The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-30 00:00:00

THE BURMESE AND KAFIR WARS.

( From the Times.)
The intelligence which reached us yesterday from the
seat of war in the Burmese Empire, and also from the
eastern boundaries of the Cape of Good Hope, happily
warrants a belief in the speedy termination of these
harassing conflicts. In Asiatic monarchies the usual
consequence of pressure applied to the State by a foreign
enemy is a revolution in the palace, and Sovereigns, ac-
countable to no'other law, are commonly made the 'vic-
-t_ iws weir own resumption and obstinacy by the
fit nearest .relatives.
catastrophe of this sort appears to have occurred at the
Court of Ava. The Golden-footed Monarch, who was
inaccessible to the remonstrances of the British Govern-
ment, and who defied the languid attacks of General
Godwin, finds himself surrounded by more dangerous
enemies. A younger brother, who is said to be sup-
poked by the army, has declared against the Sovereign,
and it may reasonably be hoped that the next accounts
will apprise us that the Prince whose obstinacy has
led to these hostilities is deposed. His successor
will probably mount the throne with the assent of
the British Government iu India, and he will inaugurate
his reign by relieving the country from the severe hard-
ships which the blockade and occupation of the great
rivers have inflicted on the population. Such, at least,
is the ordinary course which events have followed in
similar disputes with the potentates of the East ; and,
although no confidence can be placed in the assurances
of an Asiatic prince who ascends the throne under such
circumstances, it is probable that the prime movers of
the war at the Court of Ava will have fallen in this dis-
turbance, and that the first care of the new Government
will be to restore peace. The provinces of Pegu and
Bassein have already been evacuated by the enemy, and
the Burmese forces are more concentrated in the vicinity
of the capital. Ambassadors had, however, already ar-
rived on a pacific mission in General Godwin's camp ;
and there is strong reason to hope that the principal
labour of the campaign is at an end.

Unhappily this gratifying improvement in the general
state of our affairs upon the Irrawaddy is clouded
by an incident of a very melancholy and distressing
character. We knew, from the last advices, that
an attack was about to be made upon a strong
position at Donabew, where a marauding chief,
with upwards of a thousand followers, had occupied the
square of the Pagoda, and ejected the head man of the
town, who had been faithful to the British throughout
the war. These marauders, or dacoits, as they were
called in the army, had already given the forces some
trouble, for they occupy a country covered with jungle
and intersected with creeks, in the unknown delta of
the river. Very recently a squadron of boats and
a steamer had been sent against them, and had
returned with loss, never having seen the enemy,
though they ascended a narrow creek, staked in
several places, and were exposed to a galling fire. It
was therefore thought necessary to renew the attack on
these formidable robbers with a larger force, and Captain
Granville Lock, the flag-captain of the Winchester, who
had already shown the greatest activity and ability in
maintaining the communication by water between Prome
and Rangoon, determined to lead this enterprise in per-
son ; for, since his arrival on the station last autumn, he
has been foremost wherever there was an enemy to be
encountered or a service to be performed. We learn
from the brief tenour of the telegraphic dispatch, which
gives us' no further particulars, that the result of this
attack proved most unfortunate. It was repulsed by
the natives with very severe loss, amounting to
no less than 88 killed and wounded out of a
party which cannot have exceeded 300 or 400.
Two guns were also lost ; and, as if to render this disas-
ter the most painful occurrence in the campaign, it was
marked by the death of Captain Loch himself, who com-
manded the expedition, and of Lieutenant Kennedy, of
the Fox, while several other officers and mates were se-
verely wounded. We must await the arrival of the
mails for further information on the causes of this cala-
mity •, but throughout the service there will be one feel-
ing of deep regret for the premature loss of these gallant
gentlemen. Captain Granville Loch had found oppor-
tunities to distinguish himself even during a period of
general peace. In 1841 he was posted, and in the
following year he went out in the Dido to serve as a
volunteer on the staff of Lord Gough in the war in
China ; he was also present with Sir Henry Pottin-
ger at all the conferences which terminated that
war ; and in 1846 he obtained the command of the
Alarm (26), then on the West India station. In this
capacity Captain Loch conducted a very spirited expe-
dition in boats up the river San Juan de Nicaragua (the
scene of one.of Nelson's early exploits), which enabled
him to adjust the differences then existing between the
British Government and the Nicaraguan Republic, ,and
to dictate a treaty with that state. For this service he
received from her Majesty the Order of the Bath, upon
the recommendation of Lord Palmerston. In 1852
Captain Loch was appointed by the Duke of Northum-
berland to the command of the Winchester, 50, which
was ordered to relieve tfie Hastings as flag-ship in the
East Indies. So that, by a singular coincidence, his
short but brilliant career ,was chiefly remarkable for his
services in river warfare on the Yang-tae-Kiang, the
San Juan de Nicaragua, and the Irrawaddy. Shortly
after his arrival at Rangoon • Admiral 'Austin died
of cholera. The Commodore remained with the
squadron off the coast, and the coniMand of the
river devolved principally on Captain. •Loch. In
spite of an oppressive climate and a harassing.enemy he
kept the communications •oPrio: and succeeded, against
enormous odds, in compellingitfie Burmese to retire, in
great measure, from the stockades and positions they
held on the banks. In one of these desperate but ob-
scure encounters against a hand of barbarous enemies
he is now reported to have fallen at the head of a fright-
ful number of his comrades and men, on whose courage
and steadiness he placed unbounded reliance, for they,
too, knew their leader ; and, though no death can be
more glorious than that of a British officer who falls in
the command of seamen and troops, and in the dis-
charge of his duty to England, we are painfully re-
minded by such an occurrence at how great a price the
warfare between civilisation and barbarism is carried on,
for Captain Loch wanted nothing to complete his fame
but a nobler enemy and a more conspicuous field of
action.
These considerations, which the loss of such officers as
Captain Loch in Burmah, and Major Wilmot, with
many others, at the Cape, naturally suggest, increase
our satisfaction at the probable termination of these fatal
campaigns. At the Cape, it appears that Governor
Cathcart has not only subdued the tribes on the frontier,
but, what is of more importance, has closed the disputed
transactions with them. Mosheish is at peace rEassuta
land is tranquil ; Sandilla and Macomo have retiretrbe-
yond the Kei, and announced their submission • and
peace and amity have been restored between the-British
Government and Kreili; with the Kei for a boind.arY•
These are by far the most complete accounts' we
have yet received of the discomfiture of the enemy,
and, in spite of the distrust with which we cannot
but regard anything like good knews from British
Kafraria, it seems more probable than it has ever
done before that the War is at an end. We still learn,
indeed, with some apprehension, that the Governor
has resolved to convert the Amatolas into a military
settlement, on a system which seem analogous to that
of the military frontier of Austria ; but it is, perhaps,
necessary to guard that mountainous region from again
becoming a fastness and retreat for predatory bands of
Kafirs, and we hope the sturdy farmers of Southern
Africa will be induced by allotments of Crown lands to
hold this position. At any rate, this is the last time
that England will submit to the cost and loss attending
the employment of a large army in a war against
savages for the defence of a territory utterly worthless
to ourselves. Now that the honour of the Queen's arms
is retrieved, and the power of this country vindicated,
the abandonment of these remote and-Unproductive pro-
vinces would be preferable to any attempt to hold them
on such terms. When we have placed the colonial
population of the Cape in the most favourable conditions
for self-defence, we have done all that we o'an reasonably
be required to do ; and, if that is not enough for their
protection, the next step must be to draw the colony
within limits in which a more compact population and
a greater proximity to the seat of government will
insure its tranquillity.

A WHOLESALE POLYGAMIST.—A fellow named Joseph
Wardle was, in September last, committed by the dis-
trict magistrates to Gloucester gaol, to await his trial
for bigamy at the spring assizes. It has since been as-
certained that the prisoner has married as many as six
wives, all of whom are now living—namely, one at
Mancher, two in Staffordshire, one in the Isle of Man,
the fifth at Birmingham, .an 4 the last at Dyniock.
Wardle's plan appears to have been to obtain a sum of
money from each newly-make bride;_and then desert her.
All_ the wives; is -beliefed, will be present at the
assizes:l---aintbrtan.

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. Farren.
Third Night of an entirely new Drama.
THIS EVENING, MAtten 30,

Will be presented SALVATORI ; or, the Pandit's Daughter.
Supported by Messrs. H. Marston, F. Robson, and W. Morgan (their
3d appearance here), G. Cooke, Kinloch, and Clifton; Misses
Anderton and H. Gordon.
To be tollo,s ed by the Farce of CATCHING AN HEIRESS.
To cone ude with the Ballet of THE DUMB RECRUIT.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. W. Cooke.
7 h,rd Night of the New Management.—New Dramatic and Eques.
Ulan Company.—New Spectacle and New Stud of Horses.

THIS EVENING, Melton 30,
Will be produced an entirely new grand spectacle, in three acts, by
Fitz! all (founded on principal recent hostile events in Kaffraria),
entitled A3fA KOSA. ; or, Scenes of Kafir Warfare; with new
scenery, costumes, and appointments.
To be folowed by SCENES of the ARENA.
o conclude with a POPULAR FARCE.
B ,x-ortlce open daily from Eleven to Four. Stage Manager. Mr.
W. West.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
T,IT3 DAT ----Morning 18 min. after 5 I Evening 41 min.aft. 5
To-MORROW—Morning 6 min. after 5 Evening 29 min.aft. 6