The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-15 00:00:00

INDIA.

There seems to be a prevalent opinion that our pre-
sent embarrassments in India are owing no less to the
extraordinary character of the enemy than the unusual
conduct of the war—that the courage and skill dis-
played by the Seikhs have never before been
shown in the East, and that the strength of
position and enormous force of artillery upon which
they rely are incidents wholly unparalleled in the
annals of Indian campaigning. It is but common
justice to the conquerors of former days to state that
these conceptions are ensirely erroneous, and if the
reader can derive any encouragement from the fact
that we have often before been as sorely bested he will
be perfectly justified in taking such assurance. The
Seikhs, it, is true, have national peculiarities which
must always leave them troublesome antagonists, but as
far as bravery, obstinacy, and a sage choice of tactics
can make an enemy formidable, we have often encoun-
tered foes who would have given us just as terrible a
reception as wo found at Chillianwallah if the same op-
portunities had been left them. It may be relied upon that
one element only is necessary to place our armies in the
same relative position to those of the enemy which they
hold forty years ego, and thsit element has just been
supplied.
To lend a lively illustration to these remarks, we will
refer to some dispatches of the early part of the century,
which carry as much matter of warning as ofinforma-
tion, and which, though written in days when the Pun-
jaub was an unknown land, contain instructions ,for
conducting an Indian campaign which might have saved
us all the calamities we are aow so bitterly lamenting.
The correspondents are the present Duke of Wellington
and Colonel Stevenson. The enemy was Scinditsh, the
famous Mahratta chief, who, though his nation had just
experienced at Assaye and Laswarreo defeats as
decisive as those at Aliwal cud Sobraon, was never-
theless abroad with a force sufficient, like that
of Shere Singh, to call for all the vigilance and
activity which the English commander could exert.
We need not point out the lesson which might
have been recently learnt from the following advice:—
" There are three lines of operation to be adopted; to
attack the enemy, to stand his attack, or to
draw off towards me. I recommend that you should
adopt the first with caution, and only in case of necessity.
In respect to the second, it may possibly be worse than
the first. " * * In regard to the third, it might be
attended with risk and even loss." * *

These are certainly no pleasant alternatives, :and
a worse choice could hardly have been left us in
our camp at Heelah. But observe what comes next.
" Supposing that you determine to have a brush wi:h
them, I recommend what follows to your con-
sideration. Do not attack their position, because
they always take up such as are confoundedly strong
and difficult of access ; for which the banks of the nu-
merous rivers and nullahs afford them every facility.
1)o not remain in your own position, however strong it
may be, or however well you may have intrenched it,
but when you shall hear that they aro on their march
to attack you, secure your baggage and move out of
your camp. You will find them in the common dis-
order of march; they will not have time to form,
being but half-disciplined troops, is necessary for them.
At all events, you will have the advantage of making
the attack on ground which they will not hay.?. chosen
for the battle; a part only of their troops ly_i_u_s7
which,
gaged, and it is possible that you will gain an "
vic-
tory. Indeed, according to this mode, you
1 am of
For my part,
the field of battle yourself some days before,
meet them on that very ground.
received on the 23d
opinion that after the beating they n gahntdcmhoigohset
are nut likely to stand
of September (at Assaye), they
rash-
ness personified, and I acknowledge
I °uswtained on the 23d, even it
for a second; but the natives
ioefdgtehiis
schoouunldtrynoatreltke
see again such a loss.as,,_
(General Wellesley to Colonel
attended by such a gain.
The result of all these pru-
dent conclusions, an
co-operation of the d
ers, was speedily shown. The
British Comma) , d
at the first
Stevenson, Oct. 12, idsoth3e.
two )saff'acious
of.Boorhampore was evacuated
cdaettoarlsetritaytion, the forts of Asscerghur and Gawilghur
—the keys of the Deccan—fell into our hands; the con-
clusive victory of A. rgaum was gained at a very small
cost of life, and within six weeks from the date of the
correspondence above quoted the formidable Mahratta
Chieftain sued humbly for terms, and at length sub-
mitted to a treaty of peace, which through the remain-
ing twenty-four years of his life he never again seriously
disturbed.

If any person imagines that the enemy with whom we
had here to deal was in any respect inferior to the Seikhs
of the Punjaub, he may readily correct his opinions by
a reference to the most accessible histories of that period.
No people could fight better than the Mahrattas.
Though not natives of that northern climate which is
presumed by our correspondent " Civis" to have the ex-
clusive gift of conferring martial excellence, yet they
proved themselves as hardy, intrepid, and indefatigable
soldiers as we have ever found between the Sutlej and

the Indus. The battle of Mahidpore, in 1817, though
less famous than the actions of Lake and Wellesley,
might bear a comparison with the battle of ,Sobraon.
Their artillery trains were as powerful as those of Run-
jeet himself. One hundred and twenty guns ,were in
battery at Assaye, including no fewer than 7tr brass
pieces of the largest calibre; 72 were taken at Laawar-
ree, and 68 at Delhi; and when Colonel Monson in his
disastrous retreat was pursued by "Talker in person, the
Mahratta chief pressed upon our discomfited columns
with erthanl7spyiedeeegsreet cdaenpnroecniateNdcifrOn; want
tremendous n
ofew
force in 2n
of skill in using it. The Conqueror of Assays l:asa‘ thisoften
been heard to say that the French guns at Waterloo
were not better served than the Mahratta guntl on,,- the
banks of the Kaitna; his own dispatch on the occasion
records that the infantry " fought well and stood by their
pieces to the very last:" and we can confidently appeal
to any of the survivors of these scenes in proof of our
assertion, that General Perron and his adjutantt ciid as
much, to the full, for the discipline of ticindialfs.troops
as Generals Ellard and Ventura have done ':for the
Seikbs.
The truth is, that there is far less difference between
the characters of our present and former enemies than
we are fain to suppose, and than our intelligent corre-
spondent " Civis" is wont to presUme. A passage in the
dispatch above quoted will show him that his memory
deceived him, when he observed, that we have "never
before intrenched ourselves in the face of an enemy in
India." Indian campaigns demand as much skill, as
much forethought, as much military artifice, and as much forbearance as any others, and their almost uniform suc-
cess has been owing to the almost uniform completeness
with which these conditions have been hitherto fulfilled.
We have vanquished foes as brave, as wary, and as well
disciplined, though not perhaps as vindictive or as un-
tameable, and there is little reason for fearing that when
we bring the same qualities to the work we shall meet
with any other than,the same result.—Times.

THE GENERAL IN THE PUNJAUB.
(From the Spectator.)
The pleas on which Lord Gough justifies his sudden
but not overwhelming attack on the Siekh force appear
to be three—that Chuttur Singh was on the point of
joining Shere Singh; that the political agent had inti-
mated how desirable it was to inflict a blow; and that
the Siekhs were quite ready to fight, and if not attacked
would have been the assailants. These pleas would have
been conclusive, if the assault had been so—if Shere
Singh had been effectually routed before Chuttur Singh
came up—if the blow had been of a kind to crush, and
I not to encourage the Siekhs; but in the absence of such
results, the plea does not touch the case as it stands.
There is no doubt, a disposition to " run down" Lord
Gough, which deprives the unofficial accounts of the re-
liance that may usually be placed on concurrent testi-
mony from many sources; but some of the facts are evi-
dent enough even in the negative testimony of the official
dispatches; and other allegations may easily be put to
the test, since they turn upon matters of fact which must
be known to competent witnesses. Of this class is the
statement that Lord Gough had certain deliberate in-
tentions which he hastily abandoned in a fit of anger;
and that although he knew the ground, he made his at-
tack without taking sufficient pains to ascertain the posi-
tion of the enemy. These are statements on points of fact
essential to a true judgment on the transactions; and we
presume that they will be duly negatived or affirmed.
Other facts are more evident; the battle was begun
when the troops were in want of repose, if not of refresh-
ment. Now, victories have been won by soldiers just
off the march through the very surprise; but not when
the enemy was safely ensconced in a position whence he
could only be dislodged in detail, so that you might as
well have hoped to drive a barrel of oysters from their
shells by a coup de main. The sequel proved the mis-
take; the battle was one of detail, demanding persever-
ance and sustained vigour—an at-it-again spirit, a life of
heart which is wanting in men when they are tired and
hungry. It is perfectly plain, from the Commander-in
Chief's own dispatches, that he began his battle without
any comprehensive design, and that when it was going
forward he did not hold his army in hand; he neither
directed its movements nor commanded its obedience;
his very report as commander, in more places than one,
is conceived in the vague and doubting language of a
person imperfectly informed; and throughout the pas-
sages that mention the reverses, there is a tone implying
that it was all the fault of the subordinate commanders
—an inuendo couched in the language of compliment.
We all know what is confessed when the parent com-
plains that his children don't mind him—when the
workman complains of his tools. The same dispatch
unquestionably stretches the truth to imply a degree of
success not warranted by the facts: a small and doubtful
success, one which has filled every class in England with
dismay, was so described by the unlucky commander,
that the Governor-General was induced to celebrate it as
a great triumph.
The inferences to be:drawn from the soberest survey
of these self-evident facts are, that although Lord Gough
is as strong and tough in courage as ever he was, he has
not developed any faculties beyond those required in
every regimental officer, scarcely so much—he is Com-
mander-in-Chief with a subaltern mind; that he has not
faculty of invention, and is wholly at a loss from the
time when he comes in front of the army until the fight-
ing begins; that as he is most at home in the region of
hard knocks, he is always eager to get into it, trusting
to the fighting of British soldiers to bring him through.
That even his undoubted courage had tailed to inspire
his men with confidence, is rendered deplorably evident
in the flight of a native regiment at the moment of attack,
and the precipitate " retreat" of a Queen's regiment.
Lord Gough is a commander who inspires confidence
only in the enemy. He has been training the Siekh
armies into very efficient enemies. His capacity in those
respects must have been perfectly known to those on
whom his appointment depended. The history of his
careerillustrates the paralysing effect of the routine that
maintained him in a post for which his sole qualification
was the order of his name in the chronology of the Army
List. Every respect may be shown to a bravo and faith-
ful man, without sacrificing the safety of an empire to
the compliment. The same mortal influence swayed the
responsible authorities in the choice of a successor to
Lord Gough; the lot fell upon a man so little known to
fame of arms, that thero was a universal burst of the
question, " Who is Sir William Gomm?" And the only
information about him was that he had filled a civil post
with tolerable credit as Governor of the Mauritius. Po-
sitive alarm has at last induced the same responsible au-
thorities to follow the suggestion of public opinion, and
to select Sir Charles Napier; but the choice is made in
the most untoward manner; instead of advancing heartily
and choosing him in free will as the ablest man for a
given work, the Company reluctantly submit to him as a
political necessity. After squabbling with him about
prize-money—after trying to elude his claim to service
—after slighting and disgusting him—they again send
forth the impetuous dictator of Sindo with the idea that
he is decreed by fate as the dictator of tho Punjaub and
the redeemer of British India. It would hardly bo won-
dered if, after such suggestive experiences, the Napier
genius were to flower in some wild extravagance, and
the Cesar were to write home to his beloved sister Queen
m Victoria,eror of India.hovhe would vouchsafe a friendly alliance as
p

OLD FRIENDS.—On Tuesday evening last a supper
of the members of tho ancient order of Old Friends took
place at the No. 5 Lodge-house, Treasurer Thorp's, the
Black Horse, Kingsland-road, to commemorate the open-
ing of the Lodge at that house, when a select and highly
respectable party sat down to an entertainment of a most
bountiful description, and served up in Mr. Thorp's pro-
verbial good style. Secretary Burgess presided as chair-
man, as did P.S.C. Wills, deputy, and wore supported,
among others, by the following distinguished bro-
thers:—S.C. Sawdy, P.C. Gaylor, P.C.G. Perry,
P.C. Marrison, C. Cross, C. Davies, D. Cross, P.S.A.
Watson, S.A. Watson, and Brothers Smart, Thompson,
Burgess, and Curtis. After ample justice had been done
to the excellent fare provided by the liberality of the
worthy host, and the cloth withdrawn, the chairman, in
a few appropriate words, gave the "Queen and Royal
Family," which was received with great applause, atter
which the National Anthem was sung with much anima-
tion. The " Ancient Order of Old Friends, and may it
flourish," was then given from the chair, and received
with much cheering. The " Gift Funds," and " Friend-
' in-Need Fund," of the order followed amid much ap-
plause. The health of the Treasurer, Chairman, De-
puty, and of several other persons officially connected
with the order, were severally given, and acknowledged
in very suitable terms. The company
wthe
the presence of P.S.P. Smart, and P.S.P. Watson, of
" Loyals," who highly entertained the
thecompany—the other
i3y
his
ono with his humorous singing, and. h
formerly of the
P.S.C.Tg hhe Grout,
celebrated
eosluoetnbaa.
tnedaT The
Professorhilarityft.
Eund
was honoured
well expressed observations. C.upseamvelent by his " Boat-
" Loyals," also created much a
mofatnh'se Dela,ennnien'g" and nvtrihraeir—leagu d until a late hour, when
the company o evidentlyo
much
waps Ise assoeudr
source
with f there
en
Risley
e)y. tmh:as tasta'hoveuasePel
tv
oaarwdsgeet
op mdcaret unavoidablya
beforek e nf
tlletab
P.S.C.c ward,
British
t.
public with
Secretary
COLOSSAL 1 Alb TI •
new and extraordinary claims to patronage. We have
no doubt that many to our readers would hail with de-
light a plan by which they might traverse the borders of
the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers from the Falls
of St. Anthony to the Gulf of Mexico without the trou-
ble or expense of a voyage to America. This can now
be accomplished ; for the above gentleman has brought
with him from the land of wonders a Panorama four
miles long, depictivo of every inch of ground along the
line we have mentioned. As a work of art, we under-
stand, it is of tho highest class; but its magnitude alone
would command that success which we feel assured it is
destined to attain.

THE I:AiE HORRIBLE MURDER.—BRISTOL,
WEDNESDAY.—The adjourned inquest on the body of
the late Miss Jefieries was continued this day. The
only material evidence was that of a policeman, who de-
posed to a statement made by the prisoner in confirma-
tion of her former statement, that it was not she who had
committed the act, but another girl, who had lived with
Miss Jefferies before her, who had perpetrated the
hergav gave
guiltyt o
her
(the
enterprise.
e Td3h a e
crime from revenge at not having obtained a character,
adjourned.
ca enedd swohfo
portion o!,astheagpstron-
It is stated in the Cape of Good Hope papers of the
- • Wiwi
11th of January that the amount of coin in circu
in that colony is calculated to be between 400,0004 and
Town
500,0001., while the paper issues of the throe Capehadeosed with
banks represent 32,000/. The yearandant harvest had
every symptom of prosperity; an
abbad prevailed. In
been secured, and no fatal epidemicsg in the conduct of
consequence of some irregularcontrary
to stipulation,
Panda, the Zoolu chief, p
; wo
British
when cattle strayed into
Lieutenant-Governor of Natal
Lieu
men to recover them, the
o remonstrate with him
through agents, an
had considered it necessary t
d from what had subsequently trans.
seem
Aired it _
seemed was prepared in future to abandon d
* this unreeogni
se proceeding,