The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-26 00:00:00

INDIA.
The following letter from Peshawur will be read
with interest :

" Camp Jumrood, April 13.
" We still lay encamped in the plain of Jumrood, in
.lee vicinity of the Khyber Pass, the small fort of Jam-
room being a little in advance of us; and here we are now
likely to remain for a month at least, owing to the site
selected fur a cantonment by a. committee composed of
military and medical officers assembled for that purpose
being considered at present in an uninhabitable state.
The committee consisted of Brigadier-General Camp-
bell as president, with Superintending-Surgeons Demp-
ster and Straker, Captain Goldie, of the Engineers, and
Captain Ramsay, Deputy Quartermaster-General, as
members. The substance of their report is said to
have been something like the following—not having
seen it, I do not vouch for the literal correctness of
what I send you The committee having assem-
bled and carefully examined the country in the neigh-
bourhood of Peshawur, are of opinion that a tract
of elevated land situated to the west of the Balla
Hisser or fort of Peshawur, and extending in a south-
west direction from the old Seikh cantonment, will
be found to be the most eligible site for a canton-
ment. Its centrical position, the command it possesses
of the surrounding country—more particularly of the
road to the Khyber Pass—its vicinity to the fort and
city admitting of one portion of it being protected by the
guns of the former, without the inconvenience of too
close a proximity to the latter, with other advantages,
viz., a salubrious situation, firm soil, and abundance of
water, combine to recommend it to the Committee
as the most favourable locality in the neighbourhood
of Peshawur.' The report then goes on to state that the
table land selected might be considered of too limited
an extent for a cantonment as it is usually planned in
the upper provinces of Lulls,- - but, .94 it „livid appear
essential for safety tliat the "'buildings should
laid out in a compact form, and with regard to be-
ing easily defended, the committee did not anticipate
any disadvantage to arise therefrom. We should have
removed to the new cantonment long ago had it not been
that on measuring the place selected the Quartermaster-
General found that, owing to the ground being too limited
for an encampment, although sufficiently large for a can-
tonment, he would be obliged to pitch some of the tents
for the troops on a low swampy piece of ground, which
would not at all answer. The Sappers and Miners are
busy clearing away all the old ruins of houses, and stop-
ping up all watercourses, as no irrigation whatever is to
be allowed within a mile at least of the cantonment, for
fear of malaria arising. This was strongly recom-
mended in some notes appended by the medical
members of the committee above detailed. It is
said that Dr. Straker recommended that a per-
manent committee, composed of the senior surgeon
of the European troops, Bombay division, and the
senior surgeon of the native troops, Bengal division,
with two assistant-surgeons, one from each division,
under the superintending-surgeons should be ordered
for the purpose of bringing to the notice of the Briga-
dier from time to time anything they may deem neces-
sary fur the health of the troops and prevention of disease.
This has been sanctioned by Brigadier Dundas until the
cantonments are reported habitable. Dr. Straker, in
accordance with this order, has been away at Pesha-
wur for the last three days on committee duty
daily, with the other medical men above mentioned.
It is thought the 31st Bengal Native Infantry
will be housed for the summer ;in General Avitabile's
house, the 60th Rifles in the Residency, and the Ist
Bombay Fusiliers in Sultan Mahomed's house. The
remainder of the force will stay in tents choppered over,
the artillery going into the fort. The troops are in
excellent health just now, and sickness appears to be
on the decrease. The average number last week
in the Bombay force amounted to 4.43 per cent.,
that in the Bengal division being 5.40, or nearly
per cent. more. The Bombayers at first suffered
largely from diarrheee, which was probably principally
owing to the re-action of the system occasioned after
the excitement of their late incessant marching, and
then on their arrival here leading a life of idle-
ness. Exercise seems the most easy and certain
remedy for and preventive of this disease. We at
first on joining Sir W. Gilbert's camp here appre-
hended great molestation from the Afreedees or
hill tribes, our encampment being in rather close
proximity to the mountains, which rendered straying
about to any little distance in that direction anything
bat safe. Officers were prohibited riding further than
the fort of Jumrood, and were directed on all occasions of
doing so to be armed. Several murders and thefts of ca-
mels were committed, notwithstanding all the precaution-
ary measures adopted; three camel-men were on one oc-
casion killed, and on another the mountaineers were
walking off with 500 camels in open daylight. They
came down in such numbers that the small guard of
Slade horsemen, who are always over the camels when
they go out to graze, deemed it inadvisable to attack
the maurauders, but one of them galloped into camp,
and informed Lieutenant Malcolm of the cir-
cumstance, when he, with a body of his men,
instantly started off in pursuit. I believe they had a
short but sharp contest with them, in which two of
the robbers kissed the dust, and a number were
wounded and captured. They succeeded in retaking all
the camels, and in addition brought in a large number of
their cattle. These Sinde horsemen are so deservedly
made and thought so much of that they eagerly plunge
into every danger with the greatest nonchalance, and al-
ways manage to come off, as they deserve, victorious. Re-
cently another murder was committed on a Naick belong-
ing to the baggage corps. Nine men have been appre-
hended on suspicion of being its perpetrators, and as it
was deemed illegal to try them by a military court, they
have been handed over to the civil power, and are at
present undergoing their trial. The other night a
man of the Fusiliers
on the outlying picket,
had occasion to leave his guard, and left his
firelock along with the others, as he imagined
he would have no need of it. While going along
,
he noticed two men (natives) walking behind him at no
great distance, but as they were coming from the direc-
tion of the camp he took no further heed of them thinking
they must be camp followers. lie had hardly sat down,
however, when the ruffians made for and attacked him
with swords. One of them inflicted a severe wound on the
poor fellow's arm, which he had raised to ward off a
blow aimed at his head. He would doubtless have been
murdered had his cries for assistance not been heard by
his comrades in the guard tent, who ran to his rescue.
The robbers on seeing them approach, made off in the
direction of our own camp, and effected their escape by
getting into our dooley -bearers' lines,
after which no
trace of them could be discovered. This led to the be-
lief that the intended assassins were none
other than our own camp followers. Next
day, accordingly a circular was issued to the effect
that all the dooley -bearers in the division were to mus-
ter at four o'clock P.M. at the field hospital, for the in-
spection of the Brigadier and superintending-surgeon.
It was arranged that as soon as the whole of them had
left their lines, each regiment was to post sentries
around their huts, and on no account to permit
anything to pass out, while an officer and
a small party of men were to search them for
arms, &e., as every one of them had either one or more
swords, while others had matchlocks, jinjalls, Sac. This
was accordingly done, and an immense number of arms
of all sorts were seized. In one way I pity the poor
followers if they are not allowed compensation for the
weapons of which they have been deprived, as it is well
known they scrape together every fraction they can to
procure for themselves some means of present defence and
future trophy ; while, on the other hand, it is well known,
though of course it cannot he proved, that camp fol-
lowers are in nine cases out of ten the perpetrators
of the murders and robberies laid at the door of
our enemies, not only in this campaign, but in every
one in which we ever have been engaged in India.
Many of your readers will remember the deeds of
blood committed by the followers of our army in
the first Affghan campaign, and for which the
Afighans on all occasions wreaked the direst vengeance
on them, as witness the sight presented in the Bolan Pass,
where some hundreds of Bengal camp followers, chiefly
women, were found by the Bombay column on the side of
one of the mountains in a sort of cave literally hewn to
pieces. Ido not mean to excuse the Bombay followers,
but those of a Bengal army are at least four times as
numerous generally as ours, and as they cannot all have
pay from Government, they turn their hands to nay-
thing in the shape of plundering which bolds out a
large chance of profit with a small probability of de-
tection. Besides this, there is no doubt they often
settle their private quarrels on the road by giving one
another an inch or two of " cowld stale," knowing
well that the murder is laid to the charge of the
enemy and that no inquiry is made into the matter. Al-
together, the measure adopted of disarming all our camp
followers is, I think, an eminently judicious one,
though most undoubtedly they should receive a
fair recompense for their loss. Peshawur is, I think,
without exc o
eption, ne of the finest towns I have ever
been in in India : the streets are wide, and the house,
extensive and lofty. On going into the main baz tar
the houses or shops are so built that a beautiful
toe
circle is formed in the centre, where one can prozne-
t ae aun
to r
g odeo,
i on ofn
withnude up and down when tired looking at the goods laid
out for sale: then there is a row of mulberry trees in
front of the shops, which sets them off to great advan-
tage.
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nothing
utmost
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o t
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another these
t hcei silkr(
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in another posteens, &c., and so on—everything ap•
p
there are the public baths (or, as they are called, the
humaums.') It is delightful to visit these. You aro
put into so many attitudes, and the method they adopt
appears to bo so ancient. The only thing which
annoys a European is that they scrub one so unmer-
ciful, as if the dirt of a century's accumulation
nt least were engrained in one's cuticle! After
the bath they give you a drink of iced fulouda'
(I think it is called), when you are taken into ano-
ther room, where a barber is in attendance to brush
your hair and shave you if you require it; and all this
for the small sum of half a rupee, The climate up
here is indeed very changeable. The second night
after our arrival at this place we had a great whirl-
wind and dust storm, and shortly after that a heavy
fall of rain, accompanied with a great deal of thunder
and lightning. During the last week the weather has
been I think still more changeable, the first two days
the thermometer in a tent being 90 degrees, while for
two days it rained incessantly, and reminded me of

the monsoon in Bombay, the thermometer stand-
ing no higher than 60 degrees. On the evening
of the sth instant we had a most awful thunder-
storm ; it threatened rain towards evening, and about
eight o'clock it came down. The thunder is generally
louder here than I have ever heard it anywhere else,
but that night one clap in particular was the loudest
and most terrific any of us ever remembered, and
not a few were frightened out of their wits. A
tent was struck by the electric fluid, and one
man and a horse were killed on the spot, nine others
being severely burnt, one of whom has stnce died. Ru-
mours are afloat that we are to receive a donation of 12
months' field batty for the Punjaub campaign, and six
more for driving the Affghans in the Khyber Pass; but
this I suspect is too good to be true. Each regiment is
sending in a drawing of the medal we are to get, from
which I suppose the Governor-General will select the
one most to his taste. It is, I believe, to be a handsome
affair; when it will be issued to us Heaven knows.

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Paris papers of yesterday.
The Moniteur publishes the following telegraphic
dispatch from Civita Vecchia :
" CIVITA VECCIIIA, 23D JUNE.
" ADMIRAL TRRHOUART TO THE MINISTER OF MARINE.
" General Oudinot writes to me as follows:
" From the Trenches, 22d June,
Two u'clock, A.M.
"' The assault took place last night at eleven o'clock.
Three columns have scaled the breaches made in bas-
tions Nos. 6 and No. 7, and the curtain which unites
them. Our troops marched resolutely, and carried the
positions without great loss. Up to the present moment
the field-hospital has only received two captains and
eight or tehvmen. ' The gabions placed at the entrayse
gorge of the two bastions is in a state of great forward-
ness. In short, the whole of the operations have been
most satisfactory.
"'The Austrian troops evacuated Alessandria on the
18th of June.'"
There was a rumour current in Paris yesterday
that CHARLES ALBERT was dead. We do not attach
much credit to this rumour. Intelligence has been
received by the Peninsular Company's steam• ship,
direct from Oporto to the 20th, at which date
CHARLES ALBERT was reported to be recovering from
a severe illness.
The Government has lost no time in putting into
rigorous execution the law on clubs passed by the
Assembly on the lflth. DUFAURE, the Minister
of the Interior, has issued the following circular on
this subject to the various Prefects of Departments in
whose districts elections are to take place :
"Monsieur le Prefet,—The Moniteur of yesterday
contains the law on the clubs and other public meetings
voted on the 19th June by the National Assembly. I
consider it necessary to explain to you my ideas as to
the object of that Liw, and on the manner in which you
should cause it to be executed.