The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-22 00:00:00

TIIE BEYT _EXPEDITION.

The following letter is the most complete account
that has yet appeared of the operations at Beyt :
Off Beyt Fortress, Oct. 13.
Although I dare say you have already had accounts of
the taking of Beyt, "a plain unvarnished tale" may yet be
of use, and if so, the following is at your service :
To begin at the beginning—Early on the 30th ult. tho
Okamandel Field Force, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dono-
van (Captain Ker, 6EII Native Infantry, acting aide-do-
camp and staff officer), embarked at the Apollo Bander.
It was thus composed :—Royal Artillery : 3 officers, 3 ser-
geants, 57 rank and file. ller Majesty's 28th Foot :18 offi-
cers, 25 sergeants, 12 drummers, 463 rank and file. Sappers
and Miners, native regiment; 3 European officers, 2 native
officers, 4 havildars, 2 buglers. 100 rank and file. 6th Na-
tive Infantry-9 European officers, 16 native officers, 36
havildars, 18 drummers, 600 rank and file. Marine batta-
lion-1 European officer, 3 native officers, 10 havildars, 200
rank and file. Total officers and men, 1,585. The forco
steamed out of harbour the same day, the following ships
composing the squadron and convey :—The steam frigates
Ferooz, Victoria, and Zenobia, having in tow the transports
Ramifies, South, and Empress of India, freighted with the
troops mentioned above. The squadron was under the
orders of Commander Cruttenden, of the Ferooz, the senior
I. N. officer.
At six p.m. on the 2d inst., the force arrived off Pore-
bunder, and anchored for the night. Early next morning,
the 3d, we weighed anchor, and arrixed off Dwarka at eight
a.m. The Ferooz went close in shore, to reconnoitre. We
then made for Beyt, arriving at two p.m. the same day, and
anchoring at once opposite the back, or south side of the
fort.

Early on the morning of the 4th the steam frigates moved
off on a reconnoitring expedition, in company with the
Clyde gunboat, which had preceded us, and were absent on
that duty all day and night.
Next morning (the sth), the Constance schooner joined
the squadron, just in time for the fray. About 9.30, as the
Ferooz was steaming past the fort, the enemy fired a shot,
but, being too ambitious, it passed over the masthead. Tho
Ferooz immediately returned the compliment, and the bom-
bardment commenced in fine style from the following ships
in succession:—The Ferooz, Zenobia, Victoria, Clyd• (gun-
boat), and Constance (schooner). Au incessant fire upon the
fort was thus kept up during the whole of the sth, the
enemy replying only about five or six times during the
whole of that day, they having, as has since been found,
very little ammunition. The practice of the several crews
of the squadron was deserving the highest praise. Ths
precision and accuracy of their aim was visible to all on
board the transports, and on the Clyde returning to her
anchorage for the night, within hearing of the troops, she
was greeted with such a true British cheer as must have
convinced her commander and crew that the efficiency and
gallantry displayed by her and her colleagues were duly
appreciated by those who were destined to take part in the
struggle on the following day.

Early on the morning of the 6th the troops received orders
to hold themselves ready for immediate disembarkation.
About 9 a.m. the Ramilies was taken in tow by the Victoria,
and moved to within a short distance of the shore, the 28th
Regiment (the well-known "slashers") impatientlyawaiting
the order to disembark. The 6th Regiment Native In-
fantry, on board the South, were then towed in nearer land,
and also the sappers and miners, artillery, &c., on board
the Empress of India. Tho final orders having been given,
the steamers Victoria, Zenobia, and Ferooz began again
bombarding the fortress—the latter steamer having been
throwing shot and shell all the morning, with the excep-
tion of about an hour and a half, which was occupied in a
conference with one of the native chiefs. He came down
to the bonder with a flag of truce, and eventually went
on board the Ferooz, and had an interview with her
commander (as chief naval officer) and Lieutenant-Colonel
Donovan, commanding the troops. It has been stated that
the terms proposed by the chief were, that they were willing
to give up the fort provided they were allowed to leave it
with their arms. This, of course, the commanders would
not accede to, and the chief having been put ashore, and a
reasonable time allowed him to reach the fort, the white
flag was run down from the masthead of the Ferooz, and at
it they went again, the first shot carrying away a large
portion of the round or principal tower of the fort. This,
of course, was greeted by a tremendous cheer, and now the
" Slashors" began to evince their impatience to be at work.
At length, to the great joy of all, the order was given for the
" Slashers" to disembark. At two o'clock p.m. the landing
commenced, in the following order :—The sharpshooters,
under command of Lieut. G. C. S. Ducat ; the ladder party,
under command of Liout. C. Thackeray, in the next boats ;
and the storming party, under the command of Lieut. F.
Brodigan ; and, lastly, the reserve, under command of Capt.
S. L. A. B. Messiter. These boats landed under a very
heavy fire from the enemy, who kept up an incessant fire
open them from old ruins, corners, of houses, behind boats,
&c., on the shore, but fortunately the whole were landed
with the sole casualty of one of the crew of a boat belonging
to the Zenobia receiving an ugly wound in the neck.
The foremost of the boats, containing the sharpshooters
of the 28th, having reached within about 50 yards of tha
shore, out they leaped into the water, which reached above
their knees, and with a terrific cheer started in pursuit of
the enemy. Tho latter retreated on the Slashers' approach,
at the same time firing upon our men, as they did so, from
behind any cover that presented itself. Meanwhile the
other boats had neared the shore, and the men, eager to
follow their comrades, were soon wading through the water
to take their share in the honour of the day. On the 6th
Native Infantry landing, they formed upon the beach. The
storaiers (ladder party) and the reserve were now ordered
by Major W. Roberts, in command of the detachment 28th,
to advance. Away they went, but by this time the enemy,
save such as had received leaden or steel persuaders to re-
main behind, had gained the fort, whence, and from old
houses and ruins adjoining, they opened a murderous fire of
musketry on the advancing troops. We ourselves had
afforded great facility for this move, in having, by the shot
from our steamers, beautifully pierced the fort wall for
them. Eventually they were all driven within the fort,
and our men fired on them whenever they showed be-
yond the cover of the walls. It was, however, necessarily
only a pot-shot business. Meanwhile the ladders had been
placed, but were found to be too short to admit of our gain-
ing the top of the wall. There was, therefore, nothing for
it but to keep up the desultory fire 1 have spoken of, and
certainly whore a chance offered it was not thrown away.
It was here, however, that our casualties principally oc-
curred. The sharpshooters also suffered severely from the
enemy having lain in wait fur the men landing, and then
firing upon them from the old houses on the shore as they
(the enemy) retreated. Eventually the latter fled in al
directions—it was saieee vti poet, and " deil tak' the hin

most," at last, in their efforts to gain the fort, and they suf
fered severely. Their loss, though known to be great, muse

•
However remain uncertain, as they carried their dead inside
he fort, and late at night burned them. The wounded
ley took with them when they evacuated the fort--but I

am anticipating.

The force that went into action was as follows, officers
and men :—llor Majesty's 28th, 514 ; Gth Native Infantry,
258 ; Marine battalion, 101; Sappers and •Miners, 83 ;
total, 956 all ranks. The killed and wounded wero as
follows :

Non-oommissu'd
Officers. officers and men.
Her Majesty's 28th
6th Native Infantry
Marine Battalion

Total killed
The wounded comprised :

Her Majesty's 28th
6th Native Infantry...... 9
Marine Battalion .......... 0

Total wounded.... 3 52
The enemy was supposed to be about 1,600 strong, but
the only information we have on this head is from pri-
soners, and therefore it cannot be relied upon.
At 11.45 p:tn. a company of the " Slashers" managed to
get inside tho fort, and lo I- the birds had flown. As it was
expected wo should not get them out before thd morning of
the 6th, some field pieces, with a party of artillery, were
landed from the ships late at night to co-operate with us in
forcing the gates. As matters turned out they were not
wanted—post bellum auxiliwn—and the capture of'Beyt
Fortress was effected with a mere handful of men in the
course of a few hours. At six o'clock in the morning the
Union Jack was seen flying from the fort in place of the
red and white striped flag of the Wagheers, which had
flaunted there for so long a time. Col. Donovan has been
pleased to express his high sense of the coolness, steadiness,
and gallantry displayed by the " Old Slashers" on this
occasion, as well as of the good behaviour of all under his
command during the harassing fire to which they were ex-
posed. At 10 o'clock on the morning of the sth, the men of
the 28th re-olisbarked, and the Gth Native Infantry were
left in camp, on shore, to keep guard over the town and
fortresses, to prevent plunder, &c. The Royal Artiller3,
with the Sappers and Miners, then proceeded to carry out
Col. Donovan's instructions, which were entirely to destroy
and demolish the fort, and which up to the present time,
they have been busily engaged in, together with blowing in
the massive. doors of the temples, &c., undermining the
fort, and in fact completing all the necessary arrangements
for leaving the fortress a mass of ruins.
On the engineers' inspection 4 the fort after its forced
abandonment, the walls were found to be in various places
from 27 to 51 feet in thickness. An inner wall was also
found,. following the outer at a distance of eight feet, and in
all directions pierced and loopholed for musketry. This
accounts for the heavy casualties in the 28th, as the approach
to the fort was through narrow alleys or lanes, The enemy

had thus every opportunity of covering each corner, and
when our men allowed themselves of course they could not
miss them. The temples within the fort are also surrounded
by a thick wall, extensively loopholed. These temples con-
tain vast wealth in gold and silver and jewels, and a com-
mittee has been appointed to secure the whole uutil the
orders of Government respecting its disposal shall be made
known. Within a few days several lakhs of rupees have
also been discovered in wells, and taken possession of by
the prize committee.

Thirty-two guns (1 24-pounder, 8 18s, 7 12s, 2 Os, 1
8-pounder, 5 Os, 2 3s, 3 2s, and 3 1s) and 5 carronades (4
32-pounders, 1 24-pounder) were found in the fort, but so
old and decayed as to be useless.

Various of-Hears have been appointel to special duties.
The fort is entirely in the hands of Captain Nasmyth, Field
Engineer, and no one cm enter without a pass from him.
Lieutenant -Wilson, of the Ferooz, is harbour-master, and
has sole control over all boats landing stores, &c., and all
shipping entering the harbour. The Commissariat Depart-
ment is under charge of Lieutenant Stewart, who appears to
carry out its duties to the satisfaction (wonderful to relate)
of all parties. lie returned yesterday, the 12th, with a
supply of sheep, grain, &c., from Mandavic, between which
place and But a daily postal communication is now kept up
by means of pattimars.

To return to the chronological order of events. On the
7th nothing particular occurred, which is hardly to be called
an event. The destruction of the fort would have gone on
more rapidly but for a short supply of blasting powder.
Early in the morning of the Bth the Zenobia received
orders to proceed to Bombay with the wounded officees and
men, and to bring back a fresh supply of ammunition for
the steamers. Sho left at 10 a.m., and her return will be
anxiously looked for by all, as on it will depend the length
of our stay here. She took five sergeants, two corporals,
and 26 privates of her Majesty's 28th ; one captain, one
lieutenant, and 10 privates of the Gth Native Infantry; and
one havildar and one private of the Marino Battalion.

On the 10th, at 11.45 a.m., a loud explosion was heard
on shore, and the greater part of the principal tower of the
fort was observed to topple over with a great crash. This
was one of the enemy's chief points of protection during
their destructive fire on our men. If it had been knocked
over before we landed, our loss would have been less heavy
than it was. It should be a lesson to us at Dwarka. ills
peecare in belle non lieet.

At 10 a.m. of the 11th, the Victoria, with Lieut.-Colonel
Donovan and Commander Cruttenden on board, proceeded
on a reconnoitring muse to Dwarka, returning hither at
8.30 p.m. Dwarka is as strong a military position as Beyt,
and is expected by all to give us even more trouble than the
capture of this place. But we shall have the force under
Colonel Christie to co-operate with us there (it will in all
probability be a land attack). As you know, that force
consists of 200 14th Native Infantry, 350 17th Native In-
fantry, 200 Guzerat Irregular Horse, and two guns. Every-
thing is being got ready for our move. The Victoria left on
the 12th for Kurrachee, to fetch ammunition, more blasting
power, extra guns, k, c . She is expected to return hither on
Saturday night, the 15th. We hope to roach Dwarka
about the 19th or the 20th.

P.S.—Very few prisoners were taken here, and those of
the poorest class. Two pattimars, which came in on the
night of the 12th, it is supposed laden with cotton, made
their escape in the night. At 3 a.m. to-day, the 13th, the
second cutter and pinnace of the Feroez were sent away
with thirty men to burn a village some twelve miles dis-
tant, and have not yet returned.

Oct. 14.—Nothing fresh up to 12.30 p.m. Health of
troops, with few exceptions, good. —Bombay Stsndard,
October 22.

SEVERE GALE AT MALTA.

Our corresponden3 at Malta reports, under date
of the 16th of November, a strong gale of wind from
the northward and eastward to have prevailed from
the night of the 11th to noon on the 14th, and the
arrival at that port on the 15th of some 20 vessels
under average, and the loss of two—viz., the bark
Hart of Oak, J. M. Polybank, master, with beans
and cotton, from Alexandria for Liverpool, aban-
doned off Malta on the 14th, with seven feet water in
her hold, rudder gone, and sinking fast, whose cap-
tain and crew, 12 in number, had been picked up
soon after and carried into Malta on the 10th by
the Sardinian brig San Nicola, G. B. Denegri mas-
ter from Odessa; and the barque Cockerill, Cocke-
rill master, abandoned on the 14th off Malta, in lat.
36 N., long. 13 E., also in a sinking state, the cap-
tain and crew of which latter had likewise been
picked up and carried into Malta by the Neapolitan
brig Indifferente, M. Romano master, from Ber-
dianski, bound to Messina. At sunset on the 15th
of November the telegraph station at Goza reported
an English barque, bearing south south-west, mak-
ing signals of distress. The French Messageries
Imperiales steam packet Jourdain, from Smyrna and
Syra, which made Malta on the night of the 10th,
ran for shelter from the gale under the lee of the
island, and did not reach harbour with her mails
until the morning of the 15th. Among the vessels
which have suffered damage and run into Malta on
the 15th, are the barque Newcastle, in charge of
the mate, R. Patterson, the master, J. O. Smith,
and W. Doroch, an apprentice, having been washed
overboard ; this vessel is from Soulinah, for Liver-
pool, with Indian corn, leaky, pump choked, binna-
cle, compasses, bulwarks, and rail washed away; the
barque Harold, F. Detchon, likewise from Soulinah,
with Indian corn,for Cork or Falmouth, cargo shifted;
the bark Marmion, J. Scott, from Antwerp, for
Odessa, with barley, cargo badly shifted, bulwarks
gone, and making a little water ' • the brig Walker,
J. Parsons, from Taganrog, with barley, for Cork
or Falmouth, leaky, stanchions and bulwarks gone,
loss of sails, and rigging injured ; the brig Times,
W. Biggs, from Brailow, with millet seed, for Cork
or Falmouth, cargo shifted, bulwarks and stan-
chions broken ; the brig Ellora, W. G. Watson,
with Indian corn, from Constantinople for Coik or
Falmouth, for orders ; the brig Thomas Young, T.
Grant, from Constantinople, with Indian corn, for
Liverpool, with cargo shifted; the Austrian brig
Maria Ludovica, G.Simunich, with barley, from
Brailow, and the Austrian brig Milostivi, Camina-
rovich, from Soulinah, with Indian corn, both for
Cork or Falmouth; the Sardinian brig Memoria,
A. Razetto, with wheat, from Marianopoli, for
Cork or Falmouth, part of cargo cast overboard,
and other losses and damages ; besides eight or
ten foreign vessels, more or less damaged, bound to
Mediterranean ports. The Peninsular and Oriental
Company's steamers Vectis, Capt. R. Roberts, with
the overland mail for India, from Marseilles, and
the Orissa, Capt. Christian, from Alexandria, with
the Bombay mails for Southampton, made their
passage to Malta, in spite of the gales, true to their
time—the former on the evening of the 14th in 60,
the latter on the afternoon of the 15th Nov. in 83
hours. The Euphrates screw steamer, Captain Mil-
burn, from Alexandria, and the screw steamer
Melita, Captain Langlands, from Smyrna, both
bound for Liverpool, also made their passage to
Malta through the gale in their usual time, with-
out any damage. Her Majesty's steam corvette
Gannet reached Malta on the 14th November, after
a long passage of five days from Corfu, having like-
wise met with the gale. Her Majesty's troopship
Perseverance, from England, had not reached Malta
up to the morning of the 16th November.

ANNUITY-TAX PROSECUTIONS IN
EDINB URGH.

The defences to the action on the part of the
clergy of the Established Church against Mr. Bry-
donelave been given in, and are now in the hands
of the agents for the ministers. A lady named Miss
Mary Anne Simpson, against whom a decree in
absence was obtained on the 4th of September, has
since claimed the advantage of the same grounds of
defence as those taken up by Mr. Brydone. She
had been served with a "charge" which contains, a
threat of poinding and imprisonment. Unable to pay
the large sum contained in the decree, she paid an
instalment, and craved delay for the balance. In
rely she received a letter from the agent granting
her request, provided she agreed to sign an enclosed
promissory note for upwards of £25. This she was
neither able nor willing to do, and, following the
advice of her friends, she put her case into the
hands of Mr. Robertson, the solicitor who has so
ably brought forward Mr. Brydone's defence. An
application was made to the sheriff to postpone the
execution of the decree till that gentleman's case
was settled, and as a necessary preliminary to this
proceeding the expenses of the action, amounting
to £3 Os. 10d., were consigned to the Sheriff-Clerk.
On the 17th inst. Sheriff Arkley pronounced the
following interlocutor :—" The Sheriff-Substitute,
in respect that a similar action, Aitken v. Bry-
done,' is at present depending in this Court of con-
sent sists procedure hoe state in this action till the
issue of said action." In accordance with this deci-
sion, every decree and summons for non-payment,
and, indeed, the whole collection of the rate, may
be postponed till the settlement of Mr. Brydone's
case. During the early part of this week the Crown
authorities, who have been recently examining the
charge against Mr. Hunter and his workmen for
deforcing the officers while attempting to arrest the
former for arrears of the annuity-tax, borrowed the
papers in the case " Aitken against B rydone," in
order, apparertly, to see whether the claim for
which the warrant was issued was a legal one. The
collector of the annuity-rate for the Canongate has
this week taken legal steps against the inhabitants
who are in arrears. Twelve summonses were issued
yesterday ; and it is said that one of the councillors
representing the Eighth Ward is among the num-
ber.—Scotsman of Saturday.

" We have already mentioned," says the Mom.-
teur rle l' Armee' "the mission of Capt. Burgois, of the
French navy, to England, and we now learn that he has
purchased there, for the French Government, two splendid
steam transports, the European and the Racer, each of
2,500 tons burden. The 24 iron gunboats now building ex-
pressly for operating in the Chinese livers will be embarked
on board these two vessels, which will SO for the reiho in
the beginning of January."