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FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. .

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FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. THE BURMESE DIFFICULTY -—» ¡ TEXT OF LORD DUFFERIN'S ULTIMATUM. CALLS FOR ANNEXATION. I SATISFACTION AT LORD SALiSBURYS DECLARATION f" HEUTER'S TELEGRAM. 1 SDILA, Sunday. The Indian Government has despatched to the King of Burmah a letter calling upon his Majesty to receive an Knvoy with a view to the settlement of the existing differences, to suspend the action against the Bombay and Burmah Trading Company, and to accept in fature a Hesident under becoming coll- isions. Arrangements are being made to reinforce HE garrison in British Burmah. [".RECTER'S TELKGBAM.] SIMLA, .MONDAY. The Indian Government has iinallv resolved .n despatching an expedition into Burmah hdUJd King fheebaw not accede to the lemands. The demands, in the first place, the reception,with ) ill honour, of the Envoy referred TO in the letter of August 28 from the Chinf Commissioner of British Burmah to the King. In the next place, all proceedings against the Bombay RIND Buraiah Company are to be suspended until thc Envoy shall have investigated the matters in dispute between the company and the King's Government. If these two points are not conceded, immediate action against Upper Burmah will follow, and this, of course, without further com- munication. A third demand, as important as the above, but not equally pressing, is th.it the King shall accept the residence at Mandalay of A permanent British AGENT with A suitable guard. Such (says the 7i,n?<) is the reply of the Indian Government to the curt and insolent refusal of King Theebaw to consent to any part of the arrangements proposed to him by the Chief Com- missioner. His defiance has been met as it should have been, promptly and decisively. Lord DulYerin HAS been trusted by Lord Randolph Churchill and the iiome'Governir.ent with lull authority to settle the Burmese difficulty in his own way, and we ire well satisfied that he has made the right choice. The means will be ready for giving effect to his lemands. It may be expected that ships and :roops will be despatched to British Burmah simultaneously with the Ultimatum, and if an un. favourable answer, or no answer, comes from the j £ ing his territory will be at once entered, and such further steps taken as the position of affairs MAY be then thought to call for. [" RKCTKR'S" TELEGRAM.] SIMLA, TUESDAY. The composition of the force to be despatched to Burmah, in the event of such a measure becoming necessary, is now under the consideration of the authorities. The 2nd and llih Bengal Infantry Regiments are among the troops selected for the expedition, the command of which will probably je conferred upon General Prendergast. J TIYF.S" TELEGRAM.] SIMLA, MONDAY. The Indian Government is preoaring to back tp its Ultimatum to King Theebaw by despatch- ing additional troops to Rangoon. Should he resist its demands a force of 10,000 len will probably be required. The greater part of these troops will be taken rom Madras. The Ultimatum will be despatched from Rangoon o-day. It is feared that King Theebaw will massacre ,11 the Europeans in his capital unless they manage <0 escape on board the steamer carrying the Jitimatum. The military preparations in India may possibly bduce him to give in hi" submission. [FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT.] BOMBAY, WEDNESDAY. The expedition which the Government has decided ..0 send to Mandalay is composed as follows:—One cattery of Royal Artillery from Rawul Pindi, two mountain batteries from the Punjaub. The Bombay Presidency furnishes the following:—One battalion of the Welsh Fusiliers, the 8th (Kings) Royal Irish Hussars, and the 2nd Battalion of the 11th Bengal Infantry. The Madras Presidency supplies the remaining strength of ths Burmah field force: three batteries of artillery. The whole will be commahded by Major-General Prender- gast. The necessary stores were quietly despatched to the frontier several weeks back. WHERE THE FIGHTING WILL BE. There are only two points where there is much likelihood of lighting. The first is at Minh-la, about sixty miles from our frontier station of Thayet-myo, Opposite the town, on the left bank, on a hill commanding a long, straight reach of the lrrawaddy, there is a fort. It was well built on modern principles, under the instructions of Captain Commolto, an ex-Italian naval officer. With good guns it might offer considerable resis- tance but it is doubtful whether any guns are mounted, or more than three, at any rate. At this time of year a corvette of the C class could easily ascend the river, and would, probably, render an Account of the place in half-an-hour. After Minh-la there are no river defences till the angle of the river at Ava, about fifteen miles below Man- dalay, is reached. Here there are three admirably placed forts on opposite banks of the river, commanding a point where ascending vessels have to round a dangerous reef of rocks. But these forts are without ditch, without flank defence, without expense-magazines, and without traverses to protect the gunners. ilandalay itself has nothing to protect it. It -tould be 'helled by compass from the river two ilnles off. The Burmese Army need not be taken into con- sideration at all. The Palace Guard are no doubt, courageous enough-}ll liurmans are bravo; but they are a simple rabble. They have an assortment of guns, from modern smooth-bores to antique matchlocks; but they are uncertain as to how they should be fired, When Mandalay is taken the whole country is taken, for all the weapons, except spears and jungle-knives, are uored up in the palace. There may be jungle* fighting, though that is unlikely but there are no iefenaible positions anywhere. THE BRITISH FORCE. TVip application made by the Chief Commissioner ftf British Burmah for 3,000 additional troops before despatching an Uilltnntnm to King Thoe- baw's Government at Mandalay will, if acceded to, as is considered very probable, largely augment the strength nf the British forces on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, and bring these up to over 12,000 officers and men. The military estab- lishment at present under the orders of the local Government, though considered sufficiently strong for ordinary purposes, would prove too small to maintain tho regular garrisons at their normal strength and also wage war even with such a potentate as the King of Burmah, consisting as it does of only three Datteries of Royal Artillery and two battalions of European Infantry, with three battalions of natives from the Madras Army. At Toungho there is stationed :he 8th Battery of the 1st Brigade London Division Royal Artillery, under Major W. H. F. Sarell; at Thajetmyo No. 5 Battery 1st Brigade Southern Division, under Major F. M. E. Vibart, and at Rangoon No. 6 Battery of the same brigade, under Major F. M. Robinson. The two battalions of European Infantry are the 2nd Brigade of Prince Albert's Somersetshire Light Infantry, commanded by Colonel Leet, V.C., and the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers (Colonel R. W. C. Winsloe). Thesa troops, with the three Madras native regiments, which are composed of very efficient soldiers, are stationed mostly at the two places already mentioned and at Rangoon, really the commercial capital of the Peninsula; but their numbers are to some extent reduced by the necessity of supplying detachments for Moulmein and the Andaman Islands, where there are im- portant Indian penal establishments. Of local forces there are, however, two batteries of artillery volunteers, and an eight-company battalion of oifles at Rangoon,while the Burmah State Railways maintain a four-company battalion, the whole of the volunteers being under the command of Major J. R. M'Cu11agh, of the Royal Engineers. The regular troops in the dependency are usually sup- plied from the Madras establishment, and should the whole of the 8,000 asked for be drawn from the Madras Presidency they would have to be chiefly made up of native troops, as the European forces subject to the Right Hon. M. E. G. Duff, the Governor, and including those now in Burmah, are the 12th Lancers and 14th Hussars; two batteries of Horse Artillery, eight of Field Artil- lery, one heavy and one mountain battery, and four garrison battalions the K Company Royal Engineers and eight battalions of infantry. Tin?: six beyond those already on the spot being the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers, at Cananore; Bedfordshire Regiment, at Bellary; South Wales Borderers, at Fort St. George, Madras; Hampshire and Middlesex Regiments, at Secunderabad; and Royal Munster Fusiliers, at Kamptee. Under the circumstances it is not improbable that the sup- J plementary force may be drawn from the large 1 military forces of Bengal. DEMAND FOR A BRITISH OCCUPATION. "fhe Allahabad correspondent of the Daily Chronicle, telegraphing on Friday night, says:—A summary cf that portion of Lord Salisbury's speech at Brighton last night which dealt with the Burmese question has been telegraphed here, and has elicited great approval, as it is becoming more and more felt that the despotic and dangerous state of affairs in Upper Burmah must at once be put an end to if worse is not to ensue. Everything, it is pointed out, favours the deposition of King Theebaw and the occupation of his kingdom, and Doth courses are now being strongly urged upon the Indian Government. Competent authori- ses here assert with confidence that neither course presents tho slightest difficulty, while the question of expense is so tuning as to be !carcely worth consideration. I learn, in fact, from Bombay that the Bombay and Burmah Trading Association has, through its chairman, made a formal offer to the Indian Government to carry out this scheme at no greater cost to the Government than is comprised in the loan of a gunboat toco-operate at Mandalay. The associa- tion would do the rest with the large staff of men has at work in the teak forests of Burmah. The confidence of the Bombay and Burmah Association to effect the virtual annexation of the country rests upon the belief—which, indeed, is general— that no opposition would be offered to the occupa- tion of the country and the deposition of Theebaw by any but the Palace Guards, the Burmese themselves being sick of the cruel oppression of the drunken and bloodthirsty tyrant who rulos their destinies. PR IIP AK AT iO NT S IN BURMAH. TIMES" TET.KGRA:] CALCUTTA, TUESDAY. Your Rangoon correspondent telegraphs that news was received to-day from Mandalay that Timedah Menigyee had entered into an arrange- ment. with 5.000 dacoits, who were surrounding Mandalay, to go to British Burmah and to cause nn insurrection there when hostilities commenced. The dacoits are to be sent in small squads, as coolies and labourers. Timedah paid them large sums of money. A considerable number of dacoits are stated to have already proceeded down the river in small boats. Theebaw recently held a meeting of his generals, declared that he would lead the army in person, and asked the generals if any were afnid to fight the English All declared their readiness, and expressed confidence in the result of the war. The same generals, however, expressed the very oppo- site opinion when they had left the Royal presence. The Burmese war steamers on the river are being prepared. Precautions are being taken in Rangoon. The arms have been removed from the volunteers' armouries, and the magazines arc guarded. The devoted Shans have crossed the Salwen River and fired numerous villages west of the Salwen. The Burmese authorities have iled from the town of Tharunce, situated to the north-west of Mandalay, between the Salwen and the Irra. waddy. The Kachyens are threatened at Bhamo by the Burmese troops. It is, however, stated that the troops will be re-called thence for the defence of Mandalay. Jt is generally believed in Rangoon that it has been decided to dethrone Theebaw on general grounds, independently of the questions at issue in the Bombay and Burmah Company's case. This decision is universally approved, and the action ot' tho Indian Government is anxiously awaited. It is known that the local government favours the policy of dethroning Theebaw and of taking prompt and vigorous action. Delay is very inex- pedient as every hour confirms the Burmese in the belief that the English fear them. The Burmese are encouraged by the delay to resist, and will have time to stockade the banks of the river. ATTITUDE OF THE BRITISH GOVERN MENT. F" REOTER'S TELEGRAM, j CONSTANTINOPLE, MONDAY ETESING. Lord Salisbury has informed Sir William White that he has caused energetic remonstrances to be made at Belgrade and Athens against any hostile act that might be contemplated by Servia or Greece.

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