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Lyttelton Times, Volume X, Issue 609, 8 September 1858, Page 5

Amnesty foe the Indian Eebels.—The Commander-in-Chief has issued the following proclamation of amnesty :

"The Right Hon'ble the Governor General hereby notifies, for the information of all those concerned in the present rebellion, his ultimate views and intentions regarding principals, seconds, and followers engaged in the same, during the past twelve months.

"To all parties immediately concerned in the murder of Christian British subjects, no hope of pardon on arrest can be held out ; they must pay the forfeit the laws of this and every civilised country has decreed to a mere brutal and gratuitous slaughter of the unprepared, the defenceless and the innocent; they are out of the pale of humanity, and the magnitude of their offence while they live will ever call aloud for retribution. With these the British Government can make no terms.

•' To all those who have offered asylum to refugees or others, being the murderers of Christian British subjects, and knowing them to have been such, or who have been leading movers against the authority of the British Government, and have persistently acted throughout this rebellion against the constituted paramount power of the land, the Right Hon. the Governor-General can offer only terms of life; their punishment will be proportioned to the offences they have committed against the State. All those who shall surrender on or before the 30th day of Sept. next, will have their lives guaranteed to them, after which date, should they still continue in arms or in opposition to the Government, their several cases shall be summarily dealt with by the authority into whose hands they may chance to fait, whether civil or military. " To all others, seconds to principals, zemindars, sepoys disbanded, fugitives throughout the country, or any person whatsoever in arms against the Government not acting on his own free will and authority, but aiding and abetting some principal, the Right Hon'ble the Governor General offers at once a general amnesty. Let them return to their homes and pursue their ordinary avocations, using their best endeavours to maintain peace and quiet. Their estates shall be guaranteed, and an act of oblivion thrown over the past. Should they, however, still continue to bear arms against the British power, they must bear the consequences of their own nets. * The time for clemency willl have passed away,"