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MAJMTPUR AND THOBAL.

DURING the 'nineties the chief fighting ground of our Indian army has been the North-West Frontier. The rest of India has enjoyed almost unbroken peace. Here and there on the borders there has been occasional trouble, such as that caused by Kachin hillmen in Burma Mr. Ouinton reached Manipur early on the morning ofMarch 22nd,and summoned a durbar for the same afternoon. The durbar met, but the Senaputi, whoevidently- had some information of what wasintended,refused to leave the palace and meet the Commissioner. Thedurbar was adjourned till next day. in i8q2 and 1863, but in the provincesand the native protected states in only one instance have our troops had to deal with anything more serious than some local riot. The only armed outbreak that could be counted as a rebellion occurred in the native state of Manipur, between Assam and Northern Burma, in iSqi.

TheManipurishadassisted the Indian Government against the Burmese, and in 1887 a present was made to theRajah of some hundreds of rifles, a supply of cartridges, and two 7-poundei field-pieces with a quantity ofshell and caseshot. These Meanwhile, Mr. Grimwood saw the Rajah and endeavoured to impress upon him theimportance of his minister attending the durbar, warning him that his absence would be a dangerous defiance oftheGovernment's authority. But on the 23rd the Senaputi was still contumacious, and it was resolved to effect his arrest by Accordingly at dawnon the 24th Colonel Skene, of the Goorkhas,enteredthe palaceat the head of 250 of his men. But the Manipuris hadprepared for resistance. The palacewas swarming with men(6,000 in all,it lid), two guns were in position to sweep the ap-MRS GRIMWOOD.

were the arms and munitions of war that were used with deadly effect against our troops in the revolt of 189 1.

A disputed succession and a palace revolution that had substituted one rajah for another had caused the Indian Government some anxiety. The dispossessedRajah was intriguing for reinstatement, and the Indian Government,on the report of Mr. Grimwood, the local Resident, decided that the centre of agitation and trouble at the Manipur Court was a prince known as theSenaputi (literally the "Lord of theArmy"), and determined that he should be arrested and removed from the state. Mr. Ouinton, the Chief Commissioner of Assam, was ordered to proceed to Manipur, hold a durbar, and arrest the Senaputi. He took with him an escort of 400 Goorkhas. There wasalready a guard of a hundred Goorkhas stationed at Manipur as an escort for Mr. Grimwood.

proach inside the main gate, and, as the Goorkhas entered, hundreds of rifles opened on them from roofs, windows, and loopholed walls. An attempt was made to rush the guns. It failed, and Lieutenant Brackenbury, who led it, was literally riddled with bullets. Skene persisted in his attempt to take possession of the palace, and actually secured a footing in it. The fighting continued for some hoars. About noon the Manipuris used their superiority in numbers to make a determined attack on the Residency. Colonel Skene then felt that he could nolonger keep his small force divided between the Residency and the palace, and, carrying his wounded with him (among them poor young Brackenbury), he withdrew his men to the former building.

The Manipur mencame swarming after them, and the Residency buildings, which were badly fitted for defence, were soon closely besieged.