The Express.
London, England, 1865-03-15 00:00:00

THE WAR IN BROOTAN.

The intelligence from Bhootan is of a somewhat
serious nature. Up to the 29th of January, four of
our posts had been almost simultaneously surprised
and attacked by the Bhoomas. The enemy were
driven back in all four cases by our detachments,
but, in OM instance, with seven casualties on our
side in a detachment of fifty men, and in another
with the loss of one officer and five sepoys killed,
and one officer and 28 sepoys wounded. The fol-
lowing telegram has since been received by the
Bengal government :
From Coo& Behar. To Calcutta. From H. Beveridge,
Fig., Deputy-Commissiouer, to Private Bemetery,
Lleutenant-Govetnor of Beep!.
. . .

fith February.—Colonel Watson, on the 4th instant,
sent a force to drive the Bhootese from a stone stockade
which they had made at Balla ; but the fares at his disposal
proved too weak. The Bhaotans were well protected,
and we had a good many aumlties. Lint Millirtt of the
11th N. L killed. Lieutenant Camerae, Royal Artillery,
wounded, and some 12 or fifteen Some wounded. Coleus'
Watson has applied for the two gam Wagging to Cloak
Behar. They will be seat off at ones.

"Our troops," observes the Calcutta English-
man, "as yet have carried everything before them,
but our oolumns, ridiculously small even at the
commencement of the campaign, are now so re-
duced by the detachments holding our chain of
outposts along the hills, and keeping up our com-
munications, that neither our open camps
nor our posts are safe from the night at-
tacks and rushes of large bodies of an enemy
who, however unwilling to meet us by day,
are yet determined enough to fight for their
hearths and homes in a manner which, in a
great measure, neutralises our superiority over
them in arms, in discipline, would that we could
also add, in numbers. Harassed in • malarious
climate by constant night duties to keep in check a
tribe of men like the Bhooteas, to whom the jungle
is a home, and through which they can crawl like
wild beasts almost up to our very sentries, it is
not to be wondered at that our troops are
getting sickly. Fever is very prevalent, and
the Bhootea rabble are allowed to swarm within a
march of our camps, for the simple reason that
our men, from over-work and night guards, are
unable to bear the fatigue of double marches and
clouts, for the purpose of dispersing them. The
Bhoote•s can only set down this inactivity to fear.
Oar troops must not only be reinforced, but must,
in the difficult nature of the seat of war, have
sufficient support available in case of need. It
must be done, sooner or later, the rainy season is
not so far distant, and the Bengal Terai, if it does
not kill, must seriously affect the efficiency of the
force."

The Madras A then,eum apprehends a falling short
of the revenue, owing to the great decline in the
returns from opium, " Sir Quirks Trevelyan's
neat financial statement," says the A thenmum, " is
looked forward to with considerable anxiety, an.l

the supreme government are economising as far as
possible, and enjoining the same course on those
subordinate to them. The cash balances also have
fallen very low ; the sum of them last November
being little above ten snores of rupees, which leaven
but a small margin beyond the working limit. This
is attributed to the heavy drafts from home ; but
whatever the cause of it may be, the fact creates
uneasiness, as the exchequer would not be able to
bear any sudden strain, without borrowing in India
or aid from England."

CHINA.
THE INSURRECTION.

The China Mail says that the various ;muds of
stragglers, consisting mostly of men belonging to
the class from which the insurrection sprung, are
massing together, the rendezvous being some tenor
fifteen miles from Fuhohau.

People are as usual getting out of the way, and taking
t'isir most portable) valuables with them. We remedied this
miny weeks ago, bat we wait in vain for any motion
on the part of the mend/ries of the district, or
inctructions from the authorities at Peking.
All this while the rebel remnant are being enabled
to consolidate their force and throw up positions of defence,
and it is most likely that they are at present so engaged.
It would almost seem as if imperial callousness bad reached
the point of looking upon the subjugation of the Taepisg
rebels as more the affair of foreigners then of mandarins ;
•nd it is to be feared that the only way to awaken the
Chinese government to • sense of danger would be
to treat this reduced body of insurrectionista in • con-
ciliatory spirit, and see whether commercial relations of •
satisfactory kind are attainable) between Teeple' and
foreigner. It is just possible that these rebels might ea -
brace such an opportunity of returning to the omelette of
peace, and settling down in permanent homes. We are
not at all sanguine on the matter ; but, as affairs now
stand, or rather hang, a settlement of one kind or another
is moat desirable. Of course the arrangement just hinted at
would involve the capture of Fnhchau and the appropria-
tion of the customs revenue, to which our new friends
would have no objections ; and, as they may have learned
better than to repeat the insolence to which they were
guilty at Ningpo, when they fired " saluted" with allotted
guns, it need not surprise us if the idea jest mooted should
pia ground, even if it has not been anticipated, in the
highest quarters. The chief of the remnant referred to is
Sbi Wang, and we shall watch his movements with interest.