The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-04 00:00:00

NEPAUL.

More bloodshed at Katmandoo! The 31st of October
again witnessed the destruction of human life—the
sufferers, on this occasion, being the Maharanee's adhe-
rents. The murder of a dozen or so men of note in or
near the Durbin. or Hall of State, would appear to be
considered a matter of small consequence amongst the
Seikhs and Nepaulese. Several of the most influential
of the chiefs have been imprisoned, though probably un
connected with the bloody transaction. A son of a
general is said to be amongst the latter, and a recently
appointed governor amongst the slain. All was quiet
at the residency. Major Thoresby had not yet joined.

JEYPOOR.
The Delhi Gazette affords the following communica-
tion on Shekawattee affairs ; it is the best explanation
which has yet been offered of the causes of the late dis-
turbances in that district :

" We have been favoured by one in every way capable
of affording sound information, with the following re-
marks on the late outbreak at Shekawattee, which we
prefer giving as received to using them according to the
permission accorded, in any other manner. It affords
us much satisfaction to find that the outbreak has been
put down, because any disturbance of the public peace in
that part of Rajpootana, where so large an amount of
-transit traffic exists, must be very injurious to that
traffic. The only-point on which our correspondent en-
tertains opinions which we trust are not shared by the
authorities, is that regarding the alleged ill effect
of the presence of the Shekawattee brigade, in which we
totally differ from him, with all respect to the excellent
opportunities which he evidently enjoys of forming a
sound judgment. We have every reason to believe that
the force under Major For; ter contributed, for many rea,-
sons, to the maintenance of good order, although it is un-
deniable that the resolution to relieve the Rajpoot states
of the charge of that force, adopted by Lord Ellenbo-
rough, was undoubtedly a wise measure:—` There are
some peculiarities in the laws of inheritance among the
Sheikhawuts, which must always render that province of
more difficult management than any other portion of
Rajpootana of equal extent. The founder of the Sheikh-
bawut houses ordained that there should be an equal divi-
sion of land to each of the sons of a family, and this law
has obtained and still obtains in each of the houses' except
those of Khetree and Seekur, which have preserved their
possessions unbroken, any further than in making the
usual Rajpoot provision for younger sons, and both are
respectable chiefships, yielding three or four lacs per an-
num each. In the other houses a division of landed pro-
perty has taken place, until some of the sons are left
with only a single village, and some of them with only a
a single field ; a rule has since been introduced, disal--
lowing adoption, as it exists in other Rajpoot commu-
nities ; so that when a person dies without male issue,
his land reverts to the stock ; altogether, however, the
law of inheritance, thus amended by themselves some
generations back, has produced great disorder, leaving
whole communities of armed men, who have no other
profession than that of arms, without chiefs or rulers,
who are consequently ready to enter on any enterprise
holding out a promise of either pay or plunder. It was
this condition of things which led to the expedition into
Shekawatee in 1835-36, under General Stephenson, and
the result of that expedition was the fixing of a fouj
'khaneh on Rajpootana to the extent of three lace a year
re., 51,000 of which fell on the Sheikhawuts themselves,
and the /stationing of a brigade in their country, mea-
sures which were calculated to aggravate, rather than
heal the evil, since they did not strike at thelroot of it,
which can only be done after the present Naha' ajah
of
Jaipoor shall have attained his majority. The fon)
khaneh was remitted in 1813, and the cost of the
brigade was taken upon themselves. This with the re-
moval of the brigade, has had a very healing and sooth-
ing effect, and in the late insurrections the illegitimate
brothers of the Rao Raja of Seekur, and the Minister of
the late Rao Raja, although they had abundant com-
mand of funds, were only able to collect 300 men. The
late Rao Raja had, as his Minister, a person Famed Ram
Bukhsh, a foundling, who had risen to that office. On
death Ram Bukhsh plundered the treasury and the
jewels of the chiefship, and assisted three of his illegi •
timate sons, who are only entitled, among Rajpoots, to
a life provision, in usurping territory yielding 60,000 or
70,000 rupees a year, in which are four places of some
strength. Colonel Sutherland travelled the Seekur ter-
ritory in 1841.2, with the present Rao Raja Ram Pur-
tab Singh, visiting Seekur, Luchmungurh, Futteh-
poor, and Ramgur, his principal towns and commercial
marts, and witnessed the state affairs, although, I am
told, not then prepared to correct what was wrong.
On his return in March last from the Cape of Good
Hope, the Rao Raja met him at Ulwur, he being
a brother-in-law of the Maha Rao Raja Benee Singh;
thence they proceeded to Jaipoor, to which princi-
pality Seekur is a tributary and feudal chiefsbip. It
was there resolved by the council of regency to resume
• the lands which the natural _brothers had usurped; and

to make them a life provision, and the little Rao Raj a,
sending troops and ordnance against them, accompanied
Colonel Sutherland to Ajmeer. It was sound that the
places were too strong for his troops unaided to besiege
with effect, and eventually the Rao Raja from Ajmeer,
and Major Ludlow from Jaipoor, proceeded to the scene •
of operations; also troops and ordnance in considerable
numbers from Jeypoor. The insurgents made a feeble
resistance at one or two places, abandoning the others,
and fled into other countries. So ended this absurd
attempt at rebellion, for the great body of the Sheik-
hawuts were not likely to take a part in so illegitimate
a cause, were they not too much our friends, and too
much alive to their own interests, to take a part in any
cause which the authorities in Rajpootana demanded.'"