The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-02 00:00:00

OVERLAND MAIL

INDIA AND CHINA.

(From the Times.)

We have received by express from Marseilles our
usual letters and papers, in anticipation of the over-
land mail. The dates of the advices brought by
this arrival are—Calcutta, April 23, and Bombay,
May 3.

The following is the letter of our correspondent at
Bombay :
" The Governor-General was at Sealkote on the
15th of April, and was expected to arrive at Simla
by the first week in May.

" The hill chiefs of the western frontier of the
Punjaub still c .ntinue troublesome. A detachment
4' irregular troops had been sent after one of them,
Futeh Khan, mho had succeeding in effecting a de-
,cent. An allied chief, Wahab Khan, with a num-
-13-r of his own clan, attacked this detachment, but
9fcer a skirmish, in which three •were killed on each
,i le, he was driven off to the hills. Sadift Khao, son
of Futeh Khan, is, however, collecting a force to
reintorce Wahab Khan.
"From Caubul information has been received that
Mahommed Ukram Khan and Gholam Ryder Khan,
sons of Dost Mahommedi are obliged.tolviatifrthem—
cel4s-in Bitkla, as the 'people in threountry round
have not acknowledged their rule. They have: in•
formed their father that the Ameer of Bukhara has

-ent an army out against them, but that in conse-
quence of the want of boats it has been detained on
the bulks of the river H moon.

" Robberies are still of frequent occurrence at
Peshawur. Officer's fowling-pieces and horses seem
to be the articles most in request in a general way,
but a flack of 28 sheep, belonging to the mess of the
29,h Native Infantry, were carried off from the can-
tonment a short time since. The Governor-General
has sanctioned the employment of 1,000 men to level
ground and make roads at Peshawur.
" Sir AV. Gomm arrived at Simla on the 12th of
April. He proposes to visit the Peshawur frontier
next cold weather.

" The event of the fortnight has been the trium-
phant acquittal of the great contractor and banker,
Lulla Jotee Persand ; the trial lasted twelve days,
and the verdict was unanimous on the part of the
jury, and fully concurred in by the judge. It must
be borne in mind that the amount of Jotee Persand's
claim against Government considerably exceeds half
a million ; that he was the contractor for the supply
of the troops engaged in the Caubul and in both the
Punjaub campaigns; that it is admitted by the pro..
.ecutors that his accounts, even for the first of these
campaigns, have not been as yet adjusted, and that
there is unquestionably a large balance still due to
nim, in addition to very large deposits still retained,
(hough the contracts on account of which they were
made have long since terminated. Jutee Persand
having for many years in vain endeavoured to
obtain a settlement of accounts was so disgusted
with the treatment he received, that at the com-
mencement of the late campaign he refused to have
any further dealings with the Indian Government.
The officers of the commissariat were unable to dis-
pense with his assistance, and every effort was made
to secure his services ' • but it was only by holding
out hopes of a title of honour, and promising an im-
mediate settlement of accounts, that they at length
induced him to take the field with them ; yet, on re-
turning to the provinces with the victorious army,
after sharing in the dangers of Ramnugger and 'Chil-
lianwallah (as he had previously those of Moodke,
Ferozeshab, and Sobraon), and having discharged his
engagements in such a manner as to elicit the warm-
est praise from Lord Gough, Sir Dudley Hill, and
the entire commissariat, Jotee Persand found a set-
dement of his accounts as distant as ever. Finding
all other means ineffectual, he gave notice that he
should bring an action in the Supreme Court of Cal-
.utta against the Government for the balance due to
eina, and it was apparently to ward off this action
'hat it was determined a criminal action should be
4ot up against Jotee Persand. Charges were con-
-squently made against him at Agra. Ole /his he
ietitioned G ivernroent that, according to English
!sage, his civil action might have precedence of
hair criminal one ; but this was refused ; he was
curried off to Agra, and on his arrival there was,
eigether with his sureties, illegally fined by the Com-
pany's magistrate sorne thousands of pounder for having-
twen unable to reach his destination in the time al-
lowed, which he had before protested was insufficient.
These proceedings against him were founded on what
la an every -day occurrence in Indian commissariat
,ccounts. I: appeared that a portion of his claims
(amounting, however, to a very small part of the
whole) could not be admitted on audit unless further
vouchers than had been sent in were furnished. A
raudulent overcharge was thence infsrred ; these
&lleged overcharges were contained in bilis for car-
siage engaged for service in the Punjaub by Jotee
Persaud's agents in the north-western provinces, while
h. was himself far away with the army on service.
Yet it was alleged not only that these returns were
traudulent (even this has not been proved), but also
bat Jotee Persand, although so distant, was accessory
,o such frauds, and, as the bills bad been sworn to by
his agents, that he was guilty of subornation of per-
jury. The principal witness against him, Mohish
Dess, was once a servant of his own, who
nad endeavoured to extort money from him,
amongst others, by threatening to bring charges
against him, of which threats Jotee- Persand had
'aken no notice. Doss then petitioned the Military
Bard; the Board referred the petition to Captain
Itemsay, who reported that the character and
ailing of the informer, as well as the evi-
b•nce on the face of the petition, proves that the
object of the informer is to extort money,' and there-
fore is not only unworthy of credence, but deserving
of condemnation. It was, however, resolved to pro-
ceed with the case. Mohish Doss was at the time
confined at Agra for perjury, but waa promised a
pardon if he would give evidence against Jotee Per-
sand (the official promise of pardon found its way
into the papers). He agreed to do so, but seems
afterwards to have repented, for he suppli-
cated the predecessor of the present Agra Judge to
be spared the necessity of being compelled to give
such evidence against his old employer. His evi-
dence was on the trial declared altogether unworthy
of credence and inadmissible. Another of the wit-
nesses, an old- man called Bhowannee, when
put into the box, retracted altogether his former
deposition against Jotee Persand ; he swore that
the original returns were correct, and that
he had been intimidated into making a
statement to the contrary. The evidence of Capt.
Newbolt and the other English officers called for the
prosecution was altogether in favour of the accused.
They all gave very decided testimony to the extraor-
dinary ability and services of Jotee Persand as con-
tractor for the commissariat supplies of the British
army in different campaigns, and at periods of great
emergency. Captain Newbolt stated that the re-
trenchments made by the audit authorities in Jotee
Persand's accounts were not conclusive—that, in
fact, subsequently to their being made, he had re-
ceived from Jotee explanatory vouchers by which
such retrenchments would be probably abated to the
extent of 20,000/. He stated that it was utterly im-
possible that Jutee Persand, while .with.the army in
the Punjab, could exercise any real supervision over
the overcharges of his Gomashtas (commissariat
agents) in the north-west provinces; he believed
that all subordinate commissariat agents were rogues,
and that those of Jotee Persand were no exception
to the rule: he said that he had been himself
eighteen years in the commissariat, and had never
known of such overcharges being considered fraudu-
lent or cognizable by a criminal court, and that he
believed there was not a commissariat Gomasbta in
the company's service who might not be arraigned
for fraud as the defendant then was, and that if every
commissariat Gomashta was brought up for fraud for
overcharge, as he supposed they might be, the com-
missariat system would certainly be paralysed, and
that it was absolutely necessary for the officers of the
commissariat not to take notice of attempts at decep-
tion unless very glaring.
" Mr. Lang, in his speech in defence, overwhelmed
the company's judicial system with ridicule, spoke of
the encouragement to venal evidence it afforded, and
called the 200 witnesses who were assembled a re-
giment of Mr. Thomason's' (the Lieutenant-Governor
of Agra's) ' chartered perjurers; he spoke of the
peculiarities of his own position, an English barrister
addressing a court in a case in which judge, jurors,
and advocate were all servants of and dependents on
the prosecutor. With reference to the oppor-
tunities of oppression afforded by such a system
he remarked, with great truth, that though Burke
had asserted that the company bad not, and could
not, delegate arbitrary power, yet that every com-
pany's fficial in India, from the Governor. General to
the Nazir, did in fact possess it. A Mr. Denison of
the Civil Service had come to assist the Government
prosecutor, but was declared disqualified, on its being
discovered that he himself was, like his honourable
masters, a debtor to the great banker. He came to
PrMoUte, Wed IMtr. Lang aback the Eacist of the dr-