nies and outlying dependencies of the country have long afforded illustration of this fact, and we fear will never cease to do so till an expression of public opinion, too loud to be mistaken, shall cause those who have the power of abating the evil to cast a somewhat anxious glance towards the Registration Courts, where, as we have been assured, on the best authority, the battle is now fought, We need never wait long for an occasion to suggest such reflections as the foregoing. We have in the present instance been led to them by the fate of a motion recently made by Mr. HUTT for the abolition of an obvious grievance, arising not from the sacrifice of the colonies generally to the interests, real or supposed, of the parent country-that is an old story-but from the grant of privileges to one colony which are denied to others. Canada, our readers are aware, has the privilege of importing corn into this country upon very favourable terms. It is asked that the same measure of indulgence be extended to other colonies, and the answer of Parliament, prompted by the Treasury Bench, is-No! To India the question is of comparatively small importance; for, under any circumstances, no great quantity of corn would probably be exported from that country. But some, perhaps, might; and India has a just claim to be permitted to make the best of her soil. To the Australasian colonies the question is of vast consequence, and the refusal to place these colonies on a level with Canada is one of the most glaring acts of imbecility as well as of injustice ever committed by public men. If any thing can exceed the folly of the determination, it is the folly of the chief argument by which it is supported. The colonists of Tasmania are told, You must not grow corn-it is not for your interest; grow wool; depend upon it you will find that that will pay you better. The principles of ADAM SMITH and his followers are professed now by men of almost all parties; but it seems that they are acted upon only on certain occasions, and when something is to be got by the parade of them. Would it be credible, if the fact were not apparent, that in these times an attempt should be made by any Government to dictate to a body of men, tolerably acute in all matters where their own interests are concerned, as to the best mode of employing their capital and industry? If corn be brought from the Australasian colonies it will not pay! Why then it will cease to be brought, and there will be an end of the matter. Why take this subject under the especial charge of Government? why do you not go to Manchester and Leeds, to Liverpool and Bristol, and not only warn the manufacturers and merchants of those places against improvident speculations, but pass laws to restrain them from engaging in any but such as you approve of? But the argument is altogether a pretence, and it is useless to discuss it. We have The real reason it is not convenient to avow. been told that the case of Canada and that of the other colonies are not precisely the same-there is a difference between them. There are, in truth, several points of difference. There is this especially-that in Canada there is great danger of corn being smuggled in from the United States, and there can be no doubt that such smuggling has taken place, and will continue to a great extent. We are not saying that Canada ought, for this reason, to be deprived of its privilege; though certainly it is an objection which well deserved to be weighed before granting it. But in those colonies from which the enjoyment of equal privi lege with Canada is withheld, the smuggling of corn from a foreign state is absolutely impossible. Where is it to come from? Yet still there is a difference between Canada and Australasia. Tell us, ye who make the assertion, what it is. You hesitate! Let us then perform the task for you. Canada has won the concession by REBELLION. Had Canada been peaceful as India and Australia, her corn would at this moment have been subject to the same discouragement as that of the countries last named. It is the established rule of Government at this day-not recorded, as far as we know, any where in writing, but constantly and undeviatingly acted upon as though it were a great dogına of constitutional law-it is the established rule to grant nothing to reason, but every thing to violence. Make out the plainest and most pitiable case of hardship that can be framed, and ask redress because it is right that it should be granted, and you shall get nothing; without any case, resort to threats and violence, talk plenty of treason, and act a little, and you shall have whatever you choose to claim. God forbid that either India or Australasia should ever follow the example of Canada; but it is surely an infatuation of the most dangerous character which leads rulers to distribute their favours not according to the deserts of the respective candidates, but in an exactly inverse order—to heap benefits upon the disaffected and evil, to withhold them from the loyal and peaceable, and thus to induce a convic tion that the only way to obtain a share of Government indulgence is to become undeserving of it by qualifying in crime. THE name of NAPIER has been so much before the public, that we should hesitate at bringing it forward again, except impelled by a paramount sense of duty. Further; we have so much respect for the character of Sir CHARLES NAPIER as a soldier, that it is with great pain we advert to any manifestation on his part of deficiency in soldierly feeling. Justice, however, requires the exposure of such a deficiency, and most reluctantly we undertake to make it. Sir CHARLES NAPIER has, it appears, accomplished the lately marched, and he has announced his success in a task of suppressing the robber hordes against whom he General Order. We might, if disposed to be hyper-critical, played in this Order-extraordinary we mean with regard say much on the extraordinary style of composition disto that adopted in the generality of papers of similar description, for it is quite in the ordinary style of Sir CHARLES NAPIER'S Orders. We have not forgotten the memorable Order commencing with the consolatory announcement that "gentlemen, as well as beggars, if they like, may ride to the devil when they get on horseback," qualified by the considerate warning that "neither gentlemen nor beggars have a right to send other people to the devil." When we are about to read any production of Sir CHARLES Napier's pen, we look for eccentricity, and-praise rarely deserved by any writer-our expectations are never disappointed. But our attention is now challenged by something far worse than eccentricity. It is with a mixture of sorrow and indignation that we read the following passage in Sir CHARLES NAPIER'S late Order : The men of the 64th have, in this short campaign, gained, under Major Brown's command, the character which they lost under the late Lieutenant-Colonel Moseley. Good officers always make good soldiers. We honour the military character of Major BROWN, and can derive hearty pleasure from finding him in the enjoyment of the praise which he so well deserves. But could not Sir CHARLES NAPIER bestow this just praise on a meritorious officer-could he not express his approbation of the conduct of the 64th regiment, and his pleasure at the restoration of its character, without calling into notice the errors of its former commander, seeing that those errors had been visited with the severest punishment, short of death, which could be inflicted, and recollecting that this tremendous punishment closed thirty years of faithful and honourable service? We are certain that we carry with us the general feeling of military men-and, indeed, of all right-minded men, whatever their profession-when we denounce this proceeding of Sir CHARLES NAPIER as ungenerous in the extreme, and far more disgraceful to himself than it can be injurious to the man upon whose head he seeks to heap an aggravation of punishment in the form of gratuitous insult. We do hope that the perpetrator of this wanton and wicked outrage may be taught that even a NAPIER may stretch the liberty of defying decency too far, and that he may learn this, not merely from the animadversions of the press, or the expressions of disgust which will break forth spontaneously, universally, and unreservedly whenever the subject is discussed, but from some authoritative intimation of displeasure too explicit to be mistaken, and too decisive to pass from the memory. It seems a very difficult matter to get the overland communication between England and India to work as it should do. We hope it is within the limits of possibility; and if it be, we do not see why we should not enjoy the benefit. Where the fault lies we are not in a position to say, but the occurrence of a hitch is certainly rather too frequent. The last arrival from Bombay affords an instance of one. The passengers arrived at Southampton, by the Tagus, on the 12th instant; the letters, being matters of no consequence, came by the Hecate, and were not received till the 15th. Surely the trite saying, that if it be worth while to do a thing at all, it is worth while to do it properly, is applicable here. 66 The leader of a band of musicians finding, on reaching the end of a movement, that one of the flutes had yet considerable progress to make before he came up with his fellows, exclaimed angrily to the offender, "Heyday, Sir! you are forty bars behind!" No, no," answered the imperturbable flute-player, "I was only four." Perhaps those who have the management of the overland communication on this side Egypt satisfy themselves in the same way, and think three days in the run from Alexandria a matter of no importance. In common with all our countrymen, we have felt a deep interest for the family of the late lamented SIR WILLIAM NOTT; the bereavement which they suffered by the hand of death being aggravated by the serious pecuniary loss consequent upon it. To our readers, not less than to us, the following announcement will, we are certain, afford pleasure: The Honourable the Court of Directors of the East-India Company have granted to Lady Nott, widow of the late Major-General Sir William Nott, G.C.B., an annuity, during widowhood, of £200; and to the daughters of deceased, Letitia and Charlotte Nott, whilst unmarried, annuities of £100 each. IN another column will be found the instructions issued by the Court of Directors of the East-India Company to the Government of India on the subject of railways. Pending the receipt of the information required, some little pause must take place, and we trust that it will be employed in gathering strength for commencing operations at the proper period with vigour. Our advertising columns exhibit the prospectus of a company formed by some of the most eminent merchants connected with the trade of the East, for the purpose of extending to India the advantages of railway communication. Attention will, in all probability, be in the first instance directed to the construction of a line from Calcutta to Mirzapore. Some extracts from Mr. Stephenson's Report on this line, having reference to the anticipated extent of traffic, which we have re-printed, will be read with interest. RAILROADS IN INDIA. The decision of the Court of Directors as to the course they are disposed to adopt on this important subject, will be found in the following official letter and document :East-India House, May 8, 1845. Gentlemen,-With reference to the letters which you have addressed to the Court of Directors of the East-India Company, regarding the formation of railroads in India, I am commanded to acquaint you that the Court have deemed it necessary for the safe and satisfactory prosecution of undertakings for that purpose, that the general subject should in the first instance be referred for investigation and report to the Governor-General in Council, and that an eminent engineer will be deputed from this country to act under their directions in that investigation. No time will be lost in carrying this resolution into effect, and the opportunity will hereafter be afforded to you of ascertaining its result. In the meanwhile, a copy of the Court's despatch to the Government of India on this subject is open for your perusal at this house. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, Your most obedient humble servant, Sir G. Larpent, Bart., and JAMES C. MELVILL. R. Macdonald Stephenson, Esq. TO THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA IN COUNCIL. Legislative Department, No. 11, 1845. RAILROADS. May 7, 1845. 1. In consequence of applications from private parties for our cooperation in forming railroads on an extensive scale in different parts of India, we have been led to take into consideration the general principles by which our proceedings on this most important subject ought to be regulated. Copies of the papers received from these parties are transmitted as numbered in the packet. 2. The advantage of railroads is available only where proportionate large returns can be obtained to meet the great expense first of constructing and then of working them. According to the experience of this country, by far the largest returns are procured from passengers, the least from the traffic of goods. The condition of India is, in this respect, directly the reverse of that of England. Instead of a dense and wealthy population, the people of India are poor, and in many parts thinly scattered over extensive tracts of country. But, on the other hand, India abounds in valuable products of nature, which are in a great measure deprived of a profitable market by the want of cheap and expeditious means of transport. It may therefore be assumed that remuneration for railroads in India must for the present be drawn chiefly from the conveyance of merchandize, and not from passengers. It cannot admit of question that wherever railroad communication can be advantageously introduced and maintained, it is eminently deserving of encouragement and co-operation from the Government. 3. Independent of the difficulties common to railroads in all countries, there are others peculiar to the climate and circumstances of India, which may render it advisable that the first attempt should. be made on a limited scale. These peculiar difficulties may be classed under the following heads: · 1. Periodical rains and inundations. 2. The continued action of violent winds, and influence of a vertical sun. 3. The ravages of insects and vermin upon timber and earthwork. 4. The destructive effects of the spontaneous vegetation of underwood upon earth and brickwork. 5. The uninclosed and unprotected tracts of country through which railroads would pass. 6. The difficulty and expense of securing the services of competent and trustworthy engineers. 4. Under all the considerations above adverted to, and with reference to the entire want of definite and scientific information relative to the applicability of railway communication to India, we deem it indispensably necessary that the subject in all its bearings should undergo the accurate investigation of competent persons on the spot. We propose for this purpose to depute to India a skilful engineer, fully and practically acquainted with the construction and working of railways in this country, and, if possible, in America likewise, to be associated with two engineer officers in our service, to be selected by you with great care as fully qualified to conduct the investigation required. One object of this committee will be to suggest some feasible line of moderate length as an experiment for railroad communication in India. 5. In submitting to us the result of the proposed investigation, you will state in what respects the views of the engineers have your concurrence. You will also specify the nature and terms of the charter, in your judgment, proper to be granted to any railway company in India which may desire to undertake such a railroad, as well as the mode in which a similar charter from the Crown may be best brought into concurrence and harmony with that granted by the Indian Legislature. 6. In the applications on the subject which have been addressed to us, it is contemplated that railroads in India should be constructed and managed as they are in this country, by means of private enterprise and capital. In that view of the subject we are disposed to concur; but it will be necessary to make provision, as Parliament has latterly done, that the Government should have the command of railroad communication for its own purposes, on payment of a reasonable remuneration; and that at least the great trunk lines should, on settled terms, be liable to become, ultimately, the property of Government. 7. It will be necessary to lay down the rules under which railroad undertakings are to be sanctioned, and with that view we desire that the following may receive your consideration, and that you will submit to us such suggestions as you may have to offer, viz. 1. That the intended line of communication in the first instance, 2. That the constitution and terms of agreement of the proposed 4. That the rate of profit shall not exceed a proportion to be 5. That, if satisfied on these points, the Indian Legislature shall grant a charter of incorporation, and that the Court of Directors shall concur in applying for a grant of a similar charter in England. 6. That the Government shall, by all proper means, facilitate the surveys and other operations of the company, as well as the necessary purchase of land, and generally promote the success of the undertaking. 8. With regard to a guaranteed return on the capital laid out, which the parties who have applied to us request, we consider that mode of co-operation liable to many objections, and likely to prove very unsatisfactory: as, when the information now called for shall have been received, we shall be prepared to take into consideration the mode and extent of such pecuniary assistance it shall be proper for the Government of India to afford towards the execution of at least the first approved line of railroad in that country. 9. We feel assured that you will give your best consideration to the subject now referred to you, as one in which the interests of India are deeply concerned, and that without loss of time you will earnestly endeavour to carry into effect the views explained in this letter, and will report the result for our further instructions. The prospects of traffic on the line from Calcutta to Mirzapore are thus stated in the report of Mr. Stephenson : It has already been mentioned, that the statistical returns of the traffic in goods and passengers, as well as the cost of conveyance between Calcutta and Mirzapore, have been obtained, and the extent of the trade is sufficient to justify measures being taken to improve the means of transport by laying down a railway between these two places, which should pass through the rich and productive district of Burdwan. The uniform and gradual inclination of the road from Howrah (opposite to Calcutta) to Raneegunge, where the principal collieries are opened, presents advantages which are rarely to be obtained upon a line of equal length, and as this portion of the great line would, upon its completion, yield an independent and considerable income, it would be most advisable that to this extent the line, which has been carefully surveyed upon a former occasion, should be first completed, and the interval be occupied in completing the surveys and levels of the remainder; the more especially as it is a question in the minds of many, whether after passing through Burdwan, the direct trunk road to Mirzapore, or the more circuitous route along the valley of the Ganges, would present the greatest advantages, and as, in either case, the line to the Burdwan collieries would form a part of the plan, it would in this respect signify little, in the first instance, which direction shall be adopted. It is the opinion of most qualified men, to whom application has been made upon the subject, that £6,000 per mile will suffice to complete the entire distance, taking the level parts of the country as well as the hilly. districts and rivers into consideration; but it may be more satisfactory to increase the amount to £8,000 per mile, a sum more than sufficient to cover every contingency. Upon this basis I most strongly recommend the undertaking being commenced, provision being made to complete the entire line, but the smaller portion being proceeded with and opened at the earliest possible period. Of the result, the documents above referred to will admit of a correct estimate being formed. The lines upon the plan of the railway from Calcutta to Mirzapore have been laid down by, and are referred to in the communication of Capt. A. S. Waugh, the surveyor-general of India, who expresses bis decided opinion in favour of examining the three lines which he believes to be practicable, and selecting from them whichever shall offer the greatest advantages, with the least difficulty and expenditure; and the majority of those upon whose experience reliance may be implicitly placed, coincide in this opinion, less from any decided impression that the longer line will be found preferable to the one originally proposed, than because the investigation will entail but a moderate expense of time and money; and as it may be conducted while the first, and, under any circumstances, the essential, portion of the line is in course of construction. From a pamphlet recently published, under the title of "Railway Reform," it appears that of a capital of £63,000 invested in 55 railroads, of the aggregate length of 1,732 miles, in the United Kingdom, the 24 principal lines, of 1,014 miles, which have cost £28,000,000, are now worth £48,000,000, and that they are paying an average dividend of 6 per cent. upon the original outlay, of which the London and Birmingham Railway, to which the proposed Calcutta and Mirzapore line bears a close analogy and resemblance, as regards the relative traffic between the two termini, is paying 11 per cent. on the original capital expended; and that these 24 railways have cost on an average £36,910 per mile; whereas, from the level character of a considerable portion of the country, throughout India, from the absence of any heavy Parliamentary expenses, from the cheapness of labour and materials, and from the moderate cost of the land, if 'purchased by the Government of Bengal for the Company as being applied to a public work, the cost of a railway in that country will not, on the average, exceed one-fourth of that amount, while the extent of traffic, if it does not exceed, is very little below that from which, even at the above heavy original expenditure, a dividend of 11 per cent. has been derived. The working expenses, although an increased charge, will be necessary for the payment of European superintendence, will not exceed the aggregate amount of the European charges, in consequence of the less number of intermediate stations on the line, and as there will not be any charge for rates, duties, &c., which, on the Birmingham line, amounts to upwards of £43,000 a year. The moderate charges for passengers and goods on the English railways, as compared with the amount at present paid in India for conveyance, will be observed by reference to the annexed documents, and will sufficiently account for the indisposition to locomotion which generally prevails, unless compelled by business or other equally imperative and urgent causes. A Calcutta merchant who desires to visit Mirzapore must incur an expenditure of £70, and loss of six weeks, if he avails himself of the steam-vessels, and if he proceeds by dâk the amount will be nearly the same, and the period required to perform the distance there and back will be about ten days of unremitting and most fatiguing travelling. The railway will enable him to perform the entire distance to Mirzapore and back to Calcutta in thirty hours, and at an expense, if the English rates were adopted, of £11. 4s., £7. 18s., or £5. 1s. 8d., according to the train which might be selected. These rates would, however, be unnecessarily low, and an intermediate price would be readily paid, and unquestionably induce very many to' avail themselves of the facilities offered, who are at present of necessity prevented by the delay and loss of time, more than on account of the expense which is entailed. From the accompanying documents it appears, that the imports and exports of Calcutta amount to £16,570,000 in one year, of which the chief portion has been received from or is conveyed into the interior; That the traffic which passed the Jungypore toll on the Bhagurettee river, in one year amounted to 83,493 tons down, and 95,373 tons up the river, and of passengers 31,950 down, and 26,428 upwards, and that the opium has not been included in the former calculation; That the traffic by the Soonderbunds (of which a sketch is given shewing the present circuitous route adopted during nine months, as the trade via the Bhagurettee can only be carried on during three. months of the year, except by vessels drawing less than eighteen inches draft of water) is in excess of the above; That the traffic by land over the Annabad bridge in the year 1837-8, also taken from official documents, amounted to 7,742 carriages of all descriptions-168,964 loaded bullocks and other cattle, 33,180 passengers in various conveyances, and 435,242 foot pas sengers; That on the Allahabad and Cawnpore road, to which it is intended hereafter to continue the lines, the year's traffic amounted to 107,613 hackeries, or carts, 172,377 camels, bullocks, &c., and to 63,720 coolies, employed in the transport of goods and merchandize -and 38,619 carriages of various descriptions, 122,751 horses, camels, &c., engaged for conveyance of travellers, and 266,052 foot passengers; That the sugar alone which passed the north-west frontier on its way to Calcutta, in the first six months of 1842, amounted to 64,507 tons; That upwards of 18,000,000 acres in the north-west provinces under cultivation, there are 577,035 acres of sugar-cane; That between Hoogly and Burdwan the traffic taken for a consecutive period of nineteen months amounted, for one year (1843) to 73,000 foot passengers, 25,080 loaded hackeries, 17,155 empty returning hackeries, 64,415 loaded bullocks, and 339 Government daks; That the trade between Burdwan and Calcutta, in salt alone, amounted in one year to 12,962 tons, and in sugar and goor to 18,518 tons, of which three-fifths are sent by land and water, and two-fifths by land, at a cost elsewhere referred to, and estimated at about threepence per ton per mile; That the transport of merchandize between Calcutta and Mirzapore averages by water 47s. 6d. per ton, and by land £10. 16s. to £13. 10s. per ton, the former occupying an average of six weeks, the latter seven weeks, in the transit; And that the estimated traffic, at a moderate calculation, made by an experienced officer in the service, who has furnished the most recent and carefully collated details of the trade between Calcutta and Burdwan, will amount to upwards of 107,310 tons a year upon the existing traffic, exclusive of passengers. The above are a few of the principal points contained in the documents which accompany this paper, and which are given in such full and complete detail as to entitle them to a careful perusal. The most implicit reliance may be placed upon the whole of these documents, as having been supplied by disinterested and unprejudiced parties, and principally under the instructions, and by the permission of the Earl of Auckland, who, while Governor-General of India, afforded the requisite facilities for the purpose of obtaining this information, through the officers of, and others employed under, the Government. The levels of those 'portions of the line which have been already ascertained, shew a gradual inclination of twenty-four inches in the mile, from Howrah, on the banks of the Hoogly, opposite to Calcutta, at which the railway would commence, to the Burdwan collieries, to which it is proposed to extend the first line at once. Upon this portion of the entire line the expense will not exceed £6,000 per mile, or £840,000 for its completion, upon which the gross returns of the ascertained existing traffic in goods alone, exclusive of passengers, troops, the mails, or Government stores, will be £125,160 a year, without calculating upon that increase which invariably follows the providing of improved and additional facilities for communi. cation. I may add that, upon intimating my expectation that the undertaking would be carried out at an early period, when I should probably return to India to arrange with the Government the conditions and terms in detail of the Act of Incorporation, as well as to agree, on the part of the Company, to the points which, for the interests of the public, would require such previous arrangement, I received, in addition to the expression of approval which was conveyed in the publication of the correspondence which had taken place on the subject, the most satisfactory intimation and assurances of the favourable disposition of the Government, and of their intention to extend the fullest support and assistance which it is in their power to give to the Company. An important consideration, to which I need not here do more than briefly refer, but the determination of which will be much facilitated by reference to the valuable information contained in the several reports and other documents in the possession of the Railway department of the Board of Trade, consists in the special arrangements and conditions which are entered into between the Government of Bengal and the Railway Company, and which, with the advantage of that experience, which in England has been purchased at so heavy, although perhaps unavoidable a cost, may, by being at this early period adequately provided for, prevent future questions being raised upon points of doubt or uncertainty, and effectually provide for any prospective alterations which the wants or interests of the public or the Government may appear to demand, without comprcmising private property or personal convenience. The whole of the documents, plans, levels, &c., have been placed in the hands of one of the most eminent English engineers (Charles Vignoles, Esq.), whose attention has been, for some years past, directed to this important subject, and whose opinion will be found annexed, in regard to the sufficiency for every useful purpose of the information which has been submitted, to enable him to express his decided as well as unqualified and favourable opinion of the undertaking. Mr. Vignoles had been some time since professionally consulted by other parties upon the best means of carrying out such a measure, at which period he contemplated proceeding to India for that purpose, which circumstance, in addition to the nature and extent of his inquiries upon that and subsequent occasions, as well as on account of his high professional character and reputation, induced the early application being made to him, and will, for the same reason, give additional weight and value to the opinion he has expressed. In conclusion, I may mention that, having travelled over and examined a considerable number of the European, as well as American lines of railway, I have no hesitation in stating that the amount of existing, as well as of the certain prospective traffic in goods and passengers, through several of the principal districts, with the facilities which the country affords for the economical construction of railways, are calculated to render such an undertaking one of the most remunerative, and extensively beneficial of any similar work with which I am acquainted. The opinion of Mr. VIGNOLLES, above referred to, will be found in the following letter : To R. MACDONALD STEPHENSON, ESQ. 4, Trafalgar Square, London, 23rd November, 1844. Sir, I have carefully perused your papers, and examined the documents which accompany them, relative to the proposed establishment of a company for the introduction of railways in India generally, and for at once commencing operations upon the great line between the capital of Bengal and Mirzapore. My opinion upon the subject is not based exclusively upon the evidence at present before me, as you are aware that I have already given considerable attention to the matter, and that I have collected much practical information upon the subject, which I am gratified to be enabled to bring to bear upon the consideration of it in the present instance. I have no hesitation in assuring you, that the results of my own investigations fully bear out and confirm the statement and references contained in your Report, and although without personal observation, or a complete and accurate survey of the country, I should be unable to pronounce with confidence the cost per mile of railways in India generally, I can state without hesitation, my conviction that India is, without exception, the most favourable country for the introduction of such works of any with which I am acquainted, and that the average expense of a railway will not, at the outside, exceed one-third, and probably not one-fourth of the amount that has been required for the same purpose in this country. I consider that the line selected as the first work to be undertaken is unexceptiodable, on account of the remarkably level character of the country through which it passes, and as offering no engineering difficulties, while the trade appears from the returns to be such as to warrent the expectation of a very ample remuneration for the outlay. I am, Sir, your faithful servant, CHARLES VIGNOLES, Civil Engineer. THE WAR IN SCINDE. (From the London Gazette, Tuesday, May 21). A despatch, of which the following is an extract, has been re- Head-quarters, Camp, Shahpoor, Jan. 17, 1845. (Extract) In the course of the latter part of last summer, I reported to you how this frontier had been vexed by the unprovoked attacks made upon Scinde by the Doomkee, Jackranee, and Boogtie tribes. These plunderers had, of late, become more harassing to the frontier posts. They are, as you are aware, subjects of the Khan of Khelat, but are in open rebellion against him. Α few weeks ago, his highness attempted to reduce them to obedience. His highness's wishes are completely with us, and his personal conduct has been honourable. However, he was unable to effect his purpose; he had advanced as far as Poolajee, but retired discomfited, followed up by the rebel Beejar Khan to Bhag, which has been plundered. Where the khan has retired to I do not, at present, know; I suppose to Dadur. On the 13th inst. I left Sukkur with the head-quarters; on the same day, Capt. Jacob marched with the Scinde horse and camel corps from Larkhana. Wallee Mahomed, the Chandia chief, with several other chiefs of Belooch tribes, marched on the 15th from their various villages; and on the 16th, Wallee Mahomed, according to the orders which he had received from me, took possession of Poolajee, which was abandoned by the enemy. On the same day, Capt. Jacob attacked and took Shahpoor; and on the same day and hour, Capt Salter attacked Ooch, a post ten miles to the east of Shahpoor. Both of these places are in the midst of the desert, and the enemy was surprised at both. At both resistance was made, and at Ooch about 3,500 head of cattle were taken, the produce of their late plundering expeditions. Among the rest are the tattoos of the grasscutters, belonging to the 6th irregular cavalry, and taken when those unfortunate men were cut to pieces last summer. Having made forced marches of 120 miles in three days, to surprise the enemy (the last march made by head-quarters and by Capt. Mowat, with one 6-pounder and one howitzer, being fifty-six miles within twenty-four hours, through a desert of sand), I shall halt here for a day or two to rest the troops, and allow our supplies to overtake us. In forwarding the reports of Capts. Salter and Jacob, I beg to draw your attention to the decisive courage, activity, and success with which these two officers have executed the orders they received, and to the good humour with which the troops have made these harassing marches in the desert. Wallee Mahomed, the Chandia chief, has also shewn the greatest zeal and activity, arriving at the point he was ordered to, and with the greatest accuracy as to time; it was that point, too, at which most resistance was contemplated. The 2nd Europeans are on their march from Sukkur to this place, under Maj. gen. Hunter, together with some of the 64th and 4th regiments of native infantry, whose ardent wish to take the field I thought it fair to these regiments to comply with, under existing circumstances. The Bundelkund legion crossed the Indus on the 16th, under Maj. gen. Simpson, and is following the route of Maj. gen. Hunter. To-morrow, every outlet from the hills will be blocked up by the cavalry, and I hope to inflict another lesson upon the plundering tribes. P.S. Since writing the above, some men have been captured who were in the fight at Ooch; from these we have learned that about forty-five men were wounded and forty killed; among the former is Deria Khan, the chief of the Jakranees. He received a grape shot in his breast, and was dying. There were seven hundred men. They thought they had to deal with Wallee Mahomed Chandia, and were not aware we were there till the artillery opened. They had drawn up in battle array to fight, when Capt. Salter charged. Captain G. Salter, 4th Native Infantry, commanding the detachment, to Major Green, C. B., Assistant Adjutant-General, Scinde. Head-quarters, Camp, Ooch, Jan. 16, 1845. Sir, I have the honour to report, for the information of Maj. gen. Sir C. Napier, G. C. B., that I had last night the good for. tune to execute, successfully, his orders for surprising the encampment of the Belooch marauders at Ooch, with a detachment* under my command. After a march of forty miles from Khanghur, we reached Ooch at eleven P. M. The cavalry charged down upon the encamp. ment, and did some execution; but, from the hilly nature of the country, they could not repeat the charge with effect after the first surprise, as the enemy immediately took to the surrounding low but very steep hills, and commenced firing with their match locks. In the darkness of the night, no just estimate could be formed of the number of the enemy, but they are reported to have been about five hundred men, chiefly Jakranees and Boordees. Of these there were killed,-Sowla Jakranee, the brother of Toochally, a principal chief of the marauders, and his two sons; and Deldar Khan, the son of Khyra Khan, a Boordee chief. Some other noted marauders were killed or wounded; in all about sixty men. Three thousand five hundred head of camels, cattle, sheep, and goats, the accumulated plunder of the robbers, were taken, and a quantity of grain; and the deserted encampment was burnt the next morning. I beg to report that Lieut. Holmes, commanding the 6th irregular cavalry, set his men a most gallant example,-his own horse was wounded, and his orderly's killed; and Lieut. Pulman, commanding the two guns, served them with quickness, precision, and effect. Mahomed Buksh, Naib Resseldar, commanding the troop 9th irregular cavalry, an excellent officer, killed the Boordee chief in my presence, who had just cut down and killed my orderly's horse. I have the honour to enclose a return of the killed and wounded of the detachment, and regret that, in Azim Beg, Resseldar, 6th irregular cavalry, the corps has lost a brave and valuable officer, and the Government an old and faithful servant, who had lately the honour to be favourably noticed in General Orders. I have, &c., G. SALTER, Captain 4th Native Infantry, Commanding the Detachment. 300, 6th Irregular Cavalry; 90, 9th Irregular Cavalry; guns of the mountain train. Return of Killed and Wounded of a Detachment, under the command of Capt. Salter, at Ooch, on the 15th of January, 1845. Detachment of Artillery-none killed or wounded. 6th Irregular Cavalry-1 resseldar, 2 horses, killed; 6 sowars, 7 horses, wounded. 9th Irregular Cavalry-1 sowar, 1 horse, killed; 4 horses wounded. Grand total of killed and wounded-8 men, 13 horses. Remarks. Azim Beg, resseldar, 6th Irregular Cavalry, wounded, and has since died. Captain J. Jacob, Commanding Scinde Irregular Horse, to Major Green, C.B., Assistant Adjutant-General. Shahpoor, Jan. 18, 1845. Sir, I have the honour to report that, on the morning of the 13th inst., I marched from Larkhana with the camel corps, European volunteers, two three-pounder guns on camels, and the Scinde irregular horse. We reached Khyrake-Gurree, distant forty miles, the same evening; found the supply of water at that place insufficient, even for the whole of the men of my detachment; the horses and camels got none. On the morning of the 14th we marched to Rojan, twenty-four miles, and arrived there at noon; the supply of water at that place was altogether insufficient for the detachment, and men and horses were much distressed in consequence. According to orders, I sent the camel corps and volunteers to Khanghur, and at noon, on the 15th, I marched with the Scinde horse and two three-pounder guns towards Shahpoor, leaving nine of our horses behind, in a dying state, from thirst. I reached Lunda (distant thirty-five miles from Rojan, and about two from Shahpoor) at half-past eleven at night, and there received information that Wuzzeer Khan, son of Beejar Khan Doomkee, was at Shahpoor, with a large party of Jakranees, Doomkees, and Boordees. I pushed on at a trot, and completely surrounded the village of Shahpoor before the alarm was given, or before any one could escape; and, knowing the place well, I at once galloped into a sort of enclosure on one side of the village where the Jakranee horsemen usually resided; there was, however, no one there but a number of juts and herdsmen; the enemy had that night occupied the houses inside the village, and now opened a heavy fire of matchlocks on us from a high tower and from the houses. I immediately picketed a troop, and took the men into the village on foot, when all opposition ceased, and the robbers were only anxious to hide their arms. I seized sixty-two prisoners (well armed, and whose matchlocks had nearly all been used that night), Jakranees, Doomkees, and Boordees, among whom are several sirdars; but Wuzzeer Khan, hearing the report of guns fired at Ooch about half an hour before we reached Shahpoor, had instantly mounted his horse and escaped. I believe not a man left the village after our arrival, although a tremendous dust storm, which arose just as we reached the place, rendered it very difficult to watch the place properly. The fire from the village killed a duffedar, two sowars, and three horses, and wounded three sowars and five horses. All my men behaved well in this affair; and I request you will particularly bring to notice the excellent conduct of my second in command, Lieutenant G. Malcolm, from whom I received the most able support and assistance; of Resseldar Major Sir Feraz Khan, and Resseldar Meer Furzund Ali; the last-named officer commanded the troop which I led into the village on foot. The Police Resseldar Alif Khan accompanied me from Larkhanah, and his services were most valuable to me on this occasion, as well as during the whole march. I must not omit to mention Assistant-Surgeon Pelly, who accompanied me while I was surrounding the village, and attended the wounded men the instant they fell. J. JACOB, Captain Artillery, Commanding Scinde Irregular Horse. List of Killed and Wounded of the Scinde Irregular Horse, in the Attack on Shahpoor, on the morning of the 16th of January, 1845. Camp, Shalipoor, Jan. 17, 1845. 1 havildar, 2 rank and file, 3 horses, killed. 3 rank and file, 5 horses, wounded. Total of killed and wounded-1 havildar and 5 men, 8 horses. |