The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-20 00:00:00

INDIA AND CHIN A.

On the 2Sth of September Major-Genetll Sir J.)hn
Hunter Littler, and illnjor-General Sir Dudloy St.
Leger Hill, were invested with the insignia of the
Order of the Bath, at the Government [louse, Cal-
cutta, by the Right Hon. the Earl of Dalhousiz, the
Governor-General. The ceremony was of a most
imposing character, and was succeeded by a grand
festival.

THE WAR IN MOULTAN.
(From the Bomhrty Times.)
In our issue of the 3d instant we brought the narra-
tive of events before Moultan down to the 15th of Sep-
tember—the siege of the city having been raised the
day previous, consequent on the desertion of the Raja
Shere Singh, with his whole force, to the enemy. We
may notice, at the outset, the fallacy of the statement
now generally urged, that Lieutenant Edwardes, from
the first suspected the fidelity of Shere Sint, and re-
monstrated against the dispatch of the detachment under
him. We think we have already made it sufficiently
char, from dates, that, whatever might have been Ed-
wardes's opinion, there could have been no remonstrance.
The Derajat troops crossed the Indus on the 23d of April
—the very day the news of the Moulton insurrection
reached Lahore; and there is every reason to believe
that for a time Edwardes was not in communication with
the resident. On the evening of the 26th the news of
the murders reached Lahore; on the 27th the two brigades
under Colonels Campbell and Havelock were counter-
manded, and on the 30th the Seikh detachment under
Shere Sisgh was dispatched in their place. It was im-
possible that betwixt the dates just named there could
have been a communication sent to Leia, where Ed-
wardes then was, and an answer received back from him
at Lahore. It is said, however, that for a lone time
the Seikh chief continued to
,be suspected when under
the walls. This is not improbable, as we do not at any
time hear of his having been in conflict with the enemy;
and it is stated, also, that an order to move further from
the town was the immediate cause of his defection. By
this means he would have fur a time been separated
from his guns, and Napoleon himself could scarcely
more have valued his artillery than the Seikh chiefs
seem to value theirs. At this time it was reported that
the fidelity of the troops of the Moolraj—the Seikhs
always excepted—was becoming extremely doubtful,
and that a very slight reverse indeed would have been
sufficient to have made them leave him. What,ver
might have been the intentions of Shere Singh, it is
now obvious that betwixt him and the insurgent
shief there could have been beforehand no com-
munication on the intended movement. He was
received at first with extreme suspicion, and his
troops up till now have never been ad-
mitted within the waits ; while betwixt the leaders
themselves jealousy seems so violent that nothing but
the fact of their being embarked in a common cause
from which there is no escape, to all appearance prevents
their separation. The day before the dispatch of the
last mail letters were received from Sinde intimating
that on the 17th the army of General Whish had made
a second retrograde movement and had encamped
eighteen miles from Moultan, having abandoned a quan-
airy of ammunition and stores from want of carriage to
remove them : this turns out to be so far erroneous in
that the stores and ammunition were abandoned on his
first retreat from before the walls of the city on the 16th.
During the 15th the large guns were withdrawn, under
a heavy but ineffectual fire, from the trenches, which
was accomplished, under the directions of Major Whee-
ler, by one in the afternoon. The horse artillery guns
followed about sunset; and when it became dark the
whole of the infantry retired, leaving a small detachnaeat
of infantry as a piquet in the Ram Teerut. So ably had
the operations throughout the day been conducted that
not a single causualty occurred on our side. During
the night the tents were struck and the baggage
packed ready for a start. Early on the morning of
the 16th the army was put in motion and commenced its
march. It crossed the large canal to Soorujkhoond,
seven miles to the south-west of the city ; 1,500 of Ed
warder's horse and a few of Cortlandt's guns protecting
our flanks. The 2d or Ferozepore Brigade of Infantry,
and the 11th Cavalry, with the heavy ordnance, and the
greater portion of the baggage, under command of
Brigadier Salter, started at an early hour ; the Ist or
Lahore brigade, with the 11th Irregular Cavalry, under
Brigadier Hervey, remaining on the ground till every-
thing had left. It was unfortunately found impossible
to procure carriage for all the ammunition and stores, so
that a large quantity of the latter, and about 25 camel
loads of shot and shell, had to be left behind—notwith-
standing the exertions made for their removal, the
sewers of the irregular cavalry each taking away one on
his saddle-bow. Brigadier Hervey's appointment to
a command seems from the first to have been looked
upon as a matter of evil omen, and on the first occasion
on which he found himself in diffleulty he nearly sub-
jected us to disaster. He, with her Majesty 10th
Foot, the Bth Native Infantry, and four of M'Ken-
zie's guns, followed the 2d brigade, leaving a
guard under Major Wheeler, consisting of the
62d Native Infantry, two squadrons from the 7th and
11th Irregular Cavalry, and the remaining two of
M`Kenzie's guns, to bring on the shot and shell, for the
carriage of which cattle could not at first be obtained.
Through the exertions of Captain Christie, however, a
number of camels were shortly afterwards procured, and
they were loaded with the greater portion of the ammu-
nition under the fire of the enemy's artillery, which had
seized the village in which our head-quarters had been
encamped, and advanced on the plain, within point-
blank range of our guard, now strengthened by some
police, horse, and a couple of guns, under Lieutenant
Pollock. As above stated, each irregular horseman
took a shot or shell before him on his saddle-bow, and
the remainder were abandoned. The cavalry were now
extended in line in front of the infantry, and the whole
reached camp in safety. Just as they were about leav-
ing the ground, the corps which had been so injudici-
ously ordered away by Brigadier Hervey returned, this
retrograde step having been made at the urgent request of
Col. Franks, of the 10th Foot, so soon as the firing was
heard from the guns in the roar. The only bad conse-
quence arising from the weakening of the guard
fortunately was the unnecessary marching of one por-
tion of the brigade, and the detention of the whole
under arms nearly ten hours, as they diet not reach camp
till two o'clock. The force of Moolraj was in the field:
luckily for the party left behind by Brigadier Hervey,
he did not bring it to bear on them, or they most likely
would have been hard set. Cortlandt's guns played on
the enemy hovering around the Ferozepore division at a
distance of 900 yards, whieh was returned by them, but
without effect. Our camp wasgained without the loss of a
man. During the 17th and 18th the hildars wore em-
ployed cutting down the jungle from the front and rear
of our position. On the 19th a large body of the enemy
were observed moving in the direction of the river,
when one of our guns opened on them, which quickly
made them turn on their path, two being killed and
four made prisoners. News was this day received in camp
that some of Shore Singh's men, who were still kept
without the walls of Moultan, had gone towards La-
hore, to intercept 20,000 on its, way to their chief, as
pay for his troops. A kw shots were fired from the
fort, with the view, apparently, of intimidating our ca-
valry patrols from advancing too near the walls. A
royal salute was also fired from the city—cause unknown.
A considerable body of Moolraj's Mussulman troops this
day applied to Lieutenant Edwardes for employment,
but their services were declined. The troops of Shere
Singb, with a few from the Dewan's army, during, the
day advanced to within a short distance of our camp
with the intention of giving battle. Preparations were
made for their reception; a partial fire was opened, when
the enemy returned to the city. Preparations were now
making to retire a mile further back, to a more secure
encampment; and Major Napier, with a couple of other
engineer officers, had been dispatched to the banks of
the Chenaub to pitch on a spot where the siege guns
might be entrenched, and left to take care of themselves,
in case of the force being compelled to move cut against
the enemy, now daily threatening to give them battle.
Several Seikh chiefs, who had come into our camp from
Moultan, were directed to proceed to Lahore, and others
were about to be dismissed—all those, in fact, connected
with the Durbar—so as to get quit of all the troops
whose loyalty was doubtful. On the 20th the Seikh
chief, liauee Biagi, •
who, with 1,000 men, had been left
to guard the bonds the_ river, ten miles higher up,
proceeded with a portlion
Sirdar Bhoor Singh; Ntvoltthh
of,
,his men to join the Dewan.
a considerable body of fol-
lowers, also went over
of
Bar:enemy. A letter wai received
from the Governor
Lieutenant Edwardes,
intimating that as the Seikl°m°euebnder him were inclined to ,
) population, a
tfirn against us, he had
Lumber of .the
molestingwhe engaged to put
Aiullceea (Mussu'man
the Seikhs out of the way of
ehawnds should- be eua provided the
plunder which should fall into theiHr
to be allowed
to in
al-
lowed them for their trouble,
reply, that the Mulkeeas were
they wished; the only condition being,
that 4) glelaa
sh.uld be prevented from crossing the Indies slid ad_
vancing on Moultan. Four native chiefs-were at the
same tune dispatched by Edwardes to Dbera Ismael
Khan to watch the passes into Bunnoo and other places,
and prevent the disaffected in those districts from joining
the malcontents of the former province. A further de-
tachment was dispatched to occupy Rungpoor, north
of Moultan, with a view to prevent any further
bodies of rebels from joining the Moolraj from La-
hore. Shere Singh would appear to have been at-
tempting to draw off several of the chiefs in our
camp from their allegiance, and, amongst the rest, sent
a letter to General Cortlendt, reminding him that he
had " eaten the salt" of Maharaja Runjeet Singh, and
that for the honour of the Khalsa he ought to join the
Moolraj. "On the morning of the 23d," says a cor-
respondent, " all the right wings of regiments were
ordered to parade, European regiments made up to 400
strong, and native infantry regiments to 320, with eight
horse artillery guns, and the cavalry brigade, to make
a demonstration (of what?). And accordingly, at six
o'clock A.M., away we went, the Ist Native Infantry
Brigade drawn up on the right front, and the 2d Native
Infantry Brigade and cavalry on the left front ; four
Horse Artillery guns with each brigade ; and marched
away in open columns of companies, along the front of
our camps, and so that we could be seen from the fort
and city. After
we had walked about for two hours,
d about to go home, but no
nearly that, we turned
sooner had wo done so than we heard the drums in the
city beat to arms, and before long out came Moolraj's
men (said to have been under command of Shere Singh
himself), and a lot of guns, and they commenced pep-
pering away at our rear columns, and away we went
00l-
to our lines. As soon as
we
gbut there, M
of a very
raj, too, made a demonstration,
different kind, for he showed us he could annoy us,
whereas we could not annoy him, and consequently
brought up his guns within range of our camp,
and fired away like mad (though fortunately one
sepoy and one horse only were killed), so that we were
all ordered to remain under arms, ready to turn out at a
minute's notice. AfterAullyiag
.0 for about 2i WWI,