The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-01 00:00:00

INDIA.

THE WAR IN MOULTAN•
We have received froth Marseilles advices and
papers from India in anticipation of the Overland
Mail of the 3d of OciOber trom Bombay. The
dates thus received are from Calcutta to the 23d of
September, Madras-to the 25th, and Bombay, to the
3d of October.
Frontier affairs have assumed a much more serious
aspect. The intelligence is unsatisfactory alike re-
specting the operations befpre Moultan and the ge-
reral state of the Punjaub. Our forces in that direction
have suffered a check in consequence of the defection
of the auxiliary Seikh troops. Just as the operations
of General,Whish's Brigade had commenced in the
most brilliant manner, Shere Singh, with the force
of nearly five thousand men under his command,
went over to the Dewan, evidently upon a pre-
arranged plot--an event which compelled General
Whish instantly to change his tactics, to
raise the siege, and having made a retro-
grade movement, to unite his forces in an entrenched
camp at some fifteen miles from the citadel, there to
await in a more favourable position the junction of
the reinforcements fiJoir.FAiepore and Sinde. Two
engineer officers had since, it appears, fallen into the
hands of the enemy. Moolraj, by Shere Singh's
defection, had augmented his adherents to about
20,000 men, with the probabilty of a further acces-
sion of nearly as many more. Chuttur Singh, the
rebel leader in the Hazareh, was marching with
about ten thousand men to join the Dewan; and
although Ghoolab Singh had /not more positively
than heretofore gone over to the conspiracy, two of
his regiments, with stores and baggage, had left to
join the Hazareh Seikhs. At Lahore the features of
this frontier, rebellion were not less pronounced,
although happily, from our excellent measures of
defence there, the circumstance occasions no ground
for ultimate apprehension as to our hold upon the
capital. We find, however, that several other Sirdars
of the Durbar had been found to be implicated, andi
that in consequence of this fact the Resident, on
receipt of the intelligence from Moultan, had at once
secured under a guard the person of Dbuleep Singh
as a hostage, to influence those who wavered, as well
as to frustrate attempts made by Seikhs in arms to
get possession of the Maharaja's person. The Resi-
dent had also, we are told, laid hands on the famous
Koh-i-noor diamond, as a measure of similar pre
caution.

Troops were being poured into Sinde by sea from
Bombay, to occupy the line of the middle Indus
and to march, should their services be required,
upon the Punjaub. The Bombay force when united
would amount to about 10,000 men. Some of the
Madras regiments would reinforce the Bombay
stations, at the same time that a general advance was
preparing from the Bengal frontier. From the latter
direction a well-apportioned force, amounting to
about 20,000 men, would march upon Moultan, under
General Gilbert. No troops could, it appears, be
spared from Lahore, but it was considered the cavalry
regiments still loft in Ferozepore would be quite suf-
ficient to keep open the line of communication with
the camp of General Whish ; in other words, to frus-
trate any rising between him and the capital. Under
these circumstances, the position of the British force
in the field, strongly entrenched, with a park of artil
lery of 70 guns, and their flank on the river, at some
15 miles from Moultan, may be regarded as secure
under any contingency.
On the whole, happily, there appears every ground
for belief that the preparations announced from
all sides of India to retrieve the check we have de-
scribed are on a scale of magnitude probably com-
mensurate rather with the extent of past supineness
in its exaggerated reaction than the actual degree of
danger. Such at least is the opinion of parties who
from the first were urgent for the adoption of active
measures, and who at present are the least alarmed
by the ultimate features the outbreak has assumed
or inclined to doubt of a speedy and successful ter-
mination. Moultan would now be attacked by sepa-
rate armies from the south and from the north, when,
it has been affirmed, mere detachments in the
earlier months would have sufficed, but it is added
that there now appears every probability that long
before the Bombay army shall have reached the seat
of war the few regiments that have already arrived
without orders from head-quarters—namely, the
Rifle Brigade from Sinde, and the European cavalry
from Ferozepore, will supply what is wanting to our
troops who are in presence of the enemy, and that
General Whish, with a body of picked infantry, Eu-
ropean and native, and some three thousand cavalry
(an arm hitherto deficient), which will have reached
him, with a park of field and siege artil-
lery, and under the prestige of recent success, will
certainly reap the honours of the campaign, should
the temerity of the Dewan, or the precipitancy of
his forces tempt them, as is not unlikely, to an at-
tack. This opinion seems borne out by other de-
tails which have reached us as to the recent conduct
of our troops, who, in the siege operations, stormed
the outworks, forestalling the work of regular ap-
proaches, and up to the hour when breaching distance
had thereby been attained—an hour marked by the
instant defection of the Seikh Chief--every rencontre,
without exception, told the same lesson of superiority,
in strategy as in conflict that Edwardes and his Pa-
thans before taught the insurgents under earlier and
still more desperate circumstances.
The following officers had fallen in the siege ope-
rations during an attack on an outpost unrivalled
for desperate gallantry in the annals of the army,
namely, Colonel Pattoun, Major Montizambert,
Quartermaster Taylor, Lieutenant Cubitt, and En-
sign Lloyd.
The following casualties by death in the armies of
India are reported since the departure of the mail on
the 15th of September:—
Her Majesty's Troops—Colonel Pattoun and Quarter-
master Taylor, 32d Foot,and Major Montizambert, 10th
before MSept.Moulton, on the 12th e
Bengal—Lieutenant
Foot, killed in action
C.
y
Hutchinson, artillery, at
Simla, on the 3d of September; Lieutenant Cubitt 49 h
and Ensign Lloyd, Bth, in Moulton,
on action before t
on the 12th of September; Ensign J. P. Giles,73c
Regiment, at Lahore, on the 4th September; Major C.
W. Cowley, invalids, at Deyrah ,oieg
nthinae
the lath
aStepßteermhbaerar.;
Brevet-Major W. Struthers, 14th t
poor, on the 10th of September.
Boulderson, at Madras,
India Navy—Commander H. C.
on the Bth of September.

(From the Overland Bombay Times or Oct.
Swim ARY.—Our latest
news from Moultan has
reached us through Sinde, and extends to the 18th.
As our batteries were on the 14th September believed
to have been in readiness to batter In breach, Share
Singh, with 4,000 Seikhs, deserted us, and went over
to the enemy. The siege was next day raised, our
guns withdrawn from the trenches, and our troops
marched back to an encampment six miles from the
town. On the 17th we marched to a post eighteen
miles in the direction of Bahawulpore, leaving most of
our ammunition, and nearly a month's provisions, with
the material prepared for the siege, behind us. Our
last news extended to the 24th of August. At this
time all the troops, save some companies
of her Ma-
jesty's 32d and the train, had arrived in camp. The
former joined shortly afterwards, the latter on the 4th
of September. On the sth it was intimated that
twenty-four hours would be allowed for those to
retire who wished to quit the town. On the 6th the
mortar batteries began to fire. It was at first pro-
posed to attempt the town by assault. The guns
were first to clear the suburbs, then to advance
within 600 yards of the walls. It was suspected that
in twenty-four hours a practicable breach would be
effected. After the storming party had been told off
it was discovered that the suburbs were very strong
and well defended, and regular approaches were next
determined on. The trenches were begun to be
opened on the 7th, and from this till the 9th a suc-
cession of severe skirmishes ensued, in which we
were successful. On the morning of this day we
were compelled to retire with severe loss from a
strong post we had endeavoured to capture. Fur-
ther skirmishing ensued, and on the morning of the
12th a strong party was directed to capture the
stronghold before which we had formerly been foiled,