The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-16 00:00:00

THE ISTHMUS OF DARIEN.

The first general meeting of the directors of the Atli'v
tic and Pacific Junction Company was held yesterdafi
The directors present were—Lord Wharncliffe al)
Messrs. J. S. Brownrigg, T. R. Crampton, Edward CrP.
per, J. C. Ewart, W. J. Hamilton, H. T. Holie,
Montoya, M. Wilson, L. Haslewood, A. Wilson, Capt.
Mackinnon, and Admiral Moorsome. The solieit4.r'
Mr. Charles Freshfield ; the engineer, Mr. Lionel Gir
borne • and the official auditor, Mr. J. E. Colony,*
were also present, together with the secretary, Dr. Bli„
After Sir Charles Fox had given an outline of his Nyu,iie
proceedings in relation to this great undertaking, "
d
communications with her Majesty's Government, 111.0
with that of the United States, were laid before t'it
meeting and cordially received. It was announced %
the 24,000/. caution-money will be duly paid to the crew
of the republic of New Granada with the Bank of Pic
land, and it was unanimously agreed that the azt,„11110
of 75,000/., required for preliminary expenditure, f
reasonable and fully justified by the clear prospect
remunerative results on the ultimate capital. The ev'"ea
was also informed that a communication is to be exPe°t
in the course of a few days from the British Ambassaa;/,
in Paris, through the Secretary of State for Foreign at
fairs, to fix a day on which the Emperor of the Freen.
would give an audiende to Sir Charles Fox, and a ,
tation from the company, in whose arrangementsi,,'" 0
hoped, that France and Russia, as great nism7,:ia
powers, will co-operate with the British and Awe"—
Governments.
The necessary resolutions for the further proceedin, thg:
of the board of directors were then agreed to, and 4,10
,meeting separated, after the usual vote of thanks t°
noble chairman.

CAPTURE OF THE AENG STOCKADE.

( From the Bengal Hurkaru of Jan. 27.) :
Connected with the subject of the frontier passes of
Burmah, and more particularly the formidable one
en
Aeng (possession of which we lately reported* had hoer,
obtained by our troops), it is with great pleasure vre,..eile
able to communicate to the public the following deraae
of the bold and soldier-like attack upon the stockt
erected upon the Narigan-hill, whereby its capture ~0
effected, and the most formidable position in the Pass
secured to us.
In October last, it was reported to the commanding
officer ih Arracan, that the Burmese had taken posseon
sel
of Narigan, on the summit of the Toomer Mountainfij,,
and were erecting a stockade. Captain Barry
ordered to advance against them. and, if practicable'
attack and dislodge the enemy. From some defieien4
of information concerning the route intended to
followed • with the purpose of turnip the enemy
fiwaansk,oblihgiesd ptoartryetirebe. caSnluebseqduisZdtlye,rgedp:osririairdttsivl:
omuatdae
sotfrotuhge irmeipurfaorcotiocmabouilti,tyaeufdtaaksionpgpityhe irp and
mortars being sent down from the Presideonfcry7 It
however, since been carried by the coup de main _
another officer, whose dashing conduct, we think, 21
_Tye
Isc:t.
deserves the marked approbation of Government. IT. _
may, perhaps, fall into slight error in detailing the
transactions, because our information is indirect, but
believe the general accuracy of our account may be
lied on.
A chief named Nakeekay had described the eneln..3l_!
position, leading our officers to suppose that To
might advance to a point commanding a flankinCj;a
,on the stockade. It was necessary to be certa'
of the truth of this man's evidence, and obtainrg
knowledge of the nature of the ground and the geneer,
character of the enemy's defences. For this Tiers
pose Captain Nuthall was sent under ° in
from Major Maling (commanding the troops
Arracan) to gather information previous to an attet!-IJ'ie
being made to force the Aeng Pass, and take the stock;te
on the Na4gan-hill by a flank movement. The duty leo
accordingly undertaken, but followed with more cornp.,
results than had been anticipated, for within SIX dariot
Captain Nuthall's entering the pass (having ma the
one halt at Thorowa), he had not only reconnoitred
enemy's position, but was in possession of the stocks
;
itself. Captain Nuthall, accompanied by Captain Sn..„t bbed
land and a party of the Arracan Battalion, reThed
Thorowa on the Ist of January, where they awaited
the arrival of the Kyeng chief, Nakeekay, from
they learned that the Governor of Meng-doors 'cied
proceeded to attack Prome, after which he inteo%ss.
to return and invade Arracan by the Aeng Pe
It It had also been stated that the removal nr -be
head-quarters of the Arracan Battalion from
re-
neighbourhood of Aeng had made the enemy being
less in guarding their post. Every available man Ice-ell
collected at the advanced post under Narigan, the ta7" D.
was begun on the morning of the sth through the .1,0
gle, pursuing a line parallel with the Toomar mounts' ;
and so turning the enemy's left flank. At 9 s'ilbea
halt was made within about 800 yards of the pass,mie
the Burmah side of the Toomar range. C3P'ed-
Nuthall, accompanied by Nakeekay and two atteol.
ants, advanced to reconnoitre, putting these men sde
bush to watch whether any communications were 0130
between the Rurmese stockades of Tsetineng 1,30
Narigan, which appeared about three miles and a'mrt,
or four miles apart. Just before dusk the men vr,se,
moved up to within 200 or 300 yards of the P'.
so as to debouch upon the road and make a ree°
noissance before sunrise the following morning ; 00
the 6th they were under arms at 2a.m., but
strutted by the thickness of the jungle) did not fsa'i,
upon the road until after 4 a.m. Guided by Naketet
they then marched up the pass towards Narigan (di
,004
rather more than two miles), every one remaining ''''treat
perfectly silent, so that they could have beat are-ever
had their been a necessity, and their advance 13,w
have been known to the enemy. Shortly before übar
break they halted near the rear of the enemY'e re-
ricades. Captain Nuthall himself proceeded t 0 °r
connoitre them, and being enabled to survey the in to
through the interstices of a gate, he perceived that or
enemy were asleep, and capable of being taken by ato
prise. He immediately ordered Captain Sutheriantiate
advance in full force against the gate, at the same or
posting a body of men on an adjoining eminence, cid.
manding the road by which alone any enemy from b.,eh an
could approach. Sutherland with his men mal-
instant charge, and as they entered the stockade, thee
tain Nuthall fired a volley over their heads upon,veet
still sleeping inmates of the defences. The ePeo.
was paralysing : the enemy, so completely takeLeri-
awares, never for an instant rallied, but fled inung
minately, leaving Captain Nuthall in possession, hayed,
captured even their muskets, which were found 10t,„,e
but had been left behind, together with two
_STD..
howitzers, ammunition, the chief's pony, and severTec-
signia of? Burmese rank. The only accidents that
curred curred were three sepeys wounded, and Captain isl,„ °thigh
himself rather severely, the cap of the knee and bf
ed
bone both being exposed, the wound being cans bad
one of the bamboo spikes with which the Burmese
studded the approach.
, thiS
The prompt and soldierlike manner in ww;„b f the
' capture has been effected reminds us of some
have
daring deeds of the Peninsular War. /hlr:a antedd
no doubt the services of Captains Nut
Sutherland will have been properly rerearthat
to the Government. We are very glad to “e— r the
on his return Major Maling and the officers o'
68th Native Infantry gave a public entertaietation
to Captain Nuthall to testify their adtair:yed.
for the great tact and courage he had dislexcel.
We cannot too highly praise the judgment an
euend
lent tactics of this spirited officer, and we app in
in
military men will acknowledge it no small feathera an
a man's cap to advance several days' march
_tiat,o,lo
enemy's position to generate a formidable in(ft there
Pass, and fall upon an important stockade, withos,
being any suspicion of an hostile approach ; and
Jul
rapidity of marches, circumspection, and most cL joy
arrangements, wrest from a foe one of their 132°5,110er
portant positions—in fact, the most import:tutu: has
entrance into a country. We think many soon to
earned a C.B. for smaller services ; and we hope t eon-
congratulate Captain Nuthall on having his gaiktrnised
duct and most excellent judgment properly re 7—
and rewarded by Government.