The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-03-12 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY.

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER brought forward
his proposition for the reduction of the interest upon the
Three-and-a-Half per Cent. Annuities, and stated the
mode by which he proposes to carry out the operation.
The total stock to be affected by the operation amounts to
the sum of £249,600,000. Of this sum there was
£10,000,000 Three-and-a-Half per Cent. Stock created in
1818, which stood upon a somewhat different footing from
the remainder, for the holders were guaranteed not to be
reduced without six months' notice, and were not to be
paid off in less sums than £500,000 at a time. These
conditions would be strictly observed, but in all other
respects the several kinds of stock were to be similarly
dealt with. Every holder of £lOO in the Three-and-a-
Half per Cents. would be allowed a like sum in a New
Three-and-a-Quarter per Cent. Stock, upon which n per
cent. interest would be paid until the 10th of October,
1854, and from that date the interest would be only 3 per
cent., with a guarantee, however, that there should be no
further reduction for twenty years from that period. The
arrangement to be carried out as usual, the holders being
allowed a limited time to express their dissent. With
respect to the stock created in 1818. that would be paid off
according to the conditions of the loan, unless the holders
'previously signified their assent to accept the New Three-
and-a-Quarter per Cents. ; and with respect to the re-
mainder of the stocks, the holders resident in England
would be allowed until the 23d of March to signify their
assent ; those in Europe, until the 22d of June ; and those
out of Europe, until February, 1845. If he succeeded in
carrying out this financial operation, he calculatecbtmon
effecting an immediate saving to the public of £625,000
a year, and a further saving of £625,000 in 1854, making
a total saving of £1,250,000 a year, without any disturb-
ance of the public interests, and without any augmentation
of the capital of the debt. It was also his intention to
equalise the payments of the dividends at each quarter of
the year, so as to prevent that derangement in monetary
affairs which the present inequality continually occasions.
Mr. F. BARING felt great satisfaction in concurring
with a proposition which he must say was a very honest
scheme for a Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Sir J. R. Reid, Mr. P. M. Stewart, Sir J. Easthope,
Mr. Williams, and other hon. members also expressed
their unequivocal gratification with the propositions.
A resoluti )n in support of the plan of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer was then unanimously agreed to.
On the motion for the house resolving itself into a
committee of supply.
Mr. EWART brought under the consideration of the
house the present state of our commercial relations with
the river Plate, especially with reference to the war now
raging between the states of Buenos Ayres and Monte
Video.

Sir R. PEEL said he entertained a hope, from recent
accounts, that peace would be shortly restored in that
quarter. The contest was one rather of factions than
of states, and if the British resident and British naval
commander had exceeded their instructions, it must have
been from disgust at the sanguinary nature of the war
carried on there, which they were naturally anxious to see
brought to a close.
The house then went into committee, and proceeded
with the army estimates, which were all disposed of, as
were also the ordnance estimates, after which th,e house
adjourned.

FOREIGN 6• COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE.

INDIA. AND CHINA.
(From the Times.)

The news from India is of the following dates :—China,
Dec. 28 ; Gwalior, Jan. 30; and Bombay, Feb. 1.
The Hon. East India Company's steamer Cleopatra
arrived at Suez on the 19th Jan., with sixty passengers.
On the 28th and 29th of December two severe battles
were fought in the vicinity of the capital of Gwalior ; one
of Maharajpoor, the other of Punniar, in which our forces
proved victorious.
The British army, under the Commander-in-Chief, was
about 14,000 strong, of which 300 were cavalry, and 40
pieces of artillery. The forces opposed to them were
composed of 15,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry, and 100 guns.
Our loss on these occasions has been very severe, the list
amounting to 144 killed and 866 wounded. Nine British
officers have fallen in action or died of their wounds,—
viz., General Churchill, Colonel Sanders, Major Crom-
melin, Captains Stewart, Magrath, and Cobban, Lieu-
tenants Newton and Leaths, and Ensign Bray. On the
part of the enemy the casualties are estimated at 3,000 to
4,000 killed, and twice as many wounded. The fort of
Gwalior was immediately after surrendered to our troops,
and the leading chiefs at once tendered submission. Our
army retires within the Company's territories immedi-
ately, and we are not to occupy that country, nor in any
way to intermeddle with its internal arrangements.
During the action his Excellency the Governor, Lady
Gough, and her daughter, were frequently at the side of
the Commander-in-Chief, exposed to great danger.
The Governor-General was expected to start for Cal-
cutta on the 23d.

India is in general peaceful; the troops at Sukkur are
rapidly recovering.
The Commander-in-Chief has appointed Major-Gene-
ral Valiant to act as Quartermaster-General of her Ma-
jesty's forces, vice Churchill, deceased, until her Majes-
ty's pleasure be known.
Affairs in the Punjaub are by no means settled, and it
was reported that the Affghauns had taken possession of
Peshawur.

In Scinde matters are much the same. Our troops are
recovering a little from their sickness.
Our last dates from China are up to the 28th of Dec.
Business at Chusan and Canton is generally dull. Capt.
Brooke proceeds by this day's steamer to Enzland, as
the bearer of the supplementary treaty and despatches
from Sir Henry Pottinger. The port of Shanghaye was
officially opened on the 17th of November, by Captain
Balfour, the appointed Consal. Colonel Butterworth,
Governor of the Straits of Malacca, arrived at Penang on
the 21st of November.

We regret to state that some cases of plague are re-
ported in Alexandria.

GENERAL GREY'S BATTLE DESPATCH DATED DE-
CEMBER 30TH.—I have the satisfaction to report to
your excellency, that the left wing of the army of Gwa-
lior, under my command, yesterday obtained a complete
victory over a large force of the Gwalior troops, under the
command of Colonel Secunder, consisting of about
12,000 men of all arms, and captured all their guns, 24
in number, one standard, all their ammunition, and some
treasure, &c.
Agreeably to your excellency's orders I marched from
Simmereca on the 26th instant, and encamped at Burka-
ka-Serai. I had information of the Gwalior troops being
in position at Antree, seven miles in front of my camp,
and in their intention of making a night attack. On the
29th (yesterday) I made one march to this place, 15 miles,
being desirous of getting through the narrow valley from
Himmutghur to Punniar. The enemy (as it afterwards
appeared) marched from the Antree Pass early on the
morning of yesterday by a parallel movement, with the
left wing concealed behind a lofty and extensive range of
hills, some miles distant on our right, and took up a
strong position on the heights in the immediate vicinity
of the fortified village of Mangore, near Punniar,
and
commenced firing on my immense line of baggage. I
immediately detached all the cavalry I could spare under
Brigadier Harriott, and an addition of a troop of horse
artillery under Captain Brind, which, on approaching
the baggage on the other side of the town of Punniar,
took up a position, and returned the fire of the enemy
with much precision and. effect. Every attempt was
made by Brigadier Ilarriott to attack the enemy, but,
from the ground being intersected by ravines, this able
officer was prevented from bringing the cavalry into action,
and proceeded with them to the rear-guard, having
passed under a smart cannonade. About four o'clock
p.m., the enemy was observed to have taken up a very
strong rosition on a chain of high four miles to the

east of our camp. I decided immediately to attack him,
and detached her Majesty's 3rd Buffs, and a company of
sappers and miners to take up a position on an opposite
ridge, followed afterwards to the right by the 39th Regi-
ment Native Infantry, consisting of five companies, until
I could bring up the force, amounting to two thousand
and seven men and then make an attack upon theenemy's
flank and centre, and drive him from the strong position
he occupied • owing to the lateness of the day, it was some
time before icould support the force I had detached. The
Buffs and Sappers attacked the enemy'scentre, exposed to a
galling fire from their guns, but most gallantly carried every
position before them, drove the enemy from bight to
hight, and captured eleven of its guns and the s'andard.
I cannot sufficiently express bow much indebted I feel to
Lieutenant Colonel Clunie, who commanded the Buffs,
for the gallant and judicious manner he took his regiment
into action, and overcame all obstacles. The wing of the
39th Native Infantry, with Brigadier Yates, was conduc-
ted to the crest of a hill commanding the enemy's left,
and after pouring in a destructive fire, rushed down on
him and on approaching the nullah below was exposed to
a heavy fire from two guns which they captured. Briga-
dier Yates, and Major Earle, commanded the 39th Native
Infantry,—were both wounded at this place, end I have
to thank them for the manner in which the battery was
carried. The 2nd Infantry Brigade, under the command
of acting Brigadier Anderson, K. H., Her Majesty's 50th
Regiment, arrived in time to put a finish to the action,
and formed on the crest of the bill, and by a most gallant
and judicious movement attacked the enemy's left and
completely defeated him, taking the remainner of his
guns. Although attended by severe loss, these victories
have not been surpassed in brilliancy by any achievement
of the Anglo-Indian army. A thousand of the British
troops were placed hors de combat, but comparatively few
were killed, none more, ft is believd, than 150. The ene-
my is said to have lost in both affairs upwards of 4000
men. Nine officers have been killed or died of their
wounds, namely Major-General Churchill, Colonel San-
ders, Eajor Crommelin, Captains Stewart, Magratb, and
Cobban ; Lieutenants Newton and,Leaths ; Ensign Bray.
The loss of the enemy is estimated at between 3000 and
4000 killed and wounded, with the loss of 56 pieces of ar-
tillery. The army under the Commander-in-chief was
about 4,000 strong, of which 3,000 were cavalry, and 40
pieces of artillery. The force opposed to this-15,000
infantry, 300 cavalry, and 100 guns. The wing under
Gen. Grey, including the Sippree Contingent, 7,000
strong , including 1,800 caalry and 18 guns ; the Mahrat-
tas mustered about 12,000, with from 20 to 3C guns.

The fort was immediately surrendered, and the chiefs
came in and made submission. It is not our intention
to occupy the country, but we insist upon the mainte-
nance of a subsidiary force consisting of seven regiments
of infantry. These to be taken charge of by the Com-
pany's officers solely, and under our own control. The
army retires to within its own territories immediately.
Lord Ellenborough was to start for Calcutta on the 23rd
of January. His lordship was in the heat of the action
at Maharajpoor on the 29th. The troops recover but
slowly from their late sickness. The Punjaub remains
in the same state as formerly. We have news from China
to the 28th December, but there is nothing worth no-
ticing. . _

GyValior, the fort taken by our troops, is, from its
strength, called the Gibraltar of the East. It covers the
top of a hill nearly two miles long, but narrow ; the sides
are very precipitous, and the highest part, which is at the
north end, is 342 feet above the surrounding plain. The
rampart conforms to the brow of the hill all round, and
the area within is full of buildings, reservoirs of water,
wells, and cultivated land. At the foot of the mountain,
on the east side, is the town, which is large and well
built. It is 68 miles south by east of Agra. The British
took it by a nocturnal escalade in 1780.
This description will account for the severe loss de-
scribed in the despatch.