Star.
London, England, 1824-11-16 00:00:00

EAST' INDIES.

CALCUTTA, MAY 31.
FUNERAL OF SIR JOHN MACDONALD, K.C.B.
Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B. a Lieutenant-Geteral in
the Honourable Company's service, died in Calculla on
Sault day last, aged 76. His remains were interred yes-
terday evening, between five and' six o'clock, attended
by his r icellency the Commander-in-Chief, all ihe Ge-
neral Staff, and a large body of Civilians, who assem•
bled to pay the last tribute of respect to one of the
oldest Officers of the Honourable Company's set vice in
India. There is something in a military funeral so par.
titularly solemn and impressive, that callous indeed
must that heart be which can witness unriroved a pro-
cession similar to the one it is our melancholy duty to
relate, and few there are, we are sure, who return to
their homes without experiencing in full force those
awful and serious reflections attending so solemn a duty.
Every respect which the Government is ever toady to
shew to a long life of Ineritoilaus public• service, Was
evinced in the funeral we witnessed ) esterday evening.
At about a quarter past five o'clock the Right Hon. the
Governor-General's Body. Guard, with its galloper guns,
commanded by Captain •Soeyd, together- with all. the
European troops in Fort William, the wholecoMmandeil
by Lieutenant-Colonel Vaughan, Fort .Major, were
drawn up opposite the residence of the late Sir John
Macdonald. On the body being brought from the
house, the funeral party presented arms, the trumpets
of the Body Guard sounding a funeral dirge, the hands
playing the Venetian hymn. On the coffin being vlaced
in the hearse, the 'party moved off in slow time, flanked
by thotisands of natives (many of whom had been par-
takers in the deceased's charity,) to the burial-place in
Park-street. During the procession minute guns la ete
fired from the Fort, the trumpets sounded at intervals,
'and the muffled drums beat their solemn rolls, until at
at a proper distance from the gate of the burial-ground,
when the cavalry and infantry halted, and were formed
into a street, through which the corpse was borne. On
the coffin being laid in the grave, the gun; of the Body
Guard fired 27 rounds, and the infantry three volleys,
ending a ceremony as imposing in Appearance as it was
awful and solemn in its effect.

The following is an extract of a letter from a Ctn-
tleman at Rangoon, to his friend in Calcutta, dated
the 20th of May :—'
We were the last ship that left the pilot, which 'we
did on the. 196 April,:and at rived at the4o44manapn
the 30th; the sixth transport. in the. port. -We' htiii
hardy sufficient time to fill up our *ate, by ciatifig
. _ • . .

1

b it night and day, when the Madras feet arrived, and
%so were immediately ordered to ail, though some of
the ships had not more than three days water on board.
We alllabfled from this plat:won-the 6th of May, under
the convoy of his Majesty's frigate Liffey, the Larne, a
20-gun ship, the Sauey, of the same metal, and abiig of
13 guns ; with these we made_ a dashing figure across
the Bay, keeping so close together that I am surprised
that there were no more accidents happened than actually
occurred; we accidentally ran down the steam boat the
night after we left the port, carried away her masts,
and demolished her wheel, so that she was obliged to
be taken in tow by the frigate. We arrived in the river
on the 11th, when the Slaney was sent with al/4few ships
to take possession of the Island of Cheduba, which I
hear is now in our possession. The frigate took the
lead up the river, and we all followed close ►n her wake;
the natives fired a few shots at as while going up, but
they did not prevent us from anchoring off the town,
which we did at noon the same day. The ships were
brought abreast of a battery of eighteen guns, which
immediately commenced a smart fire upon the Liffey,
which she was :•ot behind hand in retnrn►ng, and with
such effect, that she totally dismounted every gun in the
battery, and demolished several houses round about it.
" There would not have been a shot fired on our pair
bad they not begun first. It seems by all accounts that
they were not in a condition to receive us, as they had
no idea we should have been so soon upon them,
although they were quite aware that war had been de-
clared. We came just in time. to save two or three
European settlers from death ; they were foun i in irons,
and had that day been taken from the prison, and.
marched before a body of troops, they urging them all
the way, by pricking them with their spears towards
the place of execution, where their heads were to have
been snuck off.
" Captain Snowball and family are all safe; I do not
believe they offered any violence to his pet son. We
Arnded the troops at six on the same evening without
cony oppo•ition, and no wonder, as we found the town
completely deserted. There was a grand plundering
immediately took place, in consequecce of which a
number- of men are in close confinement for six months.
Some bascars have been publicly flogged, and several
soldiers are to be hung or shot for plunder and brutal
assault, in a hone Belonging to a European settler, of
the name of Turner. Notwithstanding our peaceable
landing, I am afraid we shall have warm work before
they will submit; they seem a desperate set of fellows,
and courageous too : the other day, at a slight skim-
snish,in attempting to d. aw them out of their stockades,
which are strong buildings, so constructed as perfectly
to conceal them, they killed two officers and wounded
several others; so that it appears nothing can be done
here on land, as it is a vile jungly country, and no one
is acquainted witl► the roads, and tile few troops we
have are but a handful compared with the numbers they
have to engage with.
It is true they dare not spew their faces in the open
plain, nor can we follow them into the jungle; for there
their matchlocks and spears, which are their only
weapons, are more efficacious than the heaviest ordnance
would be. We are now fitting boats to go up to Ava
with the troops, as well as every vessel of a small draught''
of water ; all the ships' longboats are also put in requi-
sition for this service. We burn all their boats that we
can find, and have already destroyed some very fine
craft. The rainy season has just set in, and very dis-
agreeable it is too, never ceasing from morning to night.
All our boats are employed in getting off the Hastings
frigate, which has grounded some way down the river."