The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-31 00:00:00

OVER LAND MAIL

INDIA.

Letters from Bombay to the 20th June inclusive,
Bombay journals to the 19th, and Calcutta papers to
the Bth June, have been received.
The London Mail of the 7th April reached Bom-
bay on the 6th, Madras, Meerut, and Delhi on the
12th, Calcutta on the 14th. and Colombo on the 18th
May. The mail of the 24th April reached Bombay
on the 25th May, Delhi, Meerut, and Calcutta, on
the Ist June. The Peninsular and Oriental Com-
pany's steamer Haddington, with the mail of the
same date, reach Point de Galle on the 29th,
Madras on the 31st May, and Calcutta'on the sth
June. The mail of the Bth May reached Bombay by
the steamer Ajdaha, on the sth June, in the unpre-
cedentedly short space of 27 days and eight hours
from London.
The following is a list of the names of the passengers
who reached Bombay on the morning of Thursday, the
25th of May, by the steam frigate Moozuffer:—Com-
mander Campbell, 1.N., and servant; Lieutenant W.
Wylde Brown, 29th Regiment N.I.
The followitv, is a list of the names of the passengers
who reached Bombayb on the morning of the sth inst.,
by the steamer Ajdaha:—From Suez: Mrs. Elsam and
a European lemale servant; L. Farrant, Esq., Bombay,
C. S.; Captain Grimes, Madras Army; and Mr. Bad-
den. Second class: Mr. Ernest David.
The following is a list of the names of the passen-
gers proceeding to Suez this evening by the steamer
Alchar:—Dr. S. Sproule, Bombay army; and Mr. James
Ignacio Cordoza.

-0- -
A correspondent of a morning contemporary writes as

- -
BOMBAY, JUNE 19.—The news by the present mail is
of more than ordinary interest. The Punjaub, formerly
the scene of so much turbulence, has, after a couple of
years of tranquillity, again become the theatre of very
important events. Of the murder of the British Com-
missioners, Mr. Vans Agnew and Lieutenant Anderson,
who were sent by the Resident at Lahore, with an escort
of 500 Seikhs, to receive possession of the province of
Moultan from its governor, Dewan Moolraj, and
take measures for the installation of his successor,
you will already have been informed ; and the
authentic details of the circumstances attending
this disastrous occurrence showing, beyond the
possibility of a doubt, that the Dewan was a
consenting party to the butchery of our unhappy
countrymen—will also no doubt have reached your ;hands.
It would seem that the Queen• Mother, Ranee Chunda,
till recently confined at Shaikhoopra, a place about thirty
miles from Lahore, Dewan Moolraj of Moulton, and some
people at the Seikh capital, had for some time been en-
gaged in forming a plot, the object of which was to corrupt
our native troops, and with their aid to rise upon and mas-
sacre the English residents, and gain possession of the
city. The Ranee supplied the money, or a great part of
it, required for this desperate enterprise, and it was
distributed by :her Moonshee and confidential agent,
a man named Gunga Ram. Khan Singh, an ex-colonel
of artillery, and Golaba, a trooper, were in league with
the Moonshee, and; there were a number of others of
lesser note who were to have given aid in carrying the
conspiracy into effect. It appears to have been the
original intention to seize and confine, not actually take
the lives of, the British Commissioners, and it was
thought that, as soon as intelligence arrived of their
capture, a strong force would infallibly be sent off to
Moultan, in order to effect their liberation, when, taking
advantage of the withdrawal of the troops, the con-
spirators would be able, without difficulty, to carry out
their ends. Things, however, turned out somewhat dif-
ferently to what had been anticipated. The blood-
thirsty Seikhs at Moulton were satisfied with nothing
short of the lives of Messrs. Agnew and Anderson; and
no immediate movement on Moult= was consequently
resolved on. The conspirators had not been sufficiently
cautious in their operations, and their plot was disco-
vered. A correspondent of the Delhi Gaztate gives the
following brief account of their plans:—
" The plan decided upon was this. That on the 13th
of May a certain number of men who were to be told off,
ten to each officer's bungalow or quarters—who on the
tiring of a gun, announcing that entrance had been made
into the city, were to massacre every European. The
Sepoys, who had been bribed to open the gates in two
or three different quarters of tfiv town, were it) make an
apparent resistance by firing blank cartridge at the as-
sailants, who after the murder of the British officers,
would have pillaged the city, and made themselves mas-
ters of our guns and ammunition. They would then
have easily raised the standard of revolt, and numbers
would have flocked either to Lahore or Moulton, and
joined the rebels."

No doubt, from the time the plot had been brewing,
the arrangements were pretty minute and well matured ;
it will probably be a long while, however, ere they see
light in their full monstrosity of conception and capacity
for mischief. Three men of the Irregular Cavalry under
Major Wheeler, namely, Shadee Khan (Woordee
Major), Neeaz Mahomed Khan (Duffadar) and Golam
Nubbie Khan (Lance Duffadar) had been early informed
of their plans, and two of them appear to have attended
their meetings (of which they had many) pretty con-
stantly, and thus became aware of all they proposed
doing. The Woordee Major, however, made another
confidant, in the person of his commanding officer, Major
Wheeler, and the latter in his turn communicated what
was going on to the Resident at Lahore, Sir F.Currie. Sir
Frederick at first refused to believe in the existence of
the plot ; but Major Wheeler having persuaded him to
institute an investigation, the whole of the facts became
known. No time was now lost in securing the plotters.
They were all taken at one of their treasonable meet-
ings, and on the 9th of May they were put on their trial
at the Residency. Khan Singh, Gunga Ram, and Go-
laba were found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. The
evidence, however, is said only to have proved " that
they had been intriguing with Dewan Moolraj, to throw
impediments in the way of the settling of the province
on the arrival of the political officers, and holding
out promises of support from :the Ranee to others,
should the plot be matured." The whole affair was
" short, sharp, and decisive." Condemned on the
9th, they were brought forth on the 11th to suffer
execution. The gallows were erected at the Delhi
gate. The 18th Native Infantry were under arms, and
two companies from every native regiment in garrison
and cantonment were called out to witness the infliction
of the sentence. The prisoners were seen talking to one
another at the foot of the gallows with much apparent
writer who was present states, that
on Khan Singh and Gunga Ram
but they should
being the will of God ; h
juunscto nc
beforeern,
that t e 7 might have wit-
said that they were " perfectly resigned to their fate, it
have wished to
be spared two days longer,
tahnedi r ea x ecu t
IICSiC
of the British residents on
course, the intended butchery
Ram,
who is described as
the 13th of May." Gunge,
d the tumasha, meaning by this latter _word, of
a thin spare man, with an expression of low cunning
his face," first ascended the fatal
ladder ; Khan Singh, "a burly coarse personsgelp
"
stamped upon
of about 40 years of age," followed him. 7rlaoitablSke
was respited at the foot of the gallows, in order t
might point out, as he had offered to do if his life were
spared, such of the Sepoys as had been corrupted by the
Ranee's gold. Khan Singh and Gunge Ram were
launched into eternity without a dissentient cry from
the spectators. It should be mentioned, however, that
but a very small number of natives were present. It is
said that the wife of. Khan Singh, jusebefore the execu-
tion, asked for the armlet of her husband as a family
relic. It was given her. She opened a spring in it,
took out a paper which it contained, tore this up, and,
swallowing the pieces, exclaimed, " You would have
given half the world to have seen that paper!" I know
not how much truth there is in this story. The con-
spirators, it appears, gave 22 as the number of our
Sepoys who had been seduced from their alle-
giance. Eleven only were indicated by the " ap-
ht have
e disaffection
discovered I t
prover," and of these as many as nine managed to
effect their escape by desertion The 50th Bengal
Native Infantry appears to.have been most deeply im-
plicated.is ,o f comumra course, impossible
haveaot
spread
h avat
.ob sayeTe
ah
eto
halfw treachery what a
what
t ex-
tent
we
a existed.a
by Thea G
actually
deservedly InoveenrnmofenWt hGeeeleare'rsalcoor
gave information of the plot, have been promoted, and
think, however, some pecuniary reward might have
been, with advantage, corps, who
at the same time bestowed
upon them. It is said a mess khansamah had been
bribed to poison our officers by drugging their food; but
I apprehend there is no truth in tlis statement.
When the tidings of the Mo 1 u tan outbreak arrived,
Sir F. Currie, instead of
sending
off a light force (we
have three " moveable brigades"), so as _ to crush the
rebellion in the bud, and punish
its leader, wrote to
Calcutta for instructions—thus losing
that opportunity
for striking a prompt and effectual blow, which a bolder
man would have esteemed it his highest fortune to en-
joy. When the answer came it appears to have been
considered too late in the season for any movement, and
the rumour ran that the Earl of Dalhousie was coming
up after the rains to superintend matters, and that the
Commander-in-Chief would assemble a magnificent
army of thirty thousand men with a huge battering
train, to smash Moolraj in September or Oc-
tober. Indeed, it appears evident that the extent and
formidableness of the insurrection, and the power
of the Dewan to do mischief, were, from the be-
ginning, absurdly overrated. Probably the discovery of
the Lahore conspiracy contributed chiefly to the
alarm, not to say panic, which prevailed. It is cer-
tain that Sir F. Currie took strong measures to rein-
force the garrison at the capital, ordering up two native
regiments from the Jullunder, the head-quarters, and
right wing of her Majesty's 14th Dragoons from Feroze-
pore, and a troop of Horse Artillery from Loodianab,