The Sun.
London, England, 1861-10-23 00:00:00

THE OVERLAND MAIL.

We have received by this mail letters and papers
from Bombay to Sept. 27, and telegraphic advices
from Calcutta and Madras to Sept. 25.
Cholera had been mercifully arrested in the Pun-
jaub. It was also on the decline in the North-West
Provinces. A commission had been appointed by
the supreme government to report upon the pesti-
lence, of which Dr. J. M'Cleland, inspector-gene-
ral of hospitals, is to be president.
Unusual inundations had taken place in the
North-West, and life and property to a fearful ex-
tent had been sacrificed. Those who had escaped
drowning were dying of starvation. The Bombay
Gazette, reporting of a subsequent date, says :—The
weather continues favourable in every part of the
country for the maturing of the crops, and the aus-
piciousness of the season calls for the greatest thank-
fulness.

The obituary of the month includes the names
of Major-General W. G. Robertson, 22d Regiment
Madras N.I. ; Captain W. C. Grant, 2d Dragoon
Guards, major of brigade ; Captain J. Urquhart,
paymaster 27th Inniskillings ; Captain R. M. B.
Maurice, her Majesty's 95th Foot ; Captain Ander-
son, C. 8., 48th Bengal N. 1.; Lieut. E. Maunders,
Prince of Wales' Dragoon Guards ; Cornet R. S.
Smith, Prince ok Wales' Dragoon Guards; Cornet
Philip Hamond, attached to her Majesty's 21st
Light Dragoons ; Mr. L. Copeland, Bombay civil
service.

An action for libel has been instituted against
the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal by an indigo
planter, for the publication of some alleged libellous
remarks in a number of the "Selections from the
Records of the Government." The Indian Empire
says :

" Nominally the plaintiff is Mr. Macarthur, but the suit
is understood to be the work of the Landowners' Associa-
tion, who are to pay the costs. This is a repetition of the
farce of indicting Mr. Long on behalf of two newspapers.
The pomplulul, now is that in the third volume of the Selec-
tions relating to the indigo disturbances, a letter appeared
from the Commissioner of Nuddoa relative to an affray in
which an unfortunate man was killed and several were
wounded. That there was an affray between two con-
siderable bodies of men; that some unoffending people,
who were no parties to the quarrel, were the sufferers ; that
the judge of Jessoro convicted several of the accused ; and
that Mr. Steer, one of the Sudder judges, acquitted them
on appeal, is all that we need now say about this part of the
story. No doubt much more will be said about it in court,
and when these attempts to check the publication of docu-
ments relating to indigo are understood at home, and it is
also understood that the clamour against the publication
comes from those who are constantly complaining of a want
of publicity, and of Government keeping back important
documents, still more will be said there."

It is stated from Rajpootana that a party of six
hundred rebels are moving about in that quarter.
The British and Maharajah's forces are in search of
them.

Sir Hugh Rose was to leave Calcutta at the end
of September for his cold weather tour of military
inspection, and intended proceeding to Darjeeling,
Allahabad, Agra, &T., the Punjab, and Upper
India.

Dr. Forbes and Mr. Haywood, the mission to
India from the Manchester Cotton Company
(Limited), had entered on their duties. The Born-
bay Gazette, referring to the fact, observes :

"We anticipate great results from this mission. Much
has been done during the past few months to prepare the
way for future increase of production in cotton in the vast,
unlimited cotton field of India. If capitalists now come in,
and evince a desire to deal with the producers on fair terms
—if they adopt means for the purpose of dealing directly
with the producers, and of dispensing with the services of
the dealers or middle-men, another year will show that
Lancashire need look nowhere else but to India for her sup..
plies of this staff of commercial life. Experiments have been
made with Mexican and New Orleans seed in the Punjaub,
a very inferior cotton field compared with other districts of
India, and have been crowned with complete success. The
cotton produced has been pronounced by a gentleman, just
returned from Manchester, to be all that can bo desired, the
very kind required by the Manchester spinners. It was
valued at from 7d. to 71d. per lb., when ordinary East Indian
was priced at 6d. While the current price of cotton, with
the heed, was 13 seers per rupee (that is 13 lbs. per shilling),
a rupee for 8 seers (a shilling for Blbs.) was offered for this
in the open market. There has been a considerable increase
in the quantity of land sown by cotton seed this season ;
but nothing at all compared with the amount of increase
required to produce the necessary supply. The Manchester
Cotton Company have gone to work the right way; let
them not lose sight of the very important feature in their
plan of having their own agents to purchase cotton directly
from the ryots."

The very heart of Nagpore and the centre of the
cotton district has been reached by inland naviga-
tion—the steamer Mayflower having ascended the
Godavery river as far as Chanda, a distance of 36
miles.