The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-06 00:00:00

AFFGHANISTAN.

-
(From the Del/ti Gazette, Oct, 26.)
In our last we gave a considerable amount of news ,[l,O
Central Asia, in which the position of Dort Mahomed;ast
may be considered to be correctly set forth.. Diete'ist,tY
home, his authority defied by his kinsmen, and resisted
nearest chiefs, his treasury empty, his troops leavilt,
for erant of pay,—nothing seems left him but the de" :0
resource of some foreign expedition, by which he -"'"
able to acquire an accession of wealth and territory, 0
if
ficient importance to raise him in the eyes of his recill'Offi
mediate subjects. He is only poor and despised beau's
are rich from our spoils, and able to resist his P("glov,
were he in a condition to recruit his finances, the fer
osition of ruler and subject would be greatly altered,b
what it now is. The consciousness of this state of
l'e/
is inducing him to look now with more anxiety than e st;
the direction of Peshawur, and although he might beoli,
to gain but few proselytes at Caubul and its vicinity,.4l
the people are gorged with plunder for same
come and listless for the acquisition of mere, be 0 ;pito
once a nucleus of an army were set in motion, 138 Oje
collect the tribes on either side as he passed cliviet, pi
again, it is doubtful how far the Khyber tribes nvirLer.bli
Owed to assist, viewing, as they doubtless do, PClP:dev-;
their own peculiar prey, and considering, as they r
would do, any attempt by Dost hlahommed as that 0 4,010
terloper. A considerably strong opinion seems also to) rot I,d
in Caubul that the ruler of Bukhara is inclined to
dominions across the mountain chain, and that the dori
Upper Affghanistan would not be loth to submit t°
fat
nation. The disunion which has arisen between fat ut
son seems against the latter being deputed to carry °,4
equally hostile views on Peshawur, though later
would incline us to the belief, that Sirdar 111ahonveneaj tb
Khan had set out on such an expedition. The whole 0.0.9
considerations only tend to show that the present teltoe,
sovereignty by the Aineer is very insecure, that the potfse.
affairs is entirely changed from what it was before we rofil:
the land, and that the whole lace of it will be in a stetetsr
security and disorder until some strong hand shall eie,
coerce the people under a powerful Government. 1:',4 thi"
appear by the Candahar news that our surmises regard
preparations of Shere Mahommed have not been far 11'i;
real state of affairs. He has been employing his timefiatthe Western hill tribes to some purpose, and may, in the fo'
state of the garrisons of Upper Sinde, be induced to trY P
tune at least against the Shikarpore detachment.

A. DASHING EXPLOIT.
Intimation was sent home by the last mail of sotnet:e, ;
serious disturbances which had broken out at 10°,,,i1)11,,,
Shekawattee, where an elderly Ranee, of unpronoveao
name, had collected 5,000 matchlock-men, and taken popoe;
o
of the sort, expelling the mother of the infant Raja it 0
Singh, to whom the stronghold of right belonged- b i;l,e/rf
stated too that Major Forster, with a detachment of t ;015
kawattee Brigade, was about to take measures for the ryce
of the fortress and the punishment of the offenders- jof d
now enabled to give particulars of .the insurrection, a-tit/4,
proceedings adopted by the gallant Major with the a if:tg
quelling it, which he succeeded in doing after a long an in
contested engagement with the enemy, terminating
i) if
capture of the town and fort of Khetrie. n l'ehti4
N o
It appears that Ram
ath Perohif, the Kamdar JO
of the minor Sovereign of Khetrie, was ejected 'golly
from:his appointment, and his place occupied by the yrgeao
who was supported by a very large assembly of ins%arir,of
These, to the number of about 5,000, took up
their q
in the pass, town, and fort. On the 21st of Octobet._,
Forster, who had been encamped at Singhana with ta"of
guns, thiee companies of infantry, and two ris',,ots9
cavalry,, proceeded towards Kotepootlee, for the PiD,of
seizing a fort in that neighbourhood, of which some t
trolJ
rebels had gained possession. On the approach'ef °flrboh'oo
the insurgents evacuated their position and fled, leavilt
them six pieces of artillery which they had brouga 11s1rd
Khetrie. The fort was dismantled and blown up a°
Forster proceeded to Dadta, where he also dislodged a
oli")
of rebels ; and the haunts of the principal leaders (otlieeog
about eight were captured) were then destroyed. 03ioli
November he marched to Khetrie, and attacked the rfl'ior'ol
of insurgents, when a gallant and decisive action took r or o,
Major Forster's force consisted of 260 foot and 60
the Shekawattee brigade, with three guns ; and 10,, dr;
lock-men and 80 horse, belonging to Jed pore, with f°7l-I,eo
The enemy are said to have mustered 6,500 men-
was a very strong one, situated on a steep emit:wile:ooor
feet high, and approached by a difficult defile five be o'oo
length. Both the fort and pass were occupied by cod feuds
gents in considerable numbers, but they were soon rid,
the latter, and obliged to take refuge in their streneing Pioft
was invested without delay. After some heavy P" the etlf
short time, they capitulated, promising to evacuatexer
within six hours. During the night most of them "1 f,'
;ef
and on the evening of the next day Major Forster tl;l,,Pi
session of the place. Amonst those who fled was th,e„oioll'eoi
Kanai Ram, the leader and chief instigator of the re'r"tbe hailf
During the attack on the fort, Captain Forster, atrog
of the light companies of the brigade, aided by a .hichf.
of matchlock-men, directed his steps to the town, -oda',"
strongly occupied by the insurgents, who appeared re' tet'or,
defend it with vigour. They were obliged, howeveri:od rt
way, and were eventually driven out with great less' def. 0,0,1
sued to the hills. The victory was completed by "etbe
a strong body of men stationed on an eminence tochiof,
the town, and commanded by a bold and courageous 03.0
seemed determined to maintain his position to the last'3ooPr
indeed, on the conclusion of the conflict, was fatutcl /
the number of the slain. es'
•
Several other chiefs of note fell during the eng uolti` ttO
among them the nephew of the Dhabye. The Ca' ono/
our side are stated as 2 killed and 42 wounded; pffsir
part of the rebels 16 killed and upwards of 80 vra".ri•ted
skilful and masterly manner in which the above sP.i,,ous
was conducted is worthy of all praise. The cons Pit,
lantry of Captain Forster, in the storming of the
_lncl"‘;rii4
is, in particular, highly spoken ofail'his.
bravery the very satisfactory termination of the deftre
and ably-executed enterprise is doubtless in nn '5--
attributable.

CIIINA. toir
late ce
The following elegy upon the Co° Gel
sioner Lin is said to be from the pen °f his
o
tial Majesty himself:— Lirvt I.lo'
"AN IMPERIAL EDICT.—The great statesraard the ro,
sen preserved an undeviating line of rectitude, an,
ciples of probity and uprightness were rooted in., OP Of
ig°
ture. In manner, he was plain and affable, and 111
the re dot"
ness of heart was even eminently displayed. In miliiVa rAd
Kea-King, having been honoured by an Imperial e'te t lite t 11.6
he was raised from the rank of Ilan-lin (the high t°lloo'
graduate) to a seat in the Cabinet. We, uponnrrA
throne, and observing his patriotio spirit, his clisra 6110 coe"
ne3s, and his extensive and varied experience, oroehr,
sence about the Imperial person, in which eapaeitY of cle,„l-te
for upwards of ten years without a single instance oper'',oig
Last year we sent him to the province of Ho-nan sale Se 010.
the embanking operations on the Yellow River i° d 041:0 I°
hoo district, which were conducted and completevdiet 'l'
usual zeal and energy. Our Council then recofbnier tWiero
take his age into consideration, and being fully al:atile
ture with hith was en the dewy, we granted him I"