RANGOON.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 75, 12 June 1852, Page 2

RANGOON.

[From the " Englishman," Dee. B.] A private letter from Rangoon, addressed to a gentleman in Calcutta, has been kindly handed to us, and we make the following extracts:— " I promised to write to you on our arrival here, and to let you know occasionally how we progressed, and Nous voild, off the town of Rangoon, where we anchored at 5, p.m. We were towed nearly the whole way by the " Te» nasserim," H. C." Steamer. On our arrival off the mouth of the river, Monday 24th November, we found the " Proserpine" steamer waiting our arrival, she had reached here from Maulmein the day before, with two pilots, and had buoyed off the entrance to the river. We took one of her pilots, and in tow of " Tenasserim," with " Proserpine" leading, entered the river in all safety and anchored about half way up. At daylight this morning we weighed.and towed up a few miles until stopped by the tide, when we anchored till the flood made. We were boarded some way down the river by Mr. Crisp, and three or four natives, who were sent down by the Governor to ascertain the object of our visit. They returned with the answer thatjthe Commodore had called on private business with his Excellency, and desired to know at what hour to-morrow he would be prepared to receive the message. AB, p.m., a letter was received by the Commodore, informing him that the Governor would not receive any one till Thursday at 11, a.m.

" Wednesday. A message was received by the Commodore from the Governor, desiring him to remove his vessel to another position; this was evidently attempt No. 1, to try his man. The answer returned was, that H.M.S's of war chose the positions that best suited them. " 9, a.m., Captain Latter, B. N. 1., Burmese Interpreter to the Commodore, went on shore to ascertain the reason why none of the British residents had been off, as some doubts as to their safety appeared to exist. 11-30, a.m., he returned on board, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Kingcaid, and Mr. Birrill, who informed the Commodore that the Governor had threatened to behead any of the Europeans who attempted to hold communication with the vessels of war. " Thursday. The European inhabitants of Rangoon came on board at 7 a.m., and had an interview with Commodore Lambert, in which they represented in such strong colours the character aud behaviour of the present Governor, and proved that the cases of Messrs. Sheppard aud Lewis were most slight and trivial, when compared to what he had done to others. The Commodore had previously written a letter to the Governor, in which (aq r / cording to his instructions from the Bengal Government) he had demanded theisum of 10,000 rupees, as also a letter of apology ; he now withheld this letter, and wrote another teu the effect, that he (the Commodore) had come here with instructions from the Governor-Gene-ral of India, to demand satisfaction for injuries and insults committed by him on British subjects who were resident here, and had represented the case in so different a light, that he should refer the matter immediately to the Government of India. _- a/J o A4^' CaPtain Tarleton, Commander of H.M.b. Fox, with Captain Latter, Mr. Elliot, Ist Lieutenant of Marines, and Mr. Southey, Secretary, landed with the above letter, and were received by some Burmese officers, and a guard; four pomes were prepared, on which they mounted and rode slowly out to the Governor's

house; the whole road on both sides lined with armed men, mostly spears and bows, with a few muskets, nearly all in miserable condition. Although the distance was upwards of two miles, and °the men stood only 5 or 6 feet apart, I should say there were not more than 3,500, as those who were passed ran forward and stationed themselves at the head of the line. Not more than 150 were regular troops, the remainder were coolies, carpenters, sawyers, caulkers, &c.; in fact any one they could lay their hands on, and a report was spread that they said if there was to be any fighting, they should thrown down their arms, and go into the bush, or bind the Governor, hand and foot, and deliver him to the Commodore. On the arrival of Captain Tarleton, &c, at the Government House, an attempt was made to make the party dismount at the outer gate, and walk through the compound. Captain Tarleton, without any hesitation, pushed past all obstacles, and rode direct up to the stairs, when they all dismounted, and were led into the hall of Audience, handsomely decorated with red cloths, the room filled with armed men, gaudily dressed, and all the Governors of the different districts round Rangoon, together with the principal officers of Rangoon, being present. A table with six chairs were placed in the centre of the Hall, and the gentlemen were desired to be seated, and await the arrival of the Governor. This Captain Tarleton very properly refused to do, but remained standing with the Commodore's letter in his hand, and desired that the Governor should be informed of his arrival. • In about ten minutes his Excellency appeared, preceded by four officers of high rank, handsomely dressed, with a quantity of gold chains and other ornaments over their persons. The Governor himself was very plainly dressed. On his entrance, with a cigar in his mouth, Captains Tarleton with Captain Latter went up to him, aud after a slight prelude in Burmese, by Captain Latter, Captain Tarleton handed the Commodore's letter to Captain Latter, who first read the English aloud, then in a clear and decisive tone, the Burmese translation, which was received in mute astonishment by the Governor, and those around him. The Governor st \tlien shook hands with Captains Tarleton and Latter, and desired them to be seated. He was however told, that they had fulfilled their mission, and must now return on board, which they at once did, to the still greater astonishment of every one present. Captain Tarleton must have given them a rather unpleasant idea of whom they had to deal with, by his firm and manly bearing throughout, and Captain Latter rather astonished them also, by his classical reading and decisive tone of voice. The Governor was evidently so astounded, that he could make no answer,"in fact he trembled so violently, that after several ineffectual attempts to knock the ash off his cigar, he was obliged to give it into the hands of the Deputy-Governor. At 12.30 p.m., Captain Tarleton and his party returned on board; all the merchants were present at the

meeting. "Friday 28th, 10 a.m. The Deputy-Gover-nor with several officers in full costume came on board with a message from the Governor, to say that he desired to know of what he was accused, and by whom. The Commodore returned for answer that be had nothing more to say to him, and handed the deputy the letter which had been written in Calcutta for the King, accompanied with one by himself to the Prime Minister, and desired they should be forwarded to Ava, giving them to understand that unless an answer was received in five weeks from this date, he should take other steps. The " Proserpine" steamer will be dispatched in fifteen minutes from this time to Calcutta, with information to the Governor-General of the change of affairs, and a memorial signed by upwards of jIOO British subjects resident here, as also about 80 attested statements of cruelties and barbarities exercised by the governor on them and their families. Much more could I say of interest that has occurred since our arrival, but as you may well imagine, all of us are much occupied ; and the information of the steamer's immediate departure has taken us all by surprise. By the next opportunity you shall hear again."