The Express.
London, England, 1853-02-14 00:00:00

Notification

Fort William. Foreign Department, Dec. 30,
Tho most noble the Governor-General in council is
pleased to direct that the following proclamation, whereby
the province of Pegu has her n declared to be a oorion of
the British territories in the East, shall be puhlishtd for
general information.
His lordship in council directs that in honour of this
event, a royal salute shall be tired at every principal pre-
sidency of India.
By order of the most noble the Governor-General of India
in Council, C. ALLEN,
Officiating Secretary to the Government of India.
Proclamation.
The Court of Ava having refused to make amends for the
injuries and insults which British suhjects had suffered at
the hands of its servants, the Governor General of India in
Council resolved to exact reparation by force of arms.
The forts and cities upmi the coast were forthwith at-
tacked and captured; the Burman forces hove been die-
persed wherever they have been met ; and the province of
l'egu is now in the occupation of British troops.
The just and moderate demands of the government of
India have been rejected by the King ; the ample opportn-
nity.that has been afforded biro fur repairing the injury that
was done has been disregarded ; and the timely submission,
which alone could have been effectual to prevent the dis-
memberment of his kingdom, is still withheld.
Wherefore, in compensation for the rut, and for better
security in the future, the Governor-General in Council has
resolved, and hereby proclaims, that the province of Pews
is now, and shall be henceforth, a portion of the Bridah
territories is the East.

Such Burman troops as may still remain within the pro-
vince, shall be driven out. Civil gov,rninent shall itlllllt.
diately be established, and officers shall be appointed to ad-
minister the affairs of the several district..
The Governor-General in Council hereby calls on the in-
habitants of Pegu to submit themselves to the authority,
and to confide securely in the protection cf the Brifish no-
vernment, whose power they have seen to be ureaisUule,
and whose rule is marked by justice and beneficence.
' The Governor-General in Council, having exacfcd the
reparation he deems sufficient, desires no further conquest
in Burmah, and is wilting to consent that busti.ities should
cease. _ _

But if the King of Ave shall fail to renew his fornyr
relations of friendship with the British Government, and if
he shall recklessly seek to dispute its
.quiet posfession of
the province it has now declared to b 3 its own, the Gover-
nor-General in Council will again put forth the power he
holds, and will visit with lull retributiva aggr,miuns
which, if they be persisted in, must of nece.,ity lead to the
total subversion of the Burnish State, and to the ruin and
cede of the King and his race.
B 7 order of the most noble the Governer-Geccral in
ludia in Council. C. Alums,
Officiating Secretary to the Govkriaucht of India.
Dec. 20, 18.52. _

The Bo inky Times thus summarises tl:c events of
the ten days:
"The annexation of Nu has been proclaimed
in form, but this we stated in our last as so certain,
that it affords a confirmation merely of a fact in
reference to which no doubt was entertained. The
proclamation itself, which will be found elsewhere,
is curt, clear, and judicious; it abstains from all
details, and concludes with an intimation that if
the King of Ava shall fail to renew his former
relatio of friendship with the British government,
and if he shall recklessly seek to dispute its quiet
possession of the province it has now declared to
be its own, the Governor-General in Council will
again put forth the power he holds, and will visit
with full retribution, aggressions which, if they be
persisted iu, must of necessity lead to the total sub-
version of the Burmah state, and to the ruin and
exile of the King and his race. No one can sup-
pose that the King of Burmah will renew friendly
relations with the British government •or cease to
molest us in the occupation of a province, seised in
compensation for the infliction of injuries which
he pronounces imaginary. According to the Bur-
mese version of matters, the British government
has nothing to complain of, and has been the
aggressor all through—we are entitled according to
them to no apology, and to no indemnification, and
they are, they maintain, warranted in endeavouring
to recover the territory we have taken, and avenge
the wrongs we have inflicted on them. Should these
apprehensions be realised, the Burmese war has only
been suspended, it is not closed ; it must be resumed
immediately in an altered character, and peace will
only be re-established by an advance on Ava. This
was perfectly foreseen as an inevitable necessity by
every one in India from the outset; it was a neces-
sity forced upon us, like the annexation of the Pun-
jaub, by the enemy themselves; and the half-mea-
sures to which the Governor-General has been con-
demned, by the interference of the authorities at
home, in conjunction with the incompetence of Gen.
Godwin, have deferred to 1833 that which might
have been accomplished with ease in 1852, and
transformed a six months campaign—short, sweep-
ing and effective—into a three years' weak, inglo-
rious, unsatisfactory, and through the climate it
may be, deadly war. Perhaps. however, it is all for
the best—it seems almost providential that during
the last year of the Charter Act we should have
commanders-in-chief—we except always Lord Frede-
rick Fitzclarence--nnusually imbecile and aged; and
who, not content, like their predecessors, with spend-
ing the great bulk of their time away from the pro-
per sphere of their duties at the extreme limit of our
dominions, have gone in one ease beyond them, as if
to show the unspeakable absurdity of allowing
20,0001. • a-year for the performance of councillor
duties which can by no possibility be accomplished,
and 18,0001. a-year more for military service of such
very indifferent quality that it is dear at any
price. Sir William Gomm is said to have had his
pay cut by the Auditor-General during his resi-
dence in a foreign state, and Sir Richard Arm-
strong was too weak to inspect the Madras troops
on embarkation for Burmah. One of the most
discreet, determined, sound-headed governors-general
who over presided over the destinies of the East,
finds himself thwarted and stultified in his mea-
sures, and a second war entailed upon us where our
quarrel might have been settled at once, by 'a set
of clever clerks' in Cannon-row and Leadenhall-
street, by whom, according to Lord Ellenborough,
the affairs of India are, as under existing ar-
rangements they necessarily must be, administered.
These things, occurring at the present juncture,
ought to be a warning to the people at home as to
the insanity of the maintenance for 20 years to come
of an antiquated, worn-out, and inefficient mechanism
utterly unsuited for the work desired to be performed
by it. Better men here, or wiser counsels elsewhere,
would, just now, have been ill-timed, and nothing
can serve us so well as exhibitions such as those just
referred to. If, in the face of this, the British legis-
lature will go ou in the evil courses threatened to be
pursued by them the guilt be on them and on their
children. The disturbances in Candeish have hap-
pily come to an end, and that without effusion of
blood. The rumours spread regarding them at first
appeared to have been enormous exaggerations—the
alarm at the time prevailing most.superfluous. The
measures adopted by government at last seemed
to have been firm, temperate, and judicious, and
have proved perfectly successful. On the 20th of
November the 6th Bombay Native Infantry, with
their families and attendants, about 1,300 persons in
all, were despatched to Kurrachec, a port 300
miles to windward of Bombay, in 23 open native
boats, mostly ill found iu rigging, none of those on
board of them having ever made the voyage before,
or being competent to use a chart or sextant or any
other appliance more complex than a compass. One-
half of them reached their destination in 17 days,
others having been 27 days at sea, made land half as
far to the south as they ought to have done to north-
ward of Bombay, all suffering from great privations
and escaping by a miracle destruction front a storm
which about this time.occurred in these seas. The
commanding-officer, in consideration of the nature
of the winds at this season, took 21 days' pro-
visions on board, the ordinary supply being 12,
and but for this the men might, most probably,
have perished of want. Both steam and first-class
sailing vessels, were at command in abundance,
and, had the risk and loss of pay been taken into
account, would have conveyed them for less than
the sum actually charged for them under the sys-
tem of false economy by which human lives are
perilled for the sake of a pretended saving, which

sways roue awn". tic victoria and Achilles
atezzial. wave this day fur Men, the merchantman
x all the passengers, mails, and goods; the
myr.ot•%ar nothing but her pennant and her coals,
ss
t
hire is scarcely any chance of her reaching
•
in tune. This is the vessel b
,hichr rt ceived our English mails of the 24th
on the 2tith of December—the
wl.ich left Aden a day and a half
bel„,„; e. r, having arrived two days before her,
her three days in 1,500 miles, by this
:tin the despatches. The Auckland's
mach • •
moskete.er three months ago will be remembered,
when was beaten by three days by this same
Achip,„, and was unable to overtake the Calcutta
stlafac. ay! vo caused the packets to be detained a
in Egypt; and yet this farce is carried out
a ti,' of ;5,0001. a-year to ezcess of the sum for
0•102jos ,;,.. °macs' Company undertook to manage
thy' p.u.:t • sci vice to perfection ; and a Government
wket carrying nothing, is despatched once a month
ocy with a merchantman, by which it is
ii7o„ e Juld be beaten, and which carries or is
may 1., e.la ry everything desired to be conveyed, at
"tip to the State of 2,0001. to 3,0001. a voyage.
"n
-Chief, Lord Frederick Fitzcla-

e.:,kavouring to improve the discipline of
the ,ot., v army, generally supposed to have been
praty befon-, by having parties of Iler
;pith highlanders and of the 14th Native
leant. y iinartered near his house, and instructed
oda t. • personal inspection. The Governor-
Genet i : • about to proceed on a tour through Ar-
ran= ei•l Chittagong. The Governors of Bombay
end m „t- ie are at the presidencies—the Commander-
in.Chi, an India is in the north-west provinces ; he
of Medea. in the districts. Trade at Bombay con-
tinue f risk, money. plentiful, and the money-
mirk' The fair ut Kurmehee seems to have
roved a fahare.
we at last received our supplies of Baroda
blue-beaks and of the reports of the evidence be-
fore the Committees on Indian Affairs. The dis-
closures made by the last of these arc somewhat
astomlis:, and exhibit a lavishness of extrava-
gance in a spenditure on some points, and of nig- I
pedlars* in others which we were not prepared
foe, fee home government, while begrudging
12,1M01. a year for educational purposes in ll'estern
aal refusing a shilling of extra outlay on
public enjeuvements, set down the cost of the India
Hose shove 100,0004 a year, the Board of Con- I
ire : at -21;,otia, and state that they
.have expended
in addition to this above 53,0001. in house dinners
within the last 1S years. Among the items of ex-
gendit..re in India, with which no fault is found,'
are 50,0040. for the Governor-General's journey in
the north-Nest provinces—the Governor himself re-
ceiving = ',WO! a year as salary, and 13,000/. a year
for office establishments ; the Governor of Bombay,
who re, t ivies 12,0001. a year, has 10,0001. allowed
biro for office and establishment, and 2,1001. to de-
fray the charges of his residence in the hot weather
in the W,hlands, and his rustication during the rains
at his ooti.,ry villa in Dapoorce, where be is con-
sidered by his late colleagues at the council board,
Messrs. Reid and Willoughby, finches (jseici, and
where half his time has for the past five years been
spent. It is allowed at home, that councils at the
minor presidencies are maintained at a cost of some
60,0001. a year, to permit a state of matters each as
this to be continued, so as to enable the ministry
of the day from time to time to provide fur
its fiienii,. Large portions of the Baroda blue-
book are being republished by the newspapers at the
Presidency ; they are fearfully damag ng to the
eluiretter of the British government. This is the
first time that the reople have seen it proclaimed by
authority that government do not desire misconduct
of their servants to be too minutely inquired into, and
that it is matter of indifference to them what opinion
ii held of them by the natives. A body which pro-
/MIMS a man like Colonel Outram—who has en-1
joyed the highest distinction under ten adrainistm-1
tions—a hotheaded fanatical fool, unworthy of public
emplovn.e,:t. only injure themselves. Peter Peebles
said that all the world considered him mad—and no
one would have hesitated on what side, in this ease,
to pronounce—for his part he looked on all the
world a, mad, and when we are compelled to decide
between the weight of the opinions of such men as
Sir John Malcolm, Lord Clare, Sir Robert Grant,
Mr. Farish, Sir Jamee Carnac, Sir William Ander-
son, Sir George Arthur, Mr. Reid, Sir George Clerk,
and Mr. Willoughby on the one side, all of whom
professed the highest admiration of Colonel Outram
--and of Lord Falkland and his councillors, who
pretend to dimples him, on the other—there need be
no great difficulty or delay in arriving at a correct
conclusion on the subject, siding with the pa at Peter
Peebles of the day or the public voice for twenty
years.

PEGU DESPATCHES.
NOTIPICATIOX.
Fort William, Foreign Department, Jan. 4, 1833.
The aura nobl• the Governor-General in Councils pleased
to direct the following anima bss gast#aMiw relative to
recent opoutioroi in the dregs shall be
published fur general in
The Gowrsor-General is Camsil has to express his ap-
probation of the akerity and spirit with which this harass-
ing duty has bees psefaissei. aad has mom of the services
of the meougassealsemnisadistr, and of the offieen whose
Lawn t lass speedsl44: to the notice of him lord-
ship in council in the of the 24th ult.
The Governor-General Council particularly desires to
record bis high approbation of the gallant conduct of Major
Hill of the Madras Fusiliers, and of the officers and men
sada has minuend, in their defence of the position they
bald at Pegs.
By order of the Most Noble the Governor-General of
his in Council, C. ALLEN,
Official Beeretary to the Governor of India.

EXTRACT FROM • Ditertaren PROM MAJOR.GINIPAL
OoDWIN, CAS., COMMANDING TROOPS IN Alta, ARRA-
CAN, AND TRNASSIRIM PROVINCIS, DATED DISCUSSER
29,1852. No. V.
In my last despatch from Pegs, dated the 15th instant,
after baring relieved it from the enemy, I had the honour
of informing you, for the information of the Governor-
General in Council that it was my intention to advance into
the country and free that garrison from the new position of
the Barrages army.
At that tree I had been informed they were at Lephan-
goon hat from subsequent information I found them en-
trenched and entrenching themselves in great numbers on a
plain about four miles north of the Pagoda, at a place celled
Keettat. It took till the 17th instant to procure what little
carriage was available for the conamisariat stereo, when 18
betide !lecheries were prepared to contain six days' pro-
visions.
The troops left the Pagoda shout 7 o'clock cm., on that
date, to Noe amount of shout 1,200 men, consisting of about
6io of the Bengal Fusiliers, under Lieutenant-Colonel
Tudor ; 1.10 of the Madras Fusiliers, under Capt. Renaud ;
900 Seiko, under Major Armstrong; and 160 of the 10th
Bengal Native Infantry, under Captain Munro. I had no
gus, for I had no means of drawing them. We had to
lam through a very thick jungle for about two miles, when
we debouched on a noble plain, miles is extent, covered
with ripe paddy. We then had a good view of the position
of the enemy and their probable numbers. They were ad-
mirably psted behind an entrenchment with a battle, large
spars formed their breaatwork, and it appeared to be about
&site long, filled with masses of men, a few hundreds of
the Cii,soy horse, some elephants, and a few guys.
It was irom this poet that the men were furr.iahed to
invest ear garrison at l'egu. From my force I had to give
a (Agree., guard of 200 men. With the remainder I quietly
shouted on their position, inclining to my own right to
threaten their left, which was open, their right being sup-
Ported by a large tope of tree., and flanked by a thick jun-
gle They bred a gun occasionally as we advanced, and
from their islet and determined attitude behind their
strong define's, with at least 10 men for one of mine, I had
great expectation that they would stand our as,sult. These
men were from the garrisons of Sheogyne, Siting, and Be-
-14 bad been very active in giving constant alarms to
Manahan acid Moulmein, and had the character, too, of
being rue a who would fight ; and some of these men had
been kilt.: on the walls in their assaults at Pegu.
When I was within about WO yards of their position I
detached 2!)0 men of the Bengal Fusiliers, under Major
Seaton• to drive in two outposts in front of the right of
tear position, for I changed my mind, and determined to
attack theca upon their right, in the hope of our meeting.
Bails Seaton very soon performed this service, the enemy
1,e4F1 upon their main entrenchment., exchanging mus-
I now formed the columns of attack—Major Seaton's
JJ ?f ti.e Bengal Fusiliers and Major Armstrong, with
13 eebs• to attack the tope, with two companies of the
lwregsl Fusiliers under Lieutenant Lambert, but attached
to Major Armstrong's column.
,_l;:aPptil Major Seaton'a attack, seeing that they had
''l4 the jungle, which his left flank would have hod to
Paw is gaining the tope, with hundreds of men.
ayl had strong reserves close up, and ready to amid in the
had
It was a very interesting sight to we our little
tries noising up to the attack of this host of people, so
Oeteel, and in a "lain" when every object woe
• I *as so confident we should get in among them
rfwken the MAP desired away, after the impetuosity of
,e s,k. it was like mag ic their escaping UP. The Sikhs
"PI were like li,ihtning at them, and Lieutenant
tenthert, who had thrown his column in Boa flank of the
nentretchment close to the tope, would have prevented
i4ftr firing, except on each other; and I believe the
raPitil with which the advance closed upon them threw

them off all guard, and they considered flight their only
safety.
After the action, the trooperested in the shade of the tope
for an hour ; we then proceeded on to Lephangeon, a dis-
tance of 10 miles, which we reached at half-put 4 pas. ;
marching altogether about 14 miles. This is the largest
anti finest village I have seen in the country, with a great
many excellent farmhouses in it. It stands on both sides
of the river, which is here fordable, and is surrounded by
fine lain covered with grain.
We were not aware that the enemy had retreated on this
village, but they left it on our approaah, and the force found
good quarters for the night
The.village wu totally abandoned; not a soul we. seen,
nor grain to be found in it, which I had trusted to for the
followers; so they fell back on the Commissariat, which I
could with difficulty spare them; and this, added to the
breaking down of one of our carts with beef and biscuit,
crippled me much.
The neat day, the 18th inst., we marched to Montana-
moo, ten mile, where we arrived about twelve o'clock
Loon ; then the enemy bad passed the night. It is an in-
considerable village, and we were in bivouac.
I About 3 o'clock p.m. I was informed that some of the
enemy were hovering about, whom I believed were only
observing us, but shortly they came down in large masses,
and formed in a line about two miles in our front.
Our men were soon under arms, and I marched towards
them in two separate columns of an squat division of the
force oin:ler my command. Brigadier-General Steel took
charge of the left column, and Lieut.-Colonel Tudor of
the right. Skirmishers were thrown out en both sides, but
'as we advanced they retired for about two miles further,
when thiy took up an alignment close toe long range of
barracks, which they had evidently occupied on different
emulous. The two columns threw out advanced parties'
for attack, but as we neared them they again retired, leav-
I ing the barracks in our possession. It was now nearly
I dark, and as they appeared to be going away altogether, we
burnt their barracks and retired to our bivouac, three miles
where our baggage and followers had mmained under a
strong guard.
The next day, the 19th inst., on inquiry into the state of
the commissariat, 1 found 1 had not quite three days provi-
sions left, and very deficient in some articles, and it became
imperative on me to return to Pegu, whleh I did that day.
Ilad I the means of carrying with me twelve days provi-
sions, I would have pursued them over the Sitars River,
but I am sadly crippled everywhere for want of carriage,
tempt at Rangoon, where I do not require it.
I propose to detach Brigadier-General Steel with a force
to Moulmein, where he will find every description of car-
riage in abundance for tents, and material of all kinds to
Beling, Siting, and Sheogyne, and crossing that river to
return by Pegu to Rangoon, as be may deem practicable—
which may force this army north towards Prime—which it
must, I think, as it cannot go to Pegu, and which will be
the best course for us it can take.

I embarked at Pegu on the 20th and arrived on the morn- 1,
ing of the 22d, leaving a reinforcement with the garrison
at Pegu, and strengthening their party of sappen as a tem-
porary measure, to allow of thtir putting themselves in a
perfect state of defence.
Now, sir, I have to ask the estimation of the Governor-
General in Council for the service that has been most haras-
sing and arduous, and for which no force ever took the field
so little prepared, but which was borne with a cheerfulness
and alacrity, where the least chance of a contest with the
enemy presented itself, that was enthusiastic, and which
confers the highest honour on the whole force.
To Brigadier-General Steel I am most obliged for the
warmest co-operation througheut this service.
To Brigadier Dickenson, who was ever ready and anxious
to render me his able assistance.

To Liutenant-Colonel Tudor, who was very often called
upon with his regiment, the Bengal Fusiliers, to give par-
ties for assaults ; and on the day of my relieving the garri-
son at Pigu, I detached the lieutenant-colonel to clear the
road communicating with tho landing-place on the river.
The lieutenant-colonel performed this duty most effectually
under a heavy fire.
To Captain Latter, my interpreter, who had the guides
always under his charge, and who was present everywhere
with his usual gallantry.
To Major Armstrong, with his Seikhs, conspicuous
wherever they were called upon.
To Majors Garrard rind Seaton, of the Bengal Fusileers ;
Captain Renaud, commanding detachment of the Madras
Fusdeers; Captain Munro, commanding a detachment of
the 10th Bengal Native Infantry; Capt. Hawkes' Brigade-
Major; Lieuter.ant Lambert, of nu Bengal Fusileers ;
Lieutenant Elliott,of the Madras Fusileen ; and Lieutenant
Harris, of the Sappers, who rendered important asasistance,
I am much indebted

The general Staff, Major Mayhew, Deputy-Assistant Ad-
jutant-Oeneral ; and Captain Hamilton, Assistant-Adju-
tant-Gcneral ; Captain Burns, Military Secretary ; and
Captain Chads, Aides-de-Camp, I warmly thank ; as also
Major Neill, Assistant-Adjutant-General; and Major At-
kinson, Assistant-Quartermaster•Geucral, Madras Division ;
and Captains Dillas and Travers, Aides-de-Camp on the
S:aff of Brigadier-General Steel, for their uncommon exer-
tions during this service.
To Surgeons Weak and Balfour, and the medical de-
partment, the service is much indebted.

The short interval between the time I received the intel-
iigence of the investment of Pesti from Captains Tarleton
and Shadwell, and the embarkation of the troops the same
eveniiag, when by 9 o'clock p.m. 1,400 men, with their ma-
terial, were sent on board, under the eye of that valuable
officer Captain Tarleton, of the Roy .1 Navy, till ita disem-
barkation near Pegu, and its re-embarkation on return
here, was marked by wonderful exertion and arrangement,
and that with the aul and assistance I received from him,
with the men of-war's boats, calls for every acknowledg-
neut._

......
To Captain Shadwell I also feel greatly indebted for his
assistance and exertions on this occasion.

I forward to the Governor-General in Council the de.
tailed account of the investment of Peri by the Burmese
army, and the noble defence made by Mojor Hill and his
brave garrison, for the government to select what in Its
wisdom it may think proper to publish.
I have this morning received the gratifying information
from Major Hill that some thousand families are coming
in, and which I hope in a future despatch to confirm posi-
tively. It is my intention to proceed to Proms in three
days, and to take the field immediately. lam happy to say
that the general health of the troops here, as well as their
conduct, is very satisfactory.