The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-24 00:00:00

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~'~ s

LONDON, TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1846.

The detailed accounts of the action which took place on
the 29th of January, between the forces under Sir HENRY
Smut and the Seikhs, given in another part of The Sun
agree in every important point with the telegraphic dispatch
from Marseilles, published yesterday. The Seikhs mustered
in great force, to the number of at least 24,000 men,
all regular well-disciplined troops, with a powerful battery
of sixty-eight guns. The force under Sir HENRY SiiITII
did not exceed 12,000, with only 32 guns, but with this
vast disproportion they did not hesitate to attack the enemy
though entrenched in a strong position ( about five miles below
Looclianah) with their rear resting on the river, and their
flanks strongly protected. The Seikhs, too, showed no lack
of courage, for when they saw the British force
advancing to the contest, they marched out of their
entrenchments and commenced a heavy cannonade upon
our troops. The village of Aleewal (not Alivert as given in
the telegraphic dispatch) was their main point of defence, and
that her Majesty's 50th Regiment, and the 47th and 48th
Naive Regiments, gallercly stormed, killing or
driving every Seikh befere them, at the point of
the bayonet. The British and Native Cavalry also behaved
with great gallantry, broke and cut up the enemy as they
endeavoured to rally, and by twelve o'clock, the attack
commencing at tor, the Seikhs were completely dispersed
with the less of an their artillery. They have now lost
altogether, since they passed the Sutlej, more than 150 guns,
but many yet remain to be captured, for it, appears that at
Hurreekee, some twelve miles higher .up the river than
Ferozepore, they have a strong battery on the left bank, j
which protects the pontoon bridge in that quarter formed
for the passage of the army, and now used to keep up com-
munication with the Punjaub. Sir HENRY HARDINGE at
present leaves this position undisturbed, and is evidently
waiting for the fit opportunity to make his attack. Ac-
cording to these accounts, the invasion of the Punjaub
will not take place till towards the month of
October, when the het weather is over and Sir CHARLES
NAPIER'S army is fully ready for the affray. The intelli-
gence brought by the present conveyance, for the regular
mail has not arrived, accounts for the rumours prevalent at
one time of the defeat of Sir:Heertty SMITH; and from this,
it appears, that while forming a junction with
Colonel GonBY near Loodianah, a small number
of our troops had been attacked by a large body of
the Seikhs, who took advantage of the movement, and cap-
tured a part of the baggage. This was the only ground for
the exaggerated account, of which one of the Paris papers
made so much. That paper was the Journal des Danis,
which, both as regards its intelligence' from China and India,
is not entitled to the slightest credit; and it is only sur-
prising that the editor of a journal, in other respects so well
conducted, should allow such absurd statements to appear
in its columns.

The promised motion of Earl GREY for an address to her
MAJESTY on the state of Ireland was discussed last night in
the House of Lords, and, as might have been expected, was
negatived by a large majority. Their Lordships are always
willing enough to hear any details respecting the acts of vio-
lence and bloodshed, unfortunately of too frequent occurrence in
that country, and lend a ready sanction to any measure of coer-
cion founded thereon, but when the real source and origin of th ese
melancholy transactiQui, tho weighty grieyances under which