The English mail of 16th May arrived on the 29th June.
A mail for America eft on the 28th by the P. M. str. Golden Age, A mail for Burope leaves to-morrow by the M. M. str. Sindh.
We have received no telegrams during the week, the wire between this and Hongkong being again broken.
The index to Vol. XXVII of the N.-C.
Herald and 8. 0. & C. Garelte (anuary-Tune'73) is circulated with to-day's issue.
The week has been rather a quiet one no event of particular interest, and business very dull, The weather has become hot, and punkahs a necessity.
Lewis' Australian Dramatic Company have been performing nightly, with success but the weather is now too warm for the comfort of audiences.
A match at Base Ball was played on Friday last between the officers of the U.S. flag-ship Hartford and rest of the officers of the Fleet; and resulted in favour of the latter by one run, A match between nine of the U. S. Fleet and nine Shanghai players was announced for Wednesday, but did not come off. The Shanghaites could not select a good nine in time, and brought up only a scratch crew, whom the Fleet beat easily.
Saturday being the 35th anniversary of the coronation (and 36th year of the reign) of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the vessels of war and many of the merchant men in harbour of divers nationalities, dressed ship, giving to the river off the Settlements a very gay appearance; and at noon a royal salute was fired, the English and American Navies principally taking part in the compliment.
Yesterday being the anniversary of the declaration of independence by the United States, was celebrated with the usual rejoicings. Salutes were fired; flags flown, and a reception was held in the afternoon on board the U. 8. flagship Hartford, We mentioned some time ago that a number of Chinese had petitioned to have the opium taverns in the Settlement closed and that their wish had been acted on. The News-Letter now mentions that the memorialists waited on O. B, Bradford, Esq., U.S.
Vice-Consul-General, on the 24th ult,; and in acknowledgment of his exertions to influence the accomplishment of their object, presented him with a handsome scroll of fine vermilion dyed cloth, on which were inscribed, incolossal gold letters, characters expressive of the highest respect and the warmest good wishes. '"Another gift was the Wan-ming-san, oF oficial Umbrella of state; an immense red cloth umbrella, with a fringe of lighter red cloth more than a yard deep, round which are embroidered in gold the names of the donors, the merits of the donee, quotations from the classics, &c., making altogether between 1,000 and 9,000 characters. This is the popular gift most coveted by Chinese mandarins, as it is expressive of the highest regard of the people."
A similar votive umbrella was offered to the British and French Consuls, in acknow-lodgement of their interference. The French Consul has, we are informed, accopted his umbrella; but Mr. Medhurst excused himself from receiving one, on the plea that there was no necessity: for his being made the subject of so pointed an acknowledgement for the performance of a mere routine duty; but we learn that it is nevertheless the intention of the influential Chinese residents to present him with an inscribed tablet, in token of their approval of his conduct in the matter.
We hear that several changes among the Commissioners of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service are' about to take place. Mr. Kleinwichter goes from Swatow to Canton, and is to be succeeded at the former port by Mr. James Hart, presently Commissioner at Tientsin. Mr. Hitber goes from Chinkeang to Tientsin, and MIN Novion takes the post of Acting-Commissioner at Chinkeang. Mr. H. 0. Brown, of Canton, goes to Takow.
Sir Edmund and Lady Hornby left Shanghai on a visit to Chefooon Wednesday morning, by the steamer Scechuen.
Trinity Church, which has recently been closed for repairs is to be re-opened to-morrow. The opportunity has also been taken advantage of to restore, in accordance with a generally expressed desire, the memorial tablets taken from the old church, which have lain perdus in the old mortuary chapel at the Cemetery.
The works at the new bridge over the Soochow Creek are progressing rapidly. Part of the material for laying the approach from the Bund through the foot of the Public Garden has been brought on the ground, while the walls which are to define the road will soon be ready for their superincumbent railing. The floor planting of the bridge has been in part laid on the Hongkew side, to facilitate the opera-tious of the workmen and the conveyance of material, but a gap still remains at the Shanghai side, which will be bridged in day or two, We may hope to be permitted to use the structure to some extent in the course of a fortnight. The opening of the approach shows how great the advantage of the new route will be in bringing the two Settlements into more intimate conuexion, Even compared with the site of the old bridge it is a great improvement and the change to it from the circuitous and uncomfortable ferry will be all the more pleasant.
A-case "J. W. Connor v, Chu-yi-foo," tried before the Mixed Court on the 24th ulto,, is rather interesting as the first stance in which the New Chinese Steamer Company have been brought into Court.
case trivial in itself, but interesting from the plea put forward in defence, appears in our report of the Civil Summary Court proceedings. 'The steward of the Sailors' Home supplied a fireman with a suit of clothes six months ago, and now claimed payment, but has been non-suited for want of sufficient evidence. The defendant stated that the clothes were given from the supplies charitably sent to the Home by residents, for the benefit of destitute: seamen, 'There appears no reason to believe that this was the fact, and it is, moreover, emphatically denied by the plaintiff'; but the pien is so suggestive of a possible abuse that, to command the confidence of the public who make them the medium of their bounty, on the one hand, and of the sailors who are its recipients on the other, the officers of the Home should avoid entering into transuctions not contemplated in the duties of their position.
A case which came before H. B.
Police Court on Tuesday, showed that the extra-territorial jurisdiction of British law extends equally to Chinese asto subjects of other nationalities who may for the time be articled seamen in British vessels, Four Chinese sailors, shipped on three mouths articles in the barque Verulam, were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment for deserting their duty when the ship was recently ashore near the Beacon, The lesson will be salutary, as the men belong to adas who have rather a loose notion of their obligations under agreement. They receive advances and ship under guarantee from a Chinese Sailors' Home, through the native stiperintendent of which the arrest of the men charged in this case was secured.
Another item has been added to the sad list of fatalities on the river this year, in the accidental death of George Capper, of the steamer Glenroy, who while attach-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.