The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-06 00:00:00

LONDON. SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 1858.

If Lord JOHN RUSSELL will inquire of the Par-
liamentary Session of the year 1749, he will learn
something for his advantage. He will find in
that year a debats on the Mutiny Bill, and spe-
cially he will find a discussion on the subject of
open and secret voting in Courts-martial. The
advocates of electoral independence have often,
and naturally, referred to the practice of the army.
No Englishmen claim to be more thoroughly
English, more above all suspicion of cowardice in
the field or out of it, and more sensitive to the
slightest suspicion of their honour—in a word, to
be gentlemen of better breeding, than the officers
of our United Service. These high merits are
freely conceded to them. Our officers are a part
of our nation's pride. It is quite reasonable,
therefore, when independent voting is the ques-
tion, and when it is known that officers are very
frequently voters in Courts-martial, to inquire,
How do oar officers vote ? Are any safeguards
taken for the independence of their votes, or is
their high character for honour, as gentlemen,
considered a sufficient safeguard ?
Two things make the appeal to the practice of
officers in courts-martial of deep interest on the
same question of independent voting. Their pro-
motion depends entirely on their Commander-in-
Chief, and they have therefore the strongest inte-
rest in not offending him by their vote. Next
they have, in their own character as gentlemen,
and in the gentlemanly sentiments of their com-
mander, an assurance, which few can have, that
they shall not be unfairly treated for an adverse
vote, and if they feared they might, that they
could not as military men yield to fear. Yet, with
all these reasons for leaving their vote open, the
law takes from the members of courts-martial an
oath that they will not divulge each other's votes
and opinions I Gentlemen of the highest standing
and personal courage, are secured by a pledge infi-
nitely more solemn than their word of honour,
against their votes being known to those who are
mastersof their future interests; and that, although
nothing can be conceived more mean and unworthy
of a man of conscience and honour, than punish-
ing a subordinate by neglect, for conscientiously
fulfilling his duty.
In the old debate to which we have referred
our leading Reform-Bill-maker, he will find Mr.
joirrr Moltroie adopting as nearly as possible, his
own late arguments against the Ballot as valid
reasons •
atunat the secrecy of officers' votes in
a eauxtetaartAaL But Lim-more,What will perhaps interest
Lord HOLLAND, he will and E Itt Fox, afterwards
and father f the celebrated C.
J. Fox, replying with altogether parallel reason
ngg to those now employed in defence of secret
electoral votes.

every gentleman who has a regard for our Con.
stitution or the happiness of posterity." He
allowed, as officers depend " for their preferment
as well as for the continuance of their com-
mission on the arbitrary will of the Crown, or of
the Prime Minister, or of the General in command,
that they may be influenced by that General or
Minister, to acquit or condemn not according to

justice, but according to his will or pleasure." But
he contends that the oath of secrecy will not
obviate this danger. "We know how little an oath
is regarded by mankind. Officers, therefore, will
still be afraid of their vote becoming known to
the Crown. They will continue, therefore, to
he under the same influence as they now are.
Nay, more so l For ministers and generals,
under the old system of open voting, would not
risk the imputation of having dismissed or dis-
appointed an officer who voted contrary to their
direction." Then, like modern opponents of the
Ballot, he argues, in the teeth of his former ad-
missions, and asserts, " that no officer of the
army would be afraid of doing justice lest he
should incur the displeasure of another officer."
But, and surely the most ad captandum argument
of all to the House of Commons, Should any
court-martial be guilty of a breach of the privi-
leges of the .House, how could they detect and
punish the offending officers ?" Such is a very
condensed summary of JOHN MORTON ESQUIRE'S
arguments for leaving dependent officers and their
superiors to the restraints of their own sense of
justice and honour, and to the check of public
opinion.

Him answering (as the patriarch of poetry
would say), the father of the great orator
replied—" That so different was the nature of civil
law and its methods of procedure from military
law, that no argument from one to the other
would hold. This fact disposed of the only danger
suggested by MORTON. Even the House of Com•
mons, when it had heard counsel on a case, closed
its doors while it consulted. The common law
judges ought to be, and now were, rendered as
independent as possible. If the secrecy were an
evil, it was yet impossible to avoid every inconve
nience, and the least must be chosen. Now it
was impossible in the nature of things to make
the judges in a court-martial independent of the
Commander-in-Chief ; and no way could he think

of (to avoid the undue influence of the Comman

der-in-Chief) but by preventing its being known
how every particular member voted." Now, we
may surely ask Lord JOHN RUSSELL whether
tenant farmers, mortgagors, creditors, &c., are
not to the full as dependant as military officers,
and whether he, with all his purity of election of
bills, has been able to touch even the offence of
" undue influence I" He will find that his wis-

dom in no way transcends that of his great poli-
tical ancestor ; unless, indeed, his wisdom really
be the cunning rather, which desires to keep the
undue landlord influence while he seems to aim at
repressing it.

Mr. Fox did not believe, and experience has
confirmed his views, that officers could be regard-
less of their oaths, and considered the danger to
the service, of publicity, bygenerating animosities
between officers who should act together, would
be most detrimental to the service. As detrimental,
we may add, as political animosities often are,
under open voting, between neighbours. A judge,
he observed, rarely came in contact again, after
delivering judgment, with the parties who might
be offended with his decision. But officers neces-
sarily
did so, and though an offended officer 1
" might not seem to show any resentment against
him on that account, he might pick a quarrel with
him on some other account, and might put an
end to his life in a duel, without its being possible
ever for a court-martial to determine that the
duel proceeded from a secret resentment of what
the deceased had done at a court-martial."
Substitute offended landlord for offended
officer; for picking a quarrel, some flimsy pretext
about bad farming ; or, very frequently an unce-
remonious notice to quit ; and the loss of a farm
and all the capital sunk in improvements, with the
expense of transferring, perhaps selling off stock—
the loss perhaps of his own bread and that of his
family, for the loss of life in a duel—and Mr. Fox
has unquestionably mirrored the influences under
which not unfrequently half the votes of a county
are given. We hope Lord J. RUSSELL will ponder
over the lesson of this old debate. It is time for '
him to concede frankly the wish of the people.
He had better be quick. The Ballot is most cer-
tainly only a qaestion of time. The statesman
who first frankly offers it to the people will be
the last whom they will forget. Even should he
stimulate the DERBY Ministry to adopt it, he
would have the credit of it. We strongly advise
him to try another letter—say to Mr. BERKELEY,
who will be only too happy to hear from him.
He alone at present stops the way. He cannot
do it for long : had he not better stand aside, or,
still better, lead the grand Reform movement of
1
the day. Of one thing we can assure him, that

uo Reform Bill he can proffer will be worth much
more than a DERBY-DISRAELI Reform Bill, without
the Ballot. Indeed, we know no reason why Lord
DERBY should not give us quite as good a Reform
Bill as Lord JOHN'S last ; and if his Lordship does
but add the Ballot, Lard J. RUSSELLL and ail the
BEDPORDS, ELLIOTS, and GREYS may bid adieu to
office for many a long year. The }Mot is the
grand test of difference between the men who can
trust the people, who mean to govern so that they
can do it, and the mon who, like Lord PALMERS-
TON, clutch every appointment and every honour
for a selfish aristocracy.

MORTON—" Always was and still was ag
tl
this whole oath of secrecy," (he was endeavouring
to weaken it by an amendment), "it was an
innovation inconsistent with the tenor of our
laws, and with the very spirit of our Constitu-
tion." " Courts of justice had always been open,"
it might as rnll demardefl `hot o_l7 fhorld bo
,3Eertt tritrnalf. " FiT3 fl.
,e,,)ote trial carried on secretly." "It Smelt i
strongly of the Inquisition, and should alarm

and, Lord PALMERSTON was once so justly

solicitous.

But now, at the dictation of a Foreign Power, or
still worse, in servile anticipation of its desires, nous
changons tout cela, we have completely abandoned
the principles so proudly and strenuously asserted
in the olden time So far as the Foreign-office is
concerned, every Englishman is deemed guilty
until he has proved himself to be innocent. Nay
more, he must, like C/ESAR:S wife, show him-
self to be " above suspicion." He must
procure unequivocal recommendations from a
magistrate or banker, before he can obtain per-
mission even to set his foot on the soil of La Belle
France ! Should his parent, brother, wife, or
child, be languishing at the point of death, and
he be anxious to take a last farewell—he must seek
out some friendly householder, known to the
magistrate, who can testify to his respectability
and good conduct. It may not even be sufficient
to show satisfactory reasons for leaving that
he has obtained employment in France, which
may be lost unless he can at once enter on its
duties ; or, that a vessel in which he was
deeply interested had been stranded, or
otherwise imperilled, on the French coast, and
that his presence during the early part of the
emergency may be of vital consequence to his
future prospects in life. Some magistrates, to
their honour be it said, take the trouble of
patiently investigating such claims, and, if well
founded, supplying the necessary document. But
the great majority refuse to do so, unless ac-
quainted with the person, or, at all events, having
a certificate from some person well known to the
magistrate. Even then there must be considerable
delay and expense in addition to the 63. required
at the Foreign-office. The would-be traveller must
probably spend a day before he can obtain the
magisterial recommendation, and that must
be lodged twenty-four hours before the valu
able document can be issued. There is thus
on an average two days' time lost to every tra-
veller, in addition to that which may be expended
in travelling to London, or in corresponding with
the Foreign Secretary. Surely it is not our
duty to act as police for France, or to refuse the
necessary facilities to any British subject. When
a person can show that he owes allegiance to Queen
VICTORIA he should be entitled to the privileges
belonging to that character, although he might
not be willing to produce testimonials of respecta-
bility, or to subject his private affairs to a strin-
gent and inquisitorial scrutiny.
But having thus shown the vexatious inquiry,
and, we may add, insults of the present course,
we may inquire what possible security can it
afford either to the EMPEROR, or the French
nation ? We should rather say, that although it
might frequently prove troublesome to bona fide
and harmless travellers, it would not in the
slightest degree avert the designs of conspirators,
or supply better information to the police. Any
man, or body of men, engaged in a desperate
enterprise will have no difficulty in pro-
curing everything en regle, so as to satisfy,
and possibly mislead the police, who, relying o:i
inadequate precautions, will relax the caution
that might otherwise be exercised. Any supposed
protection always defeats its object. Men should
trust to themselves, and not lean on what almost
invariably turns out to be " broken reeds."

It was the attempt for which Onsmr, PIERRI,
and RITMO are now lying under sentence of
death that led to the additional stringency now
enflrced. I❑ consequence of that conspiracy Great
Britain is designated as a lair of assassins, and
Englishmen are supposed to be friendly to political.
murder. It was asked why we did not ferret out
the secret plottings of these men. We may,
however, reply, more Htibernico, by inquiring, why
were the French Police so remiss in the execution
of their duty ? The parties inculpated were
wellknown. Information had previously been given
of the contemplated crime. If the passport system
was worth a single farthing, the parties would have
been seixe,d long before the time when the crime was
about to be perpetrated. We venture to assert
that if a similar hint were given to our own dettc-
tives,the secret would be ferretted nut, and the elf° t
prevented. Even the infernal machines were
duly passed through the French Customhouses
without the slightest steps being taken to prevent
their deadly operation. If the EMPEROR, desires
to ward off such attacks, let him rely rather on
his moderation, clemency, and justice, on the love
and loyalty of his subjects, merited by judicious
government and gentle rule—than on repressive
measures or stringent passport regulations, which,
although powerful for evil, are totally ineffective
for good.

Mr. Disraeli, as leader of the Ministerial party in the
'loose of Commons, hae issued a circular to the Conser-
vative Members soliciting their attendance ou toe 12.11
instant. It is also underatoed that there will also be a
strong master of Liberals on the occa,ion.
The Right Hon. J. W. Henley, the President of the
Board of Trade, has appointed Mr. J. he ,ley his Pri-
vate Secretary ; and the Earl of Donouglirnore, Vice-
Pre3ident, has appointed Mr. J. W. Straton his Private
Secretary.
PORTSMOUTH, MARCH s.—la.anticipation of a general
election, Sir Francis Baring and Lord lionck will have
a private interview with the more influential of their
political friends this evening, with a view to secure their
j oint return, should a general el otion take place.
THE CAPTURE OF 'Y./M.—The gallant band wbich
escorted Mr. Parkes through the heart of the city into
the Tartar quarter, and then, in spite of sore tempt ,tion,
unpacked and re-packed in search of papers all the C.,m.
missioner's valuable chests without carrying off a ingle
article, consisted of 100 of the Sanspareil's men under
the sole command of Captain Key. Commodore Eliot,
who accompanied the expedition throughout, was nut
in command.
NANA SAHIB'S TEEASURES.—A young OffiCer, who
assisted at the recovery of some of the Nana's treasure
near Bithoor, wrno his f under date of the
The utter inutility of the new passport regula- 30th Dec., says :—id" g I
twrote inather, the beginning of the
,ions is no less unquestionable than the positive i month from Cawnpore, and since then another engineer
1 officer and myself, with a few Sappers, have been fisbing
grievance thereby entailed on every person who, treasure out of one of Nana Sahib's wells at hie palace
for purposes of business or pleasure, intends to ocfonßtiatihnoeodr,aabboouutt
senfemeitlensffrowmateCr a wbnupt bygetting 2
ore. Tke .cell
visit France. A new duty is imposed on our
men of the line to work half-a-d,:zen buckets we suc-
ceeded in getting it down to three test. Two or three
Police Magistrates, who are daily pestered with '
applications for the necessary recommendations to
Sappers then went down, and, after emptying the well
of three feet of rubbish, which the fellows bad thrown
enable the party to obtain a passport from the • in on the top, we managed to get out about 2,0001.
Foreign-office, the only "open sesame " by which
worth of silver plate and about 6,0001. worth of gold
. vessels. Some of the gold plate was magnificent. Two
admission can be obtained into the " tabooed " i large plates were two feet nine inches each in diameter
i and one of solid gold, and weighed together 70ibs. The
land. Were it for no other reason but the inter-
other gold articles consisted of cliaiicee, cups, leo., spurts
ruption and annoyance thus inflicted on public for.when
throwing rose-water,macassive
It
wasons fdorflithueltGangkes
functionaries, whose duties were already sufficiently i
fwoarl r
we bad no worshipping,implements for working the well, and
onerous, there would be good ground for applying the water came in at the rate
dof 60 gatllonsda minute.l
to the French Government to materially modify This mine is no.t quite w
get
t tn ye ,an
_web
_t a
few Sappers at Bithoor to a he rupees whic they
their eiisting restrictions, or, if that failed, to say are still at the bottom. The Nana's palace is in
alter the regulations so unwisely adopted by
, village we have burnt.
complete ruins, and everything belonging to him in the
Lord CLARENDON with respect to the issue of MR. BRIGHT, M.P., AND THE DEFEAT OF THE
, PALMERSTON GOVERNMENT.-11r. Blight, M.P., in ac-
these important documents.
and
Every Englishman unconvicted of crime aknowledgment of a v,,te of thanks adopted by a public
,
meeting held at Newcastle-on-Tyne for the part l e took
against whose character no tangible charge can be in the late Ministerial defeat, has addressed th. following
‘
substantiated, is entitled to travel wheresoever
getter to Mr. Joseph Cowen, jun., the secretary :
is, according ourconstitumtioa
his pleasure or convenience
toHboe receive
House of Commons, March I.—. Dear Sir,—l bate
d with much pleasure the announcement ciin-
nyalleathaeohriym,*
to tained in yur letter of the 27th ultimo, that
deemed innocent until a vote of thanks had been passed to Mr. Gibson and
C. . . proved to be guilty. myself for the part we have taken in opposing the
nspicion. " is
riety,, has, b _ completely ignored. " Noto- `Conspiracy Bill,' by a la-ge and enthusiastic public
itself, no vir • coeetin,* of the inhabitants of Newcastle. lam greatly
bunals. It -IL; •be c'ght with our tri- obliged to your townsmen for their kindness to me, I
in adjusting the *
punishment
as an element must say, however, that I took no part in the ri cent de
urinals ; but until thme ent of convicted cri- l?,s,ltre.G i
bI seconded
d the. resolution
i
rejoice
my friendat ti,e
obtained, it cannct be even bean has been result which and
folltelTieYd.
approved it,
you and the
has paid the penalty of his
folrildeed to„ If he' I.olrativtry. on the downfall of the very worst Ministry thtat
r off.ence, he It ra%ylboe de
The Ministry which has succeeded
is ntlrie,l In the sye3 of the la-,
r a transition. Ministry, to be followed,
until he hen I trust, by on
1 fain Vit.,2;ic:l it!, provkion2. rl. 13 am. ths tzt Liberm
pemorianetrbtoitled to 4 the ofconfitdencel,i„ the
W 3 Ri./;; an 2i3, GT rather A ng/ica was, about 7oti iCtlzottziority a ticloc7c:!'iyo'n,a Pf,71:7-7 Vit
"'
a r: 1
contained in ez:prcciiiana towarda mycelf :71iich Lira
WhOEO security and proper treatment in every John Bright your lett,r.—l am, yours respectful]
i Jos y.
eah Cowen, jun., Esq." '

I TEST NEWS.

ARRIVAL OF THE BOMBAY MAIL.

We have received advices from Bombay to Feb.
9, in anticipation of the Overland Mail.
The following is the summary of the Overland
Bombay Standard of Feb. 9
By the mail of the 23d ult., we mentioned the
arrival of Sir Hugh. Rose and Sir Robt. Hamilton
at Sehore on the 10th, with the disarming of the
Gwalior Contingent, and execution of the sepoys
which followed. The moveable column having as-
sembled here in its strength, consisting of the 14th
Dragoons, 17th Dragoons, 3d Lancers, H. M.'s 86th
Foot, 3d European Regiment, 2 Companies Re-
serve, detachment Sappers and Manners, Ist or
Leslie's Troop head quarters, 4th Company Bombay
Artillery, Ist do., 2d battalion, sth Company 14th
battalion Royal Artillery and 21st Company Royal
Engineers. The general marched north-westward
through Bhopal in the direction of Saugor, and
along the line of theVindyah mountains. On the
20th they reached Bhilsa without opposition. The
siege train was a march behind ; it was escorted by a
troop of the 14th Dragoons, the 3d Madras Euro-
peans, and Bombay Sappers and Miners, with
Captain Hare's detachment of the Hyderabad Con-
tingent. The force was expected to encounter
some resistance at a strong fort called Ratghur.
On the 23d, the detachment with the guns was
ordered to push on and join the main body. They
reached camp about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, but
without their tents ; having bivouacked the follow-
ing night, they started on Monday morning under
orders to push on, as the enemy were moving out
to defend the fort by which they were expected to
Cross the river. Our troops, however, forded
further down, and the insurgents thus foled, crossed
the coun,ry, and were able to fire a volley into the
advanced guard as they entered the town close by
the fort of Ratghur. A dragoon and native suba-
dar were killed. At 8 a.m. on the 25th, General
Rose, with his divisional staff, rode round the fort,
of which a careful reconnoisance, which occupied
the chief part of the day, was made. It is placed
upon the pear-shaped summit of a hill, about 700
feet above the plain, the walls enclosing the entire
of the wider end. Nearly the whole is surrounded
by precipitous rocks, the only approach being by a
narrow and steep ascent along the ridge. A part of
the force made a feigned attack, when the General,
with his staff, and 3d European Regiment crept up
the narrow ridge. On the 26th the heavy guns were
placed in position, and the fire opened, while the 3d
Europeans drove the enemy from the heights. The
rebels had proclaimed that as the fort was provisioned
for a year, and was considered strong, they
were determined to maintain it to the last. On the
morning of the 28th a large body of mutineers, con-
cealed in the thick jungles around, attempted to
relieve the fort. They assailed the rear of our
camp and the videttes guarding the right rear of
the force. They were at once attacked and driven
across the river with severe loss by Capt. Hare with
the Hyderabad Contingent. The garrison now
fairly lost heart, and two hours before daybreak on
the 29th a portion of them endeavoured to sally
out of the main
gate, when they were driven back
by Capt. Lightfoot's 9-pounders. The great body
of them escaped by lowering themselves over the
walls by ropes and scrambling down the precipice,
Mahomed Fazel Khan, and another rebel Nawaub,
were hung over the gate. The utmost kindness
was shown to the women and children. Sir Hugh
Rose marched on the 30th in the direction of Saugor,
leaving Ratghur in charge of the troops of the Queen
of Bhopal, who had undertaken to keep open our
communications. The enemy were understood to be
concentrating at the village of Banda, eleven miles
in advance of Ratghur, with a view of cutting off
our communieati'n with Mliere. Th-y w-re at one^
attacked and driven with loss from their position
in difficult broken ground and jungle, which they
obstinately defended. Capt. Neville, of the Royal
Engineers, who had distinguished himself in the
c.imea, and had here volunteered as aide-de-camp
to Sir Hugh Rose, was killed by a round shot.
On the 2d the force marched for Saugor, where it
arrived the following day. This fort had been
beleaguered since June, in constant fear, and not
infrequeut danger. It was reached and relieved
without opposition ; upwards of one hundred
women and children being amongst the number of
those shut up. Twenty rebels were executed on
the spot.

RAJPOOTANA FIELD FORCE UNDER GEN.
ROBERTS.-CAPTURE OF AWAH.

We gave in our last summary particulars of the
storming, on 6th Jan., of Rowa, near Aboo, by a
detachment under Major Raines, destined to form
a portion of the Rajpootana field force. Since then
5,0001. worth of gold and silver coins have been
discovered in the ruins, while 15 fine caparisoned
horses were captured in the neiehbeurhood. We
have to trace Raines's further progress in swelling
up the detachment to the dimensions of a column,
Artillery, '
consisting of the Bth Hussars, lit Lancers, H.M.'s
72d Highlanders, 90th Regiment, 51st Regiment,
detachment of H.M. s 83d Regiment, 11th Com-
pany Royal
°apt. Aitken's Battery, Ist Com-
pany Battalion Artillery, Leslie's Troop,
oand e
n d 12 i
ut ;g
'
back Native
his
siek Infantry,anawounded
wded to Deesa
r op
2d
Engineers,
24 Bombay Cavalry, 2d
To
with the siege
trains. S
Major Raines resumed his march on the 10th. On
1
the 19th he was joined at the village of Jaitpoora,
two miles from Awah, by a detachment from Nus-
seerabad under Col. Holmes, consisting of two
companies of the 83d, under Major Heatley, Capt.
Browne's Battery of Foot Artillery, 500 of the
Scinde Horse, two squadrons of the Ist Bombay
Lancers, and a portion of the 12th N.J., or includ-
ing the siege Artillery from Ahmedabad, 14 guns,
840 sabres, and 1,100 bayonets. They had now
reached the town of Awah, the fortof which was said
to be garrisoned by 2,000 men. On passing near
the walls the Nusseerabad detachment was fired
upon, when Capt. Aitken's Battery, and a detach-
ment of H. M.'s 95th proceeded to their assistance
and soon compelled the enemy to withdraw within
the walls. A reconnoieance was made during the
afternoon round the fort, the enemy keeping up a
heavy fire from all points. It luckily proved
harmless, and the camp was established in the
course of the afternoon, 1,500 yards from the
walls of the * fort. The defences consisted
of a mud and wattle embankment about
forty feet base, sloping upward to the height of
nearly fifty feet. The wall was loop-holed for
matchlocks and Angelis, and was nearly impene-
trable either by shot or shell. This was flanked by
bastions mounting from two to three guns each.
Some twenty yards in advance of the inner wall,
was a high bank, also loop-holed, and protected by
thorns and branches. And in advance of the whole
an abattis, constituting Awah one of the strongest
towns in Rajpootana. Colonel Holmes, on troops
being united, as senior officer took command.
He considered the place much too formidable for an
assault, and until agood breach had been established,
and on the day the forces united, mortar and howit-
zer batteries were established 1,000 yards from the
town. On the 20th and 22d, two other batteries,
six and seven hundred yards in advance, were con-
structed. That nearest the walls was armed with
two 18-pounders and two 8-inch howitzers.
The bombardment commenced on the 21st, and
continued wish increased vigour as our bat-
teries came into operation. A mortar battery was
now advanced to within 300 yards of the wall.
eparations for breaching, with a view to an
immediate assault, began on the 23d. Meanwhile
the storm which prevailed over the greater part of I
India descended with terrible fury in Rajpootana.
The night was pitchy dark, the wind blow a hurri-
cane, the rain poured in torrents, and the thunder
and lightning overmatched the roar and blaze of :
our artillery. In the midst of the tempest, the
enemy managed to escape despite the chain of posts
of infantry and cavalry which had been drawn so
ro,,,nri, that it :4efriTlCl. aira7r3t L-npo-piblo
10 evadefli,-;;;Z, 17V; first
by a portion of .?l.'s 95th concealed rifiepets
wi,hin forty yards of the wall, The defence, con.

sidering the inadequacy of their weapons, was on
}the whole an obstinate one, an incessant but very
ineffective fire having been kept up upon us from
the first, which failed to occasion a single death
casualty. About 170 prisoners were taken, of whom
25 were executed, 16 guns, the whole of his park,
with a large quantity of ammunition stores, grass,
and grain, fell into our hands. On the Ist February
the remaining wing of the 9th, with Sappers and
Miners, about 500 in all, and a portion of the 2d
Native Cavalry, proceeded from Deesa under com-
mand of General Robetts to overtake the advanced
I force.

(Bombay Correspondent of the Times.)
BOMBAY, Feb. 9.—The great central fire of the
insurrection is to be compressed within the limits
of Oude and Rohilcund, and there to be trodden
out to its last smouldering cinder. It would not
suffice that every body of armed rebels in the
open field should be dissipated, or even that
every vaunted stronghold should be laid low.
Great as these gains would be, they still are not
all that we require. We seek that within the limits
of these two great provinces the revolt should be
not merely broken, but annihilated. No fugitive
bands must be permitted to straggle back across
the Gogra or the Ganges, and spread desolation
anew in districts that have so lataly with great toil
and bloodshed, been relieved from their hateful
presence. In a word, the insurgents now in Oade
must not be allowed to get out, and those now ho•
vering on the external frontier must not be allowed
to get in. Hence the necessity of drawing a con-
tinuous and powerful cordon round the province
before striking the great blow at its mutinous
occupants. How well this has been done a very few
words will suffice, with a reference to the map, to
explain. Sir C. Campbell was, on the 28th January,
still encamped with his powerful force of all arms at
Futtehghur, a grand central position, from which
he was able to observe at once Rohilcund, Oude,
and the Doab. Above him was about t move down
upon the upper waters of the Ganges a column
from Lahore, commanded by Neville Chamberlain
as Brigadier. Below him, along the Ganges frontier
of Oude by Cawnpore and Futtehpore to Allaha-
bad, are bodies of English and Sikh troops watch-
ing every ghat, or place of passage, of the river.
Then upwards from Allahabad on the eastern fron-
tier of the rebel province are three columns of
European soldiery and the victorious Ghoorka bat-
talions of Jung Bahadoer. Thus when the revolted
stations of Rohilcund, Moradahad, BAreilly, and
Shahjehanpore have successively been recovered,
when, advancing into Oude, the Commander-in-
Chief has once again, and for the last time, gathered
to himself the gallant defenders of the Alumbagh,
and has reduced to a heap of desolate ruins the long-
resisting rebel capital, the survivors of the great
slaughter, broken and dispersed, will find no line of
escape unguarded by their watchful enemy, save
where, on their northern frontier, the peAilential
jungles of the Serai afford an inhospitable shelter,
scarcely less terrible than the bayonets of the
English or the knives of the Ghoorkhas.

Sir Colin was still at Futtehghur on the 28th.
He was waiting for the siege train from Agra,
which left that station on the 22d, but marched
but slowly, detained by heavy rains. The
train consisted of seven 24-pounder guns, one 10-
inch and three 8-inch howitzers, and as many 10-
inch mortars, with 750 rounds of ammunition for
each gun and 500 for each howitzer and mortar ;
shot and shell on the same scale were also sent from
the Agra arsenal for the guns, howitzer, and mor-
tars which the chief already had with him, which
is rated at 68 pieces of all calibres.