The Express.
London, England, 1848-07-25 00:00:00

0/1-1-

INDIA AND CHINA.

THE OVERLAND MAIL.

IMPORTANT FROM LAHORE.
CONSPIRACY TO MURDER THE BRITISH.

By the Overland Mail, arrived this morning, we
have accounts from Hong Kong to the 24th May, and
Bombay the 2nd, Calcutta the 3rd, and Madras the
10th June. The news from the Punjaub is of a
most serious nature ; no less than the discovery of a
conspiracy at Lahore, originating with the agents of
the ranee, having for its object the massacre of the
European officers and soldiers at that station, to be
effected with the complicity of our own native
troops. The plot was happily discovered in time to
avert its frightful consequences, and some of the origi-
nators bad already paid the penalties of their crimes.
The latest sdvices from Lahore were to the 22nd May,
at which date all was quiet; but the utmost precaution
was being taken to maintain the peace of the capi-
tal. H.M.'s 14th Light Dragoons, from Feroze-
pore, and a native troop of horse artillery, from
Loodiana, had already arrived; and two corps of
infantry, a corps of irregular cavalryland a field bat-
tery, from beyond the Sutlej, were to occupy
Govindhur, near Uinritsir ; while a native regiment
' and a troop of horse artillery were further to reinforce
Jullunder. ILM.'s 32nd regiment were to move from
Umballab to Ferozepore, and ll.M.'s 95th from
Meerut, to take the place of the 32nd. The engineers
were occupied in raising a parapet around the whole
inner edge of the rampart of Lahore, and every possi-
ble* means were being taken for strengthening acd
isolating the works occupied by the troops. A large
magazine of arms in the city, furnished of old by
Runjeet Singh, had been undermined by order of
the resident, and blown up, as the populace had
begun to help themselves from that repository. The
strictest garrison duty was being maintained, and
every officer had been called in from the districts.
A brief detail of the cot spiracy, and the subsequent
preceedings are thus narrated :
After several attempts bad been made to seduce the native
troops from theirallemance,severalcorps having lee en to mpered
with, the conspirators tried it on with some of M jer
Wheeler's Irregular Cavalry. Major Wheeler reported it to
the resident, Sir F. Currie, and he directed that the parties
should he led on, and implicated without a chance of escape,
when he would have them arrested. Oa the Bth May Mr.
Cocks, chief assistant to the resident, arrested fifteen men in
the city. The man of the highest rank woe Colonel Kl•an
Sin They were convicted, and, on the llth, Colonel Khnn
Sing and his moonskee were hung near the Delhi.gate. One
man was reprieved at the foot of the gallows, nu his promis-
ing to give evidence against all his accomplices. On
the L'ith he performed his promise. The regiments com-
posing the garrison of Lahore and the moveable column at
Annarkullee, were paraded for Golalia, the man who
had been reprieved, to point out the sepoys who had
been seduced, when it was toted that the follovriug corps
had been tampered with :-Bth, 18th, and bOth, and the
men pointed out were mostly Brahmins of long service. From
the sUth Regiment, when the roll was called, several of the
men Ned front the ranks The only officer on horseback,
when the regiment was paraded, was the doctor, and
he pursued one fellow, and knocked him over with hie stick.
The 13th was to hoc- been the day in which the " Gore-
logue" were to be " safkur'il." The Si melee on duty were to
admit 5,000 armed men into the city, when they were to have
" barn shikar." The dueler was sitting up to a very late
hour last night, the 21st. Sir F. Currie having determined
to expel ad the fakeers from the city, Rajah Deenanuth
strongly persuaded him not to attempt it, as it might
lead to a rise en moose of the population, should they be
ejected. A court of inquiry was still sitting on the sepoy re.
genadi s. A report was current that n body of 3.000 horsemen
were seen within five miiea of Lahore on the 14th. All the
officers on leave at Simla have been ordered down to join
their corps. On the 18th May, it was determined to remove
the ranee from Shekapoora. Fakeer Noor-ood deen west
to the ranee, and informed her that her son the young
Maharajah, was to be at Kanah-Kutch (about fifteen miles
from Lahore, on the road to Ferozepote), and that the resi-
dent had consented to her having an interview with her
son, if she was desirous of no doing. She proceeded in her
palkee in the direction of Kenah.Kutch, and, not until she
creased the Rwee, did she discover she hail been duped. On
her arrival ut Kenah-Kutch she found she was to be escorted
across the frontier to Ferozepore, end from thence to her
ultimate destination, Amperes.
The last accounts from Mooltan are nit; Lahore.
The dewan had offered large bounties to Sikh sepoys
to join his standard, and considerable masses had
already collected around him. He was strengthening
the fort of Mooltan, and also that of Mittenkote, on
the Indus. His horsemen had been out in pur-
suit of Lieut. Edwardes, who, it may be remembered,
marched from Bunno, upon the first news of the revolt
at Mooltan, with 2,500 Sikh troops under his com-
mand, by whom ho was deserted when near the in-
surgent frontier, and he escaped with only one at-
tendant. Of Major Jacob, who, at the head of the
irregular Scinde hot se, had moved upwards to the
frontier near the enemy, but little had yet been heard.
He was said to have fallen in wit% a body of Beloo-
chees, under one of the hill c:iiefs at Kosmoe, on the
verge of the Scinde territory, who were proceeding to
join the standard of the dewan, and to have had a
smart and si.ccessful engagement, without, however,
being able altogether to arrest their course. With
respect to Mooltan, the governor-general had decided
to suspend operations till after the rains.
From Calcutta we learn that the house of Ilirlie,
Cotrie, and Co. has suspended payment. With re-
spect to the affairs of t e Union Bank, nothing has
been absolutely done towarda a liquidation of the con-
cern. The plan for the appointment of trustees by the
shareholders and creditors' committees in conjunction,
having been objected to by some of the creditors, had
been abandoned, and a new scheme adopted for
raising contributions from shareholders, somewhat on
the principle of an income-tax. This plan had been
discussed at two or three meetings, public and pri-
vate, and was finally adopted at a mel:ting betwixt
the creditors and the executive committee. Under this
scheme the creditors notifying their adherence to it
agree not to molest any shareholder who stroll contri-
bute towards the liquidation of the bank's debts the
sum he is assessed to in a schedule prepared
or sanctioned by the creditors' committee,—provided
that the whom assessment in the schedule shall not be
less than forty lakhs—that creditors to the aggrezate
amount of thirty-five lakhs shall become parties to
the engagement on or before the 15th June, and that
fifteen lakhs be paid up before the Ist August next.
Thee are the most prominent features of the plan.
A rule nisi for a scire facies had been granted by the
Supreme Court against Joseph Willis, Aushautosh
Dry, Promothee.auth Day, and Nursingchunder Roy,
wealthy alirreholdera of the bank.
Sir William Seaton, the last remaining puisne judge
of the Supreme Court, was obliged to leave suddenly
far England, his health having given way from the
effects of hard work for ten years in a trying climate.
He had been addressed by the bar in a highly com-
plimentary manner. It is said that, had he been able
to remain till November next, he would have become
entitled to a pension of 10001. per annum, but that, re-
tiring so soon, as he has been c impelled to do' he can
only claim 7001. It is to be hoped, however, that the
Court of Directors will display liberality in his case.
There is noticing important in the shape of news
from either Madras or Ceylon. From Hong Kong
we learn that all continued quiet at Canton and
Shanghae. The following government notification
had been issued at Hong Kong:
His ExceLeecy her Majesty': Plenipotentiary and Chief
Superintendent of British Trade, &c., to pleased to direct
that the annexed communication from Sal, the Acting Im-
perial Commissioner, relative to the inland transit duties to
be levied in future on foreign cotton manufactures at the
Custom-huuse, in the province of Chekeang, be pub-
lished for general information.—By order, A.R. JOHNSTON.
Victoria, Hong Kong, Bth May, 1848.
Seu, High Imperial Commissioner, &c. &c., sends the fol-
lowing communications : The late High Imps rial COMMis-
si- ner, Keying, presented a memorial to the throne, request-
ing that the same rate of transit duties on calicoes might
be levied et the Pih-sin Custom-house in Chekeang as at
Heu-shoo, which is in the neighbourhood. To this Replica-
lion the imperial reply was, " Let the board of revenue deli-
berate and report on this subject. Respect this!" I have
now received a communication from the hoard, stating that
every description of foreign cotton manufactures paid at the
Heu-shoo Custom-house 2 mace 2 cauclareeris per hundred
eagles, or per pecul weight, whilst 1-2 mace were paid per
piece at Pih-sin. Since the difference in tee amount is
very considerable, the tariff of duties on calicoes at Pih-sin
ought, as proposed. to be the same as that at the Ileu.shoo
Custom-house in the neighbourhood, in order to equalise
the rate of duties levied. To this representation an Imperial
reply was received, saying, " Let it be done as proposed.
Respect this." Whilst transmitting this intermit
tion to the superintendent of the Pih.sin Custom-
house, I thought it my dnty to submit it also for
the consideration of the honourable envoy, and wish you
much happiness, addressing the same—To his Excellency
her Britannic Majesty's Plenipotentiary, Samuel George
Bonham, Esq., &c., &c., &c., CHARLES GrTZLACF, Chinese
Secretary.
The following is the letter of our correspondent :
BOMBAY Je.NE 3.

The news received from the Punpieb daring the past
fortnight has been of the most exciting character, though,
happily, unattended by the painful interest attaching to the
intelligence shortly before received from Moo!too, of the
murder of Mr. Agnew and Lieut. Anderson,—an account of
which I sent you by last mail. Shortly after the &vetch of
the mail of the 20th Ma f, the intelligence reached us of the
detection of a conspiracy at Lahore, which Lad for its object
tye sassesinatioit of every European officer and soldier within