COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES.

ADVICES from the East Indies state that an insurrection
has taken place among the Santals, a people
occupying the valleys of the Rajmahal Hills, in Bengal,
to the north of Calcutta. Several thousand
mountaineers had risen; their avowed object being to murder
every European and native of influence, in which they
succeeded to some extent, two ladies (Mrs. Thomas and
Miss Pell) being victims of their sanguinary hate. The
cause of this savage determination is involved in
obscurity, but various rumours are assigned, viz., a
quarrel between the mountaineers and the railway
people—a dispute about revenue—insult offered to the
women of the tribe—and, lastly, to religious fanaticism.
When the above account came away the rebels were
spreading devastation, pillage, and murder, wherever
they went, the people fleeing the country far and near.
Troops and artillery had been despatched to quell the
riot, and to arrest the ringleaders; but it was not
expected that those objects would be accomplished without
much bloodshed. "The insurrection," says the
Overland Bombay Times of 13th August, "is still in
progress, but we know as little now as we did a
fortnight since of the causes which led to it, or the
catastrophe to which it may yet lead. The insurgents in
the field are said to amount to 30,000—bands of them of
from 500 to 2000 strong are overrunning the country to
the south-eastward, spreading terror and desolation
before and around them. Two hundred villages are
already said to have been destroyed by them, and
several great towns have been brought into danger.
Wherever they have come in contact with the regular
troops they have, of course, been dispersed with much
slaughter, and they are not anywhere in a position to
offer effective resistance to the most moderate-sized
detachments. So soon as we have a sufficient force in the
field they will be hunted down or driven back to their
fastnesses, but the mischief they are at present occasioning
is as lamentable as their appearance in the field was
unexpected." In all other respects our Indian Empire
is perfectly tranquil.

The intelligence received from the West Indies
continues unsatisfactory as regards commercial matters.
Trade throughout the islands was more or less depressed,
and operations in all cases were of limited extent. The
general report with respect to the sugar crop is not
unfavourable, but the supply of labour was very inadequate
to meet the requirements of the planters, and will
doubtless be found to exercise a marked influence upon
the quantity of sugar manufactured, as under the present
imperfect system there is necessarily a great waste, both
of labour and material. There can be but little doubt
that a larger proportion of the crop will be converted
into rum than should be the case, simply because a
sufficient number of hands cannot be obtained to save
the crop in good time. A considerable number of vessels
had received serious injury, and several had been lost, in
consequence of the occurrence of a hurricane of great
severity which had visited the more northerly islands.
Upon the whole the sanitary report is favourable,
although in some islands fever prevailed.

A serious insurrection has taken place in the Gambia
Settlement in Western Africa. It broke out at
Sabbagee, a town on the river Gambia. The occasion of
the outbreak was an attempt by the police force, assisted
by a few of the military, headed by Lieuts. Davis and
Armstrong, to arrest a lawless character, named Fodey
Ansuman. No sooner was the warrant served on
Ansuman than his supporters fired on the arresting
parties, wounding Lieut. Armstrong, and taking two of
the soldiers prisoners, which caused the military to
retreat. Ansuman's followers, assisted by other tribes,
afterwards burned three English villages. The governor,
Lieut.-Colonel O'Connor, immediately collected a small
force, and proceeded to the seat of disturbance, which
he hoped soon to suppress. The natives, however,
waylaid them on their march, and gave them battle.
After two hours' fighting the British troops were
repulsed with a loss of thirty killed and three wounded:
among the latter was Colonel O'Connor himself, who
received two wounds. The insurgents, emboldened by
their success, took possession of the road between
Bathurst and Cape St. Mary's, threatening to invade
Bathurst. Happily the natives of the neighbouring
towns remained faithful, and after obtaining assistance
from the French settlement of Goree, Governor
O'Connor sent out a second expedition to Sabbagee,
which, after a desperate resistance, was carried at the
point of the bayonet, and the town itself destroyed.
The French troops led the advance, and lost a non-
commissioned officer, one rank and file killed, and five
wounded. The British lost none killed, but thirty-five
wounded. The natives lost about 200.

We have intelligence from Melbourne to the 18th of
June. Affairs were at a kind of crisis. The government
had proposed a method of raising additional taxes,
to make up a deficiency of £600,000. The plan involved
10 per cent, ad valorem customs-duties, various stamp-
duties, and an increased assessment on cattle and sheep.
A resolution declaring this plan "inexpedient and
impolitic" was carried against the government (which is
strong in nominees) by a majority of 21 to 20. Sir
Charles Hotham had met this resolution by arresting
the public outlay in a manner to occasion inconvenience.
Two motions were on the notice-paper of the Assembly,
—one expressing great impatience at the delayed arrival
of the Constitution Act, and the want of information on
the subject; the other affirming, that if the arrival of
the Constitution Act were much longer delayed, the
governor himself, on behalf of the inhabitants, should
establish "a system in consonance with the views and
notions of a free people."

The state of the colonial trade showed a decided
improvement. The exports for the first quarter of the
year were £3,562,933, against £3,577,926 in 1854; the
imports, £3,248,261, against £6,157,422.

The last advices from Adelaide, South Australia, give
some particulars of the progress of the efforts to develop
the navigation of the river Murray. The waters had
risen sufficiently for practical purposes, and the Murray
River Navigation Company were about to raise
subscriptions for a general extension of operations. At
present their fleet consisted of thirteen vessels,
comprising four steamers of between 40 and 50 horse-power,
eight barges of from 120 to 150 tons burden, and a
schooner of 100 tons. A railway was also contemplated
to connect the Murray with the city and port of
Adelaide, about forty miles in length, two-thirds of
which will be upon a dead level.

NARRATIVE OF FOREIGN EVENTS.

THE brilliant victory before Sebastopol on the 16th of
August (briefly mentioned at the close of last month's
narrative of the siege), when the Russian attack on the
lines of the Tchernaya was repelled by the French and
Sardinians, has been followed by the Fall of Sebastopol
itself.

We resume the narrative, commencing with the
Battle of the Tchernaya, of which a full account is
given by Gen. Pelissier in the following despatch, dated
the 18th of August.

"Monsieur le Maréchal,—You will have learnt by
my telegraphic despatches of yesterday and of the day
before, the general results of the Battle of the Tchernaya;
to-day I send your Excellency a detailed report
of that battle so glorious for our arms. For some days,
although the enemy abstained from any apparent