The Sun.
London, England, 1855-11-03 00:00:00

THE OVERLAND MAIL.

(From the Bombay Times of Oct. 3.)

As the season opens the perennial disorders on
the highland border whiolt the rains had suppressed
beCome resumed, and we begin once more to pay a
further instalment of the inevitable penalty of hav-
ing a mountain frontier at all. Late at night on
the Ist Sept. a force under Brigadier Chamberlain
marched from Peshawur. Henderson's Punjaub
infantry and three companies of Green's Regiment
first marched for 10 or 12 miles down the valley.
Passing into the first range of hills they traversed
the hollow where the village of Sunderbund stands,
then crowning the highest hill which overlooks Nus-
sem-ki-Ghurree, they awaited the arrival of the
second detachment. This consisted of Cooke's
Rifles, with an artillery officer in charge of a supply of
gunpowder bags. Teey left about midnight, and
after a march of about 15 miles, reached their des-
tination and halted. The third column consisted
of the remainder of Green's Regiment, two mounted
guns under Lieutenant Sladen, and four guns of
the Peshaevur mountain train under Captain
Brougham ; they were commanded by Brigadier
Chamberlain in person. They marched in the
track of the first column, and joined it two hours
before daybre4k. This last body was followed at
an iuterval of some miles by two of Bruce's guns
and a detachment of Jacob's Cavalry under Cap-
tain Fraser. They were intended to cover the
descent of the main force down the slope of e
second range of hills. The Brigadier having
pushed on with two mountain train guns and
part of Green's Regiment, left 200 men of the
same corps with guns in the valley behind. The
attack on Nusserreki-Ghurree was commenced a
little after daybreak, the enemy retiring from the
only tower of any considerable strength on the first
discharge of our artillery ; the village was then set
fire to by the infantry and burned. The village of
Sungur-Ghurre, on the crest of the hills on the
right, had meanwhile been destroyed by Major
Cooke, the enemy retiring before a shot was fired.
The mountaineers had prided themselves on the
impenetrability of their fastnesses and the impreg-
nability of their forts, and so admirable were our
arrangements that they were completely taken by
surprise. The strongholds were all blown up,
four hundred cattle were seized, and the crops
around destroyed. By mid-day the troops were all
on their return, followed by betwixt two or three
hundred of the enemy, on whom our guns were
from tune to time directed. The force had suffered
much from heat and want of water. The total
force amounted to about a thousand men, of whom
eleven were killed and seven wounded—the enemy
are supposed to have had twenty-five killed or
wounded. While the British troops were thus
engaged, Khwaja, Mahomed, a friendly Kuttuck
chief, entered the hills with some two hundred
men and destroyed several villages to the right of
Major Cooke's column. The village Nussem
was the great rendezvous of the thieves, and as
it was almost inaccessible directly, the garri-
son not calculating on the range of our guns, for-
got that it could be turned. There is yet a strong-
hold in the same direction, still deeper in the
mountains, about to be destroyed so soon as fresh
supplies of ammunition are received. The Santhal
insurrection is dying out. Disturbances at pre-
sent seem quieted in Oude, the malcontents not
being yet quite prepared to hurry on the impend-
ing annexation. Allis tranquil throughout British
Burmah ; the Embassy has reached Ava, and
the King has appointed the new moon as the most
auspicious period for their reception. The dis tur-
bance in the Mabee Kaunta, mentioned in our last,
turned out, as we expected, a mere local squabble
of very small•account. Mr. Counolly, collector in
Malabar, one of the most able and amiable members
of the service, and who had just been appointed
Provisional MemLer of Council, has been assassi-
nated in his own house, by a band of fanatic Moplahs.
Troops having been immediately summoned out,
the whole of the assassins, five in number, were
overtaken and destroyed. This is the second time
within these two years that the Madras Govern-
ment has been deprival by sudden death of the
services of the highest talent —just as it was about
to become available—the civil service boasted.
The great Mabomedan festival of the Mohurrum,
when the fanatics often exci e themselves to deeds
of violence, had nearly passed in relect tran-
quillity, but for the exception Bolarunt affords.