24
stallions out of mares, the property of the various tribes which inhabit these
districts. Large numbers of mares, many of which have two or three strains
of English and Arab blood, are annually brought over the border, covered
by Government stallions, and taken back to their villages to foal, and it is
hardly necessary for me to point out that these horses cannot be classed as
either Cabulis, Khorásans or Turkomans, although many such are annually
bought and sold as Northerns. To those accustomed to the various classes
of horses to be met along the border, there is little difficulty in distinguishing
the country-breds from the foreigner, and every endeavour should be made
by purchasing officers to trace the various remounts bought with a view of
correctly classifying them in the regimental records. All officers are
unanimous in their opinion that the country-bred is par excellence the trooper
for Native Cavalry, but they complain that, when mature and fit to enter the
ranks, his price is often beyond them, and that 4-year olds are not obtainable
in sufficient numbers to supply their annual requirements. Taking these
facts into consideration the question now arises as to whether means could
not be adopted to rear a certain percentage of the number that are foaled in
this country annually. In this Presidency alone, and I have every reason to
believe throughout the greater portion of the horse-breeding districts of
India, a great number of well-bred young stock are sold by their owners
at ages varying from 4 to 7 months. A large percentage of stock sold under
these conditions, owing to a variety of causes, never reach maturity and
few find their way into the ranks of either British or Native Cavalry. If
accurate statistics of the stock sold under these conditions were obtainable, I
feel sure that the loss would be found to be very great, and it is with a
view of securing this material that I would advocate some system whereby
a certain number of young stock could be reared for Native Cavalry. I
realize that there are considerable difficulties in the way, but the experi-
ment could be tried on a small scale and in a suitable locality without any
great expenditure, and if successful, could be carried out to its entirety on
such lines that all Native Cavalry Regiments would be mounted on horses
which are acknowledged to be the best in India, and each regiment would
have a small reserve of the most mature of these horses to fall back upon in
the event of war. The present system has had a very long and patient trial
and cannot be said to fulfill all requirements, as the large number of Walers
and foreign horses in our ranks proves. As we cannot alter the conditions
of the country, or improve the position of the majority of men who breed
horses, or compel them to keep their stock until mature, it behoves us to
find some means of endeavouring to utilize material which at a certain age
exists in large numbers in this country, and which, when mature and in a fit
state to enter the service, is not forthcoming. The buying of Walers
for Native Cavalry seems a somewhat doubtful policy, and I think, if
the opinions of all Officers Commanding Native Cavalry Regiments were
obtained, that those in favour of the Waler would be in the minority. This is
another strong argument in favour of getting more value than we do at
present out of the country-bred, and adopting such means that the necessity
for going beyond the sea or over our own frontiers for Native Cavalry
remounts would be considerably lessened, if not in course of time entirely
done away with.
GENERAL REMARKS.
82. I would again call attention to the general remarks in my report for
1894-95, and would wish to bring to the notice of Government that the delay in
submitting this report is due to the fact that the greatest difficulty is experienced
by me in obtaining the necessary returns from district officers although they
were particularly asked to submit them by the end of April. The Shikárpur
returns were not received until the 9th June and are still incomplete, the result
of the coverings of " Royal Visit " not being given. The following dispensary
reports were received on the dates mentioned against them :—
Kaira (Itinerant)
Karáchi …
Jalgaon ...
...
...
…
…
…
...
…
…
...
25th May 1896.
30th
do.
6th June 1896,