INDIA.

Colonist, Issue 88, 24 August 1858, Page 2

INDIA.

(From the Sydney Herald.) , Point de Galle, June 26,1858r Lord Canning has been recalled. His proclamatien to the people in Rohilcund will not be received by the English nation with less astonishment than that of, the Oude proclamation. In this circular all but the leaders are to be freely pardoned. The

result of allowing the rebels to escape from every town we capture will be anything but satisfactory. We have already had instances more than sufficient to warn us against acting on the principle of conciliation. Whilst the Legislature at home is squabbling for party purposes, as to how the rebels should be treated, the wild Hindoo is still murdering and ravaging right and left. This mail will convey you very little news of a cheeringcharacter. It wilt be observed our force in India is far from adequate to keen the country in subjection. We capture towns, completely disperse the enemy, and then march to other places, where the same'feats are enacted, but generally with the same result —the re-occupation by the rebels of their old strongholds. There is no knowing when the rebellion will be quelled, if the war continues to be carried on in the way that it has hitherto been. What is the utility of conquering a place and then allowing the enemy to re-occupy it almost immediately afterwards ? We may continue to "conquer" in this way for a century without advancing a step towards the pacification of tho country. It is rumoured that Sir Colin Campbell has demanded 20,000 more troops. Lucknow lias again been threatened, the rebels from Bareilly and rfhahjohanpore were reported to be concentrating near that place, with the intentiou of laying siege to it; succour has, however, been sent, and the force there now is more than sufficient to repel any attack that may be made upon it. Shahjehanpore, which was captured by Sir Colin Campbell, was retaken by the rebels. From advices last received, the towu was again, however, in our possession. It appears that the attack by the enemy upon the forces of Sir Colin Campbell and Brigadier Jones was most audacious, and the fighting has been extremely obstinate and severe. The rebels, in like manner, have resumed possession of Chundaree in" Central India, which was captured by Brigadier Stuart. Brigadier Smith, however, took back the place on the 27th May. It will be seen that the rebels have taken advantage of the absence of Sir Hugh Rose to occupy many of the places from which that General had previously driven them. They are becoming very troublesome in Central India. Esanghur is at present re-occupied by the insurgents, and the Rajahs of Baupore and Shamur are reported to be within 40 miles of Saugor with considerable forces. Although we hold some of the principal cities in Oude and elsewhere above Allahabad, the country all around is still in the possession of the rebels, and disorganisation prevails to an extent scarcely conceivable. The rebels go about plundering and destroying villages, and infesting the roads between Calcutta and Delhi in every direction, so as to make them very unsafe for unprotected travellers. Throughout the stations in Bengal a feeling of insecurity prevails. The mortality among the troops from exposure to the sun has been fearful ; apoplexy and coup de solid carry them off by hundreds, whilst the bullets of the enemy scarcely do so by as many dozens. General Penny is dead. Through false intelligence he was led into an ambuscade, where he and a few others were surrounded and shot down. The death of Kooer Singh, which was reported to have happened,™ has not yet been positively ascertained. Bareilly has been captured by the Commander- ] in-Chief. His advance from Futteyghur to Bareilly was not opposed in a single instance. The plan of attack was, that Brigadier Walpole was to advance on the one side, while Brigadier Jones moved forward from Moradabad in a like direction. Major-General Penny was to cross the Ganges, advance through'the Bndaon district, and unite himself to the column under the Com-mander-in-Chief's orders. The attack commenced on the sth May. The enemy, who had come out of the city fought with great desperation. On the morning of the 6th, the whole force advanced into the cantonment. Calpee was stormed on the 23rd of May. The enemy, as at Bareilly, came out of the town to attack Sir Hugh Rose's camp; but in this engagement the rebels are said to have been so panic-stricken that after firing a few shots they fled with great precipitation. Sir Hugh made an approach from the river side below Calpee, and entered into communication with Colonel Maxwell, whose brigade held a position on the left bank of the Jumna, so as to shell the town and port. The city fell without loss on our side, the enemy offering no resistance. A rapid pursuit was made by cavalry, and the result was the capture of all the guns, ammunition, and elephants belonging to the enemy. From last accounts it will be seen that the Calpee rebels were concentrating themselves at Gwalior, where they are making preparations for another stand. Sir Hugh Rose reported, on the 4th instant, that our troops are marching as fast as they can to Gwalior.

On the state of matters in India, generally, the Calcutta Military Chronicle of 3rd June remarks :—

During the seventeen days which have elapsed since our last despatch, our troops have been engaged in a series of attacks on the enemy's strongholds, the result of which is, that the beseiged force at Shalvjehanpore has been relieved, that Bareilly and Calpee are again in our possession, and-that succour has been sent to Lucknow, which was somewhat threatened by the rebels. Highly satisfactory as these results are, they nevertheless have not brought us nearer the solution of the great problem—the pacification of the country ; for though, undoubtedly, numbers of the rebels who resisted the advance on their strongholds may have been killed, yet the majority have as usual been allowed to escape, and not one of their great •leaders has been captured. From the information given in private letters it appears that the escape of the rebels from Bareilly might easily have been prevented, but some unfortunate delay in the advance of the column under the Commander-in-Chief, which of course dared not move without special orders, gave the enemy plenty of time to escape, and he did not lose the opportunity. Thus, the rebels have everywhere become more dispersed over the country, but as they still manage to move about in considerable numbers, it has"been necessary to send out in almost every direction pursuing columns, so that with the dispersion of the enemy our own forces become equally dispersed, and future events must shew how far such a policy is consistent with prudence, and with the .object the Commander-in-Chief may have in view. In one respect these continual movements have already caused disastrous consequences, for sickness prevails to an alarming extent, whilst the mortality among the soldiers has been frightful. Apoplexy and coup da soldi are carrying them off by scores, and it is evident that these deaths are entirely caused by constant exposure. Indeed, considering that m one instance the troops were under arms from nearly morning till evening, under a sun with the thermometer at 130° it is a wonder that mortality has not been much greater. All this is the result of having allowed the Lucknow mutineers to escape, and there is no saying how much more work awaits our troops before the rains set in.

At Jugdespore the adherents of Kooer Singh, whose'death even to this moment is not positively ascertained, have.been driven into a dense and extensive jungle. It heing almost impossible to attack them there without exposing our men to a nrarderous fire, it was at first thought that by setting fire to the jungle' the rebels must either perish within or come out and fight for their lives; but, for some reason or other, this plan has been changed, and the cutting down of the jungle commenced, probably to make roads for an advance. Though" more: than a fortnight has elapsed since this operation began, we have not heard whether it led to any result whatever, and from ail that has come to our knowledge it appears that, up to the last advices, no decisive advantage has been obtained. On the whole, therefore, matters are much the same as at the time of our last Overland despatch, for although several of the principal strongholds of the rebels have been reduced, the aggregate strength of the enemy has undergone hardly any diminution. Being dispersed over the disaffected provinces, they have in many places gained additional followers, and especially so in Oude, where, according to official report, the rebels are again concentrating in large numbers'. As regards the position of the British army, it can hardly be considered the same as it w<as a fortnight ago, for the measures the Commander-in-Chief has adopted, have had the effect of disseminating our troops over a wide extent of country, and in a manner that it would take time and some trouble to con-

centrate a large force on any special point. But oven scattered as our troops are, they would achieve all that might he expected fV.om them, could their effective strength be kept up to its full compliment. Such, however, considering the season of the year, and the continued exposure to that formidable cnemv, a tropical sun, is next to an impossibility, and this circumstance i-s ih<- more to be deplored, as there is an apparent deficiency of medical men, .so much so, that in some instances it was found necessary to send detachments of European troops in charge of native doctors. The latter may be very good and trustworthy men, but under existing circumstances to place thorn in charge of soldiers, who are sent up-country to replace casualties and to reinforce the strength of the Com-mander-in-chief, seems to us a very questionable policy, especially since the returns forwarded to Government would lead to suppose, that soldiers may be reported to have died from sun-stroke, although only marching at night without being at all exposed to the sun. Another mouth, however, is not unlikely to produce a complete turn of affairs. By that time ihc periodical rain? may he expected to have set in, even in the North-Western Provinces, and the war will probably then assume a new feature. Movements of large bodies of men will become more difficult from day to day, until in consequence of the heavy rains, the country will not only be inundated, but even existing roads almost rendered impassable. Though these checks upon military improvements must prove formidable drawbacks to future operations, yefc it is clear that they will ba felt much more by the enemy than by ourselves, and in fact, wo shall thereby obtain some advantages, which will enable us to continue aggressive movements, whilst the rebels must be brought to a complete s?an;i-still. With the excellent arrangements of the Ordnance and Commissariat Departments, and the activity recently instilled in the Quarter-Master-General's office, we shall be in a position to move our troops about at a time when the enemy must halt. Tiie rains, whilst rendering every river navigable for our steam flotilla, the numerous creeks, which intersect the country, will become open to the powerful gun-boats lately built, am 3 fitted up with locomotive engines. We shall thus have complete command of every position now open to the rebels; and if in addition to this it be considered that we shall be able to employ to advantage our Sappers and Miners, and construct pontoons wherever they may be necessary ; whilst the rebels at the utmost could only command boats, the chances will be greatly improved. We mentioned on a former occasion, that public opinion had strongly set in against the Comman-der-in-Chief, as owing to the l'epeated escapes of the enemy our men have been forced into a hot weather campaign, which as yet has produced no great result, except that of causing the premature death of many a brave soldier. This feeling has become still stronger, since the unfortunate affair near Aleeguuje. So far from calling forth any marked disapprobation on the part of his Excellency, it was actually followed up by the promotion of Brigadier Walpole to the command of Rohilcund. This step has engendered much bitterness, and led to public expressions on the part of some officers with the Rohilcund force, which, we are informed, have been made the subject of a Court of Enquiry. Whilst thus every care appears to be taken to prevent harm befalling the rebels, the local authorities seem to be perfectly indifferent about the welfare and even the lives of the European soldiers. About a month ago, a thousand of the East India Company's light cavalry recruits arrived from England, but no arrangements were made to provide the men with light clothing. They were seen walking about in the streets during the hottest hours of the day buttoned up to the chin in their broadcloth uniforms, and had to wear their forage caps. Having nothing whatever to do, and being apparently left to themselves, they began to commit mischief, so that at last it was found necessaiy to send them away from Calcutta as fast as possible. Although a large number of horses, imported from the Cape, are kept on the Maidan for no purpose whatever, those recruits were sent off without horses, though those we just mentioned are eating their' heads off on the Maidan. Some uneasiness seems to prevail in the Cacha district, and the accounts from Assam are by no means satisfactory. Rumours were likewise in circulation regarding Dacca, but they have been officially contradicted ; it is nevertheless a fact that two additional reinforcements of European sailors have been sent off to strengthen Dacca and Gowhatty, and such would not have been, had there not have been an imperative call for assistance. Had in the first instance the example set. by Sir John Lawrence in the Punjab been followed up in Assam, we should have been spared much trouble, but unfortunately the policy of Government appears to be that it is better to let many murderers of helpless women and innocent children to escape, than to inflict capital punishment upon men who have raised the standard of rebellion, and conspired for the overthrow of British authority. The following is from Lucknow, dated the 10th May :—

" Well, to all appearances we shall be besieged once more. The Shanjehanpore mutineers are said to be concentrating not far from this, and their numbers are swelled by the rebels from Bareilly, who are reported to come in daily. We hear that the Moulvie of the former place is leading the insurgents, and that he contemplates surrounding us, and thereby cutting off all supplies. Whether true or not, we are not so easily alarmed ; but at the same time arrangements are in progress to be prepared for any emergency. A sharp look out is kept everywhere, and I understand the sentries are to be doubled during the night. The moveable column will inarch out to-morrow, and we trust will teach the rebels a lesson. We are not apprehensive of falling short of supplies, thanks to the excellent arrangements of Captain Fitzgerald of the Commissariat, and the great contractor, Jotee Persaued, whose agents I understand bring in whatever may be required. The people of the town, however, seem to be in a frightful state of alarm, and are leaving the city as fast as they can. Something is brewing no doubt, but as yet it is impossible to ascertain the real truth. Three guns just fired. I must be off to my place. '; 13th May .—The weather is delightful. The flyiny brigade are as yet in pursuit of the Pandies, who came almost under our nose the other day, when they burned down a village and killed its inhabitants. You shall hear from me again.

" We are getting gradually surrounded here on all sides by thousands and thousands, and in a very short time may-.have to fight hard for it. The enemy are shewing greater courage and front, more than they ever did. Curious and very ominous rumours are running about, and many of the city people, who came in and lived with us, have become ill disposed again, and are bolting away from us. No supplies have come in the last three days from the districts, in fact, everything looks gloomy and sad. I am living near the old "Baillie Guard" with two other friends, away from troops and all aid, and in case there should be a rising in the city, have only our revolvers and fusees to depend upon; the. rest I leave to God and fortune. About ten days more or so matters must end one way or the other, if a demonstration is not made even earlier than that period, the c Eed' which comes off on the Isth, or the day after to-morrow. We have hints about it already, and such of the native population who have remained in the city begin to look defiance at us."

" lGth May.—Another row likely to take place, but all prepared for it. Our force, in comparison to the number of rebels who gather around us, is small, but strong enough to maintain our position. Treachery within is all that we must guard against, and in that' respect the arrangements are perfect. If only the communication with Cawnpore is kept open, we don't care for anything else, and as yet there has been no interruption, for I received this morning the Englishman of the 10th instant. Many of the natives of this place are puzzled how to act; they wish to stick to us, but the reports which are spread through the town appear to make them doubtful whether we shall be able to hold out, and they dread the rebels coming here, and looting a second time."

The stagnation in the trade of France has become bo serious as to excite the most anxious concern of the Government.