16
99. Bombay shows 465 remounts purchased against 304 last year. The
places from which they were bought, are as follows:—
Ahmednagar
Poona ...
Bombay ...
Deesa ...
Idar ...
Ahmedabad
Kathiawar
Karachi ...
Hyderabad
Naushahro
Talhar ...
Umarkot...
Jacobabad
Quetta ...
Sibi ...
Rewari ...
Amritsar...
Shahpur ...
Lahore ...
Dera Ghazi Khan
Jellalabad
Not reported
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
TOTAL
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
6
15
5
2
1
1
10
13
13
7
17
22
87
143
10
18
60
7
6
8
10
4
465
By the above it will be seen that of the 465 purchased, 159 were bought in
Sind, 153 in Baluchistan, and 109 in the Punjab.
100. The Deccan has provided but few remounts; even in the young stock
purchased for the Ahmednagar Depôt we find that:—
Deccan produced...
Native States ......
Sind .....................
TOTAL
12
10
8
30
Collection of
remounts at
convenient
centres for
purchase by
Native Cavalry.
101. Major Balfour, the Senior Military Member of the Punjab Judging
Committee, in a report submitted by him at the conclusion of his tour, states :—
It seems the exception rather than the rule to find Native Cavalry Remount Officers at Shows. I find several
Native Cavalry Regiments purchasing yearlings. At present the dealers seem to have the field to themselves, both at
Shows and in the districts; a few regiments are dealing in districts direct, a few attend Shows, but the bulk of the
remounts seem to come from the dealers. The Civil Veterinary Department and the Remount Officer should work
together.
He further recommends :—
That a closer relationship be established between Regiments of Native Cavalry and breeding districts, by the
former sending parties through the latter.
102. I fully agree with Major Balfour in the above remarks, as I feel that
year by year the Native Cavalry are drifting more and more into the dealers'
hands. I am, however, pleased to see his remarks with reference to Native Cavalry
purchasing yearlings, as the more they are able to buy and rear, the better will
they be mounted, but I fear that the purchase of remounts in the districts must be
left to the enterprise of the different regiments, for the collection of remounts at
convenient centres has hitherto proved a failure.
103. It was again attempted in the Dera Ghazi Khan district, and the
Deputy Commissioner did his utmost to make the experiment a success. The 2nd
and 5th Punjab Cavalry agreed to send Officers, but owing to disturbances on the
Frontier the 2nd were not able to do so. The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary
Department, attended the various centres at which horses were to be collected, of
which 5 were selected in the district. The Officer, 5th Punjab Cavalry, who
attended, reports as follows :—
At Jampore there were no horses at all collected suitable for remount purposes.
At Harrand I saw five or six horses (geldings) averaging 2½ years and about 14-1½ in height. These were
however too young. Also I saw one horse, 3 years old, by Sinbad the Sailor,' which was 14-2 in height, but the
owner would not part with him for less than Rs. 400, which money he was not worth.