
to enter into the probabilities of the next twelve
months appears at present almost a work of supere-
rogation, for, so far as appearances go, there is every
reason to anticipate a continued healthy trade. The
prospects as to the supply of the raw material are
everything that can be desired (4,100,000 to
4,300,000 bales being the favourite estimatessfor the
incoming American crop), whilst the demand for
goods for India continues large—manufacturers and
spinners being still under contract for a lengthened
period. This of itself is a source of considerable
strength to the Manchester market, and indicates
a vitality in the trade which must, and is, leading
to a considerable extension of the spinning and
manufacturing power of this country. From this
extension and its results, must, however, be appre-
hended a check to the present prosperity of the
manufacturing interest ; for, should the American
crop not prove equal to the present sanguine ex-
pectations indulged in, the supply available for this
country:would then be barely equal to the consump-
tion, more especially as there is a general expecta-
tion that, with the present small stocks on the
continent of Europe and in France, a considerable
increase will be required by them out of the in-
coming American crop, either from hence or direct
—whilst the consumption of the United States it is
expected will also be fully 100,000 bales more than
the preceding year. Still, with all this, a crop of
4,250,000 bales, and a supply from other sources
equal to that received this year, would be fully
equal to the requirements of the next twelve
months. The prospects of the following Ame-
rican crop will, however, ere long begin to
operate ; and, upon the character and pros-
pects of the planting season, and the proba-
bilities of a large or deficient yield of the crop
of 1860-61 will depend the future course of the
market for 1860. With favourable prospects for a
large yield, still lower prices and an abundant sup-
ply may be anticipated; whilst, should a failure in
the crop ensue, with so large au increase in the
consumptive power of the world, speculative opera-
tions would be the result, and thus tend, not only
to deprive the trade of the profit they now realise,
but by reducing the supply of raw material below
the actual requirements of the mills, produce again
those evils which resulted, in like manner, from the
great extension in manufacturing power caused by
the very prosperous years of 1845 and 1846, being
followed by a failure in the American crops of 1846
and 1847.
It is somewhat remarkable in the history of the
cotton trade that during the last 25 years there has
never been three consecutive large American crops
raised and the incoming one (estimated at 4,250,000
bales)heing the second large yield, the next crop
will be watched with considerable interest in all
its stages, for should it unfortunately not prove
favourable it will be certain to exercise not only
considerable influence upon prices the coming year,
but may tend materially. to lessen the amount of
i yo ne
aorf,
sub asnetqi
the incoming crop by inducing planters to hold
back a Pouchion his ieeirr
psices u ct
hel e
with the prospect of a diminished yield.
The following list of the American cotton crops
the past 25 years (that for the current year being
of course estimated), will, on a consideration of
this subject, prove interesting :-
185940 4,950,000 1846-47 1778,651
1858-59 ..3,841,481 1845-46 ...... 2,100,537
1857-58 3,113,962 1844-45 ...... 2,394,503
1856-57 2,939,519 1843-44 ...... 2,030,4')9
185.5-56 3,527,845 1842-43 2,378,875
1854-55 2,847,393 1841-42 1,684.211
1853-54 9,930,027 1840-41 1,634,948
1852-53 3,262,812 1839-40 2,177,835
1851-52 3,015,029 1838-39 1 630,532
1850-51 2 35,5,257 1837-38 1 801,497
1849-50 2 096,706 1836-37 1 442,930
1848-49 2,728,596 1835 1,360,725
1847-48 2,317,634
With so good a prospect for a large and profitable
increase to the manufacturing interests of this coun-
try as that which now presents itself by the gra-
dual extension of civilisation in the East, it is to be
hoped that the blessings of peace and an abundant
supply of the raw material may be continued, and
that the high range of prices which has prevailed
the past few years may still further stimulate the
growth of cotton throughout the world, so as to
preserve us from the fear of injury to our trade,
which a failure of the American cotton crop
has hitherto produced. With a certainty as to an
abundant supply of cotton, there can be no check
at present to a continued prosperous business for
manufacturers ; for even should the India demand
not prove so large as of late, there must of necessity
arise a demand to supply other foreign markets
which have hitherto been kept bare, by the high
prices ruling throughout the year, owing to the ex-
cessive demand for India, whilst a still further aug-
mentation of our trade with China and Japan may
soon be expected.

AN UNLUCKY WIDOWER.—A curious sent.
romantic story is forwarded to us by our Lincoln corres-
pondent concerning an unlucky broker of that city. When
a widower, with a thriving business, he was allured into a
second marriage with a fascinating widow, who represented
herself as heiress to vast estates in Scotland, on the under-
standing that he was to contribute a few hundreds to com-
plete the lady's title to her property. Hundred after hun-
dred was produced, in return for which the lady showed
her confiding husband a few documents which she said
were deeds from the Court of Chancery, establishing '
claim ; but month after month passed by without the hus,
band coming into possession of the long-expected " Gordon
property," until at length even he became suspicious, and,
as tradesmen were pressing, he determined to investigate
the matter. The fair widow turned out to be an accom-
plished swindler, without a penny, and the broker has no
resource but to return to his tradey and begin life again a
poorer but a wiser nuin.-3fanchc3ter Guardian.