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

THE INDIA AND CHINA MAILS.

The screw steamer Pera, belonging to the Penin-
sulax and Oriental Company, Captain T. Jamkson,
arrived at SonthamVon on Saturiafat 1 p.m.,
with the heavy portion of the above-named mails,
in charge of Lieut. Percival, R. N., Admiralty agent.
She left Alexaml• is on the 19tti July, Malta the
22d, and Gibraltar at midnight on the 26. h. The
Pera brings 94 passengers, specie value 4001., precious
stones 12,510 rupees, garnets value 3,650 rupees,
diamonds value 8,800 rupees, jewellery ve.lue 1,765
rupees, 576 bales of silk, 29 bales of elephants'
tusks, 4 cases of plant', 3 cases of pictures, 2 cases
of tortoiseskell, 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 in two days 19 hours, averag-
ing throughout 121 knots per holy. 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 41,11 of July, and has arrived
home before the end of the same month. The
maii 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 he
told them he should when he took his farewell, on
the 2,000 th time of his exhibition ot Mont Blanc—
viz., the 17th of July,
and proceeded on his way
to China, in his usual robust health and excellent
spirits.
Her Majesty's surveying steamer Medina was at
Alexandria.

At Malta were her Majesty's ships Marlborough
(bearing the flag of Admiral Fanshawe), Hibernia,
Vigilant, Osprey, &c. The rest of the fleet were
cruising in the neighbourhood of the Wand.
Her Majesty's ship Curlew was at Gibraltar on
the 26th.

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,
dining the night, was also carried out on the
Pera's arrival there on the homewatd 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
oo
o'clock the next morning, thereby losing nearly
half a day in arrival at Southampton.
The
d day fouritsh hoursstea f m erromPaLe`iovlerrtspl and Tangier,, Capt. C. Mills,
e
with a general cargo for Malta, and Alexandria,
arrived at Gibraltar cn the 24th ; the Dora Pedro,
Capt. W. Taylor, 11 days from Gla4gow, 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 cargofor 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; 29 h,. on Cape
Finisterre, exchanged colours with three Spanish
men-of-war steamers steering N.E. ; same day,
250 miles S.W. of U,hant, exchanged colours with
the British bark Affghan and the Dutch bark Fer-
dinand and Emma, steering S. W. ; 30th. at 3 p.m.
20 miles S. W. of Ushant, the screw steamer
steering S.W.
The Pera brings home in all 94 passengers,
among whom are Col. D'Aguilar, C 8., and lady,
and Mr. Baily and family, from Calcutta ; Mr.
and Mrs. Tod and Dr. Pearce, from Madras ;
Capt. Dowell, R.N., several naval officers, and
Col. Burme:ster, 59th Regiment, from China ; Cap-
tain Hallett, R N., 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-
ingq, viz. :—Mrs. Casey and three children, widow
of the late J. A. Casey, legal accountant and assistant
field 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 fe,w
days after. Her younger sari, two years old, died

The Parana brings on freight 57,736 dollars on
merchants' account, 620,682 gold dust, 845,244
silver, 348 serons of cc chineal, 4 serum of jalapa,
pearls, &c., to the value of 8,5801., 150 barrels of
coffee, 31 ba•rels of ginger, 3 packages vanilla, 125
cases of cigars, 222 baits of tobacco, 1 turtle, 40
bales of sarsaparilla, and a general cargo, consist-
ing of 10 cases of saccades, 1 case of beeswax, and
230 cases of sundries.

The Parana brings 15t3passengers, amongst whom
are the following :
Mrs. Fowler and Miss Smitb, Mr. and Mrg. Williams
and family, from Demerara ; Rev. Mr. Law and lady,
from Trinidad ; R. Rennie, from Barbadoes ; Lieut.
Jemmett, 15th Regiment, from St. Lucia ; Lieutenant
Mal)ne, 16th Foot, Mr. and Mrs. Melville and family,
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Addison, and Mr. Paterson and
family, from Jamaica ; Mr. and Mrs. Ochogara, from
Valparaiso ; Hon. Mr. Morrison, and Mr. and Mrs.
Belintante, from Panama ; Brigadier-General L. de San-
tiago, from Savannah; Mr. and Mrs. Perrina, Mr. and
Perrina, Mr. and M.s. Agostini and family, and Mr.
and Mrg. Laing and family, from Sr.. Thomas

The latest dates brought by the Parana are :
Tampico, July 2 ; Vera Croz, 3 ; Greytown, 1 ;
Havannah, 9 ; Jamaica and Grenada, 10 ; Carthi-
gena, 11 ; Barbadoes, 12 ; Jacmel, 13 ; Antigua
and S. Kict's, 14 ; Nevis and Montserrat, 13 ;
Porto Rico, 16 ; St. Thomaq, 17.

The Company's ship the Thames, Capt. Gillies,
was on the Spanish Main ropte ; the Deet,,Captain
WOolcott, at St. •Thonia's, from Jainaica ; 'the
Medway, Captain Hammock, at St. Thomas's,
from the Spanish Main ; the Clyde, Captain Tier-
nan, at St. Thomas's, fr m the Gulf of Mexico ;
the Conway, Captain Moir, at St. Thomas's, coal-
ing for England ; the Eagle, Captain FlolP, on the
Honduras route ; the La Plata, Captain Weller, at
Thomas's, from England, with the 2d ofJulymails ;
the Solent, Captain Lewis, at St. Thomas's, for the
Gulf of Mexico.

July 29, lat. 47 30 N, long. 17 30 W, the
Parana signalled a ship No. 3,280, third distin-
guishing pendant, from Colombo, for Lludon.
Her Majesty's ship Devastation was off Cuba, her
Majesty's ships Imaum and Basilisk were at
Jamaica, her Majesty's ship Tartar was at Grenada,
and her Majesty's ship J aseur was at Tampico.