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

982

It is now getting near our own doors, and we have as yet.
received scarcely any ref tforcements, and our troops are
dying of cholet a fifty a day out ofGeneral Havelock's small
force of l,:100 nieu. Our English soldiers get so dis-
heartened, seeing no end to their labours, and losing so
many by overwhelming numbers, they begin to say they
will not fight unless the King of Oude is hung up. So long
as he is alive plots and machinations will continue. It is a
pity we have not a more stirring Governor-General. I am
sure if Lord Clive had been here he would have sent his
Majesty away to Ceylon or the Cape, out of harm's way.
I suppose you know he is a prisoner in the fort here,
and daily emissaries are discovered trying to get letters to
and from him. His Prime Minister is also a prisoner, a
man truly Asiatic in cunning, and quite equal to baffling
the English Government, both at home and out here,
which he has succeeded in doing, as seen by the results ;
for, on being made prisoner on the 11th of June with the
King, he told our officers that they were too late, for
a " net had been woven which the English would never
unravel !" All Calcutta is on the tip-toe of expectation to
hear what steps the home authorities will take in
regard to the Queen and two Princes of Oude. It
was all plotted before they went to England, and
their being absent from India at this juncture is a
clever ruse de guerre. Of course they will protest
that they knew nothing of the massacre of the English
officers, their wives and children, that have taken place,
whilst all the time the Queen was sending messengers
backwards and forwards from England to India, and letters
from her have fallen into the hands of this Government
which clearly reveal their guilt, and in which site urges
the ex King to " strike now, whilst the British have a
war going on with China and Persia, and that conse-
quently they have no troops to spare for India." If the
Queen and Princes are not locked up in the Tower, it will
be monstrons—it will be unpardonable. The Queen is a
very clever woman, and she and the Prime Minister laid
all these artful schemes to destroy the English, root and
branch. They had for years, perhaps, been plotting to
exterminate the British, and the seizure by us of Oude
has not lessened their rancour. They are Mahomedans,
yet to compass their ends they have leagued with Hindoos.
The Mahotnedans are ruthless, and are never kuown to
spare, whilst here and there a gleam of mercy has been
exhibited by the Hindoos. The papers will doubtless give
you particulars, so I shall write no more about these sad
and awful times.

The following extracts from a private journal kept
by a resident at Calcutta, between the 9th and tend
of August, give a lively representation of the real
state of affairs at the capital:—
August 9.—Her Majesty's ship Shannon arrives; said to
have a reinforcement of 1,700 men, in reality she has 300
marines, but the whole of her crew is to be mole available
for defence of Calcutta. Beniinck, which was to have been
despatched to-morrow, is ordered to be kept back.
Numerous armed bodies of men are hovering about Cal-
cutta, it is supposed not less than 70,000 men, exclusive of
those known to be hiding in the town, and a large number
of cavalry.

August 10.—Lord! Canning and Elgin meet in ?con-
sultation. The result is said to be this—that two things
are ordered to be done which no entreaty or persuasion
could wring from our governor—viz., first, compulsory
enlistment in the militia of all ablebodied Christians; and
secondly, disarming of all Bengal soldiery still allowed to
be armed. Both of these much wanted.

Captain Peel, of her Majesty's ship Shannon, is to lead
an expedition of 400 men to Allahabad, taking up a for.
midable battery ; he will have to fight his way, for no
steamer can ever stop to wood and water without risk of
being fired upon.
Augnst ll.—Lord Canning, after having been worried
since May, consents to take into consideration the propriety
of having the fort victualled and put in order for reception
of the Christian population in case of necessity. This has
been done at Madras some time ago ; here we think, there
they do, a thing.
Hazareebaugh plundered and burnt.
Gya burnt and destroyed. Alonzg Money, civil service,
end another gentleman, carry off the Government treasure,
900,000 rupees, fighting hard for it; the former kills five
men with his own hand.

- The siege of Agra, capital of the north-west, is a fact;
full particulars of a fight outside the walls reach us. It
lasted over two hours, and, if better led, our side would
have won the day ; as it was, they had to retire into the
fort, and were deuced near being cut off. The mutineers,
infantry, cavalry, ai.d artillery, were well led. On our
side, the Government-office clerks, and other Europeans
and Christians, hastily drilled and formed into a regiment,
behaved admirably, and suffered heavily in killed.
Government order the pentinek, and each succeeding
steamer, to prepare for carrying troops on her return
voyage from Suez.
Mr. Halliday, Lientenant•Governor of Bengal, pats
a Mussulman into a magistracy, with a salary of 1,500
rupees a month. The man is as bitter against ns as the
rest of his creed can be, and no European henceforth can
carry on trade or own land in that district. The gentle-
man, by bribes and exactions, will probably make not less
than 10,000 rupees monthly. People are open-mouthed at
this appointment.
Arrived, frigate Pearl and private steamer Lanrstirld
with more troops, detachment of her Majesty's 00th,
and marines of her Majesty's Transit, which last has
finally succeeded in knocking a hole in her bottom in
Straits of Banta.

August 11.—A horrible rumour, on native authority, of
a rising at Bangalore and total destruction of that place;
wants confirmation.
It is now ascertained that General Havelock has had to
retreat upon Cawnpore, which he did with complete sue.
cees, carrying with him everything; he was losing sixty