From the Australian, March 26. IMPORTANT INDIAN NEWS. (By the Theresa and Orwell.)

New Zealander, Volume 1, Issue 45, 11 April 1846, Page 2

From the Australian, March 26. IMPORTANT INDIAN NEWS. (By the Theresa and Orwell.)

By the above vessels, which arrived from Calcutta yesterday afternoon, we have received Indian news to the 17th January, and English to the Bth December, which is twenty days later than that received direct from England ; thus we have to exhibit the remarkable fact of news arriving twenty days quicker via India, than from London direct, Sir Henry Hardinge, the Governor-General had at length proceeded against the Sikhs, who had crossed the Sutleg, and thereby invaded a territory in the confines of British India, which was under our protection, in defiance of treaties, and the law of nations. Two great battles followed, in both of which victory, —after most sanguinary engagemen ts —declared for the British. The first battle was fought at Moodkee, on the 18th Dec, and the second at Ferozeshah, in the same neighbourhood, on the 21st, three days after the first battle. The latter battle was perhaps (he most hard fought of any in the annals of India. Our troops weie in a state of exhaustion for the want of water. We cannot ascertain our numbers, but they had to fight three bodies of fresh troops in the second engagement, and we suspect that each body was larger than our army. In the last onset of the second engagement, our artillery had been destroyed, and our ammunition expended, Had the enemy known this, and had they ventured one more attack, no one that reads General Goughs account would say that our troops could have maintained their ground. As it was, the enemy retired, whom we were unable to follow. The numbers lost by the enemy are not mentioned ; most likely they were not known. Our loss in the engagements were as follows :—

Thus 3,300 men have been put hors de combat. The Governor-General requested the Com-mander-in-Chief, General Gough, to accept his services as second in command, which was gladly acceded to. He led on the left body of the army in the second engagement. He was present in the first engagement, in the hottest of the fight, assisting the Commander in- Chief with his counsel and encouraging the Troops, In both engagements his personal staff were all, or all but all, killed or wounded. Sir Henry Hardinge is now an old man, fit for the office, but we should' scarcely have expected him to be fit to contend in the open field, under an Indian sun. — But he was always a hero. The following officers were either killed or wounded :— 50th. — Assistant-Surgeon Graydon, killed; Captains Need ham and Knowless Lieuts. Carter, Bishop, Young, Montmorency, Mowatt, Chambers, and Barnes, Eusign White, and Adjutant Mullens, wounaed. 80th.— Major Loekhart, Captain Frazer, and Lieut. Freeman, wounded ; Lieut. Colonel Bun bury slightly wounded ; Captains Best, and Scheberros, and Lieuts. Warren and Bythesia, killed.

Officers - Native Officers Sergeants - trumpeters or Drummers tank and File lyce and Grass-cutters iyce drivers Killed 13 2 15 1 176 5 2 d. Wound ci 3d 9 42 1 545 12 14 214 662

First Battle.

Europeans Natives - Warrant Officers Sergeants or Haveldars Trumpeters or Drummers Rank and K^ile - Lascars - Syce-drivers Grass-cutters Killed 37 17 0 27 4 559 4 4 2 i. Wounda 78 18 3 99 23 1496 8 2 2 694 1729

Second Battle.