The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-07 00:00:00

cAN.DAHAR.

of March, at which time the force wider General
men, had received no annoyance
seclo/nucir
v‘foLikner intellieence from Candahar , extended to the
Nott, amounting to 7,20
since the 13111 of January, when the successful encounter with
.the enemy, detailed in cur summary of the Ist of April, had
occurred. lie had at this date • become straitened for money
and ammunition, and a reinforcement of 2,500 men, with 4,
with a force composed of her Ma-
convoy t f 6,000 camels, 100,0001. in money, and 600.000 ball
cartridges, were in orders to proceed. under General England,
to hi• assistance. On the 6th of Nlarch General Nott moved
oat ur against the insgents,
-
jesty's 40th, withthe 10th, 35th, 421, and 43d Regiments of
Bengal Native Infantry, g
wing of Macao's Horse, and Antler-
son's guns, consisting of four nine• pounders. Considerable skir
wishing ensued, and several villages were destroyed by our men
and given up to plunder. When the Affighans had.,
gat our
tromps decoyed a sufficient way out, following at last a detach,.
ment of only 2,000 strong, the principal body consisting of.
about 5,000 foot and 1,000 horse,. doubled upon us and re-
turned to Candahar. where they.arnved, and immediately took
possession of the old town, on the evening of thri 9th. Next,
morning they attacked, and nearly got possessien:•of: a portion
of the city, having effected a lodgement at the klerat gate.
m
and commenced setting fire to the houses. Hatl,..i.bey been
successful, the position of General Nott would iliave been
perimus indeed. 'f he bulk . of, .011 r. Arlillary,..yiltlk Ow k..
Bengal Native Infantry, the Ist, 2d, and sth Shah's infantry,

with the Ist Cavalry and Skinner's Horse, amounting to
Fad been left behind, and gave them so rough a reception.
that they were speedily dispersed, leaving from 600 to 1,000
killed or severely wounded. The insurgent army On this
broke up, and quitted the neighbourhood altogether. Gen.
Nott returned in safety into Candahar on the 13th. after
a seven days' absence. This defeat for a time appeared to
have produced a strong impression throughout the country.
The aggressions of the enemy ssere for a period interrupted,
anti supplies of provisions, previously withheld from us, began
Once more to be brought into our camp by the natives. It is
probable that the schemes of the enemy had been g7eatly dis-
concerted, from the failure of a well-planned but unsuceess!-ul
stratagem, from whose results important consequences were
eaaected to have flowed, and that it was deemed expedient to
break up the army, according to the custom of the country in
such cases, till some other .and more promising project was
devised for our anno-yance. For three weeks subsequent to
this nothing was heard from Candahar, when a rumour reached
us that an army was collecting and moving from Ghuznee
westward towards it; the same, probably, which had been re-
lieved from besieging the force of Colonel Palmer, believed to
have capitulated and been destroyed about the Ist of Marc),.
On the Ist, Col. liVymer, with a couple of Bengal regimen's
of irregular cavalry and guns, about 1,500 in all, marched out
from Candahar to meet General England, and when three
marches on his way westward on the Quettah road, was at-
tacked by a body of the enemy, 3,000 strong. They burst on
us with fury, charging up to the bayonet point. A few
well-directed volleys, however, soon thinned their ranks, when
our cavalry, dashing in amongst them, put them to the route
in every quarter. Three hundred of them are said to
hate been left dead on the field at battle, including five of their
bravest chief-. Our loss amounted to five killed and twenty-
five wounded. It is pobable that Colonel Wymer would hear
of General England's retreat before he advanced much fart ht r
to meet him ; and that he would, in this case, retire on the
main force, or wait further orders where he was, provided the
state of his commissariat permitted. Our last Quettah letters,
of date the 12th, state, that at Candahar there were six months'
supplies for the soldiers, but little ammunition, and no money
er medical stores. It these could not be pushed on in time, it
was belived that they would sail in the force of 1,100 men at
Kelat-i-Ghilzie, eighty mileS off, and both fallback on Quettah,
where our people have been busily engaged since England's re-
treat in constructing fresh defences for the force. Lieutenant
Patterson, who was wounded so severely when Captain Gold-
ing of the Jasailchees was killed (28th December) is dead.
Around Candahar all was tranquil, hut it was believed that the
chiefs had gone towards the Kujjuck Pats, in the hopes of ob-
taining booty. It seems to be allowed by all hands that the
gallantry anti good conduct of the troops in Western Affghan-
istan must have led to very different results had they been
under the guidance of fitting generalship. A very strong wish
is expressed throughout the military cit cies, .in these parts,
that Sir Charles Napier should obtain command, when a change
might be looked for in the fortune of the war !

RELIEF FOR CANDAHAR—GENERAL ENGLAND'S
ADVANCE AND RETREAT.
As already stated, General Notes force had, by the end of
February begun to suffer severely from the want of carriage—
the whole camel conveyance they could command being inade-
quate for more than one-Third of his supplies, when necessary
to move to any considerable distance from camp ; the coop:ins-
sariat was well provided, but ammunition was getting scarce,
while medical stores and money were nearly out altogether.
The reinforcement and convoy destined for their use was
ordered to move from Scinde in three detachments ; the first.
of which, under General England himself, quitted Dadur on
the 9th, and reached Quettah on the 16th March, having lost
300 camels in the snow, while ascending the Bolan Pass.
some 15 of the men were frozen. to death, and considerable ap-
prehensions entertained for this safety of the brigade. 'I he first
detachment consisted of a wing of her Majesty's 41st (445
bayonets), 374 of the 6th Native Infantry, with details of the
3d Light Cavalry, the Poonah Horse, the 20th, and 25th
Native Infantry. wi:h four guns—in all, about 7,200 men.
These had 2,000 camels, 45,000/. in silver, with ammunition
and other stores in convoy. The second detachment, of about
equal strength, with 2,000 camels and 90,0001. in treasure under
Major Simmons, of her Majesty's 41st Foot, left Dadur on
the 2Sth of March, and ascending the Bolan Pass without
molestation, reached Quettah on the 4th of April. The third
portion of the brigade left. Sukkur between the loch and 12th
of April, and may be looked for at Quettah about the 7th of
May.. It consists of the 12th Native Infantry, with a
squadron of the 3d Light Cavalry, aeiounting to about 1,100
men, commanded by Major Reid ; they had 2,600 camels in
charge, with a multitude of other beasts, bearing medical
stores, ammunition, and t easure. When assembled, the
whole force just arrived at, -or under orders for Quettali,
would amount to about 4,000 men. General England, as
already stated, reached Quettah on the 16th of March, but had
only remained a few days, when he found it necessary (on the
26th) to move out towards Pisheen, a.valley some twenty miles
off,. to protect the people, who were favourably disposed to-
wards us, against the insurgents, and to obtain forage for the
1,500 camels which still remained to him, supplies of this
essential not being procurable at Quettah. During the first
two days scattered parties of insurgents were seen along the
line of march, and some skirmishing ensued. On the 27th,
the troops pasSed the village of Hykulzie, and were re-
ceived in the most friendly manner by the chiefs. Not the
slightest hint was given by them that any interruption or
annoyance was intended us, though it must have been per-
fectly known to them that two month's labour had been
expended in barricading, the pass, . a few miles in front, and
that -Mahomed Sedeeze was posted in the hills close by, with
a strong force just arrived from Candahar. On the morning
of the 28th considerable numbers of men were soon on the
hills on either side of us. These were at first supposed to
be scouoi or maratoters. Further on, a group of low hills
skirted the road, betwixt two of which lay our line of March.
That on the right was strongly barricaded ; that on the left
covered with irregulars; The light companies of her
iVajeety's . 41st, and the 21st and 25th Native Infantry.
ameuntiug in all to 180 men, were ordered to charge up the
hill in line (!!) as it was imagined the enemy would de-
camp on their approach. - instead of this, they kept them-
sAvos concealed within the works, and the moment that the
4 st crossed the cress of the barricade, a rush so desperate and
irresistible was made against them, that they were compelled in-
stantly to retire, leaving Captain May, two sergeants, one tm-
poral, and. fourteen privates, dead upon the field. On descending
the hill, hotly. pressed by the enemy, a body of cavalry, whiel,
had the day before arrived from Candahar, wheeled round the
flank of the hill and fell upon the rear. Here Major Apthorp,
of the 20th Native Infantry, fell covered with wounds. He
survived two days, and expired on his return to Quettah. A
reserve of the remainder of the 41st covered the retreat of
the storming party, which formed itself into a square to re-
ceive the enemy near the bottom of the hill. The Affghan
.horsemen, finding these impenetrable, retired in gond order,
leaving many of their dead under our bayonets. Of 470 men
who had been engaged, including the reserve, 27 were killed
and 71 oounded. The enemy appear to have suffered severely.
Itlahomed Sedeeze, the insurgent leader, appears to have headed
the charge in person; he received a bayonet wound in the
shoulder. Six chiefs, with about thirty others, were killed,
and fifty were severely wounded ,in the affair. They fought
with the bravery snrl enthusiasm of religious zealots ; and it is
confessed by all our officers that a finer body of irregular horse
than that which charged upon our squares was never seen in
Afghanistan. The utmost gallantry was displayed by our
men. The sepoys entreated permission to charge up the IEII
again, but were refused. The 41st were also most anxious to
renew the contest. More than half the brigade had been em-
ployed in protecting the baggage. It was resolved to re-
tire to Quettah. Our troops having moved off the field,
spent the night of the 23th in a ruined fort, three
miles to the left. They reached Quettah with but little
molestation on the 30th. In the course of these pro-
ceedings it had been discovered that the Kujjuck
Pass, sixty-three miles from Quettah, and consequently eighty-
four from Candahar—the total distance betwixt the two being
147 miles—was blocked up, the enemy having for months been
engaged in constructing field works for its defence. Ithad now
become apparent that so close was the compact, and so univer-
sal the feeling against us, throughout the country, that of all
that was passing beyond the line of the picquets we were in
total ignorance. On the Ist of April General England wrote to
Candahar, informing General Nott of his retreat; stating to
l him, also, that supplies would only be pushed forward in case
of extreme emergency : that titer passes must first be opened
by a combined movement from the east and west. It was pro-
posed by him that a light brigade, without knapsacks or other
incumbrarices not indispensable, would move from Quettah as
s ton as a similar one had marched from Candahar. This last
was instructed to bring mortars along with them, these being
considered necessary to carry the barricades. This move-
ment could scarcely have commenced from either point earlier
than the 15th of April, and must, we should think, con-
sidering how entirely all communication is interrupted, be
undertaken over 150 miles of rough and irregular country
with the greatest hazard. General England seems to have
10-t all hope for the present of forwarding troops to Candahar,
the brigade destined for its reinforcement being now considered
necessary at Quettah, where strong intrenchments are being
thrown up. We do not quite comprehend the reason of this
sudden alteration in General England's resolution, as there
seems to have occurred no such change in the state of the
Shawl country, betwixt the 28th of March and the Ist of
April, as to make the presence of 2,500 men, which, at the
former date, were partly on the way to reinfarce General Nott,
net essary at the latter one for the protection of Quettah. We
must confess that, considering the military talent displayed of
late amongst our commanders above the. Bolan Pass, we con-
sider our position in Western Affghanistan at once gloomy and
precarious.

SCINDE.
Through , the past mouth Scinde has been everywhere
perf•ctly undisturbed, the robberies in the Boleti Piss
hardly deserving the character of disorders. There is, in-
deed, scarce .a single occurrence of note that has happened
betwixt Dadur and Kurrachee, betwixt the 15th of March and
26th of April, the period over which our present review ex-
tends. '1 he movements of the troops upwards, under
General England on the Bth, and Major Simmons,
of her Majesty's 41st Regiment, on the 28th of March, and
I.aior Reid, of the 12th Native Infantry, now on his way,
have already been noticed. The heats are beginning to set in
in Scinde, and betwixt the let of May and the Ist of October
the couwry becomes nearly impassable for troops. Had it been
determined to move a force this season through Egypt, with a
view to expedition, in arriving any time within the period
just indicated, they must remain inactive throughout the mon-
soon at Bombay, or the heats at Kurrachee. Cholera prevails
to a sad extrnt at Kurrachee, her Majesty's 22d having buried
no fewer than 98, not including women and children, betwixt
the 6th of March and the 23d of April. Of the depot of her
Majesty's 40th twenty-four had died. No officers have as yet
suffered. On the 26th of April there had orly occurred one
case among the troops. The Bengal 19th Native Infantry
was daily expected at Sukkur from Feroxepore, to supply the
place of the 12th and other troo:,s now on their way to Quettah.
The Bombay 17th Native Infantry has gone by stcam to Kurra-
chee on the 18th, 19th, and 22d of April.