COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES.

The Overland Mail has brought dates from Bombay
to 14th October, and from Burmah to 17th September.
The accounts from Burmah give an alarming picture
of the state of Pegu. The robber bands, headed by
Myah Thoon and other chiefs were ravaging the whole
country. On the eastern side of the Irrawaddy, from
Henzady to Meaday, the robber chiefs prevailed; and
every town in that great district,—such is the report—
except Prome and Shweydoung, has been burnt down.
On the western side, numbers of towns, occupied by
small Sepoy garrisons, have been attacked, and some
plundered. It is reported that these robbers are acting
under the direct countenance of the Court of Ava; and
that the King's younger brother, the heir to the throne,
actually rides in the forays of the most notorious robbers.
The inhabitants of Pegu complain that we give them no
protection; and the robbers openly proclaim, that if
they cannot keep Pegu for the King of Burmah, they
"will yield it to the British only as a desert." All the
time, the King professes a desire for peace; but,
whatever may be his desires, he is actually at war with the
British empire. On the 13th September, there were
only 800 men at Rangoon, while Myah Thoon and
Moung Goung Gye were within four days' march of the
place at the head of 11,000 men. Lord Dalhousie, it
was reported, had resolved to go to Rangoon himself;
but the news of the assassination of Colonel Mackeson,
rumours of an Affghan incursion, and the generally
disturbed state of the North-western frontier, detained him
in Calcutta. Reports from various sources had reached
Bombay, that Dost Mahommed had formed an alliance
with Russia, and that Russian emissaries had appeared
at Bohat. It was also stated that Saadat Khan of
Lalpor was suspected of instigating the murder of
Mackeson; and reinforcements had been marched up
in consequence, from Rawel Pindee to Peshawur. An
additional regiment has been sent up from Deesa in
Goozerat; and Peshawur has been placed in a defensible
state, as far as possible, with a small force and a
tumble-down fort. The assassin was hanged soon after
the commission of his crime, in front of the house of
Colonel Mackeson.

The Khan of Khiva and the King of Bokhara had
taken the field against the Russians. There was much
speculation as to the intentions of the Shah of Persia.
It has long been noticed that he had assembled an army
in Sultanieh, near the Russian frontier: this was
contrary to the treaty of 1828 between Russia and Persia,
and it was considered that the Shah intended to employ
his army against the Turks.

A serious incident has occurred at Aurungabad, in
the Nizam's territory. The resident sent out a force to
arrest a Rajah and a party of refractory Arabs. When
summoned, the Arabs refused to surrender. A regular
siege of their place of refuge took place; the Rajah was
taken alive, and his band exterminated: on our side,
two officers. Captain Parker and Ensign Bosworth, and
20 sepoys, were killed—two officers and fifty men
wounded.

The intelligence from Hong Kong is to the 27th of
September. The city of Shanghai fell into the hands
of the rebels on the 7th of that month. The Governor,
Samqua, was deserted by his guards. Through the
exertions of the American Minister, Colonel Marshall,
his life was spared; and, after much trouble, he was
placed under the Minister's protection. The rebels
showed the greatest friendliness to the "foreign
brethren;" and Liù, their chief, listened with attention
to the suggestions of Colonel Marshall. Fearing an
attack on the foreign settlement, the commander of the
war-ships on the station had held their force ready to
protect the foreign merchants; but when the mail
departed, on the 22d September, they had not been
required. Liù was at the head of an independent
command; and it was said that Taeping Wang was averse
to the movement at Shanghai. Canton had not yet
fallen; neither had Amoy been retaken by the
Imperialists.

The accounts from the Cape of Good Hope reach to the
23d of September. Theintelligence is less satisfactory than
that reported by the preceding mail. Some alarm was
felt at a rumour that four regiments occupying the
Amatolas have been ordered to be withdrawn from the
colony. No hostile feeling has been manifested by the
Caffres, but they are said to be discontented. The Cape
Town Mail of the 23rd says—"About three weeks since,
at a meeting which his Excellency held with them|
Macomo, on behalf of the other chiefs, declared that the
land given them was too small. 'It was all stones;
they could not till it, and there was no bush for firewood.
They wanted the Amatolas.' This general Cathcart
decidedly refused; giving them to understand that their
possession of that locality would certainly involve
another war: and the Catfres, it is stated, 'left the
meeting not at all satisfied with the result.' "The
proposed abandonment of the territory called the
"Sovereignty" has excited much discontent. On the
13th August a public meeting was held at Bloem
Fontein. Resolutions were adopted expressing the
"utmost concern and dismay" of the inhabitants at the
determination of the Imperial Government; declaring
that British honour is implicated; predicting incalculable
evil to religion and morality; and protesting
against the injustice of the act. A deputation waited
on Sir George Clerk with an address. In his reply. Sir
George said that "the Imperial Government has to
consider the interests of all; and has thus been led to
determine to relinquish the dominion over this
territory."

General Prætorius, the notable chief of the Trans-
Vaäl Republic, died about the latter end of August.
It is stated that before his death he exhorted his friends
to cultivate the friendship of the British nation.

The road through the mountain-range between Cape
Town and the corn-growing regions of Worcester had
just been completed, at a cost of £50,000., with the
labour of colonial convicts. The road had been opened,
amid great rejoicings. The Lieutenant-Governor was
too unwell to attend.

The West India Mail has brought dates from Demerara,
Oct. 25; Jamaica, Oct. 27; Antigua, 28; Porto
Rico, 29; St. Thomas's, Nov. 1.

The session of the Jamaica Legislature was opened on
the 18th of October. An unusual degree of anxiety
was manifested by the community to witness the opening
of a session, which, it was supposed, would be
fraught with memorable consequences. The excitement
that prevailed in the capital was very great. Sir
Henry Barkly's speech was of great length. The
governor commenced by alluding to the circumstances
under which he came among them, and expressed a
hope that the communications which he was authorised
by her Majesty's government to lay before them might
lead to the immediate termination of the lamentable
dissensions which had prevailed with such baleful
effects. His Excellency's reference to the state of
parties was of a most conciliatory character. On the
subject of retrenchment and political reforms Sir
Henry said: "I confidently trust, that with the aid
of £50,000., which the mother country is ready to
offer for the purpose, you will be able in friendly
concert to devise measures, which, without pressing
with greater severity than the circumstances of the
time demand upon those whose offices it may, on a
general revision, be determined either to abolish
altogether, or to reduce in value, will nevertheless
ensure a larger immediate diminution of taxation than
the most sanguine economist could heretofore reckon