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Leader (1850-1860), 12th November 1859, Edition 2 of 2, Page 11, LATEST INDIAN INTELLIGENCE. The Bombay m...

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      No. 503. Nov. 12,1359.1 The Leapeft. 124...

      No . 503 . Nov . 12 , 1359 . 1 THE LEAPEft . 1247

      Ifdia,. . ' ¦- ¦ ) And ' ¦ • ¦ ¦¦¦ • Ind...

      IfDIA , . . ' ¦ - ¦ ) AND ' ¦ ¦ ¦¦¦ INDIAN PROGRESS . A

      Recent Courts Martial. Six Courts-Martia...

      RECENT COURTS MARTIAL . Six courts-martial recently assembled at Morar , Gwalior , for the trial of privates belonging to the 3 rd Bengal European regiment , chiefly for insubordinate and mutinous conduct . The men seem to show a degree of independence and hauteur in their bearing and conduct towards their superiors which must tend to subvert discipline in the regiment . Unfortunately , Lord Clyde seems to be rather leniently disposed towards these refractory soldiers , and in the majority of cases the sentence passed by the court has not been confirmed , the punishment appearing to the commander-in-chief to be much more sfivflrft than the offence demands .

      jevil . Bruce , in his Institutions of Military Law , 1717 , gives what we doubt not was a true account of the composition of European armies in his day . — »• If all infamous persons ¦ , and and such as have committed capital crimes , heretics , atheists , (!) and all dastardly and effeminate men , were weeded out of the array , it would soon be reduced to a pretty moderate number , the greater part of the soldiery being men of so ignoble , disingenuous tempers , that they cannot be made obedient to the allurements of rewards ; nay , coercion being , generally speaking , the surest principle of all vulgar obedience . There is , therefore , " he grimly adds , " another part of military institutions fitted to such men ' s capacities , and these are the various punishments awarded to their crimes , which , as goads , may drive these brutish creatures , who will not be attracted . ' ' We are now trying a more humane principle , and hope that it will be found more effectual in ameliorating the condition of European soldiers than the barbarous practice of flogging . —Bombay Gazette . , f ¦ ¦ I 3 j i ; i ' , :

      ' It 5 s to be hoped that the late events , so deeply affecting the interests of the army , will not be without their influence on the future welfare of the soldier . Much remains to be done in carrying out genuine [ army [ reform and hygiene . The Crimean war , with its glory and its havoc , laid bare and made intolerable many abuses and wants . The late military disturbances will , we trust , produce a similar result . In two instances the court sentenced the prisoners to suffer corporal punishment and imprisonment besides ; but the former has not been approved of hy the commander-in-chief , and , of course , ' has not been carried out . Without in any way underrating

      the importance of securing order and discipline , the punishment of fifty lashes , with imprisonment for seven years , in the ease of John Lallas , charged with having made use of insolent , language towards a lance sergeant , his superior officer , by saying , "It is better for you to be off ; you have no business here ; " and with having escaped from confinement before he was set at liberty by proper authority , appears to be unduly severe . It is curious that , in their first sentence , the court sentenced the prisoner to penal servitude for four years . But the Commander-in-chief , not concurring with the court ., asked them to reconsider their decision , evidently thinking that they «• would reduce the original do ?

      service . And what did they They increased the punishment by the addition of fifty lashes and three years' further imprisonment . The commander-inrchief has some sensible remarks on the revised sentence of the court-:- ^ " The original sentence was illegal—the punishment of penal servitude nut being awardable under either Of the charges—and consequently the court , was direct ed to reconsider its award ; and it was informed that this being an exceptional case , the restrictions usually in force as to the duration of the punishment might be considered relaxed . But the comruanderin-chiof never anticipated that the court would think of awarding imprisonment for the lengthened

      term of seven years , which in India may be held to be neairly equivalent to a sentence of death . " . The revised sentence was reduced to imprisonment for one year , and the remainder of it remitted . The other case , in which corporal punishment of fifty lashes on the bare back was awarded , is that of private John Condon , who was charged with disobeying the- lawful command of a sergeant , hia superior officer , " by wilfully nogjecting to answer his name when it was called out . " The sentence was nob confirmed by the conimande . r-m-cliief , who , in consideration of the previous good character of the prisonor , reduced the term of the imprisonment to four nionths , and . remitted the corporal

      punishment . Of Into years there has boon a chango for the bettor in the system of punishment for military offences . At home corporal punishments havo becomo so rare that it is said in the Foot Guards only ojic instance has occurred in every 1 , 000 men annually . The establishment of military prisons , to which offenders may be sent from all parts of the country , has partly 'led to this result . Not only has thero fceen this great reduction in the frequency , but a corresponding alteration has taken place in the severity also . Even ao late aa 1832 the number of court

      lashes which might bo awarded by a general - martial was unlimited , and , in 182 » , it Is on record that one man was sentenced to 1 , 900 , of which ho received 1 , 200 . From 1832 to 1837 the maximum number of Jashos inflicted by the sentonoo of such courts became gradually reduced to 200 . Afcor 1830 no higher number could bo inflicted } while a district court-martial was limited to 160 , and 11 regimental one to 100 . Since 1847 the maximum of thle doecription of punishment has boon limited to SO lashes . AU this has occurred , we believe , without ftny rel & xatlon of discipline in the army . It has often been said that flogging la a necessary

      Latest Indian Intelligence. The Bombay M...

      LATEST INDIAN INTELLIGENCE . The Bombay mail has arrived with intelligence to the 12 th October , the news being again of a warlike character . The expedition against the Waghurs , a piratical tribe who have thrown off their alleg iance to the Guicowar , has been brought to a successful termination . The fort and island of Beyt were stormed on the 7 th inst . The expedition arrived off th « isiand on the 3 rd inst . On the morning of the 4 th , says the Bombay Standard , two boats , armed , from Her Majesty ' s steamer Feroze , two from Her Majesty ' s steamer Zenobia , and one boat from Her Majesty ' s steamer the "Victoria , the whole under the command of Lieutenant Chitty , of the Indian navy ,

      were sent to cut off the boats belonging to the enemy . On the 5 th the Feroze , the Zenobia , the Victoria , the Clyde , and the Constance , opened fire on the fort , which was continued all day . On the 6 th the troops landed under cover of the guns of the fleet iit 2 p : m . The enemy made a stout resistance , and 60 to SO of our men were killed or wounded . Our loss is 2 officers killed , 2 officers wounded , 13 men of the 28 th regiment killed and 33 wounded ; 9 men of the 6 th Native Infantry killed , and 12 wounded . The names of the officers killed are — Lieutenant M'Kormick , 28 th Foot , and Ensign Willaume , 6 th ht down

      Native Infantry . The Zenobia has broug the following wounded officers and men : —Captain Glasspoole , Lieutenant Grant , 33 men of Her Majesty ' s 58 th Regiment ; 10 men of the 6 th Native Infantry ; 2 men of the Marine Battalion . The outbreak , is more likely to have originated in the turbulence of the people than in the oppressions of the Cuicowar , if we are to judge from their history from remote time . The promontory to which Dwarka and Beyt belong has been distinguished in all time , under the name of Okhamundul ( bad district ) , for the thievish character of its people and the sterility

      of its soil . . ; The Bill for Licensing Trades and Professions has been the most fruitful topic of discussion during the past fortnight . A meeting at Bombay , presided over by W . B . Tristram , Esq ., was a great success . The attendance was large—about a thousand—and the opposition to the hill strong and unanimous . Two native gentlemen , Dr . Bhau Dnji , a Hindoo medical practitioner , and ByramjeeHormusjee Cama , Esq ., a rarseo merchant , took part in this meeting ; but the movement on the part of the native community hus been conducted independently , under tho auspices of tho Bombay Association . Two large meetings have been held , one on the 8 th , and a At tho formernil the

      second on Sunday , the Oth . , leading Hindoo , Parscc , and Muhpniedan gentlemen assembled , the proceedings being conducted in the Gujorati language . A co . mmi . ttpe was appointed tc prepared report , to be submitted to a future meeting , The meeting on Sunday' was called by Dr . Bhau Daji , whose invitation was responded to , by some 80 C nativo gentlemen , chiefly Hindoos . A memorial to Parliament was agreed upon . On tlic whole , tho opposition to the .. bill has been so hearty throughout Indiu , that it is possible its passingmay be postponed until Mr . Wilson shall have the opportunity of giving his opinion on it . Rao Rum Bukah , talookilnr of Doondoah Khera , to be

      superintended , the brutal proceedings . The execution was to take place at Lucknow on the 1 st inst ., at sunrise , on the spot where his victims were murdered . A small monument marks it . It will be a relief when we hear that the hangman has not been disappointed in disposing of these two friends . The ca , se of Jyelali has excited as much interest in Oude as did that of the If awab of Purr uckabad . The Nana is still , it is said , on the north bank of the Raptee , where its course from the hills flows westward . His followers , who have no money or supplies , plunder the inhabitants of the Deoghur Valley . A correspondent of the Lucknow Herald writes from the frontier more specifically : r— " The Nana is now at Deoghur , and the Begum one march beyond it . It is reported the Ranee of Lahore is m camp . The Begum has 200 rebel sepoys , and the Nana 500 , with one howitzer . He has also a small body of eavalry numbering 150 sabres , 40 elephants , 40 camels , and 12 palkees , in which his and _ Baia Rao s families are conveyed . He has just made arrangements for the issue of three quarters of a seer of coarse rice and one chittack of dhol . I am told that a brigade of Ghoorkas from Khatmandhoo have arrived at Dhang , with a view to drive the insurgents from the hills . The rebels frequently cross the border and plunder the inhabitants of Iurwab . Koosaha , where there is a company of sepoys helonging to one of the talookdars . " „ Jung Bahadoor has at last , it is positively affirmed , ordered the Nana , Mummoo Khan , Beni Madho , and the rest of the principal rebels , to quit the Nepaul territories , under pain of being forcibly ejected , by his troops . This will be service equivalent to the tract of country which it is in the contemplation of Government to make over to NepauK The trumpery sum of 56 , 000 rupees has been levied on Agra on account of plunder taken during the disturbances . Rewards are dealt out on a very different scale . The Terai , and the country lying between the ^ Raptee and the hills , are to be made over to Nepaul «* requital of its services ! The boundary line is to be the same as that which existed previous to the Oude treaty of 1819 . This very tract , now to be made over to a state that has grossly humbugged us , if it have not been actually treacherous , was valuedbyiwi when we madeit over to Oudeinl 816 , asworthamilT lion sterling . It includes some considerable villages , and large tracts of very fertile land . In it , moreover , 10 situated the Eajah of Buhampoor ' s estate ; so that , when the transfer is made , the rajah will become the double subject of both our government and that of Nepaul . tub viceroy ' s progress . A Calcutta letter says : —The Governor-General leaves on the 10 th inst ., and is to hold a grand Durbar at Lucknow on or about the 20 tb , to which all the grandees in Oude have been invited . He then proceeds to Agra and Delhi , receiving en route native princes of all grades . The expense of the journey will be very great , the viceregal escort alone including 3 , 000 men . The camp will not number less than 20 , 000 persons , and the majority of them , let the ' camp magistrate ' do as he likes , will live at the expense of the peasantry . The total direct cost to the State is estimated at Rs . 100 , 000 a month , and the utility of the journey is very questionable . The native princes are so sensitive , and Englishmen , however carefully trained , so neglectful of the minuticc of Oriental etiquette , that the interviewa will probably create more irritation than confidence . Sir Charles Trovelyan , for example , the other day entertained Azeem Jah , representative of to Nabobs of the Carnatic . He has been refused the nmsnud , and Sir Charles , on Ins f "" f ™ £ genuine , kindliness advanced almost to the door £ meet him . The prince is only entitled to two steps from the dais , and he left tho room confident that the extra steps implied his restoration tcthe family privileeres . THE NEW IWAWOK MINISTEK . # Mr . Wilson is expected in November ami hw Es ^ sra ^ firf ^^ r ^ pcte systems quite independent . On '" Ott ers of revenue hi will bo simply a Member of Council—that is , while Lord Canning is horo , nothing at all . It W ndorstood that his first duty is to " combine the Sato mi of revenue-and flnanco so long ; dissociated SIS . " If that account is correct , ho has been . Sot to perform an impossible task , if only for tho Si ° o reason that while financial oflhira 1 we finder tho control of tho Government of India , revenue- matter are decided by tho live local Governments . .

      has been found guilty , and sentenced hangod . Ho is ono of tho many who treacherously betrayed unfortunate fugitives during 1 the rebellion . Thoso from Cuwnporo . who sought sheltor upon his estate , wore barbarously murdered by this monster , whoso name will not be forgotten for ages . Wo have not hoard of his actual execution , but think . it is hardly likely that oven Lord Canning will pardon him . Rajah Jyolnll Singh was also found guilty of abetting tho murder of Miss Jackson , Mrs . Green , and others , Ho was convicted on tho clearest and most conoluslvo evidenco } hosts of witnesses deposed not only to his having boon the primary mover In the massacre of our countrymen and country women , but also to his having stood by and witnessed , if not actuary

      Jai'anesh Poi.Icv.~-A Correspondent Of T...

      Jai'ANESH Poi . icv . ~ -A correspondent of thei X > a % Nws writes :-We are again at Kaijogavra ,. in the BnV of Voddo , some seventeen miles below thfl capital , on tho southern bank , and designed by the noSotlators to bo the port of tho still secluded and ESSooed metropolis , tho residence of tho Tycoon , and ,

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 12, 1859, page 11, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_12111859/page/11/