The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-26 00:00:00

JA COB'S HORSE.

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The following letter has been addressed to the
editor of the Times..
Sir,—lt is now upwards of three years since I
first attempted to impress upon the Horse Guards
the necessity and economy of adding a few regi-
ments of really light cavalry to the British army.
Every military man to whom I spoke in private
agreed with me that such a species of force was
much wanted ; Lietit.-General Sir John Burgoyne
stated before the Sebastopol Committee that it
would have been most useful during the Russian
war, and the late Sir Charles James Napier has
over and over again recorded his opinion of the
inutility of our present cavalry, overweighted as
they are, especially for service in India.
Our military authorities would not allow them-
selves to be stimulated on such a point by a civilian
—they contented themselves with telling the public
that a board of most experienced cavalry officers
was sitting in Whitehall to consider whether any
and what improvements could: be made in the tic-
coutrement s and armament of our cavalry ; proba-
bly they are sitting in Whitehall still. But, in
spite of their protracted session, the British cavalry
horse staggers in 1857 under precisely the same
weight ai he staggered under in 1851—about nine.
teen stone 2 • when he carries his own forage he car-
ries about two-and-twenty stone.
As soon as peace was proclaimed I ceased writing
on the subject, knowing that I had no influence
save that conferred by common sense and a good
knowledge of the powers of the horse, and know-
ing also that common sense iu peace time has very
little to do with the administration of our army ;
but now that war has broken out again in its most
critical and fearful phase, and that we have beau
deprived by mutiny of the serVices of both the
Regular and Irregular Horse of Bengal, I cannot
refrain from again trying my persuasive powers on
the Minister of War:
In a letter which was published last week from
an officer attached to General Havelock's force the
following passage occurs :
" The activity displayed by the enemy's horsemen in
this action was very remakable. They moved round our
force, menacing us at different points with extraordinary
rapidity, and, in so far as manceuvring in the field went
this cavalry was perfect. Now, I wish to draw particular.
--"armro-s-tirthiErtaet, because these very men were our
regular troopers, mounted on our own regular cavalry
horses, hut armed and equipped after their own, instead
of after the regular cavalry, fashion. The regular Ben-
gal cavalry,
equipped and overloaded with their accou-
trements, have never been of any particular use in the
army hitherto, but this shows what they might be made
under a better system."
Another letter, which I read a few days since,
mentioned the execution done by one single shot
fired by the mutineers from Delhi. It destroyed 8
men, " smashing the brass helmets of two privates
of the Carabineers, covered with thick linen casings,'
the thermometer being at 120 in the shade. And a
third letter which I saw yesterday from an officer
with the force before Delhi d eplores " that the wei,ght
of the Carabineers and their accoutrements render
them alriaost useless as cavalry."
Under these circumstances, sir, I venture once
more to lift up my voice in favour of organising in
this country some really light cavalry for service
iu India. _ .

1.4 •-•• • •
We have now many first-rate officers of Indian
Irregulars unemployed, the regiments having either
revolted or been disarmed. They know exactly the
capabilities of the Indian horses ; they know the
size and weight of the men who would be most
effective at the present criiis, they'know the dress
and arms which would suit them best.
Small men, such as they would select, are not
accepted by the recruiting sergeants, and they are
precisely the men who in this country are most ac-
customed to horses and riding—for no gentleman
in his senses will allow a groom, postilion, or whip
of six feet high to enter his stable.
I again ask, therefore, would it not be advisable
to organise half-a-dozen such ' regiments without

furlier delay ? Had we done so, as I suggested,
during the Russian war, instead -of squandering
our money on Bashi-Bazonks and suchlike vermin,
we should have had something to show for our
money now. -
The only argument I have ever heard against
the organisation of such a force is a very bad one ;
but, bad as it is when applied to viar in Europe, it
fails altogether when applied to war in India.
The lase Commander-in-Grief explained to the
Seb-,stopol Committee that, as England maintained
but a small cavalry force, it was necessary for our
national honour that it should be of such a calibre
as to be competent to meet and overthrow the
heaviest cavalry of the European Powers. Such an
argument, applied to the navy, would forbid us to
build gunboats and fiigatet, because they could not
core with -the three-deckers of our enemies. In
India, however, there is no heavy cavalry, except
our own, while there is abundanc3 of Ught cavalry
-of first-rate quality arrayed against us.. Why not
order General John Ja,coh, if • he cannot b 3 spared
from the seat of war hiintelf, to send us over a
couple of his most competent lieutenants, and allow
them to try their hands in this cluntry in organis-
iivr forthwith a white brigade of Jacob'Hone ?
The very names would carry weight with it.—Your
Obedien servant; J. 0.