The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-27 00:00:00

S JULY 27, 1848.

is ordered to be paid off at this port without any of her
internal fittings or bulkheads being removed. She was
placed in commis ion in December, 1844, and was built
in 1838, by Sir Wm. Symonds.

THE CONSPIRACY AT LAHORE.
(From the Delhi Gazette, May 20.)

Extract of a letter, dated May 15 :

" The startling disclosure of a- plot to massacre all the
British officers and their families at Lahore, has, indeed,
as you may well suppose, caused a fearful commotion
and excitement amongst us, the more especially when it
appears evident beyond a doubt, that not only had it
been well organized and matured, but that it had been
hatching for more than two months, that several of our
own Sepoys are implicated, and that it was only disco-
vered and prevented by one of the conspirators' own
party, barely a week before the time fixed for the carry-
ing out their fearful tragedy.
" On Thursday, when Golahah was reprieved at the
very foot of the gallows, with the rope dangling over
his neck, he promised to disclose everything, and his
fear and trepidation on seeing his two colleagues placed
at the drop were too genuine and evident to admit of
any doubt but that he would act up to his promise. It
appears that the conspirators had met nearly every
night for some weeks to decide upon and arrange
their plans ; that Golahah, who was with one of our
native regiments at Moradebad, had relatives
in the corps, and being thus intimate with the
men, was employed as the agent to tempt them by offers
of high payment to act a treacherous part, and admit
the conspirators into the city. They were actually pro-
mising 60 rupees a month as their fixed pay, and money
was freely distributed by the Ranee's Moonshee as an
earnest of future remuneration. The plan decided upon
was this—that on the 13th of May, last Saturday, a
certain number of men were to be told off, ten to each
officer's bungalow or quarters, who, on the firing 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 the town, were to make an appa-
rent resistance by firing blank cartridges at the assail-
ants, who, after the murder of the British officers, would
have pillaged the city, and made themselves masters of
our guns and ammunition. They would then have
easily raised the standard of revolt, and numbers would
have flocked either to Lahore or Mooltan, and joined the
rebels.
" Singular to say, the only remark made by Khan
Singh and Gungah Ram, just before their execution on
Thursday, was to the effect that they were perfectly ' re-
signed to their fate, it being the will of God, but they
should have wished to be spared two days longer that
they might have witnessed the turnasha This would
show that they still expected the catastrophe would have
taken place.
"Another odd coincidence was that the men of the
65th Regiment Native Infantry, some of whom are said
to be more deeply implicated than any others, were
drawn up close to the gallows instead of on the high
road, and when they saw that Golahah was reprieved,
the guilty ones must have guessed that they were not
safe. That night one of the Sepoys in this regiment,
a Brahmin, deserted. This was reported to the
Brigadier the next morning, and at six o'clock,
P.M., the corps was paraded for the purpose of pick-
ing out the traitors. Two Sepoys were instantly
detected by the approver Golahah, who with his
I chains on proceeded slowly down the line, and strange to
say, in the presence of the Brigadier, Brigade-Major,
and all the officers of the regiment, three more Sepoys,
who had fallen in with the others, made their escape un-
perceived, and have got fairly off. Could this have oc-
curred without the connivance of their comrades? Now
happened a strange incident; the guard over the two
Sepoys who were picked out of the ranks were ordered
to load their muskets, and the prisoners, fancying they
were going to be shot to death on the spot, made a bolt
for it, and literally got several hundred yards before
they were taken, the officers who were mounted riding
them down!
" A Bunneah in the artillery, a mess Khansmah of the
Regiment Native Infantry, had previously been
pointed out by Golahah, and were apprehended in the
course of the day.
" On Saturday other regiments were paraded and ex-
amined; but, though none were picked out of the ranks
by the informer, seven other Sepoys from different native
corps have deserted, none of whom have been yet found.
It is only to be hoped that they will go to Mooltan, and
be promoted to colonels and commandants by Aloolraj.
This makes a total of nine missing, and two only in con-
finement. The number stated by the parties who first
discovered the plot was twenty-two—a small number,
you will perms sty, outAt eight re4irkent.s.
" The Woiaeo Mawr nth. Lalice lluffedax of
Wheeler's Regiment of hvgularTavalry (7th), and one
of the men in the Guide cops under Lieutenant Lums-
den, who disclosed the conspiracy in the first instance,
were publicly rewarded on Friday morning by Sir F.
Currie, in the presence of the whole regiment. They
received as 1; hillus a handsome sword, a brace of pistols,
shawls, and bags of money, amounting in all to about
2,100 rupees in value, divided in different proportions
among the three. Sir F. Currie made them a very ex-
cellent speech, complimenting their fidelity. They well
deserve a memento from every officer in the garrison
and cantonment, for, humanly speaking, in all probabi-
lity to them we owe our lives."
We do consider that the number of culprits, 22, out
of about six thousand men, is small considering the
temptation to which the Sepoys were exposed, and the
fact is highly creditable to the native soldiery. Those
doubtless
directed
theto Light
have
evening
ahveel leadv th
conspiracy, hoa e: ri
Dragoonssoo assembledtul
fod c t
success
Aheesgas rnload4n
bt
implicated are said, with one exception, to be bad cha-
racters, in debt and difficulties, who thought this a good
opportunity of clearing themselves. Wo presume that
if the furnishing of the money actually paid to those
who joined the conspiracy, at the rate of two rupees per
diem, can be traced home to the Rance, that lady will
not continue very long an inmate of Shaikhoopoora, but
be sent to Benares, or, perhaps, ,to Chunar, to grace a
palace or a prison in our provinces with her presence,
on greatly reduced allowances. ller inclination wold
themselvesl
hettu hhtt
eehh
faeoi
other
rwnet
hitynhegelst
readinessri otdr
tofeei
nheragoueafl
a:t:
Irregular
usßaven,
Majesty'scaTrovnahvav oeeiersruey:t,
.setOrhen
e
at a moment's warning to act against a body of men sup-
posedand they proceeded the following morning in search of
are probably the men who were to have carried out the
them—with
details of t
that has taken place.

A report has reached us that the mess Khansmah
above alluded to has been found guilty of an intention
to poison the officers of his corps, and that he was to be
hung forthwith.

ICis stated in well-informed quarters, that the ar-
rangements for the " army of Mooltan" are already
sketched, and that it will consist of six troops of horse
artillery, two light field batteries, three European ca-
valry regiments, nine regiments of cavalry, regular and
irregular, six regiments of European infantry, and six-
teen native ditto, with a large siege train. The Com-
mander-in-Chief is to take command on the Ist of Octo-
ber. If operations uro really to be postponed so long,
and so needlessly, and with great dangers staring the
authorities in the face—a subject on which we shall
have a few words to offer in our next—we may as well
defer awhile the chapter on preparations we spoke of in
our last.

LAHORE, Matz 18.
" Last night Mr. Cocks, through the aid of the re-
prieved men, seized another of the conspirators. Every-
thing is coming out, and you will open your eyes as I go
along. If no one else has favoured you, I will first tell
you how we were to have been butchered. The attack
was to have been at the Delhi-gate. On the night of
the 18th, a party of men were to have been admitted by
some of our discontented Sepoys on duty at that gate;
the Sepoys were to have fired blank cartridge, throwing
away their balled ammunition; the party admitted were
to have been joined by some 20,000 or 30,000 men in-
side, when they would have commenced operations all
round, down to the Tausulee and l3uttee gates, which
were not to have been opened, but have remained shut,
for the purpose, as they said, of preventing our escape.
This was their arrangement. Now if you get a plan
of this city (Smyth has one in the History of the
Seikhs'), I will just show you what a foolish one
it was. The Delhi-gate is about half a mile
from the Tausulee gate, one European and two native
regiments on one side, and two native regiments on the
other side. Now, say they got admitted, and the Sepoys
commenced firing with blank cartridge, as agreed upon
—do they suppose these regiments would have been idle
all that time? Depend on it, at the very first shot every
man would have been ati his post, and all ready, long
before they could have got over 100 yards (if that, for
they would have to cut up the Bth Regiment first) of the
half mile, and by the morning, instead of being assail-
ants, they would have been assailed from every point. tI
give the fellows more credit. Now, if they had waited
till the force from Mooltan came, and assailed us at
every point, inside and out at the same time, we should
have had hard work. General Khan Singh did not
show much judgment. Now for the discovery, which
will startle you. A Russeldar of Major Wheeler's, or
7th Irregular Cavalry, had been suspicious for some time
that something was brewing, and immediately mixed
with the townspeople. He got scent of the plot, and
engaged himself as a conspirator. When he had fully
ascertained all their plans, he lost not a moment in tol-
ling his own commanding;officer, who instantly informed
the Resident. But, will you believe it?—he spurned the
idea, and told Major Wheeler that his man must have
been made a tool of. Fortunately Wheeler knew the
native character better than Sir Frederick (lid, and that
his man was to be trusted, and so persuaded Sir Frede-
rick to investigate each, when lo and behold! everything
turned out as represented by the Russeldar. Sir Frede-
rick, quite aghast, exclaimed, as most people do when
outwitted, • Who would have thought it?' Now for the
Sepoys. lam sorry to say the report is, that nearly all
the native regiments stationed here are more or less im-
plicated, but a few days will show the extent of it. Ido
not place much credit in the report, given as it is by
a man with a halter round his neck. At -all
events it should be taken cautiously. That there
are bad characters in every regimen t is certain
but that one man from every regiment should
attend the meeting every evening and represent
self as the representative of his regiment, is absurd.
No doubt one or two dissolute or inexperiencea boys

[PRICE SD.

will be found in the force here that have attended the
meetings; and if it can be proved that they have shown
any infidelity, hang them up at once, without any court-
martial, as an example. The report is Ciat the 50th
Regiment was under arms last evening whi n the Briga-
dier, with the Puliticals, and the reprieved men were in
attendance, for the purpose of pointing out the indi-
viduals said to be concerned in this conspiracy. Two
men were hit upon, and two others concerned made
their escape. The 18th were out this morning, but I
have not heard the result. The Moonshee hung in
company with General Khan Singh was employed by
the Ranee. The part she has taken in this business is
advancing the money. Some say upwards of two Lacs
of rupees have been disbursed."
There is an item not touched upon by any of our cor-
respondents, which we repeat on excellent authority, viz.,
that General Ventura was in Lahore incoy. at some time
during the disturbances, if we may so call them. A
French gentleman, who came with him from France,
ostensibly for the purpose of purchasing shawls, was
still in the Seikh capital on the 20th, after General Ven-
tura had a quiet hint from the authorities, who had early
notice of his unwelcome presence, to quit the place. Ile
is now, wo believe, in the neighbourhood of Umballah,
with the Raja of Patteoallah.
A correspondent from Ferozepore says that the Ranee
is most strictly watched, the house in which she is
located (near the Artillery Bazaar) having sentries at
every corner. She is said to be under the temporary
charge of Captain Maitland, of the 72d. The 51st fur••
nish the wing for her escort to Loodianab. An express,
received on the evening of the 20th instant, is said to
have conveyed orders for sending back a slave of the
Ranee's to give evidence on a fact recently discovered,
and it is added she left immediately by dark. Our cor-
respondent says the slave is the notorious Mungia; but
lon this subject he must permit us to express a doubt, as,
if we remember rightly, that lady was removed to
Kangra somewhere about the time her mistress was sent
off to Shaikhoopoora. It may be that the authorities
allowed her to return, at the urgent solicitation of the
Ranee. If they did, they did wrong.

CHARTIST MEETING.
Last night a meeting of the Chartists was held in the
City Theatre, Milton-street, Cripplegate, for the pur-
pose, as the bills convening the meeting expressed, " Of
bringing before the Legislature and the public:the des-
potic and inhuman treatment of the Chartist victims."
The names of Thomas Waltley, Esq., M.P.; W. J. Fox,
Esq., M.P.; Feargus O'Connor, Esq., M.P.; and Shar-
man Crawford, Esq., M.P. were appended to the decu-
ment as having been invited to attend and address the
meeting.
Shortly after the theatre was opened, every part of the
building became tolerably well filled, but the numbers
congregated outside the building was considerably less
than on the previous evening, when tho Irish Repealers
of London held their meeting is the same premises. Effi-
cient steps were taken by the authorities to suppress any
outbreak, in case the meeting should give rise to any dis-
turbance of the public peace.
Mr. DENNIS DwAINE was voted to the chair, and said
—These are eventful times in which we live. No man
has a right to embark in the fields of political agitation
unless he carefully weighs the line of action he is to
pursue. Never mind what obstacle may come in the way
—never mind about your friends who may be incarce-
rated in dungeons for having told the truth. lam an
unflinching Chartist at heart and soul. We Chartists
arc not anarchists. We do not want to overthrow pro-
perty, nor any institution that is useful to mankind, but
every institution that interferes with tho rights of the
people.—(Bursts of applause.) I should like to see Lord
John Russell, the Prime Minister of the Crown, come
into this meeting, and I would challenge him to produce
an assembly distinguished by greater order, than the
present. lam sorry to say that the Ministers of the
Crown aro little better than traitors.—(Cheers.) So
long as I have a soul I will ',ay and do everything in my
power to hurl from office that Ministry which has not
for its object the rights and liberties of the people.—
(Tremendous :cheers.) Last evening, when we heard
that eloquent man, named O'Kavanagh, the chairman, a
barrister, told him that he was using illegal language,
which has since been published by the press, when he
used no more illegal than lam now using. I challenge
any man who may have ransacked all the speeches of
Ernest Jenes to find anything deserving of the punish-
ment he has been ordered to receive.—(llear, hear.) I
claim of the Ministers of the Crown to solicit the Queen
to respite the sentences of these honest and*brave Men
who are now lying in gaol, the wives and fkailies of
some of whom are now present.—(Cheers.) Ater some
further observations he resumed his seat amidst loud
.;;fetters oripoi3OgAkre read frontokMr. Harney, Mr.
Wakley, 1G1.1)., and Mr. G. Thompson, M .I'. Commu-
nications were lso read from some of the Chartist pri-
soner& One was from Sharpe, dated Westminster
Bridewell, and addressed to his wife, complaining bit-
terly of the stringent rules to which he was subjected.
Another communication was from Ernest Jones, in which
he complained grievously of the oakum picking tasks
which he apprehended would greatly affect his vision.
Another epistle was read from Williams, which was
couched in similar terms.
Mr. I3EEzon then moved the first resolution,, viz.,
" That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is unjust and
unwarrantable to subject political offenders to the same
treatment as common felons, inasmuch as there is no
permanent standard of political criminality. Political
crimes in one age are deemed virtues in succeeding ages,
as is evidenced by the prosecutions in past times of men
who, although their teachings subjected them to prose-
cution by the rulers of those times, are now hailed as
martyrs to truth and right, and the true friends of •
human progression. This meeting, therefore, feels the
necessity of bringing the treatment of the men now con-
fined for political offences under the notice of the present
Government."

Mr. MERRIMAN seconded the resolution, and said that
Lord John Russell was now playing the same game as
was performed by M. Guizot and Louis Philippe, and
we shall never have our rights until we show our deter-
mination in the same way as the French did.—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution to the meet-
ing, which was carried.
Mr. SHAW then moved that a petition which was read
to the meeting, and prayed for a commutation of the
sentence on Ernest Jones and the other Chartist pri-
soners, should be signed by the Chairman and entrusted
to Mr. Wakley, for presentation to the House of Par-
liament

Mr. SIMMONDS seconded the resolution ; and on
alluding to the Government ho indulged in epithets
equally violent as did the preceding speakers. Some
boisterous proceedings then ensued, in which the chair-
man vainly endeavoured to restore order. Ultimately
the proceedings were brought to a conclusion by a vote
of thanks to the Chairman.
The police, both City and Metropolitan, remained on
duty until an early hour this morning ; but fortunately
no riot, nor any disturbance of the public peace, was
attempted.

OPTICIAL RETIEW AND INSPECTION OF THE CITT
POLICE FORCE ON THE ARTILLERT-GROUND.—Yea-
terday afternoon a grand review and inspection of the
whole of the disposable men from each of the six divi-
sions of the City police force, amounting to nearly 500
men, took place on the parade ground of the City Artil-
lery, Bunhill-row, in the presence of the Right Hon. the
Lord Mayor, Aldermen Johnson, Wilson, and Salomons,
the members of the Police Committee, the chief commis-
sioner, Mr. Daniel Whittle Harvey, and several of the
principal members of the Court of Common Council,&c.
The whole of the men, who were under the command of
the superintendent and inspectors of their respective di-
visions, have been for:several days under drill exercise.
On the word of command being given the whole formed
in rank, open order, and afterwards went through the
whole of the military field evolutions—marched in quick
time, wheeled into line, advanced and retired in open
column, formed close columns, leading divisions ad-
vanced, wheeled, and broke into squares, &c., in all 20
of the usual field military evolutions. At the conclusion
of the inspection the Lord Mayor expressed his gratifi-
cation and approbation of the admirable discipline and
efficient manner in which the whole of the men had gone
through their evolutions.
MEETING ON 'J LE CARLTON lIILL.—On Monday
evening about a thousand men, the great majority of
whom were Irish, held a meeting on the Carlton Hill,
for the purpose of expressing sympathy with their coun-
trymen in Ireland during the present exigency! Some
speeches were delivered, and some motions adopted in
conformity with the object of the meeting, but the whole
proceedings were altogether peaceable and uninterest-
ing.—Edinburgh Advertiser.
THE WEITHER.—The weather since our last has
been unsettled. Saturday was, throughout the il_aKt;
gloomy, and some showers fell in the afternoon.
ovenof Sunday was fine, but occasionally 11L oveather
cast ; the afternoon was showery, but the
y
cleared up towards the evening. Monday hig es
h_-
terday were both showery, windy d
most
et
eslte
g r
atemperaturephic
returns
rns yesterdayseem, was
indeed, to as only 6 6illys. dddeiegarteee s.an The
telegraphic returns seem, indeed, to indicato an un-
settled state of the weather in parts of the
kd
ng
dmoolnr ntion which
1 stshgeoywr,e feSr.: ni± nt es e;
v d ion'ebluocrgkh tyeSAe\r':
s t
clouydy; Newcastle, S.W. cloudy; York, S.W. fine;
t hull, S.W. cloudy;
S.W. hazy ; Normanton,i
Manchester,
.vWer.yfilifien; eL;iveLrepeoclo..l,
oSu. cl";
cSioWud.cy ;lopudeyrb;y.Lsin.‘evo_.n,finSe firnjoeic;esNteort,tinsg‘hva.m
Norwich, S. W. cloudy ; ; Yarmouth, S.S.W. fine ;
Lowesto; ffiel,aglbVy.,S.SN.
.Vw,erl37dcy ;
lotidyßi;rml‘initigshbarmo,t,
S.E. N. very
very
cloudy
Gloucester, S. rain ; London, S. rain ; Colchester,
S.W. rain ; Gosport, S.W. rain ; Southampton, 5,W,
rain ; Hertford, S.W. rain ; Chelmsford, S.W. rain.—
Manchester Guardian.
MAIL FOR THE SOUTH-WEST COAST Or AFRICA.—
Yesterday her Majesty's ship Pantaloon, was appointed
to convey mails on the Ist proximo to Maderia, Ascen-
sion, Cape de Verdes, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, and
south-west coast of Africa. Letters, &c., will be i n
time on the evening of the 31st inst. Letters and news..
papers to go by this vessel must bo specially addressed
—By her Majesty's ship Pantaloon.
The Countess of Westmoreland has gone to
Brighton, and it is understood will not depart for Berlin
to join the Noble Earl before the close of the next
, month.