The Pall Mall Gazette says:—A. short time ago an insignificant looking telegram from China, buried among the usual unintelligible references to water twist, ahirtings, tea chops, &c., informed us that the transit duties were settled." They had been settled so many times to their own satisfaction by the Chinese, that the inform ation did not seem very important to the trading public here at home. But now we learn—not from British official sources, that would be much too prompt and straightforward to be dignified—that the Ningpo Taoutai declares in a proclamation Tseng Kwo-fan, the Viceroy, instructs him in these terms:—As to the transport of foreign goods to the interior under transit pose, a despatch has been received from the Foreign-office, allowing that privilege to foreign and-Chinese merchants alike." The Shanghai Taoutai has already acknowledged the system by granting passes for the transit of foreign goods to Chinese merchants, It is impossible to over-estimate the value of this question gua British trade. The most important, of course, as regards better intercourse with China is that of the residence of foreigners in the interior, But until that shall have been conceded it is evident that a free passage for their goods to the millions of buyers is a large measure of what is required, How has this much desired settlement been arrived at? Who effected it? Mr. Wade, who has the credit of preferring a quiet life at Peking? Mr.
hitherto always been found fighting the Hart, who, perhaps, very properly has battles of the Chinese Government or was it, perchance, Markham, whose untimely death is deeply regretted by all who know anything of China? And, after all, is it true? Will our Foreign-office vouchsafe any information for the benefit of those so deeply: concerned? or can it be that, as in the case of the most important despatch which was ever addressed by the Chinese Government to foreign Powers, Mr. Wade has been too much occupied with his own thoughts to convey any hint of what is going on to the Rhadamanthus of Downing-street THE P. AND 0. CE. DIRECTORS' REPORT.
The tabular statement contains as usual par-ticalers of the tonnage, horse-power, and present stations of the company's fleet. It will
now the same as that shown in the last half-be seen that the number of sea-going ships is yearly report, namely, forty-one, This results from the sale of the Ganges in China, the loss of the Rangoon (to be presently referred. to),
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.