The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-21 00:00:00

THE BOMBAY MAIL.

We have received by the Overland Mail advicE s
and papers from Bombay to the 20th August. The
defeat of the British forces at Peiho was a subject
of much interest at the presidency, and is widely
commented on by the various journals. The Bom-
bay Gazette opens its summary with the subject,
and then continues:—

To guard against any emergency that may arise
the Hon. Mr. Bruce has applied to the Governor-
General for troops ; but where are they to come
from ? Having been presented with their discharge,
about 10,000 men are at this moment on point
of leaving India. 'lwo months ago no one thought
there was any difficulty in settling the claims of
the soldiers for bounty, created by their transfer to
the service of the t rown. Lord Canning met the
difficulty by giving them their discharge, con-
ceiving, we fancy, that in this matter they would
consult their own interests, and find it more to their
advantage to remain in the service. Has it so
turned out ? Every day we hear of the withdrawal
of large bodies of soldiers from their regiments,
and the army itself is rapidly dissolving away. In
the Bengal regiments 5,800 men have taken their
discharge, about 2,300 are expected to embark from
Madras, and 2,100 from Bombay. About 500 dis-
charged European soldiers arrived here ou Sunday
last from Mhow, by rail, and many are on their way
to the presidency from the various military canton-
ments in the interior. We were informed the other
day that the ships Contest, Hope, North, Nuggett,
and Herefordshire, have been chartered by Govern-
ment for conveying the men to England. The first
two vessels will sail in a few days with about 415
men on board each of them.

This is a matter more important than on the sur-
face it appears. It is indeed a lamentable fact that
the British force in India is inadequate to the
requirements of war. Soldiers cannot be manufac •
tured in a few months, nor, when they are striplings
at the time of enlistment, in a few years. But, ad-
mitting that we rre enlisting at double the rate of
any previous year ; admitting that we have done
all that could be done to raise recruits, still there
comes the question,how are we to replace European
regiments of long Indian experience, and at once
raise British troops seasoned and fit for the hard-
ships of an Asiatic campaign ?
From the districts traversed by the rebels we
have scarcely any news. If we may credit some
letters that have been published in the Bengal
papers they are almost in a state of starvation.
They prowl about in bands of from 50 to 500, and
are dispersed over the lower ranges south of Nepaul.
A letter from Rohilcund, in the Bengal Hurkara,
mentions that Balla Rao, brother to the Nana, Hur-
dut Sing, Talookdar of Bhowne, near Baraitch, and
the Nawab of Nujeebabad, have from the effects of
the climate died near Dhoker in the Nepaul territo-
tories, somewhere near Boohwal, where the Begum
is. The Nana is suffering from fever. The Begum
still holds out bravely, and it is said will give us
some trouble should the rebels succeed in getting
out from their present abode into Tirhoot and the
Santhal Purgunnahs. This is unlikely, however,
as they are at present doing their utmost to avoid
the plains, where they are sure to come in collu-
sion with our troops. A letter in the .211ofussi-
lite, from Etawah, on the frontier of Go-
ruckpore, states that " Intelligence is regu-
larly received at all the principal outposts of the
remaining few of our late antagonists, the Pandits.
They seldom if ever venture beyond the frontier.
The only considerable body of them who appear at
all disposed to be mischievous is commanded by
two rascals called Bullie and Bulkurren Sing. Their
gang of 600 is reported to be hanging about some-
where in the vicinity of Towleen, where the nature
of the country would render a surprise on them at
this season almost impracticable. A report is pre-
valent here, said to have originated from reliable
authority, that Balla Rao has cheated the hangman,
and died from jungle fever. This is to be regretted,
as there was a price set on his head. The clemency
policy of Government surpasses human belief."
Several arrests have been effected in Oude and
Bareilly, and the prisoners are accused, some of
having taken part in the masacre of Europeans
during the mutiny, and others of attempting to
seduce soldiers from their duty. But they are not
all dealt with as they deserve. Some of the rebels
lately caught at Bareilly have been transported.
One Reng Rao was sent by the Nana as an emis-
sary to Hyderabad, where he was arrested and
sentenced. The Governor-General has remitted
the capital punishment, and commuted the sentence
to transportation for life.
Most of the leading men among the rebels are falling
into our hands. They do not deny the part they took
in the revolt in the north, every narrative of which
confirms the impressions of their execrable treachery.
Merely to expel them, therefore, from the society of
thoir friends seems indeed to be a very light punish-
ment. One or two have been induced to put an end
to their lives by poison to avoid the risk of being
caught. Sufferus Khan, formerly a Pathan Rus-
suldar in the employ of the Begum of Bhopal,
adopted this plan when he found himself in a diffi-
cult position, and that nothing could avert his ulti•
mate capture.
A little before the festival of the Mohurrum, the
Punjaub was in a state of oxeitement in consequence
of some rumours, more or less exaggerated, regard-
ing disaffection among the Mahomedans of Seal-
kote, Umritsur, Lahore, and Jullundur. A fakeer,
a religious beggar, was first arrested in the Seal-
kote district with some treasonable papers in his
possession. As this man appeared to be acting for
others, the police were ordered to keep a sharp
look-out in all the towns where the Mahommedans
mustered strong. It seems that those at Laho're were
full of same nonsense about the birth of a new pro-
phet, and expected that a revolution was at hand.
This silly story was eagerly credited and canvassed
by the religious section of the Lahore Mahomme-
dans, and the sermons preached at the Mosques
referred to the advent of the prophet, and were cal-
culated to unsettle men's minds. Seeing that mis-
chief might be done by these mad fellows, it was
considered advisable to make an example of some of
the foolish talkers. Four persons were put on their
trial, and they were punished by fines and impri-
sonment for a few months.
It is said that the sth Madras Cavalry, chiefly
composed of Mahommedans,threatened to create mili-
tary disturbances at Hyderabad, similar to those
that took place in the north-west provinces, if the
Government did not take from them the greased
cartridges which were lately served out to them by
mistake. Placards were put in the public streets
which showed that a movement was on foot for
drawing the sword in defence of their religion, and
killing all the Christians of the place. These facts
give us a glimpse under the surface of Mahomedan
political society. Their festival of the Mohurrum
passed off very quietly here ; but in the Deccan
and elsewhere great discontent at the position they
hold under the British Government has been openly
expressed.