English and Foreign.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 562, 24 March 1858, Page 3

English and Foreign.

INDIA,

The steamship City of Sydney arrived in Melbourne from Galle on the 14th Feb., thus anticipating the "mail steamer by six days. The ; Argus' of the. 15th ult. contains the following Indian news brought by the City of Sydney. Our dates' are Bombay the 6th, Calcutta the 9th, and Madras the 16th January. Lucknow was relieved, and on the 22nd November the garrison evacuated it. The report, of the death of General Havelock is confirmed, but it appears he died from exhaustion, on the 25th November, and not, as reported, from the effects of poison. He was preserved long enough to know that Lucknow was saved. Large bodies of troops continue to pour into India, and the papers are filled with details of advantages gained over the rebels. The back of the rebellion is evidently broken, and the complete suppression of the mutinous spirit is now only a work of time.

The * Bombay Telegraph and Courier' of the 18th December contains the following summary of events up to that date:—

While: England is rejoicing over the, splendid triumphs of General Wilson at Delhi and Sir Henry Havelock at Lucknow, it is our painful duty to announce to the nation that the latter hero has died in the very hour of victory. Wearied and worn out with the fatigues and excitements of the last four months, his frame was no longer able to support his gallant, spirit, and he breathed his last on the 25th ultimo, with the shouts of victory ringing ill his ears. He could.-not have met with a more heroic death had he fallen sword in hand. He lived long enough to see .Lucknow in safety; to know that the* destruction of the rebels was merely .a work", of time.; and to feel that although his hour was come, he was prepared to meet it in the full consciousness that he had done his duty. Through all time his name will be remembered, and his deeds will rank with those of the world's noblest. In India his <ieath has caused a general gloom, and all ranks mourn for him as if they had- lost something dear and holy. We shall be greatly disappointed should the, English Ministry fail in recognising his distinguished services. He has left a wife and family behind him, and we are sure that they will have a nation's sympathy. On the 22nd November Sir Colin Campbell caused the garrison of Lucknow to ; execute its retreat from the Residency, cohered by the relieving force, which then feli back on Dilkhoosa, in the presence of the old force" of Oude. The women, wounded, and State prisoners and King's treasure, and 23 lacs, of rupees, with all the ; guns worth taking away, are in our camp. A great many guns were destroyed before the Residency was given up, those that were worth bringing having been transported with much labour, and made available for our own purposes. On his arrival at Alumbagh Sir Colin Campbell at once prepared to march in the direction of Bunneea . village, in the North West Provinces, leaving behind him Sir James Outram in command of a division. The families from Lucknow have arrived at Allahabad. General Windham has defeated the Gwalior rebels with great slaughter, capturing all their guns. We are; still, however," without despatches. Cawnpore was attacked, but upon what date has not yet been ascertained. The rebels were, however, defeated with great slaughter. Our loss is also said to have been severe, the name of Major-General Wilson of H.M.s 64th being mentioned amongst the names of those who have fallen. 'As however, all dawk conimuni- - cation .between Bombay and Calcutta has been cut off, our: intelligence is consequently very defective; The Gobrkhas at Azimghur arid Jaiinpore, pressed by 15,000 men, have been compelled to evacuate those -places. Orders have arrived at Benares to Ualt every European there, pending the arrival of Colonel Francks. The Lucknow rebels have crossed the frontier, and are giving trouble near Jaunpore. The telegraph wire has been cut between .Allahabad and Cawnpore. The small force at Rewan was besieged by insurgents, who retreated when the Madras column advanced, and finally threw themselves on the mercy of Government, giving up -their prisoners. Their forts are in progress of reduction. On this side of India we are piittthg I'down revolt with- strong" hand. Sir Hug-li Rose has assumed command of the Nerbudda Field Force, of which the Mhow and Malwa columns form the nucleus^ His army'will operate in the

east of Rajpootana, clearing- the country from Mhow to Ajmere, and from Ajmere to Gwalior. The army of General Roberts assembling- at Deesa, will enter Rajpootana via Palhanpoor, driving- before it the insurgents of Meywar, Marwar, Joudpoor, Jeysulmeer, and Bikaneer. A glance at the map of India will show that not a rebel or mutineer in- Rajpootana can escape. If he flee northwards from before the army of General Roberts, he can onlytake refuge in Bhawulporej and should the IsTuwab feel inclined to succour him, he will have the' Mobltan Field Force down upon his territories like an avalanche. Should he flee westward, General Jacob will receive him on the banks of the Indus ; and should he flee eastward he will rush on the baj^onets of General Rose. Rajpootana is at the present .moment an immense trap into which the insurgents are pouring- from all quarters. When the doors are once shut, our armies will gradually close around them, and the crowningact of British vengeance be completed. As for the Oude insurgents, we regard their fate as sealed. Everywhere the miserable wretches are fleeing before the avenging sword of justice,. and 'ere a month has passed the .blade will be red to the hilt. Yet even then, there must be no pause in the terrible work. The innocent will be spared, but the guilty must be punished; and if a single traitor is left alive, we shall consider the task slovenly performed. It will be quite time enough for the clemency-mongers to cry for mercy when they find that our soldiers indulge in indiscriminate slaughter— of which we defy them to point out a single instance, even at Cawnpore or at Delhi. Our army is composed of men whose hearts are bursting,—not, however, with the passions of fiends, but with the proud rage of an aroused manhood. To exterminate legions of devils, and send them shrieking to their native hell, is the great work they have before them, and let those interfere who dare! Two regiments of Holkar's Cavalry were disarmed on the arrival of the Mhow column. Two regiments of Holkar's Regular Infantry were also quietly disarmed on the afternoon of the 15th instant. They were corps which, like the Regular Cavalry, were conspicuous in the attack on the Residency on the Ist July last. At Mundessore, near Neemuch, Major Robertson has given the rebels a severe thrashing-, driving them before him like chaff*.

The 'Madras AthenEeum' of the 16th of January thus epitomises the Calcutta news:—

A meeting- is to be held, to afford the Calcutta community an opportunity of expressing- their sentiments with regard to the conduct of General Neill. The * Englishman recommends that the honor should be done to General Havelock. The 'Overland Hurkaru' states that the Court of Directors have ordered the appointment of three Commissioners to investigate the origin and cause of the mutiny, the reorganisation of the army, and the losses that have been incurred by private individuals in the disturbed districts- The markets are still depressed; fives are twelve, and fours are at twenty-five discount. The following are the telegrams above referred to:—

Allahabad, sth Jan. —Mr. Gubbins reports on 4th from Cawnpore, that intelligence has been received from General Mansfield of a great success obtained over the enemy. The Commander-in-Chief taking seven guns and intending to reach Futtehghur that day. Sherer and Captain Thompson made an expedition to the village of Lallpoor on Saturday night, and captured miscellaneous property entrusted by the Nana to a, prostitute, also 12 prisoners.; The villagers on the road well affected, and rendered assistance. Four large boxes of g-old and silver plate recovered from a well at the Nana's place at Bithoor. More coming. Benares, 6th Jan.—Captain Osborne took the Fort of My here on the night of the 3rd of January. Mohund Sing is a prisoner. Camp Hurrowlee, 3rd Jan. —The rebels came down to oppose our workingparty at the bridge of the Bailee Nundee yesterday (the repairs of which were fortunately "nearly completed). They were repulsed with heavy loss after a skirmish of some duration, their guns being all taken in the pursuit, —viz., seven or eight in number, two of them being 18 pounders. Lieutenant Young-husband, sth Punjab Cavalry, dang-eronsly wounded; Captain Maxwell, Bengal Artillery, severely wounded. I advanced to-da} r close up to Furruckabad, and in communication with Colonel Seaton's column.

Camp, Furruckabad, 4th Jan.—The rebels vacated Furruckabad on the night of the 2nd inst., after their defeat, and" I occupied it the next day without opposition. It is said they took away three guns. The heavy guns I have found in position. It appears that much property belonging to the gun and clothing agency has been saved.

Extract from a letter from W. Muir, Esq., to J. Sherer, Esq., dated Agra, 28th ! of December, 1857.—''A message has ju;t come in from Colonel Seaton, dated Mynpoorie, yesterday afternoon. It came round by Allyghur, and thence by telegraph. On their approach to Mynpoorie, about a mile to the west, the enemy was found posted behind some high trees^ As we advanced he opened with four guns. Colonel Seaton on this sent the Horse Artillery and Cavalry by a flank movement! to the right, following with the Infantry and heavy guns. The insurgents, seeing their way Back to the'city intercepted, soon began to retreat. We took all their guns, six in number, arid cut up 050. None reported killed on our-side." Extract of a telegraphic message, dated Allahabad, 6th January, 1858, from Brigadier Campbell to Lord Dunkellin.:—" I had a fight with the rebel Nizam near Seeundra. We killed upwards of 350 rebels. Our loss was one private killedand one Sepoy wounded; fifteen horses killed and wounded. General Outram's force at the Alumbagh, we learn from the"'Overland Friend of India,' is 4,000 strong. The 'Hurkaru' quotes a letter from Monghyr, date not mentioned, which states that a conspiracy had been discovered among the prisoners to break loose on Christmas-day, to plunder the Treasury and massacre the Christian inhabitants. The ringleaders have been sent to Bhaugulpore to be hanged. .-.-. A. Cawnpore correspondent of the 'Phoenix,' whose letter is not dated, says: "It would appear-from this morning's information that our forces, which left some time ago for Futtehghur, came up quite suddenly on. the enemy, and gave them a thrashing, capturing 18 of their guns. The rebels, which consisted mostly of matchlock men, or Zemindaree people, fled in great disorder, leaving behind them a great deal of small arms." A Cuttack correspondent of the 'Phcenix,' writing on the 27th December infoi'ms us that Mr. Cockburn,. the, Cjbinmissioner, has set out on his tour, and? that he is going to the Sumbulpore district. The writer continues :— ' " : • - ■

" He is accompanied by five companies of the sth Regiment, M.N.1., who were relieved by the head-quarters of that corps from Berhampore only last night. The Rajah of Athghurh having volunteered his services against the Sumbulpore insurgents, the Commissioner 'permitted him to accompany him ; so he is going, as I hear, with about 500 Paiks, armed with bows and arrows, and some of them with matchlocks and guns. The Rajah of Dhenkanal is likewise to accompany Mr. Cockburn with about 600 or 700 similarly armed. As the road between Ungool and Sumbulpore appears to be blockaded by the rebels, supported 'by some of the Khond tribes, headed, as the rumour goes, by Chukra Bissoye, we hops these Paiks and the left wing of the above-mentioned corps will be able to give a good account of them. We have had no dawk communication with Sumbulpore for several days past. What we hear is but scraps of news now and then via, Midnapore." The ' Ceylon Examiner' publishes a letter from a corporal of Cap't. Maude's Company of Royal Artillery, now serving in Bengal, from which we extract the following passage relating to\Lucknow :— "This town is very large, 13 miles in length, and nearly the whole of the sepoys flew into it, after'being driven away from so many places. There are 00,000 or 60 000 of them there now. We did not take one-fifteenth part of it. As our force was not strong enough to go any further without more troops, Sir Colm Campbell retired to AUumbaugh, where we are now awaiting some 20,000 or 30,000 men, when we are to attack the place again. There will be some more hot work for us yet as it is not an easy place to take. Every house is fortified, aud the whole of the inhabitants, as well as the sepoys, are fighting against the English." This' latter statement is confirmed, it confirmation were necessary, by one of the survivors of the Lucknow garrison, who, in writing to the ' Phoenix,' says that the population of the city was estimated at from 500,000 to 600,000, and that it was supposed all the male population capable of bearing arms had been

enlisted against us—a supposition confirmed by subsequent events. A c Calcutta Gazette Extraordinary,' dated the 2nd in.st., thus notices the death of the Bishop of Calcutta:— " With deej) sorrow the Itiglit Hon. the Goveror-General in Council publicly notifies the death this morningl of the Right Rev. Daniel Wilson, Lord Bishop of Calcutta.

" After a career of pious Christian usefulness as Metropolitan, extending through a quarter of a century, marked by a zeal which age could not chill, and by an openhanded charity and liberality which have rarely been equalled, this venerated Prelate has closed his long life, leaving a name to be remembered and honoured throughout British India.

" The Governor-General in Council requests the principal officers of Government, civil and military, and all who may desire to take this opportunity to mark their respect for the memory of the deceased Bishop, will attend the sad ceremony of his interment.

"The .flag of Fort William be hoisted half-mast high at sunrise on the morning of Monday, the 4th of January, which will be the day of the funeral. " By command of the Right Hon. the Governor-General in Council."