Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-07-29 00:00:00

OFFICIAL DESPATCHES.

In addition to the official despatches already
'published, relative to the mutinies in India, we
are now in possession of further commuications
exchanged between authorities in the Indian army
and the secretary to the' Indian government.
."eference has been made to them in the despatches
of the Governor-General already published, and
in some instances they constitute the evidence
upon Which his excellency's recommendations were
based. The question of the greased cartridges
appears prominently in these papers and abundant
proofs are given of the deep uneasines which it
caused hi the minds of E tropoan offi:;ers as well
as Sepoys. "Some of the depot-men," says Lieu-
tenant Wright, "in conversing with me on the
subject, said that the report had spread through
India, and when they go to their homes their
friends will refuse to eat with them.
DT ~jor
Bontein, at Dunn Dual, thought at first it MIS
"a mere idle Preilviiee," but on parading the native
portion of his depot, such a representation was
made to him by the detachment t',, at he felt' bound
to make known the circumstances to the com-
mander-in-chief.

Mujor-General Hearsey, Commander of the
Presidency Division, reporting at the close of last
January the ill-feeling among th.,3 Sepoys at
13arrackpore, suggests as a cause :

Perhaps those Hindoo3
who are opposed to the marriage
ofwidows in Calcutta; are using underhand means to
thwart government in abolishing the restraints lately
theyif lered by law f.ir the marriage of widows, and conceive
reeks can make a party of the igoorant classes in the.
„cess of the army believe their religion or religious pfrep-
'till are eventually to be abolished by force, and by forts
theirare all to be made Christians, and thus by shaking
their •
?Mifaith in government, lose the c )nfidence of their
. :er, by inducing sepoys to commit offences (such as
will 11,,.d.14 I. is
) so difficult to put a stop to or prove, they
gain their object.
op The Papers include a report of the proceedings
a special court of inquiry held at Barrackpore
on the 6th of February, when several Sepoys who
were examined
expressed their objections to the
use of the cartridges.
About the same date, a Se,poy in Lieutenant
company gave information privately of a
plot amongst the Sepoys of four regiments at
„arrnekPere hcning for its object the seizure of
"rt William, the burning down of the electric
ta_elegraPlA-ornee, &c., on the pretext of " an appre-
uelliou of being forced to give up their caste
Ztand be made Christians." Major-Gen. Hearsey
oarangued the brigade with energy, and appears
have anticipated the best results from
tll° 11.' ni)le of drill, viz.—breaking the ortlielge

with the hand in3tead of by biting it. The sub-
sequent disbandment of the 19th Regiment of
Native Infantry, stationel at Berhampore, was
nevertheless soon found necessary. A petition
addressed by the men of the 19th to M9jor-General
Hearsey, alleges various threats on the part of
Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell, as to their fate in
case of a refusal to use the cartridges , but many
of their statements are contradicted by that officer.
A special court of inquiry was convened, for the
purpose of ascertaining the conduct of Lieutenant
Colonel Mitchell.

Subsequent to their disbandment the Sepoys of
the late 19th Regiment addressed the following
petition to Major General Hearsey :
(Translation.)
To the Major-General commanding the Barrackpore
Division.

The humble Petition of the faithful Officers and Sepoys of
the discharged 19th Regiment Native Infantry, from
Pultah Gbat,
Shewetb,—That your humble petitioners' regiment has
been raised nearly 100 years, since which time no disturb•
ance has occurred; they have always done their duty faith-
fully ; and have marched on service wherever they have been
ordered, but, unfortunately, through the advice of some
wicked men, on the 26th February the regiment committed
a very great crime, for which tha government issued the
following order:—" That they were to march immediately
from Berhampore to Barrackpore." Accordingly, we
marched, and arrived at Barraekpore on the 31st March,
1857, where we were punished by receiving our discharge
before the whole force, after which we confessed onr fault
to the Major• General, and also before our arrival at Bar-
rackpore we agreed, in case we were pardoned, to become
a general service regiment, and go wherever wo were
ordered. _ _

Should our fault be pardoned thr lugh your kindntss.t. we
hope to be re-embodied, and accounted as faithful servants,
because this is our first fault, and the government may be
kind enough to pardon it.
We shall ever pray for your welfare.
March 31, 1857.

(Translation of Major General Ilearsey's answer to
the above.)
I have received the petition of the officers and sepoys of
the late 19th Native Infantry, and understand all that you
have written; but until you can give me full information of
the rank and names of those people who have misled you,
either threugh bribes or any other way, and can prove and
c nfirm it by good testimony, I cannot intercede for you.
If you do, as I say, I will intercede with the government
as much as lies in my power. But government will do as
it seems best; and in my judgment, without doubt, some
cne has misled you. You ought not to hide the nadle s and
ra tk of, or be on friendly terms with, those who have
ruined your livelihood, because they have brought you
and your families to the dust. I give you this advice as I
feel for you ; you can do what you like ; I can neither do or
say anything more.

Various general orders and minutes of the
Governor-General in Council are printed with

these papers. In a minute dated the Ist of April
warm approbation is expressed of the mode in
which the disbandment of the 19th Regiment was
effected by Major-General Hearsey. If offenders
in other regiments could be similarly punished,
" much," said the Governor-General in that minute,
" will have been done to arrest the spirit of mistrust
and insubordination which undoubtedly has been
actively spread of late in some of the military
stations of Bengal, but which may, I believe, still
be kept within and eradicated by firm and
temperate treament."

BOMBARDMENT OF CANTON,

DEMAND OF COMPENSATION FROM

ENGLAND.

BERLIN, JULY 27.

The Governments who are parties to the Z.)11-
vereiri collectively claim from England, through
tlio morlinm of Prns.,ia, an inclemnity for the
losses sustained by their subjects at Canton—the
bombardment having taking place without pre_
vious intimation to their Consuls.