The Press. — London, England, 1857-08-29 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 29,1857. to state the fact, anti to give the following as Sir C. Napier's reply : Simla, Nov. 5, 1850. I approve much your report on the state of defences in Kumaon, and though Jung Bahadoor has told my wife in London that he loves me more than any man living, still as lovers sometimes quarrel, I should like to be prepared' for him, and your suggestion shall be pressed on the attention of Government. _ _ What you say about the deficiency and freqnent change of officers with the reserve companies of artillery is but too true. I did intend, had I been able, to reform the whole system; but I am of uo use—no more power have than a lance corporal. I believe, however, I have succeeded in moving the head-quarters of your regiment into these provinces, either to lielhi or Meerut. Delhi is the station where I should desire to see European battalions cautoned ; but many say it is unhealthy. Men from all parts of Asia meet in Delhi, and some day or other much mischief will be hatched within those city walls, and no European troops at hind. We shall see. 1 have no confidence in the allegiance of your• high -caste mercenaries. I have seen a "sweeper " show more bravery in battle than a Brahmin and a high•named Mussulman. A high•easte man cannot be attached to a Christian Go vernment. But to return to the artillery. I think very highly of your officers generally, but especially of the young officers. When I have found fault I have invariably traced it to the " system," and I have vainly represented this. There are many errors of system which a commander. in-chief sees, but cannot change. The Governor General takes two•thirds of the power which a commander in-chief ought to exercise, and the military board take the rest ! I cannot change the character of this army, which is bad and faulty as regards system of discipline, and therefore resign. Many of the old officers of infantry have been habituated to a bad system, and get into a routine of neglect from which the devil himself would not drive them. Look at the nightly guards in the Bengal army—the sentries are alone, and all the rest go to bed I The whole Bombay army does not present such an anomaly, and it arises from the " system " being bad. Still there are several very excellent disciplinarians in the Bengal army—men who take a line for themselves. Look at Gilbert, at Wheeler,• at Huish, ani a score of others. fn the regiment of artillery J myself know at least a dozen first•rate officers. The Bengal army has no want of good officers, but it has want of ■ better system of discipline ; and as I cannot introduce one, coupled with other causes, I have resigned. Lord Ellenborough wisely abolished Lord Auckland's injudicious system of " politicals." Young officers com manding old ones, and war carried on without any plan ! A happy-go•lucky mode, which ended in Cabul, and the seine system revised by Lord ll— ; but pray understand that in condemning the system of the Bengal army I always as) this, that the artillery I believe to be, at this moment, the first in the world. With respect to the next intelligence from India, we may state that a man of war steamer is lying at Alexandria in order to convey at once to Cagliari any despatch which may arrive at Suez. It is said that a plan has been submitted to the Board of Control and the India•house kr establishing a postal com munication with India via Asiatic Turkey. It is cal culated that by making arrangements with the Arab chiefs a mail could be brought to Constantii:ople in al,ont fourteen days, whence its principal contents could instantly be despatched in a telegraphic message to London by the British Ambassador. As intellig?nce from India cannot at present reach England in less than from twenty-six to twenty eight days, about ten days or a fortnight would thus be saved. The assumption is that from Kurrachee to Bussorah, at the head of the Per-ian Gulf, the time orcupied by steamer would be four days, and that thence the mail could be transmitted by the Arabs to Seleucia, on the Mediterranean, in four days, from which port it would be carried by steamer to Con stantinople in five days. Another route, which would probably take a day longer, would be from Bussorah to Beyrout, and thence to Constantinople ; and a third plan is open—namely, an uninterrupted land despatch from Bussorah to Constantinople. Accord mg to some authorities the latter would be the quickest, and might be accomplished so that, in cluding the steam transit from Kurrachee to Bus sorah, the entire route should be traversed in twelve days. This possibility, however, is questioned, although iti confirmation of it the fact is quoted that the news of the fall of Acre was brought by an Englishman from Constantinople to Bagdad in six days. The new commander at Delhi, Major• General Thomas Reed, C. 8., who succeeded to the command of the troops before Delhi on the death of General Barnard, is an otrwer of experience, and has seen much service. Be entered the army in 1813, and was present at the battle of Waterloo. Since he has commanded a division of the Bengal army he has participated in several important engagements. In 184 d Major• General Reed commanded a brigade of • Tao pilaw getteral lately 41 at Cawnpore. not evacuating it in time (which has led the whole of the East to believe in our defeat up to this hour)—so much for our denuding India of European troops—so much for our neglect of Persia, and allowing the iwrigues of Russia to prevail—promising Persia the support of 10,000 men if necessary in her progress through Herat to India—so mach for our Affghan neighbours, who are now draining our Indian treasuries. Haw lung is India to be impoverished by feeding these lawless banditti, and fur what ? To massacre us all some day, while they are in league with Persia, while they have decoyed a deputation ( a delusion again) into their country, they have spread the seeds of revolt (massacre, slaughter) throughout our Indian army. The retreat from Baz.irgon added force to the general impression. The Persian account of that affair depicted the English army as totally defeated; and even to the English it appeared as an untoward event. The dethronement of the King of (Jude was regarded as a want of faith, and 300;0 sepoys, nati , •es of that territory, rejoiced at the occupation of Herat and the advance of the Persians, and the co-opera tion of the Atfghans. lodia, now denuded of European troops, they saw would be an easy victory ; they only wanted a pretext to rise—they each were afraid to commence. At this time the flashes of the coming storm were discernible in the distance ; yet no precautions were taken to secure the vessel of the State, and ward off the slaughter. The sepoya held secret meetings at Barrackpore —these were reported by a few faithful men, but no notice was taken of them. The Persian papers, &e., were filled with the most significant appeals, and a telegraph was despatched to every regiment and detachment to let them know that the doom of the English was drawing nigh; yet no precautions were taken ; thus telegraphs were allowed to speed from station to station, the carriers of the chepatee (a wheaten cake) could have been arrested, and the matter traced at once to the fountain head—it would have been traced to the nearest oorps and detachment—and the " murder would have been out ;" but nothing was done—all was lulled in a fatal security. The pretext, the occasion, at last came— any would have done—but the cartridge was the very thing —it was greasy certainly, and had some show of reason ( but the chepatee telegraph was speeding its way before this), and it was an innovation, it was the arm of defence too, the very thing the English required—we won't use it, we will give religion as the reason. The (lie was cast—yon know the rest—the Meerut outbreak. The mutiny could have been checked here in the bud ; but a doubly fatal security appears to have possessed the authorities. There was a large, overpowering force of Europeans; nor were the mutineers followed up and broken, but allowed to reach Delhi. No accounts have been given in palliation of the conduct of the authorities. The staff are as much to blatne as the general, and the officers cum• mending the European corps as much to blame as the general and staff; the senior of these should have taken the command and purseed the mutineers. What an op. portunity for a Clive ! What an halo of glory would he not have merited—what anguish, what tears, what tortures, what massacres, would he not have saved. But, as in the Black Sea, there was no Nelson to prevent a Sinope—at Meerut there was no Clive to save a massacre. The dis h aiding of the 19th and :31th it is invidious to criticise ; but this added to the flames. Had the mutineers been marched down to Calcutta, and put on board a few hulks nailer cover of ale guns, and kept there for transporta tion, the whole plot would have been discovered (laid bee) by some of them, i.e , promising to those who gave tto information pardon, dec., as the case might be. The Indians dread transportation more than death ; they glory In a death before their countrymen. India, July, 1837. A private letter from Point de Galle, in Ceylon, dated Jury 15, gives us some came of apprehension of an outbreak there : There is scarcely anything either to write or to think ab Jut (says the writer), except these terrible mutinies in Bengal. They are not yet put down ; and from the want partly of European troopi, and partly, I very much tear, of vigour and decision among the authorities, they are not likely to be put down for atone time. Wherever the officer iu command 11:01 been a man of boldness and vigour (and we only hear of throe such men, Wheeler, Sir H. Law rence, and Colonel Neile, of the Madras army), there the aepoys have been utterly routed and sent to the rightabout. Everywhere else they are masters; and the barbarities they have perpetrated are beyond everything you have ever heard of,—even of pirates, or of soldiers who have just taken a besieged town, having committed. That they will be put down there cannot be a doubt; but how such mul titudee of ruffians are to be punished will be the difficulty. There is no appearance of anything being wrong in Ceylon ; but the Europeans are not without their feelings of nil easiness. All the European troops, except abou'. three hundred, have been sent to Bengal. The Ceylon regi ment. more than LOIN) strong, is almost entirely Mahoine den, and there is a large resident population of Mussul mans, who may rise on us when we least expect it Although we do not expect it, yet people are uneasy ; and we are afield to take preeautions, such as organising a volunteer force, lest the appearance of suspicion bring forth the event that is dreaded. SIR. C. NAPIER AND THE BENGAL ARTILLERY. A " Lieut.-Colonel," formerly in command of the artillery in lininaon, bordering on the Nepaul frontier, and who in 1850 had occasion to repoit en the weak state of defences in our province, and at the same time invited the gererGl's attention to other matters oonnected with the efficiency of the regiment of artillery, writes to the Times this week the army of the Sutlej, end was wounded and had a horse killed under him at the battle of Feruzeshah. A medal was conferred upon him fur his bravery upon this occasion. DISTRIBUTION OF HER MAJESTY'S REGIMENT'S IN INDIA. THE following is extracted from the United Service Gazette. As regards the actual number of men in hand too much reliance must not be placed upon the estimate :- 6th Carabineers—Meerut. Prepared to move on Delhi. 9th Lancers—Delhi. 12th Lancers—Bangalore (Madras Presidency ). 14th Light Dragoons—Two squadrons at Aururgabad ( Nizarda territories). One squadron, forming part of a flying brigade, to assemble at Milligatrn (Candeish Deccan). Depot—Kirkee, near Poonab. sth Foot—Had arrived at Calcutta, and was to move up the Ganges towards Benares, Allahabad, and Cawnpore. Bth Foot.--Delhi. 10th Foot—Dinapore. 24th Foot—Panjanb. 27th Enniskillings—Punjaub. 29th Foot—Burmah. Ordered up to Calcutta. 32nd Foot—Lucknow. 85th Foot—Barrackpore, near Calcutta. 87th Foot—One wing at Benares; one wing at Cal cutta. 43rd Light lnfantry—Bangalore. 52nd Light Infantry —Punjaub. 53rd Foot—Calcutta. Odth Rifles—Delhi. 61st Foot—One wing at Ferozepore ; one wing at Delhi. 64th Foot—Depot, Belgaum (Bombay Presidency), 500 men at Allahabad. 70th Foot—Punjaub. 75th Foot—Delhi. 78th Highlanders—Depot, Poonah. One wing at lie. nares; one wing at Calcutta. 81st Foot—Lahore. 83rd Foot—Depot, Deesa. 500 men on the march from Deesa to overawe the Mewah territory. 84th Foot—Allahabad. 86th Foot—One wing at Poonah ; one wing with the 14th Light Dragoons, en route to Milligaum. 87th Royal Irish Fusiliers —Peahawur. The following is, we believe, a eon ea list of her Majesty's regiments on their way to India, or under orders to proceed thither : CAVALRY.—Ist,2nd, and 3rd Dragoon Guards; 7th Light Dragoons. I NFANTRY.—Ist hattalinn Royal Regiment 7th Fusiliers, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 34th, 38th, 42nd Royal Highlanders, 44th 54th, 56th, 3rd battalion 60th Royal Rift,* 66th, 72nd, 74th Highlanders, 79th Highlanders, 82nd, 88th, 91th Light Infantry, 93rd Highlanders, 97th, 2nd and 3rd battalions Rifle Brigade, with about 2,80(1 artillery. ENUMERATION OF FORCE IN INDIA. 8 regiments of Cavalry, at 640 IL and F. 5.120 R. and F. 46 batts. of Infantry, at say 100 „ 36,800 Royal Artillery . Royal Sappers and Miners 3 regiments from the Cape Total European force, exclusive of Corn• pang's regiments It has been determined that every regiment of infantry in India shall consist of 10 companies of 100 rank and file, and 2 depot companies of 101) rank and file each. The distribution of the establishment will be as follows, viz.:-10 companies in India-2 lieutenant colonels, 2 majors, 10 captains, 12 lieutenants, 8 ensigns, 7 staff, 57 sergeants, 21 drummers, 1,0(10 rank and file ; 2 depot companies-2 captains, 2 lieu tenants, 2 en ligns, 10 sergeants, 4 drummers, 20J rank and file. Total-2 lieutenant colonels, 2 majors, 12 captains, 11 lieutenants, 11) ensigns, 7 staff, 67 sergeants, 25 drummers, 1,200 rank and file. It may interest some of your readers to know the exact strength of the gallant little band with which Colonel Neile saved Benares. It appears from his report to Government that the force actua'ly present at the disarmament of the 37th Native Infantry was composed as follows : Guns. Officers. Privates. Artillery .. 3 .. 1 .. 30 Her Majesty's 10th Itegt. .. 3 150 Madras Fusiliers 0 .. 3 .. 80 Total .. .. 3 .. 7 .. 240 The casualties were— Artillery—wounded . • • . .. 1 gunner Her Majesty's 10th ReEitnent—killed .. '2 privates wounded 8 „ Total—killed, 2; wounded 9, It appears to me that when our soldiers perform such deeds too vest publicity cannot be given to tbem.—Times cor. THE ELEVENTH REPORT OF THE LUNACY COMMIS SIONERS discusses the question of the treatment of the lunatic poor, and protests against their being gelato workhouses instead of regular lunatic asylums. The statistical returns appended to the report show that on the Ist of January, 1857, there were 21,344 lunatics in durance (10,084 males and 11,200 females). Of these, 4,087 were in private asylums, 270 were found lunatic by inquisition, and 581 were criminals. The proportion of lunettes and idiots to the population has risen irom 1 to 8&7 (iu 102) to 1 in 701 in 4.07.