The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-19 00:00:00

THE ADVANCE ON CAUBUL.

The following extracts, from a letter received by '
the last mail from an officer with the army under Ge-
neral Pollock, will amply repay perusal :
" Camp, Mamma Khali, Aug. 28, 1842.
" Since I last wrote a sudden change has taken
place in the counsels of our Government. Instead of
retreating, as was intended, we are now actually ad-
vancing upon Caubul, while General Nott, with an
almost equally numerous army, is approaching the
capital from Candahar. We left Jellalabad on the
20th, every one rtjoicing in the prospect of making
some effort to relieve our unhappy prisoners, and
willingly giving up all but the barest necessaries for
the sake of making our scanty supply of cattle convey
our luggage. The officers put up in miserable little
tents, and take with them scarcely more than a change
eotthheast.
haAvleanayreoafltlh men
olNeedbihitaNe half•he tstht eehiru
asut
aallln,uamnd-
othfoesl
ber. But we all feel assured of having done the right
thing, and have a well-grounded confidence that God
will prosper us. We have now advanced about 30
miles from Jellalabad, and have been here since the
23d, and are likely to continue till a depot of provi-
sions shall have been prepared. On our arrival we
drove about 1,000 of the enemy from this post, and
have kept possession of it. The fight was not a se-
vere one. The enemy, of whom about 100 were
horsemen, were posted on the outskirts of a small
village, situated on the bank of a deep ravine, the bed
of a mountain torrent, about half a mile in their rear,
and towards their right a small fort, surrounded by
walled gardens and vineyards, and close upon the
bank of another ravine, running parallel to the former.
The land between the two is a narrow spur, sloping
gently down from a rocky promontory of the range
of mountains called the Sufeid Koh. Our force
amounted to about 2,000 infantry, six guns, and 500
cavalry. The infantry were divided into columns,
the guns in the centre, and the cavalry on the right ;
the latter being intended to make a detour and cut off
the enemy's retreat. Notwithstanding our superior
numbers, the Affghans waited till we approached
within a thousand yards, when the guns opened upon
them, and they almost immediately took to fight. A
small body of 200 infantry (Captain Broadfoot's Sap-
pers and Miners) pushed forward in pursuit, and I
accompanied them.
" The enemy, however, were not to be overtaken ;
on reaching the fort they divided into two parties, one
crossing the ravine on the left, the other taking re-
fuge in a village higher up the spur. We followed
the latter. The cavalry had reached the village be-
fore us, and we found it deserted. Here we waited
for nearly an hour, till the remainder of our slowly
moving force came in sight, and then pushed on to
another village situate close under some low rocky
peaks jutting out from the hills. This also was aban-
donedti on our approach, the enemy leaving in their
hurry a number of tents and ammunition, ;Nvileichfotuhtelydr
had supposed to be in a secure place.
them, however, posted on the tops of the rocks,
re. As
whence they poured down a pretty sharp
soon, therefore, as the column camaeupi
higher
thet range in
gallant they
fi
were at-
tackedliant as 3, ntd le,driavnd h
driven toe
here
ehe thepursuit part of p
ceased. All this was
done wpirtlti, slcajrocienleyd any loss on our side ; and for my
own a
several others under some of the
most magnificent trees that ever were seen, and made
a feast upon grapes such as you can form no concep-
tion of. We had them of every size and colour—
some above two inches in length, others no bigger
finestthan
vineyards
whitea
in thecountry.
We were, _
fact, among the
toriously employed 1 But while we were thus me-
) the arger body of the enemy (which
as I mentioned, crossed the ravine onour left)
appeared
about a mile off, the hills.
Colonel Taylor, of the 9th Regiment of Foot, with
about 50 Europeans and about 150 Se moving slowly towards
or,
whom he
had hastily collected together, instantly premd to-

wards them, hoping to intercept them, but they were
too strong for him, and attacked him so briskly, that
he was obliged to retreat, with three officers, and
perhaps thirty men, killed and wounded! The main
body of our force had in the mean time halted at the
fort, about two miles in our rear, and we were now
ordered to rejoin it. As we retired the Affghans ad-
vanced, gladly regaining possession of their store of
ammunition, which we left where we found it, not
having the means of carrying it away. It consisted
principally of two large bags of powder, and the Aff-
ghans, eager to replenish their flasks, crowded round,
cut open the bags, and while each was scrambling to
help himself; the powder exploded, and blew up the
whole party ! How many lives were lost we cannot
exactly ascertain, but our accounts say not less than
50. This anything but untoward event enabled us to
make good our retreat in comparative safety, and we
have been here ever since engaged in the benevolent
ht aosk useolif ce uctat
ni n gl
a3d, oowtinr
he la- enrd3s,
ot rne,e
while bouurrn
cai n gt t
eevery
d
excellent forage among the standing crops. With a
very Christian spirit, we are doing all the evil that
we possibly can, and it will afford us the most un-
feigned satisfaction if we should succeed in our zealous
attempts to convert this beautiful and richly-culti-
vated spot into a barren wilderness. That we cannot.,
by any wicked device, permanently destroy the vines is
a sad source of regret; but of the gardens full of mul-
berry, pomegranate, peach, apple, and pear trees, We
hope not to leave one standing. Is not all this dabo-
lieal ? Is there not more the spirit of hell than of
heaven in it, and yet what is to be done—how can it
be avoided? Our existence depends on our reducing
these savages to submission, and they leave us no
other means of injuring them. It is better, perhaps,
after all, to take their trees than their lives, and all
the mischief we can do them is but a poor revenge for
their barbarous massacre of the thousands of our fel-
low soldiers, who begged of them nothing but their
lives. Old newspapers, letters, books, music, scraps
of clothes, and all sorts of fragments found in the
villages, prove, if proof were wanting, how active a
part these assassins took in the murderous destruction
of the Feringee army. Even now they hover arounti
us in caves and rocks, watching, like beasts of
prey, ready to pounce upon any unfortunate straggler
from our camp that may happen to come within
their reach, and at night they prowl about firing into
our camp, in the hope of hitting somebody in the
crowd. Such a set of unmitigated villains I never
heard of; but our tree-cutting, together with the re-
sult of the fight, has had the intended effect. They
are now anxious to conciliate, and are bringing in
lots of supplies. The two principal chiefs have fled
to Caubul, and the probability is that we shall meet
with little or no opposition either there or on the road.
General Nott is rapidly advancing, and will probably
take Ghuznee without firing a shot. The officers who
were imprisoned there have arrived at Caubul, and
Akhbar would gladly take the whole of our prisoners
to Balkh or Bokhara, where they would be quite out
of our reach ; but the chiefs will not allow him to re-
move them, and there is reason to hope that when we
reach Caubul they ;will be surrendered to us. The
next month will be an eventful one. The crisis is
approaching in which some great and important
changes must take place ; and though it is impossible
to look before us without anxiety, we are all sanguine
of a most happy result. Our hope is to get posses-
sion of our prisoners, guns, and stores, and to return
to Jellalabad before the winter sets in. We have
three months before us, and after that there will be
time to march back to the provinces. The climate
is now delightful, and we feel it the more :so
from having been: so long confined in that fur-
nace of sand and dust, Jellalabad. We shall per-
haps move forward to Caubul about the 6th. For the
next fifty miles the road passes through barren,
rocky mountains, without a particle of forage for the
cattle, and with numerous difficult passes which may
possibly be defended by the enemy. Here we have
met with several skeletons, the remains no doubt of
some of the poor fellows of the Caubul army, the last
remnant of which was known to reach this place.
There is a hill some four miles in advance, on which
about forty men of the 44th made their last struggle,
and there, with the exception of four or five men, who
were taken prisoners, the whole were slaughtered.
This morning, much to our surprise, the Prince
Futteh Jung, the second son of Shah Soojah, made
kis appearance in camp, attended only by a couple of
horsemen. He had long been imprisoned by Akbar,
and we had supposed he had been tortured to death ;
but it seems he made his escape by cutting a hole in
the roof of the house where he was confined, and con-
trived to get clear off by the aid of a man who was
supposed to be his and our bitterest enemy. His
being with us will no doubt further our views most
materially. He has a strong party in the country,
and with a British army to protect him, the people
will no doubt submit to his sovereignty, and in pro-
portion desert Akbar. Timour, the eldest son, and
real heir to the throne, is with General Nott, who is
advancing with a powerful army from Candahar, and
being attacked on both sides by overwhelming forces,
it is most likely that Akbar will give up the contest,
and relinquish.our prisoners without striking a blow."

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.
ASHDOWN PARK COURSING MEETIN G.
THURSDAY.

SECOND TIES FOR THE CUP.—Mr. Kershaw's Kal-
mia beat Mr. Bradley's Laura ; Mr. Agg's Amazon beat
Mr. Etwall's Eton-boy.
FIRST TIES FOR THE OAKS.—Mr. W. Etwall's Win-
if-you-can beat Mr. Bowles's Lady of Lyons ; Mr. Et-
wall's Ermengardis beat Mr. Bradley's Blythesome.
FIRST TIES FOR THE CRAVEN ALL-AGED STAKES.
—Mr. Kershaw's Kirkham beat Mr. Bowles's Bird of
Paradise ; Mr. Bradley's Blue-bell beat Mr. Goddard's
Goodluck.

THE LAMBORNE STARES.—Mr. Etwall's Willy-go-
faster beat Mr. Bowles' Bamfylde ; ,Mr. Lawrence's
Longstock beat Mr. Morant's Mary Ann.
THE LAMBORNE PUPPY STAKES.—Mr. Bowles'
Boscar beat Mr. Lawrence's Lathe ; Mr. Kershaw's
Kelpie beat Mr. Etwall's Whip-poor-Will.

NEWMARKET COURSING MEETING.

THURSDAY.

ALLINGTON HILL STAKES. FIRST TIES. -- Mr.
Dobede's Dulcken beat Mr. Tyson's Fly ; Mr. Inskip's
Jewess beat Mr. Vipan's Vulture; Mr. Dobede's Datura
beat Mr. Nash's Charlotte ; Mr. Saberton's Sweetbrier
beat Mr. Gillett's Gaylass.

THE CITP.—FiusTeTIEs.-111r. Edwards's Arctic beat
Mr. King's Railroad ; Mr. Finch's Go-to beat Mr. In-
skip's Ibrahim; Mr. I)obede's Defiance'beat Mr. Tyson's
Florence ; Mr. Bagge's Thorn beat Captain Daintree's
Knab.

THE CHIPPENHAM STAKES.—FIRST TIES.—Mr. Ed-
wards's Albemarle beat Captain Daintree's Kimber ;
Mr. Saberton's Simoom beat Captain Daintree's Khan
(dr.) ; Mr. Finch's Gaper beat Mr. Dobede's Damian ;
Mr. Vipan's Velocipede beat Mr. Tyson's Freshman ;
Lord Glentworth's Locust ran a bye.
PORT STAKES.—FIRST TIES.-Mr. Vipan's Victorina
beat Lord Clentworth's Leger ; Mr. Finch's Gossip beat
Mr. Dobede's Douglas ; Mr. Finch's Ghita beat Mr.
King's Rainforth ; Captain Daintree's Kremlin beat Mr.
Inskip's Illa.
RUTLAND STAKES.-Mr. Edward's Almanac beat Mr.i
Vipan's Vanguard ; Mr. Batt's Captain beat 3lr. G
l-
lett's Grecian Queen ; Mr. Saberton's Sinclair beat. Mr.
Nath'snot run.
Gipsey Queen against Mr.
Dolede'sC Doloaunenldes3s,frn.

HUNTING APPOINTMENTS.
Her Majesty's stag hds., Mon., Stoke Common; Wed.,
the Woking station ; Fri., Uxbridge Common-11.
Essex and Suffolk hds., Tues., Aldham Hall ; Fri.,
Thorrington Hall-101. •
Norfolk hds., Tues., Saham Wood ; Thurs., Marham
Hall ; Sat., Brisley Green-10f.
Lord Gifford's hds., Mon., Lydiard Plain ; Thurs.,
Coleshill ; Sat., Preston Bar-10}.
t,ington
East Sussex hds., Mon., Abbot'a. Wood.
Mr. R. Cockburn's hds., Mon., Gofland Plantation ;
Thurs Warnicombe, near Tiverton.
Mr. Archer's lids., Mon., Kennel ; Thurs., Hornacot
Chapel.
; Tues., Ell •
Mr. Muster's lids., Mon., Six llil;lsFriwo
Cow Pasture ; Thurs., Well Vale rl -
Mr. Giles's hds., Mon., the Bth mite- ston ab)-11.
e Tewkesbury
Road ; Thurs., Bosbury Turnpike-10.
Cheshire lids., Mon., Manor House , • Wed., Tattoo
Park ; Fri., Wittington Hall ; Sat., 0 1t
Monmouthshire hds., Mon. T u on Park-10.
Bridge ; Thurs., Tallycoed Wood. rostrey Suspension
Mr. Tudway's hds., 'rues
Postlebury. •• Pennard House ; Fri.,
Somerset Subscription hds.
Fri., Raleigh's Cross-101 s., Tues., Bhncembe Hill ;
Mr. Candl ' I '
Candler 's -ids., Sion.,C
Wed., Checquers, C • 1 roome Perry Wood ;
low e ; Sat., Malt Shovel, Vigo.
llerefordshire lids., Tues., Venn Wood ; Fri., Lya-
ton-10.

Ludlow lids., Tues., Onibury ; Fri., Lower Neene.
Marquis of Hastings ' hds., Mon., Ticknall Village ;
Wed., Clifton Village ; Sat., Donington Park-11f.
Mr. Meynell's hds., Mon., Loxley ; Th., Catton ; Sat.,
Range Moore—la.
Shropshire lids., Mon., Twemlows ; Wed., Wytheford
Wood ; Fri., Tunstall-10.
Albrighton Hunt, Tues., Houghton Lodge ; Frio
Smeston Turnpike-10i.
Wheatland lids.,Tues.,Kernley; Fri., Ben th all Foundry,
Mr. Atty's hds., Tues., Gredingtob ;__Th., Overton-
bridge ; Sat., Burras.
Montgomeryshire lids., Tues., Abermarle; Fri., High-
gate.
Brighton harrs., Mon., Thunder's Barrow ; Wed.,
Patcharn ; Fri., Dyke.

STATE OF TRADE—LIVERPOOL.—Money remains
abundant. In the corn market a limited business has
been doing, and prices generally a shade lower. At
the beginning of the week there wus a fair demand
for cotton, and steady prices, but the demand has in-
creased and a good business has been done. The
market in Manchester, for both goods and yarns, is
better, and there was a better market on Tuesday'.
The stock of goods and yarn is by no means heavy,
which inspires the hope of constant employment for
the operatives during the winter., In general bust.
ness in Liverpool, there is not much activity. In the
share market the principal business is for investment,
which is at present limited in extent, without much
fluctuation in prices.—Liverpool Mercury.