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Leader (1850-1860), 6th February 1858, Edition 2 of 2, Page 2

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      ^ J&E&Ter. -

      the loss on our side being almost incredibly smallfour Europeans wounded , and one of Hodsom's Horse killed . Colonel Seaton ' s success is of permanent importance , inasmuch as it helps materially the work of pacification in the Poab ; his convoy supplies Campeeuj . with necessaries- of ¦ war ; and the next mail will probably inform us that , with the addition of Colonel Seaton ' s column , the Commander-in-Chief is forward with operations for the settling of Oude .

      An act of good service , too , has been performed by Lord Elphinstone , albeit not in the battlefield . He improved the occasion offered by a dinner given by some rich natives of Bombay to a number of European soldiers lately arrived there , to disabuse their minds of a vulgar prejudice which places all Indians in the same category of distrust and dislike . The revolt , he said , was almost wholly a military outbreak , the people generally having nothing to do with it ; for Oude was the only place wnere there had heen anything like a popular adhesion to the cause of the revolters . With regard to Bombay in particular , he said— -and facts are no doubt with him—that the Natives of that

      Presidency had been among the first to come forward with subscriptions in aid . of the sufferers by the mutinies , and . with expressions of indignation at the cruelties perpetrated in various parts of the country . Lord Elphtnstone's schooling was well timed , and it would be well if the lesson taught by him to our soldiers over the Bombay dinner-table were taken to heart by both soldiers and civilians m this country , where feelings are much too often allowed to . take the place of facts in connexion ¦ with , the affairs o £ India .

      TSfot that facts are to be taken at more than their just value—even when that can be ascertained . For it is certain that many facts are as valueless and inconclusive as so many doubts . Of what value , for example , is : the fact that General . Ashburnhaminstead of being at the head of the forces operating against Canton , where , it is clear , we have a right to expect that he should be at-this moment—is in London , without a word of announcement , without a sign of his coming ? What are the conclusions to be arrived ; at from the contemplation of this startling ? fact ?—High honours , or a court-martial ?

      The commercial news from Australia is of a grave kind ; at Melbourne , business is in a very depressed condition , while at Sydney there is a monetary crisis . However , the elasticity of trade in these colonies is so great , that hopes are entertained of a speedy improvement in the aspect of affairs , Returning to home topics , we notice the case of ihe iteverend Mr . Gent , whose conduct has lately undergone inquiry before an Ecclesiastical Commission , at Liverpool . Certain scandalous reports had been set on foot by , it would appear , a

      schoolmistress , a pew-opener ., and a sexton , and these having come to the ears of Mr . Gent ' s superior , the well-known Mr . Hugh McNeile ,, that gentleman called upon him to resign at once without inquiry j but Mr . Gent would not do this , and appealed to the Bishopjpf Ghestjgii , praying for an inquiry , " which the JSishop granted him , and sent five Commissioners to Liverpool for the purpose . The charges wepe of that kind which all feel to be xoost difficult g 4 j answering , namely , drunkenness and undue familiarity with woiaen , particularly with his own servants . Fortunately for Mr . Gent , a crowd of unimpeachable witnesses wqro ready to bear testimony to his general worth , and ablo to rebut several of thie afofexri'fito charges , while the servanteitfls were proved to have been diBchauc'ed from Mr .

      © Basra's house for misconduct . Tlie Commissioners gave a full acquittal , expressing their belief that thoro were no grounds whatever fojr instituting tho inquiry ; and the crowd , which had received tho evidence in , fayoa * odf Mr . Gjunt with irrepressible Dawks oil approtoetHtioja , surrounded hia carriage when " ^ l ^^ tWd ^ Ue ^^ would have drawn him in triumph to his house , bu . t for his urgent entreaties to tho contrary . But a muoh more remarkable case was disposed of , on Monday , before the Court for the Con-, sido-ation , of Crown Cases Heaervcd . With the ejto . cp . tiou of Baron Bwajhwell , all tho judges were , o « . tho bench . Tho . oaao was this ; At tho late Liverpool Assizes , a man named Miaij / m was sontenooB , to death for murdering hia wifo ; but the day affcev his aonviotiou , iti was discovered that a

      person named William . Thornle y had wrongly answered to the name of James Henry Tiiorne , and had sati upon the jury and joined in the verdict which was given . It was argued that this informality rendered the verdict void , inasmuch- as the misnomer of the juryman might have misled the accused into forfeiting his right to challenge him before he was sworn upon the panel . Six of the judo-es -were in . favour of a . new trial , and eight against ; the conviction and sentence being , therefore-. confiBined .

      After set many delays and ; disappointments , it could not be thought wonderful , or even extraordinarv , if very evil forebodings were indulged , by some , regarding the Leviathan and her chances of ever getting afloat ; and no doubt not a few very good and intelligent people were beginning to think that really it would be as well to turn the huge vessel into something other than the thing she was desigued to be—say , into a chapel , or bazaar , or factory , or warehouse ; and , very possibly " * not a

      few will be inclined to think the same , in spite of her at length successful launch on Sunday last . She is afloat ; and the curtain—of river-mist—falls upon the first act of the nautical drama , in which she is to do all the heavy business . We hope—in spite of the impatience which we have once or twice expressed—to have to applaud her , and all concerned , in the remaining scenes of her adventures , and to announce the result of the performance as a ' triumphant and legitimate success . '

      Lord Palmekston , replying to Mr . Roebuck , explains that only one French despatch on the subject of the refugee ' s has been received by Lord Clarendon . It is not yet answered . Mr . Roebuck , however , returned to the charge a propos of the French military menaces , and asked , amid cheers , inasmuch as England defied Napoleon the Great , " why we should care for Napoleon the Little ?"

      122 The Leadee. [No. 411, !Fe:B:R,Uahy _...

      122 THE LEADEE . [ No . 411 , ! Fe : b : r , uahy _ 6 , 1858 .

      General Van Cortlajndt. General Van Cort...

      GENERAL VAN CORTLAJNDT . General Van Cortlandt entered the service of Maharajah Runjeet Singh at the early age of eighteen , and had risen to the rank of colonel , when , on the death of Maharajah Shere Singh , in 1844 , anarchy and internal dissension prevailed to such an extent that all the European officers in the Sikh service quitted the Punjab . General Van Cortlandt obtained twelve monihs leave of absence to visit the Himalayas within the British , territory ; on its expiration , he was returning to Lahore , and had actually reached Ferozeporc , when be heard of the assassination of Rajah Jowahir Sinffh , and that the Sikh a / rmy were then preparing

      to cross the Sutlej ; he immediately offered his services to the political officer at Ferozeporc , and Captain Nicholson appointed him his assistant , subject to the confirmation of the Governor-General ; but communication being cut off with head-quarters , it was only on the field of Ferozeshuhur that he heard from Major Broadfoot of the approval by the Governor-General of Captain Nicholson ' s appointment . Both these officers were unfortunately killed in that action . General Van Cortlandt was attached to Sir J . Sittlur ' s staff on that occasion , and his name was favourably mentioned by Sir John in hia desoatch . For the remainder ot the campaign he was

      attached to , and rendered valuable assistance m , the department of the Quartermaster-General . At its conclusion , and on tho reconstruction of tho Sikh kingdom , lie obtained the rank of general and was appointed to- reorganize the army , which , arduous undertaking having been accomplished satisfactorily , lie was deputed Nazini , or Governor , of Delnu , Ismael Khan , and Bunnoo , perhaps the most difficult province to govern of the whole Sikh territory , peopled as it is by turbulent and refractory tribes , and subject to continual forays from the mountaineers of the border . He contrived ,, however , to maintain noaco and restore order ,. ¦

      Hcutenant-Colonel ( l , licn Lieutenant ) Edwardcs being the political ofilcor with him . ( For the peculiar duties of this officer , ivnd tho connexion subsisting between the General and himself , tho reador is referred to Liouteumt . Ck ) kuieUSdw < aa : dea !&^^^ Punjab Frontier . ' ) Ho continued at this poBt until 1818 , when tho outbreak following the barbarous murdor of Messrs . Vans Agnow and Anderson , and headed by Moolraj ( tho treacherous INaziw of that district ) , took place at Mooltan . General Van Corthiudl ; immediately marched m that direction witlu tho whole of his troopa , accompanied by Lieutenant Edwordoa ,, defeated tho . enemy in two hotly contoatod engagements on tho loth Juno and 2 nd July , efl ' eotcd a junction with the

      troops of the Nawab of Bahawulpoor , a nd ijivrsic M ' ooltan for nearly three months prior to the arriva of the British troops under Major-General "Whish . He co-operated with General Whish during tlie -whole siege , and rendered most valuable assistance hoth as a political as well as a military officer ; life troops alone , of the whole Sikh army , remained staunch to the existing Government ^ and were promised , should annexation be unavoidable , that they ( officers and men ) should pass into the Bntis h service without loss of pay or detriment ol' any kind . J

      The eclat of these events brought Licutenan . Edwardes ' s name prominently forward ; he con so quently and . deservedly had rank , honours , and rewards showered thickly on . him , whilst General Van Cortlandt who commanded the troops , ami who from his long experience in the country ami knowledge of its people , must have contributed in some degree to these successes , was—it is presumed in consequence of holding his commission from the Sikh Government—entirely passed over .

      His four regiments of infantry are now the four police corps of the Punjab , his horse artillery were converted into the present three Punjab batteries , and his cavalry were distributed in the mounted police . The whole of these troops have remained faithful to the present time ; they have done , and are still doing , good service . The General himself was repeatedly thanked by Lord Dalhousie ( then Governor-General ) , as also by the Court of Directors and by their secret committee . His name occurs frequently , and always with favourable mention , in the Blue-book of 1 & 49 , containing the papers relative to the annexation of the Punjab , yet he lias received no other acknowledgment from the British Government or East India Company

      for these numerous and various services . Indeed , they have proved a positive loss , for nllhmigk promised , as above , that the transfer of himself and troops to the British service should entail no loss , pecuniary or otherwise , yet , after the campaign , he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Dehra Gazee Khan , on a salary of 700 rupees ( 701 . ) a month less than that which Jie received from the Sikh government , and a loss of position also , as no military rank was conferred , though , at the time of the promise he was a general officer in the Sikh army . After five years' successful management of this district , for which he received the acknowledgments of the President of the ( then ) Board , and also of the Chief Commissioner , and

      after a protracted residence of nearly twenty years in the Punjab , he obtained leave to return to England for fifteen months . On his return to India he was appointed to ( lie district of Googaira ; from thence he wus transferred to Ferozepore , where he had just arrived when the mutinies , in May , 1857 , broke out . He was immediately called on by Sir John Lawrence to raise a Sikh levy of two regiments ; and a lew days afterwards , consequent on the universal rising in the districts of Hissar and Sirsn , he was required to move , with a small force of Irregulars , to stem the tide of insurrection flowing towards the Punjab

      from those provinces . Within ton days after leaving Feroiseporc , and with these newly raised troops , lie defeated a vastly superior bod y of the enemy in two engagements , and while continuing to recruit , lie was also reinforced by nowly raised cavalry and levies of foot , which enabled him to advance—ticteat ing the mutineers and restoring order to tho entire districts of Sirsa , Hissar , and Roll I nek—m fact , to within a Hew miles of the walls of Delhi it sell , The services of this force ( called first the Bhuttccana , aud aftorwards theHurrianah Field Force ) , so hastily got together , have been prominently brongnt to notice in the public papers ; and in contributing to tho important results above mentioned General

      Von Cortlandt hua been ably assisted by Ilic oJlicora of her Majesty ' s and tho Company ' s service ( . Lieutenant Sadlcir , her Majesty ' s Olst ; Li Vnlrnimt , Pcarco , Madras Artillery j Captains Stufforil niul Bloomfleld , and Lieutenants Wnlcott , Hunt , 13 oi . Iciiu , Bengal Native Infantry ; and Lieutenant Hamilton , Bengal Cavalry ) , placed undov liis onlcw by "' ° Clxic 1 ' -Commi 8 sioner-ofH ) he ^ uHJttb .- ^ W 4 algJa u ^! that their services may not bo ovorlooki'U l > y i » ° Government , it is to be hoped that t \ w Gcm : ml Jiin - boIP will at length obtain spmo recognition o « Humorous and valuable services by tho grant oi imu . Local rank which ho has so long held by courtesy , and to which his su / ooflfpfully aouduotccl camiw S » gives him an undoubted claim , as well ua w uw usual military disiinoliou— -tho guordou ot « - «»" tunato and sagacious commander .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 6, 1858, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_06021858/page/2/