The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1854-05-16 00:00:00

SOUTH AMERICA.

The steamer Thames arrived at Southampton on Satur-
day, with the following dates :—Buenos Ayres, April 4th ;
Monte Video; 7th ; Rio, 14th ; Bahia, 18th ; Pernambuco,
21st.

The great subject of congratulation in the Brazilian
capital was the lighting of the city by gas, a most success-
ful adaptation of the water-gas principle. •
The financial and material condition of Brazil continued
to be of the most assuring and gratifying character, and
the opening of the new bank at Rio promises to lend a
healthy impulse to the spirit of enterprise which now per-
vades the empire. _ .

Though there are hints of coming disturbances in the
Argentine Confederation on a -want of the supposed hos-
tile intentions of I.Trquiza against Beunos Ayres, there is
good reason to believe that the protectorate of Brazil in
Banda Oriental will suffice also to preserve the peace on
the other side of the Plate.

A disagreeable occurrence has taken place at the Falk-
land Islands, as detailed in the Conzmercio de la Plata;
namely the governor being informed that there were some
whalers in the neighbourhood of the islands, and that
they had taken off a number of head of cattle, he sent a
small craft to Admiral Henderson, asking for assistance.
Thereupon the admiral dispatched the brig Racer, of six
guns, to guard the coast. This brig met with two Ame-
rican whalers, and took them to the port, where the
governor had the masters tried, and they were con-
demned'to pay a- tine. Then appeared the American cor-
vette Georgetown. which left Monte Video on learning
what had happened, reached that port, and anehored with-
out saluting thrßritish flag at the Falklands. Besides
this, the commander of the Racer paid a visit to the cap-
tain of the corvette, and the latter, it is said, did not re-
turn it. The American captain subsequently demanded
that the two vessels which had been detained should be
delivered up. There was no exchange of notes : and it
was finally decided that the matter should be left to the
decision of the two governments. The masters of the
vessels had to pay the fine.
_ _

At Rio coffee dull, but comparatively firm. Exchange
very firm, at 28d. to 28d.
Moderate business in freights to the Channel, at 725. 6d.
At Bahia fair business in imports. In sugar business
limited. Cotton nominal.

At Pernambuco market quiet. Freights stationary,
with little doing. Money rather easier. Exchange

AUSTRALIA.

Private letters from Melbourne, Australia, to the Ist of
March have been received in Liverpool by the steamer
Arctic. They were taken to Valparaiso by the British
ship Ariadne, and thence to New York by the California
mail-boat. The letters state that extensive new gold
diggings, surpassing in richness any yet heard of, had been
discovered near Melbourne. The commercial accounts are
represented as very prosperous. The clipper Marco Polo
sailed from Melbourne for Liverpool on the Ist March.

ARRIVAL OF THE MARCO POLO.
By the Black-ball line clipper Marco Polo, Captain
M'Donnell, which arrived in this port on Saturday, we
have intelligence from Australia to the 19th of February.
The Marco Polo left Liverpool on the 25th of November
last, and arrived inside Port Philip Heads on the 9th of
January, after a passage of 77 days, where, owing to the
negligence of the pilot, she got ashore, but was shortly
afterwards released, and, after a detention of 23 days, she
again left Melbourne on the 19th February, and arrived
in the river on Saturday, after a passage only of 83 days,
or 6 months and 4 days out and home, including all de-
lays. The screw-steamship Australian, with 78,907 ounces
of gold, sailed from Melbourne for London nine days before
the Marco Polo, which has brought 25,000 ounces. The
Flying Dragon, from Bombay, with a heavy mail for the
overland route, sailed the same day as the Marco Polo.
On the outward passage of the Marco Polo the passen-
gers were so pleased with the conduct of Captain
M`Donnell that they presented him with a testimonial
and a piece of plate, valued at a hundred guineas. His
conduct on the return voyage elicited warm feelings of
esteem from the passengers, and he was again compli-