The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-13 00:00:00

INDIA.

THE LATE BATTLES ON TO SUTLEJ.—The following
is an extract from a letter dated Camp, near Hurakee, left
bank of the Sutlej, January 15, 1846 :—" I suspect the news
by the last mail will have caused great excitement in Eng-
land, and opened the eyes of the directors to the formidable
powerot the Seikhs, and to the necessity of larger reinforce-
ments l'eing sent from England to replace troops which must
be brought from Madras and II inbay. Our army is watch-
ing the fords of the Stitlej and the Seikh bridge of boats
within four miles of this camp. They are in very great force
on the other side of the river, and think to pass the bridge
in fact, they have constricted a kind of tae da pont on this
side, defended by their heavy guns on the other side,
and it is too formidable tin- us to attack. The more time we
can gain for reinforcements, the siege train, and commissariat
supplies and carriage, the better. I doubt whether a suffi-
ciency can be got this year. Yon must send out 8,000 or
10,000 men to disperse the Seikh army effectually. We have
been playing at lon•,b-shots yesterday afternoon and the pre-
vious one, Cut littleharm was done. We have only one 24-
pounder, two 8-inch howitzers, six 18-pounders, and twelve
12-pounders here ; while the enemy have more than forty
heavy guns, with ight ones far superior to ours in numbers.'
TuE STATE OF INDlA.—(Eztract of a Letter.)—Nice
peaceable times we have truly here ; almost every station
in India emptied of troops, almost all of which are sent
towards the Sutiej, and by this time six months they will be
in the Punjaub, and dictating terms under the walls at La-
hore. We are so bare of troops that the slightest row could
not be quelled, as we have actually not sufficient troops to do
more than take the different guards at our largest stations.
All very fair and very well, if we have nothing else to do
but furnish guards. However, the political agents are
getting tidgetty at the appearance of the paucity of troops.
Sleeman is beginning to write about his fears, as you'll see
by the Delhi Gazette, as is also the Komaun Political. Who-
.

ther they take Lahore or not we can only guess,
but if they do they cannot keep the country as it ieb
this moment without. a large increase of the army. The
Seikhs have proved that they are not such small chaff as Sir
Hugh and Sir Henry fancied 04 were. They taught them
the difference at Ferozeshale which battle was fought bee '
Chide and Allahabad Men, brothers to our own Sepoys, who
first tried to get service in our regiments, but we bad no room
for them ; now they lightagainst us whenever they get pay
and employment, and don't care a straw at whose side, thong
they'd give our regiments the preference had we room fees
them. If we get those 25 new regiments, those restless boys
will all get employment, and although now in the enemy's
ranks, will prove as faithfal as they always are to whomever
they are employed by. There are mete enough in the pro-
vinces to recruit 100 new regiments, brothers and relations sec
our own Sepoys, daily seeking for admittance into our ranks'
and are refused, ae we have no room for them. God send
us those 25 new regiments. If they only form them in time
they can keep the Punjanb as easily as they can keep any
Hindoo village. If they do not, we shall have endless coed-
spirecies and rows, without the power to set them at rest,.
One so low down as Dinapore is this day talked of in conver-
sation, and in anticipation of the licking the Seikhs were
said to be certain of treating ns to. Truly we did not expect
to be so roughly handled as we were near Ferozepore, which
opened the new Governor-General's eyes; but our COTT,-
is'so fond of taking the bull by the horns,
that he took no warning from our loss at Mabarajpore, but
went on in the old style Without waiting for, or bringing up,
one of the heavy gnus. Had he doneso, it is said there would
have been less Skilled and wounded; and a better account
given of the Seilch gentlefolk, to whom now we shall have to
give another hiding before they come to terms. This has
been an eventful fifteen days, and the .next will be more so.
TnE b'Kertes ON Mg St7TLF,7.—Every day adds intelli-
gence of interest to our knowledge of occurrences on "the
memorable three days" of our encounter With the army of
' the Punianb, and all that reaches tie proves that not only
was the hurricane of war terrific in its violence, but that our
dear. bought victory was such, that in regard to loss of
valuable lives,- we could not afford to gain another like it.
Mantes be to that overruling Providence, whose controlling
power
• the head of one Government and the forces under
him publicly acknowledged in the vicinity es the scene
of slaughter, we escaped, and only narrowly escaped,
a most disastrous defeat ; one from which it would
have been most difficult to rally. The letters from
camp give not only the usual mishaps of battle:
but communicate intelligence which creates regret for
the living as well as for the dead ; and were it not
that the confidence of the enemy has been broken, we
shonld look with painful apprehension towards our retalia-
tory invasion, when a kingdom undergoing dissolution while
in possession of all its physical strength will strain every
nerve in its last convulsive struggle, resisting the power that
crushes it. Amongst the earliest intelligence received was
that of failure on the part of Major-General Sir J. Littler's
division, the result being what no man who knows anything
t,f the character and fame of this gallant officer could for is
moment have anticipated. It seems that on the morning of
the 21st the action began by the left division, under his com-
mand, which, on the advance being sounded, moved on in line
against the western face of the enemy's camp. The first half
of the distance was through a bush-jungle, but the moset
admirable order was preserved. The rest of the ground
was an open plain, affording to the enemy a full view of the
advance, of which immediate advantage was taken, the
whole fl!re of the intrenchment on that side being concert.
trated on the right wing of the Queen's 62d, and the lea
wing e
of the 111 Native Infantry, causing great havoc in'
19
their ranks. Our men went on undeterred, and rapidly
closed upon the intrenched position under a fire as furious
and destructive as any on record. Their brave leader had
two horses shoe under him—both within a few minutes—
and his Aide-de•camp, Lieutenant Harvey, cf her Majesty's
30th, fell mortally wounded in the act of cheering on the
men of her Majesty's 62d. This occurred within a few
paces of the enemy, whose fire became, if possible, still more
terrific every moment ; and then their musketry and camel
jezails sent in a deadly shower, under which the 62d reelesi
and staggered. Up to this point we had reserved our fire,
in order to give it full effect, but in the confusion, the men
began to fire indiscriminately, and without producing thee
least impression They had now to reload and halted-0
panic seized them, the whole went to the right about, and
retreated. The 12th Native Infantry held its way for a few
paces, when the example of the Europeans proved con-
tagious. The Sipahees called out to their officers " Goralegi
truth fate," and at this moment, to complete the disaster,.
their Colonel (Bruce) had his arm shot off. The panic imme-
diately spread to the 14th Native Infantry, on the left of the
62d, and the whole division turned and did not stop till out
of reach of fire. The other division was similarly affected,
the artillery of the enemy, served as Rayne with admirable
precision and alacrity, and of weight far Overpowering
ours, having with the small arms done fearfis! execution
amongst (hens, and they retired in the same manner for the
night, not having been able to dislodge the enemy at a single
point. The whole of the divisions bivouacked as near each
other as .they could get in the dark. The night was a ter-
rible one, the cannonade being kept up by both parties, and
on our side, the exhausted men, suffering from hunger and
thirst, fatigue and cold, had to attend to the wants of the
numerous wounded and dying, whose number still kept one
the increase. At daybreak of the following morning the
Governor-General put himself at the head of her Majesty's
Sorb, and the Commander-in-Chief in like manner led the
31st. Sir Harry Smith, Queen's Adjutant-General, tried to
cheer on her Majesty's 80th, but they would riot respond till
the Governor-General put himself at their head, and called
out, " 80th, do your duty !" The attack was then renewe4
with a gallantry which enabled the second and third divi-
sions to break through every obstacle and gain an entrance,
by which they secured the guns, the Ist and 4th divisions
meanwhile co-operating en their flanks. In an hour the
position was completely in our possession. Sir H. Hardinge
is said :to have been quite exhausted by his exertions, and
he and the Commander in-Chief passed a wretched night.
The former, as brave anti gallant a soldier as ever led into
action (as, indeed, is his companion in arms, Sir H. Gough),
is reported to have said that lie must conquer or fall, for he
could not survive defeat ; and so, summoning up his ener-
gies, the morning saw him retrieve the fortunes of the field.
—Agra Mbar, Jan. 10.

Tiir, 62u RE'ormEsT.—The following extract from a letter
dated Ferozepore, January 15, will be read with interest, as
showing how little foundation existed for the charge brought
against her Majesty's G2d Regiment Both the Governor-
General and Sir Hugh Gough frequently visit the Hospital,
which was formed in the 62d Barracks, the tents pitched for
that purpose in the fort being quite inadequate, in addition
to the proper building always used; they send mince-pies
with other dainties, and have a word for each sick man; to
one who was writing home, Sir Hugh Gough said, 'Tell
your friends that I say the 62d fought as bravely as any
regiment in the service ever did.' He also inquired when
they would be ready for him to decorate them, and how many
would be fit at the end of a month to quit the Hospital."

Sin ROBERT SALE.—The Hero of Jellalabad was in
his boyish days a pupil at the c Icbrated grammar-school at Ealing,
tinder the Rev. Dr. Nicholas. On a pane of glass In one of the win-
dows he had scratched his name, which has often been an object of
interest with the Alumni of the establishment. A curious coincident
connects this memorial and the man : the former continued in safety
amid school perils until a few weeks since, when about the period o
Sir Robert Sale's death the pane was unfortunately broken, and thus
memorial and man may be said to have perished together. The name
of George Sale, Sir Robert's elder brother, who also distinguished him.
self in India, scratched by himself; still stands on a pane in the ad.
joining window. A third brother, Henry, was also educated at
Ealing.— Cowily Chionicle.

borer.IORBE ARTILLERY FOR INDIA.—A strong
prevailsl in the town and garrison of Woolwich, that it is
the intention of his Grace the Duke of Wellington, Commander-in-
Chief, to immediately order a certain number of troops of the Royal
Horse Artillery, stationed in this garrison, with their light six..
pounders, to embark for the seat of war in India, as it is the opinion
of many experienced officers that if one or two troops of the Royal
Horse Artillery had been present at the last memorable action, that
they would have completely destroyed the enemy. Should these
troops be ordered there, they will be the first of her Majesty's Royal
Horse Artillery who have ever done duty in the Indian territories.
NOVAR FOREST, ROSS-SIIIRE —A portion of this
forest, consisting of 10,022 Scots fir trees, was brought to sale by
Mr. Munro, of lc ovar, on the 24th ult. The price realised was
5,7041., or an average of 10s. per tree. One lot of 1,248 tree}
brought 1,010/. ; and some of the trees brought 21. each. So lgua
forvur natiye wlng properlylWaged.—',UffOrl74.4g,