The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-22 00:00:00

themselves, but at this crisis :Khan Sing, the governor
elect, rushed into the apartment where the two
British officers were, and announced to them that
the whole of his men—the 500 Seikhs—had gone over to
the Mooltanees. Now, Sahibs,' he said, we have no •
thing for it but to die; but I die with you.' Agnew ex-
postulated with him, saying—' Khan Sing, one already
you have saved my life—now leave us to our fate and
save your own.' Anderson and Agnew then shook bands,
and bade each other an eternal adieu.

" Anderson was already dying, but Agnew, though
severely wounded, was still capable of defending him-
self, and soon came the time for doing so. The Mool-
tanees rushed into the building- in numbers. They ap
preached the small party. Agnew sprung up and
snapped his pistol. It missed fire ; he then threw
himself upon the men most in advance—wounded
several with his sword—and received a gun-shot
wound which proved instantly fatal. Khan Singh was
either cut down or wounded when poor Agnew fell, but
he still survives. The Fort is represented as most for-
midable, and only to be carried by a breeching battery.
Mooltan is two hundred miles from Lahore; our siege
train could not get there under six or seven weeks, and
early in the rains the country around is quite a swamp,
and in many places inundated quite."
Mooltun, in the Punjaub, is a great ancient city,
which, since the pre-eminence of the Seikh power.
takes an important part in the commercial and mo-
netary transactions of Western India, outstripping
Shikapoor, and bring inferior in this respect only
to Amritsir. It is situate three miles east of the
Chenab, the inundations of which reach it. Elphinstone,
who saw this city in 1809, before it had been stormed
by the Seikhs, describes it as surrounded with a
fine wall between 40 and 50 feet high.' This is now
dilapidated, but the citadel continues a place of strength,
being more regular in construction than probably any
other place laid down in India by native engineers,
though some of the ravages of the late siege have
not yet been _ repaired. It stands on a mound,
and is an irregular hexagon, with its longest side.
which measures 600 yards, to the north-west.
The wall, substantially built of burnt brick, is about 40
feet high outside, but only four or five feet from the
ground inside, in consequence of the materials of
older buildings. It is surmaunted by thirty towers,
arid protected by a ditch, faced with masonry. The
only buildings within it of any importance are the
battered palace of the former Khan, and a lotty-
Mahometan shrine. Mooltan is the largest town in the
Seikh territory after Lahore and Amritsir. The present
town is built on a mound of considerable height, formed
of the ruins of more ancient cities. The bazaars are
extensive, and are well supplied with all articles of
traffic and consumption, and the shops amount
altogether in number to four thousand six hundred.
Its principal manufactures are silks, cottons, shawls,
loongees, brocades, tissues. Its merchants are con-
sidered rich, and about fifteen of them are computed
collectively to possess a million and a half of rupees.
Banking constitutes a large proportion of the business
of Mooltan, in which it has in some measure supplanted
Shikarpoor, and the prosperity of the town is in all
respects considered on the increase. It [the district is
meant, we presume.—ED. D. G.] yields a revenue of
5,75,000 rupees.
_ .

" The vicinity is coved with an amazing quantity of
ruins of tombs, mosques, and shrines, which show
the former extent and antiquity of the city. North of
the place is the magnificent shrine of Sham Tabreezi,
who, according to tradition, was flayed alive here as a
martyr, and at whose prayer the sun descended from the
heavens, and produced the intense heat from which
Mooltan suffers, and for which it is proverbial. The
adjacent country, watered by the inundations of the
Chenab, produces fruits, esculent vegetables, grain, and
other crops, in great abundance and perfection. Mool-
tan is said by Burnes to be to this day styled Mallithan,'
which he translates, the place of the Malli, and thence
infers it to have been that capital of the Malli taken
by Alexander. But Arrian mentions several such
cities, and his brevity, and the slender acquaintance
which he had of the localities, must render any
decision on such points at the. present day hazardous
and uncertain. Mooltan was taken by the Ma-
hotnetans, under Mahomed Ben Kasim, at the close
of the eighth century ; by Mahmood of Ghiznee
at the commencement of the eleventh ; by Tamer-
lane at the close of the fourteenth. Since its capture
by Runjet Sing, it has been garrisoned by Siekhs, who,
though only amounting to five or six hundred; keep in
severe subjection the Mahometans, supposed to amount
to 40,000 persons. The number of the entire population
is estimated to be about 80,000. Lat. 30 deg. 8 min. long.
71 deg. 28 min."
*Mooltan is about 200 miles from Lahore, and the
route lies along the left bank of the Ravee, till its junc-
tion with the Chenab, and then along the bank of the
latter river. The Sutlej would afford the best means
of conveying rapidly any quantity of stores or heavy
guns that may be required, and they could be landed
about 20 miles above Bahawul poor, within 25 of Mooltan.
THE CHINA SQUADRON.

TIONG-Kura, APRIL 26.—Her Majesty's steamer
Fury, 6 guns, Commander James Wilcox, returned from
Shanghai on the 21st, whither she was sent to demand
satisfaction from the Chinese Government for flogging
a number of missionaries at Shanghai, but Mr.
Alcock, the Consul there, had settled the matter
before the vessel arrived. Mr. Alcock had sent her Ma-
jesty's sloop Espeigle, 12 guns, Commander Camp-
bell, up to Nankin with a letter to the Viceroy of
the province, who came to terms immediately, and
the culprits were all exposed with wooden col-
lars round their necks, and were well bastinadoed
afterwards. Commodore Plumrldge, C. 8., Acting
Commander-in-Chief, is now on his way here
from Bombay, in the Cambrian, 40-gun frigate. The
Melampus, 40-gu❑ frigate is here; her captain is senior
officer. Her Majesty's steamer Medea, Commander
Mason, is at Whampoa; the Dmdalus, 20 guns, Cap-
tain M•Quhae, is at Singapore ; the Scout, 12
guns, Commander Johnstone (arrived out), and
the Columbine, 12-gun sloop, Commander Hay, are at
Amoy. The Espeigle, 12-gun sloop, Commander Camp-
bell, is at Ningpo; the Childers, 12 -gun sloop, Com-
mander Pitman, is at Shanghai ; lI.M. steamer Fury and
Melampus frigate are the only British men-of-war now
at this rendezvous. The former is ordered to Bombay,
to repair her port side air-pump. The greatest anxiety
prevails to ascertain the result of the revolution in France.
A French frigate, La Bayonuaise, at Manilla, is sadly
perturbed about it.

THE MASSACRE of the AMERICAN

MISSION IN OREGON.

We have been favoured by the governor and commit-
tee of the Hudson's Bay Company with the following
letters, containing the particulars of the massacre by the
Indians of the American mission at Walla Walla, in the
Oregon territory, of which a brief account has,already
been published.

M‘Bean is an officer in charge of a fort belonging
to the Hudson's Bay Company, not tar from the scene
of this lamentable occurrence, and Mr. Abernethy, to
whom Mr. Douglas, of the board of management at
Fort Vancouver; addreses his letter, is the provisional
governor of the colony, settled in the Valley of the
Walamet.