The Sun.
London, England, 1859-03-17 00:00:00

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Lahore for England in a fortnight, and unless the
arguments of his successor, Mr. Montgomery, who
will start on the 15th to meet the great Punjabee
before he leaves the scenes of his immortal labours
and triumphs, convince that clear hard head, Sir
John Lawrence will go home a determined opponent
of any measure which shall confer the semblance of
power and authority on the native gentry, and he
will leave behind him many able men who are
already standing aghast, or raising the voice of
complaint and protest against such daring innova-
tions on the policy of many years.
Although many of the Talookdars, great and
small, broke into open rebellion and long resisted
us in the field, the conduct of the Government of
Oude has been marked by clemency and generosity
—two words and qualities odious to many in India.
Whatever the threats of the Proclamation, Lord
Canning has certainly used the powers of confisca-
tion very sparingly, and Major Barrow's settlements
of revenue with proprietors who are placed beyond
all fear of change or dispossession for years to come,
now amount to the sum of 8,914,209 rupees, on a
revenue of about 12,000,000 rupees per annum, of
which 4,142,190 rupees have been already collected.
The Rajah Lonee Singh, whose estates are not yet
confiscated, is waiting his trial, as he not only fought
against us, but permitted British subjects, ladies and
childreu, to be treated with indignity when they
sought for shelter on his estates, and betrayed the
Seetapore fugitives to the Lucknow Government
The State trials of men who would have been most
certainly hanged at once if they had fallen into our
hands a year ago will be interesting. The Nawab
of Furruekabad is to b. e tried at Futtehghur by Mr.
Batten and two other judges, and he will be allowed

counsel for his defence. Several native officials
supposed to have been hanged have come to life and
are under trial, but it does not appear who their
representatives at the executions were. In Oude
the capital sentences and punishments inflicted by
the civil authorities are few indeed, and evince the
spirit of clemency by which the restoration of our
rule has been characterised, and may be held in
some measure to account for the speedy tranquilisa-
tion of the country. The total number of capital
sentences carried into effect in Ouds is only 28.
All the convicted were great and notorious crimi-
nals. About 120 were sentenced to transportation,
50 were flogged, and 90 were acquitted. In con-
tinuation of former returns I forward a copy of the

latest weekly report relative to the disarm—aments.
It will be seen that the distrust of the sepoys still
defies experience and promises. Including the
Oude regiments there could not have been less than
50,000 sepoys belonging to this province, and, as-
suming that one half of them were killed or died of
wounds and disease, there is still a very large mar-
gin between 25,000 and the 6,000 who have sur-
rendered to us. Granting that many thousands
have returned secretly to their homes, and are
hiding all over the province, there must, neverthe-
less, be upwards of 12,000 or 14,000 sepoys at large,
of whom the larger part are probably in the
Nepaulese territories or in the Terai jungles. Only
496 acknowledged son-disant mutineers have ap-
peared before our officers all over Oude, but of the
4,900 sepoys who have presented themselves with
leave certificates it may be fairly assumed that one-
half, at least, were fighting against us.

FEB. 1.

The 9th Lancers and 79th Highlanders remain in
their dusty, sandy plain near the Chuckerwallah
Kothie, the latter close to the very spot where they
encamped when Outram crossed the river and led
them on in their first movement towards the final
checkmate. They are to be stationed at Lahore,
and they will thus traverse a large portion of India
before they reach their cantonments. The 9th
Lancers will volunteer before they start for Eng-
land, and for three days the canteens will be open
gratis and the men served with liquor ad libitum if
the old practice be, as I hope it will not be, observed.
It is not fair to the soldier to ensnare him, or to
secure his services by such means. If he elects to
enter another regiment, and to continue his mili-
tary career in India, let him do so with all his
faculties about him, and let him not be able to say,
" I was drunk when I took the bounty." There is
no artificial stimulus requisite to make a man remain
here if he is sober, intelligent and moderately edu-
cated. In the new European regiments he is certain
of becoming a valued non-commissioned officer in a
very short time, and if he is saving and industrious
he has a fine career open to him in the lower
branches of the public service. The life of a dra-
goon in India is a course of absolute luxury com-
pared with his duties in England or any home
station.

The furloughs of the civil service are opened.
But what is the use, if the Peninsular and Oriental
do not take compassion on us ? Will no one hear
the cry of those poor starlings who are piping, hot
with apprehension of the coming heats, " We can't
get out ! We can't get out!" and liberate us from
the cage ? The " Great Eastern" to the rescue !
Not all the curry in Calcutta, nor all the prawns in
the Ganges, nor the kuskus tatties in Hindostan,
nor the claret cups of all the clubs, nor all the pun-
kahs in Bengal, or the pickled mangoes of Bombay,
nor humps of ox nor brawn of boar can tempt one
who served last summer under canvass to risk
another, unless the civil service or a fat brigadier-
ship with its magic four 3's a month, binds him
by golden links to the burning, deadly soil.
FEB. 2.

I am told that Lord Clyde reviewed or inspected
the 79th Highlanders this morning, previous to
their departure to-morrow on their long march of
60 odd days to their station at Lahore. I hear that
his lordship made the regiment a farewell speech,
in which he attributed the position he now holds to
his Sovereign's favour, and his peerage to the High-
land Brigade. Lord Clyde might, however, have
taken some credit to himself for his long career of
meritorious service, and his gallantry, professional
attainments, and great sagacity. No one knew of
the inspection, except the members of his lordship's
personal staff and the Chief of the Staff, and one or
two others. Even the Quartermaster-General of the
Army was not made acquainted with it, and Col.
Taylor, commanding the regiment, did not know
they would be inspected till late in the previous
evening.
Young Lord Dangan left the head-quarters camp
last night on his way to Bombay, having failed in
his object of seeing active service, except such little
affairs as those of Doundhia Khera, Mejiddiah, and
the scamper of the Raptee, and consequently losing
his chance of establishing a claim for a brevet-ma-
jority. The army is inundated with brevet-majors,
and a very high authority has designated a modern
war as " a machine for evolving brevet-m.ajorities."
We must not make military rank and rewards too
cheap, and at the best brevets are bad in principle.
The only army in the world save our own in which
brevet rank is known is not one to follow in any
way—l mean that of Spain, where there are some-
times 20 field officers to a regiment. As far as lam
aware, brevets are not known in the army of France,
or in those of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Denmark,
Sweden, Sardinia, or Turkey. As to clasps, medals,
ribands, and deorations, we are in a fair way of
rivalling the Russians. Some of our officers have
not room on their ample left breasts for the display
of their many coloured harvest of ribands from the
field of glory, and, as our medals are very solid
affairs, the ingenious jeweller drives a small trade
in making decorations in petto.

FEB. 3.
The policy of Lord Canning in reference to the
relations between our Government
and that of
Nepaul has been, however tardily inaugurated or
divulged, most successful in:its effect. Jung Baha-
door has been obliged to solicit our assistance.
Orders have been despatched by Sowars to Briga-
dier Horsford to cross the Raptee on receipt of the
despatch, and to enter Nepaul to co-operate with
the Ghoorka troops in reducing the Sepoys who
have sought refuge. As Lord Clyde has had a re-
turn of hisindisposition, and is now so unwell as to
render any application to business undesirable, I
presume that General Mansfield in issuing those
orders acted on the instructions of the Supreme
Government. For my own part I regret much that
I shall be unable to see this strange and interesting
country—the relays of Sowars will traverse in
some 30 hours a space which it would take me six
or seven marches to accomplish, burdened as I
should be with tent and food, so that making the
utmost haste I could not arrive on the Raptee for
four or five days after the column had entered
Nepaul. In consequence of the march of Horsford's
force the pass of the Raptee will be left open, but
the Ist Bengal Fusiliers, who were at Byram Ghat,
expecting the route for I)ugshai, near Simla, will
be sent on to take their place, and the Kumaon
Battalion, from Bare
ach, will probably move on
to support them, for it is necessary to guard all the
bridges and ferries for the present, lest the despe-
rate Sepoys and outlaws known to be hugging the
Terai should make a rush to get away to their
homes or to plunder unprotected villages. The
indisposition of the Commander-in-Chief is caused
by a kind of bronchitis—an aggravation of the cold
from which he has been suffering for some days,
produced, no doubt, by his exertions yesterday,
and by want of precaution against the effect of the
raw air. To-day the dust is flying in clouds, under
the influnence of a high wind. Visitors are coming