goreign 24(1111%. INDIA. The overland Indian mail brings intelligence from

Bombay to the 1st April, with further accounts respecting the victory gained by Sir Charles Napier over the Beloochees at Meeanee, the result of which was the formal annexation of Scinde to the British empire. Lord Ellenborough had issued a " Notification, " dated "Palace of Agra, 5th March 1843," of which the following is the material por-

tion— -

"The Governor-General had earnestly hoped that the new provisions, to which various acts in contravention of their existing engagements and various indications of hostility had compelled him to require the assent of the Ameers of Scinde, would have been carried into full effect, as they had been agreed to by their Highnesses, without a recurrence to arms. This hope has been dis- appointed.

"The Ameers having signed the new treaty proposed to them on the 14th February, attacked on the following day with a large force the residence of the British Commissioner. In this treacherous attack they were repulsed. On the 17th, Major-General Sir Charles Napier gained a decisive victory over their whole army, and on the 20th the British troops occupied the city of Hyderabad.

•

" Six of the Ameers delivered their swords to the British General upon_the'-',; field of battle. All their guns, ammunition, and treasure were take1getker with their camp. The Beloochees lost 5,000 men. " Thus has victory placed at the disposal of the British Government the country on both banks of the Indus from Sukkur to the sea, with the excep- tion of such portions thereof as may belong to Meer Ali, Blared of Khyrpore, and to any other of the Ameers who may have remained faithful to his en- gagements.

" The Governor-General cannot forgive a treacherous attack upon a repre- sentative of the British Government, nor can he forgive hostile aggression pre- pared by those who were in the act of signing a treaty. It will be the first object of the Governor-General to use thepower victory has placed in his hands in the. manner most conducive to the freedom of trade, and to the tiros- perity of the people of Scinde, so long misgoverned. To reward the fidelity of allies by substantial marks of favour, and so to punish the crime of treachery in Princes as to deter all from its commission, are further objects which the Governor-General will not fail to effect."

The remainder of the notification is filled with compliments to Sir Charles Napier and his troops ; certain bodies of which are ordered to bear upon their colours and appointments " Hyderabad, 1843."

The Governor-General had also published a despatch from Sir Charles Napier, recounting the victory at Meeanee. It will be re- membered that a fierce attack had been made upon Major Outram, in the Residency at Hyderabad. The Ameers of Scinde had signed the treaty which was forced upon them by the Indian Government on the 14th February ; an attempt was made to murder Major Oatram on his way from the durbar at which the treaty was signed, but he was pro- tected by the guards of the Ameers ; on the 15th, he was attacked in his house by 8,000 troops beaded by one or more of the Ameers, but having six pieces of cannon and a small force about 100 strong, be defended it for five hours, and then escaped in a steamer which had been sent to bring him away ; and he joined Sir Charles Napier at Hata. On the 16th, Sir Charles marched to Muttaree, where he learned that the A meers were in position at Meeanee, 22,000 strong. His own strength was 2,800, with twelve pieces of artillery. Early next morn- ing he marched forward, and he formed in order of battle at nine o'clock a.m.— " We were now within range of the enemy's gun ; and fifteen pieces of artil- lery opened upon us, and were answered by our cannon. The enemy were very strongly posted; woods were on their flankr, which I did not think could be turned. These two woods were joined by the dry bed of the river Fulaillee, which had a high bank. The bed of the river was nearly straight, and about 1,200 yards in length. Behird this and in both woods were the enemy posted. In front of their extreme right and on the edge of the wood was a village. Having made the best examination of their position which so short a time per- mitted, the Artillery was posted on the right line, and some skirmishers of In- fantry with the Scinde Irregular Horse were sent in front to try and make the enemy show his force more distinctly ; we then advanced from the right in echellon of battalions, refusing the left to save it from the fire of the village. [Major Outram was detached with 200 Sepoys to burn the wood to the enemy's left, in which he succeeded.3 The Ninth Bengal Light Cavalry formed the reserve in rear of the left wing, and the Poonah Horse, together with four companies of Infantry, guarded the baggage. In this order of battle we advanced as at a review, across a fine plain swept by the cannon of the enemy. The Artillery and her Majesty's Twenty-second Regiment in line formed the leading echellon, the Twenty-fifth Native Infantry the second, the Twelfth Native Infantry the third, and the First Grenadier Native Infantry the fourth. " The enemy was 1,000 yards from our line, which soon traversed the in- tervening space. Our fire of musketry opened at about 100 yards from the bank in reply to that of the enemy, and in a few minutes the engagement be- came general along the bank of the river ; on which the combatants fought for about three hours or more with great fury, man to man. Then, my Lord, was seen the superiority of the musket and bayonet over the sword and shield and matchlock. The brave Beloochees, first discharging their matchlock and pistols, dashed over the bank with desperate resolution ; but down went these bold and skilful swordsmen under the superior power of the musket and bayonet. At one time, my Lord, the courage and the numbers of the enemy against the Twenty-second, the Twenty-fifth, and the Twelfth Regiments, bore heavily in that part of the battle. There was no time to he lost ; and 1 sent orders to the cavalry to force the right of the enemy's line. This order was very gallantly executed by the Ninth Bengal Cavalry and the Seinde Horse ; the details of which shall be afterwards stated to your Lordship, for the struggle on our right and centre was at that moment so fierce that 1 could not go to the left. In this charge the Ninth Light Cavalry took a standard, and several pieces of artillery ; and the Scinde Horse took the enemy's camp, from which a vast body of their cavalry slowly retired fighting. Lieutenant Fitzgerald gallantly pur- sued them for two miles, and, I understand, slew three of the enemy in single combat. The brilliant conduct of these two cavalry regiments decided, in my opinion, the crisis of the action, for from the moment the cavalry were seen in rear of their right flank the resistance of our opponents slackened ; the Twenty- second Regiment forced the bank, the Twenty-fifth and Twelfth did the same, the latter regiment capturing several guns, and the victory was decided. The artillery made great havoc among the dense masses of the enemy, and dis- mounted several of their guns. The whole of the enemy's artillery, ammu- nition, standards, and camp, with considerable stores and some treasure, were taken."

The surrender of the Ameers was announced last month. The loss of the Bri ish is officially stated at 256; that of the enemy is esti-

mated at 5,000. • Sir Charles complains of an insufficiency of officers in the Native Regiments— - - •

" The want of European officers in the Native Regiment at one period en- dangered the success of the action. The Sepoy is a brave and excellent soldier, but, like all soldiers, he expects to be led on in certain moments ; and as he looks to his European officer, if he misses him, the greatat danger arises : three times 1 saw them retreat, evidently because the officers had fallen ; and when another appeared and rallied them, they at once followed him boldly. This, my Lord, accounts for the great number of European officers killed and wounded in proportion to the whole." He seems to think it necessary to apologize for fighting- " I trust for receiving indulgence from one who so well knows how difficult my position has been for the last five months up to the present moment, and how hard I have laboured, and bow much I have risked, to avoid a recourse to arms. This sanguinary engagement has been forced upon me by the duplicity of the Ameers; though I must say, that until the attack upon the Residency, neither Major Outram nor myself believed they were resolved to fight, and against which duplicity 1 never ceased to warn them. My conscience acquits me of the blood which has been shed. The tyrannical and deceitful Ameers brought on the battle: the fierce tribe of Beloochce robbers were resolved that it should be so, and bravely did they execute their resolution."

The correspondents of the London papers by no means applaud the proceedings. The writer for the Times says, "The Ameers began the war, but who began the cause of it P "—the cause implied being the harsh treaty forced upon the Ameers. The writer for the Chronicle, however, says, that the oppression felt by the Ameers was not in the terms of the treaty, but in something not mentioned by it,—a heavy pecuniary fine for their correspondence with foreign powers : they signed the treaty in the hope of being released from that condition, but without

success. Sir Charles Napier proceeded to Hyderabad, of which he took pos- session ; and he was fortifying his camp in its neighbourhood. He found in the city treasure, in gold bars and jewels, worth 1,000,0001. or more. The Governor-General was of opinion that it belonged to the army as prize-money ; but the question had been referred to the Queen in Council.

Scinde was then said to be " tranquil " ; but much irritation was un- equivocally manifested. A Captain Ennis was cut off on proceeding down the Indus ; and other officers were reported as missing. And just at the departure of the mail, a steamer had arrived at Bombay from Kurrachee, which brought intelligence to the 28th March, and men- tioned that a fight of three days had taken place between Sir Charles Napier and the Ameers, in which the British were successful—with great loss on both sides. Report said that the British General was slain; but the whole story wants authentication. The Beloochees had thrown a chain across the Indus, which they intended to defend by for- tifications on both sides ; but a naval force was to proceed for the pur- pose of opening the navigation. The most conflicting accounts were circulated respecting the state of Cabnl: Akhbar Khan is said no longer to be popular there, and another was reported to have seized the government.

The Governor-General was at Agra, where he had taken up his resi- dence in one of the palaces. He had ordered the celebrated Somnath gates to be locked up there, and the officers employed in escorting them bad been sent back to regimental duty. At Agra, Lord Ellen- borough held an investiture of the order of the Bath ; General Nott and General Pollock being invested with the insignia-

" The ceremony," says the correspondent of the Chronicle, "is described as being a very imposing one, notwithstanding the ridiculous dress of the prin- cipal actor on the scene ; who wore a cocked hat with gold binding, a strange- looking coat, the breast and tail of which were covered with gold, and a pair of gold-striped inmpressibles ! Lord Ellenhorough studiously imitated Napoleon, it is said, during the whole of the proceedings; and when addressing the two Generals, stood with his arms folded, in the true Bonapartan style."

Bandelcund is reported " tranquil." Major Sleeman had been ap- pointed Commissioner vice Mr. S. Fraser ; there had been a "clean sweep " made of all other civil assistants and functionaries, and for the most part a new set were appointed. The establishment for Central India had also been remodelled altogether, and Lord Ellenborongh was going to have a "new police." He had determined actively to en- courage the growth of cotton. The canal, so long projected by Captain Cauthy in the Dooab, which had been all but abandoned, was to be commenced directly, and a sum of five lacs had been appropriated for the purpose.

Dwarkanauth Tagore had been excluded from the family caste, in consequence of his repeatedly eating with " the unclean Europeans."

• Slavery had been abolished in Ceylon.

CHINA. The latest date from Hong-Kong is February, 23d. Matters appear to have proceeded satisfactorily. Eleepoo, the Imperial Com- missioner, had presented to Sir Henry Pottinger the copy of a com- munication which he had received from the Grand Council of the Em- pire respecting the massacre at Formosa, and which conveyed the in- formation that Eliang, the Governor of Fokien, and Che-King, had been instructed to proceed to that island for the purpose of investigating the circumstances ; and expressly declared, that if Takuugah, the Governor, should be found guilty of the crime alleged to have been perpetrated, he would be sent up to Pekin and rigorously punished. In this document, the Emperor was represented as governing all the na- tions of the earth ; a pretension against which Sir Henry protested when he wrote to tender his acknowledgments for the proceedings in respect to Formosa.

Eleepoo had addressed a proclamation to the inhabitants, in which the nature of the present relations between England and China, the evils of riotous conduct, and the advantages of good order, were clearly ex- plained. Even in this document, however, the Celestial Commissioner could not abstain from representing the Emperor as treating the British " leniently." Sir Henry Pottinger had held correspondence with the British mer- chants, asking them for information and suggestions in respect to the new tariff of duties ; but they declared themselves unable to give much information, for want of certain documents. It was understood that She existing system of trade would be continued at Canton, at all events, till July next.

Amoy and Chusan were tranquil.

SPAIN. The Ministerial crisis in Spain continues. Senor Cortina, the leader of a party which maintained a doubtful alliance with the late Ministry, having been elected President of the Chamber of Deputies, the Regent invited him to form a Cabinet. He failed, and then Senor Ohmage received the troublesome commission. He also failed ; and so has Senor Lopez.

BRAZIL. The mail which left Rio de Janeiro on the 23d March, con- veys the definitive announcement, that Mr. Ellis bad failed in his nego- tiation for a commercial treaty ; and his audience to take leave of the Fanpeior was fixed for the 25th. At a meeting of a great number of members of the Lower House, convened by the Prime Minister, the opinion was generally expressed, that, in any negotiation for such treaty, it should be stipulated that the produce of Brazils should not be subjected to the payment of more than from 10 to 12 per cent differential duties on importation into the United Kingdom. It is stated that Mr. Ellis was authorized to propose the admission of Brazilian sugar on the extinction of slavery in Brazil ; and to demand admission of British manufactures at not more than 25 per cent on cotton and woollen goods, linens to be put on an equal footing to those of other countries. The Brazilians objected to tying themselves to any maximum duty ; and to abolishing slavery, as disabling them from raising any produce. It was believed, however, that the Emperor was about to despatch a special ill*Sioa to this country.