The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-16 00:00:00

soldier, and that mistrust and animosity must for
the future take the place of the good feeling which
in former days united the Indian soldier to his
British commander. Certainly my experience goes
to prove that these predictions will not be fulfilled,
that on the contrary the sepoy, with his discipline
—that, of course, is an express 'condition—will
faithfully defend his officers and his colours. (The
gallant general sat down amidst a loud and long-
continued burst of cheers.)
Mr. WESTROPP next rose and said—ln conse-
quence of the absence of the gentleman to whom
the next toast was allotted, the duty of proposing
the. two services, " The Army and the Navy," has
devolved upon me. I use those terms in their largest
sense. By the army I mean not only the Queen's
troops, but also the Anglo-Indian forces. By the navy-
I mean as well the Royal as the Indian Navy. We
justly prize those services which have, in a great
measure, contributed to • place the British in the
foremost rank amongst the nations of the globe.
The army of Great Britain may not be the most
numerous in the world, but in gallantry and in the
extent of its achievements it stands unsurpassed.
Most assuredly there is more expected by our
countrymen than by any other nation of its forces.
It is the hardest worked army in existence, when
its numbers are considered. To-day its battalions
are amidst the biting frosts of Canada ; to-morrow
they face the burning heat of the Indies, and pro-
bably endure many years of exile. But we have a
strong example in the 78th Highlanders and many
other regiments, which have been for many years
in India, that it matters not how long a period of
expatriation they may have undergone, the sol-
diery of Great Britain never forget the spirit where-
with they ought, as true sons of their country, to
be animated. Having mentioned the 78th, who
have never forgotten that they are Highlanders,
and what .is due to their great name, I cannot
forego' a passing tribute of admiration to their
brave comrades, the 64th. To specify any par-
ticular regiment, is, however, perhaps unjust, when
in former, as in the more recent Crimean, Persian,
and Indian civil wars, the conduct of all has been
glorious. With this part of the toast I doubt not
that this assembly will gladly couple the name of
an officer now amongst us who stands high on the
roll of fame—the gallant leader of the renowned
column'that issued forth from the gates of recap-
tured Delhi to sweep before it the retreat-
ing and wrecked host of mutiny and mur-
der. Need I mention Colonel Greathed, whose
deeds, and those of his noble column, will
henceforth fill one of the most brilliant pages of the
history of British India. As to the navy of Eng-
land; who, to an assembly of Englishmen, shall
speak its praises ? Eulogy is in such a case unne-
cessary. We all from our infancy glory in the
wooden walls of England, and the men to man them.
Every child regards with pride the powerful right
arm of Britannia. We are happy in being able to
associate with this branch of the toast the name of
a distinguished officer of the Royal navy, now pre-
• sent, who presides with zeal and ability over the
Indian navy, the worthy sister in arms of the Royal
navy. His is a name not unknown to Indian his-
tory ; one of his kinsmen who bore it here wielded,
with the highest skill, the swordof state. Another
here wielded, with a world-wide renown, the sword
of victory. Although the star of Assaye may pale
before the brighter glow of Waterloo, many a long
day must elapse ere the success at Assaye becomes
obliterated from the memory of the East. Commo-
dore Wellesley has shown himself to be no un-
worthy scion of that illustrious house. For thou-
sands of ages hence to come,may Britons, with loud
enthusiasm, drink the toasts of their army and
navy. (Loud and continued cheering.)
Colonel GREATHED said that it was impossible
for him to find terms of sufficient strength to ex-
press the gratification he experienced in having had
his name coupled with the toast given, and it specially
became him to avail himself of the opportunity of
alluding to the distinguishd manner those belong-
ing to the army of this presidency had distin-
guished themselves on manyof the most tryingof these
occasions. Nothing could have surpassed the con-
duct of the Beloochees, a young corps scarcely before
under fire, or the heroism of their commander,
Younghusband. He well remembered Bruce and
Bailey, Bannerman—who fell gloriously in defence
of his post—Watson, the best of cavalry officers,
and many others who distinguished themselves,
where, amongst such bands of heroes, it was diffi-
culs to earn distinction. All fought nobly, and it
was a matter of peculiar pride to him to be now so
directly connected as he was with the loyal and im-
maculate army to which these officers belong.
Commodore WELLESLEY said that it fell to his lot
to return thanks for both divisions of the naval ser-
vice included in Mr. Westropp's toast—the Royal
navy, to which he belonged, and the Indian navy,
ever which it was his good fortune for the present
to preside. On the present, beyond almost any
occasion, had the navy and army been associated
together, and-for the first time in the history of war
we found the frigate's commander and crew per-
forming the most distinguished service, thousands
of miles away from the ship inland, bearing about
64-pounder guns like -baubles, and pointing them
against the walls of Lucknow, very much in the
fashion they would have been used afloat had the
Shannon been laid alongside the enemy. Of the
sister service he would say nothing. The
Indian navy had never been on active em-
ployment where they failed to earn distinction.
He had now been a twelvemonth amongst them,
and a body of more thorough iailors or more
gentlemanly men he had never come in contact
with, or men more anxious or more competent
to discharge their duties, or more desirous to
co-operate cordially with their commander. There
was no country m the world that might not be
proud of a service so zealous and so thoroughly
efficient as the Indian navy.
MR. BERKLEY rose and said—Under ordinary
circumstances the toast which the chairman has
entrusted to me might have been introduced to
your notice in a few loyal words, but we and the
community at large are so much indebted to the
noble lord the governor of Bombay—(cheers)—
that I trust I shall carry your feelings along with
me while I endeavour to make the proposal of his
lordship's health something more than a formal
standing toast. (Hear.) I am sorry that brevity
compels me to pass over the first two years and a
half of Lord Elphinstone's administration, for they
presented evident indications of his having come
out to India with a determination to fill an im-
portant and useful post of duty, and not to occupy
a mere office of state, and they afforded abundant
proofs of his moderation and experience, and of his
enlightened principles of government. (Cheers.)
In the autumn of 1856, however, the serenity of
the political horizon was disturbed, and the atten-
tion of our governor was partly diverted from
measures of a peaceful natu->^ to preparations for a
foreign expedition. It was not,, I dare say, without.
some surprise that many of us then observed with
what alacrity and aptitude his lordship entered
upon the general arrangements for the Persian war.
The gallant general, your illustrious guest, must be
so familiar with the sufferings and administrative
difficulties that were encountered in the Crimea that
he will be able to appreciate the success of those
arrangements (assent from Sir H. Rose), and I have
no doubt he will' acknowledge that the speedy
transport of our army front India to the shores of
Persia, the subsequent transport of the second
detachment under Outram, and the bringing back
of the whole force, including all thenon-combatants
and its complete equipment, without the loss of a
single man upon the voyage, and with scarcely a
casualty in the embarkation,: redounds greatly to
the credit of the Bombay Government—tkat it was,
in fact, a great feat worthy of prominent record in
the history of war. (Loud cheers.) The judicious
removal of our army from the Gulf, instead of leav-
ing them to sicken during an unhealthy season,
until Herat had been evacuated, was speedily
rewarded by the. Bombay Government finding
themselves in a better state of preparation at the
moment of emergency ; and though the Persian
war was characterised by few remarkable ev2nts,-
yet it at least inflamed the ardour of our troops for
the severe conflict that was so soon to follow. (Loud
cheers.) Peace with Persia was proclaimed in
April, 1857. . The little cloud had then appeared
in the East, but there had been no prophet to warn
us of its ominous portent ; and so the black- tre-
mendous storm was gathering in Bengal. In May
came the sad intelligence of the Meerut massacre,
but fortunately we were then in possession of
troops and able generals fresh from the field—of
ships of war, and a fleet of transports ; and what
is niore we had at the head of affairs 'a man quick
to apprehend the advantage which Providence had
placed within our reach, prompt to turn it to the
best account, and whose active measures helped so
greatly to avert extreme disaster from theemn,
ac-
Lord Elphinstone immediately sent the resolute e.
plished,heroic Havelock—the true type offr a Christian
soldier—to the scene of
con ict— )(cheers ir
regiment, the 78 t
64th. *All honour to Havelock and those brave--h aa nn dd with him those two splendid
men ! For they, together with Neil and his gal-
lant Fusiliers, have shed their blood most nobly in
their country's cause. They stemmed the torrent
swwhoelnlen ititwwahs satiated with crime and flushed and
a momentary 'triumph ; they revived
Bengal,the then
anwdanreinhgevpedrestthiegesmofaltlh,ethßourigthishinavrmincsibilne
garrison of Lucknow. All honour, then, to the
memory of Havelock and to the brave 78th and
64th. (Loud applause.) Soon afterwards ' Lord
Elphinstone sent, round another Bombay hero, who
strengthened by his counsels and eager as a grey-
hound in the leash to spring to the field of glory.
This was the daring, chivalrous, noble-hearted Out applause)--an Ajax in the fight, an
Ulysses in the council--the very 14eation of whose