The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-13 00:00:00

INDIA, CHINA, AND AUS-

TRALIA.

By the arrival of the Calcutta mail we (Times)
have received our private correspondence and files
of papers from Calcutta to the 10th of April ;
Hongkong, Ist of April; Shanghai, 22d of March;
Melbourne, 25th of March; and Sydney, 21st of
March,

The following is the letter of our Calcutta corre-
spondent:—

" CALCUTTA, APRIL 10.
"If the character of her statesmen may be re•
garded by England as a most precious possession, if
importance is to be attached to all charges whieh
would impugn the moral rectitude of even one
among those statesmen, principally because a blot
on that would be a blot ear the fair fame of Eng-
land, then I am sure I need make no apology for
commencing this letter by a reference to Mr.
Laing. The mail of the 26th of February brought
us the account of the charges which had been
directed against that gentleman by the railway
committee, of the question put to Sir C. Wood in
the House of Commons, of Sir C. Wood's reply, and
of the comments on the subject which had filled
the columns of the public journals. That such
charges should have been brought against our
Financial Minister at such a moment seemed, at a
first glance, to partake the character of a national
misfortune. Not so impressive as Mr. Wilson,
and failing to storm the public confidence as he
had done, Mr. Laing had, nevertheless, been
gradually, though slowly, acquiring for him-
self the respect and good opinion of the mer-
cantile classes. People had begun to believe
that, notwithstanding the absence of all pretension
and appearance of preparation on his part, he
would yet be able to discover the ways and means
whereby our deficit might be encountered. At
this very moment, when confidence was reviving,
and when all classes were at Mast hopeful, the
newspapers from England armed with this poi-
soned shaft against Mr. Laing's integrity were
distributed all over India. It seemed for the
moment as though some fatality attended the
career of our Indian financiers, and that, as the
result of Mr. Wilson's scheme had been marred by
the Madras pronunciamiento,' so Mr. Laing, on
the eve of introducing his financial reform, was
to be struck down by a shaft directed from Eng-
land. Fortunately, however, Mr. Laing's armour
has been proof against the projectile. Like the
spear hurled by the feeble hand of Priam, this
accusation has fallen innocently to the earth. Two
days after the arrival of the mail, a copy of the
explanation sent by Mr. Laing to Sir Charles
Wood was published in all the local newspapers.
The plain and simple statements contained in this
explanation do most certainly rebut all the charges
preferred by the railway committee. They have
at least satisfied the Indian public that Mr. Laing
has been the intended victim of an unfounded and
reckless assault, and that he has emerged from the
conflict without a stain. The explanation speaks
for itself, and you will be able to judge whether it
is Mr. Laing, arduously engaged in his country's
service and attacked in his absence, or the gentle-
men who drew up those monstrous charges against
him, upon whom it is right that the public indig-
nation should fall.

"We still, then, here expect the announcement
of the Budget with confidence. In my last I en-
tered at length into the reasons why I believed that
Budget would be satisfactory, and nothing has
since transpired to cause me to doubt on the sub-
ject. The day of its introduction has not yet been
fixed, but little doubt exists that we shall have
it before us some time during the current month.
The utmost activity prevails in every department,
and the anxiety to help Mr. Laing in his difficult
task is universally prevalent. There is, fortunately,
no other public topic to divide public interest. Even
Sikkim is peaceful, and—the Bengal indigo dis-
tricts excepted—tranquillity was never more firmly
established within our own provinces than at the
present moment. The spectacle to which I adver-
ted in a previous letter of whole families in the
North-West being supported by those whose lives,
four years ago, they were seeking to destroy, has
made a wonderful impression, even upon classes ac-
customed to regard all our actions with suspicion.
Thus the horrors of the famine are not wholly evil
in their results, and we have the consolation of feel-
ing that, although these horrors may pass away,
the good feeling of which they have been the cause
will have taken too firm a hold of the minds of all
men to be easily uprooted. Should we but tide
over this year, and should the reforms we hear whis-
pered of in England be brought to maturity during
the present session in such a manner as to reconcile
classes and to render justice more easy of access to
all, India has a chance of again becoming, under a
wise administration, the land of promise, and of
holding a higher position in the estimation of
England than that of being an outlet for adven-
turous spirits.

" The eyes of the officers of the army are still
turned eagerly towards amalgamation, but nothing
has transpired as yet on the subject, although the
commission, formed it is supposed to mature the
scheme, has now been nearly six weeks in existence.
None of its proceedings have transpired.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
(Fewn the Calcutta Englishman of the 10th April.)
The missing steamer Simla arrived with loss of
screw on the 4th inst., being four days overdue.
English news, via Gallo, to the 11 th inst., was re-
ceived in Calcutta on the 6th.
Produce Market.—Business for some kinds of
produce has been more active ; some transactions
in saltpetre are reported at from h. to Ba. reduc-
tion on former rates. Rice finds ready purchasers
for shipment; other products are not inquired for,
and Yates have a downward tendency. Jute is not
readily bought up, but as the stocks are light
rates are firm,

Import Market.—Business having been greatly
interupted both here and in the interior by native
holidays, transactions in the bazaar have only been
to a small extent. Some speculators, taking advan-
tage of the anxiety shown by large importers to
reduce their stocks, have bought largely at some
reduction in prices, expecting, doubtless, that the
market will open better after the Bengalee new
year (19th inst.) It is to be hoped that the short
exports from England will before long tell favour-
ably here,

CHINA,
The following is the letter of our Hongkong cor-
respondent:—

" HONGKONG, APRIL 1.
" The most important intelligence
to communicate is that the riverYan we have now
g-tse has been
declared open above Chinkiang and
as far as Hang-
kow to British vessels. A notification has appeared
to this effect, and also giving the provisional regu-
lations for British trade in the Yang-tse river. 'he
towns where consular establishments will be placed
are Chinkiang, Kinkiang, and Hangkow, and
vessels of war will he stationed at these places and
Napkin.

"In a communication held with the Taeping
authorities, by order of Admiral Hope, the former
agree not to interfere with British vessels.
" By the return of a private steamer
from liangkow to S hanghai
we learn that Admiral Hope, with
the fleet, was close to Hangkow on the llth ult. The
foreigners who visited Hangkow were courteously
received by the Chinese authorities. It does not
appear that the insurgence
have yet got possession
of Kinkiang, but the
places they have taken exhibit
a sad kute of destruction. We learn the following
particulars 0? the journey to Rangkw and the
places visited :--IVanhtn is totally destroyed, as is
also Chinkiang, the first of the open Ports
are a mass of ruins. The rebels %I.
; both
...- Nankin
proved civil, but appeared a degraded set. An
trade is stopped and the people quite enslaved,
being forced to work without pay, getting only a
little food. In moving about the place, nothing
Was seen but misery and desolation. Nganking is
the last port held by the rebels, and the country as
far as this presented the same features of destruc-
tion. Above this the appearance of the country
improved, but the towns along the route had all
suffered, in former attacks from the rebels, and with
the ea-ception of trangkow only small portions have
been rebuilt. Kinkiang, one of the new ports, is
about 20 miles above the entrance of the Poyang
Lake, and will be an important place, being near .
'