The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-23 00:00:00

THE DISCONTENT IN THE INDIAN

ARMY.

,
(From the New Times, May 11.)
The example set by the European troops of the late corn;
pany at Meerut in endeavouring to obtain a settlement It
their claims for their discharge and bounty on re-en-lie'i
ment has been followed at Allahabad, and during the Pta
week there have been unmistakeable manifestations of dirt
content and insubordination among the men of the liign
Cavalry and 4th Europeans. These proceedings have
,„iag-
variously described in the station, and a great many-hich
gerated reports have naturally obtained circulatiolVi iv_
the " own correspondents" of the journals sval P
bably do justice to. For those of our readers, however /
who prefer to such stimulating mental food a mere recorea
of things as they are we offer the following, which, Aftete.
eta!
great deal. of sifting of impossible and improbable
ments, we may venture to recommend as reliable.
On Friday evening the notification of the Governor'e
General, announcing the decision of the Home Authorities
against the claims of the soldiers, was read to the 4theZe....
ropeans on parade. It was received without any
their ..n:
racks. At about nine o'clock some 8
ton of feeling, and the men quietly dispersed to _
anus'
became manifest. A noise of voices was heard, awl
giment
shots were fired in the lines. The officers of there
esiand
on.
thereupon proceeded to their respective coralottl proceed
deavoured to ascertain the cause of such
theyun 11-:urstranceB
toe
ings. The men listened respectfully declared
yraptoms of distur.baninc:
made, and offered no violence, but t Y P
have it redressed.
that they had a grievance and wouldbad been suspected,
The cause of their discontent w
bin made to them. The
the communication which had
disorder continued for some tun ,
were under the influence of
the most noisy of the men and it was remarked that
citement which seemed to have no
liquor. By 11 o'clock,
tired of keeping up an.ex
however, the men appeared to b•
and gradually
cots. retired to their
immediate object in view,
ordinary duties of the day—orderly room, &c.—were gone
usual The peace continued throughout the day,
everything was quiet, and the
On the following morning
through as u •
had been sent through the telegraph, arrived in tvima
ordered, when the Major-General, accompanied
and at about 1 o'clock Sir John Inglis, to whom athseammsta Ten
by train. At five o'clock a parade of the regiment
_
l) . the
Inglis then
he had
. .
~
Assistant-Adjutant-General, the Brigadier, andthe Brigs4e
Major, appeared on the ground. Sir John
de-
livered an address to the men, telling them that
which they might have to make, andpledged
that ts to tne Commander-
that he would forward such complain
done, but who would never
conic from Cawnpore solely to listen
heto anieydgedcomidmluararif
in-Chief, who would see justice
of urging
their grievances.
approve any unsoldierlike way of
but as it was considered better
and explained the
it was ultimately
-wroasomthwereas
that they should be received ,
ber or men from each company
arranged that a certain minima
on the following morning, and
naStuermee oeffththeeir
should attend the orderly- taken taken down. The men were
mdeenmuunpdons
;tnfewrill otiuntg,
their complaints be form
re-
thenanheyldas
1 special that night.
currence of the disoFdera
nor
rol ry
On Sunday m°nitulatements of 'several men from each
arranged, and the statements dismissed,
They were all to h
t e same effect,
company were me
the same arguments -which h
and a repetition ofl
didnot
retiring peaceablyord;
so often heard. t appear that the main object of
the men was to get their discharge for the purpose of leav-
ing the service,; they were ready to serve their Queen and
country, many of them said, but they claimed the option
are -enlisting er not as they pleased, and the payment of
the bounty as their right.
In the afternoon a parade was again ordered, and Sir
John Inglis again addressed the men, expressing his high
satisfaction at the manner in which he understood from
their officers they had conducted themselves since the pre-
vious day, and assuring them that their representations had
been despatched to the Commander-in-Chief, who was then.
at Kussowlie, and from whom he had just received a tele-
gram, dated that morning, stating that the case would be
submitted to Government without delay.
The men again dispersed peaceably, and since then, up to
the latest accounts that have reached us, seem to be waiting
patiently for the decision of the Governor-General, with
whom, as may be supposed, a constant communication is
maintained by telegraph. The regular duties of the regi-
ment are all gone through, and the demeanour of the men
is generally steady and respectful. This was sufficiently'
manifest at the several parades, where nothing occurred to
distinguish them from ordinary occasions of the kind.
In the meantime the men of the Ist European tight
Cavalry had been making similar demonstrations. Indeed,
it is stated that they took the lead in this respect, and that
they commenced rioting on Thursday, on which day the]
their
had seen a copy of the notification. Since that tiraebordi.
conduct had been systematically irregular and 1118
hushould
nate, so much so as to require that a careful vial:. _ rnglis
be placed over them. After leaving the 4th Su' J nu-
been pies
proceeded to visit their lines, a parade having
them similar to
viously ordered. He made an address toti
same amount
that delivered to the 4th, and with much
t, and were con-
of success. The men showed no disrespec
Governor-General
tent to wait until the decision of the
should be known.
articled the Bengal Horse
On the same evening Sir Jo
IfPtroop, 2d troop, 2d Bri-
Artillery now in the station (h
gads), and his address to the a
men was met in a very satis-
_ilge.aimed
any
sympathy with or
factory manner. They d
participation in the movement, and it is due to them to
state that their general con
duct has justified the assertion.
We have not heard of anyirregularities being laid to their
charge, and '
now that any
s troop has been cleared from
the aspersions °&w
ill
p
t uon it it mtay be exected that the
ill not in h cur o reproach of having
Bengal Artillery ld' 11 ed•
unso soldier like e proce in
shared in these _ gs.
The week has passed away, pending the decision of the
Governor-General, without any great excitement, though
some uneasiness is of course felt, and even alarm by foolish
persons who are to be found everywhere. There has been
some disorderly conduct at night, now and then, but
nothing worth particularising, except on Wednesday night,
when a collision took place between a non• commissioned
officer and two of the cavalry men—the former interfering
in the cause of order, and it is believed in self-defence—in
the course of which one of the men was killed (shot by a
revolver) and the other severely wounded.
The General returned to Cawnpore at the beginning of
the week, and revisited Allahabad on Thursday, when a
parade was ordered of the late Company's European troops in
the station, each in their own lines, for the following
morning.
It is due to the men who have been so ill-advised and
imprudent as to take this mode of obtaining their objects to
state that they are generally among the youngest enlisted.
The old soldiers generally know better, and have stothisil
to lay to tie procootliDge•