COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES

The Overland Mail brings dates from Bombay to the
11th September, and from Hong-Kong to 22nd August.
The intelligence contains very little matter of interest.
The journals are devoted to accounts of the small but
vexatious disturbances and domestic troubles of the
Nizam's dominions and the kingdom of Oude; from
which it is evident that the central government in each
is as tyrannical to the weak and as powerless towards
the strong as ever. The accounts from Burmah are
described as "most satisfactory" The King of Ava
has contracted to supply the troops with wheat and
grain, and has made tenders for supplies of coal, sending
in samples to Rangoon. Trade is going on steadily,
and dacoity has disappeared. The coal is said to be
good, and lead has been carried down the river for sale.

The novelty in the Chinese rebellion is its extension
to Canton. On the 7th of August, the insurgents "sat
down" before the place, "just out of gunshot." The
Imperialists were encamped under the walls, but on the
8th, the rebels drove them by a vigorous attack into the
forts. They followed up their success by fruitless
assaults on succeeding days, and were themselves
exposed to fruitless sorties led by the Mandarins. Up
to the 22nd, the rebels were masters only of the
surrounding country. Arrangements had been made
for the defence of the foreign residents.

Intelligence from Australia has been brought by the
clipper Lightning, after a passage of unprecedented
rapidity, having made the run from Melbourne to
London in sixty-three days, She has brought answers
to the letters of the 13th of June sent by the Great
Britain, making a course of post of only 123 days. The
Melbourne labour market has been very dull. New
gold-diggings have been discovered about 12 miles from
Portland Bay. Sir Charles Hotham, the new Governor
of Victoria, was very popular among all classes of the
people.

NARRATIVE OF FOREIGN EVENTS

The intelligence from the Seat of War in the Crimea
is of the deepest interest. It includes one of the most
glorious victories ever won by British prowess.—The
previous accounts came down to the landing of the
Allied forces, on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of September,
at Old Fort, about thirty miles north of Sebastopol.
—The following dispatch from Lord Raglan to
the Duke of Newcastle was published in the London
Gazette Extraordinary of Sunday the 8th instant:—

"Head-quarters, Katscha River, Sept. 23, 1854.

"My Lord Duke—I have the honour to inform your
Grace, that the Allied troops attacked the position
occupied by the Russian army, behind the Alma, on the 20th
instant; and I have the greatest satisfaction in adding,
that they succeeded, in less than three hours, in driving
the enemy from every part of the ground which they
had held in the morning, and in establishing themselves
upon it.

"The English and French armies moved out of their
first encampment in the Crimea on the 19th, and
bivouacked for the night on the left bank of the Bulganac;
the former having previously supported the advance of
a part of the Earl of Cardigan's brigade of light cavalry,
which had the effect of inducing the enemy to move up
a large body of dragoons and Cossacks, with artillery.

"On this the first occasion of the English encountering
the Russian force, it was impossible for any troops
to exhibit more steadiness than did this portion of her
Majesty's cavalry. It fell back upon its supports with
the most perfect regularity under the fire of the artillery,
which was quickly silenced by that of the batteries I
caused to be brought into action. Our loss amounted
to only four men wounded.

"The day's march had been most wearisome; and,
under a burning sun, the absence of water, until we
reached the insignificant but welcome stream of the
Bulganac, made it to be severely felt.

"Both armies moved towards Alma the following
morning; and it was arranged that Marshal St. Arnaud
should assail the enemy's left by crossing the river at
its junction with the sea, and immediately above it, and
that the remainder of the French divisions should move
up the heights in their front, whilst the English army
should attack the right and centre of the enemy's
position.

"In order that the gallantry exhibited by her Majesty's
troops, and the difficulties they had to meet, may be
fairly estimated, I deem it right, even at the risk of
being considered tedious, to endeavour to make your
Grace acquainted with the position the Russians had
taken up. It crossed the great road about two-and-a-
half miles from the sea, and is very strong by nature.
The bold and almost precipitous range of heights, of
from 350 to 400 feet, that from the sea closely border
the left bank of the river, here ceases, and formed their
left, and turning thence round a great amphitheatre or
wide valley, terminates at a salient pinnacle where
their right rested, and whence the descent to the plain
was more gradual. The front was about two miles in
extent. Across the mouth of this great opening is a
lower ridge at different heights, varying from 60 to
150 feet, parallel to the river, and at distances from it
from 600 to 800 yards. The river itself is generally
fordable for troops, but its banks are extremely rugged,
and in most parts steep; the willows along it had been
cut down, in order to prevent them from affording cover
to the attacking party, and in fact everything had been
done to deprive an assailant of any species of shelter.
In front of the position on the right bank, at about 200
yards from the Alma, is the village of Bouliouk, and
near it a timber bridge, which had been partly destroyed
by the enemy.

"The high pinnacle and ridge before alluded to was
the key of the position, and consequently there the
greatest preparations had been made for defence. Halfway
down the height and across its front was a trench
of the extent of some hundred yards, to afford cover
against an advance up the even steep slope of the hill.
On the right, and a little retired, was a powerful covered
battery, armed with heavy guns, which flanked the
whole of the right of the position. Artillery at the
same time was posted at the points that best commanded
the passage of the river and its approaches generally.
On the slopes of these hills (forming a sort of table land)
were placed dense masses of the enemy's infantry;
whilst on the heights above was his great reserve; the
whole amounting, it is supposed, to between 45,000 and
50,000 men.

"The combined armies advanced on the same alignement,
her Majesty's troops in contiguous double columns,
with the front of two divisions covered by Light Infantry
and a troop of Horse Artillery; the Second Division,
under Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans, forming
the right and touching the left of the Third Division of
the French army, under his Imperial Highness Prince
Napoleon, and the Light Division, under Lieutenant-
General Sir George Brown, the left; the first being
supported by the Third Division, under Lieutenant-
General Sir Richard England, and the last by the First
Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General his Royal
Highness the Duke of Cambridge.

"The Fourth Division under Lieutenant-General Sir
George Cathcart, and the Cavalry, under Major-General
the Earl of Lucan, were held in reserve, to protect the
left flank and rear against large bodies of the enemy's
cavalry, which had been seen in those directions.

"On approaching near to the fire of the guns,
which soon became extremely formidable, the two
leading divisions deployed into line, and advanced to
attack the front; and the supporting divisions followed
the movement. Hardly had this taken place, when the