THE FALL OF DELHI.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 543, 16 January 1858, Page 3

THE FALL OF DELHI.

the ..MM^.^OTfi^^asi?l^ra.succe^s^V; ass^uljb Japottj!Pe^u ; n vWei arenstjjtl^jthputh detaUsyTand.vw;e;'»knowinQt show/ ma,ny ; ofj ourmen*were engaged'in-the attfick^ ■• but we toiay Jalmostfventure; 'tb.:^s6rt r that'; the occui^Myn^^sidfeJdldfjnotJa^ p^bej in tppa^acl£^ were. ) a4vjmfiwgn.e]cppsjsa x tq[fej^eay|f.^ tiUexysOifc theiwalls.irloTh^rfebelUoua sepoys., have, from the commencement of theire^n vo!fr,n f pt6 vedT themselviest.iutterly: j infiompe^, tent to makep^hpiimost'imperfeG^-stands against the assauJtrofe'tb&aßritish, jjet it app6srS;,tOß\iS! tha.tvifewas:;nouwan;t(of Ijudg-rr ment'ithatjdelayedisolon^tHe attack'on Delhi. It is a characteristic of the"-Aisilas-tic, 'thatt'•lie'%i'brav'e' ibehind;Oioeph^leia cour ia g^ f Ma^9ft)^Y»M%^ $W9,m. as it is $q)rMlediijsiy a reKf<rs&j.vo.urjforxje. befQ£e;;^e.lUi to*rPmftU iqufoa <M?ly? excaedipgtju smitbV-'tb.s. ipoaition iin.Jwhidh: it was'^eiitranehedj'^nld'ih-wihioh weraooh--tairfed iflits Imunitlbri^ l)ati<i v'swfi*es ;i .(Jf'^ll kinSsi coWa n^fey^^itiioutacoi^id^; able.,bo ( dy J ! anH adequate^ml)^' adfar^ft ugßr; v a[;;«re<' mendous tire, to tHe, assault Qt ,the city>

Itha i must ;;have ibeen- extremely ipubtrul; I Even if; the attack had- proved successful^W'e could.ssdarcely haw held 1 bpjtpoMtion^and-jtKe eflfect of ai retreat/ '■hpwevero honourable Jit might have; been, would have .proved inost:lamentable for our prestige, not only in India, but in the eyes of the .whole of Europe. The calm patience and determined resolution of the, British character were never more thoroughly exemplified-to the people of the East than in .the recent siege of their most famous city. From the moment of the arrival of our force, it hung over tfee place/like an -inevitable fate calmly biding the day of jetribution. • Every assault upon our immovable little army, though stimulated by the furies of fanaticism, drunkenness, and despair, was rolled back like the waves of the ocean from the rocks Of everlasting granite. The cheerful confidence of< all the published lettais wiitfcen from before the city, during the period of the siege, was most- remarkable. -There' was neither foreboding on the one hand, nor bravado on the other, but every one* o^ the gallant writers seemed patiently arid almost gaily to anticipate the day when it would be not only possible to take, but also-.permanently to hold .Delhi. Meanwhile, the mutineers had a copious taste of the evils brought upon them by their treachery and blood-thirstiness. The inhabitants of the city witnessed a revival of those horror 3, from which, acquiescence in tlie British Supremacy had preserved them for fifty years. Their.sufferings, if public accounts are to be credited, must, during the siege, have been terrible. An impossibility of obtaining supplies from a plundered country must have produced all the horrors of starvation; the corpses lying unburieel in the streets can scarcely have failed to have bred pestilence; and the i plunder, insult, and rapacity of a reckless and ierocious soldiery must have filled up the cup of misery to overflowing-. When the true history of the city during the seige^ comes to .be written, it will perhaps furnish a picture of horrors unparalleled since the days of Nadir Shah.; yet this will not be without its ultimate advantages. The large population of the.offending capital will spread .jinoftuotarmoßo-eiL. fen+«a,i'<ju<tu any? proclamations' of our own, as ,to the fearful retribution they have endured; the disaffected among all the populations will be 'frightened into obedience ;- and even those who are loyal will have their fidelity stimulated by a terrible specimen'of rthe evils of rebelling against the resistless power of the British.

jFjtffcyfjfojir .years/have nowv intervened since, B.ritishotrPQpSifirst entered Delhi in triumph.;, I -The rloeeasiofy however^ was vaktjy;.d^ifferent. ;tQithe; present one. •> Fifteen yearsvbad .elapsed fiince G-holaum JECadir, the RohiHa, had. s^i^ed. thefcity and insulted anjd .blinded ..the .aged emperor. Rescued by the hands of jMadhajee Scindia, Shah Ailum had nominally resumed his former* titles; and dignities, but /had > virtually be-'1 /copaeithe victim of the ? rapacity, and; the instrument of the ambition of theaMah•rajitas.' lAis.a specimen of the consideration with which he was treated by these! plunderers, we m&y mention that, hia"fifty tym. soiis and daiugnters'receivedeach the stir.. pepd pf fifteen ; rupe,es a month: starvation -i, wsts-rife? within tlie! walls of the palace; anjd .the royal family1 was subjected to { evjsry > variety of insult. , But from .this state of distress the" descendant of Tiriiour was| rescued' by a Bififeish army Sunder Lord JAHqs ;|fis' dignities,j^pugh;nbtEis power, were^restpred,; he was to reside, in , ithpipalacei; of his ancestors ; and a penr ;SiQn,iwhich, according1 to the v last published ■statement, .amounted to £130^000 a^e.ar, cw^,s bestowed 1 upon-himself/his family,; and his dependents.. Shah .^ltim^.d^d^three';afte^^BelHi; h{wi ;faii[e)ci; into t^i hands, ;^.of the (1 British.;,:b.is.descendants, until the. "ot tbr^a^: pfilli^rebelliQn, .stiii enjoyed their iipensiphs and dignities: and surely^ -if grai Jtit ude is «h: acknowledged "principle in hu- ; 'in m 'affairs^ >. there never was a ' case; in w] rich;: its r> !str6inges:t ties ' should bind bjje 'rse; of^jie^Sbns to another, ,^haji'.thp ins.l&nge.. of tlje,,'Kby^r family „of Delhi.^nd.Ctn,e ; vJ3: itish of Indi% , .Sh.ab Allum was.atj .our-mejoy ;i his. country; wasiconqiered)driifairo fight';-' and it was entirely j at our disposal %yhether to,treat: him jsvith; 'Ski ne^osity,! or' dismissJhjrii'.to pdvert^; and; • m dgtfifi^aiib'd, ■■;;'Tl»e!i^ i sultspf,|)u^uirig^e'. }fo :uitii pjf these cour§e^ . a^e. exemplified, in ; the cpndfuctjof the, wretched puppet who > ffaajs rebelled against us. ii ' I JTo' speculate as. to'; the disposal of 'the ;m|serabje family; within 'the Avails of, the ; jb^lhi 'may. ;be a little; pr^matu re. '"tops. Ulasse'^ recipe for cdolting; a hare , waa,.admirably, prjefac.ed.; and we must scatcp the, royal leader of the rebels,before

we proceed to'decideupon his future fate; ■ He may have/escaped irom the city with a •portion of the ;sepoys,; or" it indy happen that the, baybhet df one, of our. gallant rsddiefs v may.ri'd a. difficult dilemma. ;AJ»e position pfnt-MpVesent; so-called.King 'ofj Delhi is. most anamalous. dt would bedifficult to bring his offence within the category of rebellion. We'have never pro* claimed him disentkroned from his supremacy;; ;In the<^ ;he is. still ; the Lord.'' : Paramount1; \ixi practice we have usurped ' an^!#?t• justj^r us'urpedthe. whole of his authority. „3ut>.by allowing our almoner to:retainithe title of King, and to reside in the palace of his we have pursued a policy- wMchevents have shown to be ; a mistaken one;,.; We nia&e little, allow 7 nc? ffoy^hat ppwerjof imagination'which shpiild never be withdrawn!from, the calculations ; of conquerors and, rulers. ; 'The DelhlKing,', said Sir Charles Napier Ms a rhi-jre effigy, yet he forms a moral rallying point - round ■'which gather the dreams of discontented princes feeding upon prophecies ;! Such, prophecies- and. traditions a? 'those;i^Quft;Delhi work out j theirow^n fulfilment. o ln 'the present case fth^y are, only, rendered ; dangerou3 by the ! existence of the phantom King, whom we ' th^re maintain at a vast expense.' Events haye proved the truthfulness of the old" warrior's' worctsi The first resort 'of the , rebels -.was, tp the shadow of the Delhi ; BadsKah.lThe desire, among- minor princes - to ; obtain sunnuds- r confirmations and grants from the hands of. the descendant of | the Moguls has-, broken* out in many quarters as strong as if the power of conferring such things had never been suspended. This dangerous - distemper, and the source which fed and nourished it, brought •to light by thejrebellion,-will most certainly ,be stifled and extinguished for ever. We quite agree-with a local contemporary that it would not do to.have a pubh'c execution of a descendant of Acbar,, and one, who, if the published accounts turn out to be true, has, even amidst the bloodthirsty sepoys, endeavoured to save from death and .insult our unfortunate countrymen. But, he. will certainly.be deprived of liis titles and dignitiesj and he'and his -family will have to leave the scene of the splendour of their ancestors, and put up -with ah abode wheretheir utter insignificance.. shall forni .an effectual" ¥e"cufity * "against their future intrigues. Meanwhile, we sincerely congratulate all our' readers on the fall of Delhi—for it may now be considered to be fallen. The news will, we believe, at once put a stop to any further spread of the insurrection ; and it is highly gratifying" to know that this great success has been effected solely and entirely by British troops, and before we have received any accession to our fqr--1 Ges from England. If we can but relieye Lucknow,. and reconquer .Oude, .before the arrival of any considerable reinforcements, the satisfaction will be" proportionately heightened. We have alwaj^s thoug-tit this might .be, and we now believe it will be accomplished; and in such an event —in the reeonquest of the country by the British force that alone occupied' it at the outbreak. of the rebellion—there will have to be written one of the mostglorious pages in the history, of British and resolution.— lbid. - - • *I"