The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1849-05-29 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

THE OVERLAND MAIL  ANNEXATION OF THE PUNJAUB TO TIIE BRITISH DOMINIONS.  By an extraordinary express, in anticipation of the overland mail, intelligence has been received from Lahore, the north-west provinces, and Calcutta to the 9th, Madras to the 10th, and Bombay to the 17th ult. The event of the fortnight is the formal annexation of the Punjaub to our empire. The Maharajah is to receive a pension of 50,000 dollars a year; the chiefs who have been faithful are to retain their estates ; the property of those who have appeared in arms against us is to be forfeited. There is no other news of any moment. Everything through. out India remains at present in a state of the most profound tranquillity. The political news from China, of the 29th March, is unimportant. The murder of Captain A. F. H. Da Costa of the Royal Engineers, and Lieut. J. Dwyer of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment, in the vicinity of the village of " Wong-ma-kock" district, about 10 miles from Victoria. is unhappily confirmed. The body only of Captain Da Costa had been found.  At the date of the last advices, General Sir.W. Gilbert had reached Attock, and was in hot pursuit of the flying Affghans. He crossed the Indus on the 19th and 20th, and pushed on by forced marches for Peshawur, where he arrived on the 21st and 22nd. The Affghans, flying in terror of their lives, without baggage or impediment, had proved too fleet for him : the y had ascended the passes, and got beyond his reach, before he could approach within twenty miles of them. The gates of Peshawur had been shut against them, but they burnt the cantonments and house of the resident, and destroyed the suburbs and villages around. The war was now entirely over, and so soon as the intimation of the complete success of General Gilbert reached the Governor-General a proclamation was issued, intimating that the Sikh sovereignty had ceased, and that the Punjaub was annexed to our dominions. The chief secretary, Mr. Elliott, proceeded straight to Lahore on the 26th, accompanied by a strong escort of troops. He arrived on the 28th, and next morning read before the assembled durbar the determination of the Governor-General. The Prince, no longer Sove. reign, is to receive an allowance of £40,000, and to reside within the British dominions. His mother will be permitted to join him. Poonah, it is said, will be the place of their abode. The few chiefs not convicted of treason are to retain their estates ; the property of those who have appeared in arms against us is all confiscated. The Sikh soldiers are not to be entertained in our service. The government is to be managed by a council of three— Mr. J. Lawrence, Mr. Mansell, and Colonel Sir H. Lawrence, of which the last is president, with a salary of £B,OOO a-year ; the others have each £4,800. Four commissioners, with a large array of deputy commissioners, act under these. Our new dominions comprise 100,000 square miles of ground, yielding a revenue of about a million, and containing a population of about three millions. For some time to come it will in all likelihood prove a heavy drain on our finances, its revenue falling short of its military expenditure—the charges of government devolving on India. Thirty-three thousand troops have been ordered to stand fast for the present within the country— thirty-eight thousand more are maintained close at hand. We were, however, left but little choice—annexation latterly was almost forced upon us. The people of Umritsur and Govindghur are said to have received the news of the annexation with rejoicings ; those at Lahore are said to be sulky and discontented— the extinction of the court is naturally distasteful at the capital. On the whole, the change of sovereignty will, we believe, be acceptable to all but the Shill military chiefs.