The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-05 00:00:00

LETTERS FROM INDIA.

The following interesting communication is from
a gentleman in India :

Calcutta, Nov. 23, 1857.
The present mail conveys to England the gratifying
intelligence of the relief of the besieged at Lucknow,
and of the safety of the women and children, a full
account of which is given in he newspapers. The official
despatches giving the detaiis of the operations have not
been received yet, or at all events they have not been
published, and therefore all that is known i. 4 the result
achieved at Lucknow, and that at a comparatively small
lose of officers, the return showing only four killed and
29 wounded. Highly satisfactory as this news is, yet it
is the only cheering information that the present steamer
takes to England, for although thus far victorious, the
whole of Lucknow was up to the 20th not in our posses-
sion, and it is expected that our troops will yet have a
good deal to do until the whole of .he town is subdued,
unless, indeed, the rebels should take to flight, which
would be a great pity, as in that case they are sure to
assemble again in other parte of the kingdom, and, thus
require another pursuing column to hunt them down.
T. e fact is, that though Lucknow must soon fall, it will
have but little effect upon the state of Oude, as there
are so many strongholds to which the rebels can
retire ; and as they muster in very strong numbers,
no effectual steps can be taken against them by Sir
Cohn Campbell until considerob:y reinforced. It
must not be overlooked that almost every place
throughout Oude has been strongly fortified by the
rebels—that each of these forts must be knocked
down ; and considering the areal extent of the country,
it must take a considerable force to achieve that result.
European troops are fast arriving, and pushed on with
the utmost rapidity that the limited means of convey.
ance will allow; but still, though troops are now sent
forward at the rate of 400 men a day, all these will not
be available f(a. the campaign in Oude alone, as it will
be necessary to place strong forces for the protection of
Allahabad and Ca'iepore, which are threatened by the
mutineers of Gwalior.
The arch-fiend, Nana Sahib, has again made his escape,
and is assembling a very formidable force. It is said he
has 20,000 men of his own, with 24 artiVery pieces, and
the Gwalior rebels, numbering 40,000 men, with fifty
heavy cannon, have placed themselves under the orders
of the Nana. In addition to this force there is the

famous traitor, Koer Singh, with a large force, both
cavalry and artillery, so that altogether there cannot be
less that 100,000 men in arms against us. Were this
force to meet us on open field, even double their number
would not cause us the least anxiety ; but as they divide
themselves in several parties, and threaten as on several
points—namely, Mirsapore, Allababad, and Cawnpore
—we are unable anywhere to concentate a sufficient
force to effectually check them ; and even if we kill 100
men to each five we lose, the loss will tell more on our
part than on theirs. The great drawback under which we
are labouring is the want of sufficient cavalry, so that we
have no means of pursuing the rebels, who, after unsuc-
cessful opposition, generally disperse, and some weeks
after reassemble in another place, when we have to attack
them again ; and to this sort of warfare we shall have
to apply ourselves until the greater portion of our '
forces arrive. In fact, our general position c moot be
considered to have improved much, and although some
of the districts are perfectly quiet, yet there is a feel-
, ing of uneasiness which prevails everywhere where no
European troops are stationed.
We are completely left in the dark as to what is
going on at Delhi, and the public is actually left in
ignorance whether there is a sufficient force I,ft there
to protect the city. The latest acc,,unt., recetved from
that quarter have roused public indignation about the
mistaken leniency shown to the King and his vam,,als by
the officer in command, who, of course, must act under
the order of Government. Our brave soldiers and their
wives and poor children h ,ve been murdered there in
cold blood, and their mutilated remains call for venge-
ance and retribution upon the villanous asassins ; yet
Government will not hear to the voice of the public,
and hence the feeling against Lord Canning and his ad-
visers is very strong. Had we had a man of proper
energy and ability at the head of affairs the rebellion
would never have been so widely spread ; but when it
was our policy to have recourse to stern measures, and
s.rike terror into the hearts of our enemies, we tried
the means of reconciliation by absurd proclamations,
which bore evidence to our weakness, and showed a
total ignorance of the actual state of affairs. Indeed,
never was there a Government that knew so little of
what was going on, and so thorough!y unprepared
for restoring order. Had it not been for the
electric telegraph, India by this time would have
been wrested from us. Had Lord Dalhousie been here,
matters would never have come to an extreme crisis, for

he was a man of energy, and always ready to act
promptly, without having reference to the advice of his
secretaries. Of course, even he has his share of enemies,
yet all admit that he is vastly superior to Lord Canning.
After repeated urging the Government have at la.t
consented to have a great military review. This took
place yesterday, and comprised about 4,000 men of her

Majesty's troops, consisting of Riflemen, Highlanders,
and gular infantry, together with the Calcutta Infantry
Vol Vaeer Guards. The sight was extremely pleasing,
and its moral effect upon 80,000 natives who witnessed
it cannot be mistaken. When the Highlanders charged
the whole of the natives ran as if they were to ba at-
tacked. As usual on all military reviews, Lord Canning,
instead of being in uniform, appeared in a plain civil
dress, though at last he has so much improved in man-
ners that at all events he hao a black hat on instead of a
white one. An attempt was made to cheer his lordship,
but it was quickly subdued by some one calling out that
the 'if° of the King of Delhi was still spired.
Calcutta was never so dull as at present. Though
the cold season has set in, and the weather is particularly
fine, no gaieties of any kind take place, as nearly one-
half of the population is in mourning, almost every one
having to bemourn the loss of some relative or friecd.

Only ;t Government House the usual dinner parties ;;;;I

music continue, perhaps to drown the pricks of con-
science at the mismanagement that emanated from the
Council Chamber. The guests are, however, chiefly
people from the service, who must go, for I think that
there are ♦ery few out of the service who would, under
prese❑t circumstances, accept an invitation of Lord
Canning. '

THE POLICY OF PARAGUAY.

OPENING OF THE RIO BERNIEJO.

An impression prevails in this country, among those
not well informed on the subject, that the Government
of Paraguay is opposed to the development of the
national resources by means of foreign trade, and t 3 the
opening up to the commerce of the world the numerous
rivers which flow through that republic to the Rio Plata.
Nothing can be more erroneous than this idea,
as is fully demonstrated by the late correspondence
between President Lopez and the Directors
of the Society for the Navigation of the Rio
Bermejo. The project of the society was submitted to
the Paraguayan Government, and its co-operation
sought in aid of the enterprise. President Lopez, in
his reply, assured the directors that ho regarded the
realisation of the plan as a great and beneficial event for
all the countries bordering on the Bermejo, and would
give it all the support in his power, conformably with
the treaty of July, 1856, between Paraguay and the
Argentine Confederation. The navigation of the Ber-
mejo is, by that treaty, common to the flags of both
republics, and the ascent of the river has already been
made by an Argentine merchant steamer. The
support promised by President Lopez to the project
for promoting the navigation will be a new corrobora-
tion of the principles which served as the basis of the
treaty. The Government of Bolivia being equally de-
sirous of the opening of the rivers, its only port at pre-
sent being situated on the west coast, there can be no
doubt that ere long the vast and teeming inland regions
of South America will he free to the shipping and com-
merce of all nations. The Bermejo puts Paraguays in
communication with the extensive provinces of
Salta, Jujui, and Tucuman ; and there are good
reasons for believing that the Pilcomavo is na
vigable into the heart of Bolivia. The in
tenor of the republic is, in fact, interlaced all over
with navigable streams, which flow into the great fluvial
artery after which the territory is named, and which
vessels of 200 tens can ascend to Cuiaba, the capital of
the Brazilian province of Matto Grosso. The advan-
tages to be derived by the inhabitants from the opening
of these rivers are incalculable, as they would be en-
abled to exchange their tobacco, cotton, sugar, indigo,
hides, &0., for the manufactures of Europe. Toe past con-
duct of President Lopez, in his coui teous reception of the
late Sir C. Hothani, in the negotiation of the A nglo-Para
guayan treaty, and in the mission of his accomplished
son, Brigadier-General Lopez, to the courts of England
and France, forbid the idea that so desirable a boon
will long be withheld. But, at the same time, it must
be borne in mind, in reference to other negotiations now
pending with regard to river navigation, that Paraguay
has the same right to courteous treatment and
the observances prescribed by diplomatic eti-
quette as the most powerful maritime nation, and
it cannot be expected that President Lopez will
submit to he bullied without exhibiting a natural resent.
ment. His remote and isolated position does not shut
him out from a just recognition of what is due to others,
nor does it render him insensible to what is due to
himself. A little more knowledge on these heads would
prevent some very absurd mistakes which certain
people
on both sides of the Atlantic fall into when they talk
;about Paraguay and its affairs, .