The Press.
London, England, 1857-11-21 00:00:00

scoundrels favoured tne with some most unfriendly looks,
and began deliberately to light the matches with which
they discharge their matchlocks; there was no doubt of
their intentions, and there was no possiblity for a man
dressed as I was, with long heavy boots on, to escape by
swimming, and my revolver and gun were so wet there
was no chance of their going off ; so I put the best face I
could on the matter, took out my cheroot box, and walking
up to the man who looked the biggest ruffian of them all,
asked him to give me a light; this he did from the very
math which was fixed !n his gun. I believe I astonished
them by my cool impertinence, as they stood quite still
for some few minutes, and just then my escort came up
with the boat from the Baba Sahib, and took me across the
river in safety. I stopped with the Baba Sahib two days,
dressed as a native, and he then gut five trustworthy
troopers to send with tile. I started for Mehidpore,
and got in here all right. We have just heard of a
tight at Neemuch, and a report of the fall of Delhi. God
grant it may be true; if so, the contingent will then
stand firm. Only fancy my having passed through Indure
( where all Holkar's mutinous troops are) unobserved.
Was I not lucky ?
The following is an extract from a letter from Mr.
George Palmer, of the Bengal Civil Service, dated
from Camp Meeranpore in the Mozuffernuggur dis-
trict, shows the way in which the revenue is now
collected :

Wince I have been here I have not been idle; in
six daps I collected and sent into the chief station
30,000 rupees, with a very small exception nearly
clearing all the balances due to Government on account of
the last half-year's revenue in this section of the district.
On one or two occasions I had to make a demonstration of
force (and once had to punish), surrounding villages be-
fore dawn with cavalry, driving their flocks all into one
spot, placing sentinels over them, and then putting the
village under an interdict until the money was forthcoming,
but generally the appearance of two troopers carrying with
them a bit of paper has been sufficient. It is a good instance
of the effect of prestige with these people. Here, all along
the river bank, all round where I am now writing for miles,
fur weeks and weeks the country was at the mercy of the
tioojonrs and other scoundrels, who collected in mobs of
some hundreds, all well armed, stopped the roads, plun-
dered and burnt every village that was not in concert with
them, and which did not pay down very large sums as
black mail.

I came down here with twenty-five troopers of an Irregu-
lar Cavalry Regiment, including the native cavalry officers.
Thr country at this season is generally quite impracticable
tor cavalry, and, as you very well know, if 100 or so of
determined men, though untrained, were to make a stand
in a village with mud walla, twenty-five of the best troopers
in the world could not turn them out; yet, as soon as I
came here nut merely dill all crime cease and the roads
become open and sate, hut all the ringleaders bolted, and
are still in hiding; but I am glad to find an English offi-
cer and handful of troopers such a sugbear.

The Maharajah Scindia has certainly evinced a
really stanch spirit, and shown a considerable amount
of skill in keeping his mutinous contingent in hand
during the siege at Delhi. The troops, discontented
with the Maharajah, bad withdrawn to Moorar, at no
great distance from Gwalior, taking with them
treasure and guns. They were joined there by muti-
neers from Indore and the 23rd Bengal Native
Infantry, which mutinied at Mhow. The Maharajah
on his part assembled his subordinate chiefs, who
seem to have had little sympathy with the contingent,
and with their assistance kept a bcld front towards
the mutineers, erecting, it is said, batteries of
artillery to oppose those which the Moorar men had
erected against him. In the meantime the Indore
and Gwalior contingents (pan-elle:1, and the former
moved across the Cbumbul to Dholpore. Matters
became gradually worse at Delhi. The prospects of
rebellion darkened, the Maharajah took advantage of
all this, bore at times hard words from the contingent
officers who came to the Durbar, but at last suc-
ceeded in enticing hack to their allegiance first one
regiment, then another, and has at last reduced the
whole of his army to comparative obedience. At
least this is the account of a native eye-witness and
resident, who writes between the Bth and 14th Sept.
Another native ]Etter from Gwalior, September 25,
says :

The Maharajah, having assembled a considerable num-
ber of his riots, surrounded the mutinous troops there on
all sides, and asked them either to fight or give up their
arms. On which the mutineers, seeing no other alternative,
laid down their arms and quietly left the Gwalior territory,
and are now on their way w their homes.
Captain Dennys, Lieutenants Renyon and Bannerman,
late of the Kotka Contingent, have joined I3rigadierGeneall
Lawrence's camp at liewar, who has a troop of horse
artillery, about 2.50 of her Majesty's s3rd Regiment, two
squadrons of the Ist Lancers, and 2'lo of the Mhairwarrali
local battalion, to meet the Erinri ors mutineers, who are
said to be in a fort at Soctjut called ♦ .sh ; the mutineers
are said to have seven guns, and 1;00 peke,' men.

With respect to the state ( f the Bombay army,
very little is reported. The ce itral and southern
districts of the Presidency ale q iiet, observes one
writer on the 17th Oct., but Bombay itself has
had se lition in its heart, and 1 as witnessed the inflic-
tion of capital punishment l y sentence of court-
martial :

The day before yesterday a drill-harildar of the Marine
Battalion, a 3bibbulinan; and a private of the 10th Native
infantry, a high•ctate Hindoo, were blown from 8-uoundtr