The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-15 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, FEB. 15, 1858.

We have had large additions to our information
from India and China. Not only have two ad-
ditional telegrams been received.—one by the
Foreign Office, the other at the India House—
but the Overland Mails have been received, with
copious details of the operations, of which we
had already obtained the leading features by
means of the magical wires, which have practically
annihilated time and distance. Nothing could be

more satisfactory than the tidings which have thus

been communicated. They show a steady pro-
gress on the part of Sir COLIN CAMPBELL and his
truly efficient coadjutors. There has not been the
slightest mistake or failure. The British arms are
crowned with successin every quarter. The rebels
are receiving just punishment for their atrocious
treachery and sanguinary brutality, and the com-
plete restoration of British supremacy, and with
it peace and tranquillity, are reduced to a mere
question of time. In China, too, Canton, with
its million of inhabitants, was completely at our
mercy, and we should shortly be in a position to
ictate to Commissioner -Yin and his satellites the
conditions on which their perverse disregard of
engagements, confirmed by solemn treaties, could
alone be forgiven.
From India we have Bombay dates to the 23d
January. The last were from Calcutta to the 9th,
and Bombay the 13th. The events of ten addi-
tional days are therefore known, an important
period under existing circumstances, and it is,
indeed, gratifying to be enabled to announce that
all is going on as well as could reasonably be ex-
pected. That Sir Corax is not merely sustaining
but adding to his well-merited reputation, and
that all our troops are proving themselves worthy
companions of, the lion-hearted men, who, under

the lamented HAVELOCK, achieved imperishable
.lau'rels, and monuments more durable than brass.
Public attention will naturally be directed in
the first instance to the condition of the gallant

' garrison in the Alumbagh, under Sir JAMES
OUTEAM. A comparatively small party are seated
in the midst of a hostile kingdom surrounded by
nearly twenty times their number. But happily
they are not distracted by any care for women and
children, or even new combatants. Four thou.
sand tried men, all of whom have passed re•
peatedly through fire, and who carry with

them the prestige of former victories gained over'
ten-fold their numbers, and possessing ample pro-
visions, guns, and ammunition, all the materiel
of war, have but little to fear from any attempts
on the part of the rebels, however numerous and
reckless in their despairing rage. That many.
assaults should be hazarded was to be anticipated,
and that they should be repulsed with serious loss
to the assailants might be regarded as
the probable result. It i 3, therefore,
without surprise that we hear- of no less
than three onslaughts on the British
force at Alumbagh on the 22d of December, and
the 12th and 16th of January, and that they
should be defeated on each occasion, suffering
heavily for their temerity both in men and guns.
The news is doubly cheering from the fact that
these triumphs have been accomplished with
scarcely a casualty on our side.
We already knew the proceedings of Sir COLIN
CAMPBELL up to the 3d of January. He had
started from Cawnpore on the 24th December,
with 3,000 experienced veterans; had captured a
large quantity of treasure at Bithoor ; attacked
and defeated the insurgents on the 27th, on the
Khoree Nudee ; repelled a fierce attack of the
insurgents, capturing all their guns, seven or
eight in number ; and on the following day,
occupied Furruckabad, which bad been aban-
doned by the enemy after their decisive defeat.
He had also opened communication with the gal-
lant SEATON and his victorious column. Since
taat time it is stated that on the 11th January
he occupied Futisohcirn (1) the rebels leaving
their guns, baggage, and ammunition, behind
them." It would seem, however, as if there must
have been some mistake in the telegram, and it
is by no means improbable that it may be but
a different version of the capture of Furrucka-
bad, which had been abandoned by the enemy on
the 3d, as previously set forth.
Troops were being pushed forward through
Scinde into the Punjaub. It was anticipated that
Sir Joins. LAWRENCE would receive some very im•
portant reinforcements—some 3,000 or 4,000
men. With the energy and. promptitude for
which he is so eminently distinguished, he had
already provided horses to mount the cavalry on
their arrival.

A strong column, under Brigadier ROBERTS,
was moving from Deesa into Rajpootana. The
first detachment, under Major RAINS, had cap-
tured a rebel fortress near Mount Aboo, and after-
wards proceeded towards Nusseerabad. Sir Hoot/
RosE had reached Sehore, and expected to arrive
at Saugor on the 28th January, having disposed
of the Malwa mutineers, and executea 149 of
their ringleaders. He intended afterwards ad-
vancing to Jhansi. He was closely followed by
Sir R. Hamilton and a Madras column, which
was to be joined by Sir W. GRANT, who was
advancing in the same direction.
At Nagpore, General WHITELOCK had cap-
tured and burnt, after an obstinate resistance,
the village of the rebel Thakoors of.Rewa, on the
6th January. The Punjaub remained quiet, with
the exception of Kandeish. The only doubtful
point is that relating to a conflict between a de-
tachment under Captain MONTGOMERY and a
party of the rebel Bheels, near the frontiers of
the NIZAM'S territories. The result is reported
as iniscisive, which we fear is but another name
for failure and defeat. The English leader and
three of his brother officers were severely wounded
—one of them since dead, and 50 rank and file
were placed hors de combat. This is, as we have
stated, the only drawback to the otherwise satis-
factory tidings.
The news from China only gives the details of
the attack on Canton, of which we gave the
leading features on Wednesday. There about 900
Frenchmen engaged on our side, who greatly
distinguished themselves, and were worthy coad-
jutors of the English soldiers, sailors, and marines.
Canton lay at the mercy of the attacking forces.
The North Forts had been abandoned by the
enemy, and taken possession of by our troops.
Lin's Fort on the east was also captured, as well as
Clough Fort. The standards of England and France
floated proudly over the five-storey Pagoda. The
city was in fact commanded on every side and could
be laid in ruins at any moment with a a fearful
destruction of human life. It was in mercy to
the deluded population that the assailants refrained
from pushing their triumph to the full extent.
There can be no doubt that YEE( is sufficiently
convinced of the absurdity of the course on which
he entered, and it may reasonably be anticipated
that he will, even at the eleventh hour, see the
necessity of swallowing his leek with due
humility, and of making adequate amends
for his obstinate resistance to just and
moderate demands. Should he not do se, or
should the EMPEROR refuse to yield to fell neces-
sity, our gallant sailors and soldiers will be pre-
pared to follow up zealously and efficiently the
efforts so auspiciously commenced, until the
Brother of the Sun, the Monarch of the flowery
land, shall think proper to make suitable over-
tures, and to defray all the expenses and losses
occasioned by the gross misconduct of his repre-
sentatives. As we have already stated, our
operations were not defeated or delayed by the
absence of the Hon. General ASHBURNHAM.
He was, at the time when the forces to the com-
mand of which he was nominated were fiercely
engaged, taking his ease in his club, or on his
way homewards, and there seems no reason to
doubt that at the time he was " the right man in
the right place." Sir M. SEYMOUR and General
STRA.UBENZEE were well able to get on without
him, nor was the confidence of the soldiers in any
degree impaired on account of his counsel and
assistance being wanting.

We gave the East India Company last Friday
the benefit of a summary of their own " memo:
randum," on their own good deeds. Should the
Company or rather that ghost of the old Company
which yet haunts Leadenhall-street, not survive
the PALMERSTON onslaught, it will not be because
it has forgotten to trumpet its own praises. The
directors first proclaimed in their notable petition
that their government was one of " the purest in
intention and of the most beneficent in act ever
known among mankind ! !" Then followed their
" memorandum," showing by the argument
Englishmen love so well, the argument of facts,
that not only was the Company a model of purity
a
but that as all created goodness
may at least advance in its goodness, so the Honour-
able le beneficence,
East India Company had been an improving
Company.
e Company
Not,
y
of course, a penitent and re-
formingbut one whose progress was
rather to be described as, good, better, best ; till
we suppose the issue was to be—perfection. Re-
formers all over the world were no longer to talk
of the gloriaps constitution of England, but the
immaculate regime of the East India Company w is
to be the one for which Neapolitans, Lcriabarth
and Germans, and even Frenchmen were to sigh.
The prayer of all Europe was to be, " make ue
as the subjects of the East India Company." And,
little abating from these high pretensions, did the
Company's advocate rise up in the House of
Commons. Singularly enough, however, the
honourable Member for Huntingdon did but insist
practically on the insolvent's plea—" time."

However " magnificent his peroration" in the
view even of such a critic as Mr. MILNES, the
prayer of his speech was for time. Mr. R. D.
IVIArTGLEs himself, as became him, was somewhat
more modest ; he tried to find a few bright pages
in the insolvenfs political ledger, still he, too, could
only follow the leading counsel for the Company,
and ask for—time.

Now, of all pleas in governmental bankruptcy
this is about the worst. No Government which
could boldly justify the past would refer its justi-
fication to the future. It comes all the worse
from the East India Company, because we did
overhaul their books pretty well in 1853. We
have no chance of knowing much more about them
and their management, especially possessing as we
do the light whioh the mutiny has flashed upon
us all in the course of a few months. The history
of the Company, and the principal features
of its administration, have become known to
more thousands of Englishmen since last midsum-
mer than they were to hundreds previous to that
time. The knowledge may be neither extensive
nor accurate in details ; yet what with the discus-
sions of public meetings, the publication of a flood
of pamphlets, and the correspondence and com-
ments of the press, such information as the public
need is pretty fairly in its possession. The
nation at large, and even the House of Commons,
have nothing to do with minutize ; the great fea-
tures of the ease it seemingly fully recognises. These
are sufficient to guide its legislation, since it does
not want to legislate for pimples. Certain it is that
if such an opportunity for interesting the public
in India be now thrown away, the Leadenhall-
street sham may not be extinguished for many a

long year.
Mr. BARING may safely dismiss from his mind
all fears, if he has any beyond those of the special
pleader, about the apprehensions which will fill
natives' minds when they find for the first time
that the government is carried on directly in the
name of the QVZEN. The only apprehensions felt
will be those of any of the mutinous-minded that
they will have no further opportunity of rebelling,
looting treasuries, and murdering officers, women
and babes. They will "apprehend," indeed, that
a pretty large establishment of QUEEN'S troops
among them will be incompatible with a repeti-
tion of the doings of 1857. But the vast mass of
the population, intent upon their farms and their
merchandise, will undoubtedly hail the guarantee
for their security to their peaceful labours ; and
the native princes can hardly fail to prefer being
feudatories of one of the most powerful Sovereigns
on Earth, to being the mere subordinates of a
great trading, or rather stock-holding company.
The company and its defenders must all feel
that their petition and memorandum cut but a
sorry figure after one night's debate. What may
be done and said to place them in a better light
we can hardly imagine. They will hardly take to
themselves again the glory of conquering India,
whatever glory there may be in it, when it is
notorious that all was done in spite of their orders,
and a great part of it, only as a last expedient to
satisfy the everlasting demands of the directors
for money ; and another great part by the servants
of the Crown, but still in opposition to the wishes
of.the company.
Perhaps there never was a more complete
exposure of a vainglorious puff than Sir G. C.
LEWIS'S historical refutation of the boasts of the
petition and the memorandum. Mr. MANGLES
winced under it, as well he might, and having
intended to reserve himself for a more formal
attack, actually ventured a historical impromptu,
but all to no purpose. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer was on his own ground, and fought
better than usual. Whatever our obligation to
retain India, and to govern it for its own benefit,
ho remarked, truly enough, that it would not be
easy to show that we are great gainers by our
Indian empire. And, as to the nobleness and
public virtue of the great corporation, until they
came under the control of Parliament in 1784 by
Mr. PITT'S Act, nothing could be more sordid and
avaricious than their uniform policy. A moral
lecture to their servants, ending with a demand
for money, at all events, is the description of all
their most important communications. While they
were an uncontrolled commercial company, they
were certainly a model of one kind of purity and
beneficence—of the pure love of gain, and of bene.-
ficence to the proprietors •f East India Stock.
Indeed it is indisputable that when the Board
of Control was created to keep them some-
what politically decent, all England, and all
parties, and all speakers, concurred in regarding
the Company, in the language of Mr. BIgrAKE'S
resolutions, a " despotic and rapacious tyranny."

Ever since the establishment of the Board of
Control in 1784, and the successive ourtailinents
of the Company's monopolies and power, all the
improvements so pompously enumerated are due,
not to the Directors, but to the growing influence
of the Home Government and Parliament upon
Indian affairs. The increase of trade is wholly
and solely due to the abolition of their monopoly,
which abolition they resisted to the uttermost,
yet now take credit for its fruits ! So of the
abolition of cruel Indian usages, like the burning
of widows, and of disgracefully humiliating con-
tributions to the support of cruel and obscene
idolatries, this is entirely due to the determination
of the Crown servants in India and to discussions
at home. The Directors, poor souls, trembled
for their dividends, if widows were not
burnt into blessedness, and if Juggernaut's
Car were not gaudily ornamented with the
Company's upholstery as its wheels crushed the
heads of human sacrifices l This is simple fact ;
and yet these Directors parade before as their
putting down such things as these, when their
perpetration of them had made England too hot for
the comfort of the Honourable Court !

The same may be said of all their improve-
ments, and of all their undertakings ii the way
of reads, irrigation, railways, (t .e. The publie at
home began to cry open shame upon them, when
its eyes every now and then turned to such a vast
empire at their absolute disposal, yet as little
blessed by the advantages of modern sciences and
skill as if the Directors had lived in the seven-
teenth instead of the nineteenth century. What
India has got from them is in fact but a miserable
instalment of what it ought to have had by this
time ; and for that little she may thank the Par-
liament and the public of England. We, at the
same time, acknowledge that the small increase
of Crown patronage is the distasteful part of the
new proposals. We do not see how it can be
avoided. We fear the patronisers of the CARDI-
GANS and PHlrrsEs ; but we do not believe that
it will be worse than that of Directors, the success
of whose canvass depends upon promises of In-
dian appointments. England must take security
against aristocratic patronage, by insisting on a
bona fide Reform Bill.

R
Thethe
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609 were new cases.
TUE ALIEN PILL.—A numerously signed requisiticn
of the Town Courriil of Dunfermline has been presented
to the Provost, requesting him to call a meeting " t consider the propriety of petitioning against Lord Fal-
meraton's bill, as beinginefficient to prevent conspiran.e,.
and inexpedient under existing circumstances." Tile
meeting will take place on Monday.—Sgotormn.