The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-02 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, M ARCH 2,

THE OVERLAND MAIL.

INDIA.

We have received our correspondence, and files of
newspapers from India and China. The dates are
indicated.

(From the Bombay Times, Feb. 2.)
SUMMARY. —Since last mail a new 5 per cent.
loan his been opened, likely soon to be followed by
another at a still higher rate of interest. This is
as,rieed to the war with Persia—a wild chimera
with which India has no concern, over which she
has no control, and the charges of which should
have fallen on the Royal treasury.
We eave in our last the particulars of the arrange-
ments-for the increase of the strength and extension
of the operations of the Pet siert Gulf expedition up
to the departure of .General Outram and his staff.
It may be remembered that the force origi-
nally de,patche 1 in the middle of November con-
sisted of about 6,000 fighting men, including 2,503
Europeans under Gen. Stalker, convoyed by 40
transports, with 13 steamers and other vesse's of
war, under command of Admiral Sir H. Leeke.
In our issue of Jan. 2 we gave details of the opera-
tions of the force by land and sea up to Christines,
including the capture of Bushire and the adventures
which preceded it. The events in themselve3 are
now asserted to have been of sinplaely trivial im-
portance in comparison with the inflated accounts
which were given of them, the marine portion of the
despatches presenting a series of inaccuraciesbelieved.
o be unprecedented in English official documents.
We are not as yet in a position to give details so
minutely and in such authentic form as we could
desire ; but according to the nearly universil testi-
AnallY of eye-witnesses, the authority of-theofficial
papers should be for the present declined. Public
es:
ouep
rbingnseeiasolpti
lioetcorrespondence,
hasda
et
on
tbncheeeel
hnoi
immediate
sot:appointmenti
ea stronglyaiant
de d appearance
semi=official,
.poo
rrfmea
Gsnos
iceeaendj
,o. herefo tuh seemste r oai nni thedls.
entiret-
immediatelybecanee known that an arm of five times
the magnitude of that first despatched was intended
for the invasion of the country, of which 20,000
were to be sent from India and 3,000 or 4,000 from
England overland. Gen. Outraue's staff left on the
17th in the Semiramis, touching- at Kurrachee on
the 19th, and leaving the next morning with the
Nitocris, Indus • flotilla flat, - the river -being now
nearly swept of its steamers for service in the Gulf.
The gallant general is understood to proceed to
Bussorah, the chief source of our supplies, and will
in all likelihood establish head-quarters with a
base of operations in the neighbourhood. From
Bushire an advance into the interior is obstructed
by a rugged and difficult range of mountains
running right across our path. From Bussorah
a tolerably even line of march stretches from
nearly the mouth of the Euphrates by 6hurtra
right into the centre of Persia. Since the
departure of the general the 14th Light Dra-
go,,ns and 78th Highlanders have left Bomi ay.
A battalion 1000 strong, consisting of the light
and left flank companies of ten of our native
regiments, is preparing for embarkation, to be
commanded by Lieutenant-Col. Le Gran Jacob,
oee of the ablest officers in the presidency. The
Scinde Horse are on their way—the southern Mah-
ratta Hose, uucler Col. Malcolm, who so distill-
guisheclibemself at Goozeret in 181 Q, when in com-
mand of a portion of the Scinde Horse, were on
their way to the presidency for despatch, when they,
were for the present countermanded. The 26th Na-
tive Infantry sailed on the 19th Jan., and a por-
tiere of the 23d Native Infantry and the light bat
talion are on the p, int of embarkation ; the whole
of the infantry from Neemuch and Nusseerab ad
and Rajpootna, consisting of the 87th, 10th, 21st,
are under orders for the presidency, their places to
be supplied from Bengal; and these are nearly all
Bombay can supply. It is just two years since the
Governor-General declinedserading reinforcements to
the Crimea, on the ground that not a single European
could be spared from India with safety. Of the
eight European regiments Bombay possesses four
have already been despatched, together with three
corps of our finest irregular horse ; and we are thus
denuded of the bodies of men on whom we chiefly
depend for safety, and who for a twelvemonth to
come will be as much beyond our reach as if in
Europe. Our latest dates from the Gulf extend to
the 17th ult., up to which our men were resting on
their arms. The soldiers, though complaining of
considerable discomfort from the extremes of cold
and heat, were on the whole in the enjoyment of
good health. The 2d Europeans, who were suffering
from seerere sickness on leaving Scinde, form an un-
happy exception, nearly half of their number being
in hospital. Supplies were becoming more plentiful
than at first, or than we had any reason to expect.
Bussorah formed the principal source, abundance
being sent into camp dawn the Euphrates from
Tnrkish Arabia. The Persians themselves were
more serviceable in this way than could have bean
conceived, and were bringing in forage, grain, beet,
carrot, and other vegetables, of a quality that
might do honour to the Bombay market. Ponies
and baggage cattle of all kinds are at present being
collected in the presidency, the want of carriage
forming the great difficulty of a foray into
the interior. It does not appear, from the ad-
vanced state of the season, by what means a move-
ment on any considerable scale can be made be-
fore the hot season sets in, and the heat of the sea-
board of Persia is something very fearful. We fail
altogether to perceive—should Russia b 3 the
enemy we are advancing against—how our posi-
tion is improved by our 11aving our stores 400
miles in our rear, and a wild mountain range cut-
ting off the advancing force from its base of ope-
rations. With a battleffield of her own choosing, rest-
ing on her supplies, our adversary may select any
course of tactics she deems best. She may either re-
tire wi'hin her .own frontier and wait till we are
weakened by the climate, or become prepared to
withdraw from sheer weariness, or throw on us
masses so overwhelming in magnitude that no
courage or discipline could resist them. A finer
army for its size, or one more ably officered than
that which Genet al Outram commands, pro-
bahly never took the field. But what is 20,000 or
30,00 men where one-half must be left behind to
protect an advanc3 or cover a reverse, and where,
on the lowest computation for casualties, 8,000
could never reach the ultimate point of conflict, as-
suming that to be the north of Teheran ? We take
no account of the resistance of the Persians—
wretched cowards, who will never let us get with n
musket shot of them, and who, if any fall, must be
brought down by a, well-laid gun. Mr. Murray,
the head and front of our offending, has reached
camp, and taken up his quarters at the Residency;
his occupation is gone. Tranquillity prevails
throughout India, the country is prosperous,
and the people contented and happy. In contrast
to the Persian expedition is a field force still
more numerous engaged in our neighbourhood
in protecting us against all our enemies, through
instrumentalities far mere efficient than those
of sword or gun. Under Mr. Faviell and
Mr. Bray, contractors for two portions of the Great
Peninsular Railway, 40,000 natives at present find
work preparing the commencement of a line which
before 10 years are out will connect the Bay of
Bengal at two points with the Arabian sea.
administration of these gentlemen is perfect, as is
the example they set in everything that is praise-
worthy and excellent to those around them. Tee
people are earning in money, well and punctually
paid, four times the income they ever did before,
and the ends of civilisation advanced by the grand
civiliser, industry, under the stimulant of gain.
We noticed in our last a singular decision that
had been given in the case of a portion of the earth-
works of the lake about to be created in the Vehar
valley for the supply of Bombay with water. The
valley is to be ponded up by three embankments,
the largest of which is 90 feet in height and some
400 in breadth at base, the other two being some
20 and 30 feet in height respectively. It was first
expected that these would be chiefly constructed
etnlirgionuegehrlwohcaol
designedinstrumentality,thework,
rk, Mr. Conybeare, the
out that much larger dams had been formed
ormed
y native princes in the north-west provinces. Having
ata gonerflaEen
trifled
gaeoldwmi s
away
o e
yoc deputationannndtlbctetr sm f great to hasten
respectability
with,
asb
began
a twelvemonth ve
arisem onotfhohnae had been
h
te
water famines which come round quinquennially—
oner alarms
a r a nge m w
the
native
pointedents
ha es,
of the lower dams was constructed by order of
the government to hasten on the work. Mr.
Conybeare had ceased meanwhile to correspond
with his constituents, and by an extrordinary
series of blunders, when the contractor arrived it
was found that the agreement, in so far as it re-
ferred to compensation for work performed, was
open to almost unlimited misapprehension. The
contractor was to receive ls. 9d. a cubic yard for
the earthwork, the portion already completed
under Government, in which the utmost skill and
economy had been exercised, had cost ls. 3d.,
when it was pronounced that the contractor by
the use of English plant could have constructed
• this for 6d., -and at this rate accordingly it was
made over to him, thus realising 7,000/, bider° he

put spade into the ground. • As the tiri4 30 feet of
all the dams mist have been constructible at 6d.
per yard, it doe's' • not • appear how Vie tapering
uppermost 60 of the highest could come to swallow'
up anything I:ke the odd ls. 3d. between the sum
• allowed to the . contractor by government and tie
sum paid to government by the contractor for a
kindred species ot werk. The operations are pro-
cee ro.pidly, complete I the whole will
cost half a millioA sterling. •
Since our last we have hadseveral deaths of men
of name amoegst •us. lir. Strake-, physioian gene-
ral,- died on the 17th ult., after a term of 33„years'
servitude, and when close on the eve of his retire-
ment. He was a Man of great worth and upright-
ness, of excellent t ttent4,' and a measure of classical
accomplishment • not very often to he met with in_
the services. Captain Width° of the Artillery,
who left on the 10th by the Cape, suffering from
severe sickness and suhjeet to fits of mental aber-
ration, while under the influeuce of one of these
dangerous!y wounded himself in the neck and
dropped into the sea. He was Ticked up alive, but
breathed his last a few minutes alter being taken
into the boat.
Cholera has been very violent at Mangan, near
Bombay, and most unprecedentedly fatal. It had
:of 'late been prevailing in the lines of the 15th—the
deaths being repotted at nine a day.
There has, been conSiderable discussion of late on
the rumour a Admiral Sir H. Leeke's continuance
in office beyond the customary quinquennial period
of service. Though, kind-hearted and popular per-
sonally, a more nnnopular commander-in-chief has
rarely ple!ided over the Indian navy, and his late
exploits in the Gulf have so shaken all confidence
in him as an officer that the earlier he retires from
aroougst us so mueliAtobv.tter for his ecnnfertiiigs
fain°, satt:the int4ots_ of our local naVY. reierffg
singular that for aie honourable office with enaolu-
merits of 3,0001. a yeilt attached to, it, we should
not at all times be able t 3 securethe services of the
very elite of the Royal. navy. Sir Henry has as-
sisted, f
our withoutpatrionnteage systemndingit • bringing with him a, in exposing the rotten-
son, soft and perfectly hat nil bait who, with-
out a fortune, bad never thought of a profession
ft r himself—his father's influence was sufficient to
secure for him a series of valuable appointments to
which be had no claim, and which ought to have
hfasll
tthwiecloets of fe
riff,
the da ens
de
oncevi
an acting magis-
trate, g Mr. Leeks, who'
has just been appointed assistant superin-
tendent of police at Taunah. He has no know-
aebnee to n
know-
ledge of the languages, nor one atom of experience
in anything connected with his office, and is under-
stood to have obtained this as a means of support
till a magistracy at the presidency or some better-
paid and more permanent appointment than that
which 'he now enjoys falls Vacant. It is from in-
cidents such as these that the natives come to the
conclusion that we care nothing for the country
unless as a source of support for those incapable of
supporting themselves.

. •
has been
dt-Attielecl:
eingningofitlitie
je4ul.otv
oncethnte:
limn
Government
Loan,
le
5 per cent, Loan. The former fli.ancif,l measure
.of otir
Government has proved What, it was Pnrral y espectO
—a failure—.tire total amount subscribed iu all the p'
siden&e4, it.' is said: scarcely .exceeding .20 lees.. 'f he
amount now: required at 5 per cent. is three matt,
which will not be pail off for 16 y,ars. The' presett
loan does not seem 'to meet with much fsvoar in general,
and there seems. an opinion prevaLnt among persot,
well acquainted with the present state.of monetary mat-
ters here that it will share the same fate as its predfc,,r-
sor, and that Government will be ultimately oornrelad
to adopt e bat Pas been so repeatedly e , to
receive from subscribers a moiety in cash and the other
moiety in 4 per Cents. at par. We are inf rmed.that up
to the present moment a very small amount has been
pail into the Treasury on accout of the new 5 percent.
Loan.

By the last published statement of assets and liabili-
tifs of the Bank of Bangal for t'te week erding on the
14th inst it appears that the calls on the bank both fsr
Cash and other accommodation have been on the increase
lately, the amount of silver having decrea-ied from
108,12,357 r. 104. Ip. on the 314 ult., to o.lz.apany's
rupees,_ 98,50,400 7a. 4p., and the loans on deposit of
seeuritie+ having increased from 170,20,224 r. 14a, Ip. to
182,39,909 r. 2a. 10p.
Shared—We have scarcely had any alteration in the
value of any joint-stock shares. Bank of Bengali) continn
at 6,500 r. ; Bengal Coal Company's at 11300 r ; &earn.
tugs at 1,150 r., and India General at 1,125 r, Ea4t
ludia,n Railway Company's shares have sliglitly declinel,
baing now worth 227 r. to 229 r. per 201.-hare.
Government securities continued to rule at the Fame
rates as at the date of our last until the announcement
of the Government 5 per cent., Loan, when the vrltte of
all descriptions of paper gave way ; and we no quote
Company's Fours at 17r. Ba. ; Sicea F mrs at, 18r. Ba.';
and CCinpany's Fives at 4a. tola, percent. discount.,
We haFtuicarcely A ny_nurs,lukas Laur ...11&144.41
wucegissi

-.:.•zwititia`ill'lrrre quoted at 10 per cent. discount. The
operations on the whole have been on a limited scale.
Exchange on London—A good business was done at
slightly lower rates, credits having been pieced at 21.
2.0. to 2s. 21d., and documents at 2.. 2.F1 per rupee,
but the last two days the first-named ens of papers has
again, been sold at 2s. 21d. to 2s. 2,1.1. per rupee, which
may be considered as the closing rates.
On China—Some 60 days' sight bills were negotiated
at 211; but since the opium sale of the 12th inst. 210 r.
per $lOO have been accepted by sellers, and a fair amount
of transactions took place at the last named rate. There
being, however, very few buyers, sell re have given way,
and-some business has been done at 205 r. per $lOO.
Freights—The engagements during the riast and pre-
sent weeks have been extensive in compari,on with the
moderate supply of tonnage now ava I tble, many vessels
long overdue not having made their appearance yet.
Shipments of rice to Great Bri-&n have been reeum •d
with activity, the rates to London varying from 3/. 103.
to 31 15s. ; and to Liverpool 3/. to 31. 5.. pct. ton ; and
3/. 153. to 4/. f3r seeds to the former place only. We
hear of a vessel having been retailed for America at sl2i
per ton, but there is no active demand for tonnage in
consequence of the accumulation of a hirge number of
chartered ships at $l5 to $l6 per ton, which are being
loaded on account of the charterers. Nothing hat been
done for the West Indies orAustratia, nor any ship taken
up for Mauritius since oar last. Some inquiry has pre-
vailed fur loading at Arracan and the Burmah coast,
but as the accounts from the former place for grain are
rather discouraging, and shippers ask a long period for
loading, few ships would be prevailed upon to enter into
engagements, more especially as our supplies of produce
are becoming more abundant. No ships have been taken
up for France or the Meditetranean, and we have bad
but few charters for other placer during the fort-
night :under review—i. e., Rob,rt Morrison, for Bombay,
for 9,250 r. ; Capabiribe and John Temperl-y, for Ham
burg, at 41. 23. 6d, all round ; Henry and O. car, to Ar•
ratan and thence to Hamburg, at 41. 15s. 6d. all round ;
Arracan to Hong Kong, Macao, or Whampoa, to load
with rice at 85c. a bag.

THE FIVE PER CENT. LOAN.
(Front the Calcutta Gazette Extraordinary.)
Notification No. s.—Fort William Financial Depart-
ment, Jan. 16.—Notice is hereby given that the Sub-
Treasurers at Fort-William, Fort St. George, and Born-
bay, the several residents at native Courts, and the seve-
ral collectors and other officers in :charge of treasuries
under the several presidencies-and government, and is
the provinces subordinate to the Government of India,
have been authorised to receive from the date of this
notification any sums of money in even hundreds of not
less than 500 of Company's rupees, which may be ten-
dered on loan to the East India'C:mpany, at an interest
of 5 per cent. per annum, subject to the provisions here-
inafter specified.

( .
Tne promissory notes of this loan shall not be renewed,
subdivided, or consolidated, except by the Acc )untant-
General of Fort-William. The practice and rules
heretofore in use in regard to the renewal, subdivision,
and consolidation of promissory notes will be adhcrel to.
This loan is 'limited to three crores of rupees. No
part of this loan will be paid off before the 16th of Jan.,
1872, nor without a previous notice of three months, to
be issued at any time after the 15th of Oct., 1871.
The Founand-a-Half per ICent. Loan, opened under
notification dated the 30th of Aug., 1850, is closed from
this date at the Public Treasuries in Calcutta, and at all
other Inasuries under the several governments, from
date of receipt of this advertisement, after which dates
eo further sub4criptions to that loan will be received.
.._ ... .

- .
Published by order of the Right Hon. the Governor-
General of India in Council.
C. HUGH LUSEMCGTON
Secretary to the Government of India.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.
HONG KONG, JAL 15.
ARRIVALS FROM GREAT BRITAIN" ,

At Hong Kong.—Dec. 11, her Majesty's sloop Acorn,
from Plymouth ; Dee. 15, the Herculean, fr.)m Liver-
pool ; Dec. 24, the Wagoola, from Liverpool ; Jan. 1,
the Regina, from Hartlepool ; Jan. 2, the Hero, from
Li rerpool ; and the General de Stures, from Hartlepool;
Jan. 13, the AEsaye, from London.
At Whampoa.—None.
At Shanghai.—Dec. 12, the Arrow, from Liverpool ;
Dec. 18, the Crystal Palace, from London.

DEPARTURES TO GREAT BRITAIN.
Prom Hong Kong.—Dee. 9, the Henrietta Gustav
HamburO, to Falmouth.

• From Fooehow.—Dec. 13, the Agnes Garland, to
Liverpool ; Dec. 10, the Polonaise, to London ; Jan. G,
the Aliqui., to London ; Jan. 9, the Competitor (Ame-
rican), to Cork.

From Sharghai.—Dec. 13, the Leichardt, to London ;
Dec. 16, the Palmeraton, to London; Dec. 21,the Abd-nl-
Medjui, to London ; Dec. 22, the Cernbalu, to London;
Dec. 26, the Avery, to Liverpool ; Dec. 27, the Jelin
Robinson, to London ' • Jan. 5, the Agnes (Prussian), to
London ; Jan. 9, the Spray of the Ocean, to London.

SHIPS OF WAR.
At Hong Kong—The British ship Calcutta, and the
steamers Sampson and BArraeouta ; the French fri2ate
Virginie, and the steamer Catinat ; the American
steamer San Jacinto, and sloop Levant ; the Spanith
steamer Magalhaens.
At Canton—The British ships Nankin and Sybille ;
the steamers Hornet, Encounter, Niger, and Coroman-
dtl ; the sloop Comus, and the brig Acorn.
At Macao—The Portuguese brig Mondego, the Spa-
nish brig Scipion, and the steamer Jorge Juan.
At Fooch3w—The British sloop Racehorse.
At Shanghai—The British ship Pique.

CHINA.
HONG KONG, J. 15.
Our last dates from London are to the lbth of
November. The steamer Madras leaves to-day
with the outward mails.

At Canton little change has taken place since the
30th of December. Our troops remain intrbnched
in the Garden. Her Majesty's steamer Niger, with
the flag of Admiral Seymour, is at anchor •off the
ruins of the factories, and the other men-of-war are
distributed in the river, commanding the most im-
portant points. Several exceedingly well-planned
attempts have been made to blow up and burn our
vessels, and although they have been as yet unsuc-
cessful in doing any material injury the great-
est vigilance is necessary. The Mandarins
have collected a large number of war junks in
the creeks of the river, and on the 4th inst.
they attacked the Macao Fort at low water.
u the steamer
Coromandel,
ro them ann the rise
Her Majesty's steamer Encounter attempted to
move down from her anchorage, but grounded,
a
wasand
maintainedm on fwar's y the
boatsfort'until
of the tide enabled the steamer to come to their
assistance, when the junks retired into shallow
water beyond range.
Pearn, master's assistant of her Majesty's
ofidghelt,
ship Sybille, was killed during the action, and two
officers and three seamen were wounded. The loss
on the side of the Chinese must have been consider-
able, as the Minie rifles of our marines told severely.
On the 30th ult. the postal steamer Thistle, while
on her way from Canton, was cut off by a party of
Chinese, who had been received on board as passen-
gers for Hong Kong, but proved to be emissaries of
the Chinese Government hired to perform the tra-
gedy in which they succeeded. All on board were
murdered with the exception of some Chinese pas-
sengers' and the vessel was then run ashore and
burnt. There were two foreign passengers on board
at .the time—viz., a Spanish gentleman, Signor
Dim, formerly Peruvian Consul-General, and an
invalid of the 59th Regiment.
Since this dreadful occurrence another river
steamer has been attacked and narrowly escaped
capture at the hands of a Mandarin fleet, and com-
munication with Canton is now almost outirely sus-
; tended.
There aro no foreign residents there now what-
! ever.

No trace has been obtained of Mr. Cowper, who
was kidnapped at Whampoa, A cold-blooded