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TO, .388. August £9, 1857.1 THE REAPER. ...
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THE ORIENT. PERSIA. Some recent Persian ...
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IRELAND. Kk-aiihicst of Si*or,r..icN.—Ja...
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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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The Indian Revolt. The Public Were Start...
ixu After restoring some little order at Benares , on went the gallant Fusiliers towards Allahabad ; thermometer above one hundred degrees ; - thirty , and even forty mile marches ; no supplies to be had ; living on flour and water . On reaching Allahabad at night , the whole cantonment was in a blaze . The regiments had already mutinied , and slaughtered their officers with unheard-of cruelly . The Sikhs had not actually mutinied , but they assisted the rebel regiments in pillaging the houses of the Europeans . The Sikh regiment plied the fatigued Fusiliers with liquor , and the scene of baffled all
dirt , drunkenness , and wretchedness description . The officers of the Fusiliers went to the Sikh lines and bought up all the liquor they could ; to prevent the men from getting it , and they bought chests of champagne , beer , & c , at four and eight annas ( 6 d . and Is . ) a bottle . Now I hear the indefatigable Colonel Neil is beginning to bring about some degree of order , and is hanging scores and scores of prisoners . But we get very little official tidings yet . I am longing to hear more , for I do not hesitate to affirm that each day of delay 1 places all our lives in some jeopardy . "
In a letter from Azingurh , dated June 23 rd , and written by an officer , we read : — " We arrived here last night—a pretty civil station ; it has been looted , the houses burnt and destroyed in the most disreputable manner—the work of demons rather than of men . The Sepoys were content to plunder the Treasury , but the villagers around destroyed the furniture , broke what was useless to them , dismantling the whole place , even the public gardens , baths , & c The civilians left on the first appearance of danger ; the prison was opened , admitting to the world about eight
hundred characters of infaim * . An indigo planter , whose property in the neighbourhood has suffered in the same degree , remained concealed until some assistance arrived , and now , while the civil officers are in security in Benares , is reclaiming the district from disorder as far as he can ; he goes out to administer retribution in burning villages , in rescuing people and property ; his name is Venables , and he deserves the highest praise . So timid are these infamous scoundrels that , having conducted themselves as fiends when they had none to meet , the } - now fly in all directions from his small band . "
A Civil Servant , writing from Allahabad on the 28 th of June , gives some particulars of the rising there on the 6 th of that month : — " We were told off on our guard and had laid ourselves down on our beds ( those who were not on watch ) , when , about haif-past nine , we heard firing in the station , and on the alarm bugle being sounded we ran up to the ramparts in breathless silence . The firing grew heavier , and we all thought that the insurgents had entered the station , and were being beaten off by the regiment , so steady was the musketry , regular file firing ; on , on it continued , volley after volley . ' Oh , ' we all said , ' those gallant Sepoys are beating off the
rebels , ' for the firing grew fainter in the distance , as if they were driving a force out of the station . But before long the sad truth was known . Harward rode in , bringing the tidings that the wretched Sepoys had risen , had seized his guns , and had marched them up to the station . He had escaped , and had run up to poor Alexander ' s camp , who jumped on his horse and rode up towards the lines , with as many of his men as could bo got ready ; he had been caught in an ambush by a body of Sepoys lying in wait in an empty tank , and had been killed by a musket being placed to his side , blowing out his heart . His poor body was brought in later in the night , and I gave his hand a last shake , and shed tears over liia last bed . " The officers were at mess when the wretches sounded the alarm bugle to bring them to the parade , and shot them down right and left ! Wretched murderers , may they receive their reward ! Nine poor littlo ensigns doing duty with tho regiment were bayoneted to death in tho moss-room , and throq of the officers who escaped beard their cries as they passed ! Poor boys , who had never given offence to any native , nor caused dissatisfaction to tho Sepoys . Five officers were shot belonging to tho regiment , besides the nine poor boys . Birch and Inncs , with tho sergeant " major , in all seventeen military men , many merchants , nnd others , were most cruelly butchered — in all fifty Europeans fell that night by tho hands of the murderous Sepoys . The Treasury was plundered , tho prisoners relenued from gaol ,, and tho work of destruction cominonccd . Tho whole station was destroyed , house after house plundered and fired . What a night ! Each iqomont wo expected tho Sikhs would turn on us , nnd thonl .... Buttho Alniighty morcifully decreod otherwise . Wo disarmed tho Gth guard , at tho mniu gate , nnd found tho villains with loaded and capped inuukots , ready to turn outl " Tho Sikhs proved faithful , though they plundered a good deal , nnd got very drunk . Tho eaino writer continues : — " When wo could onco get out of the fort , wo wore all over tho place , cutting down all natives who showed any signs of opposition ; wo enjoyed those trips very much , ao pleasant It was to get out of that horrid fort for a few hours . Ono trip I enjoyed amazingly ; wo got on board a etoaraor with a gun , while tho Sikhs and Fusiliers
marched up to the city ; we steamed up , throwing shot right and left , till we got up to the bad places , when we went on shore and peppered away with our guns , my old double-barrel that I brought out bringing down several niggers , so thirsty for vengeance was I . We fired the places right and left , and the flames shot up to the heavens as they spread , fanned by the breeze , showing that the day of vengeance had fallen on the treacherous villains . ... " I have been appointed chief of a commission for the trial of all natives charged with offences against Government and persons ; day by day we have strung up eight and ten men . We have the power of life and death in our hand ' s , and I assure , you we spare not . A very summary trial is all that takes place . "
lieutenant Adolphus de Kantzow thus describes , in a letter from Mynpooree , an exploit performed by him for which he has received the special and warm thanks of the Governor-General in an autograph communication : — " I was returning from reconnoitring , when information was brought me that five troopers of the 7 th Light Cavalry were coining along the road . An immediate pursuit was of course ordered by me , and my thirty-nine troopers tore away at full speed after me . I was just coming up to them , and had already let drive among the murdering villains , when lo ! I came upon two hundred of their comrades , all armed with swords and some with carbines . A smart fire was kept up at a distance of not
more than twenty-five yards . What could thirty-nine do against two hundred regular troopers well horsed and aimed , particularly when walked into by the bullets of one hundred of the infantry ? I ordered a retreat , but my cavalry could not get away from troopers mounted upon good stud-bred horses ; so we were soon overtaken , and then commenced the shindy in earnest ; twelve troopers surrounded me ; the first , a Mahommedan priest , I shot through the breast just as he was cutting me down ; this was my only pistol , so I was helpless as regards weapons , save my sword ; this guarded off a swinging cut given me by No . 2 , as also another by No . 3 , but the fun could not last . I bitterly mourned not
having a couple of revolvers , for I could have shot every man . My sword was cut down and I got a slash on the head that blinded me , another on the arm that glanced , and only took a slice off . The third caught me on the side , but also glanced and hit me sideways . I know not how I escaped . God only knows , as twelve against one were fearful odds , especially as I was mounted on a pony bare back . Escape , however , I did , and after many warm escapes too numerous to mention I got back here . Fourteen of my brave fellows were killed , four wounded , six missing ; total , twent y-four out of thirty-nine . Good odds , was it not ?"
A public meeting , convened by the Lord Mayor , for inaugurating a subscription in aid of the sufferers by the revolt , was held at the Mansion House , City , on Tuesday ; his Lordship in the chair . The Lady Mayoress was also present . Colonel Henderson moved the first resolution , and mentioned , from private information , that the -cases of distress in India are numerous and most painful . He observed that there are many noble charitable institutions in India , which are now doing their best to alleviate the misery caused by the insurrection , and that Lord
and Lady Canning and the rich merchants , & c , arc also acting with promptitude and generosity ; but , he added , this is not sufficient , and the mother country is bound to assist . The other speakers were Mr . Dent , Admiral Sir Stephen Lushington , the Jlev . J . Leifchild ( who , while warmly execrating the barbarities of the mutineers , hoped that , when they are vanquished , we shall not repay atrocity with atrocity ) , Mr . Theobald , Mr . D . Smith , of Glasgow , Captain Lynch , General Tulloch , Mr . Justice Halliburton , Sir Moses Montefioro , & c . Mr . Halliburton observed : —
" I h » vo no mawkish sensibility in iny nature . don ' t cry out Shame ! ' nguinst tho punishment of those wretches who have surpassed in cruelty all that history can produce . ( Cbeera . ) I am myself by birth and by education a British subject—a nutivo of North America , and I am conversant with the history of that country from its first discovery by Columbus to tho present dny . I have known tho aborigines , and havo mixed with thorn , and havo vcod of their wara with tho white man ; but nothing in the whole history of British North America has equalled that which is recorded of tho proceedings in India at this day . All tho tortures , nil tho
violence of tho rod devil * , n » they may bo called , of tho American forest , are merely childish when compared with tho outrages that arc committed in India ; therefore I truat , although there may not be blood-thirsty punishmoiits , that tho punishments will bo adequate to tho enormity of tho crimes committed . ( Cheers . ) But that Is not now tho subject with which wo liava to deal . There aro thousands of our follow-crcaturcs in distress , and an appeal is made to us for aid . (//««»• , hear . " ) It is an appeal which I take upon myself , as a native of British North Amorioa , to say will bo heartily responded to in that country . Whon the sufferings of our troop in the Crimea wore made known in Canada
subscriptions were raised , and every means were adopted to express our sympathy for the sufferings of our troops . Nor was it confined to that- —an offer was made to raise two regiments , and to appoint officers to lead them to the Crimea in aid of the British forces . ( Cheers . ) A grand mistake , however , was made . The Canadians addressed their offer to the wrong office , and it was sent back unanswered . (' Oh ! ' and cheers , ) But I tell you that the people of Canada are ready now to do the same thing 1 . They are ready not merely to give their money but to send their troops to fight side by side with the British soldier . " ( Cheers . )
Resolutions in accordance with the object were Unanimously carried , arid subscriptions amounting to about 300 / . were announced before the meeting broke up . It was determined that the subscription list be kept open at Messrs . Smith , Payne , and Co . ' s , the Oriental Bank Corporation , and the Agra Bank ; that the amounts , as collected , be despatched by each mail to the Governor-General of India ; and that distributors be employed in that country . The sum of 20 , 000 rupees was forwarded by the Lord Mayor to the Governor-General by Wednesday nights' mail , as a first instalment resulting from the meeting at the Mansion-house .
To, .388. August £9, 1857.1 The Reaper. ...
TO , . 388 . August £ 9 , 1857 . 1 THE REAPER . 821
The Orient. Persia. Some Recent Persian ...
THE ORIENT . PERSIA . Some recent Persian intelligence has been communicated to the continental papers in a letter from Teheran , where we read : — " When the Indian mutiny became known in Persia , several Ulemas preached in favour of the insurgents , and this propagandism would have assumed ^ a serious character had it not been for the energy displayed by the Government in arresting its progress . At the latest date , the country was tranquil , and the new Minister of War was reorganizing the army . The Court had quitted Teheran for Elbruz , where it encamps every year during the hot weather . The Shah was determined to execute honourably the treaty of peace , and the best understanding existed between him . and Mr . Murray , the British minister , whose health would force him shortly to quit the country . Herat was to be evacuated by the Persian troops . This would have been done sooner had it not been for a civil war that ¦ wa s raging among the principal tribes of Affg hanistan , of which each pretends to the possession of that important fortress . It was known at Teheran that tho British troops were about to quit the Persian Gulf . "
Other accounts state that Mr . Murray and the Shah are not on the best terms , and that the former suspects the latter ' s designs with regard to Herat . It lias been stated that the Shnh is not' only maintaining his army at its late strength , but actually increasing it .
JERUSALEM . The turbulent factions in the country about Jerusalem , taking advantage of a temporary absence of the Turkish Governor , rose in insurrection about the end of last month , and fought with great desperation at the gates of the eitj ' . Several men and women were killed . The whole of the peasant population is in a state of considerable agitation , and it is feared that the rising will spread . Abou Gosh , an influential chief , is raising men to act against the Turkish authorities . CHINA . Lord Elgin arrived at Hong-Kong on tho 2 nd of July , lie was to proceed northwards in the Shannon , accompanied by six gunboats . At Foochow , confirmatory reports have been received respecting the injury sustained by tho toa-plant , owing to . its not being thoroughly picked . The decrease in shipments of tea from China to the 30 th of Juno was 27 , 550 , 000 pounds . The Chinese havo not permitted Admiral l ' ontiatine and his mission to enter by Kiakhta . Ho will consequently descend tho Amoor , and will present himself at Shanghai .
Ireland. Kk-Aiihicst Of Si*Or,R..Icn.—Ja...
IRELAND . Kk-aiihicst of Si * or , r .. icN . —Jamos Spollon was renrrestod last Saturday night , on a charge of robbing tho Midland Great Western Railway Company of tho sum of 050 / . on the 13 th of last November , tho night of tho murder of Mr . Little . Ho was examined at Capol-strcet polico court on Monday , and committed . He declined to say anything in answer to the charge until ho hud hml an opportunity of consulting counsel . A Magistuatio ruKNisw Policeman . — -Mr . J . Bernard , J . I * ., was proceeding down Markot-atreot towui'du tho Bridewell , Cork , lust Saturday , when ho observed n notorious thief thrust hits hand into a lady ' s pocket . Tho lady ineffectually endeavoured to seixo him , but ho escaped . Mr . Bosniu'd immediately puruued him , and , after a run through four streets ho , being Imrd pressed , turnod Into Harmir ' u-lano arid disappeared . Calculating from tho dlstunco between thorn that ho could not have reached tho second houso , Mr . Uesnard searched the flivjf , and there found tho exhausted delinquent hid behind tho door . Having arrested him , ho proceeded to bring tho prisoner to tho poUco-ofHce , and while upon his way mi Immense crowd collected , in « i ) ifeflUng , of course , tho warmest sympathy for tho thlof , and ovqry disposition to prevent his being talcon . JSnoouragod by such a maul-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 29, 1857, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_29081857/page/5/
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