The news from Bormah is altogether satisfactory. The- weather having
become dry and cool, the troops, especially the cavalry, are able to move rapidly, and the bands of guerillas are- being broken up in all directions. One such band, seven hundred strong, which was attacked by a few Lancers, lost two hundred men ; while in another case, twenty stockades were emptied and destroyed without the loss of a single man. The leaders are sur- rendering in great numbers, and as fast as a district becomes quiet, it is disarmed, and a battalion of police is posted as its permanent garrison. The civil officers then commence their work, and the villagers, reassured against the guerilla attacks, recommence their regular work and the payment of taxes. The task is not yet accomplished ; but by the end of winter most of the guerillas will have lost heart, while the country will have become thoroughly known to the police. The greatest obstacle to good government now is the immense extent of country to be- traversed ; but this is diminished for practical purposes as fast as each new post is established and connected with the district centre. The leading priests seem well inclined, though deter- mined, as usual, not to be treated like the rest of the population.. It is not always possible, when there is no other available- shelter, to exempt their monasteries from requisitions for shelter made by the troops.
Previous page
