INDIAN NEWS. [From the Sydney Morning Herald.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 808, 30 April 1853, Page 4

INDIAN NEWS. [From the Sydney Morning Herald.]

In the Sydney Mommy Herald of February 25tb, wm published ibe official despatches ia respect to the capture and occupation of the city of Promo ; and on Saturday last we gave a few additional extracts received from Calcutta by way of Hobart Town. We bare since received a file of the Straits' Times to the 18th of January, and from a journal of the Rangoon correspondent we .take the following extracts, in reference to the war proceedings in Barman :—: — " The report of the attack on Pegu by the Burmese has been confirmed : the enemy surrounded the place the very night General Godwin left, and made a bold attempt to re-occupy -their stronghold ; they came boldly on with their scaling ladders, bat met with such a warm reception that they gnvt up the business in despair, and attacked some Commissariat stores that were «n the river side under a small piquet ; here, too, they were most bravely repulsed ; they managed, however., to destroy some of the stores. Ever *ince, (he place has been quiet. Report says ■that a considerable portion of ihe Burmese army has deserted since ; this news was brought by a boat last night from Pegu. The scaling laddeis left by the Burmese in their attempt to recapture Pegu the oiher night are said to be of a very superior kind. " The Sikh corps are directed to bold themselves in readiness to proceed in a few days ia country boats to Prome. The weather here is not exactly what one hat been accustomed to in December ; the day before yesterday at sanset the thermometer stood at 91. It is said to be much cooler at Pegu. " December 6th.— A boat arrived last night from Pegu, bringing intelligence of another attack made on the place on the night of the 3rd ; *s before, the enemy surrounded the pagoda, but being baffled theft, they made for ihe breach where the commissariat stores and a piequet were, as on the former occasion, yelling and discharging jingals as they went along ; great must have been their disgust to find their noise wasted on open air, at all the stores had been got into the pagoda the evening before, and of course they found no one there. It seems that the attack was expected on the night in question, the Burmese having given out that they ha A fixed on that night. This is a happy characteristic of Burmese tactics to fix beforehand on a particular day and hour, detmed auspicious on account of a particular phase of the moon, at the time. In tbt last Burmese war this was frequently experienced. The' morning after the attack, » gre«t many families with some hundreds of hackeries came into the fort for protection, the. means of affording which to so many defenceless people is the only source of anxiety to Major Hill, of the Madias fusiliers, the officer commanding there ; the hacker/its havt been io placed as to form a breastwork.

11 The Damoodah steamer arrived from Prome tbo day before yesterday, with tbe Commodoro and three eick officers. Sir John Chetpe lias done wonders at Prome ; he has, by cutting away the jungles in the vicinity, quite altered the api pearance of tbe place. The Burmese at Etha Miew, the great stockade near Prorae, are ma. king the best use of the time given them to strengthen their position. They are digging a deep tiench in front of their stockaJ^s, for there are more than one. They will doubtless take care to leave lots of room for escape on the rear side. It is supposed to be the General's wish that the enemy should concentrate themselves as much as possible on this position, so that a complete route here may produce a greater effect. If however the same simple advance movement be adopted, with uo attempt to cut off a retreat, the effect will only be the one expected and anticipated by the enemy, who will probably locale themselves in some other stockade. For they are fighting by compulsion and with the certain destruction of their wives and children befote their eyes, if they fail to appear to be making great exertions to withstand the barbarians : in fact they are " zuburdustee," volunteers. Should however some skill and generalship be brought into play, and there nro those in the army who conld do it, so that the enemy either snstain an immense loss or &re compelled to surrender, then indeed it is possible the Court of Ava would see the oselesaness of contending with so superior an enemy. Hitherto we have certainly been able to drive the Burmese out of any place we wished to occupy, but with little or no loss of life to them ; but then too frequently advantage has not been taken of the opportunity to follow up a victory, and tbe place has probably been abandoned, which baa seemed to imply au inability to bold it. "An unfortunate individual, conductor Quin of tbe Ordnance department, has allowed himself to be carried off by the Burmese at Prome ; be had gone a mile beyond our limits, and climbing up a tree with a spy-glass in his hand, to look at a stockade the Burmese are erecting, he was ob* served by them ; some men came stealthily round and surprised him, he was dragged down the treo and carried off to the Burmese camp — he is said to have been since seen in their camp alive. " News has this morning been received that a boat laden with Madras Commissar at stores, and 18 sepoys of tbe sth N. 1., was intercepted while proceeding to Pegu. The boat was looted of everything, and all the sepoys have been killed. The bodies of poor Captain Gardner and of the Havildar of the 40th N. 1., have been found at Akoutoung, on ,the river aidtw They were of course buried, ••Lieutenant-Colonel Handscome, 40th N. 1., with two companies of the 18th R. L, and one of bis own regiment, has been going up and down the river below Prome, every now and then landing to surprise the enemy, with whom they had a few skirmishes. Captain Loch, R. N., accompanied the party, and had on one occasion a narrow escape of bis life. At one of the places where they landed, he had a personal encounter with a Barman, who seemed to be getting the best of it, when Captain Loch presented his pistol at him, a revolver, and snapped barrel after barrel with no effect : at this critics) juncture a soldier of the R.I. came up' and finished the affair, and tbe Burman at the same lime. On examining the pistol afterwards, Capt. Loch fouud that some part of it, either the chambers or the barrel had become detached in his pocket 1 So much for revolvers, nothing is so safe as a good double barrelled pistol and good caps. Tbe Commodore in coming down the river came suddenly on two or three canoes of armed Burmese, he gave chase to them and took them all prisoners. " 10th December. — Brigadier McNeill, who received a stroke of tbe sun at Pegu, never recovered from it, and died tbe day before yesterday, he was buried with military honors due to his rank last night. The command of the 2nd Madras Brigade now devolves on Lieut. Col. Duke of the Ist Madras Fusiliers, and that of the Fusiliers on Major Hill commanding at Pegu. " Poor Lieut. Cooke, who accompanied tbe Pegu expedition as commissariat officer, aud was shot through the lungs, died from the effect of his woundfe a few days ago. He belonged to the 22nd Madras N. I. and was ranch liked. " An official report from Major Hill at Pegu was yesterday received, of the affair of tbe commissariat boat aud 20 sepoys being intercepted ; the first report, brought by a native, was exaggerated. The boat was attacked a few miles below Pegu by the enemy, tbe Subadar and two men were killed, the men however, briskly returned the fire of the enemy and kept it up all night until at length their ammunition being expended, they had nothing left but to escape for their lives — they gut on shore and all managed to reach Pegu except six sepoys who fell into the hands of the Burmese. No sooner had they arrived and told their tale than Major Hill sallied forth with a party of the Madras Fusiliers in search of these men and had the good fortune to come upon the enemy before they had killed their prisoners. The six sepoys were found tied up ready for slaughter, and they have to thank Major Hill's energy for their lives. Tbe Burmese on the first appearance of the Europeans decamped leaving their prisoners hound hand and foot. Another letter gives us the following further particulars, dated the 14th instant; — "Tho Fire Queen has been detained to carry tbe news of the General's success at Pegu, It is too long a story for me to write all just now, but the gist of it is, that a commissariat boat with nineteen men and a havildar, carrying commissariat bullocks to the garrison at Pegu, were attacked and almost all shot. Major Hill made a rush out when he heard of v, and saved six. All the men-of-war boats were despatched to their assistance, under Capt. Shadwell ; the Nebudda was sent up with 300 European soldiers to back them up. Tbe sailors were repulsed with the loss of 6 men killed and 27 wounded, including two officers, one of them young Cookson of the Sphinx. The Nerbudda came back, having grounded, and from the enormous top- weight on board broke her back. We heard heavy firing all yesterday forenoon and, from the force sent, 14,000 men, besides 600 overland, I think there can be no doubt as to the result. We have been quaking here for the last two nights, as rumours were rife of the Burmese intention to attack Rangoon ; we have not troops enough to man the guns on the old Pagoda, let alone to render any as istance. The Commissariat people have removed all their storci to the stock-

ade, so that the rumour was not whbout some foundaiion."