Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-11 00:00:00

In addition to all this, we must not depend upon
again, keeping possession of India by means of a
native army. The confidence heretofore reposed
in Sepoys, Sikhs, and Ghoorkas must be
for the future of the most limited cha-
racter. We must be in a position to
do without their services as soldiers upon
a moment's notice, and rely solely upon the
military resources of this country, for the sup-
pression of the mutiny, and the pacification of
the provinces which they have overspread with
savage brutalities and nefarious plunder. Under
such circumstances, it is not possible to estimate
the requisite strength of the European army in
India, for years to come, at less than one hun-
dred thousand men.
To meet this enormous demand for soldiers
Government is straining every nerve to raise the
required complement of men. The recruiting
sergeant is to be seen in every city, town, and
hamlet of the United Kingdom, the standard of
height has been reduced, the bounty raised, and
commissions offered to every gentleman who
shall procure a hundred recruits. Added to all
this, there is a partial embodiment of the
militia. This will meet the necessities of the
case for a time ; but the Government must not
rest satisfied that it will be all the means required
to allay the fears entertained by many, that India
may pass out of our hands, or that peace, law,
and order shall again reign undisturbed in the
disaffected provinces. At last we have imposed
upon us the imperative necessity of a new and
better organisation of the military resources of
Great Britain. The Crimean war taught us
valuable lessons upon this important subject,
and circumstances have occurred which compel
us to act upon the wholesome character of these
lessons. If England desires to maintain the
military prestige she enjoys, and remain mistress
of India, Australasia, the Cape of Good llope,
British North America, and other portions of the
globe, she must become a military country, and
her people accustomed and trained to the use of
arms.

The last few years' experience must convince
every one that we cannot go on as we have been
doing, and that every man in his turn shall act
the part of the soldier- For India alone, we
have imposed upon us the duty of manu-
facturing soldiers, to maintain in that empire an
army of 80,000 men. To attempt this, so as
to keep up the strength of the reserve, and effect
the constant changes so essential to health and
climate in India, by the old military process of
this country, is simple absurdity. And here we
are met by the enquiry—How and by what
means shall we attain the wants and require-
ments of the service ? \Ve see nothing else for
it but the adoption of a military system co-exten-
sive with the entire youth of the country. Our
metropolitan namesake, the Times, has been con-
vinced that the time has come for the adoption
of a universal, militia system, so that the military
aptitudes of our pDpuhtion shall be put under
• ,-,1• CULLA, c,
thereby giving us, on the shortest notice, a
standing army of properly educated and drilled
soldiers, amounting, at least, to half-a-million,
in round numbers. With this force, and a navy
corresponding, we could defy the world, and
dare the most gigantic combination of Sovereigns
to dispute our supremacy in any or in every
quarter of the globes

WE were among the earliest, if not the very
earliest, of the English Press, to recommend that
the Atlantic telegraph cable, which met with an
accident on the 11th cf August last, should be
employed to link England with India. The
Press has been unanimous in urging forward this
scheme, and forcing it on the attention of the
Government. A difference of opinion prevails
whether the route of the Euphrates Valley and
the Persian Gulf, or the Red Sea, should be
preferred. There is no difference as to the
supreme importance to us, at this juncture, of a
rapid communication with India. How many
tearful eyes and anxious hearts are at this
moment scanning over the heart-rending narra-
tives of Indian mutinies ? One list after another
of the killed, wounded, escaped, or massacred,
carries weeping lamentation and woe into many
a British home. To relieve the unutterable
anxiety of thousands, and to put Ministers in
prompt and rapid communication with British
authorities in India, a telegraphic chain would
be invaluable.

There is one great difficulty connected with
the route of the Euphrates Valley, and therefore
forming a strong objection to it—the difficulty of
protecting the rails and wires from injury by the
lawless wandering tribes of the vicinity. If this
course is taken, either Turkey or England
must find means to give the need-
ful security. Can Turkey do it ? She
says no. Shall England ? She must first
obtain the permission of the Sultan or the Shah.
It certainly would be embarrassing and tanta-
lising to rise some fine morning and find the
wires cut by some wanton, wandering vagabonds,
who, either in spite or in ignorance, had done
this stupid and wicked thing. We understand
that th e Indian mutineers have cut the electric
wires. and used the iron for ammunition. It
shov;s the straits to which the villains are
ree.lueed, But in laying down a railway or a
):ine of telegraph, we, of course, require reasona-

ble security that it shall be protected fre,m
injury. Now, the difficulty of doing this fcr the
lines of railway or of telegraph by the -route of
the Euphrates Valley and the Persian Gulf is so
great, that it may appear to countrabalance all