The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-13 00:00:00

NATIONAL PROVINCIAL BANK
OF ENGLAND.
The Ninth Annual General Meeting of Proprietors of
the National Provincial Bank of England was held
yesterday at the Company's Office, 112, Bishopsgato-
street.

Upon thelnotion of HENRY WAYMOUTII, Esq., seconded
by W. 11. SHARP, Esq., JOHN MELVILLE, Esq. was called
to the Chair.
Sir G. LEWIN wished to be allowed to ask, before
they proceeded with the general business of the meeting,
when would be the most convenient time for him to call
the attention of the Board of Directors and of the Share-.
holders generally, to a circular letter which he believed
had been sent to each Shareholder.
The CHAIRMAN suggested to the Hon. Proprietor that
it would be more convenient to allow the business of the
day to proceed, and that after the completion of it, he
could call the attention of the meeting to the circular in
question, if he was desirous of doing so.
The advertisement calling the meeting having been
read by the Secretary,
The CHAIRMAN said that he would not detain the
meeting by any preliminary remarks, but would,
.with
their permission, proceed at once to read the. Report.
The following Report was then read :
" The occasion on which the Proprietors are now as-
sembled is that of the Company's Ninth Anniversary
Meeting.
" It is with much satisfaction that the Directors are
again enabled to meet the Proprietors with an announce-
ment of continued prosperity, notwithstanding another
year of great monetary pressure and commercial distress.
" Since the last general meeting the Directors have
been solicited by respectable and influential parties to
open branches in various localities, but although much
gratified with such proofs of public confidence, they have
not deemed it expedient to extend the Company's ope-
rations, except to Shrewsbury and Dover.
" The failure of a long established private bank, in
Shrewsbury, made an opening, of which the Directors
were induced the more readily to avail themselves from
having branches in the neighbourhood, and from a vo-
luntary promise of support having been made to them
by several wealthy and influential inhabitants of the place.
The Directors have much pleasure in stating that the
branch thus opened at Shrewsbury has been attended
with more than usual success.
" Towards the close of last year, the favourable
termination of a negotiation with the Dover
' Bank, placed the Company in possession of that
highly-respectable concern, which had been car-
ried on for nearly a century and a half with such suc-
cess, as enabled Mr. Fector, its only surviving partner,
to retire for the enjoyment of his ample fortune. The
arrangement with bins has been concluded upon advan-
tageous terms for the Company, and the Directors have
much pleasure in stating that the valuable connection to
which the Bank has thus succeeded has considerably in-
creased since the junction took place.
" As regards the previously established branches, a
steady and satisfactory progress is being made, and in
some places especially, which have suffered by the fail•
ures of private banks, a considerable increase in the de-
posits has taken place ; a striking manifestation of the
growing conviction in the public mind of the superior
security which Joint Stock Banks afford.
" Notwithstanding a -general augmentation of the
business and resources of the Company, the Directors
have to state, what the meeting cannot be altogether
unprepared to expect, that the adverse occurrences, dur-
ing the late unprecedented period of commercial diffi-
culty, which so seriously affected all classes of the trad-
ing community, have prevented that increase in the
yearly profits, which, under more favourable circum-
stances the Directors would have to exhibit.
" The Directors will not, however further ansicipate
the usual Statement of Accounts, which they now beg to
submit to the meeting .
Jan. 1, 1841. Amount of undivided
profits at this date
Dec. 31. Nett profits of 1841, after pay-
ment of all current expenses, a porti,,n
of preliminary expenses, and making
allowance for bad and doubtful debts 30,330 17 0

s. d.
53,432 0 6

Making a total of 83,762 17 6
Deduct dividend of 6 per cent. for 1841
on Company's Stock 24,649 16 0

Leaving undivided profits at Dec. 31, 1841 £59,113 1 6
"From the above account it will be seen that an addi-
tion has been made to the Reserve Fund of 5,6811.
"In conclusion, the Directors beg to state generally,
that the affairs of the Company have never been in a
more satisfactory condition, and to assure the Proprie-
tors that no effOrts on their part will he wanting to main-
tain the high position which the establishment has ac-
quired.

" The Directors wh3 at this time go out of office by
ratation are—

Patrick Cruikshank, Esq.,
C. Henton Ellis, Esq.,
H. Twiss, Esq. ;
all of whom are eligible to be re-ele,2ted, and offer them-
selves accordingly.
" The death of Philip Courtenay, Esq., and the re-
tirement of Joshua Scholefield and Archibald Hastie,
Esqs., have left three vacancies in the Direction, to sup-
ply which the following gentlenien, all qualified Pro-
prietors, and who have given the necessary notice, offer
themselves as Candidates, viz.—

Walter Bentinck, Esq.,
George Hyde, Esq.,
George Lynch, Esq."
Mr. STEWART said that after the statement which had
been just made they all had cause to feel deeply grateful
to the Directors who, at a time of distress unprecedented
in the annals of commercial transactions, had maintained
the position of the Bank in a state of prtAperity that
must be satisfactory to all.—(Cheers.) He believed
that never, at any period, had there been a greater de-
gree of commercial distress than at the present ; yet, not-
withstanding all this, the ,Bank had gone steadily
onward in its successful career. He did not know
that he need make another observation to in-
duce the meeting to adopt the Report, but he
could not sit down without directing the attention
of the meeting to one observation made in the Report, in
the truth of which, seeing the source from which it had
emanated, he had the utmost confidence. It was stated
there that the Bank had never been in a more solid
or prosperous condition than at the present moment.
That observation struck him forcibly, and served to show
the skill, the energy, and the prudence, with which the
affairs of the Bank had been conducted.—(Cheers.) Ile
begged to move that the Report be received, adopted,
and printed for the use of the Proprietors.
Mr. HICIIENS seconded the resolution. At a time of
unexampled pressure in the money market, they had
been enabled to increase their rest fund by nearly 6,000/.
Every gentleman present must be aware of the great
effect which the present state of commercial distress had
produced on the money market. He had for thirty-
six years boen engaged in money transactions, and
never during that period had so disastrous a year
rolled over the monetary market as the year
1841. The Directors must have managed with
great care, prudence, and skill to have maintained
their present position, and he thought the thanks of the
Proprietors were eminently due to them. No one ac-
quainted with the state of the money market could avoid
admitting that the Directors must have exhibited great
care to have avoided disasters as they had done. With-
out wishing to interfere in the least in the management,
he would take leave to offer the suggestion to the exe•
cutive, that whenever the Directors might think it ne-
cessary
that the capital of the Company should be in-
creased, they should do so at the time most proper, and
in the manner that should seem to them most
fitting.—(Hear.) He thought that whenever the Di-
rectors should feel authorised to make a further call,
while they managed the concerns of the Company as
they did at present, that call would be obeyed.
An HON. PROPRIETOR—It had not been his intention
to offer any observation, had it not been for a remark
which had fallen from the gentleman who had just sat
down. He did not anticipate that there would be any
necessity for an increase of their capital. If any one
thing more than another had conduced to their prospe-
rity, it was the steady method in which their business
had been conducted, and he trusted they would not in-
volve themselves in any new concerns without using great
caution.

. -
gentleman he was about to propose was George Lync.bh,
Esq.. who. resided near Acton. He (Mr. Duff) had
known that gentleman for .more than thirty years, and
throughout his life had always enjoyed his friendship.
Ho bad spoken of his habits of business, and having
known him throughout. his life he was not au are of a
single mistake that that gentleman had ever coin-
mitted. 11e Was an extremely fortunate man, and not the
least part of his good fortune, was that he had retired
from business at a time . when, if others had done the
same, they would have been -much better off than they
were at present.—(Cheers and laughter.) Mr. Lynch
was unoccupied by business, and had taken a great in-
terest in the prosperity of the Bank from its commence-
ment, and was one of the-largest Shareholders on their
books. lie thus showed his confidence in, and his good
will towards, the Institution, and had the means of
benefiting it, not only by his own personal exertions,
but by his interest among his friends. He had great
pleasure in proposing that George Lynch, Esq., be
elected one of the Directors.

THOMAS WILSON, Esq., having seconded the nomi-
nation, George Lynch, Esq., was unanimously elected.
Mr. LYNCH returned the Proprietors his sincere
thanks fin- the trust they had confided to him, and he
could assure them he would use his best endeavours and
exertions in entering upon the duties of his office, to
follow out that cautious and prudent course of proceed-
ing, by the adoption of which the present Directors had
brought the Bank to its present state of prosperity.
He considered that the Company deserved to attain the
highest possible prosperity, and doubted not that it
would rank first among the most valuable institutions of
the country.—(Hear, hear.) No exertions should be
wanting on his part to promote, by every means in his
power, the prosperity of the National Provincial Bank of
England.—(Cheers.)
Sir G. LEWIN was extremely happy to find that the
Directors had, throughout their proceedings, abstained
from alluding to a circular letter, signed " T. Joplin,"
which he, in common with every other Share-
holder of the Company, had received. Who the
writer might be he knew not, but he had
read the letter with feelings of unqualified dis-
gust. He had replied to that letter, rand in his reply
had stated pretty freely to Mr. Joplin what was his
opinion of his (Mr. Joplin's) conduct. He was glad the
Directors had not alluded to it in any manner, but he
thought it his duty as a Shareholder to allude to it, and
lie should move three resolutions :

" 1. That Mr. Joplin has no claims whatever on the
funds of the Company, and that the Directors be in-
structed to resist any claims that he may think proper to
make.

" 2. That the Directors"enjoy the unshaken confidence
of the Proprietors."—(Cheers.) And he would move, as a
" 3d Resolution, That the thanks of the Proprietors
be returned to the Directors, for the manner in which
they have conducted the business of the Company since
the-last Meeting."
They had his (Sir G. Lewin's) entire confidence, and
that confidence had been increased by their conduct in
paying no attention to the improper, unfounded, he
might say impudent, claim of Mr. Joplin.
Captain WARREN seconded the resolutions. Mr. Joplin
had received 1,500/. some years ago in full satisfaction
of any claims he might have had, besides a considerable
sum for expenses, and there was no pretence whatever
for his making any further demand on the Company.
Mr. BROWN said that Mr. Joplin, on the 18th of July,
1834, had accepted 1,500/. as a full remuneration for his
services. Mr. Joplin was not the author of the principle
of Joint-Stock Banks • it had been carried out in Ireland
long before Mr. Joplin's time. Besides the principle
which Mr. Joplin advocated with regard to coun-
try banks was incapable of being carried out.
He was satisfied that Mr. Joplin had no claim on the'
Company, and he would support the resolutions. His
circular well deserved the condemnatory remarks of a
previous speaker.
The CHAIRMAN said it was most satisfactory to the
Directors, and himself personally, to have heard the sen-
timents which had been spoken by the different gentle-
men. It was their anxious wish that every circumstance
with respect to Mr. Joplin should be passed over sub
silentio. All that gentleman's fair claims had been set-
tled long ago. .
An HON. PROPRIETOR had read an advertisement,
stating that the Directors had refused to allow any shares
to be transferred to Mr. Joplin's name, and that that
had prevented him attending the meeting. He thought
that the Directors had shown great judgment and dis-
cretion in doing so.
The resolutions were then put seriatim, and -carried
unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN, on the part of his brother Directors
and himself, cordially thanked the meeting for the good
opinion they had expressed, and could assure them that
no effort would be spared, and no opportunity lost, to
further their interests.

Mr. BROWN thought that thanks were also due to those
who had the management of the executive department,
for their zeal, energy, and assiduity. He therefore pro-
posed that the thanks of the Proprietors should be given
to D. Robertson, Esq., the Manager, and the other
officers of the Bank, for their very efficient services.
The resolution having been seconded was put and car-
ried by acclamation.
Mr. ROBERTSON, on behalf of the officers of the
establishment, begged to return his sincere thanks
for this new mark of the confidence of the Proprietors,
which would not be without its proper influence on their
exertions.—(Hear, hear.) The officers felt as anxious
as the Proprietors themselves for the prosperity of the
Bank, and it was •gratifying to them, as the practical
superintendents, to know, that with a good harvest or
two, and a more sound and active state of trade, it pos-
sessed the means of producing the most profitable
results.—(Hear.)
The meeting then separated.

TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE
MADAGASCAR WAR STEAMER. FIFTY-
SEVEN LIVES LOST, AND CAPTURE OF THE
SURVIVORS BY THE CHINESE.
(ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.)
By the last overland mail from India, further and more
detailed accounts have reached us, respecting the melan-
choly loss of the Madagascar war steamer by fire, in
the month of September lust, in the Chinese seas, two
days after quitting Hong Kong, attended, we regret to
say, with dreadful sacrifice of human life, and capture
of Captain Dicey, the commander, and the rest of the
crew of the ill-fisted vessel, forty-two in number, by the
Chinese. The particulars are as follow :

The Madagascar is said to have been a powerful built
vessel, upwards of one thousand tons burden. Her engines
consisted of two, each 100-horse power, and she carried
three guns of large calibre. Besides the commander (Capt.
Dicey), the lieutenants and officers, the crew amounted
to ninety-five in number, including engineers and fire-
men. The fire, it appears, happened on the evening of
the 19th of September; and is conjectured to have
originated by the coals overheating in the iron
bunkers abaft the engine-rooms, almost adjoining
the toilers. Its discovery was made shortly after
nine o'clock at night, when the vessel was between
fifty and sixty miles out at sea, with a gale of wind
blowing from northward. The first to give the alarm
was one of the stokers, who while attending in the en-
gine room, perceived a smoke issuing from between the
boilers and the bulkhead of the ship, but supposing it of
no importance, he took nu notice of it. Shortly after-
wards, however, he discovered that the vessel was on
fire, and instantly came upon deck and informed the
chief Lieutenant, who happened to be with the watch, of
the circumstance, and on the word being passed, every
soul in the ship rushed from below in the utmost state
of excitement. The Commander, Captain Dicey, was
amongst them, and acted with great fortitude. He im-
mediately ordered the pumps to be got to work, and the
hose with which the vessel was provided screwed on,
which was directly done, and the branch pipe taken
down into the engine room. By that time
the smoke had greatly increased, but it was
full an hour and a half before the exact locality
of the fire could be traced out. It being found that the
smoke issued through the coals over the bunkers (for
there was an immense quantity in the ship), the sea-
men commenced tearing up the deck with axes, and
then set about removing the coals, which occupied
much time, and they were not cleared away till two
o'clock the following morning, when the fire was found
raging fiercely underneath. Every possible means were
taken to get it under, but without success, and it
spread with fearful rapidity. At four o'clock Captain
Dicey ordered five feet of water to be let into the hold
of the vessel, thinking that it would have the desired
effect. This, however, produced no change ; but the
terrible element continued to progress with increased
violence, and before six o'clock it burst forth
through the deck, and the masts and sails were
in a blaze. Amidst the confusion, no one
thought of saving any of the provisions or water,
and on an attempt being made by one or two seamen for
that purpose, about twenty-five minutes after the dis-
covery had taken place, it was found utterly impossible
to exist between the decks, owing to the suffocating
magazine being ex-
ursiteyveorfyhmoment,
e Captain
Dicey ordered
spme c° td t e to blow
and
iintensity
the boats to be launched, and at seven o'clock the crew
got into them, and left the unfortunate vessel to its fate.
At that period it was impossible to stand upon her deck,
and in a very few minutes after they had left, the masts
enveloped in flames, and presented a most
awful, though magnificent, gave geovernpl wayeiy and fell overboard. By eight o'clock she was
spectacle ; and in about an
hour and a half after, the powder in the magazine ig-
nited, and occasioned instant destruction to the wreck.
The
from
erepo
the
report
wasofaterrifiedescription, as will be sup-
poseds circumstance of there being upwards of a
ton of powder stowed in the magazine. It resembled a
tremendous roar of thunder, and must have been heard
at an immense distance. Tne vessel was shattered to
pieces, and disappeared under water.
Respecting the fate of her crew, we subjoin the fol-
lowing statement, by one of the officers, to a merchant at
Macao, dated Jan. 8, 1842 :
"acquainting me with
his
I was confident that
determinationlm x ne i Immediately onto Captainleave'
the Dsihc
iepy,
many a poor fellow would meet with a w atery grave.
Captain Dicey took command of the first cutter himself ;
giving me the second ; the second mate the third boat,
and the third mate the gig. I was positive when the
third cutter and gig departed from the ship, that they
would not outlive the gale, which then existed with a
heavy sea, which turned out too true, for they were never
seen after. Soon after, the vessel had blown up, we
made sail to keep the boat ahead of the sea, which was
increasing. The si cond cutter kept us company:
You may imagine better than I can describe our situa-
tion, when I say that we were upwards of fifty miles from
land, with forty-two in the boat,
which was only twenty
feet long, and six feet six inches in breadth. At about
twelve o'clock an accident happened to the second cut-
ter's mast, in consequence of which she fell over on her
beam.ends, and continued so for a length of time, with
the sea every now and then completely going over her.
She was about a quarter of a mile from us astern, but to
render her assistance was utterly impossible, for to have
brought our boat alongside would have been instant and ,

The motion was then put, and declared by the Chair-
man to be carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN said the next portion of the business
was the filling up the vacancies in the direction occa-
sioned by the Directors going out by rotation. The
Directors going out of office were I'. Cruickshank, Esq.,
C. E. Ellis, Esq., and Horace Twiss, Esq. Those gentle-
men were capable of re-election, and offered themselves
6or re-election accordingly.
P. Cruickshank, Esq., C. E. Ellis, Esq., and. H. Twiss,
Esq., were then unanimously re-elected Directors.
Mr. HORACE Twiss, on the part of his colleagues and
himself, returned his most cordial thanks to the Pro-
prietors for the confidence which. they had again reposed
in them, and assured them that it would be their en-
deavour by, their services to give them satisfaction.
The CHAIRMAN said it now became their duty to fill
the vacancies in the Directorship occasioned by the death
of Mr. Courtenay, and the retirement of Mr. Hastie and
Mr. Scholefield.

Mr. C. E. ELLis said that Mr. Twiss had just returned
thanks for himself and those who with him had been
re-elected to the direction of their affairs. He had
now to propose a new candidate for their suffrages,
Walter Bentinck, Esq., of Gloucester-place, Portman-
square. He had long felt a deep interest in the pros-
perity of the Bank. He had not only taken a great
number of shares himself, and induced several members
of his tamily to do the same, but he had shown the con-
fidence he reposed in them by nominating them as trus-
tees for those who were most dear to him—his wife and
children, thus showing that he looked forward to the
growing prosperity of the establishment. He had been
brought up in habits of business, and had been for many
years a Member of the Council and Auditor at the Cape
of Good Hope. He thought it would be for the benefit
of the Bank that Walter Bentinck, Esq., should have a
seat at the Board of Directors, and he. begged to pro-
pose him accordingly.
The CHAIRMAN seconded the nomination, and Mr.
Bentinck was unanimously elected.
Mr. SHARP had the honour to propose George Hyde,
Esq., of Lord-terrace, Dorset-square, as one of their Di-
rectors. That gentleman had made his own fortune,
and knew how to take care of it. He was a gentleman
of great activity and ability, and he (Mr. Sharpe) could
confidently recommend him to the Proprietors for their
support; if he were elected to the vacant seat, he was
certain the Company would benefit by his exertions.
The motion having been seconded, George Hyde,
Esq., was unanimously elected a Director.
Mr. GORDON DUFF said there still remained one vacancy
to be filled, and he had great pleasure is proposing for that
vacant office a gentleman who had considerable experi-
ence in mercantile affairs, but who was now retired from
business, and who would be more able to protect their
interests, perhaps, from that very circumstance. The

THE SUN, LONDON', FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 13, /842, -

PRICE OF PROVISIONS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

certain destruction to all. Shortly alt, ,t :ads we saw h
go down. It was a dreadful night. Some of the poor
fellows managed to get' clear of- her, and commenced
swimming, in the hopes of reaching us ; but in the
course of a few minutes they all disappeared, along with
the rest of their unfortunate companions. Our only
chance was by holding on sail and running right before
the wind, whisk we _contrived.to effect. Even, however,
as it was, the sea astern came rolling after us so high,
that our sail was constantly becaline'd; and we were only
preserved by making the men sit all round the gunwale,
thus breaking the sea that came in with this living
bulwark, and employing others constantly in baleing
the water out of her with their; hats and shoes.
At four o'clock on the following morning (Mon-
day) we were gladdened with the sight of land,
immediately on our larboard how, bet Ween fifteen or six-
teen miles distant. In about fourhours we managed, by
vigorous exertions, to come up alongside of the breakers,
but to attempt to pass over them would have quickly
swamped us, consequently we were forced to pull out to
sea again, and it was a miracle that we succeeded, all
being so exhausted and so dreadfully cramped by our
position in the boat. We remained all that day and fol-
low ing night endeavouring to effect a landing, but were
unable to do so, until about four-o'clock on the morning
of the 22d, when we were thrown amongst the rocks and
breakers ; and ultimately, through God's mercy, effected
a safe landing. During the meanwhile our sufferings
were truly frightful, every one had expected their hour
had arrived, and were praying fervently to Heaven. I
had just got into a doze, notwithstanding the sea had
been rushing over us, when three breakers broke over
the mast-head and awoke me. The next moment she
was dashed on the rocks, and went almost immediately
to pieces. The general impression amongst us was, that
she bad got on a reef, and we were prepared for a watery
grave. You can imagine our joy, on being thrown
out of the boat, by the concussion, at finding footing and
being able to walk ashore, on reaching which, most of us
fell on our knees, and returned thanks for, our deliver-
ance. Several of the crew soon afterwards proceeded
along the coast in search of the two other boats, and
succeeding in finding them bottom upwards, two miles
' from the spot where ours was stranded, and in the course
of the morning several of their unfortunate occupants
were washed up on the beach by the sea. In about an
hour after our landing we ascertained, through our Chi-
nese carpenter that we were within 60 miles from Amoy,
which had ten or twelve days previous been taken by
our English troops, and an immense number of natives
killed. This circumstance threw us, as you may imagine,
into great excitement ; but escape was out of the ques-
' tion, for the boats were complete wrecks ; in fact, they
were all in pieces. Waited patiently till day-break,
when between 200 and 300 Chinese made their appear-
ance and came up to us. The carpenter met them, and
explained to them our disasters, at the same time offering
a large sum of money to get a boat for us, so as to pro-
ceed to Hong Kong. They listened with considerable
attention to the carpenter's statement, but. refused to get
the boat. They however procured. for us some cold rice
and water, and as soon as we all had partaken
of it, they ordered us to a village some distance
up the country. On our arrival. at that place we
were suddenly surrounded by a large body of natives,
who were completely naked, and armed with knives,
spears, and various other implements of war. We
were immediately attacked, and plundered of every thing
we had in our possession, even the very clothes on our
backs were torn off, and had we offered the least re-
sistance, death would have been our reward. Some of
the poor Lascars were stripped nearly naked ; . not one
of them had more than a shirt. Captain Dicey was
stripped as well as the rest ; --they would not stop for his
pulling his trowsers off, but they cut them off, and he was
left with nothing on but his shirt and drawers. When
they had got all they could from us, a proposition was
made by the Chief to murder us, and they were preparing
themselves for that purpose, when some Mandarin's
people came up, and interfered, saying that we were
Americans, and not English, as they thought us to be,
thanks to the carpenter for telling theni so, for had the
truth come out we would have to a certainty been
sacrificed. Shortly afterwards we were conducted,
in custody of a body of natives, to a dirty cow-
house, which was filled almost with filth, where
we were confined for two'. days. They brought in
some straw for our beds, and supplied us with two meals,
consisting of red rice and a few heads and tails of the
worst description of salt fish. On the third day, having
recovered from our fatigue, we were escorted to a place
twenty miles distant, followed by thousands of Chinese,
who conducted themselves most outrageously, hooting
and shouting as we went along, and every now and then
making signs that our heads would be cut off: On our
arrival at the place (I forget its name) we were placed in
a kind of square, guarded by upwards of' forty-thousand
Chinese, and remained there for an hour or more, until
the Mandarin ordered us before him ; and at the con-
clusion of some ceremony, which I was unable to under-
stand, were taken to an old distillery in the outskirts of
the village. We were in titter distress ; our feet were
bleeding and blistered, and we were almost dead from
exhaustion, owing to being exposed the whole day
to a broiling sun. About two hours after being
locked up, a scanty meal of rice was brought
us, which was the first we had tasted since

the previous night ; we however soon fell asleep,
notwithstanding our bed was the ground, and our arms
our pillows. A .few days afterwards we were tried here
by the Mandarins, and some Chinese gave evidence, but
they could not prove that we were English. Before the
examination took place our Chinese carpenter contrived
to forward a letter to our friends at -.Macao, or elsewhere
in China, by the man who guarded over us, describing
our situation, but at the same time precaution was taken
in case the letter should be opened by the Chinese, to
prevent our identity. At length we' were marched off;
on our way to Canton, and were daily dragged along
and fed with the coarsest rice, with occasionally a few
rotten salt fish by way of luxury. We continued our
march till the 12th of O.tober, when we received a letter
in answer to the one we sent, from an American of Can-
ton, demanding the Chinese to deliver us up. This, how-
ever, was not granted, and we were ilupr:s( nel at a place
called Wichow, where we underwent a second examina-
tion. Here we remained imprisoned till the 31st of De-
cember, when we were released, through the constant and
increasing applications of an American, named Ryar,
living at Canton, and another benevolent gentleman
named Matheson. We are at present living with those
gentlemen, and shortly will take our departure for
Calcutta."

The loss of the Madagascar is variously estimated from
30,0001. to 40,0001.

SIR,—My attention has been drawn, by the statement
of your Correspondent at Fishguard, in The Sun of the
7th inst., and in the Welshman of the previous week,
to the low price of provisions in Carmarthen, and several
towns of Pembrokeshire. I wish I could make the same
statement with respect to this town and neighbourhood,
but Neath is considered one of the dearest markets in
the Principality for provision, beef and mutton being at
the present time from 7d. to 9d. per lb. ; veal, sd. to
a. ; pork, 6d. to Bd. ; fresh butter, ls., and Is. Id. ;
and potatoes, 4s. 6d. per cwt. Should you be able,
through the medium of your widely-circulated paper,
to call the attention of your agricultural friends in Pem-
brokeshire and Carmarthenshire to the state of this mar-
ket, I am quite sure they would find it to their advan-
tage to send some of their produce here, and you would
receive the gratitude of the public at large for doing so.
I remain, Sir, your obedient servant and subscriber,
Neath, May 10. D. M.