The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-12 00:00:00

JANUARY 12, 1858

THE COLONIES AND INDIA.

LORD ELPHINSTONE'S ACCOUNT OF
INDIA IN JUNE, 1857.

To the Officer administering the Government of

the Maur.tiu®.

Honourable Sir,—We have the honour to enclose
for your information copy of a despatch addressed
us to his Excellency the Governor and Com-
mander-in-Chief at the Cape of Good Hope.
The accompanying summaries of Indian news,
prepared for circulation in Eng and, will put you
in possession of the principal facts connected with
the alarming crisis through which our Indian Em-
pire is now passing.
Should you be able to spare a regiment from the
force at the Mauritius, a,service of the very greatest
importance would be performed if that regiment
were immediately placed on board the Pottiuger,
and despatched to Bombay.
In the event of your being able to place a regi-
ment at the disposal of the Government of Bom-
bay, we shall esteem it an additional favour if you
would assist Captain Jenkins, of the Indian Navy,
Cie officer who is the bearer of this letter, in pro-
ceeding to the Cape with as little delay as may be
practicable, in order that he may prefer an applica-
tion to the Government of that colony for the de-
spatch of troops to Calcutta.—We have, &c.,
(Signed) ELPHINSTONE.
J. R LUMSDEN.
A. MALET.
Bombay Castle, June 29, 1857.

To his Excellency Sir GeO Grey, K.C. 8., Governor
and Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope.
On the 10th May a mutiny broke out among the
native troops of the Bengal aimy at Meerut, au ina-
por.ant station under the Government of the
North-Western Provinces of India. Several Euro-
peans were inur lered. Tile mutiny immedi4tely
extended to alhi, where the lives nt many officers,
civil anti military, and of several ladies, were sacri-
ficed. The mutineers, on gaining possession of the
city of Delhi, proclaimed a member of the old im-
petial family as king, and called on their country-
men to co-operate in the annihilation of British
power in India.
Tll.e evil example exhibited at Meerut and Delhi
has been followed throughout the whole of North-
ern India. From Calcutta to the Punjab there is
hardly a station in which mutiny has n. t broken
out, or in which it has not been found necessary to
disarm the native troops. At several stations many
officers and other European inhabitants have been
murdered by the mutineers.
The armies of Madras and Bombay have, up to
the present time, remained firm in their allegiance.
Tee accompanying copies of summaries of Indian
news prepared for mrculatiou iu Englund will place
your Excellency in. possession of the prit.cipal events
in this extraordinary movement, the most momen-
tous in the annals of our Indian empire. Tile os-
tensible cause of the mutiny, your Excellency will
observe, was the introduction of the new cartridges
for the Eufield rifles, which, as being pre' aced in
some degree with tallow, were regarded as offen-
sive to the religious feelings of the eative troops.
A sentiment through the exertions of evil agents
appears to have been engendered that the intio-
duction.of these cartridges was designed as an in-
sult to ttbe Hindoo and Mahometan religions, and
as the -first indication of a policy having for its
object the destruction of these religions. It would
be out of place now t speculate how far other
motives have conduced to the mutinous spirit so
widely and so violently exhibited. It will be suf-
ficient to r. gard the actual facts alone, and to state
that British ascendancy in India has never received
so serious a menace.
Your Excerency will immed;ately understand,
with nearly the whole of the Bengal army either in
open mutiny or disarmed in order to prevent them
from mutinying, the presence of strong reinforce-
ments of European troops is an absolute necessity.
The government of Bombay has reason to feel a
just confidence in the fidelity of its native army ;
it has stud firm, and we believe it will continue to
stand firm, but it is recruited in a great part from
the same provinces as the Bengal army, and with
the evil example of that army before them it would
be of very doubtful policy to trust implicitly to
troops surrounded by such temptations to revolt as
they are unquestionably exposed to. This govern-
ment, out of the eight European regiments which
garrison its stations, inclusive of those in Seinde
and of Aden, has in the present emergency des-
patched four regiments to Bengal and the Punjab,
and the greater part of another to places subordi-
nate to the government of the North-Western Pro-
vinces. It has still received urgent calls for fur-
ther aid, and it has to watch events in the adjoin-
ing territory of his highness the Nizarn, among
whose troops a mutinous spirit has already dis-
played itself. If this spirit seould become general
in the Nizam's territory, the whole eastern frontier
of this pre-idency would require to be protected
against any sudden inroad.
In these conjectures it has occurred to us that
your Excellency might be might be able, consistently
with proper regard to the interests committed to
your charge, to spare at least one of her Majesty's
regiments now stationed at the Cape for duty in
this presidency. This would be an important ac-
cession of strength, while, if a larger reinforcement
can be afforded us, it might enable this government
to render further assistance to the govern ment of
the North-Western Provinces, and a feeling of con-
fidence would be inspired that the British govetrhii;
meut was bringing all its resources to btearouornEx.
present crisis. In the earnest hopelthh
this request
cellency may be able to compl
of
one regiment of
to the extent at the very least
infantry, the steamer rottinger has been des etched
and the steamer Chusan will follow
for its convey-
ancep to Bombay.
which is
much needed) for the relief of India, and that you
ttohadteyspouatrchExatceltlheinsccyrisnlisaya
havWeeil wyeovuerr,pohwoepre
much larger force (comprising artillery,
will be able to find tonnage, and possibly steam
tonnage, at the Cape. We have already had the
honour of pointing out to your Excellency that
the
proportion of European troops in this presi •
dency is
less by one-half than its usual
amount in
times
of
perfect tranquillity. Were four regiments of in-
fantry and three compa • nies of artillery sent to
Bombay, our ordinary peace establishment would
only be completed.
Looking, howev t
er, o the more pressingexigencies
of other parts of the empire, and being aware that
for the next four or five months the Ganges is the
line by which troops can best be conveyed to the
chief seats of the revolt, we would .only ask your
Excellency to send two regiments of infantry to
Bombay ; any other troops, whether infantry or
artillery, which can be spared the Cape colony, we
think should be despatched to Calcutta.
We have no hesitation in essuringyour Excellency
that whatever amount of aid you aKe in a position
afford will be most gratefully aoknoledged by the
Hon. Court of Directors and by the Government of
India.
In explanation of the fact of this application being
addressed to your Excellency by this Government,
we beg to state that the telegrapbic communica-
tions are all interrupted, and communication by
post is uncertain, and much valuable time would

of the country who will now in his turn abandon therefore be lost in awaiting the result of a refer
his bed to sleep for the night in the guard-house, once to the Government of India.—We have, Arc.,
and to walk his beat as sentry, who will not think (Signed) ELPHINSTOIM
that he has made some sacrifice for her Majesty's J. R. LIIMSDEN.
honour, and for the safety of even a distant part of A. MALET.
her empire, and who will not henceforth regard any
persons who assail the interests of the Queen, or
her possessions, very much in the light of personal
antagonists. In fact, all here now feel that they
are useful members of a great body cerporate, in
which they have that personal interest which arises
from having made some sacrifices to promote the
common good of the whole. Such a feeling per-
vading the empire must immeasurably increase its 1,
strength, unity, and stability ; I trust, therefore,
that her Majesty's government will, upon every
ground, bear me out in what I have done.
It will be necessary that her Majesty's govern-
ment should, if they approve of the arrangements
I have made, procure the sanction of her Majesty's
advisers for the responsibility I have incurred in
directing that the troops intended for China should
be sent direct to Calcutta.
That they should also obtain the sanction of the
Lords of the Admiralty for my having sent her Ma-
jesty's steamer Penelope with troops to Calcutta,
thus taking her from this stetion, and delaying her
return to England, which has been ordered. I have
done this in the absence of the admi,al, Sir Fred.
Grey, who is at present on the west coast, the loss
of whose advice and assistance at such a moment
has been very unfortunate for me.
The sanction of the Secretary for War must also
be obtained to my having sent the 89th Regiment
to Bombay, instead of New Zealand, and to my
detaching the 95th Regiment from this command,
as well as any other regiment which I may send on
to Bengal, as also to the fact of my having sent the
above-stated detachment of Royal Artillery to the
Bengal presidency.
I shall not fail to keep you fully informed of any
other steps which it may be in my power to take to
aid the Government of India in the present
emergency, and I have now enclosed copies of all
communications which have been by my directions
addres.ed to the Governments of Bengal and Bom-
bay, and the several naval and military authorities.
I beg to bring particularly to notice the assistance
which I have received from Captain Sir William
Wiseman, Bart., R.N., the senior naval officer
here, and from Colonel Ferryman, of the 89th Re-
giment, in carrying out with the greatest prompti-
tude the various arrangements detailed in this
despatch.

Bombay Castle, June 29, 1857.

- _ - -
THE FUTURE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.

(From ne Times.)
In all great diPcussions upon the affairs of India
the main argument against the institution of a
simple form of government for that country has
been sought and found in the dangerous amount of
patronage with which a direct administration of so
vast a dependency would invest the Crown and its
servant.. In connection, too, with this line of
reasoning lies another consideration—that of the
course which this patronage has hitherto taken, and
the channels into which it might be diverted. Up
to the pre eut time it may certainly be said that
India has been the field of the middle classes
especially, and that the service of the Company
provided this section of society with opportunities
which few hut aristocratic families could find in the
service of the Crown. In England the chief offices
of administration and the principal posts in the army
fell mainly to the favourites of birth or fortune. In
India either the civil or military profess.on might
be pursued with encouraging prospects of success,
apart from any hereditary advantage 4. Promotion
at home depended very materially on rank and
wealth, whereas in the East it appe 4red attainable
by merit apne. If, then, the Government of India
is to be so far assimilated to that of our other depen-
dencies as to bring the patronage it involves under
the control of the,Administration at home, what
is to become of this field, which the middle classes

have so I,ng enjoyed, and in which, it may be
honestly added, they have always displayed virtues
and energies of the true popular4tamp 7 The im-
portance of this question is beyontl a doubt, but its
difficulties, we hope, will not be ,insurmountable.
We do not believe that a mere modification in
the directing or controllinnßiver could ever mate-
rially affect the machinery by which India would
be ultimately governed. The Indian service has
acquired a character more from its own inci-
dents than from the position of the patrons who
dispensed its places. Compared with other
vices, it involved long expatriation, separation from
all home connections, and exposure to a climate
which had really some inconveniences, and was
credited with more. It is true that to a certain

extent these conditions prevailed in other colonies
also, but in our smaller dependencies the more im-
mediate and personal identification of every Euro-
pean with the governing body furnished a little
solace, besides which the duty was only taken for a
short period, the distance from home was not
great, and return comparatively easy. How com-
pletely, indeed, the position of an officer in India
was determined by the character of the service itsel
may be seen i❑ the transformation which a Queen'
Regiment usually underwent when ordered out to
that country. A battalion destined for an Indian
station was no longer consideted by aristocratic
triflers as offering an eligible resort, and after a year
or two of exchanges and retirements its officers
would probably represent much the same class as
those of a native regiment. A titled idler would
shirk not merely the Indian service, but service in
India, under whatever masters ; and the field was
left open to less fortunate competitors, not because
a commercial council kept the keys of the preserve,
but because its attractions were not strong enough
f,r those who had the privilege of choice. It is
obvious that these conditions must survive any con-
stitu• ional changes at home, and that they will
remain in full force whether the Government of
India is double or single.
Another question, however, of especial perti-
nence remains to be asked. What is this Indian
patronage, on which arguments are so anxiously
raised. It consisted in times past of a certain
number of appointments in the Civil Service, and
of a certain number of commissions in the armies
of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. But the first
appointments in the Civil Service of India are
thrown open to competition, and may therefore
be put out of the question, as removed from the
reach of any patrons whatever, and the power
of promt,tion will, of course, rest with the local
G tvetnment.t. As to the =lit try services the
Army of Bengal, which about equalled in magni-
tude those of the other two Presidencies together,
has ceased to exist, our last telegram having just
announced its final annihilation by the mutiny of
the only two regiments hitherto preserving a nomi-
nal allegiance. Of the Army of Bombay a portion
has succumbed to the epidemic of treason, the
Madras army alone having remained generally
faithful. The deductions, therefore, already made

ft orn the aggregate of divisible patronage are enor-
moos, and this bugbear of former times appears
reduced to proportions of comparative insignifi-
cance. Tra-, native regiments must be levied again
and provided again with officers ; but now that the
purely auxiliary functions of such corps are tho-
ronehly understood there is no fear of any revival
of a " Bengal Army."
It is not altogether correct to regard the Indian
service as a purely popular service. It was un-
doubtedly popular in this sense—that it a as mainly
filled from the ranks of the people as dis'inguish-
able from the circles of the aristocracy, but it was
not a service freely open to all corners. It was just
as close, after its own fashion, as the Queen's ser-
vice. The au, hori ties of Leadenhall-street dispensed
their favours exactly like the authorities of the
Horse Guards. Interest was required in one case
precisely as in the other. On both sides it was
patronage, pure and simple, the only difference
being that each set of patrons was connected with
its particular set of clients, and that the dealings
of the Directors lay pith the middle classes more
especially. There was this great advantage in the
Indian service—that it was a genuine profession ;
fairly remunerated, so that a man might live by his
work, and administered on principles which offered
a plain recompense for exertion and merit. These
were the features which made it really a middle
class service, and commended it naturally to those
who had neither opulence nor nobility to rely upon
in default of energy and application. When the
career had been once entered the distinctions were
striking enough, but, as far as concerned a first
introduction, a la 4 without interest or connection
had not a whit more chance of obtaining a nomi-
nation to Haileybury or a CJrnetcy in the Bengal
Cavalry than of getting a clerkship in the Treasury
or a commis'ion in the Grenadier Guards.
The most desirable object in the impending re-
forms would be to popularize both services together,
hut, as far as service in India goes, there is no reason
to suppose, whatever may be the c mstitution or
administration of the Indian Army, that it will be
sought by any other class of men than those whom
its conditions have hitherto naturally a'tracted.
The sphere will al ways be T emote, the duty in many
respects arduous, and the obligations considerable.
A. man selecting India as the eld of his career must
labour at Indian languages, endure an Indian
climate, and accept an Indian exile, whatever may
be the form or denomination taken by the Govern-
ment under which he serves. These conditions are
no more likely than formerly to prove agreeable to
youtig gentlemen with pockets full of money or
pedigrees full of coronets. VYhat distinguished the
Queen's Army from the Company's Army was not
merely the source of patronag., but the scene of
duty, the principle of promotion, and the rate of
pay. Of these incidents the first must remain un-
changeable, and the last two unlikely to be c nged,
acna
rrnoiiSctsh eitul:itckehhhreal
has left
te
of t
pass
u s with
inttho
little
option hands,
of a reality to be looked upon
according r d
sameing
asal before.po b a b 1
Indiancal cu-
slsaeotrivtohincaest,
itshwteoouroel
muchdsulbt;
as a pastime, and tasks the labourer too severely to
withold his hire. These conditions, however, of
fair work and fair wage are exactly such at will
always suit a middle class, and not suit au
considerations convey a satisfaetory assur-
ance general administrationa sbtuntontfhurelnrndneionaersenits
of proceeding. It is superfluous to inquire who
shall give commissions in the Bengal Army, for
the Bengal army exists no longer. Nobody doubts
that its 74 Regiments furnished occupation for
some 1,500 good officers drawn from the middle
class of the British population ; but, as its men
have deserted in a body, after doing their best
to murder these officers and their families, the in-
terests of the middle classes themselves may well
be appealed to against the restoration of so destruc-
tive a machine. The question has been decided
altogether irrespectively of patronage. The power
of the sword in India must no longer be committed
to fanatical Hindoos. This principle is proved to
be a condition not of this or that system of policy,
but of any Government whatever. We must hold
India by our strength and by the good affection of
the people, not by-the sufferance of the Sepoy
army. The change may involve an abolition or a
transfer of patronage, but it is one which, with the
alternative before us, cannot be refused.

[ADTERTIBEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Ointment and Pills
unequalled for the Cure of Scrofula.---It has been con-
tended that this disease is incurable but that there are
remedies which might mitigate thebdisease for a Vine.
Snob arguments were very true until the discovery of
Holloway's Ointment and Pills ; it has since been itdieceioif
testably proved that they have effected ko
t i °yr:ciliate
cures with ease, the pills being "P"ast:h. he
substances, and the ointment containieglion
healing properties, that they. sot
eirlial.Thod.--oPSopifowlndertfbv;
system, and the disease is q
Haloway's Establish:V.lor%; by A. Stamps, COllStall-
-80, hlaiden-lant'..Nd scorns; and E. Muir, Malta.
all medicine vendors tbrongba
GROW,
tinople ;A. t tY;setrwa
nodrl,d
LondontPrle professor