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Leader (1850-1860), 6th August 1859, Edition 2 of 2, Page 10, French Vibw of Indian Pomtios.—The Monit...

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      <• : . ' Financial Statement. Sir Charle...

      another form of expression for how India is to be gov e rned ; for he who can raise from it a large revenue , may command the services of all its people and princes , and lie its successful ruler . The man who shows us the way to accomplish this will be a benefactor both to England and India . For the future financial government of India , however , w e must now look to Mr . Wilson .

      ¦«Gfo Tie Xeadeb. Pno. 4s9. Aua. 6, 1859...

      ¦« gfo TIE XEADEB . pNo . 4 S 9 . Aua . 6 , 1859 .

      Latest Indian Intelligence. We Have This...

      LATEST INDIAN INTELLIGENCE . We have this week received the Overland Calcutta mail of June 18 , followed immediately by a telegram from Aden in advance of the Bombay mails of the 5 th July . Oude is free from rebels , and the frontiers so watched that it is not likely any will again . be able ¦ to penetrate through them from Nepaul . The campaign has been left tothe Oude police , and the Europeans withdrawn under cover for the rains . A line of posts occupied by the police is protected by a second

      -line of Sikhs , and supported by her Majesty ' s 20 th and a battery of Royal Artillery , at the corner of Gorjuckpore and Oude . The rebels , still 6 , 000 strong , are in terrible distress . The correspondent of the T ^ in & s < says ' that a light force which recently penetrated into the hills found the road strewed with the dead and dying women imploring mercy , and bearded men still scowling with the old hatred of the . Kaffir . Almost all their animals are dead , and their plunder is wasting away under the necessity of pay ing for all food they take from the 3 Nepaulese .

      " The volunteer guard of Calcutta , raised by the European inhabitants during the mutinies , has been dissolved by the Governor General , but a despatch has since , it is reported , arrived , directing the Government of India to . form all Europeans into a militia , capable of acting on an emergency , and practised in the use of the Enfield rifle . The measure , if carried out with due attention to local circumstances and modes of business , will not be unpopular . " : Advices have also been received from Bombay to the 15 th ult . The mutiny of the 5 th . Regiment is confirmed . Some of the disbanded soldiers are betaking themselves to marauding and acts of violence . THE EUBOPEAN THOOPS IN INDIA . The telegraph from Aden brings us most unfavourable news with regard to the late Company ' s troops in India . It is said that the disaffection is on the increase ; that at Berhampore they are in open mutiny , have intrenched themselves in the barraeks , and elected officers : and that the Madras Pusileers have followed the example of the Bengal troops . "A . general order has been published , tothe effect that every non-commissioned officer and soldier in the three Presidencies who enlisted for the East India Company ' s forces shall , if he desires it » be allowed to take his discharge under the provisions of the Act 10 th and 11 th Victoria , cap . 38 . The 5 th European Reg i m ent , at Berhampore , are for the present ' excluded from the operation of this order .

      The Nana , the Begum and Bala Rao are the only three leaders of note remaining , and they are deserted day by day by parties of their followers . Unless Jung Bahadoor gives them an asylum they must be caught in time , though , with the exception of the Nana , they ar e hardl y worth the trouble of capture . . The Calcutta Phoenix remarks— " Such rebels as still make a show of bearing arms in the cause of the Begum and her illegitimate son , are reduced to the greatest straits , and suffering great hardships

      in theNepaul territories . Sickness and our columns 2 iave thinned their numbers so' as to render the Nepaulese villagers quite a match for them should they again attempt plundering ., Unless , therefore , ¦ they pay , and pay highl y too , for supplies , starvation must be their lot . Jung Bahadoor seems also to be fully alive to the danger of allowing rebels and mutineers in his dominions , and in the vicinity of iiis own forces , who , like all other native troops , must not be exposed to undue tempation . " The following is from the Lucknow Herald ; —

      "According to the latest news from Nepaul , which may be relied upon , the rebels would appear to be reduced to the greatest straits . Jung Bahadoor does not at all relish the idea of his dominions being infested with them ; yet there is a strong party at Catmando which seems disposed to favour them . At onetime it would appear that Jung had determined to expel the rebels , but the chiefs Bala Rao , Nana , & c , sought and obtained permission , for themselves and families only , to remain in the Pang or Dewgurh valley—the Sepoys and others being requested to

      -quit . Accordingly , the liana , Bala Kao , & a , have come down and encamped at the mouth of the Goorung Pass , leading into the Dang Valley . Mummo Khan ^ vas in the Urjun . Pass , four or five miles west of the Goorung , but it was said he would return to the Begum , who was at some place more in the interior . A rather large - body of the rebels had made their appearance at the foot of the hills . They would appear to live in the jungles thereabouts , and only coroo out occasionally to see what they can plunder in the shape of food , & c . "

      Hydrabad is quiet . It was believed that the disaffected in that capital were prepared for open revolt . Lord Elphinstone added three European regiments to the garrison of Secunderabad , ana the leaders of intrigue immediately became our most devoted friends . An order has been issued reducing all native armed corps of the line . This reduction , whioh ¦ will ultimately amount to a fourth of the strength , is extended to Bombay and Madras , and , as

      far as it goes is beneficial . Nothing , however , short of the extinction of entire regiments will relieve tho finances or release us from tho danger -of a new native army rising to dangerous Btrength at each call for its services . There Is a rumour that the military police aro to *> e abolished , but as yet it requires confirmation . ^ no Oudo police too , aro in danger , Tho officials xufeillw thorn , and the natives declare them cvu bad as the old chucKladareo troops .

      A Native Leader On The Mutinies

      bombardment of the previous days induced us to believe the Kaisur Bagh would be carried . We never had . hopes of turning the English out of the Alum Bagh , though we knew you were only 4 , 000 strong of all arms . . "We firmly believed the Kaisur Bagh would not fall Under a year ' s fighting ; nor did we despond when we viewed from the minarets of our mosques the splendid array of artillery and the large European force . People believed there was some trickery ( " Jadoo" ) in the . sudden way the English obtained an entrance to the Kaisur Bagh . The fall of the city would have closed the campaign but for the proclamation forfeiting all lands . That paper

      gave us hopes , as we all knew the landholders would cling to the Begum as long as they could . But if that was cheering the amnesty was as much disheartening . On its reaching Boondee , I for one took leave of the Begum . I saw her rule was undermined . Throughout the rebellion the sepoys were virtually the rulers ; so far as they permitted it , some semblance of a government , a throne , and a king was maintained . They prohibited the slaughter of kine ; even in my village ( purely Mahomedan ) no one dared to kill a cow . When the Muezzin called to prayers , it was in fear and 'trembling that a bullet from a sepoy ' s musket would stop his devotion .

      " The Sikhs wavered at first , but on the whole they have behaved right well to the English . " The Nepaulese are not worth much to you ; even at the capture of iucknow they sent us messages in case the English were overcome , and we had great hopes in them . "We always fancied and had heard that the English won their battles through spies , but now we know you really can fight , We had no idea you could bring out such reinforcements ; anyhow there cannot be many more « goras , left in England . " The highlanders are fine soldiers ; how-is it they bleed less from a sword wound than any other European ? "Do not trust a native army a second time ; even your police correspond to this hour with the rebels . " The minds of the people are still very unsettled , and will remain so for five years till 1280 Hijiree , when it is predicted there will be great changes . "If you have to send regiments to England on account of the war , excitement will be produced , for all eyes are turned in that direction . " Few people know that an envoy came to the Begum from Herat . " That remark about spies is precisely the one made by the Sikhs when they surrendered to General Gilbert . They also had imagined that the Europeans would " outwit them somehow , " but could do nothing at close quarters . The 6 th Regiment

      A NATIVE LEADER ON THE MUTINIES . We are enabled to publish one of the most interesting contributions to the history of the mutinies which have yet appeared . It is the statement of a leading mutineer , a man till recently high in the confidence of the Begum , and who surrendered under the amnesty . . The disclosures were made not in the way of evidence , but in the course of long conversations with an European friend , and we have every reason to believe their authenticity . There may indeed be persons yet alive who .. can confirm the incident of the theft of the box from within the Xiucknow crarrison . The evidence , it "will

      be seen , bears heavily against the Nepaulese ; but more in appearance than reality . The Nepaulese Government is Hindoo , and , had the British power been extinguished , would of course have fought for its own hand . The fact , however , must not be forgotten when Lord Canning' * is blamed , as he has been by ourselves , for refusingthe first offer of the hillmen . On the question of the Oude proclamation it will be seen the deponent is entirely hostile to the Governor-General . He at least understood that paper in its literal sense , as implying the forfeiture of all property . " I do not think any particular cause can be assigned for tho rebellion—something of the sort has been expected for the last three years . The Soones , who are more captious on matters of religion than we Sheeahs are , had an indistinct conviction that the Government would interfere with their beliefs , but few had an idea that the army would have broken out en masse ; when the army did mutiny , there was a disappointment felt , and a fear that existing hopes of the extinction of the English would be frustrated , for who could trust in troops who in one brief moment had swerved from the allegiance of 100 years . " Our first cause for regret was the early re-capture of Cawnpore ; that fact caused the Nepauleso to waver ; a little later and our negotiations would have been . completed .

      " To the people of Oude the first relief of Lucknow was the boldest act the English have ever undertaken , and from the date of the entry into the Baillie Guard all hopes of overcoming the garrison except by starvation were given up . Before that a thousand devices were proposed , digested , and rejected , but no decision could be come to for overpowering the garrison . It was proposed to attack at n ight , but many hinted we should shoot our own men . and thus increase the confusion , The Parsees

      ( a tribe in Oudo ) offered to poison the wells , but it was known the English dootora had an antidote . The Parsees proposed to enter the garrison at night , and shoot with their arrows the Europeans while asloep . On one occasion , two Parsees entered the garrison and thoroughly inspected it j they discovered the position of thojmagazino , commissariat , & o . One of tho Parsees brought out a little box he had removed from off a table ,-the other returned with a bullet in his thigh from having gone too close to an European sentry .

      " The evacuation of the Baillie Guard paralysed all with amazement $ we could see that the women and children were being removed , but it never for pno instant entered our heads that the English would leave it ) it was so unlike them , and the

      of the Gwalior Contingent after their defeat rushed into the capital , declaring not as a fact but as a now wonder , that they could not contend against tho British . The same idea , prevalent till the mutinies all over India , evidently influenced the defenders of X < ucknow . The immense army brought against them never shook their faith in the Kaisur Bagh . The op ini o n , we believe , was produced by the incessant flattery it had been the custom of generals and governors to pour upon tho sepoys . They who , since 1845 , have never behaved eyen decently in tho field , received all honour } while tho Europeans , who did the work , were coldly commended for their gallantry .

      One statement seems to need a little inquiry , though it is supported by some antecedent facts . The deponent declares that tho Hindoos wcro compl e t e ly dominant in Oude—that he dared not kill cows even in a Mussulman village . It was proved in 1850 that the Hindoos were fW the stronger ana braver race in Oudo , but anything like dominance seems almost incredible in the face of a fanatically Mohamedan dynasty .- ^ -Friend of India .

      French Vibw Of Indian Pomtios.—The Monit...

      French Vibw of Indian Pomtios . —The Moniteur de VAmide is good enough to furnish , from its own private arsenal of intelligence , the following portecript to the laefc news from India : — " The native insurrection continues to be organised in Nepoul by Naiia Sahib , who keeps up communications witn all Central India . A rising in Oude ia expected before the end of the summer . The Commandor-in-Ohiof , persuaded that hostilities will bo resumed , has refused to allow European rogiraonts which were ordered home to leave . The fate of the coming campaign will groatly depend upon Jung Bahauoor . We greatly doubt his fidelity , and in our opinion the state of the Indian Empire is still very serious , and tho immense difficulties to whioh it will give rise are likely to absorb ail tho English military resources for a long while to come . "

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 6, 1859, page 10, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06081859/page/10/