COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES.

The dates from Bombay by the Overland Mail are to
the 18th of March. The following is a summary of the
intelligence from India:—"Mr. Lawrence has gone to
Peshawur to negotiate a treaty with Dost Mahomed.
Lord Dalhousie was at the Nielgherries. The reorganisation
of the Military Departments is complete, and the
system works admirably. All usury-laws throughout
India have been abolished. The natives are petitioning
the Council for an act to prevent polygamy.

"No intelligence from China."

From our other colonies and dependencies there has
been little intelligence during this month, and it has
been destitute of interest.

NARRATIVE OF FOREIGN EVENTS.

The official intelligence from the army before Sebastopol
was brought down in our last number to the 10th
of March. In his next despatch, on the 13th, Lord
Raglan speaks principally of the progress of the Russians
in pushing forward their advanced works. They were
endeavouring to erect a battery on a small eminence
called "the mamelon" in front of the besiegers' position.
"The enemy," Lord Raglan says, "commenced working
upon the mamelon in front of the tower of Malakoff
in the night of Friday; but the nature of the work,
from the thickness of the atmosphere, could not be
distinguished. Great progress, however, had been
perceived on Sunday; and that night a strong working
party of the British troops was occupied in commencing
a parallel from the advanced point of our right attack,
with a view to form a junction with the corresponding
parallel to be made on their side by the French, who
began it on the following evening; and much was done
to forward the operation before daylight this morning,
and it is hoped that the object will be completed
tonight."

Under date 17th he continues to report—

"The progress of the parallel, which I reported to
your lordship in my despatch of the 13th instant,
has not been as rapid as was anticipated; the
ground being extremely rocky, and the difficulty
of procuring cover consequently excessive, and
rendering it almost impossible to carry on the operation
during the day. Both the English and the French
have now, however, succeeded in establishing the
communication between them. Her Majesty's troops
have not been assailed; but our allies have been
kept constantly in action; and they have succeeded in
driving the enemy from the rifle-pits, in which they had
established themselves in their immediate front, with
distinguished gallantry and great perseverance. They,
however, have sustained some loss, though not equal to
that which they have inflicted upon their opponents. A
steady fire has been maintained upon the mamelon in
the occupation of the enemy, from the guns in our
right attack; and the practice of both the navy and
the artillery has been conspicuously good, and reflects
the highest credit on those branches of her Majesty's
service."

Corresponding accounts are given in the despatches
of General Canrobert.

These operations of both parties have been attended
with several desperate conflicts. In pushing forward
their advances, the Russians dug and covered a number
of "rifle-pits," or holes protected by sand-bags and
embankments, to serve as cover for their riflemen. The
possession of these rifle-pits became the subject of
contention between the Russians and the French. Lord
Raglan, in a despatch of March 20th says:—"The
contest of the French with the enemy for the possession of
the rifle-pits in their immediate front was renewed after
dark on that night [the 17th March], and was continued
for several hours, the fire being excessively heavy,
particularly of musketry; and considerable loss must have
been sustained by our allies, I fear, as well as by the
enemy, who continue to hold the ambuscades: but the
French persevere, notwithstanding, in working forward,
and are approaching the mamelon on which the Russians
are busily engaged in building a formidable work,
though frequently interrupted by our batteries and those
of the French. On the night of the 17th the English
parallels were not attacked; but the fire to which I
have above alluded was so continuous, that the whole
force was either under arms or ready to turn out."

This contest was bloody. The French force consisted
of 700 men; and as soon as it was dark they advanced
upon the pits, creeping along the ground when
discovered, and firing and dashing on with the bayonet
when sufficiently near to use that weapon with effect.
In this way, but losing men fast, the French drove the
enemy from his first line of pits upon the second.
Unable to hold the ground, however, they fell back
fighting; and meeting on their way 800 fresh men sent to
aid the attack, they returned to the charge. By this
time the whole of the British and the French divisions,
alarmed by the rolling fire of musketry, were all under
arms, and in readiness for a general attack. The
firing and onset of the French were so steady that they
carried the first and part of the second line; but once
more the heavy vollies of the Russian infantry compelled
the French to give ground: the Russians twice followed
them in their retreat up to the French lines, and were
twice driven back; the whole affair winding up with a
cannonade. On the succeeding nights the French kept
up a heavy fire of shells on the spot where it was
supposed the Russians were constructing works; and
during the days a British mortar made splendid practice
among the rifle-pits in advance of Malakoff, sweeping
them down and driving out their occupants.

Thus matters proceeded till the 22nd of March. On
the night of that day a sortie was made by the Russians
on the French lines in front of the Malakoff tower;
but it was vigorously repulsed by the French and
English after an obstinate fight, and with serious loss
on both sides. The particulars of this affair are given
by Lord Raglan in a despatch, dated March 20th.

"On the morning of the 22nd the French troops in
the advanced parallel moved forward, and drove the
enemy out of the rifle pits in their immediate front, but
nothing of any importance occurred during the day.
Early in the night, however, a serious attack was made
upon the works of our allies in front of the Victoria
redoubt, opposite the Malakoff tower. The night was
very dark, and the wind so high, that the firing which
took place, and which was very heavy, could scarcely
be heard in the British camp; it is therefore difficult to
speak with certainty of what occurred from anything
that could be heard or observed at the moment. It
appears, however, that the Russians, after attacking the
head of the sap which the French are carrying on
towards the mamelon, fell with two heavy masses on
their new parallel, to the rear of which they succeeded
in penetrating and momentarily possessing themselves
of, after a gallant resistance on the part of our allies.
Having broken through, they passed along the parallel
and in rear of it, until they came in contact with the
troops stationed in our advanced parallel extending into
the ravine, from the right of our advance, where it
connects with the French trench. The enemy was here
met by detachments of the 77th and 97th Regiments,
forming part of the guard of the trenches, who, although
thus taken suddenly both in flank and rear, behaved
with the utmost gallantry and coolness. The detachments
of the 97th, which was on the extreme right, and
which consequently first came in contact with the
enemy, repulsed the attack at the point of the bayonet.
They were led by Captain Vicars, who, unfortunately,
lost his life on the occasion; and I am assured that
nothing could be more distinguished than the gallantry
and good example which he set to the detachment under