Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-08 00:00:00

LORD MEVILLE ON THE INDIAN CRISIS

At a dinner in Dslkeith (Scotland, on Friday), in reply
to his health, Viscount Melva: said :—" With rea,ara to
the remarks of my right hon. friend concerning India, I
only wish I could say I entertain the hope that we had seen
the worst. lam afraid that beforetbe services of our army
are brought to a close its India we must prepare ourselves
for still worse calamities than we have already suffered arid,
I fear, for losses of a severe character; It is not only that
we have to provide an army for puffin down the rebellion,
but we have to accupy the country as well as have a force
engaged in moveable columns for the suppression of the
rebellion in different districts. This will require a large
force, and I am afraid such force as we have yet sent out
is not adequate to the service that h's to be performed'.
As almost every available. soldier that England can now
produce is on his way to that country, or is engaged in our
other psssessions, I teal that if England means to retain
all her foreign possessions, she must maintain a much
larg.r army than she has yet done. Ycu cannot maintain
these distant colonies without an edequate force not only
to occupy them, but to defend them if necessary. Ships and
soldiers you at this moment require with the most urgent
necessity, and I may take this opportunity of stating
to you that her Majesty's Government has again
thought it necessary to call for men to recruit the service,
and a memorandum has just been issued by which his
Royal Highness the Commander-ic-Chief offers a commis-
sion to any gentleman anxious to enter the army who can
raise 100 men. These gentlemen must be examined as to
their fitness and qnalificatim for the service, and must
state the district in which they propose to rajas the men ;
and I think the age is limited to from la to 23. During
the Crimean war, when the militia was ensbodiel, a large
body of men was raised by this means, and I hope that
now, seeing what the emergency is, the loyalty and
patriotism of the country will stir up young men to
come forth and rally round the standard of Great Britain,
to recover that country to England which this rebel.ion
has placed in peril—l will not say taken from us, for
I cannot but believe that the supremacy of England
will be reestablished, and her dominion restored, and
that country become once more the bright grin in
the Briti-h Crown which it has hitherto been." (Laud
cheers.) At, a later hour in the evening be made the
following remarks, I am quite unable to tell you the reason
why different systems should prevail in different presiden-
cies. That has, unfortunately, bean allowed to be the
case, and as we see in Bengal with what 'disastrous
results. A thorough investigation into the causes of
this uprortunete .notiliay will necessarily take place in
the next session of Parliament, and of course a very
serious euguiry will be instituted as to the proper mode
of re-organizing that army. We cannot retain our dominion
in India without a native army. Europeans cannot do the
duty which he native troops are called on to perform:; the
climate will not admit of it. But how we can re-organize
that army so as to trust the natives, after what has occurred
is more than at this moment I can possibly venture to
suggest. Meanwhile, a very large European force wilt
necessarily have to be maintained, and many duties
hitherto performed by natives must be performed by them
—though, I am afraid, at a great sacrifice of life ; but that
is unavoi.!ableif we mean to maintain our ss premacy in India.
Lo d Melville concluded by expressing his regret that be
had left India before his young kinsman, a younger brother
of Mr. Dundas, now before Delhi, arrived out. las had,
however, pride and sattsfac ion in knowing from officers
his regiment (the 61th) how able au officer and bow
attentive to his duties he was, and he only regretted that
his wound in the leg should for the: time prevent him from
being celer' as well as r auclax,' and thus fulfilling the
motto ou his regimental colours."