The Press.
London, England, 1857-09-26 00:00:00

THE PRESS, SEPTEMBER 26,1857.

in the Residency, and the mutinous troops were attacking
from the outside ; great plunder was going on in the city.
Outside the Residency there are many thousand men, but
they are not all fighting men. Many of them are people
of the city and lookers on. There may be about twelve
regiments, and a few Ressalsha ; and it is true that on one
occasion the British troops gave the mutineers a thrashing
and put them to flight. More than 10'J of the mutineers
are killed daily. Of those who die, they who have relations
are burnt, otherwise the bodies are thrown into the Goom-
tee river. The wounded are carried away in doolies, and
treated. Both in the city and in the camp there is great
tumult; the mutineers do not now keep up so severe a
cannonade as they did at first, and it is probable that their
supplies of ammunition are running short, for at night,
now, there is no firing from the guns, though musketry
firing goes on. A gun or two may perhaps be fired at
night. The sepoys who have plundered the city are walk-
ing homeward with their spoil. The mutineers are
searching in the city for saltpetre, but I have not heard of
their searching for copper caps; in fact, none are to be
had in the city. Provisions are plentiful, and the Bunneahs
have been told to keep their shops open, and sell for ready
mon'y. All the mutineers have put up in the gardens of
the city people, of which they have fGreibly taken posses-
sion. Rajah Goor Bus Singh, the Rajah of Rainnuggur,
and Rajah Nawab Allee, and a great number of the petty
neighbouring Rajahs, have joined the fight and given their
assistance. But neither Rajah Man Singh nor his followers

are there.
We come now to a mutiny which may exercise
important effects upon the campaign. We allude to
THE MUTINY AT DINAPORE AND
SEGOWLIE.
"The home public," observes one of our daily
contemporaries, " are scarcely alive to the full
danger of the mutinies at Dinapore and Segowlie."
They are indeed matters of grave interest and preg-
nant with danger, for they combine not only the
elements of a tremendous outbreak at Benares,
Patna, and throughout Southern Bengal, but they
threaten to destroy the effect of General Havelock's
victories, to compel him to act on the defensive at
Cawnpore, and to insure the sacrifice of Lucknow.
Let us briefly trace these events, and endeavour to
show their bearing upon our position and prospects,
premising that previous to the mutiny at Dinapore,
troops could be forwarded from Calcutta to General
Neill at Allahabad, both by the Ganges and the
Great Trunk Road. By these mutinies it is much
to be feared that both lines of communication will be
temporarily stopped. At a time when the fate of a
province hangs upon every hour, the importance of
the slightest check upon our communications be-
tween Calcutta and Cawnpore to Delhi will be readily
comprehended.
On the 25th July three native regiments of in-
fantry, and one of irregular cavalry, broke out into
mutiny at Dinapore. They were allowed to march
off unpursued. One party crossed the Sone, and
advanced upon Arrah, plundering and burning. En
route they were joined by one Coor Singh and a
strong body of ryots, bringing up their force to some
3,000 men. Arrived at Arrah, they besieged the
alarmed Europeans, who with fifty trusty Sikhs had
hastily intrenched themselves in a bungalow, and up
to the 3rd of August maintained a gallant defence.
General Lloyd, who appears to have acted with sin-
gular indecision on the 25th, three days afterwards
despatched 330 European troops to their relief, with
what result the following letter from one of the offi-
cers engaged in the disastrous affair will show
One hundred and ninety men of the 37th Queen's were
despatched from Dinapore at five o'clock on the evening
of the 20th instant, in the Hoorangoita steamer and troop-
boat, destined for the relief of Arrah. It being moonlight
they steamed on until ten o'clock, when the moon went
down, and shortly afterwards the vessel got aground. In
this position they remained for about thirty-six hours,
when the Bombay was sent up from Dinapore on the
morning of the 20th with 150 men of the 10th and about
70 Sikhs, the latter under the command of Captain
Ingilby. The Bombay towed off the troopboat, but could
not stir the Hoorungotia. Leaving her there, she steamed
up the river with the whole force, now numbering more
than 400 men, and landed them about four o'clock in the
evening about twelve miles from Arrah. From this point
they began their march upon Arrah. On the way they
were informed that the place had been evacuated by the
mutineers, and, relying on this, Captain Dunbar, of the
10th, who commanded, persisted in pushing on. It was
eleven p.m., and quite dark, when they reached. They
were at once tired into from both sides of the road ; volley
after volley was poured into them by the unseen enemy,
and decimated their ranks. What with the darkness and
the confusion arising from an unexpected attack, they now
got separated, and were afraid to fire, not knowing whether
they would be killing friends or foes. Thus they remained
all night, being repeatedly fired into by the enemy, who
were, no doubt, acquainted with their w3ereabouts. As
morning dawned they found themselves terribly reduced
in numbers, and, knowing they were touch too weak to
assume the offensive, began a retreat. Although this
movement was conducted with all the skill that circum-
stances permitted, and under corer of skirmishers, they
lost a great many men, being pawned incessantly by the
enemy, who fired into them from behind trees and other
hiding•places. It being impossible to carry away all those