The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-02 00:00:00

INDIA AND CHINA.

We (Times) have received by our ordinary semi-
monthly express from Marseilles our letters and
papers in advance of the Overland Mail, which left
Bombay on the 29th of January.
The following is the letter of our correspondent
at Bombay :
-

Since the dispatch of the last mail nothing new
of consequence has been reported from Burmah.
General Godwin's voluminous dispatches concern-
ing the relief of Pegu have appeared, and are any-
thing but creditable productions. General God-
win's own account of his manoeuvres before that
town are alone quite sufficient to show that he is as
incapable of handling troops under fire as of writing
correct English. " First, he tells us," says the
Calcutta Chronicle, "that he inclined to his right
in order to attack their left, which was their
weakest point ;" then "he changed his mind, and
determined upon attacking their right, because it
was their strongest ; then he would lead us to infer
that Major Seaton pitched into' the enemy's out-
Postexchangingfin musketry' with them ; then he
dispatched Major Seaton to attack the enemy's
right ; then he recalled him, thinking the point
aimed at too strongly guarded (all this, by the bye,
within 400 yards of the enemy's position); then he
paused to count his reserves, and to amire the
' interesting sight' of our little columns moving
up to this host of people so strongly posted, and in
a plain where every object was visible ;' then the
attack was made—how, whence, or by whom, we
are not informed; and, 'after the action the troops
rested in the shade of the tope for an hour."' The
general impression regarding these operations is,
that, notwithstanding the absence of artillery and
cavalry (for which deficiency he was himself only to
blame), he could have brought on a close action, in
which the Burmese would have suffered severely,
had it not been for the indecision he manifested in
altering his plan of attack two or three times when
within 400 yards of the enemy. It is said that
the Burmese right was so closely stockaded in rear,
flank, and front, that had he persisted in his ori-
ginal intention of attacking their left flank, which
was completely open, he would have hemmed in a
large proportion of the Burmese force ; whereas,
by attacking their right, he left the open end of
the position clear for their retreat. General God-
win states that the Burmese force he attacked were
known to be the flower of the Burmese army, and,
with the intention of conveying as high an idea as
possible of their courage, he says, that " some of
the men that were drawn up before him had been
killed on the walls in their assaults on Pegu." In
military circles, Major Hill's defence of Pegu is
much praised, and spoken of as the only brilliant
exploit of the war.
General Godwin left Rangoon for Prome on the
29th of December. No intelligence has been as
yet received of his arrival at Prome and subsequent
operations, but it is reported that the Burmese
force which threatened Prome, and the conquest
of which the General had reserved for himself, has
evacuated its position, and retired on Meaday.
Another rumour is current that there has been a
revolution at Ava, but it is not generally credited.
The expedition which I mentioned in my last as
likely to be dispatched by General Godwin all the
way by land from Moulmein, for the attack of
Shoygeen, has left Matarbar. The dispatch of
this expedition by so long a land route, through
thick jungles, against a place which can be ap-
proached by water by way of Pegu, within some
40 miles, is generally condemned. The com-
mander of the expedition, General Steel, is,
however, considered the most able officer of his
grade with the army of Burmah. The bri-
gade of elephants required for the Land carriage
of General Godwin's guns, in the expected
advance on Ava, are only now passim:,
Arracan. Major Maling, who is observing the
Burmese force occupying the Aeng pass until rein-
forcements arrive which will enable him to force it,
is making every effort to occupy the enemy's atten-
tion until he can pass the elephants along the rear
of the British posts. Unfortunately, throughout
the whole march of the detachment southward,
their left flank will be exposed to attacks from the
numerous pathways which diverge from the diffe-
rent passes. Major Maling has, however, rein-
forced the elephant escort by 300 of the Arracan
local battalion. The Burmese force occupying the
Aeng pass is stockaded on a ridge said to be 4,900
feet in height, the only ascent to which is along a
narrow spur completely commanded by the fire of
the stockade. They have two guns in position, and
are expecting nine more. Their position is impreg-
nable except by shelling. Major Maling has made
an attempt to turn it, but after two days' efforts
he found the jungle too dense to be penetrable.
Meanwhile his little force is suffering very severely
from jungle fever. The Governor-General is, how-
ever, shortly expected at Arracan, and will doubt-
less expedite the dispatch of the artillery that
Major haling requires. Sickness is on the increase
among our troops in Burmali.
The little war in Assam is over. The Thibetian
force being awed by the preparations made to re-
ceive it have not ventured on an invasion. Their
General has sent an humble message to the Com-
missioner, begging him to forward the head and
hands of the defaulting Thibetian that he is in pur-
suit of, and if that is considered objectionable, that
he will at least " report that the defaulter is dead,"
in order to enable his force and himself to return
to Lassa with credit and safety. This request has
been, of course, refused • and cholera is said to
have broken out among the Thibetian troops.
The north-west frontier is at present tranquil.
Sir Henry Lawrence, President of the Punjab
Board of Administration, has been appointed agent.,
for the Governor-General in the Rajpootanali
States, in succession to Colonel Low, transferred
to the Nizam's at Hyderabad, on the retirement of
General Fraser. The Nizam's financial difficulties
continue to increase and every sort of disorder
prevails throughout his dominions.
Mr. Wyatt, of the Bengal Civil Service, Judge
of Rungpore, has been suspended for corrupt prac-
tices. The Calcutta press blames the Bengal Go-
vernment for not having taken this step much
earlier, as it is alleged that the Rungpore Court
has for years past notoriously had the character
throughout Bengal, and among all classes "from the
highest to the lowest of " being venal and corrupt
almost beyond credibility." Cases of this sort are,
happily, very rare among the civil servants of the
East India Company, but it is the opprobrium of
that service that, whenever they do occur, the
offenders are either screened from inquiry, or else
let off far more easily than either the uncovenanted
or military servants of the State would be under
similar circumstances. For instance, about a year
ago, a high civil official in Bengal was convicted of
having directly, by letter, offered to sell the pa-
tronage of his office to a native gentleman for a
pecuniary consideration ; and though he was re-
moved from the service he wad allowed to retire on
his pension of 1,0001. per annum. Under similar
circumstances a military officer would have been
inevitably cashiered with every circumstance of
ignominy. Many similar instances might be
cited. In one of them, which occurred some years
ago at Bombay, a member of the civil service
of considerable standing, and holding an im-
portant political appointment, directed a very
young subaltern, in command of a detachment
about to proceed in pursuit of some insurgents, to
give them no quarter if he came up with them, and
the subaltern obeyed the orders, shooting the men
lie caught ; lie was tried by a court-martial,
cashiered, and utterly ruined. The Court reflected
very severely on the civil political servant under
whose orders the unfortunate boy had acted, but
they had no jurisdiction over him. He was merely
suspended for a few months, and declared unfit to
employed in future in the political department,
but he wastra
pnsferred to an equally lucrative ap-
ointment inthe revenue branch of the service.
A report
which
effect that the arrived by the last mail, to the
nyy,
befor©
Charter was to be renewed
for
for one r
ie o inordrer to give Parliament time
q y ar
inquiry the passing of the new
Act, has given universal
satisfaction throughout
India. The feeling is generalit among all classes, in
the service as well as out of that the Charter of
the last ode ears is altogether Ilsntastneitable to the pre-
Fent advaed and advancing tlndia. The
witnesses already examined by parli
selected
are gene-
rall v thought to have been purposely
e
those interested in the maintenance of the
from
I forward by this
t?:eresent
order of things.
tion of the Christian inhabitants of CaleuttaPaetid-
Beneul regarding the renewal of the Charter. Then
petition confines itself to pointing postponement
out existing
evils
and a huees, and asks for year's of
the Charter to give time for fuller inquiries regard-
t 114111 ; hut it leaves the remedy to the wisdom
of I':. ilitnneent. The Friend of India, which well
merits the high character for moderation and talent
given it by Mr. Willoughby, 'in his evidence
before the Lords' Committee, and
stipendiary, has which, being
conducted by a Government,
a leaning in favour of the existing state of
general
things, is compelled to admit the
correctness of the allegations contained in
the Calcutta petition ; but states, in extenuation,
that no allowance has been made for the all hist:
perable difficulties of the Indian Administration.
The following is from the Friend's review of the
Tuition

A,..., "That there is much truth in many of the statements
i"‘•9lotrr
..:141.gainsay.. The police, more especially
.of the
-,....P 43.1117.11e.t..45 in a most lamentable, if not disrepu-
A, Isirk,i,i,c el.lc,`ll. Great big Zemidars collect armies of
iiir--;41,01,f,.. an;r4Criv:f.lay, almost under the eye of Govern-
- -k1\1:7111:"...:4,4--Jiusi.,-
,th....',, taklN4the_ peace of the districts around Ca1,..5.:......,_..„...,
,..s.:......,_..„..., „K., beZenejte or does not, reach them.
, or were, of nightly occur-

1411 S