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No. 409, JAM*** S8. i^R.T THE MADEB. 76
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NAVAL AND MILITARY LETTERS FROM CHINA. E...
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AMERICA. Great excitement continues to b...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Special Letters From India. {From A Mili...
t aUitv oan be felt .. Th « great crowd ot young English ^ S ^ both in- the civil and military services , whom , SS magesend ^ to India to be provided for hi aim u ally SSSg number serve but to make the English name SS and . common , and contemptible among aU cbassea of mSives .. In one word , our physical strength is to be found in our European troops ; our -moral strength , m our qualified and earnest European officers , lor- all nositkms of command ; or superintendence over natives , ot of administrative authority , English ; officers must be Elected who are apt , willing , and qualified Ihere , will always- be a sufficient field for selection . Let the Government send out more doctors and more engineers , and let toe public send out more missionaries and more schoolmasters—but no more ensigns , no more writers whether they be the product of . Haileybury or of open competition , iE you please . This is a subject which I must pass lightly over now , for it . requires a letter to itself * but I trust I shall not be misunderstood . 1 am not disparaging my young eoaatrymen ; I was a beer-drinking and billiard-playing ensign myself ., and no better than the average of my comrades . I know the stuff they are made of ; all our best men , after all , have been drawn from the ranks of onx WriteW and cadets . Give them work and tLey will do it But it is to their useless position , to tlieir worse thanWperfluoua numbers , to the vile system of patronage and intrusion of unqualified Europeans into every p ^ ce of honour and emolument , to the exclusion and discouragement and degradation of natives , that I object . And . this brings us to the second dynamical source of our security and success during this period of trial—the active services of bold and able men , both European and native , in , the administration and pacification of districts , and in preserving our relations with the native states ; Of Six John Lawrence ' s invaluable exertions , and those of the noble body of men by whom he is supported , in the- Punjab , I need say nothing here ; they will not escape notice or fail to be duly appreciated in England . For four months the force before Delhi literally existed on Sir John Lawrence ' s superhuman efforts to supply them with money , provisions , and military stores , and to reinforce them with trustworthy men . Without these they must have raised the siege after the first month . Mr G ubbins , at Benares , wi th , rare judgment and firmness upheld the honour and authority of Government during a period of great excitement . Many mora might be ment ioned , on whose individual skill , prudence , and intrepidity the safety of not only tlieir own but of ail the adjoining districts depended . But all of these able public servants , Sir John Lawrence , Colonel iMlwardes Jfesha tno C
at our frontier station of wur , uravoaau «« o uf Lucknow , Major Davidson at Hy derabad , would acknowledge how much they were indebted to the information and the intelligent advice derived from loyal and devoted natives , both servants of the Government and , persons of independent furtune . What could Mr . Gubbins have done at Benarea without Rajah Deo Narrain and Sirdar Soorut Sing ? What could Mr . Robert Ellis fa name that will be well known , in England some day ) have done at Nagpore without the vigilance and wise counsels of Sheik Tuffussool Hoossain Khan i Let these cases be well marked and understood . Wherever the contrary course has been pursued failure Las been universal . Colonel Durand , the Resident atlndore , a distinguished and able officer , but notorious tor hia supercilious disregard to native opinion , and aversion to lamiliar intercourse with natives , was , up to tlie very moment of an attack being made on his Residency by some mutinous troops , totally ignorant of all that was going on , and of thu state of public feeling in Inuore . He then appears to have run into the uufounded beliet that the Maharajah Holkar had joined in the war against us , abandoned Hulkar ' s territory , and denounced the Rajah to Government . Oh finding out his mistake lie returned and took up hia quarters at Mliow , the military cantonment , only ton miles from Indore , wlioro the officer cominunding a company of Bengal Artillery had already re-establiahod friendly communications wall Holkar . But of all our political , or , aa you would moro properly call thorn , diplomatic officers , the most remarkable and honourable part has undoubtedly been played by young Willoughby Ojibome , who muintutnod himself at Rawn . li in Bundlccund , although tho JLiajah repeatedly warned , him tliut ho could not bo unuworablo for his lifo , but who with indo mi table pluck and perseverance kept the Rajuh in tho right path , and gradually bent tho rebellious nobles ami mutinous troops to hia will , and in now in company with the Rajiih loading them into tho field in aid of our forces . "Would taut older men , such as Major Muopherson tho Kosldont at Gwalior , who took rufngo in Agra Fort , miU Major Richards , tho ' Political Agent at Bhopal , who with all tho officers of tho Bhopal Contingent botook thomsolvos to tho nearest station of Madras troops , llosliignbad , ~ ' - Jiad-b (! en ~ aiilmated"by'the- > samo-B |) ii'itof-dovoUtfu ^ to , l , ho * rr immediate duty . It iu truo that tho Rnjah of Gwalior and tho Begum of Bhopal respectively told tlioao officers that they could not control tholr servants anil soldiers ; but -what did young Omborno do under circumstances exactly similar ? H < j did not doaorl hit * postjuHt at tho very time when its retention was most important , but kept close to thfc Rojuh " and warned him that ho would bo hold personally responsible for tho safety of our Government ' s representative . Oaborno ia a nontenant in tho 24 th Madras N . I ., and has only sorvud eight
vears in India . Major ? Davidson , tho Resident at Hyderabad , was begged by several native noblemen- in tii ' e city to go to Secunderabad , the military cantonment only four miles from the Residency , as a place of greater security ; but he replied that he was attached to the Residency by many old associations , aiid had a particular fancy to be buried in the garden . It is extremely probable that this advice was not really given , to him with friendly intentions , but to try and create a panic , which might spread among the Madras troops . A few davs afterwards the Residency was attaeked at night by some hundreds of Rohillas , no doubt aa a feeler to see how the Madras sepoys would behave ,, but they were met by a heavy . fire from the native horse artillery and infantry , and easily repulsed ; and the vigorous measures instituted by Salar Jung , the N izam ' s minuter , prevented any second attempt . ¦ " «• v «
No. 409, Jam*** S8. I^R.T The Madeb. 76
No . 409 , JAM *** S 8 . i ^ R . T THE MADEB . 76
Naval And Military Letters From China. E...
NAVAL AND MILITARY LETTERS FROM CHINA . EXTRACTS FROM PRIVATE LETTERS . " II . M . S . , Canton River , Oet : 26 * 1857 . " . . . I have just returned from , a cruise- up the creeks where I have been in company with three gunboats and the boats of the Sybille , Tribune , and Esk , the commodore ( Elliot ) commanded the expedition . We went first of all to a village called Chan-Chune , a place of- little ina ^ portance except that there were a large number of junks , and we expected to find some Mandarin ones among them . We took the fort ( which made no resistance , the garrison having bolted on our arrival , at least we found no one in it ) , spiked the guns , taking away two brass ones , and burnt three or four junks , said to be Mandarin ones .. We cut the chain across the entrance of the creek leading up to the village under a , heavy fire of crackers from a joss-house hard by — casualties , one man slightly wounded through the cold chisel dipping . We anchored for the night some way below the village Next day , by various cross creeks , we got into what is called the West River ( it is a branch running parallel with the main river ) , and proceeded up for about two days * , anchoring at night , passing pagodas and forts no end . As we arrived at the latter , which by-the-by were mostly dismantled , the Commodore signalled us to prepare for action ; but as none of them attacked us , we left them alone ; although , once or twice I thought we should have a go in , as I saw the fellows at theiu guns . One Mandarin had the cheek to show his flag . The worst of it was , it was always ' Prepare for action ! ' just at meal times , and the chaps wanted to t
put the breakfast or dinner ott , as ne case mignc ue , but I never would consent to fight on an empty stomach , so we gobbled our grub as we best could . We reached a point on the river at the end of the third day from starting , thirty miles due west of Canton , and a place where an Englishman was never seen before ; we then turned and came down again having taken and burnt several . Mandarin junks and row-boats on the way . Instead of returning through the cross creeks , we continued straight down this branch into the ' Broadway , ' where we came across a lot of junks , five or six of which were Mandarins , so we chased them to a town called Gong-Moon , or Kong-Mun , and burnt them . During this l . Uter operation , the forts of tho town opened fire on us , but their shot did not reach us so we just dropped a few shell into them from the gunboats , which silenced the beggars , and then proceeded on our way , as it was no part of the Commodore s plan to risk the " loss of any men in such a fruitless skirmish as the assault of that town would have been . On the Sunday forenoon we sighted a Mandarin junk up a creok , and started in the boats iu cliase . He opened fire on the headmost boat as it rounded a point and came in sight of hi . n-this was the Commodore s boat—but as soon as one of the ship ' s gunboats rounded tho point and let fly at him , ho ran on Hhore and bolted for tho hjlls . I mean the junk ran on shore , and the crow ran to tho hills . We took her and burnt her ; throe or four Cinnamon were killed and wounded in this ' pidgen . ' The Mandarin and his wife wore on board , and escaped with the . greater part of tho crow to the shore . Ho was most likely taking a pleasure cruiae _ poor old beggar I Tho same afternoon we came up to a fort containing four guns , and were obliged to blaze away at it . 1 think we must have taken the follows by surprise , as they did not return the fire for some ten minutes , and when they did , that blessed langndgeahot— -ull sorts of rusty nails and bullets put into a bag came whizzing about us , but did no damage , as they wore in such a dovil of a funk that they took no aim . In tho meantime wo got tho Marines on shore . 1 hey made a rush for tho fort , headed by tho Commodore . When I got to tlio fort , I found tho Chinamen running , tho Marine s in the fort , and tho Commodore up to his ueuk . jn M mud . Wo , phased and potted at f . ho Chinamen for a short distance , tlion rotumo ^ T ^ froy ^ " * S « r and burnt tho fort , which was a wooden one , collooted our force * , and returned on board . Tho gunboats arrlvod just in timo to bo too late . Monday evening wo arrived at Macao , and anchored there tho night , and on Tuesday returned to our ship , Having beon awaiy just one , week . So ended that pidgen . ' PrAze-inonoy , doltlurn for tho good of tho ship , " Wo aro going down to Hong-Kong in a week or ho , to give tho men leavo , and complete stores . We take
our turn with the other ships in the river , and after they have all been down , and the remaining gun-boats-arrive , the Admiral , intends' closing in round Canton , retaking the factories ( or rather what is left of them ) and preparing the place for the reception of the Marines * order to commence , active operations as soon as they arrive ^ 1 understand that a naval brigade will be formed , and the Admiral has ordered all ships'to prepare their men for landing , so I shall be engaged either with our rifle company- or field piece . The mosquitoes are getting more troublesome than ever , notwithstanding that the weather is getting much cooler . It is almost impossible to keep your seat in . a cane-bottomed chair , and if you . go to sleep without a curtain around you , ia five minutes you are covered with white blotches the size of a pea , which itch dreadfully for a quarter of an hour . Scratch them , and you or 3 a perfect Lazarus . " Captain Astley Cooper Key , of the SanspareiL will probably command the naval brigade . " " IT . M . S . , Hong-Kong , Nov . 15 , 1857 . " ... Two-thirds of the Marines have arrived , and' when th % other third arrives we are to have a go in at Canton : The French are to join us , and they will probably furnish about a thousand men . I am sorry for this , as we are better without them . It is reported that the Chinese have mined the place , and have buried spears in the ground within a few inches of the top , besides other contrivances for our benefit . Whether this is all true I don ' t know , but we shall soon see . " The French , Russian , American , and other Ministers are here , and there is such a saluting going on that our crockery gets most awfully smashed , and as for the glass , it stands no chance at all . " We are here in order that our men may have a run on shore before we go up the river to Canton . " ( From the Overland Register aredi Price Current , Nov . 14 , 1857 . ) " ' HonGt-Kong . —Most active preparations have been . made during the past month * and we believe every available man and ship are now within reach except the Adelaide ; and we expect that very shortly every man . and ship that can be spared will be in the Canton river and before Canton . We expect that , with theAdmiral ' a help , Major-General Struabenzee will riot have fewer men under him than 8000 to 9000 , a force three timea greater than Sir Hugh Gough had with him . " ' There seems to be no doubt that we shall have our French allies to give us assistance . ' from the i \ to ij
" { same paper or ov . , xoo . " ' Beyond the capture of a large fire-raft in course of preparation , there is nothing to report . The fleet is assembling at Wang-Tung , which is the point most convenient for a rendezvous . By some people the delay of commencing operations is laid to the non-arrival of the Adelaide , with Colonel Hollow ay and the remainder of the Marines . But there is a detachment of the 59 th and some Royal Engineers expected from Calcutta , and there is no absolute necessity for commencing operations before we have every available man present . The weather is fine , and we know it will continue so for months . As a personal matter , we have to express our annoyance at the fear of the Admiral ' s displeasure having induced the person from whom we , with others , had arranged to charter a small steamer to take us up the river , to refuse to complete thecharter . We hope some other less timorous owner of steamers may be met with before operations commence in earnest . '"
America. Great Excitement Continues To B...
AMERICA . Great excitement continues to be folt with respect to the arrest of the Filibusters . Now Orleans , Mobile ; and Virginia , have vehemently denounced tho arrest of Walker and his followers by Commodore Paulding . Congress has re-assembled , and in both Houses resolutions have been adopted calling on the President to communicate all tho circumstances relating to tho recent proceedings in Nicaragua . Tho Senate , in executive session , has ratified the Danish Sound' Dues Treaty . Walker ' s men have been- discharged from the Saratoga , at Norfolk , by orders from Washington , and at the lost advices were wandering" about im a destitute condition . The General himself has written a letter to tho President , declar ing his determination to proceed against Nicaragua ; and Mr . Buchanan has caused peremptory orders to bo issued to the Federal officers in the South to stop nil Filibustering expeditions , if possible . Tlio steamer Fashion , which convoyed Walker and his- men to San Juan , has been seized by tho United States consul at Havannah for irregularity in hor papers . Mr . Soward hae presented to the Senate a petition from a Mr . Muillurd , an American citizen , praying for tho intervention of the United States Government to assist him in securing his right to largo property in ¦ I relan drwhioh-he'aneges-i 8-wichhoUUfTo » n-hiin . i . Uptf »» W ^ and by mob violence . Tho matter has boon referred to tho Prosidont ftir official , investigation . A doubtful report from St . Louis speaks of a great battlehi Kansas between General Lnne ' s forces and the . United State dragoons at Sugar M ° « d , In whW »^ ! said that several of the latter were k » lc £ *« ' ^? °° " J . according to this story , retreated , and « fvornor Denver Honf four companies of infantry to assist thorn . Iho Co Sato Ton under Lane amounted to 2000 , and «
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 23, 1858, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_23011858/page/3/
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