The Sun.
London, England, 1850-10-19 00:00:00

ITALY.

The Gazetta Popolare of Cagliari gives an account
of a curious combat which took place on the 22d ult.
between two priests in the sacristy of the church of
Itiri. The cause of their quarrel appears to have been
the result of the communal elections, in which both
the combatants had played a conspicuous part under
different colours. The elder priest, aged 70, had given
his brother of the cloth, a young man of 30, a
couple of vigorous cuffs, which the latter having
returned, he was knocked down by his venerable an-
tagonist, who, not content with such victory, took up
the heavy cross used in processions, and would have
dashed out the fallen man's brains, had he not been
stopped by the timely interference of the sexton and
other people, whom the noise had attracted to the
spot. Still the valiant Nestor did not relent, but re-
turned to the chargtl with a ponderous chandelier,
which was with difficulty wrenched out of his
hands. Meantime the younger priest had ral-
lied, and pronounced an excommunication against
his terrible r.ntagonist. The Bishop was after-
wards appealed to by both parties ; the old
priest was suspended a divinis on his con-
f-ssing the facts ; as for the excommunication, the
bishop had to write to Rome, as he bad no power to
quash it. The same journal mentions a dispute which
has arisen between the syndic of Suni and the
superior of a convent of mendicants, on account of
the former having forbid those friars to ask alms, on
the ground that the laws against mendicancy were to
be enforced without distinction of persons. The
superior has announced to the syndic that he has in-
curred excommunication in consequence of such pro-

The same journal states that the Provincial
Council of Nuovo (Sardinia) closed its sittings on
the 20th ult., after having voted an address to the
Government for the abolition of convents, the reduc-
tion of bishoprics to three, and the mobilisation of
church property.

The .Goidaloniere of Leghorn has convoked the
electors of that town fur the third time, fur the
elec;ion of members of the Communal Council, to
take place on the 15th, there not having been a eufli•
cient number of votes at the last election.

Count Ferdinand B irtholommei, one of the com-
munal councillors of Florence, was absent from that
city at the time the address for the revival of the
constitution was voted by the Council. He has now
addressed a letter from Turin, dated the 11th, to his
colleagues at Florence, declaring his adhesion to their
vote, and highly commending the conduct of Signor
Peruzzi, which had caused his dismissal from office.

ALARMING STATE OF AFFAIRS
IN RIO JANEIRO.
We have just received the following letter from the
capital of Brazil:—

" Rio, July 9.
" I avail myself of the staling of a vessel for Lis-
bon to write a few lines to inform you of the state 0
things here.

" I inclose a paragraph from the Jornal do Comer-
cio relating to the operations of the Cormorant steamer,
and have only time to add a few facts illustrative of
the public feeling among the natives of Rio, and the
alarming predicament in which British subjects are
placed.
" The populace are furious, and matar os Ingleses'
is the cry in every street of Rio de Janeiro. Several
Englishmen have already been beaten and ill-treated;
amongst others Captain Henniogton, the owner of an
English merchant vessel in harbour. An English
gentleman of my acquaintance had a narrow escane
on the evening of the 7th, a large stone passing within
a few inches of his head. The Government, of course,
will try to stop this sort of thing, but I much fear
they will not have the power.
"In the meantime, no single step has been taken
to secure the persons and property of British subjects
here ; and it is stated that the Cormorant has gone
out to attack the fort of Macahe. This will neces-
sarily add fuel to the flame.

"The Emperor went in person this morning, to
inspect all the forts of the harbour ; and ammunition
has been sent on board all the Brazilian vessels of
war. We have only the Southampton, the Lily brig,
the Packet, and one steamer, the Harpy. The two
other steamers are out cruising.

" Altogether the aspect of affairs is very ugly, and
we feel ourselves anything but comfortable. The in-
dignation of the people is thoroughly roused, and God
knows what will be the result. With such a populace
as that of Rio we have the worse to dread. Surely
such measures are imprudent, let them emanate from
whom they may.
"In exchange nothing is doing. Our coffee mar-
ket has improved ; the whole stock was sold at an
advance in price, and we have not 5,000 bags in the
marke.

"We have dates from Monte Video up to the 17th
ult. The report that yellow fever was raging there is
contradicted.

The paragraph from the Jornal do Comercio re-
ferred to in the above is as follows :
" With shame we announce that a new outrage,
more lamentable than any that have preceded it, has
been perpetrated by an English cruiser in the port of
Paranagug. We will endeavour to state the proceed-
ings exactly as they occurred :
" The English steamer Cormorant went from Cabo
Frio to the port of Faranagua, entered it, and pro-
ceeded to overhaul the Brazilian shipping anchored
there. _ _ _

" It bad barely commenced this operation when the
fort opened its fire, but as the steamer was out of
range of its small guns no effect was produced. The
Cormorant then took possession of four of the vessels
it bad visited—the Leonidas, the Astrea, the Serea,

and the Anna—took them in row, and began to drag
them out of the harbour.

" The fort again fired on the steamer in passing,
killed one sailor, and wounded two. Immediately
the steamer cast off the vessels it had taken in tow,
took up a position, and opened a fire on the fort, which
did not cease till it was dismantled. The steamer
then took the vessels it had released again in tow, car-
ried them out of the port, and, as we are informed,
burned them.

"In the absence of any official report, none having
yet been received, we are obliged to stop here iu our
narrative of a transaction which cannot fail to create
a profound sensation throughout the whole of our
country.

" We are ignorant of the fate of the garrison, but it
is to be feared that in part, at least, they have fallen
victims in the discharge of their duty.
" It is certain that the Council of State is holding a
meeting."—Daily News.

THE DOCKS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sut,—There has appeared in your paper the fol-
lowing paragraph, purporting to come from a corre-
spondent :
" There are upwards of sixty landing waiters, weighers,
lockers, and gaugers taking stock in the vaults and ware-
houses of the S'. Katharine's and London Docks. In
s'me of the warehouses there are tens of thousands of
packages to b 3 examined. There is a great mystery ob-
served about the stock-taking, but the Custom-house
authorities appear confident that when their labours are
completed they shall be able to make revelations about
the practices in the above-mentioned docks which will
astonish the commercial public. At present there is no
idea that the directors of the docks themselves are at all
implicated in any improper transactions."
As the Superintendent of the London Docks, I beg
to say that a taking of stock by the officers of the
Customs in the warehouses and vaults of the London
Docks has been in process since the 28th September
last, during which time, and up to the 14th inst., 61,000
packages of dry goods have been unpiled and rest° wed ;
70,977 packages of dry goods were taken account of as
they lay—Total, 131,977 packages of dry goods.
19,427 casks of wines and spirits have been examined ;
521 casks of wines and spirits have been dipped; 7 casks
of wines and spirits have been bored—Total, 19,955
casks of wet goods. And that up to this moment the
examinatiou has not produced a single case in which
the revenue has been damnified to the extent of one
farthing. This taking of stock goes forward in the
most open manner. There is no mystery about this
or any other proceeding in the London Docks.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
THOMAS CHANDLER,
Superintendent of the London Docks.
London Docks, Oct. 16.

REMOVAL of the LIVERPOOL POST-OFFICE.

A committee of the Chamber of Commerce had a
conference with the sub committee of the Council
on Thursday in reference to this subject. The pro-
position of the Chamber was that the Council
should fix upon the site, and erect a suitable build-
ing, the Government to pay a fair rent for the
accommodation ; and the intimation was given
that for this course the Government was prepared.
The plan, it is said, has the approval of Mr. William
Brown, who will use every effort to carry it into
effect. A special meeting of the council of the Cham-
ber of Commeice was held on Monday, Mr. William
Brown in the chair, when it was communicated that
officers from the Treasury, Post-office, and Inland De-
partment had been appointed to proceed to Liverpool,
for the purpose of meeting a deputation, in compliance
with memorials from this Chamber, on the subject of
the removal 'of the Post-office, as well as with the
resolutions passed at the town's meetings, and that on
Thursday they would be ready to receive them. It
was agreed that Messrs. William Brown, M.P., C.
Robertson, R. A. Macfie, and James Stitt, together
with the president and vice-president, form
the deputation on the part of the Chamber,
and that they confer with the committee of
the Town Council on the subject, and the Dock
Committee, for the purpose of procuring their co-
operation by appointing deputations to join that
from the Chamber. An adjourned special meeting of
the council of the Chamber was held on Tuesday,
when it was reported that the deputation appointed on
Monday,: with respect to the Post-office site, had ar-
ranged a time for meeting the committee of the Town
Council and the Dock Committee, on tha subject.
Mr. Hayter, the Secretary to the Treasury, was ex-
pected to arrive at the Adelphi Hotel last evening,
and will to-day have an interview with the Council
of the Chamber of Commerce and a committee of the
Town Council relative to the intended site for the
Post-office.—Liverpool Times.

BANK OF ENGLAND.
(From last night's Gazette.)
&Li Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth of Victoria, cap. 32, ter
the Week coding on Saturday, the 12th day of October, 1850.
18805 INLYAILTKENT.

Notes 155ued........ 26,693,405

Government debt .. 11,015,100
Other securities •. • • 2,984,900
Gold coin and bullion 15,498,520
Silver bullion • • • • • • 199,885