The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-30 00:00:00

INDIA AND CHINA.

We have received, by extraordinary express, in
anticipation of the overland mail, our letters and
papers froni these countries. The dates are—Cal-
cutta, Feb. 22 ; Hong Kong, Feb. 15; Shanghai,
Feb. 7; Colombo, March 1.
The following is from the Calcutta Englishman
of Feb. 22 :
The excitement of the rebellion has ceased. Our
records now lose the terrible interest they have
hitherto had, and we return to the dull routine of
business. The last fortnight has produced nothing
stirring from the North-West. The Nana and the
Begum, with their infatuated followers, lie hid in
the forests of the Nepal. Terai.
Rumours of, subthission or of the capture of the
Begum reach. us ; but we have nothing authentic to
report on the subject. Since the return of Lord
Canning to Calcutta, the public have no longer been
favoured with Government messages. The proba-
bility is that we shall now receive our authentic
intelligence of the movements of troops or of the
rebels from England. One chief, the Nuwab of
Furruckabad, has been taken ; he has been sent to
his own city of Furruckabad, known as Futtygurh,
to be tried by a commission.

This man is accused of heading the insurrection
at Futtygurh, of being accessory to the massacre of
the English inhabitants; and of leading the rebels
against the English troops. It was his force which
was twice so signally defeated by Brigadier Sir T.
Seaton, at Gungeree and Putialee.
We have heard nothing of Tantia Topee, the
brigades from Agra and Meerut have now joined
the chase; he is moving about in any direction in
which he can ascertain there are no pursuers, and
is pressed on towards the deserts of Rajpootana.
He was last reported on the frontiers of Joudhpoor
and Bikaneer, as if moving to the road through
the great desert towards Bhawulpoor and the Indus.
We have received intelligence from England that
Tantia Topee and the Nana of Bithoor are at the
same, or that it is the. Nana under the name of
Tantia who is giving all this trouble in the centre
of India. This is merely one of the ridiculous tales
which are prodnced in the hot-beds of the Indian
bazaars, and seized on by foolish quidnuncs. Tantia
is quite a separate identity from the Nana, and has
a few of the other rebel chiefs with hint, particu-
larly Ferozeshah, one of the Delhi Royal family.
He with Tantia boldly marched as near the Delhi
territory as they could, hoping to raise followers
and encourage the Mahommedans to try once more
to make head against the English ; but this prov-
ing a failure, he and Tantia were obliged to retreat
in the direction above noted.
There still remains a few bands of rebels in the
Behar province. They wander from the jungles
of Palmow to Monghur on the spurs of the Rajme-
hal hills towards the Ganges. They appear to be en-
ieavouring to cross and join the other rebels in the
northern forests. They probably have some doomed
leader with them whom they cannot desert ; they
cause an alert at the different stations on their line,
but this must soon end.

Lord Cannipg on reaching Calcutta turned his
attention to the now-pressing question of finance,
and here we have something more stirring to report.
The Viceroy has 'not been mere successful in his
financial policy than his predecessor, and has further
proved how little ho ana his staff have learned of
the people of India in this as well as in other matters.
The result of the notification announced in our last,
to borrow money on promissory notes in imitation
of the Exchequer Bills issued by the Treasury in
England, has been a panic in the money markets.
On the 21st of February the Governor•Genoral
issued the annexed notification :

" FORT WILLIAM, FINANCIAL DIIPART3IENT,
Feb. 21, 1859.

" His Excellency the Governor-General of India in
Council is pleased to notify for general information the
financial measures which have been resolved upon, in order
to proviclo-:Means for carrying on the public service in the
coming year 1869-60.

" On the 16th of January, 1857, a 'Five per Cent. Loan
was opened, in suppression of the Four-and-a-Half per
Cent. Loan opened on the 30th of August, 1856, which had
been found, in the then state of the money market, not to
afford 'sufficient inducement to capitalists. On the 30th of
April, 1857, the financial position of the Government of
India was excellent. The annual deficit which had been
experienced for several years, and which in 1853-54 had
amounted to 2111acs of rupees, chiefly in consequence of the
great extension in late years of public works, was reduced
for the year 1856-57 to the small sum of 18 lacs of rupees,
and this financial restoration had been accomplished without
the stoppage of these great works of material improvement
of which India is so much in need. But as the Govern-
ment had raised but a small amount in the way of loan,
after the elosing of the Five per Cent. Public Works Loan
in October, 1855, the cash balances in India had fallen SO
low that the opening of an effectively drawing loan had
become indispensable.
" In May, .1857, the revolt of the Bengal native army
broke out, and it became necessary by adequate measures,
both in India and at home, to provide the means of making
those extraordinary exertions by which, under the blessing
of Providence, the Indian empire has been saved and tran-
quillity has been restored.
" The Government at home undertook all the charges
which had to be met at home, both the ordinary home
charges of each year and the extraordinary home charges
which the despatch to India of a large English force, and
the provision of an immense supply of the munitions of war
(a vast quantity of which had been lost or destroyed) ren-
dered necessary and it assisted the Indian Exchequer at the
moment of greatest pressure by the remittance of 1,000,000
sterling in bullion.' These objects were met by the issue at
home of temporary debentures to the amount of 8,000,000
sterling. The Government of India had the task of pro-

viding for the main part of the extraordinary war charges,
which, of course, had to be disbursed in India, and for the
barrack accommodation of many thousand additional Euro-
peans, as also for the restoration of the treasure which has
been plundered; and this it had to do when nearly all the
revenues of one of the local Governments had been swept
away.

"The Five per Cent. Loan, which would have been
adequate for ordinary wants and in ordinary times, was
found to be inadequate at this time of extreme pressure..
Accordingly, it was necessary to induce capitalists to come
to the assistance of the State by an enhancement of the
terms ; and, the Governor-General in Council resolved to
borrow at six per COIL
" He was aware that this could not be done without in
some degree affecting injuriously those holders of the paper
of former loans who had not purchased for purposes of
permanent investment; but this is the condition of all such
holders of Government stock in all countries whenever a
great exigency forces upon the State the necessity of rais-
ing a large sum in a limited time. The Governor-General
in Council, however, was desirous to save such holders
from loss, as fir as that could be done consistently with the
paramount object in view. Therefore, instead of simply
opening a Six per Cent. Loan, which would have brought
down the price of four and five per cent. paper to a low
point, he threw open the existing Five per Cent. Loan to
subscriptions half in cash and half in four per cent. paper.
This arrangement for many months answered the purpose ;
the market price of the paper of former loans was but little
affected. by the operation, and the expectations of Govern-
ment were met by large and regular subscriptions
through the medium of the then existing holders of Four
per Cent. Stock, or those who purchased of them for the
express purpose of subscribing to the loan. From the open-
ing of this conversion loan to the present time upwards of
eight crores have been paid in cash.
" Latterly, however, whether from the partial exhaustion
of such holders of four per cent. paper as are able and wil-
ling to convert it, or to sell at such a price as will induce the
capitalist to buy it for the purposes of conversion, or from
some other 'cause, this conversion process has failed to afford
the income which in the present temporary exigency is ne-
cessary for public service. For many weeks past the sub-
scriptions to the conversion loan have fallen to less than
half what they were, and they have shown no prospect of
improv'ement.
" In this state of things, the Government of India,
having the public service to provide for, had no, choice but
to adopt some change of measure by which it could hope
to obtain the requisite funds before the cash balances
should become exhausted. The Governor-General in
Council did npt doubt that the rate of 6 per cent. which
Government was paying was ample interest to induce the
capitalist to subscribe. But it was apparent that, from some
cause or other, the requisite funds, even at that rate, could
no longer be procured exclusively through the medium of
holders of Four per Cent. Stock. There was, therefore, no-
thing to be done but look for subscriptions either through
the medium Of some other class, or from capitalists gene-
rally. _

In this state of things the Governor-General in
Council resolved, on the 26th of January last, to adopt a
new arrangement in respect to the open loan; from the
commencement of the approaching financial year. Accor J-
ingly, he gave notice of the closing on the 30th April next
of the four per cent. conversion arrangement. By this
warning all remaining holders of that stock for whose benefit
it may be to take advantage of that arrangement will still
have full opportunity of so doing. Up to the end of the
current commercial year holders of four per cent. paper
will still have it in their power, on subscribing to the open
loan, to obtain six per cent. for the cash subscribed.
" In order to throw open the door, in some manner to
the general capitalist, Treasury-bills, bearing a somewhat
lower rate of interest, were issued; and the Governor-
General in Council, looking to the very large extraordinary
expenditure which must still remain to be incurred in the
coming year, made application to the Right Hon. the
Secretary of State for India for assistance in the way of
bullion remittances from home to the extent of 3,000,000

sterling.
" It had been the wish of the Governor-General in Coun-
cil to wait the answer of the Secretary of State, which may
be expected by the Ist of May, as also to allow time to show
practically what may be expected as the result of the above-
mentioned measures, before determining upon the course to
be adopted on the Ist of May for the service of the coming
year. ' But the late fluctuation in the stock market, though
the m anifest result of an unfounded, and, happily, short-lived
panic, and the representations of the mercantile community,
who are of opinion that in the present state of the market
uncertainty as to the future financial operations of
Government would be a great evil, have induced his Excel-
lency in Council to anticipate the determination of this ques-
tion, and to announce at once the arrangement which it is
his intention to make in India for the service of the year
1859-60.

" ' Reductions in the present enormous war charges will
be made as early and to as great an extent as may be safe.
Measures will be taken for the permanent increase of the
Indian revenues as largely as may be consistent with sound
policy. But the full benefit of these operations will not be
felt in 1859-60.

" The Governor-General in Council hereby announces
that the amount of money for which he will look to the
Indian market to be raised by loan in order to provide for
the service of 1859-60, is five crores of rupees. When this
amount shall have been realised, the loan of 1859-60 will
be closed, and no further loan will be opened in India
during the year.

" In pursuance of the principle adopted on the 20th of
July, 1857, the loan to be opened on the Ist May next will
be a five-and-a-half per cent. loan, to which subscriptions
will be receivable in cash, or half in cash and half in five per
cent. paper. If this loan should not produce the required
amount, the Governor-General in Council will recommend
to the Right Hon. the Secretary of State that the defi-
ciency should be supplied from England. No loan carrying
a higher rate of interest will be opened in India in the
course of the year 1859-60, unless under instructions from
the Home Government.

" The issue of Treasury-bills on the terms notified on
the 26th of January, 1859, will be closed on the 30th of
April ; a new issue of Treasure-bills will be notified from
the Ist of May, bearing interest at the rate of 21, pie per
cent. per diem.
" ' The sum which may be received upon these notes will
not be counted au a part of the five crores which the Go-
vernment desire to raise by loan. _

......._
"‘ ' Published by order of his Excellency the Right Hon.
the Governor-General of India in Council.
" ' C. HUGH LUSHINGTON, Secretary to the
Government of India.

COMMERCIAL.

CALCUTTA, FEB, 22.

The Produce Markets.—There is not much cht nge
to report, the shipping of our produce continues
moderate and freights being lower encourages ex-
portation. The news from Europe is interpreted
according to the views and wishes of each party.
This is the case particularly with regard to silk.
Those who think war imminent buy freely at
enhanced prices, whilst those who are of the con-
trary opinion have withdrawn from the market.
' Import Market.—For the last 10 or 12 days the
import market, and particularly for piece goods and
yarns, has been in a very dull and depresses
position.
' Metals.—Since our last considerable sales of
copper have been made at a slight advance or prices
for sheathing. Iron in good demand at firm prices,
and assorted parcels would fully realise our quota-
tions ; pig iron is much wanted.
Money Market.—The minimum rate of interest
remains at the Bank of Bengal as before, but at an
extraordinary meeting held on the 16th, the
margin on Government securities Four per Cents.
was increased to 30 per cent.
Government Paper.—The extraordinary tours
of the Government financiers has depressed securi-
ties beyond all precedent. The fall on Government
paper was at one period as great as during the
pressure of the mutiny and rebellion. The notifi-
cation announced in our last had the effect of depre-
ciating Government paper to 10 and 11 per cent.
discOunt,but another notification since promulgated
to the public has had a still more disastrous effect.
Silk Piece Goods.—The telegraphic news an-
nouncing a good sale of corahs at an advance of ls.
has caused many inquiries, but holders having ad-
vanced their demands some 10 to 15 rs. per corge,
very few parcels have been settled at an advance of
5 to 10 upon last quotations.