The Sun.
London, England, 1859-07-27 00:00:00

THE BOMBAY MAIL.

The Orissa arrived at Southampton yesterday
with the heavy portion of the Bombay mail. Her
dates were : Alexandria, July 13 ; Malta, 17 ;
Gibraltar, 21. She brought 122 passengers, amongst
whom were Lord Charles Scott, R.N., Sir James
and Lady Cochrane, Colonel Colborne, Lieutenant-
Colonel Graydon, Major Earle, Captains Bannister,
Shackerley, and Comyn ; Lieutenants Milman,
Leeds, Byam, and Waller ; Doctors Williams and
Collins, &c. Amongst her cargo were 705 bales of
silk and 5 packages of specie. The Orissa ex-
changed signals with the Peninsular packet Alham-
bra on the 21st inst., and with the India packet
Pera on the 23d inst. Her Majesty's ships Marl-
borough, Hannibal, Hibernia, Exmouth, Conqueror,
Princess Royal, Renown, Orion, Euryalus, Doris,
Intrepid, Lapwing, Banshee, and Hearty, were at
alta. The St. Jean d'Acre, Brunswick, Victor
Emanuel, and Assurance were cruising off Malta.
The Vulture and Quail (gunboats) were at Gibraltar.
The Taurus, an English steamer purchased by the
Spanish government,had arrived atCadiz from Liver-
pool, laden with naval stores for the arsenal there.
The Violet, with 140 English convicts, had arrived
at Gibraltar. From Cadiz, two ships of war and
the war steamer General Alava had put to sea ; the
war sloop Ferrolano, with troops and settlers for
Fernando Po ; the war corvette Colon, for Cartha-
gena ; and the transport ship Quits., for Porto
Rico. The Russian ships of war Retvisan and
Gremoboi had left Cadiz for the Baltic. The Rus-
sian steamer Argonaut, the French steam-sloop
Tanger, and the Spanish steamer San Bernardo,
left Gibraltar on the 18th. The following British
merchant steamers and sailing ships toucbed at or
passed Gibraltar between the 16th and 21st inst.,
viz. :—The steamers Vulture and Britannia, and
the sailing ships Earl Mulgrave, Albion, Henrietta,
Leonard Preston, Mirabita, Convivial, Eliza,
Richard Brown, Equator, William West, Fanny,
Agnes, Forest Queen, and New Teresa. Several
of the crew of the wrecked steamer Alma were ap-
prehended on their arrival at Southampton in the
Orissa, on a charge of robbing the passengers and
breaking open a box belonging to Sir John Bow-
ring, late governor of Hong-Kong, on board the
Ottawa, while on her passage down the Red Sea.

TILE FORTIFICATIONS OF DOVER.—The fortifica-
tions of the citadel of Dover are about to be enlarged, and
the estimated cost of the works is £150,000. The walls
round the ramparts inside and outside will be raised many
feet, the ditches will be considerably lowered, while on the
sea front will be erected a large bastion for officers' quar-
ters, on the top of which will be a very strong battery,
heavily mounted with first-class ordnance. In the centre
of the citadel will be a signal tower, while lower, and over
the reservoir, will be placed all the necessary buildings
required for such a place, between which and the guns
facing outwards will be a covered way to protect the
military passing to and fro. The improvements will ex-
tend from the citadel to the drop, at which places, and at
the head of the military road will be constructed new draw-
bridges of great strength.—Maidstoile Journal.
VOLUNTEER RIFLE CORPS.—On the 25th inst.
an influential and numerously attended meeting took place
at the Lecture-hall, Blackheath, on the subject of raising
a volunteer rifle corps for that locality, Mr. H B. Farnall,
of Manor-house, Lee, in the chair. Upon the platform
were: Lieut.-Col. Dawson, C. 8., Lieut.-Col. Smith, Mr. F.
South, Mr.J. F. Turner, Mr. F. Gossett, Capt. Jackson,
Messrs. hart, Smith, Drury, Harding, Whittaker, and
others. The chairman addressed the meeting, and laid
before them the rules and regulations which have been
sanctioned by Lord Sydney, the Lord Lieutenant of the
county of Kent,
and by which, in conjunction with the
44th of George 111. cap. 54, the Blackheath Volunteer
Rifles will be governed. The meeting was also addressed
by Colonel Dawson, C. 8., Mr. J. Fiint South, and others,
when it was unanimously determined that a corps should
be forthwith raised ; and after the appointment of a com-
mittee, consisting of 24 gentlemen, with Mr. H. B. Farnall
as their chairman, and with Mr. J. P. Turner as their
hon. Secretary, upwards of 40 names were at once entered
on the list of effective members of the Lee and Blackheath
Rifle Volunteers.

,

THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE RE.
VIVED BY THE FRENCH.

Yesterday a public meeting was held at the Spa-
fields Chapel, Exmouth-street, Clerkenwell, to hear
a statement made by Stephen Beckley, a coloured
youth, formerly in Lady Huntingdon's School, at
Sierra Leone, respecting his escape from the French
settlement of Cayenne, where he had been kept in
slavery for three years.
Mr. GEORGE THOYDSON, formerly M.P. for the
Tower Hamlets, was unanimously called to the
chair, and 'said that they were assembled there
for two 'purposes—the first to receive information,
lora the next to use that information in the most
efficacious manner for the extinction of one of the
most vicious systems with which the earth was
cursed. There was a feeling on the part of many
of the nations individually, and he feared also with
a common understanding amongst many of them
collectively, to re-introduce the African slave trade,
which was the disgrace of this country until
within the last 25 years. The United States had
lately introduced several cargoes of slaves, and
some of the states had declared, in violation of
every treaty and the law of nations, that they
would import these slaves from the west coast of
Africa if they thought proper. There was the
French nation, who had been inveigling the natives
into contracts for five years, which they did not
understand the nature of, and which was, in fact,
only another name for slavery. (Cheers.) The
youth on the platform had been a victim to that
species of slavery, and would give them an account
in his own way of what he had undergone, and that
would be a fair sample of what his countrymen
were suffering at the present time.
The Rev. Mr. THORESBY then stated that as the
youth spoke English imperfectly he would question
him as to his statement.
William Beckley, aged 19, then stated, in answer
to questions, that he was born in Freetown, Sierra
Leone. His father's name was William and his
mother's name was Elizabeth. His father was a
printer and worked in the Government printing-
office, under the secretary of the colony. He went
on to state that he had been educated at Lady
Huntingdon's School, Zion Chapel, at Freetown, and
was taught to read the Bible. He was there till
he was 14 years of age. He then wished to be
taught navigation and become a pilot. About that
time a screw steamer came to Sierra Leone, by the
name of Lionne. The captain's name was Cheval-
lier, and he, the father, and the youth, went into
the office and signed a paper, which he believed to
be an agreement for the captain to teach him navi-
gation. He also got his ticket to prove he was a
free man, and set sail, as he was led to believe, to
run between Martinque and Sierra Leone. Instead
of sailing to Martinique the vessel went to the
coast of Monrovia, in Liberia, where she took in a
large cargo of blacks, the men with their hands
tied behind them, and the women with children in
their arms and their hands not tied. After being
21 days on the coast they got a full cargo and set
sail for Cayenne, where they arrived and were then
taken on shore. They were put into a large tent,
and were then taken by different masters. The
blacks were crowded in the vessel, and many died
on the voyage, and were thrown overboard. He
then went on to describe the work the negroes had
to do on the plantation, and how they were flogged
by their masters. He ran away several times and
went to the governor, but he told him that he
could not send him home, or if he did he must pay
the same money to Bozanet (his master) as Bozanet
had paid to the captain for him. His ticket of free-
dom had been taken from his chest, and he was
claimed for a slave. He was sent back to his mas-
ter and was whipped. He went several times to
the governor, and at last told him he was a
free negro from Sierra Leone. He was sent
back to his master, but Madame Bozanet told him
he must do his work, and that he would not be
whipped again because he came from a British
colony. Shortly after this he was sent to the
plantation with sugar, and there saw an American
ship, which he paddled out to in a little boat, and
got on board. He was taken to Salem, and sent by
the captain of the American vessel to Boston, where
the British consul, Mr. Francis Lousada, treated
him most kindly, and by direction of Lord John
Russell forwarded him to London.

The Rev. Mr. TIIORESBY then stated they were
now training this youth for a schoolmaster, to send
him back to Sierra Leone as a native teacher in
Lady Huntingdon's School. It was necessary to
have native teachers, as so many of the missionaries
had died there lately. He said he had every con-
fidence in the boy's statement, for he knew the
friends of the schools they had established there,
and was, in fact, one of the society's scholars in
that colony. This information had been taken
down at the Foreign-office, and the Government
would take further steps in the matter.
The CHAIRMAN said he had watched the bt•y's
statement very narrowly, and from the beginning
to the end he had not discovered one discrepancy
in the narrative. His case was but one of about
seven millions of human beings. He expatiated on
the evils of slavery, and argued that no legislation
would ever be able to put it down. Monday next
would be the twenty-fifth anniversary of the aboli-
tion of slavery in the British colonies, and would be
celebrated by a meeting, over which Lord Brougham
would preside.
The Rev. Mr. THORESBY then stated that the
boy had first thought to be a mason and go back to
Sierra Leone to build houses there, and then to be a
plumber, as there was not one there, and it would
be so glorious to carry leaden pipes over the tops
of the houses and give the people fresh water ; but
when he learned that it would take some years to
learn those trades, he f.t once gave up the idea, and
decided to be a schoolmaster, provided they would
send him home within a limited period. The com-
mittee of the school had undertaken to do so, and
in the meantime were laying the groundwork of a
good education, which would be completed there.
The Rev. W. WOODHOUSE moved, and the Rev.
F. W. IVILLcocKs seconded, a vote of thanks to the
chairman, which was carried enthusiastically, and
the meeting separated.

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE AT THE

SURREY MUSIC HALL.

A great " concert and fete" was given on Mon-
day night at the Royal Surrey Gardens, in aid of
the Lambeth Choral Society. The names of the
lsading vocalists—Mr. Sims Reeves, Madame
Anna Bishop, Mr. Montem Smith, Miss Dolby,
and Mr. Thomas—at the ordinary shilling admis-
sion, attracted an immense audience. By eight
o'clock there could not have been less than six or
eight thousand people in the music hall and
grounds. The spectacle of so great a concourse
assembled for enjoyment so innocent and elevating
was more than pleasant ; but it suddenly became
varied by an uproar nothing less than disgraceful.
The first piece set down for Mr. Sims Reeves was
"Fra Poco," which he sung with only too great
effect. He left the orchestra amidst great ap-
plause, which, as usual, was extended to a vocife-
rous encore. He did not respond, and the continued
cheering became mingled with) hisses. The band
conductor, Mr. H. Schallehn, attempted to proceed,
but was deterred by fiercely reiterated cries of en-
core. After the lapse of some five minutes a gen-
tleman presented himself to offer an explanation.
But the malcontents hadnow waxed so furious that
they refused him ; and the good sense of the
majority expressing itself in cries of " Hear him,"
" hear him," an obstinate contest arose. At length,
the explanation was suffered to be heard, and it was
to the effect that Mr. Reeves haying to sing two
other pieces he could not repeat so trying an effort
as that just made. This ought to have satisfied
everybody and did satisfy all but an excited mino-
rity, who, in spite of overwhelming cries of en-
couragement to the conductor to proceed, perse-
vered in hissing, groaning, and hooting. This dis-
graceful scene lasted about half an hour, and was
only terminated by the performance—despite all
demands to the contrary—of the Wedding March,
in " Midsummer Night's Dream." The drums,
trumpets, and violins had fairly the best of it, and
the proceedings were tranquil enough till Mr,
Reeves made his second appearance. Volleys of
hisses, groans, and catcalls mingled with the vehe-
ment applause that saluted him. For some minutes
he took this unusual reception in good part, bowing
and smiling at every outburst of the popular hu-
mour as if it were unmixed flattery. But this sort
of thing soon gets beyond a joke, and whon it was
evident that a mischievous few, at various entrances
of the building, were determined Mr Reeves should
not be heard, a contrary resolution was expressed
with equal decision. Deafening peals of cheering
were kept up in order to intimidate the disturbers,
but still they held out. In vain the great singer
tried the effect of his soothing art upon the dis-
turbers. They broke him down in the second verse
of " When thou wilt be my bride." In vain he
bowed in his sweetest notes, 41 My breast doth swell
with pride." His offended admirers answered with
implacable derision. Clenching his music scroll, he
exclaimed, " I am too much of an Englishman to be
beaten !" and coolly took a chair. All the previous
efforts of the majority were as nothing to the entlu-
siasm now evoked. Angry demands were made for
the expulsion of the offenders, and Mr. Reeves
himself set the example of pointing out two cr
three, who were forcibly ranoved, and saluted
by the victorious vocali'at, as they made their igno-
minious exit, with a Bias blunt from his gloved fin-
gers. Thus by degrees the tumult was subdued,
the song was recommenced, and Mr. Reeves re-
tired amid a tempest of unqualified applause. Half
The cheering that followed was im-
an hour later he sat down to the piano to sing My
Pretty Jane,"
mensal but scarce a sinzile voice Yentured to ask a

ti.

repetition. To the universal surprise and delight,
the exultant tenor came back and sang to his own
accompaniment the " Bay of Biscay." Of course this
completed his triumph, and Mr. Sims Reeves finally
retired from the orchestra a greater favourite than
ever.