The British Mission has been withdrawn bodily from Mandalay, lest
Theebau should imitate the Afghan example, at so inconvenient a moment. It is imagined that the King of Burmah will now make his rush, and it is possible he may, but not very probable. The native instinct iu all such cases is to wait and see which way things go, and the slaughter of an Envoy does not reckon in Asia as a defeat, but a defiance. If General Roberts were beaten, we should have Theebau down, and plenty more, Mahrattas this time included. Our real fear is for Candahar. An insurrection there is certain unless it is hopeless, and we have been alarmed for weeks past by the statements in letters from that force pub- lished in Scotland, but unnoticed by the general public. Accord- ing to those letters, sickness has been very severe, the transport and commissariat have both broken down, and the attitude of the people, traders excepted, has been sullenly hostile, The force is fortunately well commanded, and the troops in Pisheen not too far off ; but if the supplies are cut, and the city fired, General Stewart will have a very vivid hour. Fortunately, the task of urging assistance forward through the Bolan falls to Sir Richard Temple, who was bred by Lord Lawrence, and has, in all human probability, been quietly preparing for this out- break, which ho previously pronounced inevitable.
