The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-04-05 00:00:00

AFFGHANISTAN

We take the following full details of the disastrous intelli-
gence from Affghanistan from a letter published 'in a third
edition of the London Times, of yesterday, dated Bombay,
March Ist, bringing down the narrative of events to the depar-
ture of the mail :

The insurrection, which is described as participating in a
great measure of the'religious enthusiasm to which the fana-
tical Moslems can be excited by the pi eachingot their 'maul's,
broke out on the night of the first of November, when Sir
Alexander Burnes, and his brother, Captain Broadfoot, of
the 44th, were killed, the house of the first-named, being
within the city, was plundered ; and some money in the
treasury of Captain Johnson, which was close to the former
horse, was made a prey of. The captairl having slept in the
British cantonments, escaped the slaughter, as well as Briga-
dier Anguetelli and Captain Troup, who were his inmates.
Captains Skinner and Drummond, Captain Trevor and his
lady and his children remained for some days concealed in
the city by some of their friends.
Shah Soojab, who had on the 2d sent his son to the relief
of Sir Alexander Burnes, where the Prince performed pro-
digies of valour, received on that day a communication from
Sir W. H. }'Naughton, then in the cantonment, about five
miles from the town, requesting leave for Brigadier-General
Skelton with two regiments, and Captain Nicholl's troop;to
elite's- the Balla Hissar, and to shell the town. Leave was
given, and the shelling took place. The infuriated populace
attacked the Commissariat Fort, which lay immediately to,
tl e north of the town, between it and the cantonment, and, •
as it was weakly defended, soon became masters of it. This
was a dreadful blow to the troops, as at the time there was
flour but for two days remaining in the cantonment. Ano-
her fort, in which some Commissariat stores were kept, was
also attacked, and after a defence of three days by Captain
Mackenzie, and a few men taken also, a panic appeared to
have seized the troops, who found themselves, in the begin-
ning of winter, shut up in their cantonments in a valley 200
miles from the Indus, without sufficient clothing or food,
end amidst a fanatical Mussulman population. Even be-
tween the British leaders a difference of opinion prevailed :
the Envoy being desirous of offensive measures, while Gen.
Elphinstone, from circumstances connected with the forces,
among whom despondency and vacillation are described as
then prevailing, maintained his opinion for defensive Ones.
At the solicitation of the Envoy, some small forts in the
neighbourhood, containing grain, were captured. Mea9-
time the news of the dispersion of several of the Affghan
corps in Shah Shooja's service, commanded by British offi-
cers, reached the besieged, and contributed to add to their
gloomy prognostics. Various reverses and successes fol-
lowed during some days. The troops from the Balla Hisser
were recalled to the Cantonment, and the Envoy urged a de-
cided attack on the enemy ; the General, however, main-
tained that all such attacks would be futile: the soldiers be
gen to despond, and all was misery. There were, neverthe-
less, skirmishes every day, which did not .tend to raise the
spirits of the sepoys and soldiers, who saw their enemy
hourly increase, while they themselves had scarcely food and
but insufficient raiment for the season. So greatly were they
dispirited that they were one day driven back to their camp,
after they had during three hours been exposed to a galling
Are. The Ghilzee Chief Osman Khan did not choose to pur-
sue them within their entrenchments, where they, it was
then feared, would have made a feeble resistance. Their
provision was flour, which they obtained by bribery during
the night. It was then recommended that all the troops
should be concentrated in the Balla Hissar. Capt. Conolly,
who was then with the Shah, advocated the propriety of so
doing, but the military authorities declared the movement
impossible,rs as they could not rely upon the disheartened
troops. The last regiment was then withdrawn from the
Balla Hissar, which is, as every one knows, a citadel on se
hhiilsl
otowt_ hestward of the town, and Shah Shooja 'Was left to
resource.
The insurgents, who
cour from andaha, were aware of the movement of suc-
negotiations for the :trirappeared disposed to enter upon
Envoy, on hearing of theawal of the British troops. The
and lning that no h brigade
. retreat of the Canda ar
could be expected from General
Sale, theta at Jellabad, or from t
assent. Conferences took place,
the Indus, gave a reluctant
drawn up in Persian by SirvWceil
They are said to
and a long list of articles;
to on both sides. arNaghton, was agreed
Jl3eneatd 20ain number. a
The second and favourite son
homrned Akhbar Khan, who, M -
father'sty his sur-
render had remained in Concealment, and had even escaped
beyond th
erm confines. of Afligthioatristtaaoni •
a de havingdecided ernd apdaer t ihisn LP e-
ue ranee dg the insurrec
siegaociation. The insurgent chiefs exhAiited great willingness
to have the British troops removed from Cu'oool, and arrange-
meats
ents..braAfter
meats are said to have been made for that purpose at different
were held outside
otn
tehoca2n2tr
Dmee
meetings which
various parlies, a message_iw7 as,
H. M'N lughtIught
from Akhbar Khan to Sir. in. ag iten to request
morning. The
Bence
.t. h F,
e nvoy
as interview on the following
neanied by. Captains Lawrence, Trevor,
went thither, acco!!!
seized and forced to
and Mackenzie. 1 h had not been present five minutes,
yn
and all were
when a signal was. given lzee chiefs. The British
mount behind some um Trevor, who had slip_sisted, and was slain,
I he had been placed. The mur-
as also Captain
ped off the horse on wbie
4, „hazees,.,
or religious enthu-
derers are now said to bet
siesta, who fight as soldiers for "the sake of God," and
sb
rs.
who, if killed in battle, are called , u
ddees," or
- hMasart beyen
The treatment of Sir W. H. Macnaghten's body
d
escribed is stated to have
described as most barbarous.
ladyr to its being de-
offered a large sum for its ransom, in ordc '
cently intered. The other two officers were saved by the
Gs who
dread of the Gharzees to fire at them, lest the
turnehilzee d to the
rode before them should be, wounded, they re
appears,
cantonment of the 28th. Akhbar. Khan has
' it
1-7P.mMac.
boasted of his having in person killed Sir W.
naghten.
of Herat,
-Major Pottine•er, well known since the defence
took charge of the British mission and the negeciations for,
the withdrawal of the troops were continued. On the 6th of
January they moved from their cantonments, which were
instantly seized by the insurgents and burnt. The snow
was one foot, deep on the ground, when the troops reached
Beegrorna, three miles distant. The schemes of Akhbar
Khan then became evident. He had despatched emissaries
throughout the country through which the unfortunate Bri-
tish soldiers had to pass, calling the people to rise en maser,
and slay the infidels. His call was not heard in vain. On
the first day's march Cornet liardyman, of the sth Cavalry,
and souse men were killed. Mahommed Akhbar Khan, who
had taken charge of the retreat, contrived to induce the Bri-
tish to take up *Cations at night where he chose. On the

SERIOUS ACCIDENT ON THE SOUTH WESTERN
RAILWAY.

SOUTHAMPTON, SATURDAY.—Great consternation pre-
vailed here this morning, in consequence of its being reported
that a portion of the stupendous tunnel, near Warren Farm,
had fallen in just at the moment a train was passing beneath,
and that a :great number of lives were sacrificed. I imme-
diately proceeded to the terminus of the railway, and after
waiting till one o'clock the seven o'clock down train from
London arrived, confirming, as far as the giving way of the
tunnel, the information. It appears, however, that the acci-
dent happened soon after the seven o'clock train from South-
ampton had passed through, and that several workmen were
busily employed in it at the time. On the arrival of the
seven o'clock train from London at the tunnel, the passen-
gers were taken on to the next station in carriages, which
bad been prepared with the greatest promptitude by the rail-
way company. One of them told me that he went to a cot-
tage near where the accident happened ,rand there lay the dead
bodies of three remarkably fine young fellows, much muti-
lated, and that workmen were at the time busily engaged. in
digging out a fourth. These are. all the lives sacrificed at
present, bat there are three or four more so severely injured,
that it is supposed they cannot recover. Mr. Dixon, the
resident engineer to the line, was soon on the spot after the
occurrence, and rendered his valuable assistance in directing
the men employed in digging for the lifeless bodies of their
unfortunate fellow-workmen. I can state, on very good au-
thority, that the accident will not cause a greater delay than
ten days ' • and till it is repaired the passengers will have to be
conveyed a short distance in carriages.

The father of one of the unfortunates, John Gambell,
while suffering the greatest apparent agony, related the fol-
lowing facts :
'He (Gambell) stated, tliat for the last month or six weeks
a soft chalky substance was observed to drop freely from the
roof of the tunnel (the largest on the line, being upwards of
500 feet) and particularly about 30 feet from the mouth or
entrance, on the Winchester side, and within. the last fort-
night the surface of the eyth over Ulla particular place was
found to be giving way or sli;litly sinking, and it was then
ascertained that previous to the formation of the tunnel, a bor-
ing had been made in this precise spot, to ascertain the depth
of soil, and this caused a fissure, which being filled in, was of
course by no means, E 0 firm as that around it, and to this was
attributed the sinking at the top and the dropping at the bot-
tom above referred to. The attention of the engineer having
been drawn towards it, eight or ten men were set to work to
pressure from above, and from that period until
when the melancholy accident happened,
' At the usual hour James Wat-
the one one 30 years and
20, James Allet, James
masßatcheloi,2s, Daniel Laws, 23,Williarn
24,' and John Gambell, went to work, and nothing
Aar was observable in the cutting until ten minutes to
o'clock; when they were talking about going to break-
At this moment, as poor Gambell describes it, the
Lace about them began to close in like a whirlpool, and Wat-
more, Nyas, Allett, and James Batchelor. were hurled into
an abyss beneath, of from 40 to 50 feet, the tunnel underneath
giving way to a distance of two lengths, as he describes it, or
about 30 feet, and burying them in the immense mass of falling
material. Lows, T. Bachelor, Knight, and a son of Wat-
rnwbf:hrf.eeslttlwfruomospaitcaoliiswidheerraeble height, and the two former
Winchester
severely injured as to be obliged to be removed to
they were promptly attended to
as;pebduthtoilidi
so
have Lightfoot,giving
vapiti; the
of r surgeon.oGambell states that he must
immediately shared the fate of the four unfortunate men
who had been crushed to death, had be not fortunately
grinatyhe
and hands severely lacerated by
epla whichiefne hung from the scaffold-
ingceived a severe hurt t
hadhae dreoputhghi
rough
o material
righta4toe cheek,ria feet,l
oa arms,cdh
ar
chalk
stone in his fall, and was carried to his home, at Mitchel De-
von, where he at present lies.

'emove the

yesterday morning,
they were so employed.
more, aged 58 yearsehis two sons,
the other 18, Charles Nyas, aged
Batchelor,l9,Tho
Knight

Fo:NinlaapEyas
Company
0 s
rlNDlAnisntega,nSa,Tb-EsoAhuihel
Medina
Royal West India Mail
aSonniaFrstear p eight o'clock. The Me-
atrivFd at Southampton on
dina brought home three passengersguards. The
one of whom was
tie Hon. Capt. Cadogan, of the
The Medina is the
second vessel only belonging to this c'onpany that has yet
brought the mails from the West India Islands,have
been here
a
and had she
,arth,
to
recall ~n and ar-
detain
not been detained at Nassau on the 3d, would
ten days earlier. She left Havana on the Ist N 1
rived at Nassau on the 3d, where she was l
quence of the non-arrival of the inter-colonial mail.. copse_copse_Left
Nassau on the 13th, and arrived at B-ermuda on the
w kb she left on the same day, and was 14 days l'ilo
Southampton. She did not call at Faye'. When the Medina
left let: Havana, . it. was reportid that the Dee; another of the
o npany'-s steamers; was on shore at Turk's Island, but the
rumour was not credited.