The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-25 00:00:00

fidence in their officers that they are reedy to follow

thew anywhere, even to the cannon's mouth, against
these Seil:h warriors. It is a reinarkabl: eireutestanee

,hat the Sinde florae were forard not more than two ur
hreo years since, under Sir C. Napier, and I was not
:ware of it until I saw it in the reports of these actions,
,hat this budy of horse could be put in line to meet the
ormidabie cavalry of the Seilitis and Affghans. My
Lords, lam certain that this motion will heal.:,reed to

heartily, and that the unanimous vote of this House will
be most gratefully felt by the army that has fought
these actions, and which I concur with the Noble Lord

In thinking is highly deserving of your LQrdship3,' ap

probation:-(Loud cheers.)
The Duke of RICHMOND acquiesced to the fullest
extent in the vote of thanks proposed to the army in
India, and expressed the greatest pos:ible gratification at
the manner in which he bad heard their services spoken

)t by the Noble Marquis who proposed the motion, and
he Noble Lord who seconded it, as well as by the other

Noble Lords who took part in the debate: Mention
having been made of the 14th Light Dragoons, he
thought the period opportune for stating that he had
the honour of the acquaintance of one of the gallant,
officers, Colonel Cureton, who. when commanding that

regiment, fell in the action. It was his good fortune to
have known him for many years as u private soldier in

the Peninsular war, where, from being a non-cen3N
missioned officer of a troop, ho raised himself by his
zeal, intrepidity, and intelligence, to one of the highest
staff positions i❑ the Indian campaign. Colonel Have-
lock, too, who fell when gallantly making a charge, hzd
shed lustre on his name. He hoped the result of this

campaign would be, to prevent any future wars
occurring in India. The prestige of their military
exploits in that country would go far to achieve
so desirable an event; but he trusted that the Govern-
ment never iiould reduce the army in that country, so as
to prevent active operations if any emergency again
arose. Unless they had had at command the force to
move up from the out districts to Lord Groglt's head-
quarters, the war, in all probability, would not be finished
for many years to come. He hoped and trusted that
the war was at an end; but he felt satisfied that wher-
ever the British army was called on in the field of battle,
they would do their duty as before. They cared no•
thing for long marches or heavy fire, only give them
good officers to lead, take care that their discipline is
correct, and the British nation need fear not.

Lord HARDINGE was anxious on this occasion to
offer his hearty and most cordial gratulations to his Gal-
lant Friend Lord Gough and his companions of the Indian
army, for their glorious, successful, and triumphant issue
of the war, which he never for one moment doubted. The
result had been most complete, and Lord Gough, with
that liberality which so justly characterised all his acts,
stated in one of his dispatches that the artillery, by their
skilful employment, principally achieved the success,
with comparatively small loss of life. So effectively was
this force employed, that although opposed to the Seikh
artillery, which always fought bravely, it was only ne-
cessary for two or three infantry regiments to fire on
the enemy. The conduct of the Indian artillery was
highly creditable; and it certainly proved instrumental
in obtaining one of the greatest and most splendid vic-
tories in the Indian empire. Having described the
mode in which the artillery was brought into play, and
shown that although harnessed by elephants, it never,
in the slightest degree, impeded the advance of the in •
fantry—a novelty never before witnessed in India
—the Noble and Gallint General paid a marked tri-
bute to the conduct of Brigadier-General Campbell, Rho
commanded the artillery, and then went on to observe,
that the importance of this branch of our military
force in modern warfare, and its signal advantage
having been so clearly exemplified in India, he sincerely
trusted that neither the Committee then sitting in an-
other place to investigate the efficiency of the Ordnance
Department would recommend, nor the Government
would sanction so useful and important a section of their
military force to be diminished, or any reduction of that
noble arm to be made. He had heard with great plea-
sure and infinite satisfaction the allusions made to Major
Edwardes. He was a most sensible clever young man.
During a portion of the period that he (Lord Hardinge)
r erved her Majesty in India Major Edwardes was in
command of 11,000 or 12,000 men, and most cleverly
did he keep them together, displaying great tact, judg-
ment, prescience, and coolness. It was his wish to
notice the exertions of other officers—Blake, Pollard,

and Nicholson, who, in conjunction with Major Ed

wardes, had rendered such signal services in Chat me-
morable action. With respect to the part taken by the
14th Light Dragoon at the Jhelum, he felt bound to

state that frequent opportunities were afforded him
of testing their efficiency, and he believed they justly
enjoyed the highest reputation for dashing courage. On
the occasion of the engagement with the Seikhs on the
banks of the Jhelum, the 14th Light Dragoons were
placed in difficult and embarrassing circumstances, but
he felt satisfied that their well-earned reputation would
not be in the slightest degree damaged when they ex-
plained the circumstances under which they retreated.
Lord Gough, in one of his recent dispatches, stated that
the corps under Major-General Gilbert had orders to
impede the operations of the Seikhs and drive them be-
yond the Khyber pass. He had no doubt that they
would be able to do so, and he felt equally satisfied that
the last action had broken the neck of the insurrection.
One of the most remarkable circumstances connected
with that action was the junction between the Affghans
and the Seikhs, who were not only of different religions
and of races, but entertained towards each other the
most inveterate hatred. The present was the fourth time
Lord Gough had received the thanks of Parliament, as
Commander in-Chief of the British Army in India, and
he (I.ord Hardinge) could only say that when that
Noble and Gallant Officer bad the satisfaction of learn-
leg that his services were thus again recognised, he
would feel satisfied that by his last and most brilliant
victory he had rendered invaluable service to the British
empire.—(Cheers.)
The Earl of ELLENBOROUGH expressed entire
gratification at the unanimity of their Lordships'
,House
in voting thanks to the gallant men engaged in the
Indian war, and stated that it was with a good deal of
pleasure he had followed all the movements made by the
different bodies employed in that campaign, which was
not a campaign of ordinary duration or ordinary toil,
but had extended over nine months, during six or seven
months of which period a large portion of the army was
continually in the presence of the enemy, and frequently
under fire. He confessed it was most satisfactory that a
success so brilliant and decisive should have come to gild
the concluding services of his Gallant and Noble Friend
Lord Gough. It was not for him to say anything of the
ability displayed by the Noble Commander-in Chief, or
of those high military qualities which so eminently dis-
tinguished his career; but he could not avoid allusion to
the attention paid by him to the sick and wounded of the
army under his command, and to the great care which at
all times he manifested for the comfort and health of the
soldiers. It was most just to associate in the vote of
thanks Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General of India.
It was for the Commander-iu-Chief to direct operations
in the presence of the enemy, but it was for the Go-
vernor-General to prepare the means by which victory
was to be achieved, and to provide the force in the field
with all the munitions of war. That duty Lord Dal-
housie had most properly performed. After the expe-
rience they bad had he thought it would be absurd to
place trust in Seikh troops or Seikh treaties; and there-
fore they ought to have a considerable force in their In-
dian possessions. There was one consolation at least to
the members of the families of those who bad fallen in
tho recent actions, that the blood of their relatives had
not been shed in vain; and that they had fallen not only
for their own or their country's glory, but for the con-
solidation of the British empire in India. Having cone-
sellec7 the Government to prevent the re-construction
of the Seikh army in India, the Noble Lord concluded by
expressing his heartfelt approval of the vote of thauks.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE, in reference to the
observations made by the Duke of Wellington respect-
ing the omission of General Dundas'a name from the
vote of thanks, said that it was not usual to make
special mention of officers holding the military rank of
Colonel, in votes of thanks, and that was the only reason
why the gallant officer's conduct had not been signalised.
The motion was then put from' the Chair, and carried
unanimously.
Their Lordships adjourned at half-past Seven o'Clock.