The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-30 00:00:00

OVERLAND MAIL

INDIA.

We have received intelligence, by the Overland
Mail, from India. The dates are—Bombay, July
25 ; Calcutta, July 14.
The following is the summary of the Bombay
Times :

" Though news via Madras from Bombay, to the
3d July, will have reached home a fortnight before
this arrives, we shall follow our usual custom of in-
cluding, in our monsoon summaries, the events that
have occurred since the preceding dispatch a month
ago. The :space, even thus stretched out, scarcely
supplies public events enough to provide matter for a
summary. Moolraj having been found guilty of the
murder of Messrs. Anderson and Agnew, and of
complicity before and after the fact, was sentenced to
death, but recommended to mercy as the victim of
circumstances. The punishment has been commuted to
imprisonment for life in Chunar fort. The advocates
both for the prosecution and defence are remarkable
for the eminent ability they display, especially the
latter, which is most eloquent. The rumours of
misunderstandings with Ghoolab Singh, and of an
advance into Cashmeer prove groundless ; so also
have the assertions that the Seikhs were unwilling to
join our service—they are entering rapidly. It ap-
pears from the Parliamentary papers that Lord
Hardinge had estimated the drain the conquest of
the Punjaub would occasion on our finances beyond
the returns it would yield, at half a million a year :
our frontier was believed by former Commanders.
in-Chief, Sir H. Fane, in particular, very greatly de-
teriorated. The state of the affairs of the Benares
bank has now been fully disciosed ; the assets, it is
said, will be sufficient to meet the claims of creditors,
but the shareholders will lose everything, their whole
capital is gone; the directors were the chief
borrowers. One of these, Colonel Pew, of the
Bengal army—a man who might at one time
have retired from the service on 10,0001.
a year—has just filed his schedule in the Court of
Bankruptcy, his debts amounting to 260,0001. in-
curred entirely by speculation. The scandals trans-
actions such as these occasion are thrown into the
shade by instances of monstrous gambling in the
army, under the most discreditable circumstances,
that have come to light—the two showing how
greatly a strong and firm hand is wanted to weed out
offenders, or keep within bounds indulgences which
tend so grievously to lead astray. The Governor-
General ar.d late and present Commanders-in-Chief
are solacing themselves during the hot season in their
cool retreat at Simla, far up among the hills. On the
22d and 23d of June a severe gale visited the upper
part of the Bay of Bengal, and was felt all over India,
the barometer sinking at Bombay and Madras nearly
as low as at Calcutta. Three vessels were disabled or
lost ; the Cabrass grounded and went to pieces—the
Victoria was wrecked, a number of lives having
on both occasions been lost. The influence of
the storm was felt all over India ; the barometer at
Madras, Hoshungabad, Bombay, and Kurrachee, and
we presume at Aden, falling simultaneously with that
at Calcutta. The Bishop of Calcutta had been suffer-
ing severely from sickness. At Bombay the rains are
advancing favourably, well up to 50 inches having
fallen since the 3d of June. Much astonishment
has been created by the refusal of the Board of Con
trol to allow Captain Ross, late master-attendant, the
highest pension of his rank. He has for fifty years
been almost continually employed the scientific
department of the service ep he bears a name as an
hydrographer second onlysto that of Horsburgh; and
his Charts and surveys have-be he means of saving
numberless lives and unconnAti fortunes.' Instead
of remaining master-attendant on the full emolu-
ments of his office while the duties were discharged
by a deputy, he retired as he found the infirmities
`Of years advancing, and has been requited with a
salary less than that of the youngest boy civilian.
Sir W. Gomm is still at Calcutta ; the accounts given
of the nature of his appointment are conflicting.
According to one of these he was directed to proceed
to India as Lieutenant General on the staff, with the
view of taking command in the Punjaub, and getting
rid of Lord Gough. This mode of superseding the
late Commander in-Chief would have been one of the
-'nst direct and unpleasant that could have been
imagined. According to another account, he landed
with the commission of Commander-in-Chief from the
Queen in his pocket, and was assured that he would find
that of the Court of Directors awaiting him; in place of
this, he found Sir C. Napier in his room. However
the matter may chance to stand, it is clear that the
amount of prevarication which has occurred on the
subject in Parliament is enormous. Hopes are enter-
tained that a company's officer—Sir George Pollock
or Sir 'Walter Gilbert—may obtain the command at
Bombay. Sir W. Gomm and Sir Joseph Thackwell
are spoken of. The Governor and Commander-in-
Chief of Bombay are in Deccan. Sir Henry Pottin-
ger is at Madras, Sir George Berkeley at Bangalore.
The Svigor and Nerbudda territories have been made
over to the charge of the Madras army, though the
matter has not as yet been definitively arranged."