The Irish standard., 1898-02-05
BRITISH SOLDIERS In INDIA.
Frank Hugh O'Donnell Describes the
MerCcnaries.


The following article on the collapse
of the English soldier in India appears
in Omitted Ireland from the pen OF
Frank Hugh ODonnell:
The depopulation Of Ireland by Eng
| lish tyranny, the detestation of English
military service, which that tyranny
has at length sown in the Irish heart,
have completely destroyed that more
than-half-Irish army which won Wei
lington's victories. The last army re-
turns show that out of 225,OOO British
soldiers only $4,000 are Irish, only one
ninth instead Of more than half.
And what is the consequence? The
British army in the Indian frontier war
would have dissolved in routed wreck
but for the Indian native mercenaries,
the unflinching Sikh, the tireless Ghoor
ka and the fiery Pathan. The English
portion of the British army on the from
tier covered itself, not with glory, but
with shame. A few isolated feats Of
bravery, mostly performed by couple
Of Scotch-Irish regiments, have been
carefully advertised to cover the misbe-
English troops in India are the scott and
the laughing stock of their native COM
rades, and wild and hot is the terror In
every English commanders breast. But
for the Indian native regiments the
British forces would have been annihi-
lated in the Afridi hills. Nothing could
get the proudest battalion Of the British
army to face the music of the noun
tain charge. They skunk back to shelter
under the protection OF the Ghoorka and
the Sikh, who" in the words OF an
English officer, quoted by the Standard
itself. have seen the weakness anil
cowartlice of their white comrades.
They state openly that If any Tommy
Atkins Is rude to them in future they
will hammer him. And the awful thing
is, they can"
1t is the smallest part Of the failure of
the forward policy that 1t has failed to
crush the mountain clans. 1.-THE awful
thing" for England is that, stripped OF
the Irish fighting line, whose folly gave
England her crown of empire. the Brit
ish army is now proved to the world,
proved to hooking India, proved to con-
temptuous Europe, to be "weak" and
"cowardly"
Awful Nemesis of the famine and the
Crowbar Brigade, of the oppression and
depopulation OF century of union,
tyranny and greed, the English army is
the laughing stock of the Sepoy and tho,
Afridi.
-FOUR REGIMENTS OF TOWARDS.
II venture to think" writes an "An-
] glo-Indan" to the Standard a few days
ago, that there is another question Of
vastly greater Importance to the coun-
try-namely, the behavior of the Brit
ish troops In face Of the enemy I have
lived many years in India. have num-
erous friends and correspondents in
that country, whose letters give details
that never appeared in the press. I"
They state that the rank and file of at
least four British regiments showed to
put it in the mildest possible terms a
want of go and pluck which rendered
them all but useless. And this, too, in
| the presence of their native comrades"
The same writer continues with the
obvious question, IF the British army
cannot be trusted against Afghan noun
taineers, what can we expect of 1t if it
should be called upon, as 1t may we'll
be before long. to face the trained bat
talions of France. Germany or Russiao"
3-THREE ENGLISH SOLDIERS TO-
| DAY NOT EQUAL TO TWO REAL
| MEN.
| 1t is not merely individual correspon-
| dents who let out the black. black truth
about the collapse of the English SOL
der. The Indian Daily News. as even
quoted by the lingo Daily Mail of Lon
don. has to declare that "'rhe result is
that our Indian army of $4,000 is prob
ably not equal to an army Of the OIL
sort of $4,000 seasoned men, and there
are few regiments which could stan |
what every British regiment had to 10
in the mutiny"
4-ENGLISH REGIMENTS DESERT
| THE WOUNDED.
The lowest depths of military infamy
is unquestionably reached when a regi-
! ment deserts it's wounded comrades on
the field of battle, and this inramv
passes all bounds of horrible bascness.
when, as happens in those wars against
half-civilized tribes made frenzied by
tho destruction of their homes and
families by English cruelty, the English
wounded have no mercy to expect from
the avengers of arson and massacre
The English wounded deserted by their
cowardly comrades, had actually to be
rescued by the Sikhs and Ghoorkas
Here is the testimony of tho Bombay
Gazette, one of the most influential of
English newspaper in India: Other
regiments or detachments refused to
bring in their wounded. A native regi-
ment performed that duty for one of the
/ n M