The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-07 00:00:00

',ITS.

THE AUSTRALIAN MAILS.

SOUTHAMPTON, TUESDAY.

The Royal mail steam ship Tamar, Capt. John
H. Jellicoe, arrived this day, at one o'clock, with
the heavy portion of the Australian mails.
On the outward voyage the Tamar arrived at
Malta at 11.50p.m. 20th March, having experienced
strong westerly and W. N. W. gales on the 13th and
14th ; afterwards fine weather. Sailed 21st, at
9.20 a.m., and arrived at Alexandria oe the 24th,
at 11 a.m. S tiled 25th, at 6.50 p.m.; arrived at.
Malta, 28th, at 2.5 p.m. and sailed the same day
at 10 p.m. Home the iamar experienced a s.rong
westerly gale in the Mediterranean, thick foggy
weather off the coast of Portugal (going slow for
eight hours), south-westerly winds across the Bay,
and strong easterly wind from Portland.

The latest dates are, Alexandiia, March 25 ;
Malta, March 28.
She brings 91 passengers, 40 packages of specie,
of the value of 126,9911. 7s. 7d.; and the faowing
cargo-1 bale of silk, 5 bales of wool, and 32
packages of sundries.
Ships at Alexandria—Her Majesty's ship Cara-
doe, and the usual Egyptian fleet. The Peninsu-
lar and Oriental Company's steamer, Mala.bar, from
Southampton, arrived on the 25th at six a.m. ; and
Vec•is, from Marseilles, arrived on the 25th, at
five p.m.
Ships at Malta—Her Majesty's ships Royal Al-
bert, Conqueror, Princess Ho) al, Centurion, Tar-
tarus, Vulture, Cygnet, and the Prussian frigate
Thetis.

April 5, at five p.m., 20 miles south-west of
Ushlnt, passed the Peninsular and Oriental steamer
Colombo, steering south.

NEW SOUTH WALES.

The prolonged absence of the December mail from
England, now some days overdue, has created even
greater anxiety than usual, in consequence of the
commercial agitation that was prevalent at the da'e
of the last advices. The mail f r England is now
being made up at the Sydney Post-office, end the
Simla, which takes it to Suez, will sail to-day. This
noble ship has a full complement of passengers, of
whom our colonial families alone can count 34 per-
sons. The seniors of then, having found the streets
of Sydney as pr, life of gold as, in the day dream of
Whittineton, appeared those of the Britieh metro-
polis, go home to enjoy the reward of their exile,
and the ycung scions to obtain the advantage of an
English education.
Notwithstanding that commercial affairs have for
some months remained in a very dept.& esed state in
Sydney, we have not to record such disastrous
failures as have been experienced in the adjacent
colony. The principal failure here has been that of
Mr. Henry Fisher, merchant, which occurred very
recently, and was occasioned by large speculations
in sugar and fl air. The liabilities are about
125,0001., and the creditors have been offered a
shillinei in the pound, which has been refus-cl ; and,
if no atter proposal ts made, the estate will be sur-
rendered to the Insolvent Court. The failure of
Mr. Fisher has led to that of Purkis and Lambert,
auctioneers, who acted as his agents, and endorsed
his bills to a large amount. In their schedule they
state their habil ties at about 100,0001., and their
assets at 70,0001., leaving a deficit of 30,0001. An-
other auctioneering firm, heretofore in good com-
mercial repute and carrying on an extensive busi-
ness, has succumbed to the pressure from without.
Another general election to the Parliament of
New South Wales is just over—the third under
what is called the new constitution and representa-
tive government. That it has not hitherto worked
favourably for the colony the frequent changes of
ministry testify. The last cabinet, like the pre-
ceding one, resigned in consequence of not being
able to carry a bill for facilitating the sale of crown
lands. Whether the present ministry, with Mr.
Cowper at its head, will be able to settle the qucestio
vexata, remains for the future to decide. The sub-
ject is a difficult one to deal with. It is argued
that if the upset price of the colonial lands b fixed
too high (V. per acre is proposed) persons oflimited
means will be unable to buy ; if at low price
the probability is that men of capital will monopolieo
it, to sell at a profit. Numerousare the devices pro-
posed to meet the contemplated contingencies, and
as there are so many interests concerned, and the
squatters (as the occupants of the pastoral lands
are called) are a powerful and influential body, any
ministry must find it an arduous t ask to balance the
antagonisms. Desirable as it is that facilities should
be given to persons who would devote laho ur as well as
a small capital to the cultivation of the fertile but
now waste lands of the colony, it must not be lost
sight of that the squatters are the producers of the
main staple of our colonial wealth, wool and tallow,
and that they have a right to demand protection
for what are to them, ,:r ought to be, vested in-
terests. This subjeet will be one of the earliest to
be discussed by the new Pat liament, and the se _tle-
ment is looked forward to with much anxiety.
Mr. J. H. Plunkett, who has been f ,r nearly ten
years the chairman of the Board of Nwional Edu-
catiori, has just been distil issi-d. from that gratuitous
office by the Colenial Secretary, on the frivolous
pretence that the board had adopted certain regu-
lations not strictly in accordance with the Act of
Ceuncil by which it was cons.ie uted. Mr. Plunkett
has since resigned his seat as President of the Le-
gis!ative Assembly, and all offices which he held
under the government, as, he says, " the reign of
terror has commenced." A requisition to the Mayor
is in course of siunature, requesting him to convene
a public meeting of the citizens in Hyde-park, to
protest against such ,n arbitrary exercise of official
authority as that of Mr. Cowper. It is very likely
that the result will be a resolatiou calling upon him
to resign. Mr. Plunkett is so generally popular,
particularly emelt, the Roman Catholics, of whom
ho leader, that had the occurrence taken place
before the elections, Mr. Cowper would undoubt-
edly have lost his seat for Sydney.
Intelligence was received here yesterday of an
extensive forgery, commit ed by a Spaniard, named
De Miranda. When he arrived here, which was
vc ry lately, he brought highly respectable intro-
ductions, and represented himself as a purchaser of
land for vine-growing in New South Wales, and
was the agent of Baring Brotaa le, of London. He
has succeeded in negotiating bills to the amount of
about 20,0001., which have since turned out to be
forgeries. An officer is gone to Melbourne in quest
of him. _ _ _

The tide of emigration to these colonies has not of
Lite flowed so abundantly as heretofore. The Tele-
graph arrived here list week from Liverpool with
391 government emigrants; and within the past
fortnight nearly 2,000 Chinese lr.►ve b: en brought
in American bottoms from Hong Kong. The
Chinese are persevering, and generally successful,
gold-diggers, when they adopt that punuit, and
many of them make money by charcoal-burning,
in which they excel.

Four seamen, the ringleaders in a mutiny on
board an American whaler, the murder of the
captain and other officers, and the taking forcible
poisession of the ship, have been apprehonde l at
Twofold .Bay, and brought on to Sydney. They
have undergone several examinations, the principal
evidence against them being the mate, who, under
pain of death, was obliged to steer the vessel to
some Australian port. They will be sent to America
for trial.

The electric telegraph between Liverpool and
Sydney (22 miles) is now in working order, and
there is also a communication between the Ex-
change and the Heads. Jn one day last week about
6,000 persons were admitted to witness the opera-
tion of the machime.

The ne-v lighthouse at the HeAds (where the
Dunbar was wrecked) is nearly, completed, and will
be shortly ready to receive the lantern.
Among the new structures that are making pro-
gress in Sydney, aro St. Andrew's Church of Eng-
land Cathedral, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathe-
dral, St. Philip's To.er (to receive a peal of eight
bells given by Mr. John Camphell), splendid build-
ings for the Bank of Au,tralasi3, the English,
Scotvish, and Australian C';artered Bank, and the
Otientel Bank, an ohseivittory, and the bridge to
the suburb of Pyrmont, now separated from the
ci!y ny Darling harbour ; the opening of this la,,t
will take place in about a fortnight.
The railway extension line from Liverpool to
Campbell-town is being industriously promoted
with, and will be completed in a few months. Our
ralway communication will then be about 36
miles, a very respectable beginning.

Henry Watt arrived in Newcastle on Friday night by
the Government train from the south. He will stay for
yotue time, it is said, at the house of his parents in
Areyle-street.
THE WILL OF A MILLIONNAIRF.—The Evening Mail
states that the late Mr. Rck, who was privately
in Ae-red in Dubl:n on Saturday, died worth consider ably
over a million of money. His will directs that ail secu-
rities standing in the public funds and elsewhere shall
be turned into cash, and the vast proceeds invested in
the pureease of land in Ireland. To his only sister, Mre.
flume, 01 Hi Loewy', he has left a life interest in the
property thus to be acquired, and after her death, her
SOD, Mr. W. F. flume, one cf the members for the
county of Wicklow, is to it beret the whole, subject to
the payment of a few trifling legacies. The will bears
date upwards of 14 years since. A million sterling, is"
vested, soy, in latJ, ought, in" the present state of the
market, to produce something like 50,0001. per annum.
Tbo deceased had plainly more faith in the stability of
Irish property than the late Sir Robert Pee), whose
memorable caution ta his trustees seeie'ct
" to cuiious f ature in the
of the great statesman. "But not in Ireland " are words
that denoted misgivings which in the present state of
toe country seem A little out of p'aoe.