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

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.