CHINA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VII, Issue 500, 19 August 1857, Page 4

CHINA.

From Hong Kong we have papers direct to the 25th of May. The Overland, China Mail of that date supplies us with the following summaiy of news, local and general:—

In Hong Kong we have nothing more exciting than the execution of Ho Apo, for the murder of Mr. Charles Marwick. When told the day fixed for his execution, the only remark he made was that it was not early enough ; and in the same breath he inquired if he might hare roast duck for dinner! He seemed perfectly callous, but said that, as Atsat and Assam had brought him into trouble, he hoped they would also be caught and hanged. They had come to the house two nights before the murder, and tried to persuade him to consent to, if not to assist in, the crime, and that they would equally divide the plunder. He refused then, and again the following night, to do so; but, on the night of the murder, was prevailed upon, on condition that he was not to take an active part in it, but was to remain below and look after the door. The two coolies accordingly went up stairs at half-past one, and remained until three, when they came down with some half-crowns, a few dollars, and the watch, saj'ing that was all they could find. They gave him five dollars, thrpe of which afterwards proved to be counterfeit, and told him he had better be off as early as possible. He saw nothing of the trinkets, which the others must have concealed about their per sons. At gunfire they all left the house ; the other two starting for Chek-chu, while he , crossed over to Chim-sa-tsuy, the village on the opposite side of the harbour, whence he took passage home; he had reached his village before the Auckland anchored, and heard the gun fired from her on arrival. He ackowledged that he deserved his fate, but begged the Governor would do something for his mother, thus left destitute.

The Registration Ordinance has now passed the Legislative Council, and its enactments will be enforced in a day or two, commencing with the Chinese servants of Europeans. After the Ordinance had been actually published, an attempt, we are informed, was made by Sir John Bowring to suspend its action so far as the registration itself was concerned, on the plea, forsooth, of want of means-; but his Excellency, we aye glad to find, \va3 opposed Ivy the Chief

Justice, Attorney-General, Colonial Treasurer, and the three non-official members of Council— all of whom considered the measure one of absolute necessity to the safety and welfare of the colony; insisting that, even were there no funds for such a purpose, a grant should be applied for to the home government. The matter, we believe, will be appealed, but meanwhile the provisions of the Ordinance are to be carried out. Though the utmost quietude prevails in the colony, ridiculous and lying rumours are not wanting—set afloat by alarmists for no other purpose that we can conceive than to excite a needless feeling of disquietude among the community. That we are by no means free of danger, every one feels to be the case; but the current fabrications would lead us to suppose we are on the very verge of destruction. In such efforts of imagination, however, our newsmongers are left far behind by the European papers, more especially the worse informed of the French journals, who make up for their ignorance of the state of affairs in China, by fabricating edicts wholesale, and generally imposing upon the gullibility not only of their own people, but of the"British public as well, through the English,press, who copy their haverings without question. The " Moniteur de la Flotte's " account of the trial by court-martial and execution of A-lum, of the Eslng bakery, is one instance; several others might be pointed out, such as the " cutting of the Lema Canal " and " the seizure-of the central opium depot by the Governor of Linn-tinn."

Of intelligence of warlike proceedings in the Canton river, we have none, beyond preparations for an attack, in the course of the week, upon the fleets of junks stationed in the various creeks, but more especially upon that known as Fatshan Creek, where Government dockyards and large quantities of stores exist for the building and equipment of junks. The management of the expedition, we are told, is to be entrusted to Commodore Elliott. A gun weighing 6| tons, which had been landed on the bank for the protection of the fire-boom, was, on the morning of the 10th, found to have disappeared, but was afterwards discovered concealed under a, heap of grass some sixty yards from, where it had been placed the previous evening. It must have taken at least forty men to remove it. A small thickly-wooded island close to H. M. Sloop Elk, which might have sheltered an attacking party, had been cleared by order of Captain Hamilton, and all the trees cut down.

Some fearful work must have been going on up the river in the direction of Fatshan, for letters from the men-of- war describe numerous decapitated and mutilated bodies of Chinese as floating about in all directions, many of them having their arms pinioned.

The mandarins appear to be fast recovering from the panic caused by the late wholesale destruction of their fleets at Lantoa, and Deep Bay, and to be reoccupying their old cruising gi'ound. The Willamette, on her passage from Macao on Wednesday, (the 20fch,) saw four of their junks in the Cup-suy-moon. It is high time that our cruizers were on the move.

In the city itself, famine prevails to an alarming extent. The gentry have agents here in Macao, purchasing rice for the supply of soupkitchens that have been opened in various parts of the city for the relief of the sufferers.

The notorious Ch'an Kwei-tsik, has got himself into a serious mess. It appears that the people of Sai-lu, in San-on, remonstrated with him about his cruizer stopping the marketboats, bound to Hongkong for the purchase of rice, but he paid no attention to their complaint. One of the villages then hoisted the red flag in defiance of the mandarins^ whilst foity other villages threatened to do the same unless the cruizers were withdrawn within five days. That time having elapsed without their wishes being complied with, they cai'ried out their intentions ; and now say they will not yield until the' braves' are disbanded. The Chinese report Ch'an t6 have been already degraded.

' The Hakkas at Koo-ming continue their atrocities, massacring and destroying all that falls in their way, —men, women, children, and property. A mandarin, it is said, has been appointed to try and induce them to retire ; but the only persuasion likely to have effect is that of hard dollars, reputed to be rather scarce with the provincial authorities at present.

Another report is, that Yen's Pih-kwei, has arrived from Peking, as Governor-General of the Two Hwang, accompanied by a military officer ; and that Yeh has orders to proceed to the capital. This however, is probably the mere echo of a rumour current some six weeks ago, then, as now, believed to be entirely unfounded. Pihkwei returned but a short time'ago to Peking, from Hwang Tung, of which province he had been Governor. Yeh and he ai#c said to have agreed very ill.

On the coast, the alarm existing at the despatch of the last mail is reported to be fast subsiding ; and the only subject of interest from the Southern Stations of Swatow, Arnoy, and Chingchew, is the scarcity of rice, which has risen there, as well as at Canton, to famine prices. Her Majesty's ship Comus is at Amoy. From Fuh-Chau we find the accounts of disasters in the Tea districts to have been much overdrawn, and that of the destruction of the country by fire to have been utterly false ; though there be little doubt that the first crop has been lost for want of gathering. The rebels are now reported to have retired, leaving the route to the tea districts clear; and teas are said to have arrived in the neighbourhood of Euhchau. Altogether confidence was gradually becoming restored, and a brisk business, it is expected, will be done shortly. At Ningpo, a second fight has taken place betwixt some French seam en, aided by Cantonese, and the Portuguese lorchamen, in which the

latter were defeated, and several of them killed or seriously wounded. These disputes and fights have latterly become a perfect nuisance to both foreigners and natives, and should be put a stop to. The news -of the Legalization of the opium tr?de by the local authorites, upon payment of an import duty of twelve taels per chest, is confirmed-.that is to say, that, as at Shanghae, the opium guild is taxed m common with the guilds of other trades. We do not doubt that the mandarins have some, loophole by which we may escape the charge of recognising a trade still prohibited by the law. # From Shanghae, we hear that a large business is expected to be done in exports. Nothing else of importance. Accounts of the frightful mortality on board the Peruvian coolie-ship Cora.which lost halt her passengers during the voyage to Cuba, have reached us by the mail via New York, and also by ship. What a contrast is afforded between that and the regular passenger traffic^ Australia and California. The American clipper _ ship Challenge, Captain ICenney, which left this on the 25th January with 970 Chinese, landed them in safety in Guiches Bay, South Australia, without the loss of a single man, and arrived at Hongkong on the 18th May, having thus completed her voyage to Australia and back m the unprecedented^ short period of 112 days.

NEW SOUTH WALES,

By the Spray we have Sydney papers to the 15th July. Their English correspondence contains some items of interest to the colonies, from which we shall have some extracts to make. The news from China and ludin is also of late date, and important as giving the details of the insurrectionary movements in the latter country which we have only known hitherto in outline. From New South Wales itself there is nothing of great importance. A meeting of the Sydney Chamber of Commerce was held on the. 9th July, at which an important letter from the Colonial Secretary was read, giving in detail the arrangements made by Government with Mr. Wetton relative to the proposed Panama line of steamers. These details are already familiar to our readers, but we may recapitulate the important points as officially explained. Thfe Colonial Secretary narrates the proposition made by Mr. Wetton, and states that the urgency of the case required that a contract should be undertaken by Sydney without waiting for the cooperation of any other colony, except New Zealand, already guaranteeing a contribution of £15,000 per annum. In the event of the replies from the other colonies proving unfavourable, the New South Wales Government agreed to contract with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company for the performance of a steam postal service to and from Sydney and Southampton, via Panama and New Zealand, for a sum of £50.000 per annum—of which the sum of £15,000 has, as before stated, been agreed to be contributed by the colony of New Zealand. The arrrangement being subject to the approval of the local parliament, and to the ratification of the shareholders of the company in England— which ratification, as Mr. Wetton had not sufficient powers to conclude any definite arrangements, he has undertaken to communicate within a period of six months from the date of the agreement. The contract is to be for seven years, to commence within two years. The service is to be performed between England and Sydney in 52 days during eight months? of the year, and in 55 days during the remaining four months. The head quarters in the Pacific to be at Port Jackson. The Company not to convey mails for any other of the Australian Colonies, nor to enter into any negotiation with them for a similar service, without the previous authority of New South Wales. The Company are allowed to land FreDch mails at Tahiti, and are to be paid an extra charge for conveyance across the Isthmus of Panama; their responsibility for the due performance of this part of the service still remaining. The Floods.—the Empire's correspondent gives the following as the result of the injui'3' done b}' the flood as far as can be ascertained. The total quantity of Land in the Hunter River District adjoining Maitland covered with water by the late flood amounts to 17,327 acres, and, from all accounts that have been received, the large amount of the damage sustained must be limited to the particular district above described. It must be borne in mind that the whole of the lands flooded were of a low alluvial kind, and all cleared and either in or fit for cultivation ; and on visiting them after the recession of the water, some portions have the upper soil washed away, others are covered in some places to a considerable depth with a clean sand fir gravel, and others again with a coating of mud of a varying thickness. The sudden rise and fall of the flood easily explains the reason of these changes. At the time when the river broke over the banks it was running with great violence, carrying with it vast quanties of gravel, sand, and soil. Parts of the upper soil in some places it would naturally wash away, in other places as its speed abated, heavy gravel and sand would be deposited, and where it became stagnant the muddy sediment would be left, but owing to the suddenness of the fall very little of this muddy or fertilizing sedimen;t has remained behind. The lucerne paddocks also present a vai'ying appearance. Those over which the water has passed quickly and immediately receded, now present a green and healthy appearance, and seem to be little injured ; those again, where sand and gravel have been deposited promise scarcely any crop ; whereas, those who have been visited with the mud residum, when cut and shaken cause clouds of dust. Some expect that after the present cutting the I mud covered lucerne paddocks will generally be 1 improved, but it is thought that those where

the sand has been deposited will all require to be re-sown. As to the standing corn which has been flooded, the general opinion of the settlers seems to be, that the damage done will be triflw wherever the water rapidly flowed off; but in every instance where the water still remained great damage, it' not total loss, may be anticipated. The wheat crops of the ensuing season it is to be feared will be very short, but as there is no evil without some remedy, many o f the settlers seem to think that the next season's high price will nearly compensate for the short yieUl Dishonesty Dectected.—On Thursday last' a clerk in one of our banks overpaid a cheque £10. On discovering the loss, he gave information to Detective Gordon, and the name and description of the person who presented the cheque. On Friday, Mr. Gordon met an individual in the street who resembled the one he wanted, and claiming an acquaintanceehip wiijh him and shaking hands withhim,the officer Entered into conservation with him, and proceeded- with him towards the bank in question. After a time the individual asked where they were going, and the detective said, "I am going with you {o the bank, are not you going?" " GoWs& for what ?" " Why, to pay the £10 over and above the cheque!" " Why, who are you ?" lam a detective officer, and if you do not pay I will make you." Thereupon the individual walked to the bank and paid the £10 to the clerk. Empire, July 13. Pkoposed New Bishopric.—We hear that a new Bishopric of the Church of England is to be formed, to include the northern portion of the colony. The title of the new Bishop, it is said, will probably be " Bishop of Brisbane."— Maitla?id Mercury, July 11.