The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-01 00:00:00

CHINA.

Accounts from Hong Kong to the 15th May, via Cal-
cutta, have been received since our last ; but they yield
a very scanty supply of intelligence, and that almost
exclusively of a commerciai character. The discussion
relative to the opium trade bad heed revived, owing to
a step taken by Mr. M'Gregor, ele Consul at Canton,
who on the 21st of April had ordered the parties i
charge of the receiving ships at Whampoa to appear be-
fore him with their registers .nd other ships' papers—a
measure which of course had the effect of driving
these vessels from the rier. The cause of the pro-
cedure is variously stated—the China Mail (the go-
vernment paper) atirming that it was brought
about by the acts of certain Parsee merchants,
who persisted in employing foreign schooners
for the conveyance of opium between Whampoa and
Canton—while the Friend of China expressly denies the
correctness of this statement, alleging that the measure
must be traced to the misconduct of " one of the small
mercantile firms lately established in China," which sold
some saltpetre to a mandarin licensed to purchase that
article, and offered delivery of if from a receiving ship,
which so incensed the manchein that he lodged a com-
plaint with the consul, who hereupon fined the firm 500
dollars, and issued the order alluded to. It was said that
the arrangements which prohibit the Chinese from trading
at Hong-Kong without a "chop" for the purpose, and
which has interfered in no small measure with the com-
mercial prosperity of that settlement, was likely to be
abolished by Government. Victoria and Canton were
visited on the 9th of May, by a violent thunder storm,
accompanied by a very deluge of rain, which did con-
siderable damage to roads and unfinished buildings
in the former place. An extract from the Pekin Ga-
zette, given by the China Mail, intimates that " the
Emperor Taoukwang, being now in the vale of years,
feels the weight of administration to be too much
for his infirmities, and is longing to be freed from the
burden. His sickness last summer produced conside-
rable altercation about the succession to the throne. His
only son was at first proposed as the rightful heir to the
crown, and Taoukwang agreed that he should wield the
sceptre at the commencement of this year ,• but the design
was frustrated by the parties who oontended for the as-
cendency. The formation of a council, to whom all
important matters were entrusted, was the coniequence.
The personal influence of some of its leading members
have been found to be too great, and in order to neutralize
it, Taoukwang has recently added considerably. :to ita
number, and thus brought together many powerful and
ambitious leaders opposed to each other's views."
,"The
stock of goods on hand," says the Hong Kong Regi4ter,
"riiscesstihllavlearngeet declined, though
so m
a fewsuaclehs caosnmitinguhettohbaere trade.
Prices
expected under the circumstances, nor are they expected
to go much lower, but until the arrival of the new crops
of silk and tea, no advance is looked for.

THE BOMBAY MARKET.
(From the Chamber of Commerce Overland Price Current.)
Bomsar, JULY 19, 1845.—Owing to the customary ;us-
pension of active commercial operations during the South West
Monsoon, we have, on the present occasion►, but few transactions
to record, or remarks to make, in reference to the state of the
market for imports. The fall of rain, since the setting in of
the wet season, though occuring with long intervals of fine
weather, has been, on the whole, considerable, and the prospects
of the agriculturists in the interior are cheering.
Metals—Very little business has been done in any variety of
metals, although, as will be seen from our quotations, the nomi-
nal prices of some articles have undergone alteration. We
quote copper from eight annas to Rs. 21 per cwt. higher than
last month, tile having risen from Rs. 50} to Rs. 51, nails
from Rs. 51 to Rs. 52, sheathing from Rs., 53 to Rs. 54, bra-
ziers from Rs. 54* to Rs. 57, and raised bottoms from Rs, 55
to Rs. 57 per cwt. The only transaction, in copper of which
we have been apprised consist of a sale of braziers, at Rs. 56
per cwt., made towards the end of June—and one of 20 cwt. of
nails at Rs. 52 per cwt. In iron there has likewise been little
doing, our report comprising only two sales, viz., a small
lot of square bar iron of very suitable sizes to Rs. 30i per. ,
candy, and 84 tons of Swedish bar at Rs. 49i per candy. 'We
have fixed the minimum quotation for British bar- Rs. 2 per
candy lower than last month ; in other descriptions there are
no changes in price to record. Some steal, an faggots, has
been sold; we hear, at Rs. 121 per cwt., and some in tubs
(Swedish) at Rs. 10 The market is firm for all varieties of • •
metals—particularly for copper, owing to the lightness of the
stocks. The stock of British bar iron continues very limeys
and the prospects for it are not favourable.
Cotton Manufactures—There has beers nothingdone 'lthea
fabrics worth noticing, and our sale list is all but a complete.
blank. There has been some inquiry, however, during the
month for particular goods, and were holders wiling; to submit
to the prices offered at the close of the last season, puircbasekl.