The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-05 00:00:00

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SUN OFFICE, Three o'Cloch.

All the accounts received from.lndia confirm the pre-
vious news of the destruction of the British force at
C Lbool. By the blackest treachery on the part of
jiZZBAR KHAN a massacre of our troops took place un-
p,irallele:d in atrocity in the records of the most savage
warfare. We will not here inquire by what "mismi-
nagement on the part of the military commandersiof the
irce at Cabool the army was reduced to the necessity of
cepting a dishonourable treaty at the dictation of the Aff-
;!.; ;tan Chief. That will be investigated hereafter. Enough
iat a treaty was signed by AKBAR KHAN guaranteeing
for our troops the safe evacuation of Affghanistan.
Hardly, however, had the British army commenced its
::treat when AKBAR KHAN issued proclamations calling
ucon all good Mussulmans to rise and destroy the in-.
file! Kaffirs. A copy of one of them was trans-
mitted to India, of which the following is a trans-
lation :—" I, MOHAMMED AKBAR KHAN, by the
C race of Got); Lord of, &c., have slain the Lord of the
Kaffirs, and am about to drive them out of the country.
It is your duty to annihilate them on the road; rise up,

,:arreund Jellalabad, and exterminate the infidels." The
I .md of the Kaffirs here alluded to,is Sir WILLIAM MAC-
N.G.IITEN, whose treacherous assassination is thus avowed
by the KHAN. As the . Shah SOOJAH obstinately re-
to. quit Cabool with the British troops, remaining
la hind at the head of 3,000 men, there is every reason
ta believe that he was quite aware of AKBAR'S treach-
e.-ons intentions. For our own part, we are as fully per-
suaded of the fact as if we had before us the evidence of
f::e concoctors of this foul conspiracy. According to
tba best accounts the British force at Cabool consisted
ia all of 5,000 fighting men and 7,000 camp followers.
They left Cabool on the sth of January, the snow was
then afoot deep ; they had nut sufficient clothing, and
wore miserably off for food. On the 7th they entered
the Khoord Cabool Pass, where the enemy poured down
peon them from all sides, and a frightful slaughter
.et zued. The following day such as escaped were again
tacked en the Hufft Kothul, a bleak precipi-
tt as mountain, where, benumbed and power-
with cold, nearly the whole sepoy force miser-
ably perished. The guns were spiked and abandoned,
ana the ladies who had accompanied their husbands in
these Unprecedented perils given up as hostages to the
traitor AKBAR, who pretended that he could not
repress the murderous attacks of the Affghans. Feur
,taiive regiments were here destroyed,' the_3cl,3sth;
.-cd .5-41ly- Bengal Infantry, and a Regiment of the
ailat's. Her Majesty's 44th still struggled on till
al. Commander, Brigadier ANQUETIL, who succeeded
Ganeral ELPIIINSTONE, was killed. This was en
the 12th—seven days after the evacuation of Cabool.
_1 panic seized them, they were thrown into con-
fusion, and no longer recognised the authority of
their officers, some of whom they struck with their
nxaskets. This accelerated their destruction, and nothing
was now left but.every man to shift for himself. The
destructive result has been already stated.
Such is the lamentable news from Cabool. But our
loss, though dreadful, is far from being irreparable.
We have still a powerful force in that country,
which requries only to be concentrated under an
Jut able General to reverse this sad record of our
disasters. We have 10,000 troops, under G eneral NOTT
at Candahar, 1,000 at Ghuznee, 2,000 at Jellalabad, and
1,200 at Khelah-i-Ghilzie, making a total force of 14,200
i.ten. A reinforcement of 30,000 men has been ordered
from India, which requires only to arrive in time to
effect the complete subjugation of the treacherous and
cruel Affghans.

What is most wanted at this moment is an intelligence
in India capable of guiding the valour of our troops.
With the highest opinion of the military talents of our
',`facers, we are constrained to avow that recent events
Cabool have forced upon us the painful conviction,
;:!at had they not been wanting in military foresight
;,:a1 prudence, we would not have to record the
d'stressing intelligence found in our columns of this day.
Valour is one of the least of the great qualities essential
L, the success of a Commander-in-Chief in carrying on
a war in such a country as Afghanistan.
• We have a terrible struggle before us in Afghanistan
and China ; 'out with firmness, prudence,- and ability, we
~hall be carried triumphantly through it. We havo
no grounds for exultation, neither have we any room for
klz!zpair. In warring upon the Afghans we no longer
.seek Nengeance for the treachery of a Chief, but for the
Ircaohery and cruelty of a whole people.

A MYSTERY EXPLAINED.—It will be seen that after
:HI the praisings and boastings of the Liberal party—
both Radicals and Whigs—the income tax has passed
the House of Commors without a division against the
..itsolutions which impose it. But in justice to those
;steadfast friends of the people who have been night by
i;iglst at their post to prevent the passing cf this inqui-
sitorial Act, it is our duty to state explicitly that the
kissing of those resolutions without a division, arose
entirely from accident ; for on all sides it was admitted
that.tjae Chairman of Ways and Means, Mr. Greene,
was notto blathe in this matter, further than, by reading
in the low and very indistinct manner in which
4lways conducts the important business of his
office,. the Members who were watching the proceed-
ir;.s were not aware of what was passing. r.Elle
Chair was taken, as usual, by Mr. Greene, on the
Speaker leaving his, and he proceeded, without sayin; u
word of caution to the House, to read the first resolti-
Vett. Mr. Rice, the Member. for Dover, rose -,tulle this
ras going on, and not being called upon bithe Chair.
man, sat down again. Me low and r.ionotonous tone
which the resolution Was read thriJughout did not at-
tradt the notice of the, Members .at,'• a distance from the
Oh:nr, nor did any, of these, Iniduding Mr. Rice, we
'e,lieve, hear the c_tuestion put 'by the Chairman. Mr.
Wallace had r=isen at first when „Mr. Rice did, while
q3lewitt's,.iimendment was under discugsion ; but
Rice Firing been called un 'at that time, 1,,,1
`,acing r',Sen while Mr. Greene was proceet'in
apne.s.rs that all, the -Members who ILL-
.:
speak were trusting to his stopping
the'Cfluirman in time; this, however, was not done; for
understood that this extraordiny omission arose
l'rew Mr. Greene being somewhat short-sighted, and Mr.
:ices being rather dull of hearing. The surprise on both
ei:Zes of the House at there being no interruption to the
•,ieeStion evidently was great. it will be seen that it was
ieepossible, uteler the forms of the House, to remedy this
elvder, and thus it is that these all-important resolutions
blatTe slipped. through the Committee witlivot a division
takes by those very men who were pledged to op-
cvery stage the passing of thost most odious pro-
These men, however; must not he blamed. The
.m.rme must rest with Mr. Gceene tind Mr. Rice, if blame
to be attributed anywhere.
sks a proof of the latene'ss. of the season in the neigh-
uthood of London .
mention that a gentleman
?Ain left Seotland on's" euTron).
taPs taken from evening brought with hiM
Saturday
yamore tree, on which not
Ile: the leaf is fully lora and quite out, but so are the
~(jil blossoms, which arm-seit delineated in perfect
ecAuty, and fully more tles,:ningasine:lnF.h in length. These
„vigs were taken without any, coon whatever from a
arge end beautiful tree on rather au exposed
situation
the . north, near to Pollok House, the seat of Sir
,rohir Maxwell, Bart. One of the twigs
are left at our
odlce-for the inspection of the curious.