The Sun.
London, England, 1842-03-10 00:00:00

etit

LONDON
THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 10, 1842.

INDIA AND CHINA.

IMPORTANT N EWS.

Lamentable, indeed, is the news brought by the Over-
land Mall from India. According to one letter from
Bombay, of the Ist ult. the whole of the British army in
Atfghanistan, consisting of her Majesty's 44th regiment
of foot, and detachments of five native regiments, to
the number of 5,400 men, besides camp followers, were
reported to have been cut to pieces. After the assas-
sination of the brave Sir Wm. MACNAGHTEN, on the
of December, whose head was cut off and
paraded on a pole through the streets of Ca-
bool, and afterwards stuck on the wall in
derision, the British troops, according to this letter,
evacuated the city, and endeavoured to effect a retreat.
From letters reported to be received on the Ist February,
in Bombay, dated from Jellalabad, the 7th of January,
it would appear that they evacuated Cabool on the 29th
of December, and before reaching the fatal hoord Cabool
Pass, seventeen miles from the city, they were surrounded

by the whole insurgent army, amounting to about 20,000
men. The British troops perishing with hunger, wading
through deep snow, and with not twenty rounds of
cartridgei, fought bravely for three days, but in the end
nearly the whole of them were slaughtered. One account
states that it was a perfect massacre, the unfortunate
soldiers wading through the deep snow being shot down
like snipes. An officer who escaped to Jellalabad re-
ported that he saw seven of his companions coolly
butchered by the Affghans ; that he did not. think
a man would escape alive ; and that sixteen ladies, in-
cluding Lady MACNAGHTEN, all wives of British
officers were made prisoners by the Affghans, who after
being subjected to the most dreadful outrages, would
probably be offered as a ransom for Don' MAHomF.D
KHAN, the prisoner of the British Government in India.

Such is the most gloomy news from India, brought by
the Overland Mail. Resting as it does upon statements
in native letters, there can be but little doubt that it is
much exaggerated. The BoMbay Government had not
received &sputa< s from Cabool of a later date than
the 25th of December, at which time the army
expected to hold out till the arrival of re-in-
f .rcements from Sir Ron Ear SALE'S camp, at
J •llalabad, a distance of ninety mi es. f The road
be' ween Caboul and Jellalabad lies through a
series of tremendous defiles covered with snow,
tad penetra'ed with difficulty, even when there is
no t;_)e to contend with. To the:pass of Khoord Cabool
there is an almost perpendicular ascent of 1,100
- feet, the pass itself is six miles long, and not
exceeding two hundred yards in the -broadest
place. A river _runs through it which crosses
the road twenty. three times, thus creating an additional
impediment to the march of an army. The country
around the pass is rugged, rocky, and full of steep pre-
cipices, so as to be at all seasons neatly impassible .by an
army. Taking, therefore, all the difficulties of a
march from Jellalabad to Cabool into consideration ;
reffixtinF,. too, upon the distressed condition of the
troops in Cabool, as shown by Sir WILLIAM
MAcNACHTEN'S consentinr, to treat about the evacuation
of that city, we are forced to admit the probability of
much of the terrible accounts supplied by the Aflghan
correspondents of the Anglo•lndian journals. There
were.lo,ooo British troops at Candahar, but they could
not reach Cabool for some weeks.

The murder of our excellent Envoy Sir WILLIAM
MACNAGIITEN produced the most wide-spread sorrow in
India. Never did the Indian Government lose., a more
valuable and more universally, beloved public servant.
The sad intelligence was announced to the public by
a " General Order" of the Governor in Council, dated
the 21st of January, which directed mourning to be worn
by the officers of the Civil, Military, and Naval Services
of the Pre,ideney of Bombay, for a period of three weeks.
We have not space. to-day for the whole of General
Sir ROBERT SALE'S Despatches from Jellalabad, but
the one to which we have given insertion proves
how impossible it was for that officer to attempt
a forced march upon Cabool. The Gallant General NI as
surrounded by enemies who harrassed him 'day, and
night, nor could he depend upon the fidelity of a single
ally, from the moment his services' appeared essential to

the progress of our arms. The JaubYzees, when ordered
to charge the enemy, deserted to them, as did most of
the Shah's troops, although in every attack our forces
were victorious. The Jaubazees, before deserting,
murdered their officer, Lietenant GOLDING, of the 2d
European Regiment.
Strong re-inforcements were, however, on their way
from India. Our allies, the Sikhs, have granted us a pas-
sage through their country. Colonel WILDE's brigade
was at the 7th of December, at Khybur Pass, waiting
the arrival of General PoLLoCK, who was to take the
command of the re-inforeements, consisting of her Majes-
ty's 9th Regiment, 26th Native Infantry, a Company of
the 60th Native Infantry, the recruits of her Majesty's
13th and 44th, the 10 Light Company, a squailion of ir-
regular cavalry, awl a detail of artillery, with three 9-
poundeN, and a 24-pounder howitzer to reach Jellalabad
before the advance of General Sir R. SALE upon Cabool,
and til's fi=rm a component cart of the army destined
to revenge. the. murder of the Envoy.
, . Amidst so many disasters we are happy to learn that
ivithin the confines of our Indian territory tranquillity
happily prevails.
From China the news of the 4th of December. It
was reported then at Maeao that Sir lIENny l'orrixc 11
was returning to Hong Kong ereyaratory to taking
signal vengeance upon Canton for infractions of the trace.
His Excellency was reported to be much displeased
1
with
Major-General I.3m;:atai. and Captain NIAS for having l
) f that tthe
remained passive spectators of the bad
improbable fidt
Chinese It is therefore not at an
Canton is by this time once more in possession of our
troops, and if so, it is not six millions of dollars, wrung
from Hong merchants, to be paid as a tax on tea by
ourselves, that will ransom it.
BOMBAY.
I.—The intelligence by the present mail is the most gloomy
disastrous that has ever been transmitted to Englat.d from
the snores-at bun,- The nco s ummate wisdom _and prudence of
the itl6riee by the nuke
~__Elinfie of Wellington, the Marquis VVel-
and others, against the original