The French mail of the 8th November arrived on the 28th December, A mail leaves to-morrow for Europe by the P. & O. str. Orissa, The following telegrams have been received during the week The main body of the Ashantees have crossed the Prah, The English are encamped at Mansu, he Dutch have been successful at Acheen, Von Sweeten has allowed the Sultan a last opportunity of surrendering unconditionally.
Thirty thousand Carlists have surrounded General Moriones and compelled him to embark his army at San Sebastian, Cho illness of the Eniperor of Germany is causing increased anxiety.
We publish elsewhere the official record of proceedings at the meeting of Electors on the French Concession, held Jast Monday, These are however somewhat brief; and we have, while translating some portions, greatly enlarged the English version from our notes and from other sources.
The. recent discussions regan Bund frontage have led to the resignation of five members of the French Municipal Mr. Wheelock at present the sole representative of that body. A. notification by the Consul-General announces an election, to fill the vacancies, on the 5th proximo, A number of interesting matters was as usual brought before the meeting of Treaty Consuls held on the 23rd_ instant. The subject of the Woosung Bar was again raised, and it was resolved to keep the Provincial Authorities posted in all information on the subject—A general inability to take action in regard to the encroachment on the river off the French Bund, was again demonstrated.—The Taotai agrees to forbid the discharge of ballast into the stream from junks, which is so much gained.—The project for a Life-boat Institution to which' we have before referred, was brought up and various minor points were discussed.
Correspondence giving further details will be found elsewhere.
The result of the voting for Chief and District Engineers, by the-Fire Company Delegates, is as follows:—For Chief Engineer—Robert MacKenzie, 27, or the full number of votes; for No. 1 District—C.
J. Ashley, 27; No. 2 District—B. A.
Clarke, 21, C. M. Donaldson, 6; No. 3
District—A. Charrier, 15, H. Fitz Henry 12, The appointments have of course to be confirmed by the Municipal Council.
The usual Paper Hunt was not held on Saturday afternoon, in consequence of the wet weather. One is advertised for tomorrow, but with scarcely better promise.
The case to which we referred last week—in which a Play-actor was brought before the Mixed Court on " somewhat complicated charge of improper matrix mony—has, we are told, been "decided by the Che-hsien as follows, The Actor has been sentenced to—and has received—100 blows on the ankle, and is to be sent to his native province of Chihli; while the girl has received 100 blows on the face for maintaining pluckily in Court that she liked her husband, and meant to stick to him. We hear that while he was in jail also the man was subjected to horrible torture—strung up a whole night by the thumbs: and placed in a wooden collar which presses on the apple of the throat. The Chinese condemn the torture inflicted on the man as cruel, and it is said oven the Taotai has declared his sentence excessive.
All concerned were Cantonese, except the Actor.
The collection at. Trinity Church on Christmasday, in aid of Church Missionary work in North China, amounted to $655.
The U.S. str. Palos was towed into the harbour, on Tuesday evening, in a disabled condition, and is at present anchored off the Naval Yard.
The O. 8. S. N. Co.'s steamer Deucalion arrived from Hongkong early on Sunday morning, having left on Wednesday last at 4p.m, The M.M. steamer Tigre, with the French mail, which left Hongkong at 2 p.m, on the same day and had remarkably fine weather.up the coast, passed Gutzlaff about 4 paw. on Saturday, but was soon after obliged to anchor for the night, and only reached Woosung abotit 10 a.m. on Sunday. Here, the inevitable bar re-ere tediously transhipped to a tugboat, and landed at Shanghai at 1 p.m.
Native thieves have been giving a new direction to their energies of late, having paid special attention to mail matter. Several robberies of this kind took place a short time ago, and within the last week the Soochow regular mail has been plundered twice. The Chinese are in the habit of sending small specie remittances through the Post Office, and a mail bag no doubt affords a good many crumbs. The inconvenience to native merchants must be very great, and we hear that the adver-rising columns of the Shun-pau have been, in consequence, quite filled with notices of bills lost and cancelled. We should imagine that it would be a subject important enough to stir up the numerous native gunboats which line the Canal between this and Soochow.
We are glad to note that the prospectus of a Lifeboat Institution for China—to which we referred some days ago as being in circulation among the local authorities—has been translated into Chinese, as a step towards interesting the Natives also the project.
We have been favoured. by Captain Nelson, of the ship Alhambra, with files of the Daily and Weekly British Colonist, published at Victoria, British Columbia, and the Weekly Standard, published at Victoria, Vancouver's Island.
We understand that the plant necessary for printing the Evening Gazette, the pubication of which has been suspended since the burning of the Ching Foong Printing Office, in September lust, has arrived by the 9s. Atalanta, and that the paper is to reappear shortly after the New Year.
Our Newenwanc correspondent writes The river is full of ice and the weather beginning to get cold. Skating commenced some days ago. The thermometer last night (Fahr.) shewed 9} degrees,—St, Andrew's day was celebrated at Capt. Man's hospitable mansion on the 20th; and, although the speeches were not so lengthy as those I have seen sometimes reported in the W.-C. Herald, the pith and beauty of the sentiments expressed were quite equal to any that a good dinner can pro: duce, The haggis was delicious, and did not interfere with the enjoyment of the following morning's skating, but rather increased the desire to be more than usually ornamental in the figures produced. The Acme skate, which has been imported here for the first time, well deserves its name, Et is the very perfection of an instrument, and is fixed to the boot ina few seconds, There is no wood to it nor any straps to cramp the feet. One can put them on and take them off without any trouble."
From Prine we hear that the Viceroy of Kansuh has gained a great victory over the Mahomedans in that province; retake ing the city of Suchow, which has been in their hands for the last ten years.
Our Nrsoro correspondent describes robberies and donkey-racing as the chief items of news at that port.
At Foocnow also, the community seem intent on a race meeting which was to be held on the 19th, Council—so that a previous vacancy, and the absence of Dr. Galle in Kurops, leave quired that she should be brought to an anchor, and mails passengers ang baggage Asummary of Hoxoxone news will be found in the usual place.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.