The Sun.
London, England, 1850-11-19 00:00:00

beyond doubt that the chief authorities view their
movements with no mail alarm, and are p'f
in every possible way to protect the city from their

violence.

As regards the origin of the pre-ent outbreak, it
will be remembered that in April, 1849, large bodies
of militia were in training, as was believed, to oppose
their
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any attempt on the part of foreigners to cuter the
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they
were raised to defend the city against large numbers
of lawless persons then in arms in the provinces, and
some of the proclamations assigned this as a motive
for calling on the people to subscribe funds to main-
tain the militia. The Peking Gazettes of the above
period record the defeat and capture of 51;2, for which
Sti, Ye the Governor, and others, were honourably
noticed ; and the death of a Major slain by robbers in
Ying-teh, one of the districts in which they are at
this moment in chief force, and the magistrate of
which, with his subordinates, was rewarded in a
decree of August, 1849, for the capture of some 140
of them ; but up to the 25th of July last numerous
memorials and rescripts have appeared, on the other
hand, regarding the disturbed state of Hu-nan and
Kwang-si, which two provinces are conterminous
with each other and with Kwang tung.
In December the authorities of Hu-nan reported
the extermination of 300 and odd banditti in Sin-
ning, not far from the borders of Kwang-si ; but in
the following month an officer was stated to have been
killed in conflict with some of the band, and in April
a general officer and others were degraded for not
giving a better account of them. In May the same
province reported the destruction of five hundred and
more, and the dispersion of the rest, who had fled into
Kwei-chau, a province also conterminous, on their
western fronts, with Kwang-si and Hu-nan. The
capture of Li Yuen-fah, the leading " rebel" in
the latter, not long after procured for the Gover-
nor-General of Hu-kwang the honorary title
of guardian of the Crown Prince, and post-
humous honours were awarded in June to a
Major and other officers killed in action with the
banditti of Hu-nan and Kwang-si. A decree of the
25th of July directed the Governors of these two
provinces and of Kwei-cbau to be vigilant in pre-
venting parties of them from crossing the frontiers of
their respective jurisdictions. During the period
under review there are three notices in the Gazette of
robbers captured or posthumous honours awarded to
officers slain in their pursuit in Kwang-si. It is
utterly silent respecting their proceedings in Kwang-
tung.
The common belief is, that the band now so for-
midable is composed of natives of all three provinces.
They were active in the summer months in the south
of Kwang-si, and either stormed or held to ransom
two district cities, if not more, in its south-west ter-
ritory, which rests, so to speak, upon Kwang-tung.
They are said to have pushed northwards within the
limits of the former province, until they reached its
easternmost department, whence, after sacking the
district town of Ho, they appear to have passed into
the district of Ying-teh, and thence into that of
Tsing-yuen, the city of which is but 120 miles from
Canton, and only separated by two districts from
those on the common border of which the city itself
is situated. A note, received this mornirg (28th),
states that on the 4th lust., a party of them sacked
Kinchau, a district town Lien-chau, the West De-
partment of Kwang-tung, the chief city of which
was still in a state of siege. The place in question is
not tar from the borders of Kwang-si and Tonquin.
We have of course no better authority for stating

their progress and present position than native cot.:
respondents, who differ widely in dates and details.
Two, however, who have no connexion with each
other, agree in stating that the Government troops
have been frequently beaten during the last two
months; that reinforcements are being sent out with-
out intermission ' • that Shap-'ng-tsai and another ex-
pirate, who had been, like himself, taken into the
army, had been captured and held to ransom by the
insurgents, and a large body of reclaimed pirates
who had accompanied them cut to pieces or dis•
persed ; that an expectant prefect, a civilian of some
importance, had fallen into their hands, the men under
his command, who were from the east of the pro-
vince, and a most disturbed region, having deserted
in large numbers to the enemy ; and that the gentry
and people had responded to the invitation of the
Government to arm themselves for the protection of

the city. Rewards have been offered for the appre-
hension of suspicious characters; and all amusements,
processions, &c., calculated to attract a crowd of
people, forbidden. Sand and stones are said to be
piled up inside the gates, which would be thus rendered
defensible, when closed, if an alarm were given ; and
water vats have been filled near public buildings, in
case any attempt should be made to fire the city.
Of Sil, we bear that he has been, and is seriously
indisposed ; but that the Emperor has refused to sanc-
tion his retirement, requested on the plea of ill-health.
Both our native correspondents declare that he is de-
graded four steps, but desired to remain at his post,
and that the Governor of Kwang-si has been sent pri-
soner to Pekin, in obedience to an order contained in
a rescript, to answer for his mismanagement. One of
them writes that an Intendant in Kwang-si in despair
had destroyed himself by swallowing gold ; also that
Sii himself had in July last accompanied a portion of
the force known as the Governor. General's division,
to the district of Tsing-yuen, and having sustained a
defeat, had fallen back upon San Shwui. This last
item of intelligence deserves little credit. Those pre-
ceding it are entitled to more, but a late account con-
tradicts a previous report that ;he Governor of
Kwang-si had poisoned himself, and shows him to be
actively .engaged in opposing the robbers on the
Eastern border of his government.
It is further rumoured that some time since Su

represented that Kwang-si was in a state of rebellion.
The term employed, however, would be applied to
any body or individual offering a continued resistance
to constituted authority and by no means warrants
the assumption that this movement is of the revolu-
tionary character with which some foreigners are:dig
posed to invest it. The chiefs, as is common on such
occasions, have taken to themselves titles of awful
grandiloquence, such as " The Realm-subduing Gene-
ral," " Generalissimo of the whole Empire, sweeping
clean to the North, rising up as the Dragon," &c. &c.
Dangerous as may be the temptation to the disaffected
it these vagabonds continue to hold their own for some
mouths, we have as yet no shadow of ground for be-
lieving that their aim is the subversion of the Tartar
dynasty.
Some diaurbancEs, but purely of a local nature,
by.d taken place at Shanghae.

MASSACRE ON BOARD THE FRENCH
SHIP ALBERT.
(From the Overland Friend of China of Sept. 8
Our issue of the 24th August recorded the re 'r
ture of the French ship Albert, of Dieppe, Captainir'
Jean Pain, from Cumsingmoon for the west coast of
South America. That vessel was chartered to carry
180 coolies, some of whom, shipped for Don D. Elias
through the firm of A. A. Ritchie and Co., received
previous to departure the sum of 8 dolls. each, re-
payable out of a salary of 4 dolls. per month, accru-
ing on their arrival at Lima, for services to be ren-
dered as general servants, the contract being made for
a period of five years.
Besides the captain, chief mate, boatswain, cook,
and a crew of six' seamen, there were two passengers
on board.
hi latitude 32 N., longitude 139 E., on the 7th in-
stant, about six A.M., the coolies, who had secretly
possessed themselves of arms, rose en masse. The
captain, driven from his cabin to the top of the round
house, had his throat cut, and was thrown overboard
immediately. One of the passengers was murdered
in his cabin, the cook shared the same fate in his
galley, and the mate—chased up into the main top,
seeing no chance of escape, desperately precipitated
himself among the miscreants, one of whom he killed
instanter, and desperately wounded another. The
poor follow was immediately dispatched and consigned
to the deep. The boatswain, Luis Argentine, was
then directed to steer the ship back to China, and the
course was altered from N.N.E. to S. by W. ac-
cordingly.
Five days afterwards, in lat. 28 N., long. 133.37
E., a severe gale was experienced from the S.F., veer-
ing to S.S.W., during which the top-gallant masts
went over the side. On Thursday, off Pinghoy,. a
pilot went on board who was directed by the Chinese
to steer for Canton. One hundred of them left the
vessel in the first boats going alongside. Forty left
yesterday morning, and the remaining forty came i
into this harbour with the vessel n the afternoon,
when they were immediately taken from her to the
police-station
She is in a. sad state. Packages of silk shavvii, tea,
lacquered ware, vermillion, medicines, &c., have been
broken open and divided into lots, of which several
still remain on board. Before leaving, some of them
very quietly removed the barometer, a chronometer,
anti compass from the captain's cabin, and tack them
away altogether.
Twenty-four of them are supposed to have arrived
here as soon as the vessel. Four meal were captured
by our indefatigable Deputy Superintendent of Police
Mr. Caldwell, just as they were leaving for Macao.
Their
packs, containing silk shawls and agreements
with the Albert, leave no doubt as to their being part
of the gang.—Sept. 28.