The English mail of February 24th arrived on the 9th instant.
The Washington Post says that England should make magnanimous apology for the escape of the Alabama, such as a great nation might accept as full redress, but admits that the claims for indirect damages are inadmissible. The Republicans have carried the Connecticut elections. The American Congress has rejected the Senate's Tariff which abolished Tea Duty.
An enthusiastic monster meeting of Conservatives has been held at Manchester, at which Mx. Disraeli defended the Throne as the source of all blessings of government which Englishmen enjoy. The Queen has returned from Germany. An Earthquake has destroyed half Antioch, killing 1,500 persons.
The homeward English mail leaves tomorrow by the P. & 0. str. Madras, The American mail also leaves to-morrow by the P. M. str. Oregonian.
'A meeting of shareholders in the North-China Insurance Company 1869-71 was held on Monday. The Directors' report and accounts, and a report of the proceedings, will be found elsewhere, The 8. ¥. C. Challenge Cup Regatta has been fixed for the 22nd.
The usual Racket Club spring handicap has been arranged. Play is to begin on Friday next.
The S. V. ©. spring rifle m ing also begins to-morrow.
The steamer Hailoong has been lost on Breaker Point, but the crew and pas-songers have been saved and taken to Amoy by the Bombay. The Hailoong was one of Douglas Lapraik's steamers, running between Hongkong and Formosa, and was built specially for that trade.
Telegraphic communication with Hongkong is again interrupted. These frequent breaks illustrate the value of having two strings to our bow. It is only ten months since the first direct telegram reached us. But we have come to look on daily communication with London, now, as a matter of course; and, with two lines, we are pretty sure of maintaining it. A junk will hardly lift the cable near Amoy at the same moment that fisherman steal a piece near Shanghai. One or other accident seems to happen pretty frequently, but they have always alter nated, hitherto; and experience proves, we believe, that either route works equally well. At first, there was an impression that telegrams sent through Russia were not transmitted either so correctly or so expedition by the Southern line; and we believe there was some truth in the charge. But more skilled employes have been since engaged, and as the Great Norther' Company have a line across Siberix entirely at their own disposal, the risk of error or delay is obviated, or is certainly not greater than by the Hongkong route.
The result of the complaints regarding the conduct of native gunboat men in the Foreign Settlements, has been the issue of a proclamation by the Taotai requiring them to behave more circumspectly in future.
A rather strange shooting case occurred in Hongkew on Tuesday morning. A man named Stephens, formerly a pilot in Shanghai, and who had returned by the Priam, was outen the Broadway about 1 a.m., and, it is alleged, behaving rather noisily. No complaint was made to the police however, nor did he attract their attention but a Canton Chinaman in the neighborhood, feeling annoyed at the disturbance, raised his window and fired at the man several times, with a revolver. Feeling himself wounded, Stephens made for the tavern where he lived, the keeper of which at once sent for the police. The Chinaman was arrested, and a Smith and Wesson's revolver, with four chambers recently discharged, found in his possession. He asserted that he had not fired at the man with the revolver, but had merely thrown out a few crackers to frighten him away, because he found he could not get to sleep and had to be up to work early in the morning. Stephens was removed to Hospital, where a wound on the thigh, several inches in depth, was found. The Chinaman has lived many years in California Nine more of the Poo-man-tang villagers, forming the last of those arrested so far, on account of the attack on Messrs. Farnham and Rébl, received sentences of various severity, from 300 blows downwards, atthe Mixed Court yesterday; and seventeen in all had their punishments carried out this morning. The sentences have been, as far as possible, carried out in the presence of Messrs. Haas, U.S. Officiating Inter-prefer, Franzenbach, German Interpreter, and Inspector Stripling; and have been administered with full severity. The man sentenced to 10 months imprisonment was so very old, being over 70, that no other mode of punishment was possible, Another old man was punished by blows on the hand, and s short term of cangue. The military mandarin who has been degraded has, it appears, suffered that indignity not for any active share in the row, but because, having passed through the village and seen Mr. Farnham's Chinese employes bound up, he still denied that he had been there at allen that day. These men, unlike the civil magistrate, are not responsible for the maintenance of public order in their district; otherwise, the fact that he had been in the village, seen the/Chinese bound and confined, and must have learnt that there had been an unlawful disturbance, would have justified punishment of a different kind, in addition to loss of rank. We Rave already expressed an opinion that the punishment by blows on the mouth is cruel. The punishment is a thoroughly Chinese one, and based on a principle of criminal jurisprudence wholly contrary to Western procedure. The man who is ordered this punishment has told many and manifest lies, with a view to exculpate himself, while several witnesses have proved conclusively his guilt. For the lies he has told, he is punished by blows on the mouth; for the guilt established against him, he receives two hundred blows on the thigh. As we have said, the principle of self-crimination is not only not accepted in the West, but is absolutely reprobated and we think, where opportunity offers, while strict and vigorous justice may be done, the Mixed Court should be taught to modify the more barbaric of its practices through the influence of its foreign elements. As the investigation proceeds, facts come to light incriminating many more of the villagers than hay custody so far, and it is likely that numerous arrests will yet be made,—But all this while, the real origin of the row is by no means made clear.
The energetic remonstrances which have been lately made about the Woosung bar have at least called attention to the matter, in Peking. The question seems still to be imperfectly realised, but that it is being considered at all, is a great thing, Mr. Wade seems to have been as success: fully imbued as Mr. Low, with doubt as to the practicability of permanently improving the Woosung bar but every body will bye-and-bye see that the permanent application of a dredyer must assuredly cut a channel, and keep it open.
It will be remembered that the U. 8. Mi-ulster at Pexine was the first to reply to the Chinese " Missionary Circular" which was 0 much discussed a few months ago; and that his despatch was referred to and endorsed by other Foreign Ministers, in writing on the same subject. The des patch has been published in a recent Blue Book, and we reprint it to-day for the sake of record. We also print a despatch by Mr. Low to the Foreign Department, which deals very clearly and straight: forwardly with the views put forward by the Chinese. The China Mail hears from a reliable source, that a secret the Chinese Government, by one. of its memorial has been recently presented Chancellors of the Inner' Council who is named Sung. He urges the abolition of the Foochow Arsenal and the temporary, if not permanent, discontinuance of the one at Shanghai, on the plea of the grest expenditure these establishments entail on the country. It is stated that an annual outlay of 800,000 taels is spent on them. The memorial has been sent to the Viceroys Toong-kwo-fan and Lo Hung Chang for report. Both these officials, however, ar¢ doubt they would wrge all they oan in favor rear admirers of foreign sciences, and 10 of the establishments; but now Lo Hung Chang is left single-handed by the recent death of Tseng-kwo-fan. The loss of the latter official is singularly unfortunate for the progress of China."—We have heard the same rumour, but from another point of view. Our informant believes that Li isar the bottom of the affair. The first Arsenal was established by Li himself, with the aid of Dr. Macartney. Wher the Foochow Arsenal was started, the rumour was very current that Tso-tsung-tang, the then Viceroy of Fohkien and Chekeang, was instigated and supplied with funds by the Tartar party at Peking, who were jealous of Li's possession. A it is suggested that the present move against the Foochow Arsenal is prompted by Li. There is no word, it will be noticed, of touching Li's own arsenal at Nanking.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.