The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-19 00:00:00

THE OVERLAND MAIL.

We have received our letters and papers dated
March 27.

(From the Bombay Stanch-ltd.)

We regret to learn from the Madras press that
the whole of the Madras presidency is bordering
upon famine, the failure of the crops being more or
less general throughout its extent. A lull occurs,
we are glad to say in the cry of distress from the
North-West, where Government has made great
efforts to rescue the people from starvation. Bom-
bay has raised £1,20,000 and Calcutta £1,60,000
to supplement its efforts.

The publication of the Royal Warrant for the
formation of a Staff Corps in each of the Presiden-
cies has not done much towards enlightening the
Indian Army on its future prospects, Until the
details are settled by the Calcutta Committee, it
is impossible for any officer to decide whether or
not it will be advantageous for him to join this
Staff Corps.

The Bengal Chamber of Commerce is bestirring
itself to render the Baghdad-Constantinople tele-
graph line available for communications between
England and India, and the Supreme Government
has ordered an experiment to be made from Bombay,
ignorant apparently of how much has already
been done by the local government to bring this
country nearer to Europe through the Turkish
line of telegraph from Baghdad. Sir George
Clerk's attention was early turned to this most
important question, and a proposal was made
some months ago to the Home authorities to
sanction a fortnightly steam communication be-
tween Bombay and the Persian Gulf (either by
steamers of the Indian navy or by contract vessels),
with a view to avail ourselves of the Baghdad line
as soon as completed, and also for the general inte,
rests of our increasing trade in that quarter. The
proposal was negatived by Sir C. Wood. We now
hear that the line in question has been successfully
working for several months, while we are utterly
incapable of making use of it. All that the wise-
acres at the India House have done, is to order a
survey of the Persian Gulf to ascertain its practica-
bility for a cable, to be in communication with the
Baghdad line either at that place or at Basra. But
owing to the admirable surveys of the Indian navy,
we know the soundings in the Gulf, for all practi-
cal purposes, as well as the English Channel. The
Zenobia has gone on this errand, and a wild-goose
chase it is ; for with our present knowledge of the
fate of all deep-sea cables, it would be the height of
folly to make a renewed attempt of the kind. Re-
cent inquiries lead us to believe that there will

•
scarcely be any difficulty in connecting Kurrachee
with Bushire by a land line, and we earnestly hope
that the endeavours which are being made to inte-
rest the Home Government in that scheme will not
meet with the fate of other excellent projects sug-
gested by this Government.

We hear from Calcutta that Major-General Birch
intends to return to England almost immediately,
and that his successor, as Secretary of the Govern-
ment of India in the military department, is likely
to be Colonel Mayhew, who is almost certain to
lose his appointment as Adjutant-General of the
army, owing to the determination of the Horse
Guards that Colonel Haythorne shall be the chief
official adviser of the Commander-in-Chief in India.
Another correspondent states that Col. Haythorne
is likely to be fifth wheel in the military coach,
under the denomination of Chief of the Staff.
The Afofussilite records the death of Lieutenant
Fryer, of her Majesty's 35th Regiment. The de-
ceased was swimming on Saturday last, 16th inst„
in this station (Meerut) with several other officers,
and suddenly sank. The body was not recovered
for several minutes, when life was extinct.

Lieutenant Colonel Sir E. Campbell Military
Secretary to the Governor-General, will resign
his appointment and go home to England by an
early mail, we believe, to assume command of a
battalion of his regiment, her Majesty's 60th Rifles.
We have not heard who is to succeed him.

MADRAS, MArtm 20.
Government Securities :-
5i per cent., -1 per cent. discount to par.
5 ~ 7 „ discount.
4 „ 22 •
Exchange on England for first class credits at 6
months' sight, 2s. 1 dd. per rupee.
Freight for England, £2 15s. per ton.
Interest on (Govt.) Loans, 11 per cent. per annum.
Money market tight.

CALCUTTA, MARCH 23,

Money market easy.
Discount (on Government Securities) at the rate
of 6 per cent. per annum.
Government Securities :-
4 per cent., 'A+ per cent. discount.
5 If 5 8 It
5.1 premium.
Exchange on England for first class credits at 6
months' sight, 2s. 1y d per rupee.
Freight to London for seeds, £3 17s. 6d. per ton.

THIS FRENCH IN THE RED SEA.

(From the Bombay Gazelle.)

•
The ulterior object of the French ships of war,
at present in the Red Sea, we believe to be the
occupation of a suitable part, which may serve
as a coaling station, and otherwise facilitate the
extension of the national influence in the quar-
ter, and especially over Abyssinia. The imme-
diate and avowed object, however, is to avenge the
death of Mons. H. Lambert, who acted for a time
as Vice-Consul for France at Aden, and whom
the French Government believe to have been
murdered by some Somalies or Arabs on board
of a native boat between Zeila and Tajoorra
while on a voyage from Hodeida. The circum-
stances occurred in June, 1859, and the report which
first reached us was confirmatory of the outrage.
Subsequently, however, our correspondent at Aden
informed us that Mons. Lambert's death was purely
accidental that he and his servant had been drowned
on the African coast while attempting to escape from
a stranded bugle. As this information was based on
an investigation instituted by Brigadier Coghlan,
who despatched one of his Assistants to the spot in
H.M.S. Furious, we readily accept it, and have ever
since been disposed to believe that such was the
true version of the melancholy catastrophe.
Circumstances, however, have lately come to our
knowledge, which lead us to fear that Lambert was
the victim of foul play. It appears, indeed, that
the French government received accounts from Aden,
simultaneously with the official report of his acci-
dental death, declaring that he was murdered, and
adducing sufficient grounds for the suspicion.
Though somewhat tardy in their movements, the
French have nevertheless not been backward in
organising proceedings designed to elicit the truth
and if necessary to punish the guilty parties. Com-
modore le Viscomte de Langle, with a fleet of four
ships, lately reached Aden, and immediately
requested the Assistant Resident in Charge to sup-
ply him with a copy of all the official cor-
respondence which had passed on the subject
of Lambert's death. Captain Playfair com-
plied with the request at once, and as hav-
ing been the officer deputed by Brigadier
Coghlan to conduct the original investigation,
at Tajoorra, he had an opportunity of stating his
personal convictions on the matter, and of bringing
forward any additional proofs regarding the man-
ner of the unfortunate man's death. The French
Commodore, however, was by no means satisfied
that the case was as had been represented, and he
went on to state that his Government was in pos-
session of evidence rendering it probable in the
highest degree that Lambert had been murdered.
It appears that some portion of this evidence had
been transmitted, either directly or indirectly
through the Roman Catholic Chaplain at Aden,
who, on being called before the Commodore and
Captain Playfair indicated the parties among the
Somalies who had testified to having seen Lambert
stabbed on board the boat and cast into the sea.
Thereon another witness was produced a Mr.
Grey, who had very lately been employed at Aden
in the Income-tax Department—who affirmed that
While at Tajoorra he met an Arab iu R room, 1010, ,

pointing to a dagger on the wall, declared that to
be the weapon with which he had killed Lambert
and his servant, and that he had murdered them in
his hatred towards the French, and in revenge for
their treatment of Shermarki, the old Somaly chief
of Zeila.

Whether these charges will be proved remains
to be seen. At the request of the Commodore, Mr.
Grey was permitted to accompany him to Jeddah,
whither the French ships have gone with orders to
the Pasha to furnish them with 300 Turkish troops
to co-operate with the Commodore in his investiga-
tions, and to carry out his decision. We understood,
moreover, that similar orders have been issued to
all the Turkish authorities in the Red Sea directing
them most peremptorily to assist the French Com-
modore in every possible way, and aid him in
bringing to punishment the murderers of Mr. Lam"
bert and all their accomplices, in the event of their
being convicted of the crime alleged against them•

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