HC Deb 11 December 1857 vol 148 cc557-8
MR. WARREN

I beg to ask, Whether it is true, as rumoured, that the Government have received any additional telegraphic despatches from India, and, if so, to what purport?

MR. VERNON SMITH

We have nothing beyond the telegrams which have been published in the newspapers.

COLONEL KNOX

As there is a great discrepancy between the two telegrams which have been published, perhaps the right hon. Gentleman will inform us which is the correct one. The latest published in The Times states, that Sir Colin Campbell crossed the Ganges on the 10th with 1,500 men, and another account states that he crossed on the 9th with 5,000 men. This is a material difference, and I should be glad to know which statement is correct.

MR. VERNON SMITH

There is no possibility of reconciling these tele- graphic despatches. The telegram that comes to us comes through the Consul, and I am bound to suppose that the telegraphic communication, although there may be a mistake in the figures, is correct.