The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-01-10 00:00:00

CIVIC BANQUET AT THE TOWN-HALL

The Mayor gave a sumptuous banquet at the Town-hall,
which was furnished by Mr. Lynn, of the Waterloo Hotel,
in his usual excellent style, and gave general satisfaction.
The company, which numbered sixty-five, consisted of the
Lord Bishop of Chester and the following gentlemen:—Sit
Stephen R. Glynne, Bart., M. P., the Right Hon. W. E.
Gladstone, M.P., the Rev. Henry Glynne, the Rev. Hugh
M'Neile, the Rev. James North, the Rev. John Jones, Mr.
Thomas B. Cross, Mr. Josias Booker, Mr. John Shaw Leigh,
Mr. Charles Groves, Mr. Charles Inman, Mr. Wm. Potter,
Mr. C. Boutflower, Mr. John Briscoe, Mr. C. Bushel, Mr.
J. Cooper, Mr. T. T. Glazebrook, Mr. J. Grantham, Mr. W.
Gregson, Mr. Richard Griffith, Mr. Charles Horsfall, Mr.
William Jones, Mr. James Lawrence, Mr. John Leyland.
Mr. Edward Molvneux, Mr. Thomas Muncaster, Mr. C.
S. Parker,'Mr. John Wilson Patten, M.P., Mr. Jas. Procter,
Mr. W. J Roberts, Mr. Richard Sanders, Mr. H. Steel,
Mr. William Tapley, Mr. Thomas Wilson, Mr. Samuel
tr4olme, Mr. J. Gregory Jones, Mr. Thomas Sands, Mr.
Joshua Edwards, Mr. William Preston, Mr. Elias Arnaud,
Mr. Adam Hodgson, Mr. Thomas B. Horsfall, Mr. George
Grant, Mr. Archibald Kelso, jun., Mr. Thomas S. Gladstone,
Mr. Charles Turner, the Rev. F. Barker, the Rev.W.
Rawson, the Rev. W. Butler, Mr. John Tomkinson, Mr.
G. H. Lawrence, Sir Howard Douglas, Bart., M.P. Mr. Ed.
Hunt, Mr. David Hodgson, the Rev. Dr. Tattershall, Mr.
James Heyworth, Mr. William Porter, Mr. James Hohne,
the Rev. A. Campbell, the Rev. W. J. Conybeare, Mr.
Richard Blakemore, M.P., and Mr. Aspinall.

AN EXTRAORDINARY KlCK.—Jack Johnson thereupon
whispered to his friend that if he, Mr. John Bernard, put on
the same expression again, he would give him such an extra-
ordinary kick, that he should keep it to take to the British
Museum as a curiosity when he got home.—Mr. Ledbury's
Adventures in Bentley's Miscellany.
TILE LAZY aus.—A club bearing this name was some
years since established in London ; the members whereof
generally met attired in their night-gowns, with their stock-
ings about their heels, and frequently with only a single
stocking on, generally on the left leg. Their salutation on
their entrance was a yawn and a stretch, and then, without
further ceremony, each took his place at the lolling table.

THE DISASTERS IN AFFGIIANISTAN

(From the Times.)

The following account of the insurrection in Calm!,
narrated in Mr. Eyres excellent volume, will, no doubt
prove interesting to our readers :

" At an early hour on the morninf of the 2nd of Novem-
ber, 1841, the startling intelligence, says Mr. Eyre, " was
brought from the city that a popular outbreak had taken
place, that the shops were all closed, and that. a general attack
had been made at the houses of all the British officers re-
siding in Cabul. About eight a.m. a hurried note was re-
ceived by the Envoy in cantonments from Sir Alexander
Burnes, stating that the minds of the people had been
stronly excited by some mischievous reports, but expressing
a hope that he should succeed in quelling the commotion.
About nine a.m., however, a rumour was circulated, which
afterwards proved but too well founded that Sir Alexander
had been murdered, and Captain Johnson's treasury plun-
dered. Flames were now seen to issue from that part of the
city where they dwelt, and it was too apparent that the en-
deavour to appease the people by quiet means had failed; and
that it would be necessary to have recourse to stronger mea-
sures. The report of fire-arms was incessant, and seemed
to extend through the town from end to end.

" Sir Williarri-Macnaughten called upon General Elphin-
stone to act. An order was accordingly sent to Brigadier
Shelton, then encamped at Seeah Sung, about a mile and a
half distant from cantonments, to march forthwith to the
Bala Hisar, cr royal citadel, where his majesty Scbah Soojah
resided, commanding a large portion of the city, with the
following troops, viz.: one company of her Malesty's 44th
Foot; a wing of the 54th Regiment of Native Infantry, under
Major Evart; the Gth Regiment of Schah's Infantry, under
Captain Hopkins ; and 4 Horse Artillery guns, unde: Cap-
tain Nicholl• and on arrival there to act according to his own
judgment. after consulting the King. _ _

"-The remainder of the troops encamped at Secah Sung
were at the same time ordered into cantonments, viz., her
Majesty's 44th Foot, under Lieutenant-Colonel Mackerell ;
2 Horse Artillery guns, under Lieutenant Waller, and An-
derson's irregular horse. A messenger was likewise de-
spatched to recall the 37th Native Infantry from Koord
Cabul without delay. The troops at this time in canton-
ments were as follows :—viz., sth Regiment Native Infantry,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver; a wing of the 54th Native
Infantry; 5 six-pounder field-guns, with a detachment of
the Schah's Artillery, under Lieutenant Warburton ; the
Envoy's body guard; a troop of Skinner's Horse, and
another of local horse, under Lieutenant Walker ; 3 compa-
nies of the Scbah's Sappers, under Captain Walsh ; and
about twenty men of the Company's Sappers, attached to
Captain Paton, Assistant-Quarter-master-General.
" Widely spread and formidable as this insurrection proved
to be afterwards, it was at first a mere ingignificant ebulition
of discontent on the part of a few desperate and restless men,
which military energy and promptitude ought to have crushed
in the bud. Its commencement was an attack by certainly
not 300 men on the dwellings of Sir Alexander Burnes and
Captain Johnson, paymaster to the Schuh's force ; and so
little did Alexander himself apprehend serious consequences,
that he not only refused, on its first breaking out, to comply
with the earnest entreaties of the wuzeer to accompany him to
the Bala Hissar, but aptually forbade his guard to fire on the
assailants, attempting to check what he supposed• to be a
mere riot, by haranguing the attacking party from the gallery
of his house. The result was fatal to himself; for, in spite
of the devoted gallantry of the Sepoys, who composed his
guard and that of the paymaster's office and treasury, on the
opposite side of the street, who yielded their trust only with
their latest breath, the latter were plundered, and his two
companions, Lieutenant William Broadfoot, of the Bengal
European regiment, and his brother, Lieutenant Burnes, of
the Bombay army, were massacred, in common with every
man, woman, and child found on the premises, by those
bloodthirsty miscreants. Lieutenant Broadfoot killed five or
six men with his own hand, before he was shot down.

" No man, surely, in a highly responsible public situation
—especially in such a one as that held by Sir Alexander
Burnes—ought ever to indulge in a state of blind security, or
to neglect salutary warning, however small. It is indisputable
that such warnings had been given to him ; especially by a
respectable Affghan, named Taj-Mahomed, on the very pre-
vious night, who went in person to Sir A Burnes to put' him
on his guard, but retired disgusted by the incredulity with
sertions were received."

which hi

The Envoy and the General still, however, remained inac-
tive, although the Schab, startled by the increasing number
of the rioters, sent some soldiers into the city from the Bala
Hissar, with the hope of restoring order; but the enemy,
encouraged by impunity, drove back the King's guards with
great slaughter, as they received no support from our troops,
" whose leaders," says Mr. Eyre, •' appeared so thunder-
struck by the intelligence of the outbreak, as to be incapable
of:adopting more than the most puerile defensive measures."
Brigadier Shelton, however, was directed to occupy the Bala
Hissar, with a part of the Seeah Sung force ; and Captain
Lawrence. military secretary to the Envoy, was sent forward
to prepare the King for that officer's reception. On his way,
Captain Lawrence had two narrow escapes from the enemy,
and Lieutenant Sturt, the executive engineer, while on his
way to the citadel, was stabbed in three places about the face
and neck. No active measures of suppression were, however,
yet adopted by General Elphinstone, and
" The day," says Mr. Eyre, " was suffered to pass without
anything being done demonstrative of British energy and
power. The murder of our countrymen, and the spoliation
of public and private property, was perpetrated with impunity
within a mile of our cantonment, and under the vet y walls of
the Bala Hissar.
" Such an exhibition on our part taught the enemy their
strength ; confirmed against us those who, however disposed
to join in the rebellion, and hitherto kept aloof froth pruden-
tial motives, and ultimately encouraged the nation to unite
as one man for our destruction."

We now come to a portion of Mr. Eyre's narrative which
appears to us so extraordinary, but so important, that we
give it entire. One would think that the preservation of
the commissariat stores, in a hostile country, must have
been considered by the military officers in command as an
object of the first importance. The very existence of the
army depended upon the security of its magazines, of pro-
visions and ammunition, the value of which is estimated by
Mr. Eyre at £1,000,000 sterling ; and now let us see what
was done for its protection. On the morning of the 4th—
. " The enemy having taken strong possession of the Shah
l3agh, or King's garden, and thrown a garrison into the fort
of Mahomed Shereef, nearly opposite the bazaar, effectually
prevented any communication between the cantonment and
commissariat fort, the gate of which latter was commanded
by the gate of the Shah Bagh, on the other side of the road.
_ _

Ensign Warren, of the sth Native Infantry, at this time
occupied the Commissariat fort with 100 men, and having
reported that he was very hard pressed by the enemy, and in
danger of being completely cut off, the general, either for-
getful or unaware at the moment of the important fact that
upon the possession of this fort we were entirely dependent
for provisions, and anxious only to save the lives of men
whom he believed to be in imminent peril, hastily gave direc-
tions that a party under the command of Captain Swayne, of
her Majesty's 44th regiment, should proceed immediately to
bring off Ensign Warren and his garrison to cantonments,
abandoning the fort to the enemy. A few minutes previously
an attempt to relieve him had been made by Ensign Gordon,
with a company of the 37th Native Infantry and 11 camels
laden with ammunition ; but the party were driven back, and
Ensign Gordon killed. Captain Swayne now accordingly
proceeded towards the spot with two companies of her Ma-
jesty's 44th ; scarcely had they issued from cantonments ere
a sharp and destructive fire was poured upon them from
Mahowed Shereef's fort, which, as they proceeded, was
taken up by the marksmen in the Shah Bagh, under whose
deadly aim both officers and men suffered severely ; Captains
Swayne and Robinson of the 44th were killed, and Lieutenants
Hallahan, Evans, and Fortye wounded in this disastrous
business. It now seemed to the officer, on whom the com-
mand had devolved, impracticable to bring off Ensign War-
ren's party, without risking the annihilation of his own,
which had already sustained so rapid and severe a loss in
officers ; he, therefore, returned forthwith to cantonments.
In the course of the evening, another attempt was made by
a party of the Stir Light Cavalry ; but they encountered so
severe a fire from the neighbouring enclosures, as obliged
them to return without effecting their desired object, with
the loss of eight troopers killed and fourteen badly wounded.
Captain Boyd, the Assistant-Commissary-General, having
meanwhile been made acquainted with the general's inten-
tion to give up the fort, hastened to lay before him the dis-
astrous consequences that would ensue from so doing. He
stated that the place contained, besides large supplies of
wheat arid atta, all his stores of rum, medicine, clothing, &c.,
the value of which might be estimated at four lacs of rupees;
that to abandon such valuable property would not only ex-
pose the force to the immediate want of the necessaries of
life, but would infallibly inspire the enemy with tenfold
courage. He added that he had not above two days' supply
of provisions in cantonments, and that neither himself nor
Captain Johnson, of the Schah's commissariat, had any
prospect of procuring them elsewhere under existing circum-
stances. In consequence of this strong representation on the
part of Captain Boyd, the general sent i nmediate orders to
Ensign Warren to hold out the fort to the last extremity.
(Ensign Warren, it must be remarked, denied having re-
ceived this note.) Early in the night a letter was received
from him to the effect that he believed the enemy were
busily engaged in mining one of the towers, and that such
was the alarm among the Sepoys, that several of them had
actually made their escape over the wall to cantonments ;
that the enemy were making preparations to burn down the
gate ; and that, considering the temper of his men, he did
not expect to be able to hold out many hours longer, unless
reinforced without delay. In reply to this he was informed
that he would be reinforced by two a.m,
" At about nine o'clock, p.m., there was an assembly of
staff and other officers at the general's house, when the envoy
came in and expressed his serious conviction that, unless
Mohomed Shereef's fort were taken that very night, we
should lose the commissariat fort, or at all events be unable
to bring out of it provisions for the troops. The disaster of
the morning rendered the general extremely unwilling to ex-
pose his officers and men to any similar peril ; but, on the
other hand, it was urged that the darkness of the night would
nullify the enemy's fire, who would also most likely be taken
unawares, as it was not the custom of the Affghans to main-
tain a very strict watch at night. A. man in Captain John-
son's employ was accordingly sent out to reconnoitre the
place ; he returned in a few minutes with the intelligence
that about twenty men were seated outside the fort near the
gate, smoking and talking; and from what he overheard of
their conversation, he judged the garrison to be very small,
and unable to resist a sudden onset. The debate was now
resumed, but another hour passed, and the general could not
make up his mind. A second spy was despatched, whose
report tended to corroborate what the first had said. I was
then sent to Lieutenant Sturt, the engineer, who was nearly
recovered from his wounds, for his opinion. He at first ex-
pressed himself in favour of an immediate attack, but, on
hearing that some of the enemy were on the watch at the
gate, he judged it prudent to defer the assault till an early
hour in the morning : this decided the general, though not
before several hours had slipped away in fruitless discussion.
" Orders were at last given for a detachment to be in rea-
diness at 4 a-in. at the Kohistan gate; and Captain Bellew,
Deputy Aasistant Quarter-Master General, volunteered to
blow open the gate; another party of her Majesty's 44th
were at the same to issue by a cut in the south face of the
rampart, and march simultaneously towards the commis-
sariat fort, to reinforce the garrison. Morning had, how-
ever, well dawned ere the men could be got under arms : and
they were on the point of marching off, when it was reported
that Ensign Warren had just arrived in cantonments with
his garrison, having evacuated the fort. It seems that the
enemy had actually set fire to the gate ; and Ensign Warren
seeing no prospect of a reinforcement, and expecting the
enemy every moment to rush in, led out his men by a hole
which he had prepared in the wall. Being called upon in a
public letter from the Assistant Adjutant-General to state
his reasons for abandoning his post, be replied that he was
ready to do so before a court of inquiry, which be requested
might be assembled to investigate his conduct ; it was not,
however, deemed expedient to comply with his request.
" It is beyond a doubt that our feeble and ineffectual de-
fence of this fort, and the valuable booty it yielded, was the
first fatal blow to our supremacy at Cabul, and at once de-
termined those chiefs, and more particullarly the Kusxi
bashes, who had hitherto remained neutral, to join in the
general combination to drive us from the country."
All this looks so much like infatuation that we are more
angryinclined, i
th irritatingsuoha as
grossthe whole
exhibitionnarrative
indecisionis, to pity
entdh_amn
be
eond mis-
conduct. ct .
which W
ith What, however,
ems was
mceadne b
toe saidthro iwn
the defence
bi
blame
roo
ef tohfe at-
temptthewloss o ofa ptpheeefrosrttou phoenve Ensignpe
performed rll.aerdrehni
a? —d
duty
t bravewwith
hy
courageoung officer,
irresolution, or the most culpable
w...
not
do
ability, while his superiors were manifestingthoeagmleoostt. unpa-
ralleledpoorWarren fell, we believe, in the retreat ; bntot it ill
himselffor any one, if ifreMsprOnEarbrieliPetydbeytaielstkadreeircfetrincti to tcrlatrg%htihelisd

,donment of his post
...

young soldier with the ribs
it "to the last extremity."
when a longer resistance without reinforcements wo
exposed him to be blamed for rashness and folly.
The effect of the loss of the magazin- -
Mr. Eyre :
" It no sooner became generally known that the Con
missariat Fort, upon which we were dependent for snpplie
had been abandoned, than one universal feeling. of indignatic
pervaded the garrison; nor can I detkerihn

we think, and only quitted it
-hi have

troops, but e,peeially the native

s recaptur

,cling that was by no m
their seeing the Affghans crossing and re
between the Commissariat Fort and th,
liagh laden with the provisions upon %,

our ability to make a protracted defer

e is thus stated by

There is an old saying that people are Inc
stable door after the horse has been staler
F,lphinstone seems to have

hat

condul
When I

should furnish no exception to so excellent a ru.,
had lost the whole of his commissariat stores, ns.
to attack the fort of Maliogned Shereef and after
hours' fight the place was carried. Pity it is that this ,
not done a little earlier; for if Warren had been supported
and if this fort of the enemy had been taken or destroyed at
the proper moment, the subsequent disasters would have
been less signal ; and perhaps, indeed, they might have been
avoided altogether. As it was, the state of the crr----
so early as the Bth of Novemb--
the chief cause of anxiety :
" Even with high bribes and liberal pays
could only procure a scanty supply,
consumption, from the village of Beymano
mile down the Kohistan road, to the north.
the enemy undoubtedly was to starve us out; to ene,
the chiefs exerted their whole influence to prevent
supplied from the neighbouring forts. Their
sure one; and so long as they held firmly
not fail to be sooner or later successful."

r, was, in the eantonnl en

t for dail

be object of
which

game was a

gether, it could

On the morning of the 9th, Brigadier Shelton, the second
in command, returned from the Bala Hissar, to the assist-
ance of General Elphinstotie ; and from henceforward that
officer

" bore a conspicuous part in the drama upon the issue of
which so much depended. He had, however, from the very first, seemed to despair of the force being able to hold out
the winter at Cabul, and strenuously advocated an immediate
retreat to J ell al labad.
"This sort of despondency proved, unhappily, very infec-
It soon spread its baneful influence amongst the
officers, and was by them communicated to the sot
The number of croakers in garrison became perfectl.
ful, lugubrious looks and dismal prophecies being
tered everywhere. The severe losses sustained b-
jesty's 44th, under Captain Swayne, on the
very much discouraged the men of that regiment; and it is a
lamentable tact that some of those European soldiers, who
were naturally expected to exhibit to their native brethren in
arms an example of enduranceand fortitude, were among the
first tolose confidence and give vent to feelings of discontent
at the duties imposed on them. The e
up, became more and more difficult to era,
daily more and more how completely demora.
British soldier is the very idea of a retreat.
" Sir William Nlacneghten and his suite were altogether
opposed to Brigadier Shelton in this matter, it being in his
(the envoy's) estimation a duty we owed to the government
to retain our post at whatever risk. This difference of opi-
nion, on a question of such vital importance, was attended
with unhappy results, inasmuch as it deprived the general,
in his hour of need, of the strength which unanimity imparts,
and produced an uncommunicative and disheartening reserve
in an
counsel emergency which demanded the freest interchange of
an
On the 10th it was determined to storm the Rikabashee
fort, which was situated within musket shot of our works,
and front which the enemy began to pour a very annoying
fire upon cur troops. Brigadier Shelton took the command
of the attacking force, and a small wicket baying been blown
open, instead of the gate, Colonel Mackerel! and Lieutenant
Bird, accompanied by a handful of Europeans and a few Se-
b y Thee
ewnheoml ey ast
ut
aPcPI
outa of the opposite gate but,-
g"lYlaa'ntfomrceend ttoh ebier wb
oaeykiend.

ncoun-

her Ma-
ath instant, had

vil seed

e, showing
sing to the

party, fled

" Unfortunately, at this instant a number of the Affghan
cavalry charged round the corner of the fort next the wicket :
the cry of ' cavalry' was raised, a cry which too often, during
our operations, paralysed the arms of those whose muskets
and bayonets we have been accustomed to consider more
than a match for a desultory charge of irregular horsemen :
the Europeans gave way simultaneously with the Sepoys : a
bugler of the 6th Infantry, through mistake, sounded the re-
treat, and it became for the time a scene of sauve qui peat.
in vain did the officers, especially Major Scott, of her Ma-
jesty's 44th, knowing the fearful predicament of his com-
manding officer, exhort and beseech their men to charge for-
ward—not a soul would follow them, save a private of the
44th, named Steward, who was afterwards promoted for his
solitary gallantry. Let me here do Brigadier Shelton justice :
his acknowledged courage redeemed this day ; for, exposing
his person to a hot fire, he stood firm amidst a crowd of fu-
gitives, and, by his exhortations and example, at last rallied
them. Advancing again to the attack, again our men
faltered. notwithstanding that the fire of the great guns from
the cantonments, and that of Captain Mackenzie's jezail-
chees from the northeast angle of the Mission Compound,
together with a demonstration on the part of our cavalry,
had greatly abated the ardour of the Affghan horse. A third
time did the Brigadier bring on his men to the assault, which
now proved successful. We became masters of the fort.
But v.hat in the meantime had been passing inside the fort,
where, it will be remembered, several of our brave brethren
had been shut up, as it were, in the lion's den ?

" On the first retreat of our men, Lieutenant Bird, with
Colonel Mackerel' and several Europeans, had hastily shut
the gate by which the garrisOn had for the most part evacu-
ated the place, securing the chain with a bayonet; the repulse
outside, however, encouraged the enemy to return in great
numbers, and, it being impossible to remain near the gate on
account of the hot fire poured in through the crevices, our
few heroes speedily had the mortification to see their foes
not only re-entering the wicket, but, having drawn the
bayonet, rushed in with loud shouts through the now re-opened
gate. Poor Mackerell having fallen, was literally hacked to
pieces, although still olive at the termination of the contest.
Lieutenant Bird, with two Sepoys, retreated into a stable,
the door of which they closed ; all the rest of the men, en-
deavouring to escape through the wicket, were met and
slaughtered. Bird's place of concealment at first, in the con-
fusion, escaped the observation of the temporarily triumphant
Affghans ; at last it was discovered, and an attack commenced
at the door. This, being barricaded with logs of wood, and
whatever else the tenants of the stable could find, resisted
their efforts, while Bird and his now solitary companion, a
Sepoy of the 37th Native Infantry (the other having been
struck down), maintained as hot a fire as they could, each
shot taking deadly effect from the proximity of the party en-
gaged. The fall of their companions deterred the mass of
the assailants from a simultaneous rush, which must have
succeeded; and thus that truly chivalrous, high-minded, and
amiable young gentleman, whose subsequent fate must be
ranked among the mysterious dispensations of Providence
which we cannot for the present fathom, stood at bay with
his equally brave comrade for upwards of a quarter of an hour,
when, having only five cartridges left, in spite of having rifled
the pouch of the dead man, they were rescued as related abos e.
Our troops literally found the pair grim and lonely there,'
upwards of 30 of the enemy having fallen by their unassisted
prowess.
" Our loss, on this occasion, was not less than 200 killed
and wounded. Four neighbouring forts were immediately
evacuated by the enemy, and occupied by our troops : they
were found to contain about 1,400 mounds of grain, in re-
moving which no time was lost, but as it was not found prac-
ticable to bring off more than half before nightfall, Captain
Boyd. the Assistant-Commissary-General, requested Briga-
dier Shelton that a guard might be thrown into a small fort,
where it must be left for the night; this was, however,owi
nre-
fused, and on the following morning, as
pon th
omight haevefllboeen ex-
pected, the grain was all gone ; permanent possession was,
however, taken of the Rika-bashee and Zulfekar forts, the
towers of the remainder being blown
day."

(fhe western heights were attacked by the Brigadier on the
13th, when some considerable success, after much hard fight-
ing was obtained over the enemy, the troops returning, how-
ever, to cantonments at nightfall. On this point Mr. Eyre
remarks, that

" It was no small disadvantage under which we laboured,
that no temporary success over those of the enemy could be
followed up, nor even possession be retained of the ground
gained by us at the point of the bayonet, owing to the neces-
sity of withdrawing our men into their quarters at night.
" The success obtained on those heights was the last,"
taskoffic
officers,
r, el a
disheartenedt e a cata-
logue of errors,
says our author,
d'is` armshosuterrs,
andwdeirffiecudletsietisi:ewd
htioche, x
fpoelri ihewnicheg.
gmusytewdeaoryur
sunk us all into irretrievable ruin,
Henceforward it becomteliss
oc luors es 0 ul
dpi oe nr
soldierspo,
e, a
ac
nh
dotfi eh, ,l y
as though Heaven itself, by a combination of evil circum-
stances, for its own inscrutable purposes, had planned our
downfall."
(We pass over the interesing account which Mr. Eyre has
given of the transactions in Kohistan under Major Pottinger,
simply remarking they will well repay, an attentive perusal.
It is sufficient for our immediate purpose to say, that after a
gallant struggle, and after every hope of reinforcements, for
which he had written repeatedly, was at an end, he retreated
on Cabul, where he arrived in safety with a few followers.)
The impression made on the enemy by the action of the
13th was salutary ; and advantage was taken of the respite
which followed to throw supplies into the Bala Ilissar.
" But," continues Mr. Eyre, " even in this short inter-
val of comparative rest, such was the wretched construction
of the cantonment that the mere ordinary routine of garrison
duty, and the necessity of closely manning our long line of
rampart both by day and night, were a severe trial to the
health and Patience of the troops, especially now that the
winter began to show symptoms of unusual severity. There
seemed, indeed, every probability of an early fall of snow, to
which all looked forward with dread, as the harbinger of fresh
difficulties and of augmented suffering.
" These considerations, and the manifest superiority of the
Bala Hissar, as a military position, led to the early discussion
of three xpediency of abandoning the cantonment and con-
solidaing our forces in the above-mentioned stronghold.
The Envoy himself was, from the first, greatly in favour of
this move, until overruled by the many objections urged
against it by the military authorities; but to the very last it
was a measure that had many advocates, and I venture to
state my own firm belief that, had we at this time mo%ed into
the Bala Hissar, Cabul would still be in our possession. The
chief objections urged were-Ist, the difficulty of conveying
our sick and wounded ; 2ndly, the want of firewood ; 3rdly,
the want of forage for the cavalry; Mthly, the triumph that.
our abandonment of the cantonments would afford the eneetm
sthly, the risk of defeat on the way thither, On the
sh.c)ei
hand it was advanced—lst, that, though to thecarryyettl
on each
would be difficult, it was not impossible; for so
esdh
dis-
tance two, or even three, men could be conveyed
could be
doolie ; some might manage to walk, and ther
of their loads;
mounted on the yaboos and camels, on the toppa_.,,ssr,
there
2ndly, although wood was scarce in tldiefeßr I 11
the want of fires
was enough for purposes of cooking,
and
by the comparative
the troops would be amply compensatedother respects. 3rdly,
ease and comfort they would enjoy
rm being a
no forage, havee,
the horses must, in the case of t
been shot ; but the want of cavalrye
should have destroyed
1 of the
in such a situation ; 4thly, as' w the supposed triumph
would soon have
that was valuable before leaving,
h rtlived, and he valueless
enemy would have been vee_ry
disappointment atetstrength
and
given way to a feeling f
and of dismay th
did not ex.
of their acquisition,
shl the distance
Protected
nature
position; t y,
was
security of our new of that distanced occupied the
heweould have been little II
ceed two miles, and one-half
Bala Hissar.
by the guns of
the
with a strong party,
Seeah Sung hills w
the cantonment side, the.
ut risking a a b ttle
the plain on
arch witho .
sweep .
to impede our m 1 were
which t ley
have done little
force in a fair field, to s
have been the
with our whole
which would, PethaP ,
I f rwlaeci 14
g enemy n s th el-
coulde t o
truggle.
of deciding the s _
d with so many thou-
best mode for us
a force, clegge
me kind, was, of
" To remove so large
without loss
such
~
derations to
followers, ht considerations sands of camp
but ougand
e been attended
next to impossible;
eath would .. .
course,
with a step l d
ilitary politica a van.
generally adverse, but
have interfered .
d in the Bala Hissar, could
once collect' • ' t the cit and
; Our troops, • e operations ;mains y
Cages
.spared for offenstv .
means plenty of food and
have been
by which t
• hbouring
forts,probability have been readily procured,
the nen • all
would in
ea nature of the position would have
with such gm .
while the commanding fionrathgee long run
mandidapair of driving us out, and a large
to despair
have ere loprayefodrzeditihneorusridfeav;obuurt,
h were
ee
chiefltevhneeemr oy
, d p b- - .
party
having firmly set his face against the
Shelton
Brigadier the first moment of its proposition, all
t from
movement • was gradually abandoned, though it conti-
m Idea of it
probably resume this interesting narrative.
ry last a subject of common discussion."
nued tot he
seseauruicos
ue
sdwo
arguments employed
We shall