SUPREME COURT—CIVIL BUSINESS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 267, 28 October 1862, Page 5

SUPREME COURT—CIVIL BUSINESS.

Monday, 27th Ocxobkr. His Honor, Mr Justice Gresson took his seat at ten o'clock, and the Civil Business was commenced. As it had been determined on Saturday that the special jury nase3 should be first taken, the common jurors were release! from attending until Thursday the 6th November.

A HOUSE WARRANTY CASK. M'Kay akd Anotixkr v. 'Campbell.- {Special Jura.). The plaintiffs, Donald and John C. M'Kay are larmers, &c, at Wallace Town, near Invercargill ; and the defendant, Colin N. Campbell, is a merchant, at Invercargill. The plaintiffs claimed £.00 compensation upon a warranty given with a horse, aud for loss, &c. ; the defendant pleading that the horse was as warranted at the time of delivery. Mr Gillies was for the plaintiffs ; and Mr Haggitt for the defendant.

Donald M'Kay, one of the plaintiff,-, sail that on the 14th October, 18G1, he applied to the defendant with respect to the purchase of a horse, expressly for carting goods to the digging* at Tuapeka. The defendant said that the ordinary load for a horse on a good road was two tons, and that he had a horse (Prince) which would be safe for a ton to Tuapeka. It was a large powerful-looking bay. Upon the defendant's representation, he (the plaintiff) bought the horse, without examining to see whether it was really sound. He gave a three months' acceptance for £iOO, the price agreed for, and the receipt described thelm-seas " warranted souud and staunch in liar ness." The horse was fetched next morning, without a load, and was turned out wPh others; and the only work he did from the 15th to the 25th October, was dragging a roll-r over some very level dry land sown with oats, the roller being a light one. The first time the horse was yoked was- to a sledge at a bridge over a culvert, it being £too narrow for two bullocks abreast to pass. There were between 4 cwt and o cwt on the ledge ; but the horse jibbed, and, although repeatedly tried, he would not pull. The trace mare was put in, and took the sledge across easily. At Invercargill, on the 26'th October, the horse was put to a dray loaded with under locwt, the pin in tiff's desire being to make the journey to Tuapeka expeditiously. Jaines Scott, his principal driver, had charge, with directions in all difficult p'aces to lead the horse team and in ea«y parts to take charge of a team of eight bullocks, as being the more difficult to drive, ri,.(the plaintiff; overtook and passed the teams, halfway between Invercargill and Long Bush, and returned to them from that bush. He led the horse about the third ot a mile, from tbe'roadtoa paddock, over level ground. The horse breathed so badly that he could not keep up with the bullock team, and he had to be halted three or four times in going tlie third of a mile. He (the plaintiff) never before had a broken-winded horse, and did not know the nature of the complaint.' This was on a 'Saturday, and the i earns were left in the paddock during Sunday. Before starting on Monday, several , hundredweights were removed from the horse to the bullock dray. He (the plaintiff) overtook the teams six miles from Long Bush, and the horse was then breathing very badly. "Fifteen miles were done that day, and at night the liorse was much knocked up and ate very sparingly. =The mare was tracing before him all day ; and she was very lired from having to pull hard when tiie horse halted through bad breathing. The road was level aud good that day ; but next day there was a " pinch,'' pretty steep, but not long, to begot over. Ifc was about 2b' miles from luyeroirgill The horse jibbed very obstinately; and lie repeated it many tunes between thereaud the Mataura.Herefused constantly to pais where he had once jibbed, and frequently bullocks had to be taken from the other dray to get along at all. He (the plaintiff) left them after crossing the Mataura at the long ford, and returned to InvercirgiU. On the Bth, he saw tbe defendant there, and described what the horse had b^eu doing. Ihe defendant said that he (the plaintiff) should not be hable for the horse. He sent his brother for the horse, purposely remaining at Wallace Town himself, so as to returiihim to~ the defendant. He did this on the 26th November, but the defendant refused to take him. There was an attempt to arbitrate, which failed about the oth or 6th December. The horse was at hvery at the Albion Hotel stables, Invercargill, and notice was given to the defendant that it was so at his cost. Ultimately, after bring advertised, the horse was sold by auction and realised L29. He was examined by Mr Thomas Hamilton, of Long Bush, and others. For shoring and livery, he paid about L26. At least, five days were lost to the bullock team, on the journey from Invercargill to the diggings, owing, to the suite of the horse; and because of the unexpected delay, he had to return to Invercargill. previously, hiring a guide for the teams, from the Mataura to the diggings. He gave the guide L5 and his keep ; and the loss for the bullock teams a,nd drivers was quite L4aday. The tracing horse and dray could not be kept at work properly, and there was a loss on that account of Ll a day.. By Mr Haggitt: He was a fanner, and had a good many horses. He could not, by merely looking, detect a broken-winded: horse/ The iron chain of the sledge was broken before it was got over the point named; but he considered that the. material was bad. He knew that night that something was wrong witb the horse, but he was very anxious to complete the journey, and he thought a lightened load would enable the horse to get on., y The bad breathing continued, and he was certain,'when only fifteen mites from Invercargill, that the horse was unsound. He lightened the . load again, and used the horse as leniently sis possible, but he did not improve. Between 1 cwt. and 2 cwt, was taken off the second time. He could not then return the horse without exposing the goods on the road,~ahdincurring serious loss, jjedid not ride Prince back to Invercargill, because liis own horse was not fit for draught. Therewas at this time no formed road from Invercargill to Tuapeka, but there was a road.along which other drays had gone. John Scott's evidence did not add anything' 'material. ~ Tl?omas Hamilton; veterinary surgeon, said that bn tbe 28th November, he was called in by Air M'Kay to examine alarge. bay horse. .At his request, Mr M'Kay rode' 'the I'horse gently' for about' 100 yards, and when he got back he (the* defendant), fromthepyuiptoms showusaid thathe believed tbehorse was broken^winded. 'He thenhad the horse properly harnessed, and put1 him to a light dray with a load of

tiom i2.cwt. to io cwt. . t.m stretched himseif at it, jibbeJ, and backed the wheels into a swamp. The load was then'removed, the drav being on hard ground, and he locked the wheels. There was a sight ascent. The horse would iinll for a short distance, and then stop to b-eatbe.' He believed this was from want of bottom. The wheels being unlocked, a iigat load was put on, which the horse took on a short distance, and then stopping, he would not move it again. When it was attempted to force him, he reared. He (the witness) considered that at that tim« the horse was neither sound nor staunch. The unsoundness was a cause ofthe unstnuhchness: but he could not say that it was the only cai'se. A horse's wind might be broken in various ways. it was done by giving a drink of water too q nick. He could not say whether broken-windedness could be suddenly caused or whether it required time to deyelope itself. He did not believe that turning out a horse on a run, after he had heen star ding in a stable, and giving nun a feed of oats and hay, would be likely to injure his wind; nor would putting a horse u-ed to a dray to draw a sledge be at all likely to cause 1111----staunchness.. Refusing to pull 4 cwt or 5 cwt on a sledge would be a sign of unstaunchness. A good sound horse ought to take a ton on a sledge, supposing it to be at all a fair road. By Mr Haggitt: He never heard of a horse's wind being broken in two hours, without ill usa<r e In bcotland, a warranty of soundness was supposrd to extend over six weeks. He considered that a staunch-horse ought to pull a fair load upon any hard ground, it would he a sign of staunchness if a horse could take two tons from the wharf at Invercargill to Clarke Brothers' stores. He did not think that unstaunchness would necessarily follov soon after a horse's wind was broken.

By the Judge: He did not think that turning a horse out of a warm stable into a paddock during s.vere weather would 1 e likely to have any effect towards breaking Id 1 wind.

Wm. Hutcli son siid that he saw the horse Prmce when landed at Invercargill from Melbourne He thoguht of buying him ; but, not liking his look3 he wei.t three time- aid examined him. He saw that t'lere was something wroiig about the horse's wine • and the driver told him (the witness) that the horse was " a screw." Of coir se he did not buy him. He saw the same horse near the Molyneux ; he was constantly angling across the hilt and stopping. By Mr Haggiit: He knew a good deal of horses, and was sure that, he could, by looking, find out if one was broken winded. He had known two horses take 25 cwt. from Invercargill to the dig-dugs A sound h.Tse ought to take 4 cwt. on a bullock sledge A irood'.-n any horses had had to go to the Dunstan without any corn at all. Mr M -.orhousn said that, he had for twelve years been a v -teriuary surgeon Over exertion, bad feeding, suclien change of temperature, and bad ventilation in t. stable, were all causes of broken wind ; and inflammation of ihe lungs, or distemper, might leave it. Over-exertion was the only thing that would suddenly bring on broken-windediiessr If a horse was sound, turning him into a paddock as desc ibed in this case, would do him good rather than harm. A. sound horse could not become broken-winded in ten days, unless there was some very severe exertion or some sickness.

, Mr Haggitt said that the defence w-13 that at the time of sale.the horse was "sound and staun<-h in harness," which was the only warranty giv n bv the defendant. The horse, with two others, was consigned to the defendant, a merchant at lavercargill, by a correspondent in Melbourne; and the mvi who'brought him over having staled that the horse had frequently taken a load of two tons from Sand ridge to Melbourne, the statement was repeated by the defendant to the plaintiff Forty-six days elapsed from the time of sale to the formal tender back of the horse; and it was fair to assume, that having used the horse to haul to the diggings, and brutally ill-used him on the road, the plaintiffs simply desired to get back the acceptance for LIOO. _ Morris Curran said that he was a groom. For inn" months he worked the horse Prince in Melbourne. It belonged to Mr Howling. On tha morning of embarkation at Sand ridge, the horse took, down two tons of flour from Melbourne; and not long before he took from the Victorian Hail way Station' Snencer-street, to a place in Elizabeth-street, 53 cwt without turning a hair. He never showed th" s'ighte=t sign of broken-windednes3 or unstaunchness, dor did he ever jib. He did not suffer much on the voyage, and he got a few days' rest frefore being landed. He (the wituess) worked the hor;-e in Invercargill, and frequently took two tons of flour from the wharf to Clark iWthers' fully half a mile, and 100-e gravel all the way. When delivered to the, plaintiff, the horce was sound and staunch, " any way you like to take him." He (the witness) saw the liorse again eleven days after, in Invercargill ; he was then in bad condition, and when he came back from the diggings, he couldn't have bfen worse. He appeared to have been illused. There were marks from the whip extending two feet, both on the shoulders and quarters. The sho«s put on in Melhournc had never been reraov-.-d, and had b' en driven right into his feet; aud he would not allow his head to ba touched. He had never been touchy before, but was as nice a.horse as you could speak to in the street. (Laughter.) Certainly he was not worth nearly so much as when he started for the diggings. If a horse was once swamped, and severely beaten while so. he would be a jibber ever afterwards. He (the witness) rather thought that by looking at a horse he conld decide whether a horse's wind was broken. He knew Black Bill; that was the man (pointing to Hutchinson). Bill never came to look at Prince; he could not possibly have seen the horse without his (witness's) knowing it— that was he thought, so. He saw the horse at Invereargill in a dray loaded with 14 bags of flour and two bags of oats, for the diggings. When Scott returned to Invercargill, he told him (witness) that he thought the young fellow that drove Prince had over-worked him and broken his he'u-t —that the young mare that led never pulled a pound up to the Ttong Ford, which was 36 miles from Invercargill. By Mr Gillies : He never, told any one Hint Prince was "a little touchrd in the wind." They were 2 cwt bags of flour, of which he saw 14 bags in the dray, which Prince was drawing. Colin N. Campbell, the defendant, said he was authorised by his Melbourne agent to warrant Prince as "souud and staunch in barnes?.-." He never gave j any-oth sr warranty. He first proposed arbitration,but im the end he declined to go on with it, because] the plaintiffs world not agree to what be insisted ' upon—that tiie arbitrators should decide upon the testimony of the former owner and driver, and that there should be no trial, as the time for that was before purchase. Ho had. no interest in the horse or ' the sa'e, beyond five per ceiit commission ou the £100.

By Mr Gillies: He declared positively that he did not receive instructions not to warrant Prince sound and staunch in harness. The same instructions referred to all three of the horses sent over, except tliat one was'-thorough-bred, and the others draught. William tobertson, auctioneer, stateil that he had frequendy <een Prince drawing a;load of twenty sacks of li. ur, to Clark Br-. hers'stores ; the road and the Io i formed a good test of the strength and soundness f a horse.

By Mr Gillies : He only saw the load, and heard that they consisted of twenty bags each. He had no recollection of ever seeing a letter from Mr Dowling to the defendant. No such thing was produced during the attempt to arbitrate this matter. This being the ease for the defence. Mr Gillfcs recalled Donald M'Kay. He said that when he was returning from the diggings to Inveicargill, he met Curran just by the town. He challenged Curran for not telling iiim before starting that the horse was broken winded ; and in reply, Curran admitted that he knew that Prince was touched in the wind. During the1 time that arbitration was atoot, he was in the defendant's house with Hamilton and Robertson, trying to discuss the matter. A letter was then read as from Dowling to the defendant; and his (the plaintiffs) recollection was clear as to that letter. It was that Dowling had sent over three horses, a brown, a black, and a bay ; the two former were stated to be "sound and staunch," the bay to be "staunch.'-'- Robertson said, upon that letter being read, that no person was authorised to sell the bay as sound, because the former owner had not given such an authority. J Hamilton, recalled, confirmed the plaintiff's statement as to the substance of the letter. Angus Cameron, landlora ofthe Albion Hotel, Invercargill. said that Morris Curran was in his service about November last. When Prince was brought back to his stables, he (the witness) spoke to Curran about the horse's condition, and Curran said he knew that Prince was cracked in the wind, but it did not injure him in his work. After Mr Haggitt had summed up the evidence for the defence, Mr Gillies replied upon the whole case, commenting strongly upon the non-production of Dowling's letter, as to which the defendant said that he had not it in his possession when the notice to produce was sprved. His Honor summed up in favor of' the plaintiffs ; and at 7 o'clock, after consulting for a-quarter of an hour, the Jury -etunied a verdict for tlie plaintiffs: damages, L76 9s" Od. - - - - .Gold in Spaik-.—Spain looks to be enriched by' some recent explorations. A rich aurife?-ous stratum' is reported found at Denio, in the the district of Valencia, while the silver mines of Truxilio, in TBstremadura, negleeted for three centuries, are proved to be most productive on re-opening ; both Fernando Cortes and Puarro ciine from this- neighborhood; and Eossibly. their more marvellous findings in another emisphere had drawn loff-attention 'from' tHe? local deposits, which tfefcurjt^twenty-five ounces- of silver for every quintal of oxe.—J>ispatch t

Z ' CHINA AND JAPAN. rd (From the Overland Trade Report, Aug. 27.) ,a Tie la«t i«ue of this report was dated the 10th inst. ll -M1?; intelligence then conveyed may be thus sura- » mansed. The belligerents'on the Yang-tsze continued * ma state of quiescence, owing probably to the heat of I summer and the ripening ofthe harvests. An unp f^^ntedly large business has been done in silk, « tne trade in which was conducted with the utmost I Regularity and confidence within the districts held by e the Taipmjrs, wherein, though food appeared very ,e scarce, quiet and order seemed to prevail.' NotwithV I -m n? w !e enormous revenue secured to the Shane--s hai Taout'u by the action of the British Authorities, e .that functionary appeared much pressed for moneye so much so that his troops had fallen into arrears of - nay, aud had m consequence become discontented. *. Ningpo continued m the hands of the Imperialists, > being protected by British vessels of war. The TaipY mgs wore in force at Yu yaou, an important city > about thirty miles from Ningpo, the poseslion whereof - enabled them to rum trade by stopping communicai tion with the interior. An expedition was beine 1 formed, consisting partly of British and partly of - Chinese troops, to attack this place. From Nankin there was no intelligence whatever. There was no 1 political news of importance from Pekin, whew 1 however, cholera was raging to a frightful extent! ) Commercial advices were satisfactory. Shipping- was I superabundant. The intelligence from Japan continued alarming and unsatisfactory. A report had be,n published to^the effect that all the foreign » Ministers had left 1 edda The accuracy of this was doubted, aud it has since been ascertained to have . been premature.

hJ» hL P- OfeSS^ £ affairs du/infi' the fortnight has been so intimately conuected with the inteTbVenc» ?Tffiko^nbythemiilofthe 10«» of July, that it Mint H°> ?'. ssociafce the relation. The British Minister at Pekm, regardless of his public duties, or oi his former instructions from Downintr-street is bent upon the regeneration of China upon a plan wine Ihe has long conceived and practiced. This is entirelvbnsed upon his Custom scheme, and hinges on the integrity, ability and continuance in office of he Prince Kung If the Imperial Government can be made alive to then- own interests, and can be inn'S r -;?t,eU^ -I,e voic.e,of re;ison ' the intentions 0. the British Minister will probably succeed • but two circumstances should be borne in'mind, which bv no means tend tu strengthen the hopes of His ExcelIXVt?"'• isl! f>rs,i In '118l 18 firstp]ace ' tlj"e ln;itei^ suppott, physical and mora), accorded by the British authorities to the I,npe.iat Government, is and has been of such a nature that considering the ill-armed rabble which has had to be contended against the smallest .sense devotion., or energy must long since '■ have combined to put down this Taining rld,K which has attained such great proportions? For in- ] stance the safety of tb> most important of the open ' potus # has been extended to the Imperialists; also th« 1 security ot a larger customs revenue than Chinese < id -as ever dreamed of before. This support has been » accorded for some years. It has beeu deemed, by a i singular mode of rearming, to be a species of neu- < trnh(y ou the part of the British; but a moment's 1 reflection: should > convey a true idea of the immense 1 materiality of the support thus accorded. Money 1 the sinews of war, was provided to as irreat an extent -< aa-was-necessary each port protected was an in- 1 yiokble citadel wherein the Imperialists could rally 1 their forces and equip their troops: communication w.«s maintained between all the ports by means of seam: supply of all kinds were obtainable, in- . c-ndino- foreign arms an<l ammunition ad libitum < nvl' Wii m-.tl. lcse advantagessecured to the Imperi- ' 1 * ")* V"pings ">*k headway, until, it becoming 1 evident that the peculiar style of neutrality adopted f tended materially to prolong ths strife, physical assist- « auce was extended to the former, and the most overt 1 implacable acts of hostility committed upon the- $ latter. Even these steps did not prove sufficient I to lead to any tangible hope of the Imperial Go- I handed^ *° C°l>e with the Tai Pin=s sing!e" ' The other circumstance alluded to is this What- f over the Prince Kung may have done to earn the t immense confidence he enjoys, it cannot he denied t tliat -ie stands alone, without party or coadjutor He t is a vary young man, and, under the perpetual ausni- f cesc;.,d advice of Her Majesty's Minister, has donbt- a less maugrated a new state of things regarding- fo- 1 reign relations. This he has been clearly induced to 1 do because ruin stared the Empire in the face: but it 1 is a singular tact, and one highly indicative of the in- 1 herent renellance of the Chinese mandarins towards I foreigner, that no Chinese statesmen of note have i appeared to support the Prince in the new policy he t Has adopted. Aud it is more singular still that, with tlie very existence of the empire dependent on the * will ot the British Government, that is to say, on the c simp e withdrawal of its support, no ambassador F should have been sent to London to establish such 0 relations as would justify the warm support which 1 the English barbarians" have "reverently" ac- 1 corded. J T

A difficulty quite as great as the Talping rebellion has to be overcome, ere any real hope ofthe regeneration ot the Chinese Empire can be entertained. This refers to the universalvenalitv ofthe mandarins The root of the evil lies in this. ' The legal pay of officials m Ohina is the same as it, was many hundred yeais ago. As in other countries, money represents far less value in China now than it did then, and- ooff- i sequently the legal pay of mandarins is such a pittance as to give rise to the perfect under- i standing that other means must be resorted ] to tor the purpose of absolute maintenance, i ihus a system of venality has become established in * every grade and department, which nothing can eradi• T cate hut a revolution or a revision of the civil list. ( Ihe British Minister seeks to grapple with this diffi- I culr.y in a roost objectionable manner. Instead of I attacking the cause, he attacks the effect. The 1 British consuls at the various ports are supposed to 1 exercise an espionage over the local authorities. It is i deemed their duty to report such cases of venality as i may appear to them to conflict with foreign interests i to the Minister at Pekin, who, having eominuniea- t tion with.the .Prince Kung, can obtain instant re- l dress, and cause summary punishment to be inflicted, t Now as such a being as a mandarin untainted with i venality is unknown, it is very clear that this system ' of espicnfirje must make the British Minister highly ( unpopular at the Court of Pekin. And it should be 1 remembered that if one coup d'htaX could, as it did i place the throne under Prince Kung's thumb, that i another coup d'dtat might place his life in imminent < joopardy. .Besides the plan laid down, or at all events practised, by the British Minister, can only be very < partial, and cannot extend or in any way apply to the < interior; and It involves a degree of interference 1 with the affairs of the country, which, leading as it c must to intrigues and bickerings, is, in many ways, c objectionable. l To give two instances.—The Canton River having t

many branches, the customs revenue could not be properly protected unless cruisers were employed in all the channels, which was declared, even by Sir Rutherford Alcock, to involve a larger outlay than the event would justify. The consequence was, that the direct passage to Canton only was guarded, and the others left open except when the customs mercenaries made one of those piratical raids on native craft in a small steamer in the revenue service, which now, happily for foreign relations, appear to be discontinued. The provincial mandarins in a very short time appropriated to themselves the revenue of all these unguarded passages—and this they did in a manner objectionable to a degree. They farmed the revenue to men who had been pirates, rebels, or hired assassins, and these maintained a heavy fleet of cruisers, which were engaged in the smuggling and other objectionable trades, even to that of supplying the rebels with arms. The evil became notorious. From the Governor-General inclusive, all the pro\dncial authorities downwards, were known to be implicated. The Lieutenant-Go-vernor, who was absent on the borders keeping tbe rebels.back, and the passes open, actually laid an information against the Governor-General regarding the matter, which appeared in the Pekin Gazette, ere the occurrence of. the coup-tf itat. The LieutenantGovernor.belonged, to the war party,' the GovernorGeneral .to the foreign party, which, "oming into power with Prince Kung, the latter managed to have the affair hushed up, and his accuser sent to another province. The Lieutenant-Governor then changed his , tactics, and refused to stir until his share of the illicit revenue should be paid to hira. The consequence was, that all the mandarins implicated purchased peace by subscribing a large sum of money, the quotum ofthe Governor-General being reported at 50,000 taels, Ihe a.fair was the common topic of conversation in Canton at the time, no secresy whatever beingl observed regarding it. The probability is that these gross : buses reached the ears of Her Majesty's Minis-' ter, and that his Excellency-urged Prince Kung to take action m the matter; for suddenly an Imperial Gommisssioner appeared at Canton, delegated to make special inquiries into the affiur. He having made himself acquainted with tbe facts of the casef issued charges against forty-eight mandarins, arresting twelve, one of whom was the Governor-General's son, aud decapitating one of ihe ex-pirates, who had charge of a fleet ot smuggling cruisers. The affair forthe past w*>ek remained in statu quo, and beyond all doubt wi I be patched up on the payment of heavy bribes at Pekin. The circumstance is important, as ponveymg a correct impression of one of the many evils of the Customs scheme. If .the mandarins are jirev3nted from Jevying. fees on the Customs revenue they will levy them in a more objectionable jnan™l' ~| h«°«»er circumstance referred to is like-' wise illustrate of the'sysiem prevailing. The British Consul at Ningno, obtained leavl of absence' ffi-*" K 0? *?"*• WJeft an,assistant in charge. t-v?5 utai OT I** -of the oppojtpnity to proiubit the export of grain and copper cash, on the grounds of strong political reasons, and the result was tjiafc heavy losses w«re sustained by resident nyarcau-

uie firms. (In the consul's (Mr F. Uariw^freti^ he expostulated with t«e Taoutai on th,,* relictions. The Taoutai yk-Med (he-p-iat re^u-din K . the article copper cash, but tenacious a.ihere'l to th! ; expoit of eram being still prohibited. The con"! unwillingly assented to the political argument, Cl but found a day or two or afterwards that the T a ou£{ was hiuneli a heavy speculator in grain. Th • affiiir ml of course be reported to Pekin, aud the Taoutai will be punished. " As for the progress of affairs since the departure of last mad, the Chinese contingent under Ward has been actively employ ed. and has done goo I service. The towns or fortified posts of Kinsang,' Leohu, and Tsnigpoo in the neighborhood of Shanghai, have successfully, fallen to their arms, principally bv means of the eftcient artillery above noticed. The last advices from bhanghai, however, state that the Taipings had returned to Tsmgnoo in great force, and tint unless relief were sent from the foreign garrison at Shanghai that the situation of Ward's contingent would become highly critical. Yu Yaou, an important city, about thirty miles from Ningpo, was attacked aud taken on the 2ud instant from the Taipings, by a combined allied aud Chinese force. This will open u p the trade of Ningpo to some extent, but until an important city still further oji, called Shaou-hiug-foo be taken, the communication with tlie silk districts cannot be opened. An expedition against tin's place cannot be thought of until Ward's contingent shall be released from its present difficulties. It cannot be denied, that what with the action of the British Government as indicated hy the debate of Bth July—with the gunboats on the way out. under Captain Osborn—with the complete success which has attended that portion of the Customs scheme which provided f,r the drilling of Chinese recruits, tnat the Imperial cause is looking up perspeetively Ihe pret- xt given for the consent of the British Government to the engagement of Captain Osborn namely, the suppression of piracy on the Chusan group, is a very weak i uvea tion —no doubt a thi«h will he macie on his arrival at Nankin, where the latpmgs and Imperialists continue inactive under tho

j spcii ot eacu others gaze. Tlie only political inteligence from Pekin. is a rumour to the effect that the Governor of Macao has faded in his negotiations, the Prince Kung very properly insisting upon the original agreement as to the occupation of the place by the Portuguese as tenants, being/alien back upon. Cholera still prevailed to an appalling extent in the capital, and had reached to Newchwang and Nagasaki. At Tieufciz ami Shanghai the scourpe bail happily decrease i, The United btates legation had reached the capital, and had taken up its quarters afc the Fu-neh embassy until a vamun suould bs prepared tor it. At Japan, political aftYirs become worse and worse The United States L?»ation still remains at Yedd-j" but the British and French Legations are temporarily at Yokuama. It would seem as though ihe vi ws ofthe author of the "Open Letter" were correct and that the right of the Tycoon to male? tiie ?vM«i[ treaties will he. if possible, repudiated. An outbreak ot the anti-fore.-gn parly is iminiueat, and the Government of Yed-.10 appear to he doing its utmost to avert such a calamity. The guard of rhe British ami trench Legations ha* been augmented by tweutv-live soldiers of cadi nation from Shanghai. Admiral Kuper is about, to leave this port for Yeddo in the nagaUip Isuryalus. (FROM THB CHrXA OVERLAND MAIL ) Ihe irregular nature of our communication with Japan prevents us from b iaar able to rejort continuously th«» progress nf events in onr settlements there. Ihe last in'ormation received was by a steamer belonging to .Messrs Jai-diue, Matheson, and Co. and the on y item of news which it brought was to the elteet that all the Ministers had left Ye'ldo tho -Yuie. "can Minister included. There is considerably more significance in this fact thau may at first ;fpp -ar Such an event has never happened' since forei-'ii relations were opened with the country; but that this is precisely the consummation that a pa- tv in Yeddo have been sedulously scheming fcr durin<>- the last few years, is now pretty well understood and admitted by many political observers. Another report, to the effect that the great Princes of Japan, -nid'dnff to the Tyeoo-.i the exclusive revenue he derived from foreign trade, were about to demand the opening of additional ports .in their own territories, is not at. all likely to prove true, although pleasing ant rather plausible. The result of the alleged 'gutln'rintr of Daimio3 at Yeddo has not transpired ; it' may simply have bean an auxiliary move towards induciiu'-Coioael heale and the others to retire from Yeddo. ' Matters in Japan are, therefore, with one important exception, pretty much as when we last wrote. With regard to China, the last fortnight hn* ty^s-d without any incident of importance. At Ticu'«oi cholera has beeu raging frightfully among the native population, and ia said to be moving in the dinvt'-on of Pekin. Further accouuts say that, the statesman Kweihang has succumbed to it. Only one foreigner has fallen a victim in Tientsin. At Cliofbo also the pestilence has committed dreadful havoc 20 000 people, it is reported, haying died of it. The Eev. S. Hall, and other four of the foreign residents, expired within a few days.

At Shanghai, everything is quiet. The dimensions and importance of that settlement are increasing with the growing trade on the Yanqteae River, already very large, A movement is at present on foot to have a regular municipal corporation, or something equivalent, with power and authority over the community to the extent of levying taxes for public purposes. A proposal to constitute Shanghai a free city has b'en made, and has met with approval. In order to carry out this idea, a charter would be required from the Emperor of China; but the British Consul, whose advice was requested, pointed out that the moment had scarcely arrived for asking such a concession from the Emperor. The fact is, that Shanghai, which has hitherto managed its affairs by the general good-will that existed among the residents, who paid voluntary assessments and supported their committees in the I most sensible manner, has now become cioivded with j new men of various descriptions, who are not so ready to co-operate iu the self-government of tho place, partly because there is no comnulsion iu the matter and partly because they dislike the arrogance and presumption shown by eowe of the paid' officials. The Defence Committee seems to be commanding general respect at the present moment, and mein^ bers have wisely adopted the plan of retaining the powers entrusted to them when they might havo been expected to resign, tlieir functions being dis-

From the ports on the Yangtsze we have no parti. [ cular intelligence. Hakow continues ■to improve. Canton and Macao have both suffered most seriously from the effects of a typhoon which swept over that district about a fortnight .ago ; it is said to have been of a more severe nature than any that has heen experienced for upwards of thirty years. The destruction Of life and property at Canton is immense, the loss of life in the city aud neighbourhood being estimated at 40,000; that is the highest estimate, but continued inquiries show it to be probably the most correct. At Macao some damage was done, and a number of lives lost, but the place is not at all so much " punished " as Canton. From Ningpo, we hear that Luh-sin-lan has been decapitated. He was an old man of seventy, and had lately nude himself obnoxious to the Imperialists and to the Taoutai of Ningpo. He had temporised with the rebels wheu the latter worthy fled, which fully accounts fcr the facts now recorded. At the same time, a color would not be wanting for Luh-siu-lan's execution. Ifc has created inu<di and deep regret among the missionaries, with which he was on torms of friendship. This is the same man they brought out of Ningpo after its recapture by tne allies. Pirates are again becoming troublesome on the coast between Shanghai and Ningpo. Tho Heather Bell had been fired on by pirates offChin-hae, and a small craft in company with her at the time is missing These pirates are said to be very daring, and belong to Apak's fleet of buccaneers, the great portion of whom are now in tht Imperial service, keening the Taepings in check at a place some thirty miles inland from Ningpo. In the latter city, affairs are returning once more into a settled state. We have to record, however, a treacherous and bloody act ofthe Taoutai towards an old wealthy inhabitant; It appears that a Chinese merchant, well known to the fore gners in the settlement, remained during the occupation of Ningpo by the Taiping rebels, and was placed by them m some official position. After the city was recaptured, this merchant, who is an old man, reremained unmolested by the Taoutai or any of the Imperialists. Last week, however, that functionary, who professed to ibe friendly, invited him to a banquet, which ho accepted and attended, when the unfortunate man was treacherously beheaded. It is also reported that, when some of the foreigners went to the merchant's house to ascertain the truth of the above statement, that, they found the Taoutai and his myrmidons seizing the effects of his victim. In Hong Kong, everything goes on smoothly. . The late typhoon was felt here in smart gusts of wind, which did just sufficient damage to show. what, wo.hav to fear should any other part except the extreme edge of a cyclone approach; us. About awe ;k ago the Snake picked up a boat's crew who had 1 ft their vessel,'the Lord of the Isles, after she hal caught fire; the ship being full of gunpowder in cargo, was abandoned soon after the efforts to extinguish the fire were seen to be unavailing. The crew reported the captain (Davie) and eight passengers (including six French priests) as at sea in another boat. Those have siqce,. we are glad to say, turned up safely, afttr, considerable hardships. „ With regard,to the.opium swindle,.matters are only moving along -slowly. Bustomjee still remains ' atMafcao, his surrender to the authorities here being dependent on the decision of H. E. Governor Guiraa '- raes, who is at presentin the north of China,! .Hub tmnjee is represented in Hong Kong by his attorney IS$ Pauaceloote, who is prepared with and holds *

document, .in terms of which the Parsce makes over certain as*efr» in England to the creditors here. As the amount of those assets" is not specified, although n attempt was made to convev the idea that they were inmw.se, and as the riaht"of the Rustomjee to tJieir disposal is far from certain, the creditors have refused to compromise tlie matt-r in consideration of getting this document; ifc U called a trust deed, and lies in the attorney's hands, ready for delivery on the terms proposed. This opium affair has opened the eyes of the community here to the; n.i*erablv ineffi'i ciertt state of the law in this colony in the iriatttr of debtor and creditor. . We have no bankrupt Act, and in consequence, some of the scenes connected with the seizure of effects have been mesfc disgraceful, even to the attorneys connected with the case. Latent capabilities for sharp practice have developed themselves in some of our most distinguished legal practitioners m tiie course of the proceedings in this affair.

At Canton, the destruction "of life and property among the junk population during the latetyphoo •, was appaFitig; and amongst others the fine new fleet of forty Imperial junks, intended for the Yangtsze-kiang, has been destroyed. The wafer rose till the streets of Honam had three feet in them, though the buildings suffered less than might have been expected. Some two or throe hundred feet of the granite wall at Sharaeen has heen washed away, and blocks of stone were driven about as if they had b en billets of wood.' Houses in the city had also been blown down, and trees rooted up. The rice crops have suffered severely, and the total damage may bs rstirnatcd in millions of dollars. Mr Gaillard, an American missionary, was killed by the falling in of hi-> house ; and tho residences of the Revs. — Bonney and Pierccy were thrown down by a large junk having been driven up against them. At Whampoa, the docks were all flooded, and some thousands of dollars'worth of damage done to them, while the workshops were unroofed and otherwise injured. The British brig Mexican capsized in Hall and Co.'s dock, and lies on her beam ends. The British ship Dewa Gungadhur is lying on her side in Gow and Co.-'s dock. The British steamer Antelope, in the < hincse dock at the corner of Junk River, has her bow run up over the head ofthe dock, and her stern at at angle of thirty degrees into it. The British steamer Bombay Castle was washed off the blocks in C mper's wooden dock, and was scuttled by her captain to save her from being floated out of the dock. The American ship Washington is aground, Clocking up the entrance to the Chinese dock in Junk River. The American ship Jacob Bell and British barque Cannata are high on a mud-flat, dry at low water; the latter making water, and discharging, her cargo. The new Uritish steamer Whampoa broke from her moorings, and went ashore, but, has since been got off without injury. Several shops sunk, and five of the foreign Cu-toins inspectors were drowned. Many junks went down with all hands. Bamboo Town is entirely destroyed, the water having flooded it to the depth of six. fret, and swept df a great number of its inhabitants. Altogether, a thousand lives are said to have been lost; but that is probably too low an estimate, for no fewer than sixty bodies were lying1 next morning on the bank immediately opposite Mr Couper's shop. In Macao, the loss of life is also very great. Al any junks were sunk or driven ashore, and their crews drowned. The Chilo, a British ship engaged in the rice trade, went ashore, and is a total wreck ; and another vessel is also reported lost.