The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-27 00:00:00

millions sterling is derived from the two fluctuating sources and doubts may be given up and so no room be left for the
of salt and opium, is of opinion that every practicable re- in
wh
atigations of false mischie mak
f ers.
trenchment should be made in every department of the "' As Shanghai, ere the arrangements connected with
Government at home and abroad with as little delay as the general trade are at present being made, lies at a cowl •
app
possible.' derable distance from Kwang-tang, we herebyappoint the
" e of Govern
One speaker, Mr. Cowie, the head of onGovernor-Generalal of the two Keang, Ho-kwei-tsing, to be
Imperial
the larger agency houses, expressed the readiness ofmianssioner of Foreign Affairs, and we hereby
commanden Ho mw
g-tsung-han to send a special officer to de-
all Europeans to submit to an income•tax of sd. in liver to him the seal of Imperial Commissioner now in use.
the pound, provided it was imposed equally on all. Respect this.. "
There was an attempt made to prove that the new "It will be seen that the office of Imperial Com-
tariff fell too heavily on Europeans—a fact partly missioner for Foreign Affairs is transferaed from
admitted by the Governor-General; but there was Canton to Shanghai.
no active opposition. " Lord Elgin left this on the Ist inst. for Canton,
" Since the meeting. Lord Stanley's financial where on the following day he met a body of mer-
statement of the 14th of February has arrived. It chants, with reference to the sites proposed for the
is considered here far too favourable. His lordship new foreign settlement. No steps could be taken
was apparently unaware of the condition of the previously, the community being ignorant of his
Indian treasuries, of the pressing demand for three lordship's views ; and, as his Excellency left for
millions in bullion, and of the Six per Cent. Loan Singapore the same afternoon en route for England,
for five millions to be raised here. The promise, the matters remains almost in state quo until the
too, to 'reduce the European regiments is considered arrival of Mr. Bruce, who, it is to be hoped, will
.
over-sangume, and this is the only expedient by give his early attention to this important matter.
which his lordship proposes to meet the real danger, Lord Elgin expects to meet Mr. Bruce at Singa-
pore, after which he goes on to Bomba
which is not the debt, but the permanent increase y in her
of the military and police expenditure. Majesty's steamer Furious, and thence to England.
"On the other hand, the orders compelling Go- " His Excellency Rear-Admiral Sir Michael
vernment to grant a freehold title to waste land, Seymour intends leaving on the 19th instant for
and land under the perpetual settlement, are con- Singapore, in her Majesty's ship Calcutta, which
sidered to involve a great concession to opinion goes home via Cape of Good Hope, while his
They will certainly increase the growing tendency Excellent), proceeds by the overland route. The
to settle, to plant, to grow tea and coffee, to build departure of Admiral Seymour is the subject of
factories, and open mines. It is unfortunate that general regret.
they do not affect the cotton districts, which arc ~ The gunboat expedition returned to Canton on
neither wild nor under the perpetual settlement. the 3d inst., after a successful journey of 195 miles
Almost all the tea and coffee-bearing land, however up the western branch of the Pearl river, as far as
—almost all the forest land, and a very large section the large town of Wee-than, in the province of
of the mineral territory is in the hands of Govern- Kwangsi. No opposition was offered by the Chinese,
ment. The copper mines in Beerbhoom, the coal but, on the contrary, great politeness was shown in
mines in Raneegunge, the iron mehals in Beer- some instances. The river is described as easily
bhoom, and the tea country of Cachar and Assam, are navigable, and flowing through a fertile country ;
already in European hands. These speculations are but the devastations of the rebels have almost
unusually profitable. Some coffee plantations return, annihilated the native trade. Bands of these
to my knowledge, to the planters 400 per cent. on banditti appear to be infesting various parts of
the money expended. The tea companies are giving Southern China. Amoy was threatened a short time
large dividends, and the coal companies steady re- ago, and they are now committing depredations in
turns of 12 and 14 per cent. Single speculators, the country around Swatow.
however, are daunted by the tenure, under which if 4, Her Majesty's steamer Inflexible returned from
you do not pay your tax by sunset on quarter-day Japan on the 4th inst. having delivered at Yeddo
your title is ipso facto null and void, and the col- the letter from Lord Malmesbury to the Japanese
lector sells your lands and ' betterments' to the Government, and also distributed copies of the
highest bidder, who has probably bribed the Amlah notification to the British ships in harbour, and left
to keep off competitors. The local Government other copies with the Governor, to be disposed of
will not, of course, resist the order, but it is not
in like manner.
wholly approved. It tends to increase the number ~
From Cochin China all we hear is, that an en-
of European settlers, whom it has been the set-
counter had taken place at Turon, while the main
tied policy of the Company's servants for a cen- body of the French and Spanish troops were absent
tury to keep down, and who are at this moment by at Segon. The result was the defeat of the Cochin
law declared incapable of high office, so that, for
Chinese with considerable loss, and only 15 or 16
example, the manager of the Oriental Bank, who
wounded on the other side.
was consulted by Government to get them out of IGHer Majesty's ship Belleisle left this on the
the Treasury-bill scrape, is by law incapable of
10th inst. for England, via Singapore.
becoming Financial Secretary. An effort will there-
"From Manilla we have received advises to the
fore, it is said, be made to nullify the order by fixing
9th inst. Sugar and hemp were a shade higher,
excessive rates, or rates above the limit of 20 years' and dealers cautious in making contracts. Ex-
purchase, suggested by. the Secretary of State.
change on London 4s. 2d., six months' sight, first
class bills. Sovereigns 4 doll. 75c. each. Freights,
Difficulties of this kind, however, can be readily
removed from home, and the admission of the prin- Ll for sugar, and £2 7s. 6d. for hemp.
ciple is an important step in advance. Perhaps "Our dates from the coast are Amoy, the 11th
some day a Secretary of State may arrive at the inst. ; Foochow, the 9th inst. ; and Shanghai, the
conclusion that the insecurity of tenure consequent
sth inst. .
on the land tax is the real cause of Indian poverty, " The export of tea from China to Great Britain
and that as a financial device it is altogether in- is 47,837,5001 b., against 47,193,7001 b. last season
ferior to an income and house tax. When he does or an increase (1858-59) of 643,b001b.
India will begin to advance in material civilisation ~ In Hong Kong, and Canton business in imports
at a rate of which we scarcely dream. has been very dull, but within the last day or two
" I enclose a copy of a letter addressed to the there are signs of more animation.
Chamber of Commerce by a number of native capi• "At Amoy trade was recovering from the panic
talists, announcing their intention to have nothing caused by the proximity of the rebels, who have
to do with the loan of May next. The names in- movedoff in another direction.
elude those of all prominent money dealers : _ "At Foo-chow nothing has been done in imports
" ' Calcutta, Feb. 22, 1859. worthy of notice.
" ' Sir, We, the undersigned native bankers, merchants, "Our latest dates are, from England, January
17, via Calcutta ; Bombay, February 1 • Calcutta,
and others, holders of Government securities, and deeply
interested in all the financial operations of this Govern-
F... ebruary 23 ; Singapore, March 4 ; Melbourne
ment, beg through you to thank those gentlemen who have
been instrumental m getting up the meeting held at the J an,,nary 6 ; Sydney, January 15 ; Manilla, March 9.
Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, the 19th inst., at which The London mail of the 10th of January arrived
you presided, and at which the letter since addressed by on the 27th ult., the day on which the last steamer
you to Mr. C. H. Lushington, the Financial Secretary to left. The 16th of January mail is now overdue, as
Government, was adopted, and in the terms of which letter
the Calcutta steamers which left Singapore after
we for ourselves, and as representing the moneyed native
the Malabar have been here since the 13th inst.
community, cordially concur.
"We have perused the Government Gazette .Extraordi- She may probably have put into Manilla for coal.
nary issued late yesterday evening, in consequence of the The Norna leaves at 2 p.m. to-day with the outward
propositions mentioned in your letter, containing a notifica- mail."
tion by the Governor-General, in which his lordship is
pleased to notify for general information the financial mea-
sures resolved upon in order to provide means for carrying
on the public servicee in the coming year 1859-60, mid stat-
inF that a sum of five crores of rupees will be required, which
it is proposed to raise by loan to be opened on the Ist of
May next at 51 per cent.
6 'Of this further financial measure, as set forth in the
notification ,we do not approve. It will depreciate the secu-
rities of all the previous loans to an amount much greater
than all the money Government is likely to receive. We
do not think that the money required will be subscribed in
this country, and, in order to avert the loss likely to follow
from a persistence in the course indicated by. Government,
we trust that the Chamber of Commerce will follow up this
matter until they influence a strong party at home to induce
Parliament to interfere, and to authorise loans to be opened
at home for all the money that may be required for the use
of the Indian Government.
" 'We have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient
servants,
" SHAM CHURN MULLICK t \AND OTHERS).
"D. Mackinlay, Esq., President of the Chamber
of Commerce."
"The seat in Council vacant by the appointment
of Mr. Montgomery to the Punjaub has been offered
by Lord Stanley. to Sir Robert Hamilton. The
selection is a good one, Sir Robert being specially
acquainted with what in India are termed ' foreign
affairs,' i.e, the internal affairs of the dependant
native States. The Chief Justiceship has also been
offered to Mr. Barnes Peacock, the Legislative
Member of Council, and one of the most fortunate
of English barristers. He was appointed under
the old regime, and has drawn £lO,OOO a-year for
eight years. He now obtains £B,OOO • a-year for
seven years more, -With a pension of £1,500 a-year
at the expiration of that time.
" News has just arrived that the body of rebels
who murdered Mr. Evans have entered Ht!zaree-
bagh, intending, it is said, to release some prisoners
in custody there. They have burnt Singrowlee,
but there is a European regiment at Hazareebagb '

CHINA SHIPPING.
SHIPS OF WA.R.
At Honaong.—The British ship Calcutta ; the steamers
Cruisei-,. Nimrod, and Retribution ; the gunboats Algerine,
Dove, and Plover ; the French steamers Audacieuse,
La
Place, Pregent, Rose, and Saone ; and the Dutch steamer
Balli.
At Macao.—The Portuguese lorcha Amazons.
In Canton River.—The British frigate Cambrian ; the
sloop Bittern; the steamers Adventure, Assistance, Coro-
mandel, Fury, Reaper, and Niger; the gunboats Bustard,
Clown, Drake, Firm, Forester, Haughty, Janus, Kestrel,
Leven, Slaney, Starling, Staunch, Watchful, and Wood-
cock ; the French frigate Capricieuse, and the steamers
Lily and Marceau.
At Amoy.—The British brig Acorn.
At Foo-chow.—The British sloop Camilla ; the steamer
Sampson ; and the gunboat Banterer.
At Ningpo.—The British gunboat Cormorant.
At Shanghai.—The British frigate Actaeon ; the steamer
Higtflyer ; and the gunboats Opossum and Lee.
At Japan.—The British steamer Inflexible; the Ameri-
can steamers Mississippi and Germantown ; and the Rus-
sian steamers Askolde and Strelvet.
At Corea.—The Russian steamers American, Bijarin,
Mangiov, Plastrow, and Voyerada ; the gunboats Djuguite
and Nevich.
ARRIVALS FROM GREAT BRITAIN.
At Hong Kong, March 4.—The Jacobs ;Cornelia, from
Shields.
At Shanghai, Feb. 27.—The Invincible, from Liverpool ;
the Berwick Walls, from Sunderland; the New Era, from
London. March 2.—The Mathilde, from Newcastle.
DEPARTURES TO GREAT BRITAIN.
From Hong Kong, March 10.—Her Majesty's ship Belle-
isle, for England.
From Macao, Feb. 25.—The Jacoba, for London.
From Whampoa Feb. 28.—The Menam, for London.
March 3.—The Bio'Bio, for London.
From Foochow, March 3.—The Ringleader and the
Kamehamehal for London. March 7.—The Star of the
North, for London.
From Shanghai, Feb. 28.—The Taymouth Castle and the
Westburn, for London. March s.—The Carausius, for
London.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
THE CALCUTTA MARKET, MARCH 22.
On the 13th inst. intelligence from London reached Cal-
cutta by telegram via Bombay to the 18th of February.
Letters by the mail of the 10th of February were delivered
in town on the afternoon of the 15th, and letters from Bom-
bay of the mail of the 18th of February reached Calcutta
on the 20th. The general effect of the intelligence received
by these mails is to impart rather more firmness to holders
of produce and to still more restrict the export business.
The Produce Market.—Indigo market nearly bare. Sugar
firm; Bonares, Company's rupees 10-8. Saltpetre lower.
Rice firm, and looking up.. Raw silk filature low 1f by Se.
to Ir. ; native qualities show a greater fall. Corahs
Shellac higher. Lac dye, no demand. Hides, firm for
good, other sorts lower. Jute, more inquiry, and firm.
Linseed at 3-4 to 3-14. Rape in good demand. Cutch
higher. Safflower market bare. The alteration in the
tariff has had no influence on the produce of the country as
yet.
The Import Market.—The dulness noted in our last re-
port continued up to the middle of the past fortnight, when
the addition to the import duties caused considerable excite -
ment in our market, some speculation ensued, and prices
advanced considerably. Cotton piece goods have been very
eagerly inquired for, and the market is very nearly out of
stock.
Towards the end of last week the continued dulness of
white mule twist was succeeded by a very active demand,
and decidedly' higher prices were paid.
The alteration of the tariff and a brisk demand for actual
consumption, particularly piece goods, together have re-
sulted in establishing an advance in prices equal to, if not
more than, the rise of the duty.

CHINA.
The following is the letter of our correspondent,
dated Hong Kong, March 15 :
" Political news is of a more peaceful character.
The Pekin Gazette of the 31st of January contains
an Imperial edict repudiating the despatch which
was intercepted at Shecksing, and proclaiming, in
somewhat unusual and significant terms, the deter-
mination of the Emperor to keep faith with
foreigners, and to observe in its full integrity the
Treaty of Tiensin. The following is a copy of the
edict, which is very unlike former proclamations
from the same source, and even goes so far as to
enunciate the possibility of the British and French
retaining temporary possession of Canton, without
m that memorial
they from
hov9 Krw received,
from endangering peaceable relations :
vethis dtaoy
the receivedeffect a
e
and his Wehave
colleaguesa
with the letters the British, a false Imperial
the kind despatched directly from the Imperial_ edict of
which, they were informed, had been Court, and
obtained by an Eng-
lishman in Kwan-tuna.
" On perusing this our surprise was extreme. From all
time China has held fast by principlesof the highest jus-
tice in her benevolent measures for
vari-
ous nations ; she has laid tranquillising the
e
never plans for secretly injuring
them.
44 4 nu
bsequently to the failure of Yeh-ining-shin we ap-
pointed Hwang-tsung-had to be Governor-General of the
two Kwang, and gave him the seal of Imperial Commis-
sioner. Oar object in this was the protection of our terri-
tories. As to Vice-President Lo-tun-yen and his colleagues,
they, stimulated by "patriOtic ardour, enrolled braves for
the defence of their country,--a perfectly delightful occu-
pation for local gentry.
" ` Recently, however, the amicable negotiations of Kwei-
leang and his colleagues at Tien-tsin having been finished,
Hwang-tsung-han had to busy himself with internal mili-
tary affairs only, while Le, tun-yen and his colleague had,
in obedience to our commands, to deal solely with native
bandits. It was not in contemplation that they should
engage inhostilities with the British and French. Although
these nations have not yet re-delivered the capital of
Kwang Lung, yet if they maintain proper order among
their troops, causing no annoyance to the inhabitants, they
may live together in peace, free from all troubles.
" A Court despatch has, however, been fabricated, giv-
ing cause to difficulties between Lo-tun-yen with his col-
leagues on the one side and these two nations on the other
and producing doubt, and therefore wo command Hwang-
tsunocr-han to take strict measures for the seizure of the law-
less fabricators, and to punish them with the utmost rigour
of the law. Thus may all the nations know that China
transacts her affairs in an open, rightful, and liberal spirit,
and that, when once a settlement is arrived at, suspicions