The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-17 00:00:00

WEST INDIES

The Royal Mail steam-ship Trent arrived at South-
ampton on Monday, with the West India mail. Among
the passengers is Lieut. Peel, (son of the premier,) who
is the bearer of important despatches from Vera Cruz.
There is no particular news from Jamaica. The
weather had been somewhat unsettled, rains and severe
storms having been very frequent. Lord Elgin had pro-
rogued the House of Assembly in a very friendly and ex-
cellent speech on the 31st of December. The Spanish
Town Railway was realising the expectations of every one
to the fullest extent. Other lines had been determined
upon and sanctioned by the legislature, which will, it was
confidently anticipated, give increased stimulus to the
commerce of the island.

Fine weather had prevailed in the Windward Islands.
The crops throughout were very favourable, and much
good was expected to result from the various railroads in
contemplation.

Sir Charles A. Fitzroy has been gazetted Governor of
New South Wales.
Information has reached from the west coast of Africa
that the Hydra steam-sloop, Commander Young, has
captured a slaver, on board of which were 1,100 slaves.
ALGERIA.—The news from Algeria, which is of a dis-
couraging character, occupies the French prints. One of
the journals says :—" A great mortality reigns at present
among the French troops in the three provinces of Al-
giers, Oran. and Constantine. The hospital are crowded,
and more than 600 soldiers sank under the effects of fever
and dysentery in the province of Algiers alone, during the
month of December last."
IBRAHIM PACHA'S SUGAR REFINERY.—The Egyp-
tian correspondent of the Times says—" It is confidently
expected that Egypt will derive great benefit from Ibra-
him Pacha's visit to Europe, and that he will introduce
many improvements in the country on his return. After
inspecting the sugar refinery of the Marquis Forbin Jan-
son, at Marseilles, finding, on inquiry, that the per cm n-
tage of refined sugar obtained there was greater than that
obtained at his own works at Rhoda, his highness wrote
to order an investigation of the cause to be made, and
also engaged three Frenchmen to superintend the press-
ing and refinery. Ibrahim Pacha's sugar manufactory at

Rhoda, in Upper Egypt, produces annually abut 700
tons of sugar, which is all consumed in the country, and

his highness is now setting up a second one at Far bout,
near Keneh, which he expects will produce the same
quantity. A fipe species of dark cane, from Jamaica, has
lately been introduced into Egypt, and thrives remarkably
well."_

INCREDIBLE STORY.—" A letter from Hamburgh of
the 30th ult.," says the Paris Constitutionosel. " details
the following adventure, which lately took place at the
Court of Berlin :—' The King of Prussia having ordered
a grand hunt to be organized between Berlin and the for-
tress of Spandau, all the sportsmen of the Court ac-
cordingly assembled at the place of rendezvous at three
o'clock on the day fixed. At the bead of these was
the Prince Royal, brother of the King. His Majesty not
arriving, the Prince showed signs of impatience ; and,
after waiting for an hour, ordered the grand hunts-
man to commence the hunt. The latter, however, ven-
tured respectfully to point out to his Royal Highness
the risk he would run of incurring his Majesty's dis-
pleasure by so doing. The Prince replied that he would
take the responsibility on himself, and the hunt accord-
ingly commenced. The King shortly afterwards arrived.
and, highly indignant, sent for the grand huntsman
(master of the hounds). Arrived in the royal presence,
he was about to explain that it was in accordance with the
orders of the Prince Royal that he had acted ; but before
he had time to open his mouth, he experienced from the
King the most flagrant outrage—His Majesty spat in his
face. The first movement of the grand huntsman was to
place his hand on his sword, upon which the King drew
back. The huntsman then took a small pistol from his
belt, and placing it to his own head,. blew out his own
brains.'

A NEW PROJECTILE.—Mr. M`Cartey, who is con-
nected with the navy-yard at Brooklyn (U.S.) has in-
vented a new species of artillery, which will discharge
thirty balls in a minute, or one every two seconds, for
hours together. in succession, and this by mechanical
power alone, without gunpowder, chemical substance, or
any other preparation. It is effected by merely putting
the balls into a hopper, and letting the ordnance throw
them out with immense momentum at the rate of one
every two seconds. On one occasion, Mr. M`Cartey ex-
hibited the operation of this in tie navy-yard. From
twelve to twenty pieces of solid timber were united to-
gether, forming one compact body. Against this piece of
wooded breastwork Mr. M'Cartey opened the battery of
his piece of ordnance, and in less than ten minutes the
whole solid breastwork was utterly demolished and
shivered to splinters by the powerful and rapid successio❑
of discharges upon it. The simplicity of this invention is
one of its most singular features. The principle of this
new invention is simply a modification of the principle
of the sling, applied to machinery, in connexion with a
tube or gun, throwing out a discharge of balls. The ma-
chine is so constructed that on putting in at one end the
balls to be discharged, a rotary motion is produced by
means of a crank, and, by a few rapid revolutions, each
ball receives a force and momentum equal to that com-
municated by any quantity of gunpowder. When this
has been done, a slide starts and allows each ball to escape
in succession from the chamber into a tube, when they
are thrown to almost any distance, and with unerring aim.
For this invention a patent bas been taken out at Wash-
ington.—New York Herald.

INDIA.—The mail from India, via Marseilles, long
overdue, brought no letters or despatches from the Go-
vernor-General. It is known, however, from the most
unquestionable authority, that the advanced guard of the
British army was attacked, on the evening of the 18th of
December, by the Sikh troops. The enemy was repulsed
and driven back for upwards of three miles, with the loss
of 17 pieces of cannon. This affair occurred at Moodkee,
a place about twenty-two mites to the north-east of Fero-
zepore. The next day the British troops advanced to-
wards Ferozepore, an], having opened a communication
with Sir John Littler, who commanded at that post, and
having been joined by the corps under that officer, at-
tacked the enemy's entrenched position at 4 o'cl6ck in
the afternoon of the 21st. The first line of intrencqments
NV

as carried ; but the night was so dark that further ope-
tions were suspended. At daylight, on the 22d, the
second line of entrenchments was attacked, and all the
enemy's defences were, in half an hour, taken in reverse,
and the guns captured. On the afternoon of the 22d the
enemy advanced with their infantry, and hordes of camels
carrying swivels, for the purpose of retaking the guns
they had previously lost. All the attacks, however, which
they made were repulsed ; and after a cannonade, which
bad no result, they withdrew, and-retired to a place called
Sultankhanwalla, about ten miles from Ferozepore, where
they had still some heavy artillery. The British army
would be joined by two battalions of native infantry,
which.were not in the previous actions, and the enemy's
position at Sultankhanwalla was to be attacked on the
24th. No accounts have been received of the specific loss
nn eitber side, nor is the name of any officer mentioned.
The captured guns amounted to 65 counted, and there
were some more in the village on the British right.
DISCOVERY OF COPPER Al INES IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
—By the last arrival, which brings papers from Adelaide
to the 7th of October, it appears that valuable copper
mines have been discovered in the colony of South Aus-
tralia. A special survey of 20.000 acres has been secured
by the combined efforts of a number of the colonists, who
have paid £20,000, in terms of the last act, for regulating
sales of laud in the Australian colonies. By this purchase
a district of that extent has been obtained singularly rich
in copper ore. A scientific report given in the Colonial
Gazette says, " We found a continuous outcrop of gray
sulphuret 'of copper exhibited on the surface, averaging
about eighteen feet in breadth, and extending over the
brow of the hill, and down again to the south eastern base
or gully, more than a mile in length. Where this dis-
appeared in the gully, we saw a broad and beautiful dis-
play of azure-blue carbone of copper, intermixed with
quartz, cropping out through the surface, and traceable
for upwards of 200 paces, exposing an average breadth of
about fifteen feet. At this place we opened the ground
about three or four feet, and found the most favourable
indications of a large and regular lodek being near at hand
—abundance of " gossan" presented itself, and masses of
spar, containing highly crystalline carbowite of copper,
were frequently encountered. We then proceeded higher
up the hill, and found, at different elevations, three other
distinct and well-defined traces of ore : indeed the hills
appeared to be full of it !—almost every stone we picked
up betrayed, either directly or inrerentially the presence
of rich copper lodes. A fragment, struck off at random
from the corner of a large quartz boulder, exhibited no
less than three varieties of ore—the gray sulphuret, the
blue carbonate, and the copper pyrites ; and we could
scarcely move a step without observing some kind of
mineralogical evidence, indicating the proximity of metal-
liferous veins." The Colonial Gazette remarks : "We
are aware that in this country it is considered an unfa-
vourable symptom when metallic, lodes crop out on the
surface of the ground ; but in South Australia it is other-
wise. Short as has been the experience of the colonists
in mining operations, it has been sufficient to show that
this rule of judging does not apply to the minerals in that
country." The South Australian Gazette, of the fol-
lowing week, in closing a long article on the subject,
says, " It would be ridiculous to assert, that all the cop-
per ores found within the district are of equal value ; but
we are assured that the very worst surface specimens have
on assay never yielded less than 32 per cent. of pure
metal."