The Press. — London, England, 1853-10-29 00:00:00

OCTOBER 29,1853. Xittraturt. LAW!' WORDS OF Silt. C. NAPIER. Wert*. Ord and Military, of the Indian (:areal • suit. By Lieutenant• General Sir Charles James Napier, G.C.B. Edited by Lieuten ant-General Sir W. F. P. Napier, K.C.B. London: 'Westerton. THE title of this book indicates its contents. It is not a manual of Oriental war, such as no man could have better drawn up than Sir Charles Napier—not a pamphlet dealing with questions of the future, nor a consecutive history of the past—but an exposure of defects —a narrative of quarrel and controversy — a posthumous vindication of the author by himself, in which he deals round censure with a lavish hand, not sparing his late superior, Lord Dalhousie, and intermixing statements of facts with expressions of characteristic contempt for civilian authority. Whether it was well to publish such 11 book after the writer's death may be questioned ; for to reeri initiate on a dead opponent is impossible ; and thus those whom he attacks arc injured with out redress. But the blame of this rests not with Sir Charles Napier: he wrote intending to put forth his defence in his own lifetime; and thus, and notatt a posthumous memoir, it should be dealt with. It is no secret that the selection for supreme military command in Dcltl of the Seindian conqueror was a measure forced on the Di rectors by public opinion, not voluntaiily adopted them. Between the electors and their nominee there prevailed from the first an unfriendly feeling, which soon ripened into aversion. An attempt was made to exclude the new commander-in chief from a seat in the Supreme Council. This was met by a threat of resignation ; and the design was abandoned. But the quarrel thus early com menced was only one of many. The Company delighted to thwart the commander whom it. had been morally coerced into appointing. In anticipation of a protracted Punjaub war, to carry oft which a thorough knowledge of the rivers which intersected that country was required, Lieutenant Wood, the discoverer of the sources of the Oxus, was recommended by the general for an appointment. The no mination was cancelled by the East India Company, and this notwithstanding the re monstrances of the Duke of Wellington. Thus thwarted, and with no pleasing anticipations of the future before him, Sir Charles Napier left England (March, '411), and in IWty-three days from his departure assumed eommand of the armies of India. Arrived at Simla, says the general, my first interview with Lord Dalhousie tended to con. finn my suspicions that secret hostility was also at work in India. In ten minutes he told me in substance ' nay, the words were, " that in letters front Englitnd he had been warned against my endeavouring to encroach upon his power, anal had answered, he would hake damned good aura / should sd." This was said in a half•laughing manner, but the impression made by the letters was evident, although a little reflection might have convinced him that no 1111 l tanderin-thief could desire to increase his own labour by usurping the powers of the Governor linters]. It must of course be borne in mind that this is an crporte statement, and the statement of one somewhat unfortunately intolerant of contradiction or adverse judgment. It is, moreover, evident that the words here re peated must have been used rather in jest Vial% earnest ; fur no statesman—we might almost say no gentleman—would receive a newly-arrived colleague, against whom he had no ground of tittatiTel, and who was destined to share with him a grave responsibility, with expressions of needless and insulting defiance. Yet Lord Dalhousie's warmest admirers—and he has many such—have always ascribed to him an undue jealousy of power, and some thing of a despotic temperament. Be the facts as they may, two things are certain — first, that all persons acquainted with the cha racters of the two men thus brought into contact predicted a speedy collision; next, that such collision actually did occur. The occasion was furnished on this wise. On the annexation of the l'unj3tttb, the troops occupying that territory which had previvubly THE PRESS. been receiving extra pay. as 011144101 on foreign service. were reduced to the ordinary allowance of the Indian army within the frontier. Discontent ensued, annotating to smothered mutiny ; and it was uncertain how far this spirit might spread. In the l'unjattb matters were critical. The Sikh army was disbanded and broken. but not entshord. Its chiefs were living and free : the troops had mearcely had time (even were they so inclined to find pettetrable employ, and loitered idly about the country : a strong war party still existed among the natives : the remembrance of Chillittnwallaip wits as fresh as that of lion jerat. In this crisis, on the 'Vali of February, retuming from reshawur. intelligence reached the troll Ihr 44ith Nat n. likfaistry had retired the reduced pay, and openly mit Uni U .41! Thus t he smouldering insuborolinat is on sum ong twenty 4 • battalioons, which at Hawaii l'indee and Wuzieeraload had mooluced sparks, was here kindled tall.' The (tilt t were in 4 koovinslghttr.t hi strongest fortress ill the l'imjaub, close to I • noritzvr, the hole rite nt . t h e Sikhs. Thrre were HO EltrOpciins their illhecr, in the riacc, which the mutineers had attempted to twits% It WI Inua ha% e been It decisive blow ; 101' is t 1111117c1 er smut. • di a fely aro und it ktojoinmed the majority of t h e tinily, so recently fought with at t Wham% allah and (1. pojerilt—•lllell who had put u. bo MIMI , ill lit.. action. ! They were i m posed still to be tifty thousand strong, and known to be sullen, thirsting for vengeance, abiding events ! How was the hatress saved ? Lieutenant-Colonel Bradford, an excellent officer of the Bengal .Henry. returning to the old provinces, with the Ist Natite Cat 311'y. hild was on the liatildle of the itilth when their shout of mutiny arose. Seeing the danger he hastily rejoined his it..... and led Bain dismounted tosaards the gate ; whet-1.144m the guard, hearing the tramp of his approaching Insole., ran with great tuuwlt to dose the IllitlihtVe portals, say nig the cavalry should not cuter. 'Hair European officer remote strafed, was disregarded, and improperly abandoned his post to make a report. At that moment Captain Mel bonds], a man of a different character, arrived, and rushed sword in 11.110 ulsm the mutineers : they shrunk fnoni the sweep of his weapon, and he, grasping the almost closed gate, drew it hack just as Bradford came up with his Wen. 'flans the place With saved! Hoot the Stpoys classed the gate, their European officer% must have made a &operate effort to recover the romrtnaud anti been massacred; sir, seeing the futility of fowls an attempt, remained prisoners. news would have spread all over the great city of l'isiritzer with unbounded exaggerations; from thence through the life frict called Manga,nototionsly disall'veletl, and the first hie pulse of the disbanded Khalsa soldienk would have been to rise in anus! The Hoverter-General, little aware of what was passing, had gone on at sea voyage for health. The question to be decided won one purely military. The commander-in-chief ranked next to the supremo authority. Ile had to net on his own judgment—and he did so act. To have referred, even to Calcutta, and to have received a reply, would have been At matter of two mouths. Sir Charles. without hesitation, disbanded the mutinous regiment, and filled tip its place with an irregular Goorka force, who thus acquired the privileges and pay (long since promised them) of troops of the line. The object of this step was two fold : first, to control the insubordinate spirit already on several occasions displayed, by vigorous yet bloodless measurers ; secondly (and herein lay the peculiar tiniest( of the remedy to the disease), to strike at blow at the power of the high-caste ltnthmius, whose spiritual authority, resting on prestige of birth and sanctity, con flicted with that of the officers. Ilse of these men had gone so far as to say to his European superior, " If you disband us, you shall get no more recruits ; we, the lin& rains, will keep the Hindoos from enlisting." It became thus important to slues, practically, that, in the event of such refusal, their place could be filled by another race less atnenable to superstitious influences, and therefore retir e under discipline. Looking at the urgency of the danger—at the possible results of mutiny at that time and place—and at the success which followed Sir C. Napices experiment it seems impossible to deny hint the credit of having averted a great public peril by the ac ceptance of an unusual responsibility. let, for this act, and another of far less moment, essentially temporary in its chararter, he was severely reprimanded by Lord Dalhousie 1 . Making all allowance for the fact that the latter has not made public his side of the question, we cannot but concur in the general belief that personal dislike dictated at rebuke which, under the circumstances, was booth humiliating and unjust. With this brief no tice wu tau fruut thu ptrtoual part of Sir (15 Charles's work. which e►antains also. t.h►►ugh incidentally. and. M• th►► way. valuable. 'mg - gestions on many points ►►f civil and military _ policy. Indian officials. in whose eves the mainte mince of their limo - mai dignity by outward state and parade is a mom. voi nos. would do well to profit by the following remarks. We add only, that to our knowledge Sir Charles practised what he preached : often and often might a subaltern, passing through his camp, have seen the 4'011111101141e1 of 3011,000 men seated under a hill•tent which barely atiordeil space to stand upright, and eartying on his v a i b t correspondence, or making hip, simple meal, with nu other table than the lid of a cleat. In tsittlt, he saimet imes exaggerated. even ti' eyineism, the simplicity of living %%licit he atlected,—it filllll, yet sbn the right sitle, for tilts 11101'e notice Wits *lnflicted, mints+ those nho copied his soldier-like habits stopped short sal the point of exaggeration :-- Pairing toy military tour, the lomat si,t. tif 111111 l NUS 'I 111 according in 1'014.114'1 Itullion, lute 1 . 0111111issill".lit.1144111, Nils eighty .'r 'tinily eliThants. thivo or four hundred I'4llllOS. 111101 n.,niy ns I. ll thi s loi, will MI their tit 11.1141111114 ; lorgisles 11111' I IPA and thitty.two tent•piteliers, tiny inch t issiiloye s i t o carry glans doors for ills' 141%11 . 'Hiatt NHS by tile to thirty eleplinstiK, three I Iced mud thirt•lottr twit 111111111141 111141 Ittonh Is,. hill pitchers, realianig a poli tic sating of 7:11 1 i. o month while in camp. canvas 1011000% 111 S. Intl ilt•il.smary (Or it general and his htitti making it military tom% e‘ en auppoming thew wits troth ill t h e fit% 41111 lit' idea 14 Wier " old bediallit that pa amp.hues produce re.pect among the Indian pe o ple. hit there is no mith in thst. iodine 11141i\a. loughs at anti lune, the iiimilestee which tumidly accompanies the sat tititiions fallacy : Ind hints ore not caught with chair, though sonic IMAM iu India are! 'llea ir4ivet of the former is paid to our rtillobtry oiremyth ; in secret the) deride die itsit'lliNlinin si r telo p 4 ,, iw y sot h m ily. The real sovereign prince.; and high aristocracy of holies prowl of their lineage or self erested real power, hold the ephemeral grandeur of the Itritish in contempt and aver. ; hitt they respect our troops front fear—we heat them ! Wherefore. tieing I M44114'1'111101 IWO, I prince, I travelled as a !withal, NMI not It prince. '1•1 w Indians respect intuit also, ti gh they tlo not always speak it ; and I was to isible that it' their n.speet 1.01111( not be ebtainest without a lord mospar's pageant tt would not 1w Mt with I relied on a good horst. tinier use, a good sword by Illy side, all" pleitty 111 gond troops. Thew are what the Indians really venerate,twestams they know that India must be held as it was won. Of the state of the European soldiery. and the neglect of their eomforts, Rightful tale is told. In the (lolitis' barracks of Bombay, Sir Charles " walked through the mett's sleeping " rooms on planks laid in water covering the " floors." Bengal, he says, " the barracks " are very bad ; but more pernicious still is " the number Of men crammed into them." One Dllllll4llllll cubic feet per 1111111 is the Mini mum of space allowable ; yet this is seldom given. In many barraeks 4041 feet only were allowed. The result is that the saddlers rise at. night feverish, or In profuse pet-- spina' ,to sleep amt on the groom" amidst damp eshals• t lndian night air in the out I Its is ablogersims to all who asleep exposed; last to slat so when heated by an overcomileil is sleuth? grains' may eiwalw, air Merely hise !Width ; hut In escape is Mr the vile is Jodie! Aware. of this danger, vrterans endure, lying winks* and tniseriible till the down einnes, and a jilt it the blitzing Mill or 110118 11 Wretelivil sleepless night to prepare for a hurn• ing dray owl unhappy they go to their duties, seeknag by iinaba4 to sustain Isalv aid mind against slyer• whit g heoinails• tool hew s! irits, and thin artiAcial Plt• 411m , •+ then, tlaosigh the slay. Ititt again the night of lell , ery returns, the drain does its daily deadly work, soil liver and brats Iberian's. nada .(I, fever supet• veers, awl the 1 sinks under bodily auffetiug and leopelc-mictis 411 Want of air brings plisepupe--ilisease, drunken ness—drunkenness, death ! To remedy this mischief there is but one way. Since, under the pressure of ally emergency, it may Oa ays happen land probably will) that the space al lotted Ittaizpintally to each tilchlier, if large. will be trenched upon, the remissly is to give the area required in it t•ertical direction, whirl' etli.ctually prevents overcrowding. sinee the beds cannot be put one above the other. The example practically set by Sir Charles in this respect has been followed since his retirement. Another of his proposals is more objection. able. He recommends, and while in India at tempted, the messing tppgether of large hmlies sir troops, whereby they might be accustomed to stet in convert, and might by emulation en courage one another. Two obstacles to this iiyatem exiitt; either, in his own judgment,