The Press. — London, England, 1857-10-17 00:00:00

1008 General Havelock up to the 6th September was at Cawnpore waiting for reinforcements. General Outram, who had g►ven up, if he ever seriously entertained, the mad project of an advance to Lucknow by the Gogra and Goomptee, had after very serious delays reached Allababad on the 3rd September, with her Majesty's sth Fusiliers, the 00th, and a company of Artillery, and was about to push on to Cawnpore, which he hoped to reach by the 9th. Sir James Outram had communicated his arrange ments to General Havelock, who had in reply stated his perfect confidence in his being able to effect tho relief of Lucknow with these reinforcements. General Outram bad, with characteristic generosity, announced to General Havelock that "to him should be left the glory of relieving Lucknow, for which he had so nobly struggled," and that it was his intention to accompany the force in his civil capacity, only placing his military services at the disposal of General Havelock, if nece-,sary. General Havelock was to make arrangements for the force to move forward from Cawnpore on the arrival of the reinforcements. A private letter from Cawnpore of the 28th August says, " The enemy are strongly intrenched on the other side of the river opposite to Cawnpore. Owing to the necessity of concentrating large forces at Allahabad and Cawnp3re, the district of Goruck pore had to be abandoned. Immediately after the withdrawal of the British, the standard of the Prophet was planted in the town, and the district taken possession of in the name of the King of Oude. The Dinapore mutineers defeated, but not dis persed, by Major Eyre, had crossed the Tonse river between 51irzapore and Al;ahabad, and were march ing through Banda on Delhi. At Agra all was quiet up to the 27th of Aug ust, the date of our latest advices. On the 21st a f orce, consisting of' about 150 of the 3rd Europeans, under Captain Strover, three guns under Lieutenant Griffin, and thirty mounted militia, the whole under the command of Major G. J. Montgomery, Brigade- Major, left the fort with the view of making a demonstration against the insurgents in the neigh bourhood of Hattrass. A strong force of rebels, apparently well informed of Major Montgomery's movements, moved down from Allyghur. Major Montgomery immediately changed his dispositions, advanced, and attacked them. He defeated them, inflicting a loss of 300 killed and wounded, and returned to Agra. Our own loss was five killed and twenty-five wounded. In the Punjaub several outbreaks have occurred at isolated stations, which happily have been promptly suppressed by the firmness of the military autho rities. On the 10th of August a portion of the 10th Light Cavalry, which had been disarmed at Feroze pore, mutinied and attempted to capture the guns of Captain Woodcock's battery, in which they failed. The mutineers, one hundred in number, after having cruelly murdered Mr. Nelson, the veterinary surgeon, rushed at the guns while the artillerymen were at dinner, but, after killing the European sentry and wounding several others, they were assailed by the Bombay Fusiliers, who repulsed them in a most gallant manner, although no offirers appear to have been present to issue orders. Most of the mutineers, who had captured several horses, succeeded in making their escape, altholigh pursued for some dis tance by the infantry, with guns. Several having been seized in the cantonment, they were tried and executed. The 51st Bengal Native Infantry, stationed at I'eshawur, mutinied on the 28th of August. This regiment having been disarmed some time ago, the sepoys attempted to seize the arms of the new Sikh corps while the men of the latter were at dinner. In this attempt they were defeated, and, being attacked, they dispersed and fled. Nearly the whole of them, however, were " accounted for " next day, and the villagers and police were bringing in the small remnant by twos and threes. In the stations of Rijpootana, says the Bombay Times, there is an uneasy feeling that the Bombay sepoys are ripe for mutiny, and several instances of disaffection seem to give colour to the suspicion : Besides the mutiny of the 12th Native Infantry at Nusseerabad, and in the Joudpore Legion at Mount Aboo, there was a partial mutiny on the 12th of August, of Cap- twin Banister's squadron of the 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry at Neemuch. It also appears that an extensive plot to murder every officer at Neemuch bad been organised, but was fottun•ttely discovered before it took effect. The mutineers of the Joudpore Legion, being defeated in their attempt on Mount Aboo, directed their steps to Erinpoora, their head quarters, where they were received with open arms by their comrades. Having made Lieutenant Conolly, the adjutant of the corps, a prisoner, and being reinforced by several detachments, the whole body, with two guns, marched in the direction of Nusseerabad. Affairs have begun to assume a most serious aspect at Neemuch, and the men of the 2nd Light Cavalry can hardly he relied upon ; for, independently of private hushed up rumours, which ascribe to them the darkest treason, the numerous desertions that have taken place, combined with the overt mutiny of one squadron of this corps, justify the presumption that they will en muse avail themselves of the first favourable opportunity to join the rebels. This opportunity may not be far distant, for large parties of Dien, wider a person said to be a son of THE PRESS, OCTOBER 17,1857. the King of Delhi, who has lately joined and concentrated them, have established themselves in the neighbourhood of Neemuch. Another report states that an outbreak had taken place in a detachment of the `..lnd Light Cavalry at Deese, which was destroyed by her Majesty's 83rd Regiment, who are said to have shot or bayoneted the troops to a man. - This is serious intelligence, and shows pretty clearly that the spirit of insurrection is yet far from being exhausted. The Bengal Presidency, too, is in the most complete state of disorder ; there is no govern ment except within the ring of British bayonets, and great fears are entertained for the frontier stations. Active attempts at insurrection were constantly made, and though defeated in some instances, as at Julpi goree, in others, as at Bhagulpore, they are more or less successful : The sth Bengal Irregulars mutinied at Bliagulpore on the 11th of August, and left the station, carrying their arms with them. They 'lamed Bowsee on their way up the country, and endeavoured to tamper with the 32nd Regiment, stationed there, but the latter proved faithful, and will, no doubt, remain so. The 55th Bengal Native Infantry were disarmed at Ghazeepore on the 10th of August. The affair appears to have been capitally managed, for the sepoys were surrounded and ordered to pile arms before they knew what was meant. The sth Fusiliers were the troops that performed this good service. Near Mirzapore the enemy began 'o assemble, but were dispersed by a party of the sth Fusiliers. A naval brigade is to be established at Allahabad, so as to release the troops of that station for other duty. Captain Peel, of her Majesty's steam frigate Shannon, who distinguished himself in the Crimea, is to command the brigade, which is to consist of 300 seamen taken from the Shannon and Pearl. Six 68-pounders (B.inch), two 241 b. howitzers, and two field-pieces, accompany the brigade, which has left Calcutti in river steamers, and is now making its way towards Allahabad. This station and Benares are threatened by the Oude rebels, who are hovering about in large bodies, but, as precautions have been taken to guard against a surprise, they are considered safe. The fort at Allahabad is in a complete state of defence, and the intrenchments at Bajghat, in Benares, are approaching completion. The station at 3oruckpore, in Oude, has been abandoned, causing great loss to the non official residents. The Bombay Presidency, though comparatively quiet, and without any fresh dkturbances, is still quivering on the verge of an outbreak. Three regi ments, the '27th, 7th, and 17th, have been disarmed, and the whole army is felt to be infected. "As long (says the Bombay Times', as the main body of the troops continue loyal there can be no fear of the result, as we are quite able to put down the unaided efforts of the mob." Exactly; t,hat is just the point. But what amount of reliance can be placed upon a single Bombay regiment at this moment? A revo lution at Gwalior on the 25th of August was reported. The troops rose against Scindia, deposed him, and placed a descendant of "Simoor" on the musnud. it is likewise stated that the Bhopul contingent has mutinied, and deposed the Begum, so that alto gether affairs in Bombay are far from satisfactory. One fact is also stated on good authority, that 240 men of the Queen's 43rd regiment bad deen de spatched in haste to Vellore. From Madras we have little intelligence. The Presidency is stated to be "tranquil" up to the 12th of September. The Mohurrum passed off without any disturbance. With respect to Calcutta, the Mohurrum passed off without an insurrection, though the attitude of the Mussulman population was such that the streets were commanded by artillery and watched by armed volunteers. Sir Colin Campbell had been ill with an attack of intermittent fever, but had happily reco vered. Upon the Ist of September he had been " permitted " to take his seat in the Supreme Council. A meeting of those who had signed, or were willing to sign, the petition to Parliament agreed to on the 3rd August had been held. The meeting, which was a very full one, was characterised by great " heartiness and unanimity of purpose." Mr. Longueville Clarke was in the chair, and the prin cipal speakers were Mr. Peterson and Mr. Doyne. The leading feature of the meeting was the forma Lion of an Indian Reform League, with the view of enlightening the people and Parliament of England on the real condition of India and her Government. Lord Canning had issued an order in council, directing that in future no executions should take place without previous trial. A petition had been sent to him calling his attention to the want of police, and the necessity for proclaiming " martial law." To this his lordship replied that the substi tution of courts-martial for that of the ordinary courts of justice would " be accompanied with much private inconvenience, uncevainty, and hardship, and he is not aware of any commensurate public gain." Martial law will not, therefore, be proclaimed. With respect to the press, warnings to the news papers were very frequent. Petitions against the operation of the Gagging Act were receiving signa tures, and would in due time be presented. THE CAWNPORE SURRENDER RELATED BY SURVIVORS. The Calcutta Englishman publishes the deposition of Mary Ann, ayah, in the service of Mrs. T. Green way, Cawnpore, who was a witness of the fearful crimes enacted there. The ayah, after describing the extremities to which the garrison was reduced, thus narrates the surrender :—" Mrs. Jacobi, who had fallen into Nana Sahib's hands, was sent into camp with a letter to General Wheeler. The contents of this letter were—'lt is far better for you who aro alive to go at once to Allahabad, unless you wish to continue fighting. If so, you can do so. Let Cawn pore be given up, and you shall he saved.' On reach ing the intrenchment General Wheeler went to meet Mrs. Jacobi, and, after having read the note, said— I cannot agree to anything sent this way by letter. If the Nana has any proposition to make, tell him to make it in person.' Mrs. Jacobi took this reply back to the Nana, who said—' If the Europeans will cease firing I will go; and sent back a reply. The general said—' Let both sides cease firing during the conference.' It was agreed to. On the following day the Nana, his brother Baber I)utt (?), and nephews, and large party of soldiers, came up to the intrenchment. General Wheeler was ready to meet them. The Nana said—' Take away all the women and children to Allahabad, and if your men want to fight come back and do so. We will keep implicit faith with you.' General Wheeler said—' You take your solemn oath according to your customs, and I will take an oath on my Bible, and will leave the intrenchment.' Tha Nana said—' Our oath is, that whoever we take by the hand, and he relies on us, we never deceive; if we do, God will judge and punish us.' The general said—' If you intend to deceive me, kill me at once; I have no arms.' The Nana replied—' I will not deceive you, rely on us. I will supply you with food, &c., and convey you to Alla habad.' On this the general went inside the in trenchment and consulted with the soldiers. They said—' There is no reliance to be placed on natives, they will deceive you ;' a few said—' Trust them; it is better to do so.' On this the general returned and said—' I agree to your terms; see us away as far as Futtehpore ; from thence we can get easily to Allahabad.' The reply was—' No, sir, I will see you all safe to Allahabad.' On this twenty boats were ordered, with covers to them. Whet the Nanasaw all was settled, he said—' Don't let the treasure be taken ; send that to me.' The general said—' You may have the money.' There were three lacs in cash at this time. The Nana said, ' You breakfast on board the boats at ten a.m. to-morrow, and dine on board, and leave the intrenchment clear by eleven a.m.' The general assented to this. They were all ready, when a message from the Nana came, saying, ' The boats will not be ready to-day, you must leave to morrow; leave in the evening.' The general said—' I won't leave at night, as you may play us false.' The Nana said—' Very well; leave at four p.m.' On tho follow ing day the Nana took away all the treasure. At this time the delay again took place in their departure. All the ladies and children were dressed and ready. ' The general asked the Nana, Are all our servants to go with us, or do you supply us with servants ?' The reply was, Yes.' On the following day, though suspicions were entertained of the faith of the Nana's party, still they hoped all was right. The Nana sent on Sunday to say the servants were not to go, as the ladies and women could look atter themselves. On this being heard they were all alarmed. At seven a.m. the mutineers surrounded the intrenchment, and all the Englishmen in their power; the servants ran away, and were cut down ; a few escaped ; all were alarmed. The rebels reached (?) the intrenchment, and said, Come to the boats, all is ready.' Ladies and child' en were sent on elephants, dhoolies, and the men marched to the river, and then embarked in the boats. When they all saw food prepared, and all comfortable, they were delighted. When a few had gone on board, and others were waiting to embark on the river side, a gun opened on them with canister tthis gun and others had been masked); one lost took fire, and then another gun opened, and four boats were fired ; on this, those who escaped the fire jumped into the water. The sepoys also fired muskets, the sowars entered the water on horseback, and cut numbers down. Fifteen boatloads of English were massacred ; 108 women and children escaped this massacre, but many of them were wounded. The Nana said, Don't kill these, put them in prison.' One boat, in which General Wheeler was, was pulled off by the soldiers. The poor people, on the burning of the boats, and when in the water, were calling on God for help. A daughter of General Wheeler's wit? taken off by a sowar, and put into his house along with his wife, near the church. The girl remained t►ll nightfall ; and when he came home drunk, and fell asleep, she took a sword and cut off his head, his mother's head, two children's heads, and his wife's, and then walked out into the nißlit air, and when she saw other sowars, she said, Go inside, and see how nicely I have rubbed the Ressaldar's feet.' They went inside, and found all