English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 560, 17 March 1858, Page 3

English and Foreign.

We have received per Corsair a file of Hobart Town papers containing .EnglishV news to the 16th December. The steamship/Victoria, with the long-looked-for English mail of December, arrived, in Hobson's Bay on the 20th ult. The Indian news which we give below contains intelligence from Bombay to; the 13th of January. It was brought .from Bombay to Sydney per steamer Emeu. •;. We collate- the from the Melbourne and Hobart Town papers. • INDIA.

The ' Bombay Times' says :—-We have received a letter from, an officer with the force under Sir Colin Campbell, from which we take the following .extracts: —Camp Bithoor, December 12. We are ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to be off sharp to Benares, which has been attacked by the rebels in force, but I have no particulars beyond- this bare fact. After marching from Cawnpore to Lucknow,: we imitated the famous King of France, of whom history recordeth that he.marched up-a hill arid then marched down again, for' we having marched ;to Lucknow immediately marched back again and prevented a second inassa'cre at Cawnpore, The Gwalior troops looted the place, Imt nevertheless we gave them a hiding on the 6th, and took their camp standing. ;The Artillery had: all the fighting to themselves, for the Infantry hardly got into action at all before the enemy fled. The practice was splendid, and our felldWs can drop a shot wherever it pleases them, with the most tmerring: certainty. We first drove the enemy out of the suburbs, and then took their, camp by surprise, when some bolted towards Calpee, and others hid themselves in the city, and these, were pursued under General Mansfield, Sir Colin agoing ; after the others: Near the Subadar's iTank we had another artillery engagement, when their firing did much harm, All night we were under arms, with horses harnessed ready to go to work at a moment's notice, and we were all miserably hungry and dreadfully Cold. Next day we- encamped in the rebels* camp, and I managed to transact a little looting on my own private account, but some good-natured fellow obligingly eased me of everything while I wao asleep. A Havildar of the rebel force was executed at Cawnpore on the 19th Dee. Before his death;die. made a sort of statement concerning the recent movements of the Oude rebels. Nana; Sahib is said never to have been at Lucknow; Bohloh Sahib, the brother of Nana Sahib, joined the Gwalior troops at Culpee on the 18th ult., and was received with a salute of 21 gun's. He appears to have nominally commanded., the force, and had one "Surdiah Pandyr" as his right hand .man. The second in command was " Totliea Tograh. " The rebel force is said to have been composed of half the Gwalior- Contingent; some of Scindiah's Own troops; a portion of the Dinapore mutineers; a large body of troops from Furrackabad sent in by the Newab of that place, and a number of men from Oude. The Rajahs of Gopalpore and the Zemindah Tongrah are said to have assisted, both with .guns and men. —-Poona Observer, Jan. 2.

The following is from Delhi, dated 29th December, 1857 :'- J-

Since my last, little of any moment has occurred worthy of note. The Bullubghur Rajah's trial still continues, but it is expected the prosecution will close this day. The general opinion seems to be that he will get off. Mr. Sanders, Chief Commissioner, was compelled to admit that the defendant did assist our Government, although not to the extent that might have been expected from him. The Vakeel' of the Jujjur Nawab was brought in prisoner yesterday, but on what charge Lhave not been informed. Since last Thursday, there have been.no more executions until this morning, when 14 suffered the extreme penalty, of the law. With one exception, a Sowar belonging to the King, they were all Zemindars and Goojurs. This morning about 2,000 men of the Puttiala Rajah, accompanied by Colonel Sparkes of H.M.s 10th foot," and Mr. Reedi of the educational department, left Delhi ten route for Dhowlpore, but whether they will proceed further on the road to Cawnpore, or what their movements may hereafter be, seems uncertain. The road to Allyghur direct, as also to Agra, is now perfectly safe for travellers, and Shigrams run thither. Regular orders have been received by-the Meerut and Delhi Commissariat Officers to* make immediate preparations for the reception of ,8,000 European troops, so we may soon expect their arrival—not before they are required, for fthe duty falls very heavy on the few poor fellows here at present. The following intelligence is supplied by Government :—

Message, received by Electric; Telegraph from Patna, 28th December, 4 p.m. Col. Rowcroft attacked the rebels atSobnnpore, about five miles south-east of Mujbowlee, in the Goruqkpore.. district, on the morning of the 26th instant and totally routed them, pursuing them ■, beyond Mujbowlee, and taking, from them two guns and the whole of their .tents, baggage, and ammunition. Enemy numbered about 5000, including 1100 sepoys. Col. Rowcroft's, force, which consisted of the Naval Brigade under Capt. Sotheby, and two Ghoorkha regiments,., must, allowing, for- reserves, have amounted to about 1000.. Only one dooly bearer killed, and one maii, a.Ghoorkha Soubadar, wounded; on our side. The enemy left-from 30 to 40 killed on \ the field, besides a'large number wounded. Cob Rowcroft's despatches, not yet received.. He goes on to Selimpore. Mr. Lynch reports that this! victory has cleared

that part, of the country completely. Ally Kurreem, who was known to have been with the rebels, is said to have been killed, but this is not certain.

The Dacca. Mutineers.—We quote the 'HurkaruV—

The following is from Julpigoree, dated Dec. 22, 1857:—"The Dacca mutineers after remaining for upwards of a fortnight within 20 miles of this, and failing in their efforts to get their regiment to join them, are endeavouring to make off. Ou the 18th they left the strong position in which they had been encamped, and advanced in a N.W. direction up the Bhotan side of the river Teesta, their object evidently being to cross the river somewhere higher up than this, and by skirting along the edge of the Teraie escaped towards Gorruckpore. A party of Europeans, Ghoorkhas, and some picked men of the 73rd, has been sent in pursuit in the hope of cutting them off, and if they only cross the jriver they are certain to be caught, for even; if they contrive to elude our party by going into the jungles, they will in all probability come across the little force under Mr. Yule which has advanced to Tilligooree, in the neighbourhood of which they must pass to get upcjountry. . The conduct of the men of the 73rd continues in every,way. satisfactory, and in spite of the temptation they have been exposed to, not a single man has attempted to desert to the rebels. I wish to lay stress on this fact, as so many false reports have been circulated to the effect that the men at head quarters are in an insubordinate state, than which nothing can be further from the truth. I will no longer trespass on your time. I have mentioned the above facts that you may know how to trust thereports you receive connected with the 73rd from outsiders."

A letter from Nynee Tal, dated Nov. 23rd, says:— "We are still prisoners, continually surrounded by thousands of insurgents; how long this will last, God only knows; we are fearfully hard up for provisions and money. Only fancy in June last the native Artillery at Almorah mutinied, I believe there were 84 of them; this mutiny was luckily suppressed by the Ghoorkas, and;the mutineers put in jail; they were tried, found guilty, and I believe 15 were hanged, and; the remainder sent to jail. Would you believe it, a "few days ago those very mutineers were brought over here, were sent under a Ghoorka guard down to Kalleedonkee, there their fetters were knocked off, and Rs. 1-8 given to each of them and sent about their business. What was the result ? Why they made all the haste they could, and joined Khan Bahadar's force, which was only a few miles from the foot of the hills, on the Bareilly side, 'wasn't this a fine got' The Mahomedans here are getting to a fine pitch; a few days ago a respectable European Quarter Master Sergeant was publicly insulted by a Mahpmedan in the Bazaar; the rascal called him 'akaffer choor,' for which he knocked blackey down; the Magistrate is investigating the case, evidently for the purpose of punishing the European if possible." — Ibid.

From the war correspondent in Oude of the ' Madras Spectator.' "In my last letter I gave.you particulars of the taking of the Dil Kusha and La Martiniere and also of the attack and repulse of the rebels on 'the 15th instant. I will now proceed with the; narrative, and with the aid'of the map I sent you, many of the details of which I marked in on the spot, I hope to make you clearly understand the succeeding operation: — " Early on the morning of the 16th, our troops commenced moving down the road which runs westward towards the Kasier Bagh Palace in the direction of the dotted line and arrow. Another brigade moved straight across the canal northward, the canal being quite dry. Th^ enemy were almost unaware of our advance in the latter directions,.and our move down the road directly westward no doubt led the enemy to believe that we should attack from that point. On arriving at the point where I have the arrow, however, the brigade which had inarched in t;he direction wheeled and by a countermarch, shewn by the dotted line, crossed the canal at theisame point as did the other brigade, and we then proceeded by the route expressed by the dotted line. After marching about half _ a mile we found the woods and garden with which the village of Sooltangunj is surrounded swarming with the matchlock and riflemen of the enemy, who kept up a sharp but desultory fire on our front and flanks as we approached, while a large body of cavalry hovered about on the opposite side of the Goomtee. A little sharp rifle practice on our side and a few rounds of shot and shell, pitched at random almost into their coverts, drove them out, and our troops pushed up to the main street of the village which runs nearly due west towards Secundra Bagh. In this street a sharp and deadly fire was encountered and we lost a good many men. In some instances the fanatical vagabonds rushed from their huts sword in hand upon us, and I myself witnessed a painted wretch spring from his lair and1 shoot a Highlander dead on the spot. There is a gateway on the north and south sides, each of two stories, and having a terraced roof. The bastions have also terraced roofs of equal heights with the walls, which are about 15 feet hi<rii. The walls—about 2J feet thick, ' were studded-with loopholes at about4| feet from the ground, All round the terraced roofs of the bastions, mud parapets, about a foot thick, had been raised and loopholed in a remarkably well finished and scientific manner Ihe roofs of tho gateways were also thus defended; and round the'southern gateway a semi-circular loopholed entrenchment had been constructed. By this description you will see that fc>ecimdra was a disagreeably strong position to attack. 1

should add that to the S.W. and N. of the Se- j cundra Bagh the ground is open, —on all sides indeed—-except on the side towards the village of Sooltangunj. Our men quickly occupied the road of the village which runs from a to b as shown by the dotted line) and made a rush towards Secundra Bagh. This, "however, did not last long. Our men soon reached the extremity of the village where stands a small octagonal serai near the point marked c. Here the road turns at right angles and runs nearly due south and paraded with the eastern face of Secundra Bagh, which is distant about 200 feet from the road. Beyond the Secundra Bagh more to the south stands a large bucha-built sei'ai No. 5, the walls of which the enemy had loopholed, and occupied in force. Beyond Secundra Bagh westward they had several guns in position near the Mess house No. 8, and from these they pounded our left heavily. Secundra Bagh itself was rendered as strong as really good engineering could make it, and I will shortly describe it that you may understand how strong a position it was. The garden is an exact square, each side being about 400 feet in length. At each angle there is a circular bastion, the flanks of which command the faces of the square and the serai. A light field gun was j new brought to the point c, and commenced playing on the N.E. bastion of the Bagh. Its fire, however, .made no impression, and it was quickly replaced by one of Captain Peel's heavy guns. About the same time another heavy gun was brought to the point b, and hammered away at the S.E. bastion, which was quickly breached. A rush was now made by a mixed party of the 53rd, 93rd Highlanders, Captain Green's Seikh Infantry, and a few Madras Fusiliers and Sappers, at the breach in the S.E. bastion, and the southern gateway. This onslaught was made under a perfect hurricane of fire from the bastion, and gateways and walls of the Secundra Bagh, from the Serai on our flank, (which was soon after cleared) from the barracks and from the guns in the direction of the mess-house, and on the road near the Mote Mahal (No. 9). Our men fell thick and fast, but nothing could stop them, tor right in the very thick of the fire, with balls whistling around like an iron hail,.rode our gallant Chief, the brave Sir Colin, cheering the men lustily on. Through the breach they went bayoneting all before them, and pell mell over the entrenchment in front of the gate. Smith, a private of the Madras Fusiliers, placed his musket to the lock of the gate, and blew it off, rushed in, and was immediately cut down. The gateway was crowded with Pandies, maddened either with ' bang' or desperation (for retreat was impossible), and they met our men hand to hand. In this naiTow gateway, and in the little chambers on either side, took place the most terrible 'melee, the most hellish struggle the human mind can conceive. Your correspondent was not very far off, and although he will never forget, he cannot describe the scene. The Pandies

fought like demons, and for a short time the arched gateway echoed a horrible uproar. The hurrah of the Briton, the war cries and execrations of Seibhs and sepoys, shrieks, shouts, groans, the rattle of musketry, and the clanging of bayonet and sabre contributed to create the. most hideous and diabolical din man ever heard. But British pluck triumphed, and when we drew out of the gateway into the garden beyond, and the smoke of the conflict cleared away, the sight presented was frightful. The gateway and side chambers were blocked up with, heaps—literal heaps, of mutilated and writhing humanity. They did not lie by two's or three's, but in piles, four or five high, while the, place absolutely streamed and steamed with their blood. These dreadful piles quivered with the writhing of wounded men, whose stoicism was superhuman. Not a groan or sigh "was heard, and when they were presently-dragged from among their dead comrades and despatched, 1 they met their fate like men, and died with a stern coldness and seeming contempt of pain absolutely wonderful. Once in the garden, every enemy found about the grounds was quickly despatched, as were those discovered in the chambers of the bastions. Among them one woman was unfoi-tunately found. But the tops of the bastions and gateways, and the upper chambers of the latter were still swarming with foes who had witnessed the unsparing slaughter of their comrades, and therefore fought frantically. They poured a continuous and deadly fire into the interior of the. garden, full of our troops, and affording scarcely any cover except a small square bungalow in "its centre. Now, to get at them on the tops of their gateways and bastions was a task of surpassing danger, for they could only be reached by means of winding staircases. Our men did, however, at last accomplish it, although with heavy loss ; and the miscreants were° driven from their stronghold only to meet death in the garden below. The Captuhe and Execution of the Delhi Pkinces.—The following are_ extracts from the letter of a young officer to his friends in England. It is dated Dugshaie, a place about 40 miles from Delhi, Sept. 29, last.— " A few days ago Captain Hodgson (of ours) went out and captured the King, and brought him iv a prisoner. He is at present confined in j his; own palace. A few days later he went out ao- a in, and came up with the King's sons and grandson. He had only 100 native horsemen of his own regiment with him, and the enemy about 10,000—3000 of whom were fully-armed sepoys. Hodgson saw it was of no use attacking them, so he sent an emmissary to tell the pnnces that the game was up with them, and tha> they had better surrender, which they did after some time and came up to Hodgson, who immediately surrounded the carriage with his men. He sent for their arms, and after hesita-

ting some time, these also were given up, with 7 elephants and lots "of stores. On reaching the gaol Hodgson ordered the princes out of the vehicle; they, imagining all was not. right for themselves, began (native like) to talk, and say they hoped tnere might be an inquiry into their conduct. Hodsgon said ' cheeproks ' (be quiet), and ordered them to take off all their fine clothes. When this was done, he said,' Now get in again,' and ordered the driver to pioeeed. He then beckoned to one of his men and asked for a carbine, and with his own hand shot each and all of the 3 princes. He then took their bodies into the city and laid them out for inspection in front of theKotawallie, where these wretches had laid out their victims during the massacre. There are lacs upon lacs of treasure ,and prize property in the city; and if the city itself was put up for ransom it would fetch upwards of 50 lacs.

NATIVE ENTERTAINMENT TO THE SOLDIERS AT BOMBAY.

The native community at Bombay, headed by our venerable and philanthropic Baronet, Sir Jamesetjee Jeejeebhoy, entertained the European soldiers of the garrison to a sumptuous banquet on Wednesday evening, January 6th. Between the native town and the fort, on the esplanade, a range of tents was erected to accommodate the military, enclosed by a high canvas wall to exclude interlopers. The principal entrance, to the west, was by a subsrb triumphal arch with the motto, "Welcome to India," and the royal initials V. R. on each side; on the reverse, " God Save the Queen." By 5.30 p.m. the troops, consisting of the Srli Hussars, H.M. 51st and 72 nd Highlanders, and the Royal Artillery, with their bands playing some lively airs, arrived at the scene of the entertainment, and were most cordially received and welcomed. Lord Elphinstone, the Commander-in-Chief, and the other guests were received at the entrance of the camp by Messrs. Cursetjee Jamsetjee, Juggonath, Sunkersett, Sorabjee, Bomanjee, Hormusjee, Framjee, E'usserwanjee, Cowasjee, Jehangeer, and others. Covers were laid for 500. The ' Bombay Telegraph' says:— " The metropolis of Western India never perhaps witnessed so brilliant a spectacle as was presented on this occasion, and the future annalist will record the Feast of the Community when the oldest inhabitant of the present half century shall have passed away."

The Heir-Presumptive of Sir Jamsetjee Jeetjeebhoy, Cursetjee Jamsetjee, in proposing the toast of the evening, spoke as follows:—The pleasing duty has devolved upon me of proposing the toast of the evening. I call it the toast, because those whom it embraces are par excellence our guests to- day, and it is with the sole view of doing honor to them that we are now assembled at this entertainment. These gallant men have lately come among us to assist in maintaining British supremacy in this country. After the dire calamities which have befallen India, the heart of every Briton must beat high as he heard of or witnessed the arrival in this land of each additional reinforcement to the military strength of the country. But I beg to assure our gallant guests that this feeling of satisfaction at their arrival is not confined to the European community of Bombay, and that to testify publicly their joy on the advent of so manyEuropean regiments, the natives of this place have thus come forward to do honor to our brave defenders. I see before me many whose breasts are decorated with the insignia of long campaigns and hard-contested battles, and wlien we know that these men are composed of the same stern materials as those whose prowess in the field, whose deeds of gallantry, and whose indomitable spirit of patient endurance have recently called forth from all of us such bursts of enthusiastic admiration, we may well feel confident that, by the blessing of God, peace will soon be restored in this land, when England, Scotland, and Ireland combine in sending forth so many of their brave sons to bring about this much-de-sired result. I feel that any attempt on my part at a eulogy of the British army would be presumptuous, and, in the presence of so many Englishmen, out of place. History has borne its testimony to this subject, and the muse of history, while shedding a tear over the foul deeds which have stained this Indian revolt, will result in recording the heroic courage and the unconquerable spirit which have enabled a mere handful of highly-disciplined British troops to cope successfuly with overwhelming numbers of their treacherous foes in this country. But I will not detain you longer. Soldiers! oh behalf and in the name of the native gentlemen of Bombay, I tell you and all your brethren in arms who have arrived, or who may yet come' to our shores, that we cordially bid you welcome, and that in all sincerity we say to you, God speed! I beg to propose, with all the honors, the health of the non-commissioned officers and men of the regiments who have recently arrived here for the purpose of upholding the British rule in India, and restoring peace aad security to the millions in these lands, who have been placed by Providence under the protection of the British Government.

In noticing the speech of Lord Elphinstone on that occasion, the ' Telegraph ' and * Courier ' says:—" It embodies the sentiments of the English nation, and is as frank and manly as the occasion demanded. England has a terrible and mournful duty to perform; but it is not a mission of wild vengeance, but of. stern and retributive justice. The extermination of the guilty is a work which both instinct and reason imperatively demands. Our soldiers are landing upon these shores, not to wage a war of race, but to inflict summary vengeance upon the greatest miscreants that ever disgraced the world. It is a shameless falsehood on the part of the organ of young Bombay—the ' Bombay Times '—to say that the Indian press ever entertained any other sentiments save those which Lord Elphinstone so nobly expressed on the evening of the 6th January. With scarcely one exception, the motto of the press has been— Smite the guilty, but spare the innocent. We censured Lord Canning's clemency-proclamation simply because it was uncalled for, and an insult to the brave men who were fighting our country's battles. It would have been quite time enough for : the Governor-General to have issued his warning when he saw any disposition on the

part of our troops to confound the innocent with the guilty. So far, however, from this being the case, we defy even the most vehement detractors of the British army to point to a single instance of license or outrage. At Delhi we killed only sepoys; and our soldiers went amongst the houses to search for them, the citizens having afforded them every facility for concealment. In Oude, it is true, we destroyed some few villages, but we had ample testimony that they were full of deep-dyed traitors. We found the relics of our butchered countrymen amongst them, and we laid them in ashes, ac Sodom and Gomorrah were of old. On this side of India, where the revolt has not only been military but civil, no man has been killed— save in action—without having a fair trial; and the consequence is that many rogues are now at liberty who ought long ago to have been hanged. We believe there are few who entertain any doubt of the guilt of Poona Moulvie, yet he is still alive, and likely soon to be at liberty. In no single instance has the law been set aside, and yet a clamour is raised that we wish to decimate the empire. Out of the 150,000,000 whom we govern, scarcely half a million have rebelled, and yet a cry is raised that we wish to destroy the whole for the sake of the remnant: If young Bombay entertains such apprehensions we are afraid its conscience must be pricking it, as it is only the guilty who fear punishment. England will not only be just, but generous. The chiefs and people who succoured her in her hour of need will claim her eternal gratitude. Scindia, Holkar, and the Rajahs of Birownugger and Puttiala will henceforth be regarded as trusty bulwarks of our empire, and be honored and rewarded accordingly. Our rulers have vigilant eyes, and they are well acquainted with all the doubtful and lukewarm. They are not blind to the slanders which have been levelled against their countrymen, and the reckoning day will arrive in time. We have no wish to enter into any controversy with the paper which has lately excited so much dissension amongst us; but we cannot allow it to publish libels against our countrymen. If the editor is base enough to publish slanders against the European Press, and to lower the many for the exaltation of the few, we think that it is right that the public should be made acquainted with thefact. Englishmen are justly incensed at the atrocities which have been committed. Wherever they go they find vacant places and mourning hearts; and they would be less than men. were they not to sympathise with those who have been bereaved. Journalists have expressed themselves in words that burn; but it is sirnrly a libel and a lie to say that they have ever recommended an indiscriminate slaughter."