The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-25 00:00:00

PARMA.

The Parma Gazetteof the 20th contains an official
article, whieh commences by stating that, by order
of the Duchess Regent, 52 chests, containing 1,248
muskets, hai in 1854 been sent flom the duchy to
the fortress of Mantua, besides 10 chests, containing
995 barrels: Moreover, 135 chests had been de-
posited at Brescello. The article then proceeds to
call the attention of the reader to a document, by
which the Duchess Regent, on the 28th of May
last, ordered the payment of about 200 f. as the cost
of conveying 67 chests of arms from Brescello to
Mantua. The—writer of the article concludes there-
from that the neutrality of the Duchess either never
existed or was repeatedly broken.

1. The Duchess of Parma has caused a funeral ser-
vice to be performed at Rappenschwyl, on the oc-
casion of Col. Anviti's murder.

AMERICA.

LIVERPOOL, MONDAY.

The Royal Mail steamship Asia, Captain Lott,
from New York on the 12th instant, arrived this
afternoon, bringing 97 passengers, and 224,753
dollars in specie.
On the 12th the Asia passed the screw steamer
Glasgow, bound east ; 13th, passed steamers City
of Washington and Africa, hence for New York;
22d, saw steamer Arago, bound west.
The steamer City of Manchester, from Queens-
town, arrived at New York on the 9th, and the
Indian, hence, reached Quebec on the 10th inst.
The Washington correspondent of the New York
_Herald says :
"It is understood that the British minister, Lord
Lyons, has received a peremptory and important
dispatch from his government, demanding explana-
tions from our government of the course of Gene-
ral Harney in the San Juan affair, to which the
Secretary of State is now preparing a reply which
will vindicate fully our rights, and doubtless cover
the whole ground of the controversy to the satis-
faction of the American people. The whole matter
will be laid before the President on his return.
" A communication has been received from the
British Government, through Lord Lyons, request-
ing that their acknowledgments may be conveyed
to Mr. Ward, our minister to China, and Commo-
dore Tatnall, for their kindly conduct at the affair
of the Peiho."

Colonel Frank Anderson and Captains Maury,
Scott, and Faysoux, of Walker's filibuster party,
had been held to bail in New Orleans in 3,000 dols.
each. They allege that they were on a fishing ex-
cursion when arrested. The rank and file of the
party were in the barracks below New Orleans,
but as there was no guard to detain them they

decamped.
The steam-ship North Star had arrived at New
York, with Californian dates to the 20th ult. and
500,000 dols. in specie. The total specie shipment
from San Francisco on the 20th was 1,850,000 dols.
A duel in California between Mr. Broderick, United
States senator for California, and Chief Justice Terry,
had resulted in the death of the former. The hos-
tile meeting took place near San Francisco on the
morning of the 13th ult., and Broderick fell at the
first fire, being pierced through the lungs by the
bullet from his antagonist's weapon. He lingered
till the 16th, when he expired. Judge Terry was
not injured. The event grew out of the political
discussions which arose prior to the recent state
election in California. The funeral of Broderick
was attended by about 3,000 persons, and the
buildings along the line of procession were draped
in mourning.

Another fatal duel had occurred in California
between Dr. Peterson Goodwyn and Col. William
Jeff Gatewood, and resulted in the death of the
doctor.

According to the .Yew York Herald, the Ame-
ricans were preparing for a permanent occupation
of the island of San Juan.

General Scott had arrived at Panama, en route
For Vancouver's Island. . _ .

Advices from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Sept. 14,
state that Lord Robert Grosvenor had passed
through the city en route for China, by way of the
Pacific.

An accident had occurred to the machinery on
board the steamer Quaker City while on her pas-
sage from New York to Havannah, and there was
some anxiety as to her fate. There was quite a
panic on board, and 100 of her passengers trans-
ferred themselves to a vessel, which had landed
them at Norfolk, Virginia.
From Mexico we have dates to the 23d Septem-
ber from the capital, and to the 25th trom Vera
Cruz. The news is thus given in a despatch from
New Orleans :

" A conspiracy on the part of the leading officers
in Miramon's army, with the object to overthrow
Miramon and recognise the Liberals, was divulged
the day before, and the execution of the officers
would take place on the 25th. The other conspi-
rators not in the army would not, it was supposed,
be punished: _ _

" At Vera Cruz active preparations were making
to seize upon Jalapa, Cordova, and the capital.
Corba's division was entirely routed on the 12th by
the Liberals of Oajaca. A large number of pri-
soners were taken, but were pardoned. The Church
party had taken Moreno and others, and they had
been shot.

" Minister Otway leaves in the British steamer
of October the 3d. Mr. Conner, consul at Mazatlan,
is on board the Star. lie has secured concessions of
great advantage to onr commerce on the western
coast.
" The British ship of war Calypso was engaged
in smuggling 400,000 dols. from a port near San
Bias.

COMMERCIAL.
The money market was slightly easier, but the demand
continued to a fair extent. Call loans were negotiated at
5i to 6 per cent.
The weekly bank statement shows an increase in specie
of 234,018 dols., and a decrease in loans of 997,125 dole.
Sterling exchange had been in only limited demand.
Quotations en London ranged from 109 to 110.
The stock market had been depressed, but towards the
close exhibited signs of revival, and prices tended upwards.
The cotton market continued dull, and prices were ge-
nerally ie. lower. Middling Uplands, llic. Ashes steady.
Coffee very quiet and tending upwards. Flour in good de-
mand, and 10c. to 20c. per barrel dearer. Wheat active at
an improvement of 3c. to sc. per bushel.

Advices from Peru state that the armistice re-
cently agreed to by the Peruvian Admiral with the Com.
m I of the Equador forces at the_port of Guayaquil had
beena r
nceonfirmed by President Castilla, excepting the clauses
relating to the blockade, which have been dealt with by a
separate and special decree.
THE NEW BATTERY, LISCARD.—The Mersey is
not so defenceless as is generally supposed. Most people
fancy that it has only two batteries—one at the Rock, the
other at the New Docks. Among the many passengers
who go to Now Brighton during the summer months, only
a few keen-sighted individuals have noticed some green
mounds immediately in the rear of the. Magazine Lifeboat-
house, on the Cheshire side, and to the southward of Dr.
Pozzi's College. A close inspection of these mounds will
repay a visit. They are earthwork batteries, constructed
according- to the newest principles of engineering, and
certain bomb-proof magazines, an& platforms for seven
684 b. Armstrong guns, which are expected to be in
position in a few days, when woe to the adventurous
enemy that comes within their range of fire, and to the
windows of the closely adjoining residences. The battery
is so masked that an enemy would have great difficulty in
discerning it before the effect of its fire had worked incal-
culable damage. At present its range is rather limited, but
in case of actual danger the removal of some adjacent
, buildings would enable the gunners to throw 681 b. shot
over the Now Brighton stage into the Victoria Channel, or
into the Sloyno. If it was necessary, the Liscard battery
could, we imagine. demolish the Huskisson Dock battery,
cpposite to it, in a very short time. It appears to us, how-
ever, that a similar battery placed in the Sandhills, about
•Formby, would so effectually command the only safe en-
trance for large vessels, that the river batteries would
have little or nothing to do. Let us have, in addition,
either at Dingle or Tranmere, a royal dockyard and arsenal,
as proposed in these columns last week, and we may then
confidently defy the world in arms,--Liverpool

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

(From the Tj•onto Globe.)

We have to acknowledge the receipt of papers
from Vancouver Island to the latest dates. They
are chiefly occupied with the San Juan troubles,
one paper, the Gazette, taking the American side,
and the Colonist the British. The Gazette finds
space, however, to print the resolutions and memo-
rial prepared by the Reform League of British
Columbia, which met at Queenborough on the
20th July. There are so many Canadians in the
colony that we think it right to copy the statement
of grievances, which the remedies suggested. They
are presented in the shape of a report, as follows :
" The committee appointed to draft resolutions
embodying our grievances, and suggesting such
measures as would in their opinion tend to the
amelioration of political abuses, for the purpose
of having the same submitted to his Excellency
the Governor of Vancouver Island, as well as to

the British Government, beg leave to report :
" That, in their opinion, the want of a proper
and liberal land system is the first and most im-
portant grievance of which the people of this colony
have to complain. They would, therefore, suggest
to his Excellency, in forming a land system in the
colony, that it is the prevailing opinion that no
land except town lots should be sold at public auc-
tion, neither should they hereafter be disposed of
on any than the following or similar terms.
" That lands should be given out to actual settlers
only in lots of about 160 acres to single men, and
210 acres to men of families, except in neighbour-
hood of towns, where the quantity Should be greatly
reduced, at a fixed value of not over one dollar per
acre, with from four to five years to pay for the
same, and that no money should be expected or re-
quired from such settler until the expiration of one
year from the timo of settlement, when the first
annual instalment should be collected ; that
no title to land should be given until it was paid
for, and a certain quantity, say 15 acres of timbered
land, and a much larger quantity of prairie, cleared
and under cultivation ; suppose five years the time
of payment.
" That actual occupation should at once take
place, and three acres of timbered land and a much
larger quantity of prairie land should be cleared
and put under crop the first year, and a similar
quantity each year folio Ning until conditions of
sale were fulfilled, That improvements to the
value of say 200 dollars should be put upon the
land to entitle the owner to convey, except in ewe
of death, when the administrator or assignee should
have the privilege of selling at any time ; in all
cases of sale the parties to whom transfer was made
to be compelled to carry out original contract. That
no person should be allowed to purchase from Go-
vernment more than the above specified number of
acres in the whole country. That pre-emption
rights should be allowed on all surveyed lands
to the number of acres before-named; that in

locating a pre-emption claim where the lands are
unsurveyed, the pre-emption lines may run pa-
rallel with the Government survey when such
is made, the survey to be made at the settlers'
expense; that no person shall have the right to
pre-empt more than one claim in British Columbia.
In case of failure on the part of a settler to comply
with any or all of the conditions by law established,
his interests to be forfeited, and the land again re-
vert to the Crown.

"That the requirements from purchaser and pre-
emptor, as far as improvements are concerned,
should be the same. That the object of the law
should be to permit and promote immediate settle-
ment, and to prevent speculators from holding lands
to the detriment of the actual settler.
" That every twelfth lot should be reserved for
school purposes.
" Your committee have to remark that they be-

lieve the expenses of the government are largely
beyond the means of the colony, and that they can
be materially reduced by the removal of a great
number of the present officials, who appear to be
entirely without employment. That the duties of
postmaster can be performed by merchants and
others in the various towns, and the salaries of a
number of postmasters be saved. That the country
is quite unable to support the present military esta-
blishment, about whom uncalled-for extravagant
expenditure has been incurred, and we recommend
that the British Government be asked to support
the military force until our finances are in a better
condition. That our public works, as in other co-
lonies, be given to private enterprise by public com-
petition ; that the system of giving out contracts
by favour be at once disallowed and abolished.
That as the colony is supposed to be self-supporting,
it is due to the public, from whom the revenue is
derived, to know the amount of receipts and expen-
ditures of the colony, and we ask that the same be
published quarterly, with a statement showing our
present financial condition, and the number of offi-
cials, with their respective salaries.
" Much discontent is felt in the mining districts
from the system of taxation there levied. We re-

commend that a number of miners be called together
and consulted as to what system is best suited to
them, and the whole laws relating to claims and
ditches be then revised; and in many cases the
colony is not collecting sufficient to pay the gold
commissioner, and we invite the people of Hope,
Yale, and Douglas, and other mining towns and
camps, to express their views in this matter in the
resolutions that may be passed at their meetings.
"We also ask that officials paid by the colony
reside in the same.

" That some popular means, such as a council or
legislature, for the government of this colony be
formed without delay. We further recommend that
a subsidy be granted to a steamer to carry the mails
between here and San Francisco, and that the home
government be applied to for funds to pay the
same for the present. That the entrance to Frazer
River be at once buoyed, and a chart of the same
published.
"Your committee conclude by expressing the
firm belief that should the foregoing receive the
attention of his Excellency, and the reforms herein
enumerated be carried into effect, which they at
present have no reason to doubt will be the case, we
shall not only receive large additions to our popu-
lation, but our prosperity will be established upon
so sure a foundation that there will be no room for
doubt, but a brilliant opportunity for all to find
profitable employment.
" All of which is respectfully submitted.
"HENRY HOLBROOK, Chairman.
E. B. HOLT,
WM. CLARKSON, •
W. P. ARMSTRONG, Committee.
JAMES KENNEDY,
J; C. GOULDIN,
W. E. STRONACH, Secretary."
Appended to the report was the following note :
" The committee did not touch upon public roads,
so important to the colony, as, in ignorance of the,
financial state of the colony, they were at a loss as
to what they could recommend.
" The foregoing report, upon being submitted to
the public meeting, on the motion of Mr. Stronach,
who made a powerful speech relating to these mat-
ters, and the injustice practised upon Canadians
employed at Port Douglas, which will be published
in the Toronto Globe, as space will not allow the
papers here to do so, was unanimously adopted, as
expressing the general sentiment of the public, with
reference to the grievances therein enumerated, and
recommendations as to measures which would tend
to promote the general welfare of the colony.
" HENRY HOLBROOK, Chairman.
" W. E. STRONACH, Secretary.
" New Westminster (Queenborough),
20th July, A. D. 1859."
We have not received, as yet, the statement re-
ferred to. The emigrants have apparently not for-
gotten their Canadian habit of looking to the Globe
for the exposure of their wrongs. We are afraid
that we cannot do much for them in their new
country, but they shall not lack space to state the
disabilities under which they labour.

GALLANT CAREER OF ONE RISEN FROM THE
RANKS.—lntelligence was received by the last mail from
India of the death of Captain Lawson of the 42d High
•
landers, resulting from a wound on the knee received during
the suppression of the mutiny. The career of this gallant
soldier is worthy of note. Captain Lawson, who was a
native of Lanark, entered the army in 1837, having before
that time been employed as a ploughboy. He served as a
non-commissioned officer for nearly 16 years, during which
period he gained for himself the confidence and respect of
his superiors, and the affection and esteem of his fellow-
soldiers. In 1854 he embarked with the regiment for the
Crimea, was present at the Alma, and passed unscathed
through, all the hardships and perils of that memorable cam-
pai▪
gn. After Inkeiman, along with a number of deserving
non-commissioned officers serving in other regiments, he re-
cei▪
ved his commission as ensign. In March, 1855, he was
promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and for some time pre-
vious to the conclusion of the war acted as captain in the
late Land Transport Corps. On his return to England, in
1856, he rejoined the 42d, and shortly after received the ap -
pointment of instructor of musketry to the regiment. At this
time, also the magistrates and council of Lanark (his native
town), in consideration of his distinguished conduct, agreed
to present him with the freedom of that ancient burgh ;
this honour, however, the gallant gentleman never had an
opportunity of personally receiving. The outbreak of the
Indian mutiny called hint again to the field, and in August,
1857, he left England with the head-quarters of the regi-
ment for Calcutta. In 1858 he obtained his commission as
captain, and shortly after received the wound which, on
the 18th of August last, ended his honourable career. Cap-
tain Lawson commanded the picquet of the 42d, thirty-
seven in number, which was engagedin the terrible fight
on the banks of the Suarda, on the morning of the 15th of
January, with upwards of 2,000 rebels. The little band of
Highlanders defended themselves with extraordinary cour-
age from sunrise to sunset, until relief arrived from General
Walpole. Captain Lawson was honourably mentioned iu
the general's despatches for the manner in which he ac-
quitted himself on that day.—Scotsman.
HIGHLAND MARY'S MONUMENT AT GREENOCK.
—The Greenock Aticertinr states that this monument, in
the West Churchyard, has lately been thoroughly repaired
and beautified, and that a fund is now being collected for
the purpose of enclosing it with a neat railing.