The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-04 00:00:00

rienced sfficials, hundreds of miles from the scene
of action, with the conducf of suck men in such
emergencies, inspires an almost equal sense of
indignation and absurdity; The Sepoys, as Mr.
Cave Browne declares, conferred inestimable bene-
fits, on India by cutting the telegraph wires, and
thus. saving men like Sir John Lawrence from
being hampered by a constant reference to those
who neither by constitution or circumstance were
half so well .fitted to judge. As it was, says the
writer, the Governor-General seemed to insist on
being consulted, forgetting that it must take three
months before an answer could be received con-
cerning questions which must be settled within as
many days, questions, moreover, with which Lord
Canning, a stranger in India, and a council who were
na unfailiarwith the province, were quite unfitted to
deal. For instance, with regard to the negotiations
with the King of Delhi, Sir John Lawrence has been
unjustly treated. "Even Sir John Lawrence,"
said Lord Granville in the House of Lords, " was
willing to make terms with the King ; but Lord
Canning, a civilian, had the courage to take upon
himself the responsibility of absolutely refusing
these propositions." Whereas the case was as fol-
lows :—On the sth of July Sir John Lawrence
received the first intelligence of the King's pro-
posal. He at once despatched his instructions,
which were conditional, and which soon brought
the transaction to nothing, as the King could no
i not
fulfil his promises. Two months later came an offi-
cial letter from Calcutta with general instructions
with regard to future overtures, without reference
to the case in point, the accounts of wsnch had
possibly not reached Calcutta. Yet it is from this
general direction as to future movements that Lord.
Granvville draws the inference of Lord Canning's
superior generalship. The following instance will
show how red-tap eism survived even the horrors
of the mutiny :
" On the parade-ground of the 34th N.I. at Barrack-
pore, on the 29th March, Captain Baugh had been cut down
by the fanatic Mungul Pandy, and the guard refused to
seize the mutineer; a sepoy, a Mohammedan, Sheik Pultoo,
sprang to the rescue of his officer, and saved his life. Gen:
Hearsey, who witnessed tho whole, on the spot promoted.
Sheik Pultoo to the rank of havildar, and reported to Go-
vernment that he had done so. What was the consequence?
an official censure from Col. Birch, Military Secretary to
the Government. The General had exceeded his authority;
how did he dare to assume such power? The ordinary
routine—a court of inquiry—a formal investigation of the
circumstances, though performed in a few days in the pre-
sence of the General and the whole station—a .formal re-
commendation was necessary; and, ifsatisfled, Government
would then reward the sepoy ! Such a course, at such a
moment, could only set up generals and commanding-
officers as a laughing stock to the whole sepoy army."
Of the siege of Delhi, the author, who was
present, gives a full, and interesting account,
rendering due honour to the heroism which so
greatly distinguished it. His remarks on the origin
of the mutiny, which he wisely traces to several
combined causes, are well worthy of careful perusal.
While he is always ready to render honour to offi-
cial or military ability, he is too clear-sighted not
to perceive the instances in which mismanagement
or divided counsels hampered the action of the
Europeans and assisted the enemy. His own pro-
ceedings he keeps entirely in the background,
although attached to a column which effected
so much, he could scarcely have remained in-
active. His remarks on the unavoidable nature of
the frequent wholesale executions, as coming front
a minister of the Gospel, may have just weight with
some who have shrunk from the severity. No
one who has passed through them says he will for a
moment regard them otherwise than as acts net
only of retributive justice, but of stern necessity.
The escape of any Europeans was indeed surpris-
ing. " When the mutiny broke out, the Bengal
Presidency contained less than 20,000 European
soldiers, with above ten times that number of native
troops; the intruding dominant race were not in all
above a quarter of a million, while the races they
had conquered and ruled numbered nearly ono
hundred millions." This calculation refers to the
Bengal Presidency only. Well might Sir John,
Lawrence—whom none can accuse of exaggeratisig
danger—exclaim, " When I look back on the
events of the last four months, I am lost in astonish-
silent that any of us are alive. But for the mercy
of God we must have been ruined." As a clear anil
authentic record of so momentous a struggle, this
work possesses great value. It is written with
simplicity, sense, and feeling, and a hearty admira-
tion for those deeds of heroism which in the day of
danger and disaster made England proud of her
sons.