The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-03 00:00:00

LONDOINT,

FRIDAY EVENING,

OVE AND MAIL
INDIA,
(From the Chronicle.)
We have received by extraordinary express advicss
from Bombay to April 3, and Calcutta to March 22.
BOMBAY, APRIL 3.
(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)
If my letter for the past fortnight does not chronicle
any events of great importance, it will at least be
found to contain, on the whole, a good deal of inte-
resting information.
In my last letter I informed you of the doubtful
success which had attended the expedition under•
taken by Sir Charles Napier for the purpose of
punishing the refractory Afreedees ; and I expressed
my belief that another and a more formidable body
of troops would have to be sent, in order to quell
the disturbances occasioned by this turbulent and
warlike tribe. That this belief was well grounded,
and is still generally entertained, the following will
show :

" Late accounts from Peshawur (says the Delhi
Gazette) tend to show that the Kohat expedition has
not bad the effect of lessening in the slightest degree
the system of plunder in and about the encampments.
Robberies are of nightly occurrence, and since the
breach with the Afreedees the robbers are said to
have become even more numerous and daring than
they were before."
The same paper gives the following letter :
" PESHAVVUIt, FEB. 28.—You have no doubt had full
true,e
accounts of what hay been do ue up here in regard to the
Kobat business, so I will not repeat what has, I suppose,
been communicated to you. The success seems to have
to Kohut,
Irregular
but
Cavalry
been ot' a
andlnfantry,
questionable
its ]Lind
afterv,'n all. t
The i
the cemmunicatioe through the pass is still very in-
secure, and we must be ut them again. * * We saw
the gleam of the long Khaiberee knife that nut an end
to ynung Sitwell's life, without being able to assist him.
The 31st behaved very well, and the 23d else. Young
Templer, of that corps, is a very plucky fellow. Three
times he was driven back, and three times he took a bill
with only a dozen men. Its conduct ought to have been
noticed in orders."
The following is from the Lahore Chronicle, dated
March 9th and 13,h :
The surmises on which we ventured, only a few days
aeo, as to the probability of a second expedition being
necessary to put down the Khaiberves, in the neighbour-
hood of the late scene of the operations, have, we regret
to say, been amply borne out by recent events.
" The pass connecting Peshawur and Kohat winds
through the ranee of bilk separating the two valleys for
itne t welio or fifteen miles; it is in some pieces broader
than in others, and admits of cultivetien almost all
through. At the southern extremity the gorge ie
brought up' by a hill of considerable e levatiee, over
which it is necessary to pass in order to get into the
valley of Katie On the summit of this hill is a towel
which, to a certain extent, commands the crossiug, and
which should protect the communication.
" When, during Sir Colin Campbell's late expedition
under the eye of Sir Chides Napier, the Ist Irreeu-
ler Cavalry (Daly'e). and the let Punjaub Infantry
(Coke's). were pushed on to reinforce Kohat, a detach-
ment ot the latter corps was placed in charge of this
tower (we (to not know the streigth of the party), anci
remained there undisturbed till the 28th February.
" We mentioned that the hill tribes had held consul.
tations, subsequent to the attack on their villages, to
consider what was to be done in their extremity. The
determination seems to have been against peaceful mese
sures, for on the 28th February the post see have de-
scribed was attacked by the tribes in torte. Intimation
of the hostile demonstration having been communicated
to Captain Coke, who commands at Kohat us senior
officer, he hastened to the relief of his post with a con-
siderable detachment, and succeeded, after some fighting,
in which he lost ten men killed and thirteen wounded, in
effecting his object.
" The tribes were, however, according to the latest
advices we have received from Peshawur, dated 4th
March, in sufficient strength to render it a doubtful
matter whether the post could be held much longer, on
account, it is said, of the want ot water. Ammunition
too was becoming so scarce that it was determined at
Peshawur to send a supply round by Kalabagh, and the
propriety of organizing another expedition into the hills
war under serious contemplation. Some were for carry-
ing out the plans proposed at once, others for deferring
them till the season for cutting the crops should be suf-
ficiently advanced.
"In the meantime the direct communication between
Peshawur and Kohat. which had been previously only
uncertain, was completely closed, and we shall not he
surprised to learn that the tribes who originated the dis-
turbaace have succeeded in enlisting friends and neigh-
bours in their cause—a consummation that must induce
the most active measures against the whole body of
Khaiberees, and ultimately lend to an expedition, as we
hinted formerly must be the case, against the chief
haunts of these plunderers at Teen!, Choora, Ate.
" The Afreedees seem determined on giving us as
much trouble tat they possibly can, in the direction of
Kohat. It was recorded in our last that Captain Coke
had succeeded in relieving the garrison of the tower, men-
tioned in our latest letter, which is from 300 to 400 strong.
Subsequent information is to the effect that, having
effected this very necessary piece of duty, he returned to
Kohat on the 2d of March. The coast was no sooner
clear than the Afreedees again assembled to the number
of about 2,000 men, under the leadership of the
Dereea Khan, whom we have already noticed as the
instigator of the late hostile proceedings. lle ad-
vanced towards the tower under cover of regular breast-
works, erected step by step, approached to within a
few yards of the tower walls, and again cut off their
supply of water from the garrison, who had only a single
tank, outside the tower, to depend upon. Captain Coke,
taking into consideration the scantiness of his ammuni
tion, the apparent difficulty of obtaining more from
Peshawur, and the constant liability of the garrison to
be cut off from the tank, determined on withdrawing
them. This be effected on the 3d of Mach, through
negotiations opened by men of some friendly tribe who
accompanied him from Kuhat. The tower evacuated,
and the object for which they had as,etnbled gained, the
Afreedees again dispersed, not a little elated, however,
at the success which had attended their undertaking.
Nothing had been decided upon as to the second expedi-
tion, but -one must be undertaken, though. opinicns stilt
differed as to the proper time for puuistiog these moun-
tain banditti. The great difficulty, and one that will in-
crease every day till the setting in of the rains is, that
troops progressing up the valley must depend entirete
on a few tanks for a supply or water, and these are all
situated close under the bills by which they are, of course,
commended. There is not a single well in the whole
valley. The communication by letter is now more opee
than it was a few days before, but that is entirely by
t'le sufferance cf the Affreedees, who may close the line
whenever they please in the present state of affairs."
I tike the following from the Delhi Gazette of the
20th March :
"The Commander-in-Chief re-crossed the Chenab on
the morning of the 13th instant, and encamped about
midway between the town of Wuzeerabad and the Can-
tonments. His Excellency marched by the Korie Pass
from Jhelum. On the morning of the 13th, the troops
at Wuzeerabad were inspected, and on the morning of
the 14th, Head Quarters Camp moved to Sembereal, ex-
pecting to be at Sealkot next day,
" A leter from Loodianah mentions that the dis-
banded 66th passed through that station on the 14th.
They are said to present a miserable appearance, 'sans
tents, sans arras, sans everything. Our correspondent
says, fancy. they have never roughed it in this style
before.
,e A letter from Lahore says 'there is not the slightest
truth iu the report put forth by the Englishman of Cap-
taic Voyle having been assassinated; a letter has been
received from Captain Voyle, dated the 10th instant, tif
which time he was quite well.
" Our letters from Peshawur are up to the 12th my
stint, but they contain little of immediate interest:
Another expedition against the Afreedies is talked of
and fully expected, but nothing is yet finally settled
about the plan to be pursued towards bringing our teen-
,blesome enemies to subjection. It is said that a strong
party will be sent against them about a month hence, and
that the military will be employed in driiing the away,
while the civil authorities burn their crop,.
,Much ope
position is expected, as the Afreedee tribes in the neigh-
bourhood of Kohat are quite elated at their success ant
'teeing compelled us to withdraw our detachment from
the Pass. We hear that no less than 13 of Coke's men
have been killed and wounded since the late expedition
returned to Peshawur on the 14th ult."
With regard to the last paragraph of the extract
given above, I cannot but express my apprehensions
that if another expedition be undertaken " a month
hence" (i. e. about the middle of April), our loss in
men will, owing to the intense heat which prevails 'at
this season of the year, be as great, if
not greater,
than that which may be expected to be occasioned by
the hostile operations of the enemy.
The following, from the Delhi Gazette, which
came to hand last night, is the latest intelligence
received from the Punjaub :
" We have letters from various parts of the Punjaub
from which we regret to learn that the late affair at
Kohat has had the effect of rendering many localities
hitherto considered safe the very reverse, several places
being overrun with Afreedees, who do not scruple to boast
of their intention to kill every European therma-
y meet
with. In the passes we aro informed that the moun-
taineers have collected to a dangerous extent, and they
have become so daring that the stations in the plains
are threatened. We do not vouch for the correctness
of these reports; we hope they may prove erroneous,
especially as we glean from the sumo source that the
Government have seen the necessity of lowering the
tax levied on the salt of those parts from two rupees a
maund to eight annas!"
Amongst the domestic events of the last fortnight I
have, with much regret, to record the death of Mr.
Thomas Harold, en assistant-engineer of the Great
Indian Peninsular Railway Company. He was at-
tacked with fever whilst surveying in the '.canna
Water, and expired on the evening pf Wednesday
last. The loss of his services will be greatly felt by
those engaged in constructing our local railway. He
was much beloved by all who knew him. With re-
gard to the railway itself, I may mention that the
survey is progressing, and I believe that the, chief
engineer expects very shortly to have his report
completed on the different lines which bate been pro-
jected.