The Press.
London, England, 1857-12-19 00:00:00

INDIA.

Tne private correspondence by the Indian mail goes
far to explain much that was incomprehensible
in the telegrams of last week. Sir Cohn
Campbell's force at Alumbagh, after all, did not
reach more than 5,500 men ; and Lucknow up to
the 27th October would appear to have been
perfectly safe, well provisioned, and able to
hold out. Indeed, it is reported that, so con-
fident were all in the Residency, a secret letter
from Sir James Outrarn had reached Sir Colin
Campbell, begging him on no account to hurry him•
self, but " to take his time," and advance with such
a force as would render the capture of Lucknow
certain and secure. The following is the supposed
latest letter received from Lucknow

FROX LIEUTENANT MOonSON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT
QUARTERICASTER-GENERAL TO SIR H. HAVELOCK'S
Foam:. _ _

Lucknow, Oct. 27.

My dearest Mother,—Xll right physically and mentally,
brain, body, and limbs, to date. We relieved Lucknow
from its instant peril, and are now ourselves occupying a
more extended position in the town, blockaded with the
garrison. Write to Inglis's, (iubbin's, and Couper's people,
if possible, to say that they and theirs are all well. We
have grub abundant, ammunition, good quarters, plenty
of fighting men, stout hearts, and our God on our side • on
the other, our enemy numerous, but cowardly, with a
scarcity of iron and lead for guns. Had we not many
women and children, and sick and wounded, we could
walk out of the town at any moment.

As it is, we can hold our own and steadily make small
advances until reinforcements arrive. I tried once before
to ease your anxieties by writing, but the messenger was
compelled to throw away his despatches before falling into
the hands of tne enemy.
. . _ . .

This goes through the beleaguering host; so you will, I
hope, see the necessity for my writing no more fully.
Mother mine ! don't deem me " down among the dead
men " until you hear it on the best authority ; and with
very dearest lore to all, believe me your truly affectionate
son, W. B. Mooasou.

It is to be regretted that the writer does not specify
in what the " grub abundant " consists. The date
of his letter is exactly that of one month and a day
after Havelock was shut up in Lucknow, and there•
fore, if the write: be accurate in his facts as regards
the supply of provisions and the position held by the
force, it is clear that we need not have the slightest
fears for the safety of the inmates of the Resi
dency. Sir Colin Campbell may take his time,
for the relief of the Lucknow Residency is
not a question of that pressing importance his hasty
flight from Calcutta to Cawnpore at first indicated.
But, unfortunately, other letters do not exactly agree
with the writer of that of the 27th of October.
Another writer, an officer of the filth, and on the
general's staff, writes on the 27th Oct. :
We are very hard up for the luxuries of life here. No
snap, no beer, wine, nor spirits of any kind; nothing to
drink but water; no tobacco. S—, T—, and T. C—
are smoking leaves of trees. Hari times! S— says
he never took the shilling to live on cold water and chu-
patties.

Cold water and chupatties are not signs of plenty.

A letter dated the Bth of October also remarks :

I hope we shall he soon in our turn relieved ; the enemy
have regularly blockaded us, and it would be madness to
attempt to carry off six or seven hundred wounded and
five hundred ladies and children with our present small
force.

Our loss has been very heavy. We have lost in killed
and wounded sixty-six officers and nearly a thousand men.
All the influential people about here are against us. ll'e
are all put on rations, and if supplies do not come in soon, we
shall have to turn out all our horses.

Now here is a statement, made on the Bth October,
which indicates anything but " grub abundant," at
headquarters, and it is in some way corroborated by
that aide writer in the Times, who, under the signa-
ture of " Civilian," occasionally conveys to US so
much interesting and authentic information.
"Civilian" writes by this mail—" As to Havelock,
the truth is this, that, having got into Lucknow
and relieved the aching hearts there, he can't get out
again; but, on the contrary, is eating up, in com•
pany with them, their store of provisions, insomuch
that he and they together are living on the gun-
bullocks, as is officially admitted—on horses, as
private stories go; and it is announced that the
latest day to which they can hold out on these pro-
visions and the little flour they have is the 10th
instant ;" and he goes on to say :

Havelock is very much in the position of a rat in a trsp.
As soon as he got in, the cansl-bridge was blown up be-
hind him, and he was surrounded and cut off from all
connitunioation. There he has been ever since, quite safe
so long as provisions last, but otherwise apparently help-
less. The position taken up within the city, where it is
Impossible to get out or in without a mile and a half of
street fighting, appears a bad one.