The Press. — London, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

tenant Forrest closed and blocked up the gates, placing two 6 pounder guns, doubly loaded with grape, under Sub-conductor Crow and 'Sergeant Stewart, so as to command the entrance. Twc more 6-pounders were placed in a similar position in front of the inside of the magazine gate, protected by a row of chevaux-de (rise. For further defence two 6- pounders were trained to command either the gas or the small bastion in its vicinity, other guns being so arranged as to increase the strength of the posi tion generally. These preparations bad hardly been concluded when a body of mutineers appeared, and called on the defenders to open the gates. On their refusal, scaling ladders furnished by the King of Delhi were brought up, and the rebels got on the walls and poured on to the arsenal. The guns now opened and took effect with immense precision on the ranks of the enemy. Four rounds were fired from each of the guns, Conductors Buckley and Scully distinguishing themselves in serving the pieces rapidly, the mutineers being by this time some hundreds in number, increasing in force, and keeping up a quick discharge of musketry. A train bad been laid by Lieutenant Willoughby to the magazine ; and the decisive moment soon ap proached, Lieutenant Forrest being wounded in the hand and one of the conductors shot through the arm. The signal was given to fire the train, which was done coolly by Conductor Scully. The effect was terrific; the magazine blew up with a tremen dous crash, the wall being blown out flat to the ground. The explosion killed upwards of a thousand of the mutineers, and enabled Lieutenants Willoughby, Forrest, and more than half the European defenders of the place, to fly together, blackened and singed, to the Lahore gate, from whence Lieutenant Forrest escaped in safety to Meerut. Lieutenant Willoughby was less fortunate, and is now said to have been killed on his way to Uniballah. VISCOUNT MELVILLE ON THE INDIAN MUTINY. AT a dinner given at Dalkeith on Friday week to Mr. Dundas, of Arniston, on the occasion of the birth of a son and heir, the health of Lord Melville was pro posed in connection with the army. In reply his lordship said : I mil} wish I could say I entertain the hope that we have seen the worst in India. I am afraid that before the services of our army are brought to a close there, we must prepare ourselves for still worss calamities than we have already suffered, and, I fear, for losses of a severe character. It is not only that we have to provide an army for putting down the rebellion, but we have to occupy the country as well as have • force engaged in moveable columns for the suppression of the rebellion in different districts of India. This will require a large force, and I am afraid such force as we have yet sent out is not adequate to the service that has to be performed. As almost every available soldier that England can now produce is on his way to that country, or is engaged in our other possessions, I feel that if England means t) retain all her foreign pos. sessions, she must maintain a much larger army than she has yet done. You cannot maintain these distant colonies without an adequate force, not only to occupy them but to defend them if necessary. Ships and soldiers you at this moment reqaire with the most urgent necessity; and I hope now, seeing what the emergency is, the loyalty and patriotism of the country will stir up young men to come forth and rally round the standard of Great Britain, to recover that country to England which this rebellion has plactil in peril—l will not say taken from us, for I cannot but believe that the supremacy of England will be re-estab• lished and her dominion restored, and that country become once more the bright gain in the British crown which it has hitherto been. In reply to the subsequent toast of his own health, proposed by Mr. Ramsay, of Whitehill, his lordship said : My friend Mr. Ramsay has alluded to my services in terms beyond any deserts of mine, and particularly to the occasion when I commanded the Bombay column in the Puojanb. I most certainly congratulate myself on the excellent discipline manifested by that column ; and what ever credit may be due to me in that matter, I can consci entiously say was by my being most ably and zealously snpported by the officers of that army. I do believe that if the same discipline had been in existence, and the same attention to their duties had been paid by the European officers of the Bengal army, this unfortunate mutiny would not have occurred. We cannot retain our dominion in India without a native army. Europeans cannot do the duty which the natives are called on to perform ; the climate will not admit of it. But how we can recognise that army so as to trust the natives after what has occurred is more than at this moment I can possibly venture to suggest. Meanwhile a very large European force will necessarily have to be maintained, and many duties hithetto performed by natives must be performed by them, though, I am afraid, at a great sacrifice of life; but that is unavoidable if we mean to maintain our supremacy in India. A letter of apology was read from the Marquis of Dalhousie, whose estate is contiguous to Arniston, expressing regret at his absence. He said : I heartily wish I could be present to offer my congratu• lations to you in person, and to evince my respect and regard as well for yourself u for your family, of whieh this is the fourth generation in my time ; but I have neither a leg to stand upon nor a voice to cheer withal, and,that being s-.), I feel that the good wishes I heartily THE PRESS, SEPTEMBER 12,1857. offer to you and yours will be aocepted by you and by those who meet with you u a substitute for my presence. EXPLOITS IN THE CANTON RIVER. THE following private letter from Commodore the lion. 11. Keppel, C. 8., giving some details of the boat action on the Ist of June, and other particulars, appeared in the Times of Wednesday : Alligator, Canton River, June 20. The three weeks of this month have been fail of excite ment. We commenced on the first with as pretty a boat action as any ever recorded in our naval history, though it may never be appreciated because it was fought at China. The troops are now, unfortunately, required for India, and 'I suppose we shall not get them before the summer is over. So much the better for them, as it is broiling hot just now. In the meantime we have to keep the Canton river open for them, it being their high road to the Celestial city, which I suppose they will have to occupy before Lord Elgin attempts to bring Commissioner Yeb to terms. lam left here in command of the river, the fort of Chuenpee, which I took possession of on the Pith, being my boundary at one end, and the Macao fort at the other. They are about forty miles apart; Chuenpee is about that distance from Hong Kong, and Macao is three miles from the city of Canton ; all the intermediate forts have been demolished, and on the Ist we polished off the remainder of their war fleet, about 130 imperial war junks, so that I now hold uncontrolled possession. Our worthy chief and a fine fellow he is—remains with his ship at Hong Kong, paying us occa sional visits in one of the smaller steamers. I have seven• teen ships, containing about 2,600 men, stationed at dif- ferent distances ; and, this being the anniversary of her Majesty's accession, they are all dressed out with flags, and at noon Commissioner Yeh will be edified by royal salutes fired the whole length of the imperial river from Canton to below the Bogue Forts. My poor Raleigh no longer belongs to her Majesty's navy, and the admiral has appointed my self and all the officers to the Alligator, and given us three vessels to man as tenders. I live in the Hung Kong, but come here to sleep when not moving about, this old hulk being a sort of fixture. My steward keeps mess, and we all grub together—viz., Lieut. Goodenough, Dr. Crawford, Prince Victor, Autey (my secretary), Lord Charles Scott, Montague, and Harry Stephenson. We are very happy and jolly, and the temporary arrangement is a very good one. We thought we were going to have a little fight the other day, as the admiral had ordered me to take possession of the Chuenpee Fort. We moved down to do so in good order on the morning of the 18th, but the enemy guessed what they might expect, and very wisely " hooked it." I am afraid this is the last little affair that is likely to occur this summer. I have stationed the vessels under my orders at different distances all the way up. The upper part of the river is not considered so healthy as the wider part down here, so that I have them relieved every fortnight. There are two islands near where we are anchored, where the men and officers of the ships near assemble every evening, and play at quoits and all sorts of games. In fact, time seems to fly fast, and the mails going and coming every tortnight keep us all alive. Tumour, in command of the Bittern, is now taking his turn up at the front, which, although less healthy, is the favourite post. They are obliged to be con tinually on the alert, and look out for fire rafts and all sorts of infernal machines. I generally viait them once a week in the Hong Kong. I hope somebody gave you a good account of our boat fight on the Ist of June. It must have been a beautiful sight to those who witnessed it from the heights. The shallow water obliged the Hong Kong to ground, when she would otherwise have been in front of everything; but when she grounded I led on the boats in my gig ; but as the tide was rising the Hong Kong kept following us as fast as she could. The first division of the Chinese fleet were simultaneously attacked by about 1,900 men, spread over a large surface, and soon gave way ; but I did not take up more than quarter of that number to attack their second division, which was three miles higher up the river, in a well-selected place, and evidently the elite of their fleet. They numbered exactly twenty in one compact row ; they mounted from ten to fourteen guns each, two of them in stern and bow, being heavy 37.1. pounders. I saw that I had all the Raleigh's boats well up, and determined to wish on. They fired occasional shots, as if to ascertain our exact distance, but did not open their heaviest fire until we were within 600 yards, and then I soon saw how impossible it would be to force our way until I had reinforcemenys. Nearly the first poor fellow whose head wasknocked off WIWI an amateur, Major Kearney. I had known him many years. We cheered, and I tried to get on, when a shot struck my boat right amidships, cut one men in two, and took off the arm of another. Prince Victor, who was with me, jumped forward to bind the man's arm up with his neckcloth. While he was doing so, another round shot passed through both sides of the boat, wounding two others of the crew. The boat was filling with water, and I got on one of the seats to keep my legs out of the water, and just as I stepped up, a third round shot went through both sides of the boat, not more than one inch below the seat on which I was standing. Many of our boats had now hud dled together, the oars of most being shot away. A boat of the Cerullo being nearest, we got in, pulling our wounded men with us. My dog " Mike" refusing to leave the deal body of the man who had been his favourite, we were obliged to leave him. I then gave the order to retire on the Hong Kong, and re•form abreast of her. While we were going down a shot cut away all the oars on one side. I called to Lieutenant Graham to get his boat ready, as I would hoist my broad pennant and lead the next auack in his boat. I had no sooner spoken than a shot disabled his boat, wounding him and killing and wounding four others. I saw Graham one mass of blood, but it was from a marine who stood next to him, and part of whose skull was forced three inches into another man's shoulder. When reached the Hong Kong the whole of the enemy's fire 889 appeared to be centred upon her. She was hulled twelve times in a few minutes ; her deck was covered with the wounded who had been brought on board from the boats. I was looking at them when a round shot cut down a marine, and he fell among them. From the paddle-box I saw that our heavy firing was now bringing up a strong reinforcement. The account of my having been obliged to ratire had reached them, and they were pulling up like mad. The Hong Kong had floated and grounded again. I ordered a bit of blue bunting to be got ready to represent my broad pennant. I called out, " Let us try the rowboats once more boys," and went over the side into our cutter (the Raleigh's), in which was Tumour, the faithful Spur rier bringing the bit of blue flag. At this moment there arose from the boats, as if every man took it up at the same instant, one of those British cheers so full of mean• ing that I knew at once that it was all up with John Chinaman. They might sink twenty boats, but there were thirty others who would go ahead all the faster. On we went. It was indeed a lovely and exciting sight. I saw the move among the junks. They were breaking ground and moving off, the outermost first. This ma nceuvre they performed in beautiful order. They never ceased to fire. Three more cheers, and then commenced an exciting chase for seven miles. As one shot told on them they ran on shore, and their crews forsook them. Seventeen were come up:with and captured this way ; three only escaped. It was in this last chase that my pair Spurrier was shot down by my side I saw his bowels protrude as he lay in the bottom of the boat holding my hand. He asked me if I thought there was any hope? I could only say, "Where there is life there is hope;" but I had none. Strange to say, the good Crawford sewed him up, and the admiral's last letter from Hong Kong states that Spurrier hoped to return to his duty in a few days. What a long yarn I have spun you ; but as I began, the little affair came fresh to my memory, and I have filled no end of paper all about self. My own prospects for the future I cannot guess at, but, going on with self, I may be allowed to say to you, whom it is so sure to gratify,that the admiral speaks highly of my services in the late boat affair. Whether he overrates them or not is not my bust ness, but I do think that they ought to insure my coo• tinned employment out here, even should I he on the flag list. There is a fleet out, and coming sufficiently large for two admirals. I see the French have rewarded my services in the Crimea higher than our own Govern- ment has done. _ JULY 7.—These Chinese rascals still give us enough to do. We are supposed not to interfere with the trade, so that hundreds of vessels pass daily up and down the river, but piratical boats and all sorts of rascals get in among these traders, who quarrel and attack one another, so that it is difficult for us to distinguish the trader from the pirate. There are other long rowboats carrying sixty men each, and mounting guns, that are sent out by the mandarins to intercept the trade to Hong Kong. Sunday was a calm, and many of these fellows were out. I sent a gunboat in the evening. During the night she returned, bnnging two fellows ( traders), whom she caught fighting. Yesterday morning I sent the gunboat and Hong Kong away; and, as I had the case of these traders to investigate, I did not go myself, but sent Sir Robert M'Clure, the captain of the Esk, with his boats. He chased a rowboat up one creek, while the Hong Kong, our tender, went after another. The land was low, so that I could see their masts, all day, and see and hear their firing. M•Clure, in his gig and with his launch, followed his chase up an inner creek, and on his suddenly coming on a war junk they ( the junk) opened fire and killed and wounded ten of his men in the launch. Of course, he attacked them again when his other boats came up and captured boats, junk, and all ; so here has been a small affair, and I not in it, but these are our amusements. I really do not require you ladylike caution " not to be rash." It is a real fact that your suspected fire-eater retired from a position he had taken up, and brought his boats up a second time in regular order, when the cheers of our lads would have swelled the hearts of braver men than John Chinaman ; butall this I shall hope to fight over again with you at home. We have a surgeon out here who served in the Naval Brigade in the Crimea. He says be never saw such frightful wounds as the Chinese shot appear to make. By the war, I ought to rec3rd a delicate attention of the ladies of Macao. My commodore's broad pennant having been lost when my boat sunk, they have presented me with a new silk one, worked with their own fair hands. I hope some day to plant it on the walls of the Celestial city, where the " braves," as they call themselves, shall respect it. I will now, in conclusion, give you a copy of a letter to me equally gratifying in its way. lam sure my dear friends at home will agree that it ought to be so ; " Fame REAR•AMITIRL SLR M. SEYMOUR. " Sir,—l had the satisfaction of communicating yester day to the squadron generally my high tense of the zeal and gallantry displayed by the officers and men in the decisive action against the Chinese war junks in the Fatshan Creek on the Ist inst. ; but I feel that it is further incumbent on me to express personally my admiration of the cool courage and good judgment with which you led the attack first in the gunboats until they grounded, and afterwards in the ships' boats up the Fatshan branch, where, in the vicinity of the village of Fatshan, the severe struggle with the formidable line of heavy junks moored across the river commenced, and the Hong Kong, again aground, bore so conspicuous a part; also, your subsequent determined attack with the boats under your command, which finally dislodged the junk forces and led to the ultimate success of the day. The fact that your galley was sunk under you, and that five out of six of her crew were killed or wounded, is the best proof that yon maintained the post of honour throughout. " I sincerely congratulate you on your safetv. and shall not fail to biing your services to the notice o f the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.—l have the honour, d-c., " M. SETMOIII, ,`RearAdmiral,