The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-20 00:00:00

THE RELIEF OF AZIMGHIIR.

• The latest 'intelligence you have received, even
by way .of Calcutta, cannot, I believe, have told
you of thee relief of Azitnghirr by. Colonel Lord
Mark ,Kerr and a, wing of the 13th Regiment.
The following account of this operation will be read
With great interest
-" The headqUarters of. her Majesty's 'l3th Light
Infantry, 400 'strong,and the detachment of the
Queen's Bays, numbering 60 sabres, which left
fillahabad. on the 27th March, were jeined at
3enares by two 6-pounder guns, and the column
Marched Ibenc*o with 'a convoy of more than 300
waggons, under the command of Lord Mark Kea.,
911 the 2d Aptil, and on the sth were within ten
Miles of the besieged town. The 6th of April is
riegarded by the Sepoys as unusually auspicious,
and it was consequently with feelings of the very
highest confidence th.tt they had na•Ade their dis-
irsitious for the attack, and in a manner which, it
must be confessel, reflected considerable credit on
their leader. (a well-known subadar .of the 40th
F. L), who had under his -c)mtnand, on :this
pccasion, a body. of 3,000 or 4,000, Sepoys, mlny
13f whom were. the' mutineers of the so-called
fighting regithents"—the 46th, 7th, 'and Bth.
pie road for four or five mileS on the Benares
tide of the bridge at -Azimgbur is skirted. by • a

ucce,ision; jof, einbailkments, tlpds,- and,: small

illage9, offer ing, a - series of portions most; ad-
ably : ylapted for the operations of itreg-lar
roopsi and the. column and convoy were per-
itted to'proceed unmolested along the road until
oth their flanls:and rear had fairly entered the
hain &positions held by the enemy, when a tre-
[l.
endow; fire was at once opened upon theroolumn
from every point. - The key of the rebels' position
onsisted in asmall village about OG yards from the
road, Atropgly fortified and loop-holed, and it was
o obtain possession of this decisive point that the
rincipal efforts of Lord Mark Kerr were dirdcted.
ut so strong was the position, and' so stubborn
as the resistance, that it was not till after two
ours of hard fighting, during which time the two
uns were constantly in action, that it fell into our
lands, our casualties amounting to 28 killed and
ounded, while ,the loss of the rebels must have

een very considerable, a heap of dead, full three
Ifset iu height,.being found iu the main build'ng of
he village. At the commencement of the action
ienten(tut Hall was severely wounded, while en-
aged in attacking a house on the left of the
nemy's position. Meanwhile the small baggage
ward in rear had been hotly ,engaged, in repelling
the assault of about 300 of the enemy, who, in-
alamed by the lust of plunder, ;and reckoning on
I
the small numbers of the form opposed, bad
ttaCked the convoy in a manner which sh)wed '
that they thought the much-coveted prize was
already within their grasp. The baggage guard,
however; supported by a party of the Bays,
managed to make 'good their resistance
or nearly an hour, until the arrival of a reinforce-
ment from the column, on which, instantly assum-
ing the offensive, they drove the enemy from their
strong position at the point of the bayonet. ' It
,was at this juncture, while bravely chargiug at the
!head of his men, that the gallant and lamented
Captain Wilson Jones, of the 13th, fell, mortally
wounded. His death was speedily avenged, forAhe
,embankment was carried the next instant, and the
'detachment of the Bays, charging the fugitives,
completed their rout and confusion. The casualties
on our side in the rear amounted to five hors de
combat. The enemy's loss and repulse had now
been so severe, that he declined to dispute seriously
the further advance of the column-and convoy,
though large bodies of the mutineers were seen on
our left moving in quarter distance columns, and
their horse in squadrons, parallel to our advance. '
;Their fire, however, wassail extremely hot, though
'their respect for the Enfield rifle, prevented our
casualties being very numerous.. Their disappoint-
ment must hive been most severe as they saw the
wholeof the convoy, with a very few trifling ex-
ceptions, file,slowly over the bridge at three o'clock,
to the great delight of the btler%ured garrison.
A letter from Futtehghur, says :—" You will-be
glad to hear 'that the Commander-in-Chief is on his
sway to this place. One column comes up the left,
the other the right bitik of the Ganges. The chief
is with the latter.- The siege train and -a wing of
her Majesty's 78th left Cawnpore for Futtehghur
ion the 16th." ~ _

Whilst these preparations were being made at
Lucknow, others not less significant were in pro-
tress in the direction of Robilcund. Coke's brigade,
(with the 60th Rifles added to its force, broke
" llffround from Roorkee, and crossed the Ganges to
;attack the Bynore district. We may expect soon
Ito hear of action against the Bareilly- people, of
whom tie following is an authentic list :—Khan
Balradur Khan, Chief Ruler ; Sobba Ram, Prin-
Icipal Dewan ; Feiz Alee, Meer Moonslice ; Glio-
ilam Ynhya, Naib Moonshot) ; Syfoden Khan, Jail
IDaroga and Superintendent of Buildings ; Mulhoo
'Khan, Taxing-officer of Bankers ; Dhuhoree
Loll
iKishen, Paymaster of the Forces ; Birjiore Pundit,
;Dewar' Alee ; Mudar Alec Kkan, Sipeh Saiar ;
lAkbur Alee Khan, Cotwal of Bareilly ; Mob r k
tSha Khan, Nazim of Bared'', ; Kabeer Sir). Klan,
'Naib of Bareilly ; Fuzul I3uk, Nazirn of Pellee-
ibheet-; • Ahmed Shah Khan, Naib of Pellebbeet ;
,Ahdool Ruhnian Khan, Nazirn of Badaon ; Fthsa-
hut Oola, Naib of Badaon; Neaz Mahomed Khan,
!Commander-in-Chief ; Ruramut Hoos9in, Com-
Imandant of Cavalry ; Kala Kh in, Alec Khan, and
Nizam Khan, holding military commands ; Walee-
dad Khau, of Malagurh ; Nana Rao, of Bithoor ;
;)Feroze Sha. and Mirza Kochuk, Shazadas of Delhi;
Nawab Raess of Futtehgbur ; Mahommod Shaff,e,
Ressaldar of Cavalry at Bareilly ; Gooljar Alee, of
,Umrolia, in Morradabad.
Nana Sahib's chances of escape are becoming
narrower daily ; a price of a lac of rupees and a
pardon are offered for his apprehension. But the
Government notification declares the reward is not
to be given to the Nawab of Furruckabad, the
Nawab of Bandas, Tej Singh, the rebel Rajah of
Mynpoorie ; Khan Bahadoor Khan, of Bareilly ;
and Waleedad Khan.

OUDE.
(From the Postscript to the Bombay Standard of
Saturday, April 24.)
. We regret to learn from our Lucknow corres-
pondents that the present condition and pr•spects
of Oude are most unsatisfactory. On this point
their testimony is unanimous. They differ, how-
ever, materially as to the functic naries on whom
the responsibility of this state of matters rests.
Some maintain that had Lord Canning car-
ried out the p-licy pressed on him by
Sir • Colin Campbell, and, by a gener(us
treatment of the talookdars and great zemin-
da's •of Oude, detached them from the rebel
ranks before the commencement of the operations
against Lucknow, we should not only have reduced
the numerical strength of the enemy by more than
two-thirds, but we should have recruited our own
force by a valuable irregular and police contingent
of many thousands, and have closed up neatly
every one of those points to which the dispersed
sepoys and budmashes have made, and at which
they are now re-organising themselves.
Such
liberal measures, practised before our uplifted
hand had fallen in vengeance on the" doomed
city," would have exhibited no element of weak-
ness. They would have been hailed as manifest-
ing the generous forbearance of a strong power,

N EWS PAPFI-R
-,-
..,_ _—. -_ ow--, , • 7k
N
vi, Ae .-144*
eater to digeritaitate_ . - —i, !..0.4-#4*..i. Z
,
rebellion ,baseA eni,tii, Iriy,. .1,,; gr: „....,; v 4 fts'
oh-tiry, 'dildifetioteitd- lii: eolid‘li \WV eleeVit',,, 7.
tike forbearance of aip4eweraniiO , Li t ' ..- ''• ,• '1 -
justice to remember. mercy. Fur not :;- .•144 bei .1-
. of -the hostild'forte,: possessed of the Jetist. intelli-
gencee and unblinded, by- 'fanaticism, ever doubted !
our ability', to 'effect -the utter'destiliction of our .:
enemies eblleoted in and arOund.Lncknow. But
when the result proved thef thekhal Aver-estimated
onr strength and their` own weal:less—when it be-
caineobvicins that we stood. tirg,enely in need of
the aid of the great landholders—professions of a
,
liberal policy came too late. Thoy,',,avoilied much
et an pndignified aet:- nye
o secure these:auxiliaries •
( f whom we stood so much in need., .by the affeeta- ,
tier) of a-magnenitnitylee,elie not possess; and this
eel; q,,,:,- r,: -t; has beim, ',We are told; intensified
by the milereble 'peat imations off-ter7l.Canning,
:r
which have ben fronitinie,fdtitaens'snA Cancilli d,
modified,_ and•eieyeeee.
V to'nteet, Ny it'system of
small iOtalinelet.S. ,Vii,,,W., I#,tiee.l add 'Obviate the
obi ectidns of tlie leicg e tellteeti, —,it 4r "77-writt'a A -
Lucknoir correspOkient7len.lheiletilieof Apeil.—.
'' due province be not the theatreteeidiiastt,r anti
humiliation, to Mr.: Mentgernerriviltethe praise be
due—not td.Lerd Canning. 111,eP*Iitgomery is
determind to carry out that -policy which Sr
Colin Canipb,Jl iecomni6ndeil, and of which i :
believe_ Sir John. Lawrence,. Sir ..14m.s Outram, ,
and Sir HerbeA, Edwards have been the earnest _
advocates." :-Such arb ' the views of one party.
But-there rid those who consider Lord Canning to
hale eviticgdeeiugtil tit api ;it' andsagacitY, military
eel' men_, and true statesanatishifi (ittelthese hold -
that' the •ttei)leeeant ihi,SPecti I?ercirii us Is due
to ' Sfr ' Conn-Cathpbal'S iie.gl•iCt ' of ' -obvious ,
strategic consideratiorteeeand-iliip:lwant of activity.
They point to his extrani-dinary eleley at, Cawn-
pore in Decernber lasti Ito- his prolonged halt at
Futteyglur, to his,ignefetion of. Barilly—Phene-
men'i, we are told; not henestly attriblitable to
cominisariat' difficulties, or any real inability: to
have brought the siege train from Agri at a much
earlier: period., Wie."Ate- called: on •tei:note e‘ the
bungling of the Goerkliki.7. c" WhYr wtitete 'a -
correspondent, "why should This force, siLco it
was reeolveit to bring, its ,to, ~Lucknowe not have
been brought earlier?. 'They say bkluseit had no .
ammemition. --What- -an—excuse ! Would Wel.
lington or Napier have kept their auxiliaries
without ammunvion vita an arsenal close at
hand 1" • Then again, we ate told that when
brought up little use was made of the G ,orkhas.
With their aid the City could have been in-
vested. But it was not invested. And at
least 95 per cent, of the enemy bolted. Was their .
boltirre-a- mater of joy or sorrow to the chief ? He
was said to have been very angry with Brigadier
Campbell, through whose errors so many got clean
off from lele'ese Bagh. But my Cawnpore letters tell
me that thieverylerigiidier bee fieeii pet iii;command
of the Cawnpore divisien oViertheli#l'•Of 'a senior
and very superior officer, Franklyn„:wk!alevays did
his work well.!! Such. arei_tite. op pos;fe fia yrs which
pr eyed' 'at LiickiieVe Wand' in the head-quarters'
camp. It is not fcr.us to reconci.e.or adjudicate
between them. Our duty simply is to record them,
ani to invite our readers, both in India and Eng-
land, to keep them in mind when studying the
his-ery of past and watching the progress. of future
op rations. A. knowledge 'of the discrepant views
which do 'obtain will, moreover, be of use to mem-
bers of Parliament intending to move for papers.
Ti:e.whole official and semi-official correspondence
that has. passekbetween the Goiertior7 General and
nini the ' Coande'r-••iii=Chief, ', er- bet Ween either. of .
those and .On _varikuls . military and diplomatic
officers relatiie to political proceedings or military .!
operations, should- be called for. This is dua to
Lord Canning, who has hitherto been severely
dealt with; it is due also to Sir, Colin Campbell,
whose popularity and prestige with the public,
both civil and military, appear to us to be on the
wane ; and it is,clue to the nation whose honour
and reseurces are at stike. ,

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.

. .
The squadron under Lord Lyons, which left the
offing of Malta on the Ist May, reached on the
morning of the sth the North Channel of Corfu,
where it anchored for the night. On weighing
next morning to run up, a telegram from the Ad-
miralty reacned the ga!lint Admiral, via Malta,
ordering him back to that island, with an intimation
that his successor in the command, Vice-Admiral
Fanshawe, would relieve him earlier than pre-
vious!), contemplated, whereupon, after merely
communicating with the authotities, the squadron
worked down the Southern Channel, and at day-
light ou the Bth was overtaken by the Vigilant
steamer, the bearer of another telegram ordering
the Princess Royal to Malta under steam, for the
purpose of conveying to Alexandria, on the way to
Ind.,a via Suez, the 57th It:littler-rt. She.reached
Malta on the evening of Sunday, the 9th, coaled
next day, and left on the afternoon of the 11th,
cony. yiag Lieut.-Colonel Warre, Major Buller,
' Capt tins Copland and Bird; Lieutenants Short,
Schoenberg, Shute, Bayntun, Powell, Hasled,
and Thompson ; EnsOgna Waller and M'Clintock ;
Paymaster Matthews, Adjutant Waugh, Quarter-
master B &Abbe, Surgeon M'Andrews, Assistant-
Surgeon Ferguson, and GM non-commissioned offi-
cers and privates of the 67th Regiment, heretofore
forming part of the Malta garrison. The Rlyal
Albert, bearing the flag of Admiral Lord Lyons,
accompanied by the Centurion and the Conqueror,
appeared in the offing of Malta on the same after-
noon, whereupon the Coquette was sent out with
despatches and returned -in the evening with a
telegram for the Admiralty. On: the 12th.the
squadrbiri!:;stood chase in, and_ again .coinmuni-
cated:-":o4iyugh the medium of the Coquette.
These ships have experienced very rough weather
for the season of the year, and have suffered
several casualties, with loss of and damage to spars
and yards," particularly - the Princess Royal.
On the morph* of the 13th the Royal Albert came
to an anchor in Valetta harbour, under a salute
from Fort St. Angelo; and another from a Dutch
friga'e, which she immediately returned. The
Cen ution and, COnqueror follo_tvixl,: and later in
the morning the Swallow, and in the afternoon the
Ariel; Which: seems to have lagged behind from
getting becalmed. Iler Majesty,'s,-steam transport
Supply at-rived fronißond-outn ana S yraron the 10th
of May, withancientniaibles for th &British Museum. •
Her Majesty's steamer Harpy, Lilut.-Complander
Porcher, lef on the 10.11 May for Tunis, to be placed
at the dispesal of her Britannic Majesty's Consul
thole, for the purpose ,of prosecuting antiquarian •
researches, under the direction of the Rev. Nathan
Davis, who has b: en !employed by the British Go-
vernment for some time past excavating on the
site of ancient Carthage. The Wanderer, steam
gunboat, returned to Malta from A.lexandtia• on •
the afternoon of the 13th of May, bringing a tele-
graphic message froth Suez, with the beads of the
intelligence brought by the Ottawa, which reached
there that morning from
.Bombay with the mails.
to the 24th of April.

BYPOTAIENIS EXPLAINING TIIE

INDIAN PALMISTRY.

TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,--Lord Canning's proclamation is Said not to
have been di afied in London. Its tenor is contrary
to Lord Cunning's own previously known views.
It required some explanation to satisfy the ex-
Ministry. It was further modified after being
" drafted." The explanations have not been re-
ceived by Mr. Vernon Smith (Lord Palmerston
says). They won't produce,the letter that promises
•• the explanations, or even the
passages that allude
to them.
Upon what hypothesis can all these incongruities
be explained ?
By the following :
That instructions for the proclamation (though
not a " draft" of the proclamation) wore sent out
by the late Ministry.
That the terms of these instructions were so harsh
, that Lord Canning 's draft is a modification of them;
I and it was this modification which he was anxious
to explaint when and justify.
the draft, even with these exceptions
iiia
to the univui sal confiscation ordered, was further
objected to by Sir John Lawrence, Sir J. Outram,
and Sir Colin Campbell, then the additional quali-
fying clause was added, that appeared in the pro-
clamation recently published.
That the private letter Vernon Smith welt% pro-
duce states that the explanations would be sent
(not to him) but to Lord Palmerston, or some one
else,
That tsuacuhtehzlaolf the
iatoryleinstructionstterstlave tboo.ecnonrfieenceia\t,ee.d,
though not, as wai said last night, by Mr. Vernon
Sin it b.

That theMinistGr whose " spirited foreignpolicy"
was his boast, is the author of the "spirited" in-
structions for the proclamation.
Tliuse suppositions explain everything relating
to the Cambridge-house plot. No other hypothesis
w ill.

Oue word more. If Lord Canning, in writing
semi-officially to Lord Ellenborough, assumes that
the latter has had the previous " private" letters
(addressed to Mr. Smith) communicated to him,
has -Vernon Smith any right to keep them back I
T. P.
May 19. Yours, itc.,

THE HOMEWARD INDIA MAILS.—The Peninsular and
Oriental Company's ktearners Sultan and Panther
reached Malta from Alexandria early •on the morning
of the 15th. Tho former proceeded. 6,n to Marseilles
immediately after coalif g; the latter for Southampton
at noon.