The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-02 00:00:00

THE INDIAN ARMY.
The discussions which have of late occurred on dui
merits of a peace or war policy for India have cause/
more than ordinary attention to be bestowed on the state
of the armies of India, as to their strength, efficiency;
and expense, compared to that in which they formery -
existed, and to the condition of the Exchequer. Erma
these it appears that within the last 10 years we have
added about 20,000,0001., or about ono-fourth, to our
debt, and been living regularly at the rate of 750,0001:
to 2,000,000/. sterling above our income,—no fear`
exhibiting a balance less unfavourable than the smaller
of those just named. Our gross annual income
is believed at present to be about 25,000,0001. '
The total amount of our military charges exceedi
14,000,0001. a year. The armies of India, exclusive of
Queen's troops, mustered 168,477 just before the Affghan
war began: they went on increasing at the rate of about
10,000 a year, till in 1844 they mustered 250,030
81,553 men, and nearly 700Europeen officers, being added
to its strength. From this date to the time when the
recent reductions began, 25,000 more had been added to •
their ranks—making a total addition of about; 110)°013
men, or something above the entire Royal army of LIZ'
land. Including Queen's troops we had on our muster roll,
on the Ist of January, 1847, considerably above 300,000
men. The Bombay army alone has betwixt the dates we
mention been augmented by above 40,000 men. Of the
total augmentation, 24,000, maintained at the cost of
above 1,000,0000/. sterling annually, have been specially
raised for service in Sinde-18,000 continue up to the
present moment to be quartered in that country=-
24,000 were required for it nearly the whole of
the present year. The total reduction at present
proposed to be effected falls: somewhat under 40,000
of all arms, leaving on the muster roll above 70,M
men, in the highest state of efficiency, more thia.l
we could boast of from 1831 to 1838, when we
had the vast armies of Sinde, Gwalior, and the Pune
jaub—all since extinguished—to watch. So utterly '
senseless is the clamour at home in reference to the tin& •
wise diminution of our defence, that at no time in one
history was our army ever so strong, or so little likely
to be called on to take the field, as in the beginning of
1847. The want of European officers is being retnedied
in the only way. within the power of the Compnny; "
now so greatly in debt. The native regiments have
been reduced in Sepoys by a fifth, and have, of
course, in proportion to the number of native soldiers on
the muster roll, become by this much stronger in
European officers, an extra captain having been lately
added, and, as already stated, some seven hundred
officers in all since 1837. The reasonable part laf
it is, the vast majority of the army is well satisfied
with all this; did they entertain the views ascribed to
them by their professed advocates and admirers, they
would indeed deserve more than the censures their
severest critics have bestowed on them. Nearly evetY
one of the statements just made may be verified by
official documents within the last three months laid
entire before our readers. The British army in India
at present could cope with any force in the world "
in courage, discipline, or strength, without more aid
from England than is usually accorded. The only -
grounds it has for apprehension of severity or
injustice are those which arise from new and expert.. '
sive wars crippling the treasury to an extent which
might compel reduction, even were this accompanied by
the abandonment of those of our territories the revenues
of which are unable to meet the charges they occasion
us. This rests with Cannon-row, not Leadenhall-street.
The Court of Directors would give us peace and plenty,
would her Majesty's Ministers but allow them.—Bombay
Times. •

THE LATE VISCOUNT A SHBROOK.—The will of;
the Right Hon. Henry Jeffry, Lord Viscount Ashbrook, •
of Castle Durrow, Kilkenny, and of Old Windsor, Berks,
has just been proved in London by his son, Viscount Ash-
brook, his son-in-law, Wm. Wilson Campbell, Esq.,
Major-Gen. James Claud Bourchier, and Edward White,
Esq , the executors. The personal estate in this country
was valued at 35,0001. He executed his will in 1842,
and there are four codicils, the last dated June 6, 1846. •
All his unsettled estates he has directed to be sold, in&
eluding his mansion-house, called Beaumont Lodge, once
the iesidence of Warren Hastings; the land in the
parish of Egham, purchased from the Crown, with the
other freeholds in Egham and Thorpe, and all
other his estates in the counties of Surrey and
Berks, together with the manors, towns, castles, and
estates in Ireland, the trustees first offering the same to
the tenant for life or in tail of the Castle Durrow estate:-
the produce arising from the sale of these estates, and.
the conversion of all real and personal property to
be held in trust, one moiety for his daughter, Mrs.,
Campbell, and her husband, and then to the children
of her first marriage ; the other moiety to hiB
son-in-law, Mr. Every, and the children (except the.
eldest son) of his late wife, his Lordship's claugh-.
ter. His daughter, the Duchess of Northampton, takes
no interest under the will, having received 15,0001.
under the marriage settlement. There are a few pecu-
niary bequests, and to each of his executors 2001.; the
plate, pictures, and furniture to the Viscount; the dia•
in,,nds his Lordship had previously divided among two
of his daughters. His Lordship's death was very sudden,
on the 4th of May last, then in his seventy-first year.
The title was conferred on the first Viscount in the.
reign of George 11., 1751.
'flu CROPS IN AMERICA.—We have made it our
business to read, carefully, the accounts of the growing
crops throughout the country, since the opening of
spring, and we have arrived at the conclusion that the
prospect of the husbandman of reaping a plentiful,
harvest is decidedly good. To be sure, the lateness
and cola n Asa of th a season and the hail-storms,
have in some places destroyed the young cotton ,
and tobacco plants, but the ground which these occu-
pied has been generally replanted with corn, or
something else equally as good for the sustenance of.
man. In the west and south west, the prospect of
an abundant yield was never better, and if the wea-
ther be propitious that prolific part of the country
will give an unlimited yield. The immense drain
upon this country for food for the past year, and the
prospective demand for the surplus of this year's
harvest, stimulated many of our citizens, who never
made two blades grow where but one grew, to
leave their regular business and embark in agricul-
ture. This, with the fact that our farmers have
planted on a larger scale than they ever did, will give
the world an insight into the immense agricultural re-
sources of the United States. We shall still continue
to watch the progress of the crops, and record from .
day to day their advance to maturity. It is the most
important and interesting intelligence that we can pre-
sent to our readers.—New York Herald, June 1.