MAIL ITEMS.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3383, 25 October 1879, Page 4

MAIL ITEMS.

THE CABUL MASSACRE

An Account by a Tboopeb.

One of the troopem of Major Caragnari'g escort arrired afc Sttadik-Notal, on the 16th September. He says that the roof of the British Residency at Cabul was commanded by other houses, and was consequently untenable by the besieged, •who made a trench outside. At about 1 o'clock in the afternoon on the day of the massacre, Major Cavagnari received a wound from a ricochetting bullet in his forehead, Lieutenant Jenkyns, Major Cavagtiari's assistant, who armed at the "Residency during the attack, wrote to the Ameer for help, and the Ameer's, reply •wes. "God will help; I am making arrangements." A..previous request for aid from Majot Cavaguari had met with the same reply. Lieutenant Jenkyns wrote auain when Major Cavagnnri wbb wounded, but the bearer of the letter was cut to pieces by the mutineers. A trooper then started, but tens disarmed and imprisoned. He succeeded in escaping at daybreak on the 4th of September, and •visited the liesidency, where he *aw the corpse of Lieutenant Hamilton, commanding the escort of the British Mission, lying across a mountain gun. He says that Lieutenant Jenkyns was with a person called Yah-Hab-Khum, and he is j therefore presumably alive. The escaped i trooper saw no troops on the road to Cabul to Jellalabad and Dakka, and, as far as. he knew, none were coming. A comrade who was confined in Cabul informed him that Lieutenant Hamilton shot three of the mutineers with his revolver and killed two with his sabre. Dr. Kelly, who -jwns connected with the mission, was lying dead inside the Residency. Major Cavagnari was inside a room which was burnt and which had fallen ia. His body had not been found. Three native officers of the Guides were burned to death near the Residency. A sergeant, with some more of the escort of the British Residency, hare arrired at AliKhejk r r r?- * "i: \ r A despatch from AH Eheyl gives the following account of the mas&creof the British Legation at Cabul: Four thousand men attacked the residency in which the British Embassy was quartered. ,The mutineers brought up artillery against it. Major Cavagnari was stabbed in several places, and all the bodies of the dead were mutilated. The Affghan loss exceeded 300. The Ameer had other troops who remained faithful, but he made no effort to interfere, owing to the intimidation by the priests. A .telegram from Lahore report!) that the Ameer begged for the lives of the members of the Ecnbasay.

A meeting of British subjects has been held in Constantinople, in opposition to a proposal by the Turkish Government to increase the taxation of foreign subjects. A memorial has been forwarded from the meeting to Lord Salisbury which declares that trade is rery precarious in Constantinople, and condemns in the strongest terms the proposed new tax. On the sth instant the Marquis of Hartington presided at tha luncheon of the Radnorshire Agricultural Society, held at Pen-y-bouts. Eefi-rring to the Eoyal Coramission on Agriculture, he said that farmer? must not anticipate that the result of its labours could be the placing of any imposition on the food o? the people, but any changes would have to be made in the rel»tions between landlords and tenants,

and not in the relations between the agri-

cultural interests and the genera!. com- , munity. Some remarks which he had made on this subject had been misunderstood by Lord Beaconsfield, who seemed to suppose that he had advocated an alteration in the land laws for the purpose of encouraging the growth of a peasant proprietary. There were many persons on 'jII sides of politics who thought that a considerable number of small proprietors would be a great advantage, but, with the imperfect consideration which he had been able to give to the subject, lie had nercr laid down the doctrine that the existiug tenure of land in this country should be altered, or that anything should be done to encourage other tenure. All that he wanted inquired into was, whether there was an anatural condition of tbiugs existing in this country, tending artificial Jy <o aggregate vast properties in the, hands of a lew persons who perhaps hud not enough capital to manage them.