CONTENTS OF VOL. XXXIX. Sketches of the Goomsur Campaign.—Nos. II., III. Sketches and Portraits from the History of the Mahomedan Dominion in Page Colonel Lindsay's Narrative of the Battle of Conjeveram.—Treatment of Reminiscences of the Burmese War.-Nos. X., XI. Investment of Ran- goon by the Enemy.-Defence of Kimmendine 119, 205 Home Miscellaneous Intelligence ....................................... Promotions in H M. Forces serving in the East ............ THE latest dates to which our Eastern intelligence extends this month are as follow:-Calcutta, July 9th; Madras, July 9th; Bombay, July 19th; China, May 27th; Australasia, April 26th. The intelligence from Affghanistan, which is of an indecisive character, inspires mixed sensations. On the side of Candahar, every thing is prosperous; our troops never move but to victory, nor do the insurgents ever attack them, though in overwhelming numbers, but to be defeated and dispersed. In reading the details of these actions, it is difficult to conceive that the respective parties are the same description of troops as were opposed to each other at Cabul, where the result was so different. The insurgents appear as reckless, resolute, and persevering; but the British troops under General Nott, properly supplied and properly directed, prove that their assailants are, after all, what Sir William Macnaghten designated them, "a contemptible enemy." If circumstances had permitted the onward movement of General Pollock's force, the two armies might have met in the month of June at Cabul. The measures taken by General Nott seem to put completely at rest the question, whether or not it had been intended to recal the British armies from the country. Nothing but distinct orders to that effect could have urged the general to withdraw the garrison from Kelat-i-Ghilzie and Gherisk, and to destroy the fortifications at those places, which (the former especially) were strong-holds, the retention of which was highly important if the troops were to remain. That Lord Ellenborough, before he received accounts of the victory at Jellalabad and of the forcing of the Kybur Pass, and previous to the arrival of the Europe mail, had determined to withdraw the troops, there is ample evidence. A copy of an official order, said to have been precipitately issued by the Commander-in-chief, has surreptitiously appeared in the Indian papers; and, although it is said that this was owing to a misunder The following is given as a copy of the order : "Adjutant-General's Office, May 14. "Instructions having been issued for the withdrawal, within the British provinces, of the troops serving west of the Indus, it has become necessary to make arrangements for the comfort of the different Asiat.Journ. N.S.VOL.39.No.153. B standing at head-quarters,-the orders referring only to General Sale's brigade, but were erroneously applied to the whole army, and although it is even said that the local government at Calcutta had not received any intimation of a design to abandon the country; still, the concurrent statements from Jellalabad, that such a determination had been communicated to General Pollock, who hesitated to comply, and the proceedings of General Nott, who seems to have yielded prompt and implicit obedience to the unpalatable orders, leave no reasonable doubt of the fact. A remarkable expression, which fell from Sir Robert Peel, in the debate of the 10th August, seems to us to convey an innuendo that orders to evacuate Affghanistan had been transmitted by the late administration to the late GovernorGeneral, and, if so, they were doubtless found by his successor.* Whatever may have been the purpose of Lord Ellenborough, it is clear that, when the last advices came away, he had resolved not to withdraw the troops at that time; for the formation of an army of reserve at Sirhind, consisting of nineteen regiments of infantry and cavalry, with a complement of artillery, horse and foot, and an effective engineer establishment, would be a needless measure under any other supposition. The state of our army at Jellalabad, "baked by the heat and suffocated by the sand," suffering from diseases produced by the climate and aggravated by the dejection of spirits created by inaction, is calculated to excite apprehensions. It is said that General Pollock is absolutely incapable of moving for want of carriage cattle. The Bengal column of the Army of the Indus, it appears, according to Major Hough, to have consisted of 10,000 men, and its loss in the article of camels was 20,000. General Pollock, with an army of 14,000 men, has less than 3,000 camels! "The indents, on account of camp equipage, ammunition, and baggage," says a letter from Jellalabad, "amount to 5,600 camels, and we cannot well make a march on Cabul with less than 7,000 camel-loads of food." If the general is unable to advance, he is equally prevented from retiring by the same cause. It is, moreover, reported that the cattle they have in the camp are dying fast. According to a statement in the Agra Ukhbar, the force under General Pollock is to retire from Jellalabad, through the pass, to Rawul Pindee, near the banks of the Indus, there to wait the junction of fresh troops, which are to be pushed on in the approaching winter, and that the combined army will then take the field, thoroughly equipped in every respect, and march on to Cabul. corps during their march across the Punjaub; in furtherance of which I have been directed by his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief to request that the 78 camels now attached to the station at Kurnaul may be sent forward to Ferozepore, where, being joined by 40 elephants at that post, the whole wil proceed to Peshawur. "It will, his Excellency apprehends, be necessary to take from the corps now at Kurnaul the dooley bearers attached to them, and to require others to supply their places to be provided from the district; you will issue orders accordingly, and, to dissipate the dread of foreign service with which the dooley bearers are believed to be impressed, you will cause it to be explained to thein that they will not be required to remove beyond Peshawur, but be employed on duty with the returning troops. "Should there be officers at Ferozepore preparing to join regiments with Major-General Pollock's force, you will order them to remain at Ferozepore until the return of their regiments to that station." "The noble lord says, Who contemplated the abandonment of Affghanistan? I could tell the noble lord. (Immense cheering.) Beware, I say, let the noble lord beware, of indiscriminate reflections upon those now in office, (Repeated cheers.) The affairs of Affghanistan shall undergo serious consideration." |