Year: 1859

TIE lsst mail from India brought accounts o
some mutinous proceedinsstn the part Of portion
Of the European troops, which Though suppressed
for the moment may yet be attended with serious
results So long as the Government Of India was
in the hands Of the East India Company, in add
ton to their native army, which the late revolt has
annbated, and to body of royal troops on ser
vice in India, they bad also European army ol
their own made up Of troops enlisted, not to serve
the Queen, but the Company. Including recen!
additions made in consequence OF the late mutny
this army, at the time Of the transfer Of the
Indian Government to the Crown, consisted
and still consists, Of some $1,000 men. These
men had been enlisted and had taken their
bounty and their oaths without any reference to
the service Of the Grown. When the act Of Par
Lament was passed by which the Crown as
sumed the direct government Of India, no com


mupication was had with these men, and the act
undertook to transfer their services and engage
ments over to the Crown, without consulting them
in any way, or giving them any choice or appear
spce of choice in the matter. One Of the clauses
Of that act provided that all the civil and military
servants Of the Company should be transferred to
the service Of the Crown, which assumed toward
them all the rights and all the obligations Of the
Company.


Except as to the mere matter of their right II
right they had, to express their assent or disagree
ment to this arrangement the troops had no ground
to complain They were subjected by this trans
fer to no new obligations or duties. They did not
become q part of the regular army. They re-
m,ined as before special corps for sersice in
India Even on the point Of right, the officers did
not trouble themselves, but after time the men
began to complain that without being consulted
they had been transferred like the chairs and tables
Of the India house, other goods and chattels OF
the late Company However little freedom SOL
der may have after his enlistment, the British SOL
ders it seems are great stcklers for their free will
in making the bargain of enlistment, nor do they
consider themselves bound to serve anybody whose
bounty they have not taken. These complaint
became 30 loud and frequent as to occasion some
anxiety among the officers, and to be made the oc-
casion Of official complaints to the Commander-n-
Chief Lord Clyde sympathized, to certain eH-
tent, with the men, and he directed the officers in
command to inform them that though discipline
must be preserved, he would cause their COM
plants and their demands for retnlistment with
a new bounty or discharge, to be submitted to
the Government This occurred last November
and the men, sanguine that a new bounty would be
allowed them, appeared for the time to be satisfied


Lord Cbde's representations on this subject
were not very favorably received. The Advocate
General being consulted by Lord Canning, and


looking merely to the text of the law declared that
the demands Of the soldiers utterly untenable,
that Lord ely could obtain was reference Of
the matter to the Home Government, which finally
decided against the claim Of the soldiers, on the
lie gal point that when British subject enters the
service of trustee Of the State no consent on his
part is needed to transfer him to the service Of the
State itself. When this decision was recently
made known to the men, it produced great deal
Of discomfort, especially in number of newly
raised regiments which, having made but little
progress toward gaining the pension to whlea iul
term of service entitles them, had little to lose If
they were dismissed, especially in country where
they misht easily obtain employment; while, II
they could compel the Government to pay them q
bounty for reenlistment il would be 50 much clear
ear. About the lst of May these discontents
made themselves manifest among the troops Of
three or four regiments stationed at Meerut-rather
an i'll omened name. Several meetings we're Sc
artillery should take their guns and horses away,
and not give them up till their grievances were re-
dressed. On the % of May, it was with great
difficulty that the troops were got out
for parade. They were harangued BY their
officers, and most of the old soldiers made
their submission, but a large number OF the
pew recruits refused and were confined to
their barracks, guarded by the other troops
Lord Ckde was hastily sent for, and on his arrival
required the men to return to their duty, and or
dered court of enquiry, before which they were
to be allowed to speak for themselves. At other
hore insubordinste demonstrations had been made,
but tele egrspbc advices from Calcutta, which come
down to the 23rd of June, represent the disturban
ces as having been suppressed


Not only was the feeling of discomfort widely
difused among the men Of the late Conpanys re-
giments, but certain sympathy with thes claim
was felt by the soldiers of the regular regiments,
and it is considered 8 fortunate clrcumstance that
it was not found necessary to order them to FIRE on
the mutineers.


ADEAR AND sUPRRRLUOCs HUMBUG.


There is one thing for which the Government