The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-02 00:00:00

I:TST.

THE HERO OF ,SCINDE AND THA
"QUARTERLY REVIEW." -

The following is a copy of the affidavit of Sir Charles
Napier, upon which Mr. Chambers, Q.C., grounded his
application to the Queen's Bench for a criminal informa-
tion against the publisher of the Quarterly Review.
Affidavit of Sir Charles James Napier, of Oaklands,
in the county of Hants, a Lieutenant-General in the
Army, a Knight Grand Cross of the most Honour-
able Military Order of the Bath, and Colonel of her
Majesty's 22d Regiment of Foot.—Sworn 17th No-
vember, 1852.
Saith he, deponent, entered the army in the year 1794,
and served in the Irish Rebellion in the year 1798, that
he served throughout the greater portion of the Penin-
sular war, in the West Indies, and also in the American
war, and a portion of the campaign of 1815: Saith that
he served for eleven years in the lonian Islands, and
during nine of those years he filled the post of Resident of
the Island of Cephalonia, and was entrusted with the entire
government of the island ; that in the year 1839 he was
appointed to the command of the Northern District of
England, and retained that post until 1841, when he re-
ceived the appointment of Major-General, commanding
the Poona Division of the army in the Presidency of
Bombay, and on the 26th day of August, 1842, he was
appointed by the present Earl of Ellenborough to the
post of Major-General commanding in Scinde and Be-
loochistan, and was charged also with full political power
in that country : Saith, that he retained the said office
until the 6th day of March, 1843, when he, deponent,
was appointed Governor of Scinde, and continued to hold
the ,aid last mentioned appointment until the month of
of October, 1847 : Saith, that in the month of March,
1849, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in India,
and retained the said appointment until the month of
February, 1851: Saith, that the present Earl of Ellen-
borough held the office of Governor-General of India
during the whole of the military operations in Scinde,
hereinafter mentioned and referred to ; and deponent was
subject to the orders of the said Lord Ellenborough
during the whole of the said military operations in
Scinde : Saith, that he arrived in Scinde during the
month of September, 1842, and shortly afterwards pro-
ceeded to Sukkur, the head quarters of the army. That
Scinde was then divided into Upper and Lower Scinde,
the former being ruled by Meer Roostum, and Meer Ali
Morad, under the title of Ameers of Upper Scinde, whose
capital was Khyrpoor ' • and the latter, by certain Princes
called the Ameers of Lower Scinde, whose capital was
Hyderabad. That these Ameers acted independently of
each other, but were all relations, the Ameer Roostum
being the eldest, and considered the head of the family.
That previous to this, deponent's arrival in Scinde, cer-
tain treaties had_ been entered into between the English
Government and the Ameers both of Upper and Lower
Scinde. That upon deponents arrival at Sukkur he
found orders from Lord Ellenborough, the then Governor-
General of India; in the following terms,—" Should any
Ameer or Chief with whom we have a treaty of alliance
and friendship, have evinced hostile designs against us
during the late events which may have induced them to
doubt the continuance of our power, it is the present in-
tention of , the Governor-General to inflict upon the
treachery of such ally and friend, so signal a punishment
as shall effectually deter others from similar conduct ;
but the Governor-General would not proceed in this
course without the most complete and convincing evi-
dence of guilt in the person accused."..."The Governor-
General relies entirely on your sense of justice, and is con-
vinced that whatever reports you may make upon the
subject, after full investigation, will be such as he may
safely act upon." That in pursuance of such orders and
instructions, he, this deponent, proceeded to examine, to
the best of his ability, into the truth of certain charges
which had been made by Major Outram, who had held
the office of political agent in Scinde previous to the
appointment of this deponent, both against the Ameers
of Upper and Lower Scinde, two of the charges which
were established to the satifaction of this deponent being
as follows,—one against Meer Roostum, of having cor-
responded with the Maharajah of the Punjaub with hos-
tile designs towards the British forces during the war in
Affghanistan, the other against Meer Nusseer Khan,
one of the Ameers of Hyderabad, of having urged the
chief of the tribe of Bhoogties to fall on the British
army. That the defence of the Ameer Nusseer Khan to
the charge against him was that his letter was said to
have been intercepted, and upon which the charge was
founded, was a forgery : Saith, that in order to obtain
the proofs of its genuine character, he procured an ac-
knowledged seal of the said Nusseer Khan, and com-
pared it with that which had been intercepted, measur-
ing each with compasses, and observing a difference, he,
this deponent, was then assured that the Ameers had
two seals, differing in size, in order to deceive, upon
which, he, this deponent, desired that the second seal
should be brought to him, deponent, by the person who
had brought him, deponent, the intercepted letter, but
he, deponent, was unable to procure it, and notwith-
standing that, he, deponent, was assured that the letter
was authentic, he, deponent, refused to accept the evi-
dence ; after several days, he, deponent, obtained an
authentic paper with the secret seal of the said Nusseer
Khan, and found that it was exactly similar to that on
the intercepted letter : Saith, that the only defence made
to the similar charge against Meer Roostum, was that
the letter was written by his Minister, and
not by himself : Saith, the deponent reported
to Lord Ellenborough every step that he had
taken, and he, this deponent, received from
the said Lord Ellenborough, the draft of a new
treaty, with directions from the said Lord Ellenborough
to present such new treaty to the Ameers of Upper and
Lower Scinde, and one of the clauses in the said treaty
was, that that portion of the territory of Upper Scinde
extending from Bhawulpore to Roree, part of which
called Subzulcote and Boongbarra, had been some years
before forcibly wrested by the Ameers of Upper Scinde,
from the Khan of Bhawulpore, an ally of the British
Government, should be given to the Khan : Saith that
he received a letter from the said Lord Ellenborough, of
which the following is a copy :
" Camp Buddee, Nov. 24, 1842.
" General,—l had the honour of receiving this morn-
ing your letters of the 17th instant ; you are much more
competent to decide on the spot, as to the authenticity
of the letters attributed to Meer Nusseer Khan and
Meer Roostum Khan than I am here, and I am prepared
to abide by, and to supportyour decision. 2d. Undoubtedly,
Meer Roostum Khan must be held to be responsible
for the acts of his Minister, Futteh Mahomed Ghoree.
3d. With respect to the escape of Synd Mahomed Shu-
reef, the evidence of Futteh Mahomed Ghoree having
assisted in that escape, seems to be as conclusive as any
evidence likely to be btained upon any point connected
with the conduct of a native chief. If a Government
were to wait in every case of suspected hostility, until it
obtained such proof of the hostile intentions, as would
be sufficient to convict the person suspected, in a court
of justice, it would, in most cases, expose itself at once
to disgrace and disaster. It is necessary to proceed
upon a strong presumption of intended hostility, where
hesitation might seriously affect great national interests.
Your force being' now collected, I am disposed to think
that no delay should take place in communicating to the
Ameers, the ultimate decision of the British Government,
with respect to the revision of our engagements with
them, which their conduct has compelled us to demand.
The heat is so great on the Lower Indus, that it is ne-
cessary to take advantage of the earliest period adapted
to military operations. To the employment of Major
Outram, as commissioner, for the adjustment of the
details of the arrangement, I have no objection, but as
you inform me that he is at Bombay, it will be impossi-
ble that he should return in time to be the bearer of the
letters you will address to the Ameers. His return to
Scinde, to adjust the terms of the final settlement, will
be a step not liable to misinterpretation. To wait for
his return would be a step which, to the Ameers, would
seem to evince hesitation, and would, therefore, seri-
ously prejudice the negotiation ; but really, of negotia-
tion there should be but little. We make a demand
we believe to be just and expedient, and we are prepared
to enforce it. If you should not have detained the bri-
gade under Lieut.-Colonel Wallace, it would be desir-
able to recal it, or, at least, to halt it, upon making,
yeur demands. lam very desirous of effecting our pur-
pose without bloodshed, and the presence of a prepon-
derating force may enable us to do this. The statement
you have transmitted to me, as to the relative cost of
coal and wood for the steamers, renders it impossible to
waive the modified demand as to the right of cutting
wood on the banks of the Indus, which you are now
instructed to make.—l have, &c.,
ELLENBOROUGH."
Saith, that in consequence of the aforesaid letter, he,
deponent, presented the new treaty to the Ameers of
Upper Sande, on the 4th December, 1842, and to the
Ameers of Lower Scinde on the 6th day of the same
December, which was accepted by all the Ameers, and
that on the 18th and 19th of the same December, a por-
tion of the troops under this deponent's command, pro-
ceeded to take possession of the aforesaid districts be-
tween Bhawulpore and Roree, and handed over the
districts of Boong Burra and Subzulcote to the Khan of
Bhawlpore, by the directions of the said Lord Ellen-
borough ; that deponent desiring the presence of a com-
missioner, to settle the details of the new treaty with
the said Ameers, and believing that Major Outram, who
had for some years previously to this deponent's appoint-
ment, held the office of political agent in Scinde, and
was personally known to, and on friendly terms with
the Ameers, would be the person most likely to induce
their acceptance of the treaty without bloodshed, applied
to the Governor-General, the said Lord Ellenborough,
to be allowed to name that officer, which request was
granted, and Major Outram received the appointment of
commissioner accordingly : Saith, that having on the
14th December, 1842, forwarded to the said Lord Ellen-
borough, certain letters of submission which had
been sent to deponent by Meer Roostum Khan
and Meer Nusseer Khan, of Hyderabad, he, this
deponent, received in answer thereto, a letter from the said
Lord Ellenborough, which was in the words and figures
following, that is to say :
" Ferozepore, December 20, 1842.
" General,—l have received your letter of the 14th,
inclosing the letters of Meer Roostum Khan, and of
Meer Nusseer Khan, of Hyderabad ; nothing said or
done by the Ameer's, will, in the least degree, alter my
general determination as already announced to them by
you. The continued collection of troops by the Ameers is
totally, inconsistent with their declaration of submission,
and I conclude that you will have already insisted upon
the dispersion of those troops, and have enforced your
requisition by a movement towards Khypore, should it
not have been at once obeyed.—l have, &c.,
`` ELLENBOROUGH."
Saith, that having received information that the Ameers
were collecting forces in great numbers, and that depo-
nents letters had been intercepted by armed bodies in
Upper Scinde, and that attempts were made, as he, de-
ponent, believes, to tamper with her Majesty's forces
as well as the 'native troops under his command, by per-
sons in the pay of the Ameer Roostum Khan, 'deponent
accordingly cautioned the said Ameer Itooattun

against the consequences of permitting such conduct.
Saith, that, by an arrangement between Meer Roostum
said to be above 85 years of age, and Meer Ali
Morad, a man about 39 years of age, his legal heir appa-
rent to the Turban, or Chieftainship, the former resigned
in favour of the latter the Turban or Chieftainship of
Upper Scinde, and the lands and possessions appertain-
ing thereto. That the Fort of Emaunghur formed a
portion of those possessions, and with the consent of Ali
Morad, and understanding it was full of armed men, as
sembled for war, he, deponent, marched against it with
a detachment of his army, and found it deserted, but
containing a large magazine of gunpowder ; and with
the consent of the said Ali Morad, he, deponent, de-
stroyed the said fort. That at Emaunghur, he, depo-
nent, issued a proclamation, inviting the Ameers of
Upper and Lower Scinde to meet Major Outram at
Kyrpore, as his, deponent's commissioner, or to send
vakeels or authorised agents to arrange and complete
the new treaty ; and fixed the 20th January, 1843, for
the purpose ; but the day was afterwards extended to the
25th January, 1843. That on the 23d of January,
1843, he, deponent, was rejoined by the main body of
his forces : Saith, that on the day appointed for the con-
ference, no vakeel came from the Ameers of Upper
Scinde, and those who came from Lower Scinde, with
one exception, had no power to treat. And he, depo-
nent, learned fromhis scouts, that large bodies of armed
men were hurrying towards Hyderabad ; nevertheless,
the vakeels of Lower Scinde were sent back with com-
pliments and deponent extended the time for treating
until the Ist February, 1843 : Saith, that Major
Outram, at his own urgent request, was sent to Hydera-
bad ; he, Major Outram, stating that he believed he
could brino. the Ameers to execute the treaty. And, ac-
cordingly, deponent saith, on the 28th January, 1843, he
wrote to said Major Outram in the following language :
" I have now waited long enough for the authorised
vakeels, and I think you may proceed to Hyderabad, if
you think so doing likely to prevent bloodshed and re-
concile the Ameers to the draft treaty, so far as being
amenable to it can be called reconciliation. lam most
anxious that they should not resist ; I am sure they will
not resist by force of arms, but I would omit no one step
that you or any one thinks can prevent the chance of it:
I think you may probably do good, and not the less for
my movements in that direction. I wish you would write
to Meer Roostum, to say that I will receive him with every
attention to his comfort if he comes to my camp :" Saith,
that on the 30th January, 1843, he, deponent, again ex-
tended the time for treating to the 6th February, 1843,
and on that day the deponent wrote and sent a letter to
the said Major Outram, in the following language :
" I have seen the Hyderabad deputies ; I have ordered
them to meet you there on the 6th of February, and you
are to tell me directly whether or not they have brought
the deputies of Meer Roostum and the others with the
prescribed powers ; if they have, I wait the result of
negotiations; if not, I march against them as an enemy on
the 6th. Iby no means feel authorised in granting this
delay, but I am willing to do all I can to save the mis-
chief that will fall upon these Ameers if they will not
meet you." That this deponent, on the 31st January,
1843, reached Nowsharra, on the borders of Lower
Scinde, and halted five days more. That deponent was
again assured that large bodies of troops were collecting
in his front. That the orders he, this deponent, had re-
ceived from said Lord Ellenborough, to disperse all
armed bands, were positive, and on the 6th of February,
1843, he, this deponent, advanced again (but only 8
miles) towards Hyderabad. That on the Bth of February,
1843, the said Major Outram reached Hyderabad:
That deponent marched to Sukkerand, 60 miles from
Hyderabad, and halted again at Major Outram's request,
in order to give further time to the Ameers to sign the
treaty : That on the 11th of February, 1843, he (this
deponent) received a communication from Major Out-
ram, assuring him, deponent, that no armed bands were
assembled, those who remained being only the necessary
attendants of the Ameers ; but deponent saith that on
the 12th of February, 1843, he, deponent, arrested 25
armed men, well mounted, and passing near to his, de-
ponent's, camp ; and on the person of the chief of such
armed men, deponent found letters from Meer Maho-
med, one of the Ameers of Hyderabad, urging the chiefs
of one of the most powerful tribes of Beloochistan to join
him with all their retainers, and requesting them, so
their forces of every description, and every disposable
soon as the said letter should be received, to collect all
person, and meet him (the said Ameer) at Meeanee ; and
stating that the Ameer in question would himself march
with a force of Belooches in that direction on the 9th
of February, 1843, and would halt to arrange his plans
at Meeanee : Saith, that on or about the 12th of Feb-
ruary, 1843, the Ameers of Upper and Lower Scinde,
with one exception, affixed their names and seals to the
new treaty : Saith, that deponent was informed that the
Mahomedan festival called the Moharem was then cele-
brating, and that it would be impossible for the Ameers
to assemble their warriors until the approaching termi-
nationa men
of that festival ; but that the termination of the
same would result in the assemblge
the number of from 60,000 to 70,000 man ; and oclighting to
the de-
tention of the letter before mentioned to have been found
upon the said chiefs, showed to this deponent that the
delay sought by the said Ameers was for the purpose of
being enabled to assemble the above number of men, and
deponent felt that the danger menacing deponent and his
small army, amounting to about 2,0E0 men, was imme-
diate and appalling, and could only be forestalled by ra-
pidity : That on the 13th of February, 1843, he, this
deponent, wrote as follows to Major Outram
" Sukkurunda, February 13, 1843.—My dear Out-
ram,—On the 29th of January, Meer llahomed's deputy,
with full powers, assured me his master was our friend,
and agreed to the treaty, and was intercessor for Meer
Roostum, with every protestation that his peace was
made for ever with us—he had no interest beyond friend-
ship in what he did for Roostum. On the 2d of Febru-
ary all these protestations were repeated, and on the 2d
or 4th of February he summons his whole force, of every
description, to meet him in arms. His prayer that I
would not march towards Hyderabad for fear of alarm-
ing Roostum's nerves, who was so kind, was capital.
These were Gholam Khan's words, who, as you see, was
also at work in his vocation as plenipotentiary. The
whole neighbourhood of Hyderabad swarmed with armed
Belooches, as does every village in this neighbourhood.
I will send this letter of Meer Mahomed to Lord Ellen-
borough ; and so you may tell him, if he chooses to play
this game, he must make up his mind to take the conse-
quences. The begging me to be quiet till the 9th, and
telling me I had promised to be so (which I never did),
was capital. They are neither bad politicians nor bad
soldiers in their way, but did not expect I would take
measures to get their letters. lam waiting anxiously to
hear of the signatures. Be so good as to make Sobdar
and our dear friends send up to us (directly) 1,200
maunds of flour, and 250 maunds of rice. Direct these
supplies on Halla, where I shall be on the 15th.—Yours
faithfully, C. J. NAPIER.—The Ameers must sign them-
selves' of course, as Lord Ellenborough does.-1 o'clock,
p.m., February 13, 1843.—Your letter of yesterday is
this moment come. I have not moved an inch, so what
the Ameers mean by 'my continued march' is, when
coupled with the papers I send you, very plain. I got
yours (asking me to halt one day) here, on the 10th in-
stant, and I have never budged. I intended to march
yesterday, when your second letter, asking for another
day, reached me (the 11th I think—l have no time to
look). Again I put aside all idea of moving, giving
three days where they had through you asked for two.
What was the speech of Hyatt Khan, the prisoner, to
me ?—' Why do you stop me ? There are 600 armed
lefn --ither Can nor will halt
e
within six coss
andhofe
wy
0. assembledu_
Tplenty
h jei
tr theyis very
village
w her e.p,lain
, and I will not be their
dupe. I shall march to Sywdabad to-morrow, and next
day to Halls, and attack every body of armed men I
meet, according to my orders, and which it would be
trifling to defer any longer, as no move has been made
for
rtrfaey the erdaye'and my sick-list increasing, it would be to
troops to delay another day ; and if the treaty
was not signed on the 12th, according to their promises
on the 11th, when the Ameers knew that I had halted,
thats
there-can remain no doubt of the fact that they have
been using every trick to get over the Moharem, as they
could not sooner collect their troops. I to-day send off
the letter cf Meer Mahomed to Lord Ellenborough. I
d
isk of their lives and my own
till not the eleventh but the
ous ground on which I stand. will see the very peril-
The troops have Lord
E
and I have delayed
twelfth hour. If men die in consequence of my delay,
their blood may be justly charged to my account.—Be-
froellmhenobp
character firstoe oum
a ygte ho's
an
last,
dearorder
officer,
friend,ffi
at
etoe
r n
r,
their youside ;
,eve me, yours, dtc.,

signatiftroorme the person pteerspoieneetso,
" C. J. NAPIER."
he, this deponent, received a
Saith, that the Atneers o:fHsyaidtehratbha,dat
oonbotarinabedoubtatchke
the treaties that they had
of which the follow-
twlr4hatmohl npdl inygeeytf had
d February, u been intrusted,
flo 8o
4t
3
lientgteirs-faroreptyh:_e said Major Outram,

"February 13th, 12 a.m.
s as possible,
cc my dear Sir Charles,—The Ameers have sent to say
that the Belooches have become quite uncontrollable,
have (term)
y
to
ihavenaagne
yt taken
wkeany . a
unlessn
TRhooeaoyt
ehtbuemogn
me
is
et
righted hteo leave
Koran ;
refuse
to obey them
as
soon
and give the advice from pure friendship, &c., &c. lam
told that immense numbers are flocking to the city, and
find that all the sheep and bullocks have been driven off
from this neighbourhood, whether by order to starve us
off, or by the people for fear of being plundered by the
Belooches, I know not ; but I have told the officers of
the
supplies,
pslit eeaerteor
enableto sen theduteot, hold h
otherte
side of the river for
agency if the Belooches
do attempt to bully, which, of course, I shall not quit.
—Very sincerely, yours, J. OUTRAM.—I sent up all the
men of the 22d, whom I had previously stopped, as I
find from Captain Conway, that the convalescents you
alluded to were expected to be sent down from Sukkur,
not those coming from Kurrachee. They left yesterday
n othmorning,er 100 and
ment h the Planetwould make now
utsh
securee onl
against all they steamer here.
A
Belooches in the country, as enabling us to keep our
communication with the steamer, which is 300 or 400
yards off ; so that, perhaps, it would be a good plan to
send the Satellite down to us with some provisions also,
as our supplies would, off course, be cut off. I find the
22d Light Company have only 40 rounds of ammunition.
I find Nusseer Khan (Khypoor) is still here. I should
hope you will not bring the army on this side of Halls,'
unless you hear of hostilities actually being commenced,
because I really believe the Ameers are doing their best
to disperse the Belooches ; and, if they do so, perhaps it
may not be necessary. A small reinforcement to us in
the meantime, I should think ample precaution."
Saith, that on or about the 15th day of February,
1843, the said Ameers attacked, with 8,000 men, the
residency in which Major Outram resided, and forced
him to retreat on board his steamer, and deponent, still
in obedience to Lord Ellenborough's order, to disperse
all armed bands ; and being informed that from 30,000 to
40,000 men were in his front, marched on, and on the
17th February, 1843, came on the Belooch army, drawn
up in position to receive him. That he, this deponent,
was immediately attacked by the paid Belcoch any,