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

4 7-Ebirning div-77:3 Into

LONDON, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1848.

Although nothing decisive had occurred at Moul-
ton up to the let of October, there is sufficient evi-
dence in the accounts just received from Bombay
that the English forces remained in a satisfactory po-
sition, and that, the Punjaub was already virtually
aneeaed to the British dominions. Even supposing
that the Government continued to regard matters
with the same lethargic indifference as heretofore, the
%coop-% under General Winsu could not be considered
as in any way dangerously situated—the troops of
the MOOLRAJ being only superior to those of his '
antagonist in reference to his dykes, brick-kilns, and
fortifications. While the army enclosed within the
walls of the beleaguered city amounted to scarcely
20,000 men, Aith acom
General
insignificant force
withof art ifilifteryy,
gtiso,hats,a
under e
d, eneral \\Tulsa numbered,
arm# well
body
ll iesi: discipline.onf2 soldiers,
Per amTnaruue-
nitioeed, - in x
0)41 the power of the MooLnAJ
w being conti-
>ially,
uaiumtetnhted by re-
and almost momentarily, a
If;iorcetnents of Seikh insurgent
4,41ie were nevertheless materially reducedseiacces-
n
im-
.,rts.nCe by two considerations, first the numerical
poverty of the auxiliaries furnished by the rebel
ieftains, and secondly the very dubious character
their co-operation. In the meantime every effort
vegs being made throughout Ilindostan to render the
'..,iiperiority of British arms altogether irresistible.
While the Administration of the Earl of DAellousin
resolved to prevent the recurrence of these in-
•ferrsetionary movements along the northern
...govinces by the wholesale annexation of the
'riritories of the young MAHARAJA, the
arsangements tending to the transmission
ef aid to General Wuisu and his colleagues, were in
n extraordinary state of preparation. A force of
10,0004nerk, were preparing to march from the Bom-
bay Tesse;idency, while an army of 30,000 men was
ito be very soon in the field, under the ban-
ne ei Lord 'Gouou, the veteran Commander-in-
o Beeides Lahore, there were two other forti-
ik4 places iu our possession within the country now
agitated by rebellion—the fortress of Umritsur and
that of iovindhur, in which latter no less than sixty
heavy guns were di3covered. As far, therefore, as
fmx,ethought, activity, and numerical preponde-
lance are concerned, the British forces could
Scarcely be in a more advantageous situa-
a.m. Up to the commencement of October the
iitooLo.ox was preserved from destruction solely by
the strength of his fortifications—not by a superiority
of artillery, of tactics, or of discipline, but simply by
be strength of his fortifications.
titis to the rtimoured intention of the MOOLRAJ to

make a sortie on the 7th of October upon the camp of
General Winsu, while his troops ware inflamed by
the religious fanaticism consequent upon the Hindoo
feast of the Dusserab, we place not the smallest regard
upon the imaginary terrors of such an adventure.
The storming of the little fortress of Arcot by ten
thousand men under the command of RAJA SAHIB
cannot be so very speedily forgotten. England will
never lose the recollection that a garrison of merely two
hundred British soldiers and three hundred sepoys
was then sufficient to keep those ten thousand assail-
ants at bay, and ultimately to scare them back along
the road to Trichinopoly, although the day chosen for
that memorable assault was the great Islamite festival
sacred to the memory of HosEIN, the chief of the
Fatimites, and although the Mahomedan soldiers were
drunk with bang, as well as intoxicated with religious
enthusiasm. We may be reminded doubtless that
upon the occasion of that immortal victory the British
forces were rendered invincible, and inspired to
heroism, by the presence of the youthful
and glorious CLIVE ; but we are nevertheless
in no degree disposed to look for less distinguished
consequences in the neighbourhood of Moultan, seeing
that among the English soldiers and the sepoys there
is a young officer of equally brilliant promise, and of
an equally precocious reputation. If, upon the Ma-
homedan feast of HOISEN, the British forces possessed
a CLIPS—on the Hindoo feast of Dusserah they pos-
sess an EDWARDES. Every additional dispatch re-
ceived from the seat of war only tends to enhance our
estimate of the genius and courage of this young and
already illustrious Captain, the beginning of whose
career has afforded a thousand tokens that
it is the beginning of the career of a great man.
By the intelligence just received from Hindostan, it
would appear that Major EDWARDES has afforded ad-
ditional evidence of his skill, promptitude, and vigi-
lance as a military strategist. In obedience to his
admirable suggestions, several of the rebel bands have
been intercepted on their way to augment the forces
so long accumulating behind the battlements of
Moultan. Beyond which it appears, that disas-
trous consequences must have inevitably ensued
upon the defection of SHEER Sums but for the
remarkable adroitness displayed by Major EDWARDES
in foiling the wily rebel with his own weapons—
those of intrigue and dissimulation. Thanks to the
forethought and ingenuity of EDWARDES the Seikh
was prematurely driven to a declaration of his faith-
lessness, and by that means the perils consequent upon
a surprise were warded off, effectually and betimes.
Before the Overland Mail left Bombay it was
understood that, up to the latest date, the troops of
CHUTTUR SINGH, marching from the direction
of the Hazaret, had failed in effecting a
junction with those commanded by his son. Mean-
while the MOOLRAJ, although constantly reinforced
by the contingents furnished by the Seikh insurgents,
still continued to regard with the jealous eye of sus-
picion the movements of CHUTTUR SINGH, of Suzan
SINGH, and of their numerous accomplices. As far as
loyalty to any cause is concerned, the very name of
Seikh has become albyeword throughout the oriental
territories, from the Hydaspes to the Burrampooter,
among the mountains of Affghanistan and among
the gardens of the Carnatic. Alliance with
them is never enforced by reliance. sThey
are scarcely less formidable as friends than
they are as enemies. Their signature to a
treaty is as much a mockery and a sham as the oath
of a Thug or the bond of a Lacediemonian. Recent
occurrences in the Punjaub have demonstrated these
facts beyond all further cavil, seeing that almost
every one of the chieftains who subscribed to the
treaty concluded by Lord HARDINGE, is found to be
deeply implicated in the late conspiracy and rebellion.
Even GHOOLAII SzriGH, the most wily of all the
Seikh commanders, although not overtly committed
in the insurrection, is generally understood to have
been amongst the foremost of its promoters. From
all which circumstances it becomes a matter of con-
gratulation to learn that the British Government at
Calcutta has at length determined to number the
noble plains of the Punjaub among our other Asiatic
possessions. The rebel members of the Dewan have
thus sealed the doom of the MAHARAJA without for-
warding in any respect their own villanous ambition.

A comparison between the prices of the public
funds and of shares in established lines, and also of
the dividends that may reasonably be expected on
the amounts invested in either class of securities, will
exhibit in the clearest light the filly of those who
have suffered their fears to obtain the mastery of
their reason, and who, influenced by the vague insinua-
tions of interested parties, have sacrificed their pro-
perty at little more than half its real value. At
present quotations, three-and-a-half per cent.
cannot be obtained for money invested in Con-
sols, while nearly double that, anti, in some instances
even higher, can easily be had on railway stock.
" The Statements" already published, exhibiting the
present and prospective position of seven of the lead-
ing companies, prove beyond the possibility of doubt
their soundness and stability, and there is every
reason to hope that the returns will be far beyond the
very moderate estimates made by the directors
of their future profits. As we have repeatedly
stated, the nation has passed through an er-
deal of the most arduous and trying character.
All classes have suffered in common, and
it would have been absurd to suppose that
railways could have escaped the general fate, that
they alone should have reaped undiminished profits,
while merchants, tradesmen, manufacturers, in fact
all those concerned in any description of business,
were only too happy if they were enabled to bear
the heavy losses to which they were subjected with-
out sinking beneath the burden. "With .a return of
prosperity—and everything indicates that a pro-
pitious time is slowly but surely approaching—rail-
way prospects will also brighten, and it will be
found that they will participate in the general im-
provement, and that the estimates, which were in a
great degree based upon elements taken during a
period of extreme depreciation, will be far below the
actual results.

There are other reasons also, in addition to those
derived from the general condition of the country,
why railway stock should improve beyond almost any
other description of preperty. The system is as yet
confessedly in its infancy, and has not been deve-
loped to the full extent of its capabilities. The per-
son who twenty years since had ventured to assert
that thirty miles per hour could be accom-
plished with greater safety, and at about
half the prices then charged for conveyance
by the various mail and stage coaches throughout
the country, would have been regarded as little better
than an enthusiastic visionary, a fitting object for the
nearest lunatic asylum. We have, however, lived to
see all this accomplished with the greatest ease, and
affording a handsome remuneration to those by whose
enterprise and capital the object has been attained.
Why, then, may not further improvements reasonably
be looked for ? Are the arrangements so perfect that
no ameliorations can be introduced ? Is the traffic
developed to the utmost degree ? Can no re
ductions be made in the working expenses,
at t he hands
ttohoef
the
at the
vrceaoimliwnpataeynririennsgt
and that without the withdrawal from the public of
any of the facilities which they are entitled to expect
answersvourahletoillthaaltl bcoensfea--
quently proprietors may reasonably hope for even
more favourable results than •
the most sanguine have
as yet ventured to anticipate.
Rapid advances have hitherto been
introduction of the system, ; made since the
?earteoslrti We believe that the
eighteen
yna
date from the invention of locomotiverrnaacshries since
(we
GEORGE STEPHENSON in 1830). Since that timen
many
defects—inseparable from the earlier timid and feeble
experiments in new and comparatively unknown de-
partments—have been remedied, improvements also
have been introduced that have partially exhibited the
beneficial tendencies of the system, and which indicate
the mode by which more extensive ameliorations may
be brought into operation. Data now exist, tri which
directors may frame calculations, which, if judi-
ciously worked out, must be productive of the most
favourable results. The traffic that is really remune-
rative is known, and of course the object will be to
increase that to the utmost extent, while what is to
be avoided is also pointed out clearly and distinctly.
Many grave errors have undoubtedly been committed.
Enormous sums have been wasted on useless Parlia-
mentary conflicts, while, as usual, the lawyers have
obtained more than their legitimate share of
the expenditure. All this, however, has