Litchfield enquirer., 1857-11-12

IS tainted with the faults which invariably
!, marx p"oconSuiar governments in wealthy
countries a. distance from home. The gene
raj rule OF the Indian service is that young
man who enters at twenty, and serves twenty
i've Years faithfully, shall, after that term (du-
ring which he shall live in comfort, and per
7 haps in spendor. J. retire with fortune OF not
less than 100000. Add to this, that the
Company-though for years it has been fnaE.
ciaiiy losing concern, with steadily incrcas-
ling defeit--has been able to support a Cover
nor Genera in imperial state, three Lietenant-
Governors with their Councils, all immense ar
ray of officials, and an army of near quarter
of a million of men, and it will be seen at a
glance that extortion and plumber must have
been carried Oh in India to an extent unparal-
lclled in modern history. We are far from
wishing to plead for the sepoys, whose brutal
tiles have aroused the just Indignation of every
civilized human being but it is quite obvious
that something more than the change proposed
by the Anglo-Indians of Calcutta is needed to
restore stability and peace to the British En-
pire in India.
The following account Of the Scpoys by an
old Indian officer will throw some light on
their condition and history
When factories and residences We're estab
IIshed over different parts of India, the raiahs
or native chcftans ruling in those districts, az
forded protection to the foreign traders, and
usually supplied guard of honor composed of
native foot-soldiers or Sepoys, whose duty it
was to watch over the interests of these stran-
gtrs, and guard them from plumber or insult
Though strictly speaking, these Seapoys were
supposed to be Under the command Of the Ell
ropean resident. in MANY cases they in reality
were masters, watching every movement of the
English with intensest jealousy. The exact
period when the Sepoys. were first embodied
under English officers and received British
! pay, have been unable to ascertain. What
| greatly facilitated such a step was undoubted-
ly the petty feuds and imbrogl;os which We're
continually breaking out between the various
independent IA jahs and princes, that, in those
days, abouuded in iud;a. Those who had be-
Cone thoroughly acquainted with the English
Character and English bravery, at oucc enlist
ed us as their allies aud such men as Give
and Wellington, consolidated upon irner
basis q system which was or ginally little bet
ter than au irregular and contingent force, till,
step lss step, VS. changed positions, and, from
Being the tolerated, became the toierant--1hc
rulers, instead of tie ruled, of India.
| Physically, nothing could have proved more
acceptable TO the East Iudia Company than
! the enrolment into their service of number of
Spoys. Though not averaging the usual
height or muscular strength of English sol
dicrs, they were admirably adapted III every
| other sense to the climate that required their
services; moreover they were cheap, and
their acquisitions on a march easily supplied,
as they could subsist entirely upon rice and
ghee, with the addition of an occasionally cur
ry, while their sole beverage consisted OF Wa
ter. The last remark applies more particu-
larry to the Hindoos for the Mussu!man Sc
poy occasionally INDUCES in meat and poultry,
though he can for months content himself
without them. In this respect it will be per-
ccived what an evident superiority aud advan-
tage the Scpoy possessed over the European
soldier /; with the former, the comlnssarlaJ de-
partment was almost a farce with the latter,
/ it is an incubus upon a march or in a bat tie
Field, entaiiing enormous additional expense
and Inconvenience for the English soldier,
wherever he goes must have his meat, coffee,
tea, sugar, biscuit or bread, spirits, &c, and
the transport aud procuring of these are 10
easy matter in an enen1y's country. Moreover,
nothing lacking i'll activity or daring, when
stimulated by the example Of unduunted En-
glishmcn that fought side by side with them,
the Srpoys could better resist fatigue and heat,
aud were less subject to those fatal fcyers and
other maladies which have generally proved
the deadliest foe that an English army has to
encounter in IHdia. Differed by Englishmen,
and led on by British commanders, they soou
prove themselves worthy of trust aud conf
dence.
q In the course of time the Sepoy regiments
were thoroughly organized, till eventually they
lecasse, as it may be, composed Of lineal de-
scendants, serving as soldiers from father to
sons through several generations The old
and the worthy retired on what to them was
an ample pension, to enjoy their otium cum Dig
nitate in the bosom of families from whom they
had been separated for years some as native
commissioned officers, some as sergeants aud
corporais and some few as prvates. Many
also from i'll health, were transferred to invalid
battalions +; and the wortEest among this lat
ter class were chosen to guard the travellers
bungalows established all over Irdia, where, in
addition to their income, they reaped no small
harvest in the shape of black-nail, levied upon
tie generosity OF travellers"
/ Observation-Disclosures. that is putting
stops in the right places, cannot be too sedu-
ousiy studied. We lately read the following
startling account of Lord Palmerstons appear
ance in the House Of Commons !; Lord Pal
merston then entered Oh his head, white hat
on his feet large bnt well polished boots upon
his brow, dark cloud in bis hand, his faithful
walking suick in his eye, a menac.ng glare say
ing nothing: He sat down.
i -~~>--
i Great minds are less affected by adverse,
than by prosperous circumstances The form
er may be surMounted, the latter may sur