The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-02-21 00:00:00

neral Pollock's army was in
id though

holly un'provided with adequate

means of transport, and without sufficient commissariat
supplies for a further advance, though the hot aeason was

about to set in and incapacitate the troops from severe exer-
tion. and

communion with General Nott at
id his army were anxious to
Lord Ellenborough and

Candahar, Ger
advance on and re-occupy Ca_ boo
Sir Jasper Nicolls had n

however, then i❑ contemplation
_uch a step, and the former informed (No. 272) General
Pollock on the 28th of April, 1842, that he adhered to his
intention of withdrawing at the earliest practicable period

r Affghanistan, not within the

within the Khyber Pas

Indus, but " into positioua _, where
they may possess easy and certain communications with
India,"—a determination very differeut from t'-
as falsely alleged, the noble lord has been so vitt

abused. Still, however. Lord Ellenborough adhered to the
wise principle which he at first enunciated, that " military

considerations alone should hereafter direct the movement's
of the British armies in Affghanistan ;" and at no period did
he issue a positive order of withdrawal within the Khyber ;
be reposed confidence in the Commander-in-Chief Sir Jasper
Nicholls, and he exercised his own discretion. Lord Ellen-
borough' despatch (No. 283) to General Pollock establishes
this point. The noble lord had by despatch (No. 261) to
Sir Jasper Nicholls, dated 19th April, 1842, expressly asked
that officer to issue such instructions as he " might think
necessary for the guidance of Major-General Pollock," and
in pursuance of that request General Nicholls, April 29,1842.
instructed General Pollock to withdraw " every British soldier
from Jeilalabad to Peshawur," and General Nott was at the
same time directed to evacuate Candahar and retire upon
Sukkur. These instructions when issued, Lord Ellenborough
(No. 289), on the 6th May.
1842, sanctioned.
In the meanwhile, however, Lord Auckland's, not, be it
observed, Lord Ellenborough s, order of 25th Feb., 1842,
directing General Pollock, then in Peshawur, to withdraw the
Jellalabad garrison, had reached General Nott at Candahar,
and as the communications the latter had previously received
from Lord Auckland had in their general tenor amounted to
directions to maintain his position, General Nott was thrown
into great perplexity and embarrassment. On the 24th of
March he therefore addressed to Lord Ellenborough one of
the most remarkable despatches in the collection, imploring
that before any immediate retrograde step, such as that
ordered by Lord Auckland, was taken our whole position in
Affghanistan should be reviewed. On the 18th of April
General Nott again addressed Lord Ellenborough, and in his
despatch (No. 293,) is this passage:—
" Had I been reinforced [at the moment when Lord Auck•
land's order reached him] with a single regiment of cavalry,
I feel convinced that I could long since have tranquillised or
subdued the rebellious feeling in the provinces dependent upon
• 1 1•.• I .
Candabar, and that a NI

to garrison

xtensiv

id important cit

ne free from my pre&

Du, anc

I the eirc

stances I have now detailed still

fLord E

ugh the Kojuck Pass, Gener

!onsideratioos of the

Duld of themselves

1 October

General Pol-

ent •ould not commence

AVe wit

ad not been so, for one

r would have enabled

to attack the remain

previous to the date

a despat

_., on the 20th of
a (No. 302) to Lord Ellen •

?O-vl2

" If you should be enabled by a coup-de-main to get pos-
session of Ghuznee and Cabool, you will act as you see tit,
and leave decisive proofs of the power of the British army,
without impeaching its humanity. You will bring away
from the tomb of Mahmood of Ghuznee his club, which
hangs over it; and you will bring away the gates of his tomb,
which are the gates of the Temple of Somnauth. These will
be the just trophies of your successful march."
Lord Ellenborough, without waiting for General Nott's
reply, directed Sir Charles Napier, in anticipation of his ad-
vance on Ghuznee, to strengthen our military positions in
Scinde and Beeloochistan. In communicating to the Court
of Directors the discretion he had thus given, Lord Ellen-
borough thus explains his motives : we quote from No. 410,
under date of August 16, 1842 :
__

" You will perceive, from the perusal of these letters, that
I adhere absolutely to my original intention of withdrawing
the whole army from Atlghanistan ; and that I have, in the
most emphatic manner, repeated the order before given for
that withdrawal.

" Some risk I deem it justifiable to incur for the recovery
of the guns and of the prisoners, and with the view of ex-
hibiting the triumphant march of a British army over the
ground on which it once suffered defeat ; but I consider the
preservation of the army in Affghanistan essential to the pre-
servation of our empire in India ; and, however the world
might forgive or applaud me, I should never forgive myself,
if I exposed that army to any material or serious danger for
the possible accomplishment of any object now to be obtained
i❑ Affghanistan.

" My hope and expectations are that, without incurring
such danger, I shall effect, through the instructions I have
given, every object now desired by the peolde of England."
This passage is important as proving that in the latitude he
thus allowed Generals Nott and Pollock Lord Ellenborough
was not coerced as his libellers have alleged by peremptory
orders from home, but acted throughout on his own unbiased
judgment. It is satisfactory also to notice how constantly
and emphatically Lord Eltenborough reiterated that after a
display of British power and the recovery of the prisoners the
country must be at once evacuated; and the accuracy of the
noble lord's calculation is also manifested by the wish he ex-
pressed that " the last man of the two armies should repass
the Sutlej by the Ist of January "—a wish now more than
fulfilled.

General Nott accepted the alternative Lord Ellenborough
proffered him.

The Governor-General also authorised General Pollock to
negotiate a general exchange of prisoners; and in such general
exchange Dost Mahomed Kban, he informed that commander
(No. 435) " would be given up as unreservedly' and without
any conditions exactly as any other prisoner ; " "when," he
added in the same despatch—
.

' " Every gun, and colour, and military trophy in the hands
of the Affghans, and every prisoner within the reach and
power of the de facto government of Cabool, have been
surrendered to you, then, and not till then, you may give
orders suited to a state of returning peace. You may inform
the Affghan chiefs that these are your positive instructions."
On one point only did Lord Ellenborough issue any harsh
or questionable orders ; it was (No. 439) in directing Akbar
Khan if captured to be tried for murder, and if convicted to
be hanged.

There are two communications from Lord Ellenborough to
General Pollock which show how strong was the noble lord's
desire to see the troops again safely within what in spite of
Lord John Russell's sneer we shall still continue to call the
natural boundary of British India on the north-west. Thus
on the 16th of September, after anticipating that by that date
every attainable object of advance must have been accom-
plished, the Governor-General wrote to General Pollock :
" The state of the Punjab makes me even more anxious
than I have always been to see your army on this side of the
Sutlej.

" I hope that no conflict between the parties at Lahore
will take place, so as to interfere, in any way, with the passage
of the animals sent, and to be sent, to you ; or with your ob-
taining the necessary supplies ; but you must not consider
such events as absolutely impossible.

" Under all circumstances so imperatively demanding your
return, I trust you will not permit any consideration what-
ever to delay your homeward march ; but will put your army
in motion for India at the earliest possible period, under the
impression that no greater calamity could beta! us than your
remaining at Cabool during the winter."

Again, on the mere rumour reaching him that General
Pollock had undertaken some new operations in Kohistan,
Lord Ellenborough wrote on the 12th of October, " I trust
that you will not have engaged in any enterprise of which
the effect can be to delay your return one day."
In withdrawing from Affghanistan without the formation
of any political relations, Lord Ellenborough succeeded in
making the Sikhs the advanced guard of British India by
placing them in possession of Jellalabad, as is shown by the
following extract of a despatch (No. 538) addressed on 18th
October to General Pollock :

" The Faqueer Azeezoodeen having personally assured me,
on the part of the Maharajah Shere Sing, that the Maharajah
will never recognise any government in Cabool which shall
not have been previously recognised by the Government of
India, I have informed the Faqueer that, upon the retire-
ment of the British army, Jellalabad shall be given up to the
Sikh troops in its present state ; that is, without any injury
being done to the fortifications : and you will, accordingly,
so give up that place to the Sikh army, when its occupation
shall_be no longer necessary to you.

" I have ass'u'red the Faqueer, that the British Govern-
ment will not interfere in any manner in the future govern-
ment of Jellalabad, or in the management of the territory
dependent upon it; the Faqueer promising, on the part of
the Maharajah, that no person shall be employed in the
government or management thereof, who shall be deemed
and declared by the British Government to be its enemy."

This despatch did not, however, save the fortifications ;
but why does not appear.
Before the Ist of January, 1843, Lord Ellenborough had
realised his wish to see the armies within the Sutlej; and
with the general orders commemorating their returns closes
the Papers relating to Military Operations in Affylianistan.

NORTH-EAST PASSAGE TO CHINA.---AS this scheme has
been lately started as something new, it will interesting to
know that, in the 1721, a small book was printed in London,
entitled " The New Passage to China and Japan, by the way
of the North Pole." The book, however, is said to be very
rare.

MIDLAND COUNTIES RAILWAY.—On Tuesday a special
general meeting of the proprietors of the Midland Counties
Railway was held at Derby, " for the purpose of taking into
consideration the report of the Committee of Inquiry." The
following motion was submitted by Mr. Birley, seconded by
Dr. Heygate :—" That this meeting is of opinion that the
charges brought against the directors have been satisfactorily
answered, and trust the present and future directors will take
into consideration the retrenchments suggested by the com-
mittee, and pursue a course of rigid economy; and that this
meeting thank the committee for the trouble they have
taken." Upon this motion an amendment was moved, pro-
Dosed by Mr. Charles Paget, seconded by Mr. Barrow:—
That the thanks of this meeting be given to the Committee
)f Inquiry for their valuable services, and that this meeting
low receive their report, referring the details thereof to the
evy• board of directors, to be appointed at the coming half-
early general meeting, for their consideration." The amend-
lent being put to the vote, the numbers were—for, 66;
'ainst, 44. A poll was then demanded, and on the proxies
being cast up, the following was the result
Against the amendment
For

Majority in favour of the directors, and
against the amendment

SHOCKING OCCURRENCE.—On Feiday morning two men,
named Francis and Pettit, who went to work at a limekiln,
in a field at Haggerstone, found there the remains of a human
being, who, having by some means fallen into the kiln, had
been entirely destroyed by the fire and the lime.
A hooker from Dingle with potatoes for Valencia, foun-
dered near the month of that harbour, when three men and
two women perished. The Knight of Kerry's pinnace put
out and saved one struggler, who had clung to an oar.
Dublin Statesman.

The Lords of the Admiralty have notified to the directors
of The West India Steam Company, that the future non-
fulfilment of the Company's contract with the Government
will, in every case of omission, be peremptorily followed by
an enforcement of penalties.

The senior wrangler at Cambridge for the present year,
Mr. Adams, is a son of a farmer on the estate of J. King
Lethbridge, Esq. He received his education at a village
school, and was afterwards placed under the tuition of the
Rev. Mr. Martin, at Exeter.—Dublin paper.
GENERAL M`DOUGAL AND COLONEL HEPEURN.—Tbe
Court at Columbus was occupied three days with the trial of
General M`Dougal, who, it will be recollected, shot Hepburn
dead in his own office. The case then went to the jury. They
were out ten minutes and returned a verdict of not guilty.
The half-yearly meeting of the Great Western Railway
Company was held on Thursday. The returns for the last
six months had increased by £21,311 over the corresponding
period of 1841. A dividend of three and a half per cent. was
declared.

A mobile paper, of the sth January, says, the captain of
a northern ship, at New Orleans, was fined 3,000 dollars on
Alonday, for attempting to pass off, as free negroes, three
slaves. His excuse was that he wanted to keep the men out
of gaol.

Good and effectual draining being much prevented in
Lancashire by the short holdings of land, two great land-
holders in that county, namely, Lord Francis Egerton and the
Earl of Derby, have recently re-let a great part of their
Lancashire property on very favourable terms.
Lieutenant General Lord Seaton, G.C.8., is expected
early in the ensuing month, to embark for Corfu, where his
lordship, it is understood, will succeed the Right Hon. J. A.
S. Mackenzie as Lord High Commissioner of the lonian
Islands.

CONFIRMATION AT MALTA.--On Wednesday, the 31st of
January, a sight altogether new in Malta, and one peculiarly
interesting, was witnessed here—the confirmatioa by the
Bishop of Gibraltar of some 300 persons, of both sexes and
of all ages.

PROMISING YOUTHS.—Lieutenant Murray, in his Doings
in China, gives the following proof of the aptitude for civili-
zation possessed by the juvenile branches of the Celestials :
" The children are very intelligent and sharp : they pick up
English easy. Alrr ost all the young blackguards about this
place could swear in very good English."
AFFLICTING ACCIDENT.—On Thursday week ,W. William-
son, of Bury, labourer, was out shooting in the fields, when
be accidentalls let ofra double-barrelled gun, the contents of
which lodged in and dreadfully mutilated the thigh of his
daughter, Ellen "Williamson, aged twelve yeaas, who died on
the day following.
A melancholy instance of the suicide of a young man,
through destitution and the ill-usage of a stepmother, occur-
red at Bolton on Sunday week. It appeared that for some
tune he bad, alter havin paid for his food and lodging, only
twopence halfpenny weekly for other purposes. He was
employed at a factory, and earned only 4s. 41d. per week.
We have heard that her Majesty has been pleased to grant
the Marchioness Wellesley apartments in Hampton Court
Palace as a mark of Royal.
favour. Her ladyship's health
has much improved, and it is expected she will resume her
duties as one of the ladies of the bedchamber of her Majesty
the Queen Dowager.
On Thursday last, a man, of the name of John Wright,
destroyed himself by poison in London. He had recently
returned from Jamaica to this country, in the hope of obtain-
ing possession of some property which he alleged was due to
him. He found his title was not clear to it, and abandoned
himself to dissipation, and eventually put an end to himself
through remorse.

HULL AND SELBY RAILWAY,—The receipts of the half-
year ending December 31 have exceeded those of any similar
period, amounting £28,894 12s. 7d.; the outlay has been
£18,763 17s. which includes £5,074 18s. lid. interest on
loans; the balance, to the credit of the proprietors, is
£10,130 15s. 7d. A dividend of 20s. per share, or four per
cent per annum is proposed, which will amount to £3,000,
and leave £2,180 15s. 7d. to the credit of the present half-
year, from which, however, is to be deducted the income-tax
of £2°7, and the price of a new engine, £725; net balance,
£l,OBB 15s. 7d.
A HAZARDOUS CALLING,—.Dr. Graves, a Dublin physi-
cian, in seconding a resolution of the Medical Benevolent
Fund Society of Ireland lately, gave the following startling
accountunt the healing profession in that
y:_
are very short lived. the other professions, physi-
ciansccr of
“ tchecnimpaorretadlitwyun
Even lawyers enjoy greater lon-
ht
gevity. But in Ireland the mortality amongst medical men
is infinitely greater than in England, for in this country
typhus fever alone cuts off more than one-fourth, as will soon
appear from a most important statistical report drawn up by
Drs. Stokes and Cusack."
OPtI
THE BANKRUPTCY A
CRAMANS, MORGAN, AND CO.—
There have been provedagainst the joint estate X 64 ,010 19s 2d ;
against the separate estate of Mr. W. Morgan, £6ll 6s. Bd. ;
and against the separate estate of Mr. James Narroway
Franklyn, £10,046. The balances handed over to the official
assignee are about as follows :—From the joint estate,
£6,809 19s. sd. ; from the separate estate of Mr. T. Holroyd,
£1,365 19s. 10d. ; from the separate estate of Mr. W. Mor-
gan, £BB3 14s. 6d. ; and from the separate estate of Mr.
James Narroway Franklyn, £16,043 7s. 2d. About £l,OOO
has been got in of the other. All the remaining property
will be the subject of litigation.

SILLY FEAT.—On Friday an immense crowd assembled at
Leith Pier to witness a novel nautical exhibition, by the
clown of Mr. Cooke's circus, who had placarded his inten-
tion of taking an aquatic excursion in a tub, drawn by four
real live geese, as a stimulant to his benefit, which took place
at the:circus last night." The adventurous aagonaut entered
his singular vessel, which had four geese harnessed to it,
about four in the afternoon ; but it appeared, from a paddling
apparatus with which it was furnished'
that he did not rely
entirely on the motive powers of his anserine charioteers.
The spectators, however, were highly amused with the singu-
larity of the display,
which had altogether a characteristically foolish look.—
Edinburgh paper. and the awkward progression made,

CROFT,: NEAR-. WAINFLEET —A discovery of a most
shocking kind was made on .Tuesday morning last at this
little village.
a, seal having been taken alive on the sea-
-
coast,.a lad, thinking that many persons would like to see it,
went from house to house,
and providentially happened to
call at a cottage occupied by a respectable widow named
Eliza Evison arid her maiden sister,
when be heard a voice
begging somebody to "untie them."
The lad felt alarmed,
and immediately ran to a neighbouring farmer, by whom
assistance was given, and a most heart-rending scene pre-
sented itself. The two sisters were bound together, hands
and feet, in bed by marline, and covered over with bed-
clothes. Mrs. Evison was dead, and the other very much
exhausted ; but being immediately released, and the kindest
attention poid to ber, it is hoped she will recover. lt is
ascertained that some villain entered the house by the window
on Sundap night; and having procured a light and assisted
himself to some eatables, be then bound the poor females,
and left them to their fate. They were not discovered until
Tuesday at 11 o'clock in the forenoon.--Stamford Mercury.

VESSELS ENTtRtD FOR LOADING

(SINCE OUR LAST PUBLICATION

EAST INDIES, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, S; e.
Assam, J M'Alpine, 388 Ceylon and Madras, Cotesworth &Co

UNITED STATES.
Birkenhead, J Brown, 985 New Orleans, Cannon, Miller &Co
Abbotsford, T R Everard, 543 Philadelphia, lagleby &Co

.1 S de Wolf