The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-06-07 00:00:00

Aricri tNt ISTANI

iN.D.LI INT CHINA
413.

(From Yesterday's Times.)
We have received, by extraordinary express, from Mar-
seilles, in anticipation of the overland mail, our despatches
from India and China. The intelligence from Bombay is of
three days' later date than usual, the mail having been de-
tained until the 4th of May, to wait for the governor-
general's despatches. Our dates from Calcutta are to the
24th of April, and from China to the 10th of March.
The British Indian armies to the west of the Indus during
the months of March and April may be classed under five
distinct heads, viz., those of-
-Ist. The Beneal division under General Pollock, which
has entered Khyber pass from the neighbourhood of

_
Peshawar.
2d. Thr troops forming the garrison commanded by Ge-
neral Sale at Jellallabad.
3d. The Bombay detachment, under the orders of General
England, which having gone through the celebrated pass of
Bolan, bad, after some fighting, taken its station at Quetta.
4th. The garrison at Candahar, under the command of
General Nott ; and
sth. The surrender of Ghuznee.
The division under General Pollock, originally a Bengal
artillery officer, have gained the renown of opening a pass
which even Nadir Shah was obliged to purchase. Having ta-
ken due precautions, this division, consisting of her Majesty's
9th regiment of infantry, and the 26th, 30th, 33d, 58d, and
64th Bengal native infantry, and a regiment of Jezailchees,
with artillery, in three columns, on the sth April, forced the
difficult pass of the Khyber, and notwithstanding the deter-
mined resistance of the Afreedees tribe, succeeded in reach-
ing Ali Musjeed, with the loss of only one officer (Lieutenant
Cumming, of the 9th,) and 13 rank and file killed, and 104
wounded. On the 9th April the division was at Lundee
Kban, whence to the point of junction with the garrison of
Jellalabad, nothing like effectual opposition was to be ex-
pected. The details of the first part of this most brilliant
exploit have beea officially published in the Government Ga-
zette, and will be found in another column. The Sikhs troops,
who ou the occasion attacked another part of the pass, co-
operated cordially with the British, and behaved with great
gallantry.
During the period of the attack on the Khyber, Akhbar
Khan, who with 6000 Affghans had invested Jellalabad, ex-
hibited great eagerness, as if to aid the tribes around thepass
in defending it. On the evening of the 6th he caused afue
de joie to be fired in honour, he said, of the repulse which
the British troops had met with at the entrance of the pass
near Jumrood. But the gallant and experienced warrior,
General Sale, was not to be deceived ; he resolved to antici-
pate what he considered to be an intended retreat of the Sir-
dar, and on the morning of the 7th sallied forth to attack the
Affghan camp. Three columns, composed of her Majesty's
13th infantry and 35th Bengal native infantry, with a de-
tachment of the sappers and miners, supported by a light
field battery and a small cavalry force, issued from the
" blockaded " town, and completely routed Akhbar Rhan
' and his 6000 men, burned their camp, and retook four guns
of those seized at the massacre of Khoord Cabul in January
last, " the restoration of which is regarded by thetroops with
much honest exultation." This victory, glorious as it is, has
been dearly purchased by the fall of Colonel Dennie, whose
death, even upon the field of honour, will be regarded as a
great calamity, while his memory will always be held sacred as
of a brave and worthy officer. .
The reverse already mentioned as comparatively trifling,

was experienced by General England at the pass of Kojueii,
63 miles from Quetta, on the march to Candahar. His

force was composed of 5 companit, majesty's 41st
regiment, 6 companies of the light battalion of native infan-
try, a troop of light cavalry, 4 guns of Leslie's horse brigade,
and 50 Poonah horse, having in charge a convoy, consisting
of treasure, medical stores, and ammunition, together with
1,500 camels, &c.. destined for the relief of the troops at
Candabar. The convoy proceeded, without encountering
any great obstacles, and without receiving any notice from
the inhabitants of any contemplated plan of resistance, to
the pass, where it, on the 28th of March, found that some
field-works had been erected. An attempt was made, by
sending 200 men to attack those works, to dislodge the
enemy, when they showed a strong force of infantry and ca-

Captain May, of the 41st, was shot dead, as well as
several of his men. Major Abthorp, of the 20th native
infantry, was cut down, (he died of his wounds the following
day,) when the General resolved not to risk the loss of the
convoy, and made a skilful retreat to a neighbouring village
which he defended, and thence withdrew to Quetta, where
he intrenched himself and waited for more troops, then on
the march from Dadur and Sukkur, to join him. The loss
on this occasion, besides the officers mentioned, was 2 ser-
jeants, 1 corporal, and 14 privates of the 41st killed, and 1
sergeant, 1 corporal, and 50 privates wounded of the light
battalion. Of the 20th, 25th, and 6th regiments Bombay
native infantry there were 9 killed and 18 wounded. The
great difficulty of the position at Quetta has been the want
of forage for the camels, and the efforts of the Government
are directed towaras enabling their troops to proceed onwards
as speedily as possible.
As a contrast to this reverse, a force from Candahar,
which was sent by General Nott to meet General England,
having been attacked, after two days' march, by a large body
of Affghans, gave the assailants such a reception, as obliged
them to take to flight. They are described as fighting with
reckless bravery, and charging up to the bayonets point;
they therefore suffered a great slaughter, particularly as they
were charged by the British cavalry during their flight.
About 300 are said to have fallen, including five of their
chiefs. The loss on the side of the British was 5 killed and
25 wounded. The commander of the British force was Col.
Wyman. Candahar is stated to have abundant provisions,
but there is a want of ammunition. The pass of Kojuck
can, as it is now affirmed, be easily turned.
Of the event calculated to produce the most striking im-
pression we have already been enabled to inform the public.
It is the surrender, on the Ist of March, by Colonel Palmer,
of the celebrated fortress of Ghuznee. The letter of the co-
lonel, whose regiment, the 27th Bengal Native Infantry,
formed the garrison, has afforded ground for various com-
ments. It will be found below. Attempts have been made
in India to excuse his conduct on the ground of the difficul-
ties with which he had to contend, but it certainly does ap-
pear strange that a commandant should venture to sorrren-
der such a fortress upon the authority of a letter received, I.
it were, from his superior by the hands of an enemy, and
that he notifies that surrender not to that superior, but to
~ .

another officer placed also i❑ command of a distant garrison,
and which latter officer has immortalized himself by his gal-

lent defence.
The opinion which we have always maintained that the
disastrous occurrences at Cabul (and now at Ghuznee, the
garrison of which place is described as having in March suf-
fered the same fate as the troops of Cabul in January, the
soldiers being massacred by the Ghazees, or dispersed, and
the officers being prisoners for the sake of their ransom), are
to be ascribed to the want of efficient military arrangements
and proper precaution, and not to the prowess of the Aff-
ghans, has been confirmed by the publication of several or-
ders in Council. These orders were published on the receipt
of the news of the fall of Ghuznee, and are as follows :
" The Governor-General in Council has directed that the
Commander-in-Chief will submit the conduct of Lieutenant-
Colonel Palmer, in surrendering the citadel of Ghuznee, to
the judgment of a court-martial, at the earliest period at
which such court can be duly assembled.
" The Governor-General in Council has already (on the
28th of January last) directed that a full military inquiry
shall be made into all the circumstances connected with the
direction and conduct of the troops at Cabul, at the earliest
period at which such an inquiry may be practicable.
"The Governor-General in Council has now directed that
the conduct of Major-General Elphinstone in Affghanistan
shall be submitted to the judgment of a court-martial, at the
earliest period at which such court can be duly assembled.
" The Governor-General in Council will further direct
that a full inquiry shall likewise be made into the conduct of
all the political functionaries employed at Cabul, at the
earliest possible period after he shall be in possession of cer-
tain material documents, of which be has already ordered
the immediate transmission to Government.
" By order of the Right Hon. the Governor-General of
India in Council. _ _ _

"T. H. MADDOK,

" Secretary to the Government of India."

The fate of Affganistan- forms now a curious problem.
Schah Soojah, who by temporizing and truckling to his
enemies, and by many other manoeuvres available amongst
the Affghans, had contrived to secure to himself a precarious
existence in the Bala Hisser at Cabul, has at length, as it is
now stated, been murdered. His sons have, as it appears,
taken different parties, one or two being favourable to the
British alliance, while two or three are opposed to it. Va-
rious factions are described as at present contending for the
lion's share of influence and power, and general confusion,
uproar, and bloodshed prevail in Calm!. Schah Kamram, of
Herat, nephew of Schah Soojah, after a long contest with
his vizier, Yar Mahomed, is also stated to be dead ; so that
Affghanistan, from the frontiers of Persia to the mountains
west of the Indus. may be regarded as in perfect anarchy.
The news of the death of Schell Soojah is confirmed by the
Agra Ukhbra of the 23d ult. As an event it will produce
the result of liberating the hon. company from an alliance
calculated to produce but little benefit. Rumour in India
asserts that the present chiefs at Cabul are disposed to sur-
render their prisoners, and to make terms with the Indian
government. When the aversion of the Hincloo Sepoys to
cross the Indus, when their dislike to tight with the Affghans
there, when the poverty of the Affehan country and its small
rapacious and unruly population, when the' repeated cry for
more European soldiers, and, above all, when the great drain
on the treasury which the war produces, are taken into con-
sideration, it may be presumed that the councils of the
empire Lvill recommend an arrangement with the Affghans ;
particularly when the British victories have secured the
mountain passes, which constitute the gates of India, and
over which our future care must be to exercise a rigid control.
In the meantime Lord Ellenborough, accompauied by two
or three secretaries, had set out from Calcutta to the upper
provinces of Bengal. His object in this journey is stated to
be twofold—first, to be enabled to communicate without de-
lay with the generals of the army west of the Indus, and the
officers commissioned with the management of those pro-
vinces ; and next, to introduce some reforms there. His
lordship, whose decision and promptitude are highly praised,
has, it is asserted, required that the commander-in-chief of
the army should quit his cool retreats at Simla in order to
join him at a more central position. The want of vigour,
which was much felt from the beginning of November last,
when the Cabul insurrection broke forth, for Lord Auckland
hesitated to compromise his successor by any active mea-
sures, is no longer complained of. Regret is, however, ex-
pressed that Lord Ellenborough had not come out via
Egypt, since his presence in Bombay in December last, and
on the banks of the Sutlej in January, would have given
energy and activity to every proceeding, and the unfortu-
' nate delays and doubts which paralysed everything during
four months would have been avoided. Ghuznee would not,
it is supposed, have fallen, neither would Col. Wilde have
been forced to retreat at the Klyber, nor Gen. England have
been repulsed at Kojuck. Notwithstanding the activity of
the measures now carried on in Affghanistan, it is stated that
his lordship was at the departure of the mail waiting for the
resolution that may be adopted iu London relative to ulte-
rior proceedings, which resolution would, it was expected,
The
such as to confirm fully the measures already adopted.
longer atti:
the.great point insisted upon by the journals of India was
the Inexpecliency f forming any treaties with. the. leaders at
Cabal
there is
it cannot Candahar, Ghuznee, &c. There is, it seems, no
v._ monarch to rule the country, and they argyle that
is Zreful to us to attempt to force any one of Schah
not unite them'
enthusiasts tr
be, it is said, a
disorganization,
Zeeman's sons on the whole nation. All
fore, be said to general
Ellenborough; whose principal
with its disunited rulers.
The determination of *Lo
merit is evidenced by h'
and if the hatred of some religious
the Kaffirs, and the love of plunder of all, did
in attacking the British troops, there would
camp to the governor-general. for late exploits
civil war. Affghanistan may, there-
great measure at the mercy of Lord
pal difficulty will be now to settle
Lord Ellenborough to reward mili-
tary,
tolath:Ppointing rive officers, distin-
guishedgrade of honorary aids-de-
d'rhe cancelling of appoint-
ments conferred on inexperience
them of men having professionallrs' and the naming to
native aid-de-camp, and the hestowana ; the creation of a
gained
rank on a de-
serving soldier of the local cavalry, had
place, The d for the new
governor-general very high opinions arnonagir'tl
prevails, except
In the interior of India general tranquility
that in Bundelcund a movement had taken
f the :Madras presidency had published see. The go-
except
moor o Intent or-
or roc (1*
nets respecting Secunderabad late insu
Subscriptions ee mg, of
so
native troops At . to a considmere
aiele anwunt Jmici been entered into all over the country, i;
favour of the wieloefs aeiti orphans (unprovided for by the re.
gulations of tle government) of those who fell during the
recent disasters at Cabul. 4. cciPuiercial crisis has taken