The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-17 00:00:00

SOLDIERS'

IN IND.

While we congratulate the country upon the general
aspect of affairs in India, we do not forget the dangers
of the terrible crisis we have passed, nor ilo we seek to
conceal that we have still anxieties fur the future. With
courage and conduct all will be well, but the courage of
Englishmen is but the courage of men, and there are
laws of physical endurance which no courrage can over-
come. We have already stated that the European
soldiers who fought at Arrah were dressed in cloth
coats buttoned up to the throat, cloth trousers, and 111-
mar:sock caps. In addition to this, we now bear that
they had no food during the whole of that disastrous
day. It is said also that her Majesty's 6th Regiment
lately marched from Calcutta in cloth coats, which the
Colonel would not permit to be even opened at the neck,
and full-dressed shakoes. The men had been provided
with light clothing, but it seems they were to go up by
carriage dak, which will carry no baggage. Therefore
they were compelled to wear their cloth clothes 011
there backs, and leave their light clothing behind I Can
we wonder that men grow disgusted and break down
under such treatment, or shall we wonder if, when the
moment of conflict comes, they are found too weak to
fight ? There ere moral causes also which tell upon a
man's courage. It is the first quality of a commanding
officer to outain the confidence of those whom he leads.
If he have not this he is unqua'ified for command, and
it is gross cruelty to place him iu a position where be
can only disgrace himself and cause the destruction
of his wee. If the information received by our corres-
pondent is correct as to the existence of such a disquali-
fication in some of the officers now in command in
Rohilcund and in Oude no personal considerations
towards an individual should be allowed to interfere
with obvious public duty. Do it with as much gentle-
ness, as much delicacy, es you can, but the duty must ,
be done. As to the officers who send their men into the
burning plains clad in a red-cloth uniform, we would
have no delicacy with them. A sharp and summary ex-
ample is necessary to save the lives of our soldiers and
the credit of our arms.
Other greater questions yet remain behind. Who
can say that no danger threatens when we have in our
pay an army of 75,000 Punjabees I It is true that we
no longer trust artillery in the hands of natives ; the
magazines and arsenals are all held by Europeans, and
our treasuries are all now kept within our forts. These
are evident improvements upon errors which never
ought to have been committed; but are they precautions
sufficient to counterbalance the danger of such an army
as we have now called from the Punjaub ! Of course,
we must keep full and generous faith with the men who
have served us in our need, but there is a great differ-
ence between the gratitude which repays a benefit and
a blind confidence which becomes a temptation. We
must have native soldiers, but there is no country which
offers such facilities as India offers for an European
army of mixed and non-combining elements. We have
the Bheels, the Mugs, the Santals, the Karens, the na-
tive Christians of the Southern Peninsula, the Afghans,
the Cashmeres, and the Eurasians. Surely here are
materials enough for an army which, even if it should
not look so smart and uniform on parade as a division of
tall Brahmins, would be sufficient to fight any enemy we
shall find in India of any but our own creation! Another
element of danger, at which we have already glanced,
was the accumulation of treasure at unprotected places.
Ultimately, perhaps, this circumstance operated in our
favour in quelling the mutiny. What had been booty to
the mutineers became booty to our allies. A mutineer
whose pockets were well lined with gold mohurs was
worth pursuing. But a system which is a direct tempta-
tion to rebellion is not one of unmixed good, and it would
be easy to establish some system of State paper money,
whereby a great many guards and a great deal of escort
duty would be saved. After purging our system of all
its errors we may still have difficulties in India—diff-
oulties from those independent princes who have proved
so wonderfully faithful, falsifying all the prognostics of
old Indians—difficulties from without, from Persia,
Russia, or even Powers nearer home—difficulties from
the people, who can never can be expected to do more
than tolerate a nation of alien governors • but we mai
at least avoid the unnecessary dangers which beset uo
at the commencement of this mutiny. Had we failed,
the next generation would have to say of their fathers
that we created and disciplined an army of fanatics ;
that we put into their hand the guns, the magaaineds
and the fortresses of the country ; and that, fearing lest
even these might not be sufficient to induce them to drive
us out of India, we exhibited before them piles of unpro-
tected gold to tempt them to the work.—Tintat.