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REASONS FOR GOVERNING BUT NOT ANNEXING OUDE.

73

earnest solicitude expressed by them for the people of Oude, they would have encouraged any scheme calculated to lessen the disorgan- isation of which they so loudly complained, instead of waiting, as they appear to have done, to take advantage of their own neglect.

It is not easy to decide how far the British government deserves to share the disgrace which rests on the profligate and indolent dynasty, of which Wajid Ali was the last representative, for the wretched condition of Oude. Of the fact of its misgovernment there seems no doubt; for Colonel Sleeman was a truthful and able man ; and the entries in his Diary depict a state of the most bar- barous anarchy. The people are described as equally oppressed by the exactions of the king’s troops and collectors, and by the gangs of robbers and lawless chieftains who infested the whole territory, rendering tenure so doubtful that no good dwellings could be erected, and preventing more than a very partial cultivation of the land, besides perpetrating individual cruelties, torturings, and murders almost beyond belief.

No immediate result followed the report of the resident; for the Burmese war of 1851-’2 occupied, tlie attention of gov- ernment, and gave Wajid Ali Shah a re- spite, of which he was too reckless or too ill-advised to take advantage. Colonel Sleeman, writing to Lord Dalhousie in September, 1852, declared —

“ The longer the king reigns the more unfit he becomes to reign, and the more the administration and the country deteriorates. The state must have become bankrupt long ere this ; but the king, and the knaves by whom he is governed, have discon- tinued paying the stipends of all the members of the royal family, save those of his own father’s family, for the last three years; and many of them are re- duced to extreme distress, without the hope of ever getting their stipends again, unless our government interferes. The females of the palaces of former sovereigns ventured to clamour for their subsistence, and they were, without shame or mercy, driven into the streets to starve, beg, or earn their bread by their labour. * * * The king is surrounded by

eunuchs, fiddlers, and poetasters worse than either ; and the minister and his creatures, who are worse than all. They appropriate at least one-half the re- venues of the country to themselves, and employ nothing [sic] but knaves of the very worst kind in all the branches of the administration. * * *

The fiddlers have control over the administration of civil justice ; the eunuchs over that of criminal justice, public buildings, &c ; the minister has the land revenue : and all are making large fortunes.”*

In the beginning of 1853, the resident

* Sleeman’s Oude, vol. ii., p. 369.

t Ibid. (Introduction), vol. i., p. xxii.

] Ibid., vol. ii., p. 388.

VOL. II.

writes to Sir James Weir Hogg, that the King of Oude was becoming more and more imbecile and crazy ; and had, on several occasions during some recent religious Ceremonies, gone along the streets beating a drum tied round his neck, to the great scandal of his family, and the amusement of his people. The minister, Ali Nukkee Khan, is described as one of the cleverest, most intriguing, and most unscrupulous villains in India ;f who had obtained influ- ence over his master by entire subservience to bis vices and follies, and by praising all he did, however degrading to him as a man and a sovereign.

Notwithstanding the king’s utter inat- tention to public affairs, and devotion to drumming, dancing, and versifying, he believed himself quite fit to reign ; and Colonel Sleeman considered that nothing would ever induce Wajid Ali to abdicate, even in favour of his own son, much less consent to make over the conduct of the administration, in perpetuity, to our gov- ernment. The conclusion at which the resident arrives is important : —

“ If, therefore, our government does interfere, it must be in the exercise of a right arising out of the existing relations between the two states, or out of our position as the paramount power in India. These relations, under the treaty of 1837, give our government the right to take upon itself the admin- istration under present circumstances ; and, indeed, imposes upon our government the duty of taking it : but, as I have already stated, neither these re- lations, nor our position as the paramount power, give us any right to annex or to confiscate the territory of Oude. We may have a right to take territory from the Nizam of Hyderabad, in payment for the money he owes us; but Oude owes us no money, and we have no right to take territory from her. We have only the right to secure for the suffering people that better government which their sovereign pledged himself to secure for them, but has failed to secure.];”

The entire reliance manifested in the above extracts, on the validity of the treaty of 1837, is equally conspicuous in other letters. It is repeatedly mentioned as giving the government ample authority to assume the whole administration ; but it is added — “ If we do this, we must, in order to stand well with the rest of India, honestly and distinctly disclaim all interested motives, and appropriate the whole of the revenues for the benefit of the people and royal family of Oude;” for, “were we to take advantage of the occasion to annex or con- fiscate Oude, or any part of it, our good name in India would iuevitably suffer; and

L

74 SIR WILLIAM SLEEMAN’S ANTI-ANNEXATION VIEWS— 1855.

that good name is more valuable to us than a dozen Oudes.”

On the annexation policy in general, the resident commented in terms of severe censure. “ There is a school in India/’ he says, “characterised by impatience at the existence of any native states, and by strong and often insane advocacy of their absorp- tion— by honest means if possible; but still their absorption. There is no pretext, however weak, that is not sufficient, in their estimation, for the purpose ; and no war, however cruel, that is not justifiable, if it has only this object in view.” Such views he denounced as dangerous to our rule ; for the people of India, seeing that annexa- tions and confiscations went on, and that rewards and honorary distinctions were given for them, and for the victories which led to them, and for little else, were too apt to infer that they were systematic, and encouraged and prescribed from home. The native states he compared to break- waters, which, when swept away, would leave us to the mercy of our native army, which might not always be under our control.*

With such opinions, he watched with deep anxiety the progress of the aggressive and absorbing policy favoured by Lord Dalhousie and his council, which, he con- sidered, was tending to crush all the higher and middle classes connected with the land, and to excite general alarm in the native mind. He began to fear the adoption of some course towards Oude which would involve a breach of faith ; but he does not seem to have suspected the possibility of any right of annexation being grounded on the repudiation by the Calcutta govern- ment, at the eleventh hour, of the treatv of 1837.

In a private letter (the latest of his corres- pondence), he writes — “ Lord Dalhousie and I, have different views, I fear. If he wishes anything done that I do not think right and honest, I resign, and leave it to be done by others. I desire a strict adherence to solemn engagements with white faces or black. We have no right to annex or con- fiscate Oude; but we have a right, under the treaty of 1837, to take the management of it, but not to appropriate its revenues to ourselves. To confiscate would be dis-

* Sleeman’s Oude , vol. ii., p. 392.

f Written in 1854-’5. Published in the Times, November, 1857.

1 See Oude Blue Book for 1856; pp. 12 — 46.

honest and dishonourable. To annex would be to give the people a government almost as bad as their own, if we put our screw upon them.”f

The last admission is a strange one from the narrator of the Tour through Oude. He was not spared to remonstrate, as he certainly would have done, against the adoption of measures he had denounced by anticipation; but he was spared the too probable pain of remonstrating in vain. In the summer of 1854 his health began to fail. He went to the hills in the hope of recruiting his strength and resuming his labours. At last, warned by indications of approaching paralysis, he resigned his office, and embarked for England, but died on his passage, on the 10th of February, 1856, at the age of sixty-seven. Four days before, his services had been recoguised by his nomination as a K.C.B., at the express re- quest of Lord Dalhousie, who, despite their difference in opinion, fully appreciated the qualities of his able subordinate. The mark of royal favour came in all respects too late : it would have been better be- stowed at the time when it had been richly earned hv the measures for the suppression of Thuggee and Dacoitee, instead of being connected with the ill-omened Tour which preceded the annexation of Oude.

General Outram (Napier’s old opponent) was sent as officiating resident to Lucknow, in December, 1854, and desired to furnish a report with a view to determine whether public affairs continued in the state de- scribed from time to time by his predeces- sor. This he did, at considerable length, in February, 1855 ;J and his conclusion was, that matters were as bad, if not worse, than Colonel Sleeman had described them ; and that “ the very culpable apathy and gross misrule of the sovereign and his durbar,” rendered it incumbent on the supreme gov- ernment to have recourse to the “ extreme measures” necessary for the welfare of the five millions of people who were now op- pressed by an effete and incapable dynasty.

Major-general Outram added, that in the absence of any personal experience in the country, he was dependent for informa- tion on the residency records, and on the channels which supplied his predecessor. It would seem that he (like Colonel Caul- field) had been instructed to refrain from any mention of the treaty of 1837 ; for his report refers exclusively to that concluded in 1801 : but in a xiaper drawn up by Captain

DISCUSSIONS REGARDING THE ANNEXATION OF OUDE.

Fletcher Hayes (assistant-resident), on the “ history of our connection with the Oude government,” the Calcutta authorities are reminded, that in the absence of any inti- mation of the annulment of the treaty of 1837, all its articles (except that of maintaining an auxiliary force, from which the king had been relieved as an act of grace) were considered by the court of Lucknow as binding on the contracting powers.* * * §

The supreme authorities had placed themselves in a difficult position : they

had pertinaciously stood between the Court of Directors and the government of Oude, and had taken upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining the treaty repudiated by the directors as unjust and extortionate. But in 1855, the rapid march of the annexation policy had left the land- marks of 1837 so far behind, that it had become desirable to set the contract of that date aside, because its exactions and its penalties, once denounced as unfair to the king, would now, if enforced, limit and cripple the plans of the governor-general. The very instrument, obtained and retained for aggressive purposes, in defiance of the orders of the home authorities, was likely to prove a weapon of defence in the hands of the King of Oude, and to be rested upon as the charter of the rights of the dynasty and state. But the Red treaty palmed off on Omichund, with the forged signature of Admiral Watson, was not more easily set aside by Clivef than the treaty with Oude by the governor-general in council. In each case, the right of the stronger prevailed without a struggle, and left the weaker party no power of appeal. Still the autho- rities, in discussing the affairs of Oude, ab- stained, as far as possible, from any mention of the treaty of 1837, and evidently thought the less said on the subject the better. Thus, the governor-general, in his minute on the measures to be adopted for the future administration of Oude (extending over forty-three folio pages), adverts to the treaty of 1837, only in one short paragraph, in which he states that the instrument by which the mutual relations of the British and Oude governments were defined, was the treaty of 1801. “A very general im-

* Oude Blue Book , p. 81.

t Indian Empire, vol. i., pp. 276 — 278.

1 Minute by Lord Dalhousie, June 18th, 1855. — Oude Blue Book, p. 149.

§ Any reader, who doubts the illegality of Lord

pression prevails that a subsequent re-ad- justment of those relations was made by the treaty concluded by Lord Auckland in 1837. But that treaty is null and void. It was wholly disallowed by the Hon. Court of Directors as soon as they received it.”

In other paragraphs, repeated reference is made to the warnings given by Lord Hardinge to Wajid Ali, in 1847, of the de- termination of the supreme government, in the event of continued neglect, to interfere for the protection of the people of Oude; but the important fact is suppressed, that the right of interference was explicitly stated to rest, wholly and solely, “on the treaty ratified in the year 1837.”]:

“It is to the treaty of 1801,” said Lord Dalhousie, “that we must exclusively look :”§ and, accordingly, it was looked to, for the express purpose of proving that it had been violated by the King of Oude, and might, therefore, be likewise declared null and void. Yet Lord Dalhousie hesitated at “resorting to so extreme a measure as the annexation of the territory, and the aboli- tion of the throne.” The rulers of Oude, he admitted, had been unwavering in their adherence to the British power, and had “aided us as best they could in our hour of utmost need he therefore recommended that the king should be suffered to retain his title and rank, but should be required to transfer the whole civil and military ad- ministration into the hands of the E. I. Company, in perpetuity, by whom the surplus revenues were to be appropriated, a liberal stipend being allowed for the maintenance of the royal family. “ The king’s consent,” he added, “is indispensable to the transfer of the whole, or of any part, of his sovereign power to the government of the East India Company. It would not be expedient or right to extract this consent by means of menace or compulsion.” Lord Dalhousie, therefore, advised that the king should be requested to sign a treaty based on the fore- going terms, and warned that, in the event of refusal, the treaty of 1801 would be de- clared at an end, and the British subsidiary force entirely withdrawn. The proposal ap- pears to have been made under the idea that the very existence of the throne of Oude depended so entirely on the presence

Dalhousie’s conclusion, would do well to peruse the able opinion of Dr. Travers Twiss, dated 24th February, 1857, on the infraction of the law of nations, committed by setting aside the treaty of 1837 : quoted in Dacoitee in Excelsis, pp. 192 — 199.

76 MINUTES OF MEMBERS OF SUPREME COUNCIL— 1855.

of a British force, that the king would ac- cede to any conditions required from him. But the other members of council unani- mously deprecated the offering of the pro- posed alternative, on the ground of the ter- rible crisis of anarchy which would be the probable consequence; and it was suggested that, “ if there should be in the king’s council but one person of courage and genius, though it should be but a dancing-girl (such as Indian annals show many), the king might be led to elect disconnection rather than abdication.”*

Mr. Dorin minuted in favour of the entire incorporation of Oude, and objected to con- tinuing “ to the most unkinglv monarch of Oude any portion of the royal position and dignity which, by nature and inclination, he is incapable of sustaining;” yet he foresaw that the king would never surrender his kingdom except on compulsion. All Mr. Dorin’s sympathies were, he declared, with the people of Oude, the “fine, manly race,” from whom we drew “ almost the flower of the Bengal army.”

Mr. Grant agreed generally with Mr. Dorin, but thought that the king might be suffered to retain his title for his life- time. Mr. Grant took strong views of the rights and responsibilities of the British government, both in its own right, and as having “succeeded to the empire of the Mogul ;” and he denied that the Oude rulers had ever stood in the position of sovereign princes. Major-general Low (who had held the position of resident at Lucknow for eleven years) minuted in favour of annexa- tion, but desired to see more liberal provi- sion made for the present king and his suc- cessors than the other members of council deemed necessary. He urged that the well- known habits of Mohammedans of rank afforded a guarantee for their income being expended among the people from whom it was levied, and not hoarded up, and sent off to a distant country, according to the prac- tice of most European gentlemen on reaching the highest offices in the Indian service. The character of the last five princes of Oude, all of whom he had known personally, had, he said, been much misrepresented : they had sadly mismanaged their own affairs, but they had constantly proved active and

* Minute by Mr. Grant. — Oude Blue Book, p. 218.

t This last portion of Major-general Low’s minute certainly does not accord with the account given by Colonel Sleeman of his intercourse with Wajid Ali; but the colonel, though just and honourable

useful allies, having again and again for- warded large supplies of grain and cattle to our armies with an alacrity that could not be exceeded by our own British chiefs of provinces, and having lent us large sums of money when we were extremely in want of it, and could not procure it elsewhere. As individual princes, their intercourse with our public functionaries had been regular, attentive, courteous, and friendly.f

Mr. Peacock minuted in favour of the assumption of sovereign power over Oude, but desired that the surplus revenue might be disposed of entirely for the benefit of the people, and no pecuniary benefit be derived by the East India Company. The sugges- tion deserved more notice than it appears to have received, seeiug that “the benefit of the people” is declared by the directors to have been “ the sole motive, as well as the sole justification,” of the annexation.!

Not one of the four members of coun- cil (not even Mr. Peacock, though an emi- nent lawyer) took the slightest notice of the treaty of 1837, or alluded to the fre- quent references concerning it made by their delegates at the court of Lucknow. They spoke freely enough of treaties in general, discussed the law of nations, and quoted Yattel ; but the latest contract was tabooed as dangerous ground. The governor- general, in forwarding to the Court of Directors the minutes and other papers above quoted, alluded to his own approach- ing departure, but offered to remain and carry out the proposed measures regarding Oude, if the directors considered that the experience of eight years would enable him to do so with greater authority than a newly-appointed governor might probably command. The task, he added, would impose upon him very heavy additional labour and anxiety ; the ripened fruit would be gathered only by those who might come after him.§ The simile is an unfortunate one, if the fruit we are now gathering in Oude is to be viewed as evidencing the cha- racter of the tree which produced it.

The Court of Directors, in announcing their decision on the subject, imitated the reserve of their representatives; and having the fear of Blue Book revelations, and India Reform Society philippics before

in deed, was not conciliatory in manner; and his official communication with the king would be naturally affected by this circumstance.

j Oude Blue Book, p. 234.

§ Despatch dated July 3rd, 1835. — Ibid., p. 1.

BRITISH TROOPS MARCH ON LUCKNOW— 1856.

their eyes (but not of mutiny and insurrec- tion), they ignored the chief difficulty, and accepted Lord Dalhousie’s offer iu the most complimentary terms, leaving him unfettered by any special instructions. They suggested, however, that the offi- ciating resident (Outram) should be in- structed to ascertain whether the prospect of declaring our connection with the Oude governmeut at an end, would be so alarm- ing to the king as to render his acceptance of the proposed treaty a matter of virtual necessity. If this could be relied on, the alternative was to be offered; if not, the directors authorised and enjoined the at- tainment of the “ indispensable result,” iu such manner as the governor-general in council should see fit. Concerning the appropriation of the surplus revenue, they made no remark whatever.*

The idea of offering the king the with- drawal of the subsidiary force as the alter- native of abdication, was abandoned, and measures were taken for the assumption of the government of Oude, by issuing orders for the assembling of such a military force at Cawnpoor as, added to the troops can- toned at that station, and to those already in Oude, was considered sufficient to meet every immediate contingency. The addi- tional troops numbered about 13,000 men, and were placed under the divisional com- mand of (the late) Major-general Penny ; but constituted a distinct field force under (the late) Colonel Wheeler, as brigadier. In the meantime, the disorganisation of Oude was clearly on tbe increase, and one of its marked features was a rising spirit of Moslem fanaticism. It happened that a Mohammedan fast fell on the same day as a Hindoo feast; and Ameer Ali, a moolvee, or priest, of high repute, took advantage of the circumstance to incite his co-religiouists to a fierce onslaught on the Hindoos. Troops were ordered out to quell the dis- turbances; but Ameer Ali seized and con- fined two of the officers, assembled 3,000 men, and declared his intention of destroy- ing a certain Hindoo temple, and erecting a mosque in its stead. At length the British subsidiary force was employed by the king against the moolvee. An affray ensued, in

* Despatch from the Court of Directors, dated November 21st, 1855. Signed — E. Macnaghten, W. H. Sykes, &c., &c., &c. — Oude Blue Book, pp. 233—236.

t Dacoitee in Excelsis, p. 140.

j Oude Blue Book, p. 280.

which a body of Patans fought with the recklessness of fanaticism, and were cut down, standing shoulder to shoulder round their guns, by a party of Hindoo zemindars and their retainers. In all, 200 Hindoos and 300 Patans perished. This occurred in November, 1855. About the same time the Oude government became aware that some great change was in agitation. They asked the reason for the assembling of so large a force at Cawnpoor; and were, it is alleged, solemnly assured that it was in- tended to keep in check the Nepaulese, who were supposed to be meditating a descent towards the district of Nanparah.f

The veil, however, was soon withdrawn. On the 30th of January, 1856, General Outram requested the attendance of Ali Nukki Khan at the residency, and after in- forming him of the contemplated changes, “mentioned that, in order to prevent the chance of a disturbance on the part of evil- disposed persons, a strong brigade of troops was directed to cross the Ganges, and march on the capital.”J

Having impressed the minister with the futility of resistance, the resident pro- ceeded to seek, or rather to insist upon, au interview with the king. Remembering the discussions which had taken place be- tween the Nizam of Hyderabad and Colonel Low, the governor-general was anxious that General Outram should not be sur- prised into indiscreet admissions; and warned him, that it was “ very probable” that the king would refer to the treaty negotiated with his predecessor in the year 1837, of the entire abrogation of which the court of Lucknow had never been informed. “The effect of this reserve, and want of full communication, is felt to be embarrassing to-day. It is the more embarrassing that the cancelled instrument was still included in a volume of treaties which was published in 1845, by the authority of government. There is no better way of encountering this difficulty than by meeting it full in the face.” This was to be done by informing the king that the communication had been inadvertently neglected ; and the resident was authorised to state the regret felt by the governor-general in council, that “ any such neglect should have taken place even inad- vertently.” Should the king observe, that although the treaty of 1837 was annulled, a similar measure, less stringent than that now proposed, might be adopted, he was to be told, that all subsequent experience had

78 INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE KING AND GENERAL OUTRAM.

shown that the remedy then provided would be wholly inadequate to remove the evils and abuses which had long marked the con- dition of Oude.*

Such were the arguments put by the supreme government of India, into the mouth of General Outram. They must have been extremely unpalatable to a man whose friendly feeling towards Indian princes had been strengthened by personal and friendly intercourse, and not frozen by viceregal state, or neutralised by exclusive attention to the immediate interests and absorbing pecuniary anxieties of the East India Company. But the resident had swallowed a more bitter pill than this when negotiating with the unfortunate Ameers of Sinde, whom, in his own words, he had had to warn against resistance to our requisi- tions, as a measure that would bring down upon them utter and merited destruction ; while he firmly believed, that every life lost in consequence of our aggressions, would be chargeable upon us as a murder. +

In the present instance he was spared the task of adding insult to injury. Neither the king nor his minister attempted to stand upon any abstract theory of justice, or fought the ground, inch by inch, as Mahratta diplomatists would have done — throwing away no chance, but, amid defeat and humiliation, making the best possible terms for themselves. Wajid Ali Shah, on the contrary, “unkingly” as he had been described to be, and unfit to reign as he certainly was, did not stoop to discussions which he knew would avail him nothing, but acted on the imperial axiom, “ aut Ccesar aut nullus.”

When the resident proceeded, as pre- arranged, to present to the king the draft treaty now proposed, accompanied by a letter from the governor-general urging its acceptance, he found the palace courts nearly deserted, and the guns which pro- tected the inner gates dismounted from their carriages. The guard of honour were drawn up unarmed, and saluted him with their hands only. The mere official report of the inter- view is very interesting. The king received the treaty with the deepest emotion, and gave it to a confidential servant, Sahib- oo-Dowlah, to read aloud ; but the latter, overcome by his feelings, was unable to

* Letter from secretary of government to Major- general Outram, January 23rd, 1856. — Oude Blue Book, p. 243. -

f Outram’s Commentary on Napier’s Conquest of

proceed beyond the first few lines; on which the king took the treaty into his own hands, and silently read the document, in which he was called upon to admit that he and his predecessors had, by continual mal- administration, violated the treaty of 1801 ; and to make over the entire government of Oude to the East India Company in per- petuity, together with the free and exclusive right to “ the revenues thereof.” In re- turn for signing this humiliating abdication, Wajid Ali was to retain and bequeath “ to the heirs male of his body born in lawful wedlock” (not his heirs generally, accord- ing to Mohammedan law), the style of a sovereign prince, and a stipend of twelve lacs per annum.

After carefully perusing every article, the king exclaimed, in a passionate burst of grief — “Treaties are necessary between equals only ; who am I now, that the British government should enter into treaties with me?” Uncovering himself (the deepest token of humiliation which a Mohammedan can give),J he placed his turban in the hands of the resident, declaring that, now his titles, rank, and position were all gone, he would not trouble government for any mainte- nance, but would seek, in Europe, for that redress which it was vain to look for in India.

General Outram begged the king to re- flect, that if he persisted in withholding his signature, “ he would have no security what- ever for his future maintenance, or for that , of his family; that the very liberal provi- sion devised by the British government would inevitably be reconsidered and re- duced; that his majesty would have no guarantee for his future provision, and would have no claim ivhatever on the gene- rosity of the government.” The prime minister warmly supported the resident ; but the king’s brother exclaimed, that there was no occasion for a treaty, as his majesty was no longer in a position to be ■ one of the contracting powers. The king reiterated his unalterable resolve not to sign the treaty : the resident intimated that no further delay than three days could be permitted; and then, with the usual cere- monies and honours, took his leave.

The government, in their anxiety to ob- tain the king’s signature, had empowered

Sinde, p. 439. See also Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 451.

X May your father’s head be uncovered ! is one of the most bitter curses of the Mohammedans.

ANNEXATION OF OUDE

the resident to increase the proffered stipend of twelve lacs (£120,000) to fifteen, if their object could be thus attained. But the demeanour of Wajid Ali convinced General Outram that the promise of double that sum, or of any amount of money, would, have no effect; and he therefore considered it unworthy of the government he repre- sented, to make any offer to raise the pro- posed allowance by a lac or two per annum.

An attempt was made to gain the king’s consent through his mother, a lady re- markable for good sense and intelligence,* who exercised great influence over her son ; aud a yearly stipend of a lac of rupees was offered her as the reward of success. The reply of the queen-mother is not stated in General Outram’s account of the con- ference, and the circumstance itself is only incidentally mentioned ; but it is evident that she rejected it, and ceased not to pro- test against the proposed treaty, and to beg that a further period might be allowed, during which the king might be enabled to show to the world, by the adoption of vigorous reforms, how anxious and eager he was to follow out the plans of the British government.

The three days allowed for consideration elapsed: the king persisted in his resolve; and the resident carried out his instruc- tions by issuiug a proclamation, previously prepared at Calcutta, notifying the assump- tion of the exclusive and permanent ad- ministration of the territories of Oude by the Hon. East India Company.

The king offered no opposition whatever to the measures adopted by the British government ; but, in what the resident called “ a fit of petulance,” he ordered all his troops at the capital to be immediately paid-up and dismissed. General Outram thereupon informed the king, that it was incumbent on him to retain the soldiery until the arrangements of the new adminis- tration should be completed; adding, that should any disturbance take place, his majesty would be held responsible, and made answerable for the same. Upon the receipt of this threat, Wajid Ali Shah, having resolved to give no pretext for a quarrel, issued proclamations, desiring all his people, civil and military, to obey the orders issued by the British government ; to become its faithful subjects; and on no account to resort to resistance or rebellion.

* “ Note of a Conference with the queen-mother, by General Outram.” — Oude Blue Book, p. 286.

-7th FEBRUARY, 1855. 79

He expressed his determination of proceed- ing at once to Calcutta, to bring his case to the notice of the governor-general, and thence to England, to intercede with the Queen ; but he specially commanded that his sub- jects should not attempt to follow him. General Outram desired that this last para- graph should be omitted. It originated, he said, in the absurd idea impressed upon the king by his flatterers, that a general exodus of his people would follow his depar- ture ; or else was introduced with the inten- tion of exciting sympathy in Europe. “An- other manoeuvre,” he added, “ has been had recourse to, wTith the same object doubtless. For two days past, a written declaration of satisfaction with his majesty’s rule has been circulated for signature in the city, where it may probably meet with con- siderable success. Of course, most classes at Lucknow will suffer, more or less, from the deprivation of the national plunder which is squandered at the capital.”+

There is reason to believe that very gen- eral dismay was caused at Lucknow by the annexation of the kingdom. The breaking up of a native government is always a terrible crisis to the metropolis. In the present instance, the amount of immediate aud individual suffering was unusually large. The suddenness of the king’s depo- sition, and his refusal to sign the treaty, aggravated the distress which the change from native to European hands must have occasioned, even had it happened as a so- called lapse to the paramount power, iu the event of the sovereign’s death without heirs. As it was, the personal rights of the deposed monarch were dealt with as sum- marily as the inherited ones of the royal family of Nagpoor had been. No official account has been published of these pro- ceedings; but in the statement of the case of the King of Oude, attributed to Major Bird, the following assertions are made : —

“Since the confiscation of the Oude territory, the royal palaces, parks, gardens, menageries, plate, jewellery, household furniture, stores, wardrobes, carriages, rarities, and articles of vertu, together with the royal museum and library, containing 200,000 volumes of rare books, and manuscripts of immense value, have been sequestered. The king’s most valuable stud of Arabian, Persian, and Eng- lish horses, his fighting, riding, and baggage ele- phants, his camels, dogs and cattle, have all been sold by public auction at nominal prices. His majesty’s armoury, including the most rare and beautifully worked arms of every description, has also

t Major-general Outram to secretary of govern- ment, February 7th, 1856. — Oude Blue Book, p. 292.

80

DIFFERENT SETTLEMENT OF MYSOOR AND OUDE.

been seized, and its contents disposed of by sale or otherwise. * * * The ladies of the royal house-

hold were, on the 23rd of August, 1856, forcibly ejected from the royal palace of the Chuttar Mun- zul, by officers who neither respected their persons nor their property, and who threw their effects into the street.”*

It is to be hoped that the above state- ment is exaggerated ; and if so, it is espe- cially to be regretted that the British public, or their representatives, are not furnished with authentic information on so interest- ing and important a point as the manner in which the deposition of Wajid Ali Shah was accomplished, and in what respects it was calculated to raise or allay the ferment of the mass of the aristocratic and manu- facturing classes, the interests of the latter being closely associated with the former. In the Reply to the Charges against the King of Oude (already quoted), Wajid Ali Shah asserts, that the usurpation of his dominion would tend to destroy the trade in embroidered silk and cotton cloths. “ It is notorious, that three-fourths of the rich embroidered cloths of Benares are imported to Oude; the remainder, one-fourth, being sent to other countries. In Bengal and other provinces, people very seldom use these costly dresses.” The reason implied, rather than declared, by the king is pro- bably the true one ; namely, that his sub- jects could afford to clothe themselves in luxurious apparel, whereas those of the East India Company could not ; and he adds — “ My territories have not been strictly measured with chains so as to render it im- possible for the agriculturist to derive a profit, nor have I resumed the allowances of any class of people.”f

The testimony of the king regarding the probable results of his deposition, is, in part, corroborated by that of an eye-wit- ness, who will hardly be accused of exagge- rating the case; and who, in speaking of the many innocent sufferers from the change of government, includes in his list, “thousands of citizens who had previously found em- ploy in providing for the ordinary wants of the court and nobility. There were several hundreds of manufacturers of hookah snakes. The embroiderers in gold and silver thread were also reckoned by hundreds. The makers of rich dresses, fine turbans, highly ornamental shoes, and many other subordi

tion of the demand for the articles which they manufactured.”;];

Oude was taken possession of, very much more as if it had been obtained by force of arms than by diplomacy. Annexation on a large scale, is in either case a hazardous operation, requiring the greatest circum- spection. Let any one turn to the Wel- lesley and Wellington despatches, or to the Indian annals of that eventful period, and see the extreme care which was taken in the settlement of Mysoor — the forethought in preparing conciliatory measures, and meeting national prejudices; the liberal consideration for individual interests — and then peruse, in the parliamentary papers, the summary manner in which the native in- stitutions in Oude, without the least con- sideration or examination, were to be rooted up aud superseded by a cut-and-dried system, to be administered in the higher depart- ments exclusively by Europeans. After such a comparison of preliminary measures, the different results, in the case of Oude and Mysoor, will be deemed amply accounted for. It has been truly said of Lord Wellesley, in a leading Indian journal, that “ whatever he was suffered to carry out to his preme- ditated conclusion, fell into its place with as few disadvantages to the political and social state of Indian society, as a radical operation could well be attended with.” In the settlement of Mysoor, it is asserted, “ every difficulty was foreseen, and every exigency met; and the dynasty of Tippoo was plucked up, flung aside, and replaced by a new arrangement, which fitted into its place as if it had been there, untouched, from the days of Vishnu.” Regarding the occu- pation of Oude, a very different picture is drawn by the writer, who asserts, that its annexation was carried out in the most reckless manner, and that most important circumstances connected with it were en- tirely overlooked. “ In Lord Dalhousie’s opinion, all that was necessary was simply to march a small body of troops to Lucknow, and issue the fiat of annexation. This done, everything, it was supposed, would go on in an easy, plain-sailing manner. The inhabi- tants might not be satisfied; the zemindars might grumble a little in their forts ; the budmashes might frown and swagger in the bazaar; but what of that? The power of

nate trades, suffered severely from the cessa- the British was invincible.”^

* Dacoitee in Excelsis, p. 145. bins, of the Bengal civil service, financial commis-

t Reply to Charges , fyc., p. 43. sioner for Oudh. London : Bentley, 1858 ; p. 70.

i Mutinies in Oudh ; by Martin Richard Gub- ! § Bombay Athenceum.

ANNEXATION

The minutes of the supreme council certainly tend to corroborate the foregoing opinion, by showing that the difficulties and dangers attendant on the annexation of Oude were very imperfectly appreciated. The refusal of the king to sign the proffered treaty (though previously deprecated by the governor-general as an insurmountable ob- stacle to direct absorption), seems to have been welcomed when it actually occurred, as an escape from an onerous engagement ; and the submission of all classes — heredi- tary chiefs, discarded officials, unemployed tradespeople, and disbanded soldiery — was looked for as a matter of course ; auv con- cessions made by the annexators being vouchsafed as a matter of free grace, to be received with gratitude, whether it regarded the confirmation of an hereditary chiefdom, or a year’s salary on dismissal from office.

The king, Lord Dalhousie considered, by refusing to enter into any new engagement with the British government, had placed himself in entire dependence upon its plea- sure ; and although it was desirable that “all deference and respect, and every royal honour, should be paid to his majesty Wajid Ali Shah,” during his lifetime, together with a stipend of twelve lacs per annum, yet no promise ought now to be given of the continuance of the title, or of the pay- ment of the same amount of money to his heirs. Messrs. Dorin, Grant, and Peacock concurred in this opinion; but Major- i general Low minuted against “ the salary of the heirs” of Wajid Ali being left to the decision of a future government, the mem- ! bers of which would very probably not suffi- 1 ciently bear in mind the claims of the Oude family on the British government for com- fortable income at least. The minute pro- ceeded to state, that though, for many rea- ! sons, it was to be regretted that the kiug had not signed the treaty, yet, in a pecuniary point of view, his refusal was advantageous. To himself the loss had been great ; and, as he had issued all the orders and proclama- tions that could be desired, and had done his utmost to prevent all risk of strife at the capital, by dismounting his artillery, guns, &c., it would be harsh, and not creditable to a great paramount state, which would “gain immense profit from the possession of the Oude territories,” if, in addition to the punishment inflicted on the king, the income intended for his direct male heirs should also be curtailed.

Major-general Low was in a miuority of i VOJ,. II. M

OF OUDE— 1856. 81

one, as Mr. Peacock had been regarding the appropriation of the surplus revenue; and their opinions, in neither case, appear to have met with any consideration. The claims of the various classes of the popu- lation were treated in as summary and arbitrary a manner as those of their sove- reign ; and, owing to the peculiar constitu- tion of Oude, the experiment was a much more dangerous one in their case than in his. The administration was to be con- ducted, as nearly as possible, in accordance with the system which the experience of nearly seven years had proved to be emi- nently successful in the provinces beyond the Sutlej ; that is to say, the measures which had been matured, and gradually carried through, in the conquered Punjab, by the co-operation of some of the most earnest and philanthropic men whom Iudia has ever seen, was now to be thrust upon Oude, without any preliminary inquiry into its adaptation. In the Punjab, the Lawrences and their staff acted as a band of pacificators on an errand of love and mercy, rather than in the usual form of a locust-cloud of collectors. Such men, invested with considerable discretionary power, could scarcely fail of success ; yet one at least of them shrunk from enforcing the orders of government, and left the Punjab, because he could not bear to see the fallen state of the old officials and nobility.*

In Oude, the newly-created offices, rather than the men who were to fill them, occupy the foreground of the picture. General Outram was appointed chief commissioner, with two special military assistants, a judi- cial and financial commissioner, four com- missioners of divisions, twelve deputy-com- missioners of districts, eighteen assistant- commissioners, and eighteen extra assis- tants, to begin with. An inspector of gaols was to be appointed as soon as the new ad- ministration should be fairly established; and a promise was held out for the organisa- tion of a department of public works, to aid in developing the resources of the country.

The pay of the new functionaries was to range from 3,500 rupees to 250 rupees a month (say from £4,200 to £300 a-year.) The number of native officials to be retained was, as usual, miserably small, and their re- muneration proportionate!}' low. As a body, they were of course great losers by the revolution.

* Arthur Cocks, chief assistant to the resident. — 1 Iiaikes’ Revolt in the North-West Provinces, p. 25.

82 NATIVE FUNCTIONARIES SUPERSEDED BY EUROPEANS.

The king urged, as a special ground of complaint, the manner in which “ writers, clerks, and other attaches” of departments had been supplanted by strangers. “ Is it,” he asks, “ consistent with justice to de- prive people of the soil of situations of this nature, and bestow them on foreigners? Foreigners have no claim to support from the government of Oude, while natives of the soil are left without means of procuring their livelihood.”*

Mr. Gubbins, the financial commissioner for Oude, who was sent there at the period of the annexation, speaks of the sufferings of the nobility as having been aggravated by the neglect of the British functionaries. “ The nobles had received large pensions from the native government, the payment of which, never regular, ceased with the intro- duction of our rule. Government had made liberal provision for their support; but be- fore this could be obtained, it was necessary to prepare careful lists of the grantees, and to investigate their claims. It must be admit- ted, that in effecting this there was undue delay ; and that, for want of common means of support, the gentry and nobility of the city were brought to great straits and suffering. We were informed that families which had never before been outside the zunana, used to go out at night and beg their bread. ”f

When Sir Henry Lawrence came to Lucknow, towards the close of March, 1857, we are told that he applied himself to cause the dispatch of the necessary documents, and gave the sufferers assurance of early pay- ment and kind consideration. But nearly fourteen months had dragged slowly away before his arrival ; and a smouldering mass of disaffection had meanwhile accumulated, which no single functionary, however good and gifted, could keep from bursting iuto a flame.

The discharged soldiery of the native government, amounting to about 60,000 men, naturally regarded the new adminis- tration with aversion and hostility. Service was given to about 15,000 of them in newly- formed local regiments, and some found employment in the civil departments. The large proportion, for whom no permanent provision could be made, received small pensions or gratuities : for instance, those who had served from twenty-five to thirty years, received one-fourth of their emolu- ments as pension ; and those who had served

* Reply to Charges, p. 43.

f Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, p. 70.

from seven to fifteen years, received three months5 pay as a gratuity. Under seven years5 service, no gratuity whatever appears to have been given to the unfortunates sud- denly turned adrift for no fault of their own. It was further decreed, that no person whatever should be recommended for pension or gratuity, who should decline employment offered to him under the British govern- ment.]; Of the late king’s servants, civil and military, many remained without any per- manent provision ; and not a few refused employ — some because they hoped that the native kingdom would be restored; but the majority of the soldiery, on account of the severity of the British discipline^

By far the greatest difficulties in which the new' government became involved, re- garded the settlement of titles to land. Con- sidering the long series of years during which at least the temporary assumption of the powers of administration had been con- templated by the British government, it is not a little surprising to find the governor- general in council avowedly unprovided with “ any information as to the extent and value of rent-free holdings in Oude, or as to the practice which may have prevailed under the native government in respect of these grants.” Without waiting for any en- lightenment on the subject, rules are laid down “ for the adjudication of claims of the class under consideration;” and, as might have been reasonably expected, these rules worked badly for all parties.

The despatch above quoted is very able, but decidedly bureaucratic throughout : its arbitrary provisions and minute details re- mind one of the constitutions which the Abbe Sieves kept in the pigeon-holes of his writing-table, ready for any emergency. No consideration was evinced therein for the peculiar state of society in Oude, or even for the prominent features portrayed by Colonel Sleeman in his honest but cur- sory investigation. The fact was, that Oude, instead of the exclusively Mohamme- dan kingdom, or the British dependency, which it was represented to be, was really a Hindoo confederacy, presided over by a foreign dynasty. The most powerful class were Rajpoot chiefs, claiming descent from the snn and the moon; who laughed to scorn the mushroom dynasty of Wajid Ali, and regarded, with especial contempt, his assumption of the kingly title. These men,

J Oude Blue Book for 1856, p. 278.

§ Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, p. 69.

THE TALOOKDARS OF OUDE. 83

united, might at any moment have compelled ! the Mohammedan ruler to abdicate or govern on just principles, had not co-operation for such an object been rendered impracticable by their own intestine strife. The state of things among them resembled that which brought and kept the Rajpoot princes under partial subjection : the faggots bound up together could not have been broken ; but it was easy to deal with them one by one. Thus the suzerainty of the Mogul emperor was established over Rajast'han ; and thus, though somewhat more firmly, because on a smaller scale, the power of the usurping governors was fixed in Oude. But the great jungle barons were overawed rather than subjugated ; and, iu the time of Colonel Sleeman, the officers of the native government could not examine into their rent-rolls, or measure their lands, or make any inquiry into the value of the estates, except at the risk of open rebellion. They had always a number of armed and brave retainers, ready to support them in any enterprise ; and the amount was easily in- creased ; for in India there is seldom any lack of loose characters, ready to fight for the sake of plunder alone.*

The talookdars were mostly the hereditary representatives of Rajpoot clans; but some were the heads of new families (Hindoo or Mohammedan), sprung from govern- ment officials, whose local authority had enabled them to acquire a holding of this description. The term “ talookdar” means holder of a talook, or collection of villages, and, like that of zemindar (as used iu Ben- gal), implied no right of property in the villages on behalf of which the talookdar engaged to pay the state a certain sum, and from which he realised a somewhat larger one, which constituted his remuneration. In fact, the property in the soil was actually vested in the village communities; who “ are,” says Mr. Gubbins, “ the only pro- prietors of the soil ; and they value this right of property in the land above all earthly treasure.”+

Over these talookdars there were govern- ment officers (with whom they have often been confounded), and who, under the title of Nazims or Cbukladars, annually farmed from government the revenues of large tracts of country for a certain fixed pay- ment; all that they could squeeze out in

* Sleeman’s Oude, vol. ii., pp. 1, 2.

t Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, p. 61.

I Letter on Oudh and its Talookdars, p. 2.

excess being their own profit. “These men, from the necessities of their position, were,” says Carre Tucker, “ the greatest tyrants and oppressors imaginable. Backed by artillery, and the armed force of gov- ernment, it was their business to rack-rent the country, extracting, within the year of their lease, all that they possibly could ; whilst landholders resisted their exactions by force of arms. A constant war was thus carried on, and the revenue payments varied according to the relative strength of the nazim and the landowners To avoid such contests, and obtain the privilege of paying a fixed sum direct into the govern- ment treasury, many of the talookdars would bid for the farm of their own part of the country. Such men, while acting as lord- lieutenants, would of course use their delegated uuthority to consolidate their influence over their own clan and tenantry, and also to usurp rights over independent village communities.” This system led to the most cruel oppression ; but it was sup- ported by the ministers and courtiers of the king at Lucknow, as leading to an annual repetition of presents and bribes, without which no candidate could hope to obtain investiture as nazim or chukladar. J

The government, not content with abo- lishing this manifest evil, attempted to re- volutionise, at a stroke, the whole state of society, by sweeping aside the entire class of chiefs and barons, with the incidents of their feudal tenure, and making the revenue settlement with the village communities and smaller holders. Hereditary rights, unquestioned during successive genera- tions, were confounded with those exer- cised by the revenue farmers ex officio, and the settlement officers were desired to deal with the proprietary coparcenaries which were believed to exist in Oude, and not to suffer the interposition of middlemen, such as talookdars, farmers of the revenue, and such like. The claims of these, if they had any tenable ones, might be, it was added, more conveniently considered at a future period.

Nothing could be more disheartening to the great landowners than this indefinite ‘adjournment of any consideration of their claims; which, in effect, acted like a decree of confiscation, with a distant and very slight chance of ultimate restitution. It was quite evident that the motive of the measure was expediency, and that the government had, as stated by the Times,

84 TALOOKDARS OF THE NORTH-WEST PROVINCES.

“ a natural leaning in favour of the peasant cultivators, to the detriment of the war- like and turbulent chiefs,’, whom it was thought politic to put down ; and the plan of ignoring their ancient possessions had the additional advantage of bringing their manorial dues, averaging from ten to twenty per cent, on the village assessment, into the public exchequer.

The summary settlement in Oude too far resembled that which had been pre- viously carried through, with a high hand, in the North-West Provinces, concerning which much evidence has recently beeu made public. Mr. H. S. Boulderson, a Bengal civilian, engaged in establishing the revenue settlement of 1844, declares, that whether the talookdars in Oude experienced, or only anticipated, the same dealings from our government which the talookdars in the North-West Provinces received, they must have had a strong motive to dread our rule. “The ‘confiscation’ which has been pro- claimed against them — whether it really means confiscation, or something else — could not be more effectually destructive to what- ever rights they possessed, than the dis- graceful injustice by which the talookdars of the North-West Provinces were extin- guished.” He asserts, that the settlement involved au utter inversion of the rights of property; and that the commissioners, in dealing with what they termed “the patent right of talookdaree,” and which even they acknowledged to be an here- ditary right which had descended for cen- turies, treated it as a privilege dependent on the pleasure of government, and assumed the authority of distributing at pleasure the profits arising out of the limitation of their ; own demand.*

The opinion of Sir William Sleemati has been already quoted concerning the treat- ment which the landed proprietors had re- ceived in the half of Oude annexed by the , British government in 1801, and now in- cluded in the North-West Provinces. By his testimony, the measures, and the men who enforced them, were equally obnoxious to the native chiefs and talookdars; being resolved on favouring the village communi- ties, to the exclusion of every kind of vested interest between them and the state trea- sury. Sir William states — j “ In the matter of discourtesy to the native

* Minute on the Talookdaree cases, recorded on | 2nd of April, 1844. Printed for private circulation in June, 1858 ; p. 19.

gentry, I can only say that Robert Martin Bird in- sulted them whenever he had the opportunity of doing so ; and that Mr. Thomason was too apt to imitate him in this, as in other things. Of course their example was followed by too many of their followers and admirers. * * * It has always

struck me that Mr. Thomason, in his system, did all he could to discourage the growth of a middle and upper class on the land — the only kind of property on which a good upper and middle class could be sustained in the present state of society in India. His village republics, and the ryotwar system of Sir Thomas Munro at Madras, had precisely the same tendency to subdivide minutely property in land, and reduce all landholders to the common level of impoverishment. * * * Mr. Thomason would

have forced his village republics upon any new country or jungle that came under his charge, and thereby rendered improvement impossible. * * * He would have put the whole under our judicial courts, and have thereby created a class of pettifog- ging attornies, to swallow up all the surplus produce of the land. * * * Mr. Thomason, I am told,

systematically set aside all the landed aristocracy of the country as a set of middlemen, superfluous and mischievous. The only part of India in which I have seen a middle and higher class maintained upon the land, is the moderately settled districts of the Saugor and Nerbudda territories; and there is no part of India where our government and character are so much beloved and respected.”!

Mr. Gubbins makes some very impor- tant admissions regarding the revenue sys- tem pursued in the North-West Provinces, and that subsequently attempted in Oude.

“ The pressure of the government demand is, in many districts, greatly too high. It is too high in Alighur, in Mynpoorie, in Boolundshuhur, and throughout the greater part of Rohilcund. The principle on which that settlement was made, was to claim, as the share of government, two-thirds of the nett rental. But the fraud and chicanery opposed to our revenue officers, caused them unwittingly to fix the demand at more than this share. In Oude, after repeated and most careful examination, I came un- hesitatingly to the conclusion, that the gov- ernment collector appropriated, if possible, the entire rent, and never professed to relinquish any part of it.”J Of course, under a system which grasped at the entire rent of the soil, there could be no landlord class : a very short period of time would suffice for their extinction ; and any so- called proprietary rights must, in due course, have also been annihilated.

No arguments in favour of the village system (excellent as this was in its place and degree), could justify the suppression of

f Sleeman’s Oude, vol. ii., p. 413. Letter to Mr. Colvin, dated “Lucknow, 28th December, 1853.”

I Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh. p. 73.

	SEPOYS AFFECTED BY	ANNEXATION OF OUDE. 85
	every other co-existing institution. But	generally were impoverished and distressed;
	the projected change, even had it been un-	but the sepoys, he says, had benefited by the
	exceptionable in its tendency, was altogether	change of government, and were rejoicing
	too sudden: the village communities were	in the encouragement given to the village
	not strong enough to feel safe in occupying	communities at the expense of the talook-
	the vantage-ground on which they were so	dars. Thousands of sepoy families laid
	unexpectedly placed; and many of them	complaints of usurpation before the revenue
	considered the rough-and-ready patriarchal	officers, and “many hundreds of villages at
	swav of their chiefs hut ill-exchanged for	once passed into their hands from those of
	our harsh and unbending revenue system,	the talooqdars ! Whatever the talooqdar
	and tedious and expensive law processes.	lost, the sepoy gained. No one had so
	Government erred grievously “in following	great cause for gratulation as he.”
	supposed political and financial expediency,	The sepoys, although an exceptional class,
	instead of ascertaining and maintaining	had their own grievance, besides sharing in
	existing rights in possession; and in sup-	the general distrust and aversion enter-
	posing, that in the course of a very hurried	tained by the whole people at the idea of
	assessment of revenue by officers, many of	being brought under the jurisdiction of our
	whom were inexperienced, it was possible	civil courts; as well as at the introduction
	to adjudicate properly difficult claims to	of the Company’s opium monopoly, and the
	former rights.* Lord Dalhousie’s succes-	abkaree, or excise, on the retail sale of all
	sor admits it to be too true, “that unjust	spirituous liquors and intoxicating drugs,
	decisions were come to by some of our local	the consumption of which wras very large
	officers, in investigating and judging the	throughout Oude, and especially among the
	titles of the landholders.5’-}- The natural	soldiery.
	consequence was, as stated by General	Under the native government, the Bri-
	Outram, that the landholders, having been	tish sepoys enjoyed special and preferential	1
	“most unjustly treated under our settle-	advantages, their complaints being brought
	ment operations,” and “smarting, as they	to its notice by the intervention of the
	were, under the loss of their lands,” with	resident. Each family made a point of
	hardly a dozen exceptions, sided against us,	having some connection in the British
	when thev saw that “our rule was virtually	army, and, through him, laid their case
	at an end, the whole country overrun,	before his commanding officer. The sepoy’s	i
	and the capital in the hands of the rebel	petition was countersigned by the English
	soldiery .”J The yeomanry, whom we had	colonel, and forwarded to the resident, by
	prematurely attempted to raise to inde-	whom it vvas submitted to the king. || This
pendence, followed the lead of their natural	privilege was not recognised or named in
chiefs. All this might, it is alleged, have	any treaty or other engagement with the
been prevented, had a fair and moderate	sovereign of Oude, nor could its origin be
	assessment been made with the talookdar,	traced in any document recorded in the
	wherever he had had clear possession for	resident’s office;^ but it was in full opera-
	the legal limit of twelve years, together	tion at the time of our occupation of
	with a sub-settlement for the protection	Oude ; and had been, for a long term of
	of the village communities and cultiva-	years, the subject of continued discussion
	tors.§	between successive residents and the native
	Very contradictory opinions are enter-	durbar.
	tained regarding the manner in which the	Mr. Gubbins considers that the termina-
	British sepoys were affected by the annexa-	tion of this custom could not have produced
	tion of Oude.	disaffection among the sepoys, because but
	Mr. Gubbins admits, that when the muti-	little redress was thereby procured by them.
	nies commenced in the Bengal army, the	“ Some trifling alleviation of the injury
	talookdars in Oude were discontented and ag-	complained of, might be obtained; but that
	grieved ; numbers of discharged soldiers were	was all. That a sepoy plaintiff ever sue-
	brooding over the recollection of their former	ceeded in wresting his village from the
	license ; and the inhabitants of the cities	grasp of the oppressor, by aid of the British
	* Letter on Oudh and its Talookdars ; by H.	! Despatch dated 8th March, 1858. — Pari. Pa-
	Carre Tucker : p. 5.	pers, p. 1. § Carre Tucker’s Letter, p. 7.
	t Despatch dated 31st March, 1858. — Pari. Papers	|| Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, p. 64.
	on Oude (Commons), 20th May, 1S58 ; p. 4.	H Sleeman’s Oude, vol. i., p. 289.

86 SEPOY RIGHT OF APPEAL MUCH ABUSED.

resident, I never heard ; if it ever occurred, the cases must have been isolated and ex- traordinary.”*

The evidence of Sir W. Sleeman (whose authority is very high on this subject, in his double character of officer and resident) is directly opposed to that above cited. He thought the privilege very important ; but desired its abolition because it had been greatly abused, and caused intolerable annoyance to the native government. The military authorities, he said, desired its con- tinuance ; for though the honest and hard- working sepoys usually cared nothing about it, a large class of the idle and unscrupu- lous considered it as a lottery, in which they might sometimes draw a prize, or ob- tain leave of absence, as the same sepoy has been known to do repeatedly for ten months at a time, on the pretext of having a case pending in Oude. Consequently, they en- deavoured to impress their superiors with the idea, “that the fidelity of the whole native army” depended upon the mainte- nance and extension of this right of appeal. And the privilege was gradually extended, until it included all the regular, irregular, and local corps paid by the British gov- ernment, with the native officers and se- poys of contingents employed in, and paid by, native states, who were drafted into them from the regular corps of our army up to a certain time — the total number amounting to between 50,000 and 60,000. At one period, the special right of the sepoys to the resident’s intervention extended to their most distant relatives ; but at the ear- nest entreaty of the native administration, it was restricted to their wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. “ In con- sequence, it became a common custom with them to lend or sell their names to more remote relations, or to persons not related to them at all. A great many bad charac- ters have, in this way, deprived men of lands which their ancestors had held in undis- puted right of property for many genera- tions or centuries; for the court, to save themselves from the importunity of the residency, has often given orders for the claimant being put in possession of the lauds without due inquiry, or any inquiry at all.”f

The use or abuse of the privilege de- pended chiefly on the character of the resi-

* Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, p. 65.

f Sleeman’s Oude, vol. i., pp. 288 — 292.

j Ibid., p. 289.

dent ; and that it was occasionally shame- 1 fully abused, is a fact established, we are told, by the residency records.

“ If the resident happens to be an impatient, over- bearing man, he will often frighten the durbar and its courts, or local officers, into a hasty decision, by | which the rights of others are sacrificed for the native officers and sepoys ; and if he be at the same time an unscrupulous man, he will sometimes direct that the 1 sepoy shall be put in possession of what he claims, in order to relieve himself from his importunity, or from that of his commanding officer, without taking the trouble to inform himself of the grounds on which the claim is founded. Of all such errors there are, unhappily, too many instances recorded in the resident’s office.”!

Sir W. Sleeman adduces repeated in- stances of sepoys being put in possession of landed estates, to which they had no right- ful claim, by the British government, at the cost of many lives; and quotes, as an illus- tration of the notorious partiality with which sepoy claims were treated, the case of a shopkeeper at Lucknow, who pur- chased a cavalry uniform, and by pretending to be an invalid British trooper, procured the signature of the brigadier commanding the troops in Oude, to numerous petitions, which were sent for adjustment to the durbar through the resident. This pro- cedure he continued for fifteen years ; and, to crowrn all, succeeded in obtaining, by the aid of government, forcible possession of a landed estate, to which he had no manner of right. Soon after, he sent in a petition stating that he had been in turn ejected, and four of his relations killed by the dis- possessed proprietor. Thereupon an in- quiry took place, and the whole truth came out. The King of Oude truly observed, with regard to this affair : — “ If a person known to thousands in the city of Lucknow is able, for fifteen years, to carry on such a trade successfully, how much more easy must it be for people in the country, not known to any in the city, to carry it on !”§

On one occasion, no less than thirty lives were lost in attempting to enforce an award in favour of a British sepoy. On another, a sepoy came to the assistant-resident (Captain Shakespear), clamouring for jus- tice, and complaining that no notice of his petition had been taken by the native gov- ernment. On being questioned, he ad- mitted that no less than forty persons had been seized, and were in prison, on his re- quisition.

§ Letter of the King of Oude to the resident; 16th June, 1836. — Sleeman’s Journey through Oude, vol. i., p. 286.

BRITISH SEPOYS RECRUITED FROM BYSWARA AND BANODA. 87

As to punishing the sepoys for preferring fraudulent claims, that was next to impos- sible, both on account of the endless trouble which it involved, and the difficulty, if not impossibility, of procuring a conviction from a court-martial composed of native officers ; the only alternative being, to lay the case before the governor-general. The natural consequence was, that the sepoys became most importunate, untruthful, and unscru- pulous in stating the circumstances of their claims, or the grounds of their com- plaints.*

It is impossible to read the revelations of Colonel Sleeman on this subject, without feeling that the British authorities them- selves aggravated the disorganisation in the native administration, which was the sole plea for annexation. At the same time, it is no less clear, that the injustice perpe- trated on behalf of the sepoys, was calcu- lated to exercise a most injurious effect on their morals and discipline. The unmerited success often obtained by fraud and col- lusion, was both a bad example and a cause of disgust to the honest and scrupulous, on whom the burthen of duties fell, while their comrades were enjoying themselves in their homes, on leave of absence, obtained for the purpose of prosecuting unreasonable or false claims. Of the honest petitioners, few obtained what they believed to be full justice ; and where one was satisfied, four became discontented. Another cause of disaffection arose when it was found necessary to check the growing evil, by de- creeing that the privilege of urging claims through the resident should cease when native officers and sepoys were transferred from active service to the invalid establish- ment.

Altogether, the result of making the se- poys a privileged class (in this, as in so many other ways), was equally disastrous to their native and European superiors. Colonel Sleeman says, that the British recruits were procured chiefly from the Byswara and Banoda divisions of Oude, whose in- habitants vaunt the quality of the water for tempering soldiers, as we talk of the water of Damascus for tempering sword- blades. “ The air and water of Malwa,” it is popularly said, “ may produce as good trees and crops as those of Oude, but cannot produce as good soldiers/’ They are de-

• Sleeman’s Journey through Oude, vol. i., p. 292.

t Ibid., vol. i., p. 289.

| See Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 62.

! scribed as never appearing so happy as when fighting in earnest with swords, spears, and matchlocks, aud consequently are not much calculated for peaceful citizens; but the British sepoys who came home ou furlough to their families (as they were freely permitted to do in time of peace, not only to petition the native government, but also ostensibly to visit their families, on reduced pay and allowances), were the terror, even in the midst of this warlike population, of their non-privileged neighbours and co- sharers in the land.

The partiality shown them did not pre- vent “the diminished attachment felt by the sepoys for their European officers” from becoming an established fact ; and officers, when passing through Oude in their travels or sporting excursions, have of late years generally complained, that they received less civility from villages in which British in- valids or furlough sepoys were located, than from any others; and that if anywhere treated with actual disrespect, such sepoys were generally found to be either the per- petrators or instigators. f

The evidence collected in preceding pages, seems to place beyond dispute, that the an- nexation of Oude, if it did not help to light the flames of mutiny, has fanned and fed them by furnishing the mutineers with refuge and co-operation in the territories which were ever in close alliance with us when they formed an independent kingdom ; but which we, by assuming dominion over them on the sole plea of rescuing the inhabitants from gross misgovernment, have changed into a turbulent and insurrectionary pro- vince.

The metamorphosis was not accomplished by the deposition of the dynasty of Wajid Ali Shah. Indian princes generally, might, and naturally would, view with alarm so flagrant a violation of treaties, and of the first principles of the law of nations; but the Hindoos of Oude could have felt little regret for the downfall of a government essentially sectarian and unjust. The kings of Oude, unlike the majority of Moham- medans in India, were Sheiahs;J and so bigoted and exclusive, that no Sheiah could be sentenced to death at Lucknow for the murder even of a Sonnite, much less for that of a Hindoo. According to Colonel Sleeman, it was not only the law, but the everyday practice, that if a Hindoo mur- dered a Hindoo, and consented to become a Mussulman, he could not be executed for

88 TELEGRAPH ESTABLISHED BETWEEN CAWNPOOR AND LUCKNOW.

the crime, even though convicted and sentenced.*

Under such a condition of tilings, it is at least highly probable, that a rigidly impar- tial and tolerant administration would have been a welcome change to the Hindoo popu- lation. That it has proved the very reverse, is accounted for by the aggressive measures initiated by the new government, and the inefficient means by which their enforce- ment was attempted.

The latter evil was, to a certain extent, un- avoidable. The Russian war deprived In- dia of the European troops, which Lord Dal- housie deemed needful for the annexation of Oude : but this does not account for the grave mistake made in raising a contingent of 12,000 men, for the maintenance of the newly-annexed country, almost entirely from the disbanded native army. These levies, with half-a-dozen regular corps, formed the whole army of occupation.

Sir Henry Lawrence foresaw the danger ; and in September, 1856, seven months be- fore the commencement of the mutiny, he urged, that some portion of the Oude levies should change places with certain of the Punjab regiments then stationed on the Indus. Oude, he said, had long been the Alsatia of India — the resort of the dissi- pated and disaffected of every other state, and especially of deserters from the British ranks. It had been pronounced hazardous to employ the Seiks in the Punjab in 1849; and the reason assigned for the different policy now pursued in Oude was, that the former kingdom had been conquered, and the latter “ fell in peace.” Sir Henry pointed out the fallacy of this argument, and the materials for mischief which still remained in Oude, which he described as containing “ 246 forts, besides innumerable smaller strongholds, many of them sheltered within thick jungles. In these forts are 476 guns. Forts and guns should all be in the hands of government, or the forts should be razed. Many a foolish fellow has been urged on to his own ruin by the possession of a paltry fort, and many a paltry mud fort has repulsed British troops.”f

The warning was unheeded. The gov- ernment, though right in their desire to

protect and elevate the village communities, were unjust in the sweeping and indiscrimi- nating measures which they adopted in favour of the villagers, and for the increase in the public revenue, anticipated from the setting aside of the feudal claims of the so-called middlemen. Before attempting to revolutionise the face of society, it would have been only politic to provide unques- tionable means of overawing the opposition which might naturally be expected from so warlike, not to say turbulent, a class as the Rajpoot chiefs.

Had men of the Lawrence school been sent to superintend the “ absorption” of Oude, it is probable they might have seen the danger, and suggested measures of con- ciliation ; but, on the contrary, it is asserted, that the European officials employed were almost all young and inexperienced men, and that their extreme opinions, and the corruption of their native subordinates, aggravated the unpopularity of the system they came to administer. Personal quarrels arose between the leading officers ; and the result was a want of vigour and co-opera- tion in their public proceedings.!

Meantime, the obtainment of Oude was a matter of high-flown congratulation be- tween the home and Indian authorities. The Company have changed their opinion since ; § but, at the time, they accepted the measure as lawful, expedient, and very cleverly carried out. Far from being disappointed at the want of enthusiasm evinced by the people in not welcoming their new rulers as deliverers, their passive submission (in accordance with the procla- mations of Majid Ali Shah) called forth, from the Court of Directors, an expres- sion of “ lively emotions of thankfulness and pleasure,” at the peaceable manner in which “ an expanse of territory embracing an area of nearly 25,000 square miles, and containing 5,000,000 inhabitants, has passed from its native prince to the Queen of Eng- land, without the expenditure of a drop of blood, and almost without a murmur.” ||

Upon the assumption of the government of Oude, a branch electric telegraph was commenced to connect Cawnpoor and Luck- now. In eighteen working days it was completed, including the laying of a cable,

* Sleeman’s Oude, vol. i., p. 135. f Article on “ Army Reform by Sir H. Law- rence.— Calcutta Review for September, 1856.

} See Letter signed “ Index,” dated “ Calcutta, De- cember 9th, 1857.” — Times, January 15th, 1858.

§ See Despatch of the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors, 19th April, 1858. — Pari. Papers, 7th May, 1858; p. 4.

|| Despatch dated December, 1856. — Oude Blue Book for 1856; p. 2S8.

i

FIRST TELEGRAPHIC MESSAGE

6,000 feet in length, across the Ganges. On the morning of the 1st of March, Lord Dalhousie (who on that day resigned his office) put to General Outram the signifi- cant question — “Is all quiet in Oude?” The reply, “ All is quiet in Oude,” greeted Lord Canning on his arrival in Calcutta.

On the previous day, a farewell letter had been written to the King of Oude by the retiring governor-general, expressing his satisfaction that the friendship which had so long existed between the lion. East India Company and the dynasty of Wajid Ali Shah, should have daily become more firmly established. “ There is no doubt,” he adds, “ that Lord Canning will, in the same manner as I have done, strengthening and confirming this friendship, bear in mind and give due consideration to the treaties and engagements which are to exist for ever.”*

It is difficult to understand what diplo- matic purpose was to be served by this reference to the eternal duration of treaties which had been declared null and void, and engagements proffered by one party, which the other had at all hazards persisted in rejecting; or why Lord Dalhousie, so clear, practical, and upright in his general cha- racter, should seem to have acted so unlike himself in all matters connected with what may be termed his foreign policy.

It must not, however, be forgotten, that that policy, in all its circumstances, was sanctioned and approved, accepted and rewarded, by the East India Company. Lord Dalhousie's measures were consistent throughout ; and he enjoyed the confidence and support of the directors during the whole eight years of his administration, in a degree to which few, if any, of his prede- cessors ever attained. It w'as the unquali- fied approval of the home authorities that rendered the annexation policy the promi- nent feature of a system which the people of India, of every creed, clime, and tongue, looked upon as framed for the express pur- pose of extinguishing all native sovereignty and rank. And, in fact, the measures lately pursued are scarcely explicable on any other ground. The democratic element is, no doubt, greatly on the increase in England ; yet our institutions and our pre- judices are monarchical and aristocratic :

* Letter, vouched for as a true translation by Robert Wilberforce Bird, and printed in a pam- phlet entitled Case of the King of Ou.de ; by Mr. John Davenport: August 27th, 18oG.

VOL. II. N

FROM OUDE, 1st MARCH, 1836. 89

and nothing surprises our Eastern fellow- subjects more, than the deference and courtesy paid by all ranks iu the United Kingdom, to rajahs and nawabs, who, iu their hereditary principalities, had met — as many of them aver — with little civility, and less justice, at the hands of the representa- tives of the East India Company.

Yet, it was not so much a system as a want of system, which mainly conduced to bring about the existing state of things. The constant preponderance of expenditure above income, and au ever-present sense of precariousuess, have been probably the chief reasons why the energies of the Anglo- Indian government have been, of late years, most mischievously directed to degrading kings, chiefs, nobles, gentry, priests, and laudowmers of various degrees, to one dead level of poverty — little above pauperism. We have rolled, by sheer brute force, an irou grinder over the face of Hindoo society — crushed every lineament into a disfigured mass — squeezed from it every rupee that even torture could extract; and lavished the money, thus obtained, on a small white oligarchy and an immense army of mercenary troops, who were believed to be ready, at any moment, to spread fire and the sword wherever any opposition should be offered to the will of the paramount pow'er, whose salt they ate.

We thought the sepoys would always keep down the native chiefs, and, when they were destroyed, the people ; and we did not anticipate the swift approach of a time when we should cry to the chiefs and peor pie to help us to extinguish the incendiary flames of our own camp, and to wrench the sword from the hands in which we had so vauntingly placed it.

Iu our moment of peril, the defection of the upper classes of Ilindoostan was “almost universal.” But surely it is no wonder that they should have shown so little attachment to our rule, when it is admitted, even by the covenanted civil service, that they “ have not much to thank us for.”

Throughout British India, several native departments are declared to have been “ grossly underpaid,” particularly the police service, iuto which it has been found diffi- cult to get natives of good family to enter at all. In revenue offices, they were for- merly better paid than at present. The general result of our proceedings has been, that at the time of the mutiny, “ the native

HEAVY EXPENDITURE CONSEQUENT ON POLYGAMY.

90

gentry were daily becoming more reduced, were pinched by want of means, and were therefore discontented.”*

It is difficult to realise the full hardship of their position. Here were men who would have occupied, or at least have had the chance of occupying, the highest positions of the state under a native government, and who were accustomed to look to the service of the sovereign as the chief source of honourable and lucrative employment, left, frequently with no alternative but starvation or the acceptance of a position and a salary under foreign masters, that their fathers would have thought suitable only for their poorest retainers. Not one of them, however ancient his lineage, how- ever high his attainments, could hope to be admitted within the charmed circle of the covenanted civil service, as the equal of the youngest writer, or even in the army, to take rank with a new-fledged ensign.

The expenses of an Asiatic noble are enormous. Polygamy is costly in its inci- dentals; and the head of a great family is looked to, not only for the maintenance of his own wives and children, in a style pro- portionate to their birth, but also of those of his predecessors. The misery which the levelling policy produced, was severely felt by the pensioners and dependents of the fallen aristocracy, by the aged and the sick, by women and children. And this latter fact explains a marked feature in the present rebellion ; namely, the number of women who have played a leading part in the in- surrection. The Ranee of Jhansi, and her sister, with other Hindoo princesses of less note, have evinced an amount of ability and resolve far beyond that of their country- men ; and the cause of disaffection with almost all of these, has been the setting aside of their hereditary rights of succes- sion and of adoption. They have viewed the sudden refusal of the British govern- ment to sanction what they had previously encouraged, as a most faithless and arbitrary procedure ; and many chiefs, whose hosti- lity is otherwise unaccountable, will pro- bably, like the chief of Nargoond, prove to have been incited to join the mutineers chiefly, if not exclusively, by this particular grievance.

* Gubbins’ Mutinies in Ouclh, pp. 56, 57.

t Regulation xxxi., of 1803.

1 For instance, in the alienation of a part of the revenues of the post-office, and other public depart- ments ; enacted in the case of certain noble families.

A branch of the annexation question, in which the violation of rights of succes- sion is also a prominent feature, yet re- mains to be noticed — namely, the

Resumption of Rent-free Lands ; whereby serious disaffection has been produced in the minds of a large class of dispossessed proprietors. All rightful tenure of this kind is described, in the regulations of the East India Company, as based upon a well- known provision “ of the ancient law of India, by which the ruling power is entitled to a certain proportion of the annual pro- duce of every beegah (acre) of land, except- ing in cases in which that power shall have made a temporary or permanent alienation of its right to such proportion of the pro- duce, or shall have agreed to receive, instead of that proportion, a specific sum annually, or for a term of years, or in perpetuity.”!

Both Hindoo and Mohammedan sove- reigns frequently made over part, or the whole, of the public revenue of a village, or even of a district, to one of their officers; they often assigned it in jaghire for the maintenance of a certain number of troops, or gratuitously for life, as a reward for service done ; and sometimes in perpetuity. In the latter case, the alienation was more complete than that practised in the United Kingdom;! for here titles and estate escheat to the state on the death of the last legal representative of a family; but, among the Hindoos, such lapse never, or most rarely occurs, since all the males marry, in child- hood generally, several wives ; and their law vests rights of succession and adoption in the widows of the deceased. These rights were acknowledged equally by Hindoo and Moslem rulers — by the Peishwa of Poona, and the Nawab-vizier of Oude ; the only difference being, that in the event of adop- tion, a larger nuzzurana, or tributary offer- ing, was expected on accession, than if the heir had been a son by birth : in other words, the legacy duty was higher in the one case than the other.

“ Enam,” or “ gift,” is the term commonly given to all gratuitous grants, whether temporary or in perpetuity — whether to individuals, or for religious, charitable, or educational purposes : but it is more strictly applicable to endowments of the latter de- scription; in which case, the amount of state-tribute transferred was frequently very considerable, and always in perpetuity. “A large proportion of the grants to indi- viduals,” Mountstuart Elphinstone writes,

RESUMPTION COMMISSION APPOINTED IN BENGAL -1836. 91

“ are also in perpetuity, and are regarded as among the most secure forms of private property ; but the gradual increase of such instances of liberality, combined with the frequency of forged deeds of gift, some- times induces the ruler to resume the grants of his predecessors, and to burden them with heavy taxes. When these are laid on transfers by sales, or even by succession, they are not thought unjust; but total re- sumption, or the permanent levy of a fixed rate, is regarded as oppressive.”*

During the early years of the Company’s rule, the perpetual enam tenures were sedu- lously respected; but as the supreme govern- ment grew richer in sovereignty, and poorer in purse (for the increase of expenditure always distanced that of revenue), the col- lectors began to look with a covetous eye on the freeholders. They argued, truly enough, that a great many of the titles to land were fraudulent, or had been fraudu- lently obtained ; and in such cases, where grounds of suspicion existed, any govern- ment would have been in duty bound to make inquiry into the circumstances of the original acquisition.

But instead of investigating certain cases, a general inquiry was instituted into the whole of them ; the principle of which was, to cast on every enamdar the burthen of proving his right — a demand which, of course, many of the ancient holders must have found it impossible to fulfil. The lapse of centuries, war, fire, or negligence might, doubtless, have occasioned the destruction of the deeds. Some of the oldest were, we know, engraven on stone and copper, in long- forgotten characters ; and few of the com- missioners could question the witnesses in the modern Bengalee or Hindoostani, much less decipher Pali or Sanscrit.

A commission of inquiry was instituted in Bengal in 1836, “to ascertain the grounds on which claims to exemptioir from the payment of revenue were founded, to confirm those for which valid titles were produced, and to bring under assessment those which were held without authority .”f In theory, this sounds moderate, if not just; in prac- tice, it is said to have proved the very reverse, and to have cast a blight over the whole of Lower Bengal. The expense of

* Quoted in evidence before Colonization Com- mittee of House of Commons, of 1858. — Fourth Re- port, published 28th July, 1858; p. 30.

f Statement of the East India Company.

j Fourth Report of Colonization Committee, p. 17.

the commission was, of course, enormous ; and even in a pecuniary sense, the profit reaped by government could not compensate for the ruin and distress caused by proceed- ings which are asserted to have been so notoriously unjust, that “ some distinguished civil servants” refused to take any part in them.J

Mr. Edmonstone, Mr. Tucker, and a few of the ablest directors at the East India House, protested, but in vain, against the resumption laws, which were acted upon for many years. The venerable Marquess Wellesley, a few weeks before his decease (July 30th, 1842), wrote earnestly to the Earl of Ellenborough (then governor-gen- eral), as follows : —

“ I am concerned to hear that some inquiry has been commenced respecting the validity of some of the tenures under the permanent settlement of the land revenue. This is a most vexatious, and, surely, not a prudent measure. Here the maxim of sound ancient wisdom applies most forcibly — ‘ Quieta non movere.’ We ancient English settlers in Ireland have felt too severely the hand of Strafford, in a similar act of oppression, not to dread any similar proceeding.”

Strafford, however, never attempted any- thing in Ireland that could be compared with the sweeping confiscation which is de- scribed as having been carried on in Ben- gal, where “ little respect was paid to the principles of law, either as recognised in England or in India;” and where, “ it is said, one commissioner dispossessed, in a single morning, no less than two hundred pro- prietors.”§

In the Chittagong district, an insurrection was nearly caused by “ the wholesale sweep- ing away of the rights of the whole popu- lation ;” and in the Dacca district, the com- mission likewise operated very injuriously. ||

The general alarm and disaffection ex- cited by these proceedings, so materially affected the public tranquillity, that the Court of Directors was at length compelled to interfere, and the labours of the Bengal commission were fortunately brought to a close some years before the mutiny .^f

The enam commission appointed for the Deccan, was no less harsh and summary in

§ Quarterly Review, 1858. — Article on “British India;” attributed to Mr. Layard : p. 257.

|| See Second Report of Colonization Committee of 1858 ; p. 60.

U Quarterly Review , 1858; p. 257.

t

L2

EXAM COMMISSION APPOINTED IN THE DECCAN— 1851.

its proceedings, the results of which are now stated to afford the people their “ first and gravest cause of complaint against the gov- ernment.”* * * §

Due investigation ought to have been made in 1818, when the dominions of the Peishwa first became British territory, into the nature of the grants, whether hereditary or for life; and also to discover whether, as was highly probable, many fraudulent claims might not have been established under the weak and corrupt administration of the last native ruler, Bajee Rao. All this might have been done in perfect con- formity with the assurance given by the tranquilliser of the Deccan (Mountstuart Elphinstone), that “all wuttuns and enams (birthrights and rent-free lands), annual stipends, religious and charitable establish- ments, would be protected. The proprietors were, however, warned that they would be called upon to show their sunnuds (deeds of grant), or otherwise prove their title.”t

Instead of doing this, the government suffered thirty years to elapse — thus giving the proprietors something of a prescriptive right to their holdings, however acquired ; and the Court of Directors, as late as Sep- tember, 1846, expressly declared, that the principle on which they acted, was to allow enams (or perpetual alienations of public revenue, as contradistinguished from surin- jams, or temporary ones) to pass to heirs, as of right, without need of the assent of the paramount power, provided the adop- tion were regular according to Hindoo law.J

The rights of widows were likewise dis- tinctly recognised, until the “ absorption” policy came into operation ; and then inves- tigations into certain tenures were insti- tuted, which paved the way for a general enam commission for the whole Bombay presidency; by which all enamdars were compelled to prove possession for a hundred years, as an indispensable preliminary to being confirmed in the right to transmit their estates to lineal descendants — the future claims of widows and adopted sons being quietly ignored.

The commission was composed, not of judicial officers, but of youths of the civil service, and of captains and subalterns taken from their regiments, and selected princi-

* Quarterly Review, p. 259.

+ Proclamation of Mr. Elphinstone; and instruc- tions issued to collectors in 1818.

| Fourth Report of Colonization Committee, p. 35.

§ Ibil.

pally on account of their knowledge of the Mahratta languages ; while, at the head of the commission, was placed a captain of native infantry, thirty-five years of age.§

These inexperienced youths were, besides, naturally prejudiced in deciding upon cases in which they represented at once the plaintiff and the judge. The greater the in- genuity they displayed in upsetting claims, the greater their chance of future advance- ment. Every title disallowed, was so much revenue gained. Powers of search, such as were exercised by the French revolutionary committees, and by few others, were en- trusted to them ; and their agents, accom- panied by the police, might at any time of the night or day, enter the houses of persons in the receipt of alienated revenue, or ex- amine and seize documents, without giving either a receipt or list of those taken. The decisions of previous authorities were freely reversed ; and titles admitted by Mr. Brown in 1847, were re-inquired into, and disallowed bv Captain Cowper in 1855.||

An appeal against a resumptive decree might be laid before the privy council in London ; and the rajah of Burdwan suc- ceeded in obtaining the restoration of his lands by this means.^f But to the poorer class of ousted proprietors, a revised ver- dict was unattainable. Few could afford to risk from five to ten thousand pounds in litigation against the East India Com- pany. But, whatever their resources, it was making the evils of absentee sovereignty- ship most severely and unwisely felt, to re- quire persons, whose families had occupied Indian estates fifty to a hundred years and upwards, to produce their title-deeds in England ; and to make little or no allow- ance for the various kinds of proof, which, duly weighed, were really more trustworthy, because less easily counterfeited, than any written documents.

The commissioners on whom so onerous a duty as the inquiry into rent-free tenures was imposed, ought at least to have been tried and approved men of high public character, who would neither hurry over cases by the score, nor suffer them to linger on in needless and most harassing delays; as the actual functionaries are accused of

l| Quarterly Review , p. 258. Stated on the autho- rity of “ Correspondence relating to the Scrutiny of the revised Surinjam and Pension Lists.” Printed for government. Bombay, 1856.

51 Second Report of Colonization Committee, p. 9.

REVENUE SETTLEMENT OF N. W. PROVINCES A FAILURE. 93

having done, according to their peculiar , propensities. Perhaps it would have been : better to have acted on altogether a different ! system, and acknowledged the claim estab- lished by many years of that undisturbed possession which is everywhere popularly looked upon as nine-tenths of the law ; and, while recognising all in the positions in which we found them on the assumption of sovereignty, to have claimed from all, either a yearly subsidy or (in pursuance of the practice of native sovereigns) a succession duty. At least, we should thereby have avoided the expense and odium incurred by the institution of a tribunal, to which Lieu- tenant-governor Halliday’s description of our criminal jurisdiction would seem to apply — viz., that it was “a lottery, in which, however, the best chances were with the criminal.” On the outbreak of the rebellion, the resumption commission was brought suddenly to a close; its introduction into Guzerat (which had been previously con- templated) was entirely abandoned, and some of the confiscated estates were restored. But the distrust inspired by past proceed- ings will not easily be removed, especially as the feeling of ill-usage is aggravated by the fact, that in border villages belonging jointly to the Company and to Indian princes, the rent-free lands, on the side be- longing to the former, have been resumed, while those on the latter remain intact.*

In the North-West Provinces, the gov- ernment avoided incurring the stigma of allowing a prescriptive right of possession and transmission to take root through their neglect, by immediately making a very summary settlement. The writings of Sleeman, Raikes, Gubbins and others, to- gether with the evidence brought before the colonization committee, tend to prove the now scarcely disputed fact, that the at- tempted revenue settlement of the North- West Provinces, and the sweeping away of the proprietary class as middlemen, has proved a failure. With few exceptions, the ancient proprietors, dispossessed of their estates by the revenue collectors, or by sales under decrees of civil courts, have taken advantage of the recent troubles to return, and have been suffered, and even encouraged, to do so by the ryots and small tenants, to whom their dispossession would have appeared most advantageous. f

* Quarterly Review, p. 259. f Ibid., p. 251.

t Minute on Talookdaree cases; by Mr. Boulderson.

§ Quarterly Review (July, 1858), p. 260.

A number of cases of alleged indivi- dual injustice towards the rajahs and talook- dars, were collected, and stated, in circum- stantial detail, in a minute laid before Mr. Thomason (the lieutenant-governor of Agra in 1844), by Mr. Boulderson, a mem- ber of the Board of Revenue; who eventu- ally resigned his position, sooner than be associated in proceedings which he believed to be essentially unjust. His chief ground of complaint was, that the board, instead of instituting a preliminary inquiry into what the rights of talookdars and other proprie- tors really were, acted upon a priori argu- ments of what they must be ; and never, in any one of the many hundred resumptions made at their recommendation, deemed the proofs on which the proceedings rested, worthy of a moment’s inquiry.

After reciting numerous instances of dis- possession of proprietors who had held es- tates for many years, and laid out a lai’ge amount of capital in their improvement, the writer adds : —

“I have in vain endeavoured, hitherto, to rouse the attention of my colleague and government to this virtual abolition of all law. * * * The

respect of the native public I know to have been shaken to an inexpressible degree : they can see facts ; and are not blinded by the fallacious reason- ings and misrepresentations with which the board have clothed these subjects; and they wonder with amazement at the motives which can prompt the British government to allow their own laws — all laws which give security to property — to be thus belied and set aside. All confidence in property or its rights is shaken ; and the villany which has been taught the people they will execute, and reward the government tenfold into their own bosom. ”J

In a Preface, dated “ London, 8th June, 1 858,” Mr. Boulderson states, that his minute “ produced no effect in modifying or stay- ing the proceedings” of the revenue hoard ; and if ” forwarded to England, as in due official course it should have been, it must have had as little effect upon the Hon. Court of Directors.”

Even in the Punjab, the system pursued was a levelling one. Notwithstanding all that the Lawrences and their disciples did to mitigate its severity, and especially to conciliate the more powerful and aggrieved chiefs, the result is asserted to have been, to a great extent, the same there as in the Deccan: ‘'the aristocracy and landed gentry who have escaped destruction bv the settlement, have been ruined by the re- sumption of alienated land.”§

Thus annexation and resumption, confis- cation and absorption, have gone hand-in-

94 KARA ABBOTT AND JOHN BECHER IN IIUZARA.

hand, with a rapidity which would have been dangerous even had the end in view and the means of attainment been both unex- ceptionable. However justly acquired, the entire reorganisation of extensive, widely scattered, and, above all, densely populated territories, must always present difficulties which abstract rules arbitrarily enforced can never satisfactorily overcome.

The fifteen million inhabitants brought by Lord Dalhousie under the immediate government of the British Crown, were to be, from the moment of annexation, ruled on a totally different system : native institutions and native administrators were expected to give place, without a murmur, to the British commissioner and his subordinates ; and the newly absorbed territory, whatever its his- tory, the character of its population, its languages and customs, was to be “ settled/’ without any references to these important antecedents, on the theory which found favour with the Calcutta council for the time being.

Many able officials, with much ready money, and a thoroughly efficient army to support them, were indispensable to carry through such a system. In the Punjab, these requisites were obtaiued at the ex- pense of other provinces; and the picked men sent there, were even then so few in number and so overworked, that they scarcely had time for sleep or food. Their private purse often supplied a public want. Thus, James Abbott was sent by Sir Henry Lawrence to settle the Huzara dis- trict, which he did most effectually; going from valley to valley, gaining the confidence of all the tribes, and administering justice in the open air under the trees — looking, with his long grey beard on his breast, and his grey locks far down his shoulders, much more like an ancient patriarch than a deputy- commissioner. “ Kaka,” or “ Uncle” Ab- bott, as the children called him (in return for the sweetmeats which he carried in readiness for them), took leave of the people in a very characteristic fashion, by inviting the entire population to a feast on the Nara hill, which lasted three nights and days ; and he left Huzara with only a mouth’s pay in his pocket, “ having literally spent all his substance on the people.” His successor, John Becher, ably fills his place, “ living iu a house with twelve doors, and

* See the graphic description given by Colonel Herbert Edwardes, of Sir Henry Lawrence’s old staff in the Punjab, previous to annexation. —

all open to the people. * * * The re-

sult is, that the Huzara district, once famous for turbuleuce, is now about the quietest, happiest, and most loyal in the Punjab.”*

Of course, Kaka Abbott and his successor, much less their lamented head (Sir Henry | Lawrence), cannot be taken as average specimens of their class. Such self-devo- tion is the exception, not the rule : it would be asking too much of human nature, to expect the entire civil service to adopt what Colonel Herbert Edwardes calls the Balia- ! duree (summer-house) system of administra- tion, and keep their cutcherries open, not “ from ten till four” by the regulation clock, but all day, and at any hour of the night that anybody chooses. f Neither

can chief commissioners be expected, or even wished, to sacrifice their health as Sir Henry Lawrence did in the Punjab, where, I amid all his anxieties for the welfare of the mass, he preserved his peculiar character of being pre-eminently the friend of the man that was down; battling with government for better terms for the deposed officials and depressed aristocracy, and caring even for thieves and convicts. He originated gaol reform; abolished the “ night- chain,” and other abominations ; introduced in-door labour; and himself superintended the new measures — going from gaol to gaol, and rising even at midnight to visit the pri- soners’ barracks. {

The manner in which the Punjab was settled is altogether exceptional : the men employed certainly were ; so also was the large discretionary power entrusted to them. Elsewhere matters went on very differently. The civil service could not furnish an effi- cient magistracy for the old provinces, much less for the new; the public treasury could not satisfy the urgent and long reite- rated demand for public works, canals to irrigate the laud, roads to convey produce, l and avert the scourge of famine, even from Bengal : how, then, could it spare ready money to build court-houses and gaols in its new possessions?

Like Aurungzebe, in the Deccan, we swept away existing institutions without being prepared to replace them, and thereby became the occasion of sufferings which we had assumed the responsibility of pre- venting. Thus, in territories under British government, the want of proper places of

Quoted in Raikes’ Revolt in the North- West Pro- I vinces, p. 25.

I t Ibid., p. 29. { Ibid., p. 34.

NATIVE OFFICIALS CORRUPT BECAUSE UNDERPAID. 95

confinement is alleged to be so great, that “ prisoners of all classes are crammed toge- ther into a dungeon so small, that, when the sun goes down, they figbt for the little space upon which only a few can lie during the weary night. Within one month, forty die of disease, produced by neglect, want of air, and filth. The rest, driven to despair, attempt an escape ; twenty are shot down dead. Such is a picture — and not an ima- ginary picture — of the results of one of the most recent cases of annexation !”*

Even supposing the above to be an ex- treme, and, in its degree, an isolated case, yet one such narrative, circulated among the rebel ranks, would serve as a reason for a general breaking open of gaols, and as an incitement and excuse for any excesses on the part of the convicts, to whom, it will be remembered, some of the worst atrocities committed during the rebellion are now generally attributed.

In fact, the increase of territory, of late years, has been (as the Duke of Wellington predicted it would be) greatly in excess of our resources. Annex we might, govern we could not ; for, in the words of Prince Metternich, we had not “ the material. ”+ That is, we had not the material on which alone we choose to rely. Native agency we cannot indeed dispense with : we could not hold India, or even Calcutta, a week with- out it ; but we keep it down on the lowest steps of the ladder so effectually, that men of birth, talent, or susceptibility, will serve us only when constrained by absolute poverty. They shun the hopeless dead- level which the service of their country is now made to offer them.

Our predecessors in power acted upon a totally different principle. Their title was avowedly that of the sword ; yet they dele- gated authority to the conquered race, with a generosity which puts to shame our ex- clusiveness and distrust ; the more so be- cause it does not appear that their confi- dence was ever betrayed.

Many of the ablest and most faithful servants of the Great Moguls were Hin- doos. The Moslem knew the prestige of ancient lineage, and the value of native ability and acquaintance with the resources of the country too well, to let even bigotry stand in the way of their employment.

* Quarterly Review (July, 1858), p. 273.

t Quoted by Mr. Layard, in a Lecture delivered at St. James’s Hall, Piccadilly, on his return from India, May 11th, 1858.

The command of the imperial armies was repeatedly intrusted to Rajpoot generals; and the dewans (chancellors of the exche- quer) were usually Brahmins : the famous territorial arrangements of Akber are insepa- rably associated with the name of Rajah Todar Mul ; and probably, if we had availed ourselves of the aid of native financiers, and made it worth their while to serve us well, our revenue settlements might have been ere now satisfactorily arranged. If Hindoos were found faithful to a Moslem govern- ment, why should they not be so to a Christian one, which has the peculiar ad- vantage of being able to balance the two great antagonistic races, by employing each, so as to keep the other in check ? Of late, we seem to have been trying to unite them, by giving them a common cause of complaint, and by marking the subor- dinate position of native officials more offensively than ever. They are accused of corruption — so were the Europeans : let the remedy employed in the latter case be tried in the former, and the re- sult will be probably the same. The need of increased salary is much greater in the case of the native official. Let the government give him the means of supporting himself and his family, and add a prospect of promotion : it will then be well served.

By the present system we proscribe the higher class, and miserably underpay the lower. The result is unsatisfactory to all parties, even to the government ; wdiich, though it has become aware of the neces- sity of paying Europeans with liberality, still withholds from the native “the fair day’s wage for the fair day’s work.” Lat- terly, the Europeans may have been in some cases overpaid ; but the general error seems to have lain, in expecting too much from them ; the amount of writing required by the Company’s system, being a heavy addition to their labours, especially in the newly an- nexed territories. The natural consequence has been, that while a certain portion of the civilians, with the late governor-general at their head, lived most laboriously, and de- voted themselves wholly to the duties be- fore them ; others, less zealous, or less capable, shrunk back in alarm at the pros- pect before them, and, yielding to the in- fluences of climate and of luxury, fell into the hands of interested subordinates — signed the papers presented by their clerks, and, in the words of their severest censor, “amused

96 FIRST SEPOY BATTALION ORGANISED BY CLIYE— 1757.

themselves, and kept a servant to wash each separate toe.”*

Under cover of their names, corruption and extortion has been practised to an ; almost incredible extent. Witness the ex- posure of the proceedings of provincial courts, published in 1849, by a Bengal civilian, of twenty-one years’ standing, under the title of Revelations of an Orderly.

An attempt has been made to remedy the insufficient number of civilians, by taking military men from their regiments, and employing them in diplomatic and adminis- trative positions ; that is to say, the Indian authorities have tried the Irishman’s plan of lengthening the blanket, by cutting off one end and adding it to the other.

The injurious effect which this practice is said to have exercised on the army, is noticed in the succeeding section.

The State of the Indian Army, and the alleged Causes of the Disorganisation and Disaffection of the Bengal Sepoys, remain to be considered. The origin of the native army, and the various phases of its progress, have been described in the earlier chapters of this work. We have seen how the rest- less Frenchman, Dupleix, raised native levies, and disciplined them in the Euro- pean fashion at Pondicherry ;f and how these were called sepoys (from sipahi, Por- tuguese for soldier), iu contradistinction to the topasses (or hat-wearers) ; that is to say, to the natives of Portuguese descent, and the Eurasians, or half-castes, of whom small numbers, disciplined and dressed in the Eu- ropean style, were entertained by the East India Company, to guard their factories. Up to this period, the policy of the Merchant Adventurers had been essentially commercial and defensive; but the French early mani- fested a political and aggressive spirit. Dupleix read with remarkable accuracy the signs of the times, and understood the op- portunity for the aggrandisement of his nation, offered by the rapidly increasing disorganisation of the Mogul empire, and the intestine strife which attended the as- sertion of independence by usurping gov- ernors and tributary princes. He began to take part in the quarrels of neighbouring potentates ; and the English levied a native soldiery, and followed his example.

The first engagement of note in which the

* Sir Charles Napier. — Life and Opinions.

f See Indian Empire, vol. i., pp. 114; 258; 304 ; 533.

British sepoys took part, was at the capture of Devicotta, in 1748, when they made an orderly advance with a platoon of Europeans, as a storming party, under Robert Clive. Three years later, under the same leader, a force of 200 Europeans and 300 sepovs, marched on, regardless of the superstitions of their countrymen, amid thunder and lightning, to besiege Arcot ; and having succeeded in taking the place, they gallantly and successfully defended it against an almost overwhelming native force, supported by French auxiliaries.

The augmentation in the number of the sepoys became very rapid in proportion to that of the European troops. The expedi- tion with which Clive and Watson sailed from Madras in 1756, to recapture Calcutta from Surajah Dowlah, consisted of 900 Europeans and 1,500 natives.

The total military force maintained by the English and French on the Madras coast was at this time nearly equal, each com- prising about 2,000 Europeans and 10,000 natives. The British European force was composed of H. M.’s 39th foot, with a small detail of Royal Artillery attached to serve the regimental field-pieces ; the Madras Euro- pean regiment, and a strong company of artillery. The sepoys were supplied with arms and ammunition from the public stores, but were clothed in the native fashion, commanded by native officers, and very rudely disciplined.

At the commencement of the year 1757, Clive organised a battalion of sepoys, con- sisting of some three or four hundred men, carefully selected ; and he not only fur- nished them with arms and ammunition, but clothed, drilled, and disciplined them like the Europeans, appointing a European officer to command, and non-commissioned officers to instruct them. Such was the origin of the first regiment of Bengal native infantry, called, from its equipment, the “ Lall Pultun,” or “ Red regiment” (pultun being a corruption of the English term “ platoon,” which latter is derived from the French word “ peloton.”) It was placed under the direction of Lieutenant Knox, who proved a most admirable sepoy leader. There was no difficulty in raising men for this and other corps ; for during the per- petually-recurring warfare which marked the Mussulman occupation of Bengal, ad- venturers had been accustomed to dock thither from Bahar, Oude, the Dooab, Ro- hilcund, and even from bej'oud the Indus;

EARLY HISTORY OF THE NATIVE ARMY— 1757 to 1760.

engaging themselves for particular services, and being dismissed when these were per- formed. It was from such men and their im- mediate descendants that the British ranks were filled. The majority were Mussulmans ; but Patans, Rohillas, a few Jats, some Raj- poots, and even Brahmins were to be found in the early corps raised in and about Calcutta.*

The Madras sepoys, and the newly- raised Bengal battalion, amounting together to 2,100, formed two-thirds of the force with which Clive took the field against Surajah Dowdah at Plassy, in June, 1757. Of these, six Europeans and sixteen Natives perished in the so-called battle, against an army estimated by the lowest calculation at 58,000 men.f Of course, not even Clive, “ the daring in war,” would have been so mad as to risk an engagement which he might have safely avoided, with such an overwhelming force; but he acted in reli- ance on the contract previously made with the nawab’s ambitious relative and com- mander-iu-chief, Meer Jaffier, who had promised to desert to the British with all the troops under his orders at the com- mencement of the action, on condition of being recognised asNawab of Bengal. The compact was fulfilled ; and Meer Jaffier’s treachery was rewarded by his elevation to the musnud, which the East India Com- pany allowed him to occupy for some years. Meanwhile, the cessions obtained through him having greatly increased their terri- torial and pecuniary resources, they began to form a standing army for each of the three presidencies, organising the natives into a regular force, on the plan introduced by Clive.

The first instance on record of a Native court-martial occurred in July, 1757. A sepoy was accused of having connived at the attempted escape of a Swiss who had de- serted the British ranks, and acted as a spy in the service of the French. The Swiss was hanged. The sepoy was tried by a court composed of the subahdars and jema- dars (Native captains and lieutenants) of his detachment, found guilty, and sentenced to receive 500 lashes, and be dismissed from the service — which was accordingly done.

The hostilities carried on against the French, subjected the East India Company’s troopsto great hardships. TheEuropeanshad

* Eise and Progress of the Bengal Army; by Captain Arthur Broome, Bengal Artillery; 1850: vol. i., p. 93.

t See Indian Empire, “ Table of Battles,” vol. i., pp. 460, 461.

VOL. II. O

97

been much injured in health and discipline by repeated accessions of prize-money, and by the habits of drinking and debauchery into which they had fallen. Numbers died; and the remainder had neither ability nor incli- nation to endure long marches and exposure to the climate. During an expedition in pursuit of a detachment under M. Law, they positively refused to proceed beyond Patna: Major Eyre Coote declared that he w'ould advance with the sepoys alone; which, they rejoined, was “ the most desirable event that could happen to them.” Major Coote marched on with the sepoys only; but the French succeeded in effecting their escape. The recreants got drunk, and be- haved in a very disorderly manner ; where- upon thirty of the worst of them were brought before a court-martial, and, by its decree, publicly flogged for mutiny and in- subordination.

The sentence was pronounced and exe- cuted on the 28th of July, 1757. On the following day, the sepoys, undeterred by the penalty exacted from their Euro- pean comrades, laid down their arms in a body, and refused to proceed farther. The Madrassees especially complained, that although they had embarked only for service in Calcutta, they had been taken on to Chandernagore, Moorshedabad, and Patua ; and that now they were again required to advance, to remove still farther from their families, and endure additional fatigues and privations. They alleged that their pay was in arrears, and that they had not received the amount to which they were entitled. Major Coote ivarned them of the danger which would accrue from the want of unanimity and discipline among a small force surrounded with enemies, and the hazard to which, by laying down their arms, they ex- posed the savings they had already accumu- lated, and the large amount of prize-money then due to them. These considerations prevailed ; the men resumed their arms, and marched at once with the artillery to Baukipoor, the European infantry proceed- ing thither by water.

When Clive first left India, iu 1760, the Bengal force consisted of one European battalion of infantry and two companies of artillery (1,000 men in all), and five Native battalions (1,000 men in each.) The number of European officers was at the same time increased : one captain as commandant, one lieutenant and one ensign as staff, with four sergeants, being allowed to each Native

EUROPEAN AND NATIVE TROOPS MUTINY IN 1761.

[

98

battalion. There was likewise a Native commandant, who took post in front with the captain, and a Native adjutant, who re- mained in the rear with the subalterns.

In 1764, very general disaffection was manifested throughout the army, in conse- quence of the non-payment of a gratuity promised by the nawab, Meer Jaffier. The European battalion, which was, unfortu- nately, chiefly composed of foreigners (Dutch, Germans, Hessians, and French), when assembled under arms for a parade on the 30th of January, refused to obey the word of command, declaring, that until the promised donation should be given, they would not perform any further service. The battalion marched off under the leader- ship of an Englishman named Straw, de- : daring their intention of joining their com-

rades then stationed on the Caramnassa, and with them proceeding to Calcutta, and compelling the governor and council to do them justice. This appears to have been really the design of the English mutineers ; but the foreigners, who were double their number, secretly intended to join Shuja Dowlah, the nawab-vizier of Oude; and went off with that intention.

The sepoys were at first inclined to follow the example of the Europeans, whose cause of complaint they shared ; but the officers succeeded in keeping them quiet in their lines, until the Mogul horse (two troops of which had been recently raised) spread themselves among the Native battalions, and induced about 600 sepoys to accompany the , treacherous foreigners.

The European officers rode after the mu- tineers, and induced their leader Straw, and the greater part of them, to return. Pro- baby they would have done so in a body but for the influence exercised over them by a sergeant named Delamarr, who had been distinguished by intelligence and good conduct in the previous campaign, but who had a private grievance to aveuge, having, as he alleged, been promised a commission on leaving the King’s aud entering the Com- pany’s service ; which promise had been broken to him, though kept to others simi- larly circumstanced. This man was born in England of French parents, and spoke both languages with equal facility ; on which ac- i count he was employed by the officers as a medium of communication with the foreign troops. As long as any of the officers re- mained with the mutineers, he affected ! fidelity ; but when the last officer, Lieutenant

Eyre, was compelled to relinquish the hope of reclaiming his men, by their threatening to carry him off by force, Delamarr put himself at the head of the party, and gave out an order that any one who should attempt to turn back, should be hanged on the first tree. The order appears to have had a contrary effect to that which it was intended to produce ; for the Germans thought the French were carrying the mat- ter too far; and they, with all but three of the few remaining English, returned on the following day, to the number of seventy, ac- companied by several sepoys.

Thus the original deserters were dimin- ished to little more than 250, of whom 157 were of the European battalion (almost all Frenchmen), sixteen were of the European cavalry, and about 100 were Natives, includ- ing some of the Mogul horse. They pro- ceeded to join the army of Shuja Dowlah of Oude ; aud some of them entered his service, and that of other Indian potentates ; but the majority enlisted in Sumroo’s brigade.*

On the 12th of February (the day follow- ing the mutiny), a dividend of the nawab’s donation was declared as about to be paid to the army, in the proportion of forty rupees to each European soldier, and six to each sepoy. The sepoys were extremely in- dignant at the rate of allotment : they

unanimously refused to receive the proffered sum, and assembled under arms on the 13th of February, at nine in the forenoon. The Europeans were very much excited; and it became difficult “ to restrain their vio- lence, and prevent their falling upon the sepoys, for presuming to follow the example they themselves had afforded.” f

Suddenly the sepoys set up a shout, and rushed down, in an irregular body, towards the Europeans, who had been drawn up in separate companies across the parade, with the park of artillery on their left, and two j 6-pounders on their right.

Captain Jennings, the officer in com- mand, perceiving that the sepoys were moving with shouldered arms, directed that they should be suffered to pass through the intervals of the battalion, if they would do so quietly. Several officers urged resis- tance; but Captain Jennings felt that the discharge of a single musket would be the signal for a fearful struggle, which must end either in the extermination of the Europeans, or in the total dissolution of the

* Indian Empire , vol. i., p. 297.

f Broome’s Bengal Army, vol. i., p. 420.

MUTINOUS SEPOYS BLOWN

Native force, on which the government were deeply dependent. He rode along the ranks, urging the men to be quiet; and arrived at the right of the line just in time to snatch the match out of the hand of a subaltern of artillery, as he was putting it to a 6-pounder, loaded with grape.

The result justified his decision. Two corps (the late 2nd grenadiers and 8th Native infant”y) went off’ towards the Ca- ramnassa river. The other two Native bat- talions preseut (the late 1st and 3rd Native infantry), remained behind — the one perfectly steady, the other clamorous and excited. The remaining three detached battalions all exhibited signs of disaffection. Captain Jen- nings, with the officers of the mutinous corps, followed them, and induced every man of them to return, by consenting to their own stipulation, that their share of the donation should he raised to half thatof thecorrespond- ing ranks of the European battalion. This concession being made generally known, tranquillity was at once re-established.

The question of the better adaptation of the natives of India to serve as regular or irregular cavalry, was discussed. The coun- cil considered that a body of regular Native cavalry might be raised on the European system, under English officers. Major Car- nac objected on the following grounds : — “ The Moguls,” he said, “ who are the only good horsemen in the country, can never be brought to submit to the ill-treatment they receive from gentlemen wholly unac- quainted with their language and customs. We clearly see the ill effects of this among our sepoys, and it will be much more so among horsemen, who deem themselves of a far superior class ; nor have we a suffi- ciency of officers for the purpose : I am sorry to say, not a single one qualified to afford a prospect of success to such a pro- ject.” These arguments prevailed. The Mogul horse was increased, during the year (1764), to 1,200 men each risallah (or troop) under Native officers, with a few Europeans to the whole.

The number of the Native infantry was also rapidly on the increase; but their posi- tion and rights remained on a very indefinite footing, when Major Hector Munro suc- ceeded to the command of the Bengal army in August, 1764. In the following month a serious outbreak occurred. The oldest corps in the service, then known as the 9th, or Captain Galliez’ battalion, but afterwards the 1st Native infantry, while stationed at

AWAY FROM GUNS— 1764. 99

Manjee (near Chupra), instigated by some of their Native officers, assembled on parade, and declared themselves resolved to serve i no longer, as certain promises made to them (apparently regarding the remainder of the donation money) had been broken. They retained their arms, and imprisoned their European officers for a night; but released them on the following morning.

There did not then exist, nor has there since been framed, any law decreeing gra- dations of punishment in a case which clearly admits of many gradations of crime. It has been left to the discretion of the military authorities for the time being, to j punish what Sir Charles Napier calls “ passive, respectful mutinies,” with sweep- ing severity, or to let attempted desertion to the enemy, and sanguinary treachery, escape almost unpunished.

The present proceeding resembled the out- break of spoilt children, rather than of con- certed mutiny.* No intention to desert was shown, much less to join the enemy. Such conduct had been before met with perhaps undue concessions. Major Munro now re- solved to attempt stopping it by measures of extreme severity. Accordingly he held a general court-martial; and on receiving its verdict for the execution of twenty-four of the sepoys, he ordered it to be carried out immediately. The sentence was, “to be blown away from the guns” — the horri- ble mode of inflicting capital punishment so extensively practised of late.

Four grenadiers claimed the privilege of being fastened to the right-hand guns. They had always occupied the post of honour in the field, they said; and Major Munro admitted the force of the argument by granting their request. The whole army were much affected by the bearing of the doomed men. “ I am sure,” says Cap- tain Williams, who then belonged to the Royal Marines employed in Bengal, and who was an eye-witness of this touching episode, “ there was not a dry eye among the Marines, although they had been long accustomed to hard service, and two of them had ac- tually been on the execution party which shot Admiral Byng, in the year 1757. ”f Yet Major Munro gave the signal, and the explosion followed. When the loathsome results became apparent — the mangled limbs scattered far and wide, the strange burning

* Broome’s Bengal Army, vol. i., p. 459.

t Captain Williams’ Bengal Native Infantry, p. 170.

	100 BENGAL ARMY REORGANISED BY CLIVE IN 1765.
	smell, the fragments of human flesh, the trickling streams of blood, constituted a scene almost intolerable to those who wit- nessed it for the first time. The officers commanding the sepoy battalions came for- ward, and represented that their men would not suffer any further executions ; but Major Munro persevered. The other con- victed mutineers attempted no appeal to their comrades, but met their deaths with the utmost composure. This was the first example, on a large scale, of the infliction of the penalty of death for mutinjr. Heretofore there had been no plan, and no bloodshed in the numerous outbreaks. Subsequently they assumed an increasingly systematic and sanguinary character. On the return of Clive to India in 1765 (as Lord Clive, Baron of Plassy), the Ben- gal army was reorganised, and divided into three brigades — respectively stationed at Monghyr, Allahabad, and Bankipoor. Each brigade consisted of one company of artil- lery, one regiment of European infantry, one risallah, or troop, of Native cavalry, and seven battalions of sepoys. Each regiment of European infantry was constituted of the following strength : — 1 Colonel commanding the whole Brigade. 1 Lieutenant-colonel commanding the Regiment. 1 Major. 36 Sergeants. 6 Captains. 36 Corporals. 1 Captain Lieutenant. 27 Drummers. 9 Lieutenants. 630 Privates. 18 Ensigns. The artillery comprised four companies, each of which contained — 1 Captain. 4 Corporals. 1 Captain Lieutenant. 2 Drummers. 1 First Lieutenant. 2 Fifers. 1 Second Lieutenant. 10 Bombardiers. 3 Lieut. Fireworkers. 20 Gunners. 4 Sergeants. 60 Matrosses. Each risallah of Native cavalry con- sisted of — 1 European Subaltern in command. 1 Sergeant-major. 3 Jemadars. 4 Sergeants. 2 Naggers. 1 Risaldar. 6 Duffadars. 100 Privates. A Native battalion consisted of — 1 Captain. 30 Jemadars. 2 Lieutenants. 1 Native Adjutant. 2 Ensigns. 10 Trumpeters. 3 Sergeants. 30 Tom-toms.* 3 Drummers. 80 Havildars. 1 Native Commandant. 50 Naiks. 10 Native Subahdars. 690 Sepoys. * That is, Tom-tom (native drum) players. + Broome’s Bengal Army, vol. i., p. 540.	Captain Broome, from whom the above details are derived, remarks, “ that the pro- portion of officers, except to the sepoy bat- talions, was very much more liberal than in the present day ; and it is most important to remember, that every officer on the list was effective — all officers on other than regi- mental employ, being immediately struck off the roll of the corps ; although, as there was hut one roster for promotion in the whole infantry, no loss in that respect was sustained thereby. The artillery and engi- neers rose in a separate body, and were fre- quently transferred from one to the other .”+ The pay of the sepoy was early fixed at seven rupees per month in all stationary situations, and eight rupees and a-half when marching, or in the field; exclusive of half a rupee per month, allotted to the off- reckoning fund, for which they received one coat, and nothing more, annually. From that allowance they not only fed and clothed themselves, but also erected canton- ments in all stationary situations, at their own expense, and remitted to their wives and families, often to aged parents and more distant relatives, a considerable proportion of their pay ; in fact, so considerable, that the authorities have been obliged to inter- fere to check their extreme self-denial. J In 1766, the mass of the British officers of the Bengal army entered into a very formidable confederacy against the govern- ment, on account of the withdrawal of certain extra allowances, known as “ double batta.” The manner in which Lord Clive then used the sepoys to coerce the Euro- peans, has been already narrated. § The first epoch in the history of the Ben- gal army may be said to end with the final departure of Clive (its founder) from India, in 1767. Up to this time, no question of caste appears to have been mooted, as interfering with the requirements of military duty, whether ordinary or incidental ; but as the numbers of the sepoys increased, and the proportion of Hindoos began to exceed that of Mussulmans, a gradual change took place. A sea voyage is a forbidden thing to a Brahminist ; it is a violation of his reli- gious code, under any circumstances : he must neglect the frequent ablutions which his creed enjoins, and to which he has been accustomed from childhood ; and if he do not irrecoverably forfeit his caste, it must be by euduring severe privations in regard to food | Williams’ Bengal Native Infantry, p. 263. § See Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 305.

MUTINIES IN 1782 and 1795.

while on board ship. The iuflnence of the officers, however, generally sufficed to over- come the scruples of the men ; and, in 1769, three Bengal battalions prepared to return by sea from the Madras presidency to Bengal. Two grenadier companies em- barked for the purpose, and are supposed to have perished ; for the ship which they en- tered was never heard of afterwards. This event made a deep impression on the minds of the Hindoos, confirmed their supersti- tious dread of the sea, and aggravated the mingled fear and loathing, which few Eng- lishmen, except when actually rounding the “Cape of Storms,” or becalmed in a crowded vessel in the Red Sea, can under- stand sufficiently to make allowance for.

In 1782, a mutiny occurred at Barrack- poor, in consequence of the troops stationed there being ordered to prepare for foreign service, which it was rumoured would entail a sea voyage. No violence was attempted ; no turbulence was evinced ; the men quietly combined, under their Native officers, in re- fusing to obey the orders, which the govern- ment had no means of enforcing. After the lapse of several weeks, a general court- martial was held. Two Native officers, and one or two sepoys, were blown from the guns. The whole of the four corps con- cerned (then known as the 4th, 15th, 17th, and 31st) were broken up, and the men drafted into other battalions.

In 1787, Lord Cornwallis arrived in India, as governor-general and commander- in-chief. He earnestly desired to dissipate, by gentle means, the prejudices which marred the efficiency of the Native army ; and he offered a bounty of ten rupees per man, with other advantages, to such as would volunteer for service on an expedition to Sumatra. The required four companies were obtained ; the promised bounty was paid previous to embarkation ; every care was taken to ensure abundant supplies of food and water for sustenance and ablution ; the detachment was conveyed on board a regular Indiaman at the end of February ; and was recalled in the following October. Unfortunately the return voyage was tedi- ous and boisterous : the resolute abstinence of the Hindoos from all nutriment save dry peas and rice, and the exposure consequent on the refusal of the majority to quit the deck night or day, on account of the num- ber of sick below, occasioned many to be afflicted with nyctalopia, or night-blindness; and deaths were numerous. Notwithstand-

101

ing this, the care and tact of the officers, and the praise and gratuities which awaited the volunteers on relanding, appear to have done much to reconcile them to the past trial, and even to its repetition if need were.

The government thought the difficulty overcome, and were confirmed in their opinion by the offers of proceeding by sea made during the Mysoor war. In 1795, it became desirable to send an expedition to Malacca, whereupon a proposition was made to the 15th battalion (a corps of very high character), through its commanding officer, Captain Ludovick Grant, to volunteer for the purpose. The influence of the officers apparently prevailed ; the men were re- ported as willing to embark; but, at the last moment, a determined mutiny broke out, and the 29th battalion was called out, with its field-pieces, to disperse the muti- neers. The colours of the 15th were burnt ; and the number ordered to be left a blank in the list of Native corps.* Warned by this occurrence, the government proceeded to raise a “ Marine battalion, consisting of twelve companies of a hundred privates each ; and it became generally understood, if not indeed officially stated, that the ordinary Bengal troops were not to be sent on sea voyages.

A corps of Native militia was raised for Calcutta and the adjacent districts, and placed, in the first instance, under the town major. It consisted of eighty companies of ninety privates; but was subsequently aug- mented to sixteen or more companies of one hundred privates each. Captain Williams, writing in 1816. says — “It is now com- manded bv an officer of any rank, who may be favoured with the patronage of the gov- ernor-general, with one other European officer, who performs the duty of adjutant to the corps.^J Several local corps were formed about the same time.

Some important changes were made in the constitution of the Bengal army in 1796; one effect of which was to diminish the authority and influence of the Native officers. The staff appointment of Native adjutants was abolished, and a European adjutant was appointed to each battalion. The principle of regimental rank and pro- motion (to the rank of major, inclusive), was

* A regiment was raised in Bahar, in 1798, and numbered the 15th.

f Formed into the 20th, or Marine regiment, in 1801. J Bengal Native Infantry, p. 243.

102 PROMOTION BY SENIORITY ESTABLISHED BY E. I. CY.— 1796.

adopted throughout the E. I. Company’s forces ; and, contrary to the former ar- rangement, the whole of the staff of the government and of the army, inclusive of a heavy commissariat, with the numerous officers on furlough in Europe, and those employed with local corps, and even in diplomatic situations, were thenceforth borne on the strength as component parts of com- panies and corps. Thus, even at this early period, the complaint (so frequently reite- rated since) is made by Captain Williams, that the charge of companies often devolved on subalterns utterly unqualified, bv pro- fessional or local acquirements, for a situa- tion of such authority over men to whose character, language, .and habits they are strangers.*

The rise, and gradual increase, of the armies of the Madras and Bombay presi- dencies, did not essentially' differ from that of the Bengal troops, excepting that the total number of the former was much smaller, and the proportion of Mohamme- dans and high-caste Brahmins considerably' lower than in the latter. The three armies were kept separate, each under its own commander-in-chief. Many inconveniences attend this division of the forces of one ruling power. It has been a barrier to the centralisation which the bureaucratic spirit of the Supreme government of Calcutta has habitually fostered ; and attempts have been made, more or less directly, for an amalga- mation of the three armies. The Duke of Wellington thoroughly understood the bear- ing of the question, and his decided opinion probably' contributed largely to the main- tenance of the chief of the barriers which have prevented the contagion of Bengal mutiny from extending to Bombay' and Madras, and hindered the fraternisation which we may reasonably suspect would otherwise have been general, at least among the Hindoos. The more united the British are, the better, no doubt ; but the more distinct nationalities are kept up in India, the safer for us : every ancient landmark we remove, renders the danger of com- bination against us more imminent.

The Madras and Bombay sepoys, through- out their career, have had, like those of Ben- gal, occasional outbreaks of mutiny, the usual cause being an attempt to send them on ex- peditions which necessitated a sea voyage.

* Williams’ Bengal Native Infantry , p. 253.

t Parliamentary evidence of Sir j. Malcolm in ; 1S32. X Ibid.

Thus, in 1779, or 1780, a mutiny occurred in the 9th Madras battalion when ordered to embark for Bombay ; which, however, was quelled by the presence of mind and decision of the commandant, Captain Kelly. A fatal result followed the issue of a similar order for the embarkation of some com- panies of a corps in the Northern Circars. The men, on arriving at Yizagapatam (the port where they were to take shipping), rose upon their European officers, and shot all save one or two, who escaped to the ship.-f One motive was strong enough to over- come this rooted dislike to the sea; and that was, affection for the person, and confidence in the skill and fortune, of their command- ing officer. Throughout the Native forces, the fact was ever manifest, that their dis- cipline or insubordination, their fidelity or faithlessness, depended materially on the influence exercised by their European leaders. Sir John Malcolm, in his various writings, affords much evidence to this effect. Among many other instances, he cites that of a battalion of the 22nd Madras regiment, then distinguished for the high state of discipline to which they had been brought by their commanding officer, Lieu- tenant-colonel James Oram. In 1797, he proposed to his corps, on parade, to volun- teer for an expedition then preparing against Manilla. “ Will he go with us ?” was the question which went through the ranks. “ Yes !” “ "Will he stay with us?”

Again, “yes!” and the whole corps ex- claimed, “ To Europe, to Europe !” They were ready to follow Colonel Oram any- where— to the shores of the Atlantic as cheerfully as to an island of the Eastern Ocean. Such was the contagion of their enthusiasm, that several sepoys, who were missing from one of the battalions in garri- son at Madras, were found to have deserted to join the expedition. J

The personal character of Lord Lake contributed greatly to the good service rendered by the Bengal sepoys (both Hin- doo and Mohammedan) in the arduous Mahratta war of 1803-’4. He humoured their prejudices, flattered their pride, and praised their valour; and they repaid him by unbounded attachment to his person, and the zealous fulfilment of their public duty. Victorious or defeated, the sepoys knew their efforts were equally sure of appreciation by the commander-in-chief. His conduct to the shattered corps of Colonel Monson’s detachment, after their

MUTINIES OF 1806 (VELLORE), 1809, and 1825. 103

gallant but disastrous retreat before Holcar,* was very remarkable. He formed them iuto a reserve, and promised them every opportunity of signalising themselves. No confidence was ever more merited. Through- out the service that ensued, these corps were uniformly distinguished.

The pay of the forces in the last century was frequently heavily in arrears, and both | Europeans and Natives were driven, by actual want, to the verge of mutiny. The Bombay troops, in the early wars with Mysoor, suffered greatly from this cause; and yet none ever showed warmer de- votion to the English. When, on the capture of Bednore, General Matthews and his whole force surrendered to Tip- poo, every inducement was offered to tempt the sepoys to enter the sultan’s ser- vice ; but in vain. During the march, they were carefully separated from the European | prisoners at each place of encampment,

| by a tank or other obstacle, supposed to be insurmountable. It did not prove so, how- ever ; for one of the captive officers subse- quently declared, that not a night elapsed but some of the sepoys contrived to elude the vigilance of the guards by swimming the tanks (frequently some miles in circum- ference), or eluding the sentries ; bringing with them such small sums as they could save from the pittance allowed by the sul- tan, for their own support, in return for hard daily labour, to eke out the scanty food of the Europeans. “ We can live upon anything,” they said ; “ but you require mutton and beef.” At the peace of 1783, 1,500 of the released captives marched 500 miles to Madras, and there embarked on a voyage of six or eight weeks, to rejoin the army to which they belonged at Bombay .f j | Similar manifestations of attachment were given by the various Native troops of the three presidencies; their number, and pro- portion to the Europeans, increasing with the extension of the Anglo-Indian empire. In 1800, the total force comprised 22,832 Euro- peans, and 115,300 Natives of all denomina- l tions; the Europeans being chiefly Royal troops belonging to the regular cavalry and infantry regiments, which were sent to India for periods varying from twelve to twenty years. As the requirements of government augmented with every addition of territory, the restrictions of caste became daily more

* Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 400.

f Sir John Malcolm’s Government of India. London : John Murray, 1833; p. 210.

obnoxious ; and attempts, for the most part very ill-judged, were made to break through them. Certain regulations, trivial in them- selves, excited the angry suspicions of the sepoys, as to the latent intentions of govern- ment ; and the sons of Tippoo Sultan (then state-prisoners at Vellore), through their partisans, fomented the disaffection, which issued in the mutiny of 1806, in which thir- teen European officers and eighty-two pri- vates were killed, and ninety-two wounded. J

In 1809, another serious outbreak oc- curred in the Madras presidency, in which the Native troops played only a secondary part, standing by their officers against the government. The injudicious manner in which Sir George Barlow had suppressed an allowance known as “ tent-contract,” previously made to Europeans in command of Native regiments, spread disaffection throughout the Madras force. Auber, the annalist of the East India Company, gives very few particulars of this unsatisfactory and discreditable affair; but he mentions the remarkable fidelity displayed by Pur- neah, the Dewan of Mysoor (chosen, and earnestly supported, by Colonel Wellesley, after the conquest of that country.) The field-officer in charge of the fortress of Seringapatam, tried to corrupt Purneah, and even held out a threat regarding his property, and that belonging to the boy- rajah in the fort. The dignified rejoinder was, that the British government was the protector of the rajah and his minister; and that, let what would happen, he (Purneah) would always remain faithful to his engage- ments.§

A skirmish actually took place between the mutineers and the king’s troops. Lord Minto (the governor-general) hastened to Madras, and, by a mixture of firmness and conciliation, restored order, having first obtained the unconditional submission of all concerned in the late proceedings; that is to say, the great majority of the Madras officers in the Company’s service.

The refusal of the 47th Bengal regiment to march from Barrackpoor in 1825, on the expedition to Burmah, is fully accounted for by the repugnance of the sepoys to embarkation having been aggravated by the insufficient arrangements made for them by the commissariat department. The autho- rities punished, in a most sanguinary mau-

| See Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 407.

§ Auber’s British Power in India, vol. ii., pp. 476, 477.

104 REGIMENTAL OFFICERS EMPLOYED AS CIVILIANS.

ner, conduct which their own negligence had provoked.*

An important change was introduced into the Native army, under the adminis- tration of Lord "William Bentinck (who uas appointed commander-in-chief as well as governor-general in 1833), by the abo- lition of flogging, which had previously been inflicted with extreme frequency and severity. Sir Charles Napier subsequently complained of this measure, on the ground of its leaving no punishment available when the army was before the enemy. The limited authority vested in the officers, in- creased the difficulty of maintaining disci- pline, by making expulsion from the service the sole punishmentofoffenderswhodeserved perhaps a day’s hard labour. Sir Charles adds — “ But I have been in situations where I could not turn them out, for they would either starve or have their throats cut ; so I did all my work by the provost- martial.” His favourite pupil, “ the war- bred Sir Colin Campbell,” appears to have been driven to the same alternative to check looting.

The change which has come over the habits of both military men and civi- lians during the present century, has been already shown. Europeans have gradually ceased to take either wives or concubines from among the natives: they have become, in all points, more exclusive; and as their own number has increased, so also has their regard for conventionalities, which, while yet strangers in the land — few and feeble — they had been content to leave in abeyance. The effect on Indian society, and especially on the army, is evident. The intercourse between the European and Native offi- cers has become yearly less frequent and less cordial. The acquisition of Native lan- guages is neglected; or striven for, not as a means of obtaining the confidence of the sepoys, but simply as a stepping-stone to distinction in the numerous civil posi- tions which the rapid extension of territory, the paucity of the civil service, and the re- jection of Native agency, has thrown open to their ambition. There is, inevitably, a great deal of sheer drudgery in the ordinary routine of regimental duty; but it surely was not wise to aggravate the distaste which its

* Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 424. Thornton’s India, vol. iv., p. 1 13.

f Times, loth July, 1857. Letter from Bombay j correspondent.

■f Indophilus’ Letters to the Times, p. 15.

performance is calculated to produce, by adopting a system which makes long con- tinuance in a regiment a mark of incapacity.

The military and civil line of promotion is, to a great extent, the same. An In- dian military man is always supposed to be fit for anything that offers. He can be “ an inspector of schools, an examiner in political economy, an engineer, a surveyor, an architect, an auditor, a commissary, a resident, or a governor.”f Political, judi- cial, and scientific appointments are all open to him; and the result, no doubt, is, that Indian officers, in many instances, show a versatility of talent unknown elsewhere.

But through teaching officers to look to staff appointments and civil employ for ad- vancement, the military profession is de- scribed as having fallen into a state of dis- paragement. Officers who have not ac- quitted themselves well in the civil service are “ remanded to their regiments,” as if they were penal corps ; and those who re- main with their regiments, suffer under a sense of disappointment and wounded self- esteem, which makes it impossible for them to have their heart in the work.J

The employment of the army to do the civil work, was declared by Napier to be “ the great military evil of India ;” the offi- cers occupying various diplomatic situations, the sepoys acting as policemen, gaolers, and being incessantly employed in detachments for the escort of treasure from the local treasuries, to the manifest injury of their discipline. “ Sir Thomas Munro,” he adds, “ thought three officers were sufficient for regiments. This is high authority ; yet I confess to thinking him wrong ; or else, which is very possible, the state of the army and the style of the officer have changed, not altogether better nor alto- gether worse, but become different.”

There is, probably, much truth in this suggestion. The character of the Native officers and sepoys, as well as that of the Europeans, had changed since the days of Munro. The Bengal army had grown, with the Bengal presidency, into an exclusively high-caste institution. The men were chiefly Brahmins and Rajpoots, or Mussul- mans— handsome, stately men, higher by the head and shoulders than the Madrassees or Mahrattas; immeasurably higher in caste. Great care was taken to avoid low-caste recruits ; still more, outcasts and Christians. In this respect, most exaggerated deference was paid to religious prejudices which, in

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SIR CHARLES NAPIER MADE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF— 1849. 105

other points, were recklessly infringed. In Bombay and Madras, no such distinctions were made. Recruits were enlisted without regard to caste; and the result was, a mix- ture much less adapted to combine for the removal of common grievances. A Native army, under foreign rule, can hardly have been without these : but so flattering a description was given of the Indian troops, that, until their rejection of our service, and subsequent deadly hostility, raised suspicions of “ a long-continued course of mismanage- ment,”* little attention was paid to those who suggested the necessity of radical reforms.

Yet Sir John Malcolm pointed out, as early as 1799, the injustice of a system which allowed no Native soldier the most distant prospect of rising to rank, distinction, or affluence; and this “extraordinary fact” he believed to be “ a subject of daily comment among the Native troops.”f

The evil felt while the Indian army was comparatively small, could not but increase in severity in proportion to the augmenta- tion of the sepoys, who, in 1851, amounted to 240,121, out of 289,529 men; the re- mainder being Europeans. Meanwhile, the extinction of Indian states and of national armies had been rapidly progressing. The disbanded privates (at least such of them as entered the British ranks) may have bene- fited by the change ; regular pay and a retir- ing pension compensating them for the pos- sibility of promotion and the certainty of laxer discipline, with license in the way of loot (plunder.) But the officers were heavy losers by the change. In treating of the causes of the mutiny, Mr. Martin Gubbins says, that in the Punjab, “ the father may have received 1,000 rupees per mensem, as commandant of cavalry, under Runjeet Sing; the son draws a pay of eighty rupees as sub-commander, in the service of the British government. The difference is pro- bably thought by themselves to be too great.” In support of this guarded admis- sion, he proceeds to adduce evidence of the existence of the feeling suggested by him as probable, by citing the reproachful exclama- tion of a Seik risaldar, conspicuous for good conduct during the insurrection — “ My father used to receive 500 rupees a-month in command of a party of Runjeet Sing's horse ; I receive but fifty.

* Speech of Lord Ellenborough : Indian debate, July 13th, 1857. The Duke of Argyll, and others, said, that “ there could be no doubt there had been some mismanagement.” — Ibid., July 27th, 1858.

VOL. II. p

Sir Charles Napier returned to India, as commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Indian armies, on the 6th of May, 1849. He was sent out for the express purpose of carrying on the war in the Punjab ; but it had been successfully terminated before his arrival. He made a tour of inspection, and furnished reports to government on the condition of the troops; which contained statements cal- culated to excite grave anxiety, and prophe- cies of evil which have been since fulfilled.

He pointed out excessive luxury among the officers, and alienation from the Native soldiery, as fostering the disaffection occa- sioned among the latter by sudden reduc- tions of pay, accompanied by the increased burthen of civil duties, consequent on the rapid extension of territory.

It was, however, not until after positive mutiny had been developed, that he recog- nised the full extent of the evils, which he then searched out, and found to be sapping the very foundation of the Indian army.

Writing to General Caulfield (one of his few friends in the East India direction) in November, 1849, he calls the sepoy “a glorious soldier, not to be corrupted by gold, or appalled by danger ;” and he adds — “ I would not be afraid to go into Action with Native troops, and without Europeans, provided I had the training of them first.”§

Iu a report addressed to the governor- general in the same month, the following passage occurs : —

“ I have heard that Lord Hardinge objected to the assembling of the Indian troops, for fear they should conspire. I confess I cannot see the weight of such an opinion. I have never met with an In- dian officer who held it, and I certainly do not hold it myself ; and few men have had more opportuni- ties of judging of the armies of all three presidencies than 1 have. Lord Hardinge saw but the Bengal army, and that only as governor-general, and for a short time ; I have studied them for nearly eight years, constantly at the head of Bengal and Bombay sepoys, and I can see nothing to fear from them, except when ill-used ; and even then they are less dangerous than British troops would be iu similar circumstances. I see no danger in their being massed, and very great danger in their being spread over a country as they now are : on the contrary, I believe that, by concentrating the Indian army as I propose, its spirit, its devotion, and its powers will all be increased.”!)

The above extract tends to confirm the general belief, that the private opinion of Lord Hardinge, regarding the condition of

f Kaye’s Life of Malcolm, vol i., p. 96.

| Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, p. 98.

§ Sir Charles Napier’s Life, vol. iv., pp. 212, 213.

|| Pari. Paper (Commons), 30th July, 1857.

106 MUTINY TO BE TREATED IN DETAIL, WHEN PRACTICABLE.

the army, was less satisfactory than he chose to avow in public. Lord Melville has given conclusive evidence on the subject by stating, from his personal acquaintance with the ex-commander-in-chief, that — “ Enter- taining the worst opinion privately, Lord Hardiuge never would express it publicly, trying thereby to bolster up a bad system, on the ground of the impolicy of makiug public the slight thread by which we held our tenure of that empire.”* Napier, who never kept back or qualified his views, soon saw reason to declare, that “ we were sitting on a mine, and nobody could tell when it might explode.”t The circumstances which led him to this unsatisfactory conclusion were these. After the annexation of the Punjab, the extra allowance formerly given to the troops on service there, wTas sum- marily withdrawn, on the ground that the country was no longer a foreign one. The 22nd Native infantry stationed at Rawul Pindee refused the reduced pay. The 13th regiment followed the example ; and an active correspondence took place between these corps, and doubtless extended through the Bengal army; for there are news-writers in every regiment, who communicate all intelligence to their comrades at head- quarters. J

Colonel Benson, of the military board, proposed to Lord Dalhousie to disband the two regiments ; but the commander-in- chief opposed the measure, as harsh and impolitic. Many other regiments were, he said, certainly involved : the government could not disband an army; it was, there- fore, best to treat the cases as isolated ones, while that was possible ; for, he added, “ if we attempt to bully large bodies, they will do the same by us, and a fight must eusue.”§ The governor-general concurred in this opinion. The insubordination at Rawul Pindee was repressed without bloodshed, by the officer in command, Sir Colin Campbell; and the matter was treated as oue of accidental restricted criminality, not affecting the mass.

Sir Charles Napier visited Delhi, which he considered the proper place for our great magazines, and well fitted, from its central | position, to be the head-quarters of the

artillery — the best point from whence to send forth troops and reinforcements. Here, too, the spirit of mutiny manifested itself; the 41st Native infantry refusing to enter the Punjab without additional allow- ances as heretofore ; and twenty-four other regiments, then under orders for the same province, were rumoured to be in league with the 41st. The latter regiment was, however, tranquillised, and induced to march, by what Sir William Napier terms “ dexterous management, and the obtaining of furloughs, which had been unfairly and recklessly withheld.”

At Vizierabad the sepoys were very sullen, and were heard to say they only waited the arrival of the relieving regiments, and would then act together. Soon after this, the 66th, a relief regiment on the march from Lucknow (800 miles from Vizierabad), broke into open mutiny near Amritsir, insulted their officers, and at- tempted to seize the strong fortress of Govindghur, which then contained about £100,000 in specie. The 1st Native cavalry were fortunately on the spot; and being on their return to India, were not interested in the extra-allowance question. They took part with the Europeans ; and, dismounting, seized the gates, which the strength and daring of a single officer (Captain M'Donald) had alone prevented from being closed, and which the mutineers, with fixed bayonets, vainly sought to hold. This occurred in February, 1850. Lord Dalhousie was not taken by surprise. Writing to Sir Charles Napier, he had declared himself “ pre- pared for discontent among the Native troops, on coming into the Punjab under diminished allowances ; and well satis- fied to have got so far through without violence.” “ The sepoy,” he added, “ has been over-petted and overpaid of late, and has been led on, by the government itself, into the entertainment of an expectation, and the manifestation of a feeling, which he never held in former times.”||

This was written before the affair at Govindghur; and in the meantime, Sir Charles had seen “ strong ground to suppose the mutinous spirit general in the Bengal army.”^f He believed that the Brahmins

1

• Letter to General Sir William Gomm, July loth, ! % Two great explosions of ammunition have been

1857. — Times, July 21st, 1857. f Ibid. mentioned in connexion with the mutinous feeling

1 Evidence of Colonel Greenhill. — Pari. Committee, , of the period; one at Benares, of 3,000 barrels ol

1832-’3

§ Sir Charles Napier’s Life, vol. iv., p. 22 H Ibid., pp. 216; 269; 427.

powder, in no less than thirty boats, which killed upwards of 1,200 people : by the other, of 1,800 barrels, no life was lost.

MUTINY AND DISBANDMENT

were exerting their influence over the Hin- doos most injuriously ; and learned, with alarm, a significant circumstance which had occurred during the Seik war. Major Neville Chamberlaine, hearing some sepoys grumbling about a temporary hardship, exclaimed, “Were I the general, I would disband you all.” A Brahmin havildar replied, “ If you did, we would all go to our villages, and you should not get any more to replace us.” Napier viewed this remark as the distinct promulgation of a principle upon which the sepoys were even then pre- pared to act. The Brahmins he believed to be secretly nourishing the spirit of insubor- dination ; and unless a counterpoise could he found to their influence, it would be hazardous in the extreme to disband the 66th regiment, at the risk of inciting other corps to declare, “ They are martyrs for us ; we, too, will refuse and of producing a bayonet struggle with caste for mastery. “Nor was the stake for which the sepoy contended a small one — exclusive of the principle of an army dictating to the gov- ernment: they struck for twelve rupees instead of seven— nearly double ! When those in the Punjab got twelve by meeting, those in India Proper would not long have served on seven.”*

The remedy adopted by Napier, was to replace the mutinous 66th with one of the irregular Goorka battalions ;f and he ex- pressed his intention of extensively following up this plan, in the event of the disband- ment of further regiments becoming neces- sary. “ I would if I could,” he says, “ have 25,000 of them ; which, added to our own Europeans, would form an army of 50,000 men, and, well handled, would neutralise any combination amongst the sepoys.”

The Goorkas themselves he describes as of small stature, with huge limbs, resem- bling Attila’s Huns ; “ brave as men can be, but horrid little savages, accustomed to use a weapon called a kookery, like a straightened reaping-hook, with which they made three cuts — one across the shoulders, the next across the forehead, the third a ripping-up one.”

The Nusseeree battalion, chosen to re- place the 66th, welcomed, with frantic shouts of joy, the proposal of entering the regular army, and receiving seven rupees a

* Sir C. Napier’s Life and Correspondence, vol. iv., pp. 261, 262.

f See Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 445.

j After Sir Charles left India, a minute was j drawn up by the Supreme Council, which stated,

f OF 63rn REGIMENT — 1849. 107

month, instead of four rupees eight annas; which sum, according to their commanding , officer, had been actually insufficient for | their support. What the European officers of the 66th thought of the substitution does not appear ; but Lord Dalhousie, while ap- proving the disbandment of the mutineers, disapproved of the introduction of the Goor- kas. The commander-in-chief was at the same time reprimanded for having, in January, 1850 (pending a reference to the Supreme government), suspended the opera- tion of a regulation regarding compensation ' for rations; which he considered, in the critical state of affairs, likely to produce mu- j tiny. This regulation, says Sir W. Napier,

“ affected the usual allowance to the sepoys for purchasing their food, according to the market prices of the countries in which they served : it was recent ; was but partially known; was in itself unjust; and became suddenly applicable at Vizierabad, where it was entirely unknown.” General Hearsey, commander at Vizierabad, and Generals Gil- bert and Colin Campbell, deprecated its en- forcement as most impolitic, and calculated, in the sullen temper of the sepoys, to produce a mutiny; and, in fact, only twelve days elapsed before the Govindghur outbreak occurred. The amount of money involved in the tem- porary suspension was only £10 ; but even had it been much greater, if a commander- in-chief could not, in what he believed to be a crisis, and what there is little doubt really was one, be allowed to use his dis- cretion on a subject so immediately within his cognizance, he had, indeed, a heavy weight of responsibility to bear, without any commensurate authority. A less impetu- ous spirit than that of the “fiery Napier,” would have felt no better than a “ huge adjutant-general,” when informed that he “would not again be permitted, under any circumstances, to issue orders which should change the pay and allowances of the troops in India, and thus practically to exercise an authority which had been reserved, and most properly reserved, for the Supreme government alone.” J

The general at once sent in his resigna- tion (May 22nd, 1850) through Lord Fitz- roy Somerset; stating the rebuke he had received, and probably hoping that the

“ that the ration and mutiny question, which led to Sir Charles Napier’s resignation, was not the real cause for the reprimand ; but the style of the j commander-in-chief’s correspondence had become I offensive.” — Life, vol. iv., p. 41 1.

j

108 CONDITION OF THE BENGAL NATIVE ARMY— 1850.

British commander-iu-chief, the Duke of Wellington, would urge its withdrawal. The Duke, on the contrary, decided, after examining the statements sent home by the Calcutta authorities (which, judging by subsequent events, were founded on a mis- taken view of the temper of the troops), that no sufficient reason had existed for the suspension of the regulation, and that the governor-general in council was right in expressing his disapprobation of the act. The resignation was consequently accepted; and Sir Charles’s statements regarding the condition of the army, were treated as the prejudiced views of a disappointed man.

Yet the report addressed by him to the Duke in June, while ignorant, and probably not expectant, of the acceptance of his resignation, contains assertions which ought then to have been investigated, and which are now of primary importance as regards the causes of our sudden calamity, and the system to be adopted for the prevention of its recurrence.

“ The Bengal Native army,” Sir Charles writes, “ is said to have much fallen off from what it was informer days. Of this I am not a judge; but I must say that it is a very noble army, and with very few defects. The greatest, as far as I am capable of judging, is a deficiency of discipline among the European officers, especially those of the higher ranks. I will give your grace an instance.

“ The important order issued by the governor-gen- eral and the commander-in-chief, to prepare the sepoys for a reduction in their pay, I ordered to be read, and explained with care to every regiment. With the exception of three or four commanders of regiments, none obeyed the order ; some gave it to pay-sergeants to read, and others altogether ne- glected to do so — such is the slackness of discipline among officers of high rank, and on an occasion of such vast importance. This want of discipline arises from more than one cause : a little sharpness with officers who disobey orders will soon correct much of this; but much of it originates in the great de- mand made upon the troops for civil duties, which so breaks up whole regiments, that their command- ing officers lose that zeal for the service which they ought to feel, and so do the younger officers. The demand also made for guards is immense. * * *

I cannot believe that the discipline of the Bengal army will be restored till it is relieved from civil duties, and those duties performed by police bat- talions. as was intended by Lord Ellenborough.

“ The next evil which I see in the Native army is, that so many of the senior officers of regiments are placed on the staff or in civil situations; and very old, worn-out officers command regiments : these carry on their duties with the adjutant and some favoured Native officer. Not above one or two captains are with the regiment; and the subalterns being all young, form a society among them- selves, and neglect the Native officers altogether. Nothing is therefore known as to what is passing in a Native regiment. * * * The last, and most

important thing which I reckon injurious to the Indian army, is the immense influence given to “ caste ;” instead of being discouraged, it has been encouraged in the Bengal army. In the Bombay army it is discouraged, and that army is in better order than the Bengal army. In this latter the Brahmins have been leaders in every mutiny.” *

The manner in which courts-martial were conducted, excited his indignation through- out his Indian career. Drunkenness and gambling were, in his eyes, utisoldierly and ungentlemanly vices, and he drew no dis- tinction between the officer and the private.

“ Indian courts-martial are my plagues,” he writes ; “ they are farces. If a private is to be tried, the courts are sharp enough ; but an officer is quite another thing.” He mentions a case of notorious drunkenness, in which the accused was “ honourably ac- quitted;” and he adds — “ Discipline is so rapidly decaying, that in a few years my belief is, no coramander-in-chief will dare to bring an officer to trial : the press will put an end to all trials, except iu law courts. In courts-martial now, all is quib- bling and disputes about what is legal ; the members being all profoundly ignorant on the subject : those who judge fairly, in a military spirit, are afraid of being brought up afterwards, and the trials end by an acquittal in the face of all evidence !” This state of things was not one in which he was likely to acquiesce ; and in six months he had to decide forty-six cases of courts-martial on officers (some for gam- bling, some for drunkenness), in which only two were honourably acquitted, and not less than fourteen cashiered. Iu the cele- brated address in which he took leave of the officers of the Indian army (9th Decem- ber, 1850), he blamed them severely for getting into debt, and having to be brought before the Court of Requests. “A vulgar man,” he wrote, “ who enjoys a champagne tiffin [luncheon], and swindles his servants, may he a pleasant companion to those who do not hold him in contempt as a vulgar knave; but he is not a gentleman : his com- mission makes him an officer, but he is not a gentlemau.”

The luxury of the Indian system was, as might be expected, severely criticised by a warrior who is popularly said to have en- tered on a campaign with a piece of soap and a couple of towels, and dined off a hunch of bread and a cup of water. Pre- vious commanders-in-chief, when moving on

* Sir C. Napier to the Duke of Wellington, loth June, 1850. — Pari. Paper, August 6th, 1857.

“OLD INDIANS” “MARTINETS,” AND “FAST REGIMENTS”— 1850. 109

a military inspection, used, at tlie public expense, eighty or ninety elephants, three or four hundred camels, and nearly as many bullocks, with all their attendants : they had also 332 tent-pitchers, including fifty men solely employed to carry glass doors for a pavilion. This enormous establish- ment was reduced by Napier to thirty ele- phants, 334 camels, 222 tent-pitchers ; by which a saving was effected for the treasury of £750 a-month. “ Canvas palaces,” he said, “ were not necessary for a general on military inspection, even admitting the favourite idea of some 'old Indians’ — that pomp and show produce respect with Indian people. But there is no truth in that no- tion : the respect is paid to military strength; and the astute natives secretly deride the ostentation of temporary authority.”*

“ Among the modern military changes,” he says, “there is one which has been gradually introduced in a number of regiments by gentlemen who are usually called ‘ martinets’ — not soldiers, only mar- tinets. No soldier can now go up to his officer with- out a non-commissioned officer gives him leave, and accompanies him ! * * * This is a very dan-

gerous innovation: it is digging a ditch between the officers and their men ! How are Company’s officers to study men’s characters, when no man dare address them but in full dress, and in presence of a non- commissioned officer?”!

Sir Charles deplored “the caste and luxury which pervaded the army,” as calcu- lated to diminish their influence equally over European soldiers and Indian sepoys.

“ His [the soldier’s] captain is no longer his friend and chief: he receives him with upstart condescen- sion ; is very dignified, and very insolent, nine [times?] out of ten; and as often the private goes away with disgust or contempt, instead of good, respectful, comrade feelings. Then the soldier goes daily to school, or to his library, now always at hand ; while his dignified officer goes to the billiard- room or the smoking-room ; or, strutting about with

* Life, vol. iv., p. 206. The ostentatious parade with which the progresses of Indian functionaries, both civil and military, was usually attended, not only aggravated, by contrast, the hardships endured by their inferiors, but inflicted most cruel sufferings on the natives of the countries through which they passed, thousands being pressed for palanquin or dooly (litter) bearers, and for porters of luggage, and paid very poorly, and often very irregularly. “ The coolies,” says Sir C. Napier, “ who are sum- moned to carry the governor-general’s baggage when he moves, are assembled at, or rather driven by force to, Simla from immense distances, and are paid about twopence a-day, under circumstances of great cruelty. Now, I happen to know, that from the delays of offices, and without, perhaps, any tan- gible act of knavery in any especial officer or indi- vidual, some 8,000 or 10,000 coolies employed to

take Lord down into the plains when he left

India, were not paid this miserable pittance for three

a forage-cap on the side of an empty pate, and clothed in a shooting-jacket, or other deformity of dress, fancies himself a great character, because he is fast, and belongs to a fast regiment — i.e., a regi- ment unfit for service, commanded by the adjutant, and having a mess in debt !”J

It is, of course, exclusively to the sepoys that Sir Charles refers in the following pas- sages, in which he upholds the necessity for discipline and kindly intercourse being maintained by the European officers : —

“ They are admirable soldiers, and only give way when badly led by brave but idle officers, who let discipline and drill grow slack, and do not mix with them: being ignorant themselves, they cannot teach the sepoy. * * * I could do anything I like

with these natives. Our officers generally do not know how to deal with them. They have not, with some exceptions, the natural turn and soldierlike feelings necessary to deal with them. Well, it matters little to me ; India and I will soon be sepa- rate : I see the system will not last fifty years. The moment these brave and able natives learn how to combine, they will rush on us simultaneously,, and the game will be up. A bad commander-in-chief and a bad governor-general will clench the business. § * * * 1 am disposed to believe, that we might,

with advantage, appoint natives to cadetships, dis- charge all our Native officers on the pensions of their present rank, and so give the natives common chance of command with ourselves — before they take it !

“ Every European boy, aye, even sergeants, now command all Native officers ! When the native saw the English ensign live with him and cherish him, and by daily communication was made aware of his superior energy, strength, daring, and mental ac- quirements, all went smooth. Now things have changed. The young cadet learns nothing: he drinks, he lives exclusively with his own country- men ; the older officers are on the staff, or on civil employ, which they ought not to be ; and high-caste — that is to say, mutiny — is encouraged. I have just gotten this army through a very dangerous one; and the Company had better take care what they are at, or some great mischief will yet happen !

“ I think that Native ensigns, lieutenants, and captains, aye, and commanders of corps too, will assimilate with our officers, and, in course of time,

years !” It is scarcely possible to believe that Eng- lishmen could be either so ungenerous or so short- sighted as wantonly to outrage the feelings of the natives; but, on this point, the testimony of various authorities is corroborated by the special correspondent of the Times, whose sympathies naturally lay with his countrymen, and who would not, without strong evidence, venture to bring such a heavy charge against them. Seeing a native badly wounded on a charpoy (movable bed), with a woman sitting beside him in deep affliction, he asked for an explanation, and was told that an officer “ had been licking two of his bearers, and had nearly murdered them.” Mr. Russell probably did not disguise his disgust on this or other occasions; for he was often told, “ Oh, wait till you are another month in India, and you’ll think nothing of licking a nigger,”. — The Times, June 17th, 1858.

t Life and Correspondence, vol. iv., p. 325.

' j Ibid., vol. iv., pp. 306 ; 326. § Ibid., pp, 185; 212.

110 OPINIONS OF LORD MELVILLE, SIR C. CAMPBELL, & MAJOR JACOB.

gradually throw caste to the dogs, and be like our- selves in all but colour. I have no belief in the power of caste resisting the Christian faith for any great length of time, because reason is too strong for nonsense in the long run ; and I believe if the Indians were made officers, on the same footing as ourselves, they would be perfectly faithful, and in time become Christians : not that I want to convert them ; but so it will be-”*

So far from any idea being entertained of elevating the Native officers according to the plan propounded by the commander-in- chief, their absolute extinction was discussed in public journals and periodicals ; a fact which supplies a very clear reason for gene- ral disaffection.

Sir Charles Napier, in the year in which he died (1853), writes to his brother, Sir William : —

“ The Edinburgh article you mentioned says, that if the Native officers were gradu- ally gotten rid of, the operation would be safe, though not economical or generous. But however gradually it might be done, 300,000 armed men would at once see that all their hopes of rising to be lieu- tenants, captains, and majors, and -when no longer able to serve, the getting pensions, would, for those ranks, be blasted for ever. The writer would soon find his plan unsafe ; it would end all Indian questions at once. There is no sepoy in that great army but expects to retire, in age, with a major’s pension, as certainly as every ensign expects to become a major or a colonel in our army. There is but one thing to be done : give the Native officers rank with our own, reducing the number of ours. This may endanger ; but it will not do so more than the present system does ; and my own opinion is pretty well made up, that our power there is crum- bling very fast.”f

The above statements have been given at length, not simply because they were formed by the commander-in-chief of the Indian army, but because they are the grounds on which he based his assertion, that the mutiny of the sepoys was “ the most formidable danger menacing our Indian empire.” Certainly Sir William Napier has done good service in his unreserved exposi- tion of his brother’s opinions ; and though many individuals of high position and cha- racter, may, with justice, complain of the language applied to them, yet the sarcasms

* Letter written May 31st, 1850 ; published by Lieutenant-general Sir William Napier, in the Times of August 17th, 1857.

t Life and Opinions, vol. iv., p. 383.

of the testy old general lose half their bit- terness when viewed as the ebullitions of an irascible temper, aggravated by extreme and almost constant bodily pain. When he descends to personalities, his own com- parison describes him best — “ a hedgehog, fighting about nothing but his criticisms on the discipline of the Indian army, its commissariat, ordnance, and transport de- partments, bear witness of an extraordinary, amount of judgment and shrewdness. If, as “Indophilus” asserts, “Sir Charles Napier had not the gift of foresight beyond other men,” it is the more to be regretted that other men, and especially Indian states- men, should have allowed his assertions to remain on record, neither confirmed nor re- futed, until the mutinies of 1857 brought them into general notice.

Sir Charles Napier was not quite alone in his condemnation of the lax discipline of the Bengal army. Viscount Melville, who commanded the Punjab division of the Bombay forces at the time of the mutiny of the two Bengal regiments under Sir Colin Campbell, in 1849, was astonished at the irregularity which he witnessed in the Bengal army. When questioned concern- ing its condition, on his return to England in 1850, he did not disguise his strong dis- approbation ; upon which he was told that, however true his opinion might be, it would be imprudent to express it.j;

Sir Colin Campbell kept silence on the same principle ; but now says, that if he had uttered his feelings regarding the sepoys ten years ago, he would have been shot.§

Major John Jacob wrote a pamphlet|j in 1854, in which he pointed out various de- fects in the system ; but the home authori- ties were evidently unwilling to listen to any unpleasant information. The reports of the commander-in-chief who succeeded Sir Charles Napier, and of the governor-general, were both exceedingly favourable ; but then the efforts of both Sir William Gomm^f and of Lord Dalhousie, seem to have been di- rected exclusively to the furtherance of very necessary measures for the welfare of the European troops. Indeed, in his lordship’s own summarv of his administration, the condition of the immense mass of the Indian army, amounting to nearly 300,000 men, is

J Speech in the House of Lords, July 15th, 1857.

§ Times, 15th January, 1S58.

|| Native Troops of the Indian Army.

Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 537.

ALLEGED SEPOY GRIEVANCES— FRANKING ABOLISHED. Ill

dismissed iu the following brief, and, if accurate, very satisfactory sentence : —

“The position of the Native soldier in India has long been such as to leave hardly any circumstance of his position iu need of improvement.”*

This statement is hardly consistent with that made by the chairman of the East India Company (Mr. R. D. Mangles) to the cadets at Addiscombe, in June, 1857. He adverted to the “ marked alteration in the tone and bearing of the younger officers of the Indian army, towards the natives of all ranks,” as a fact which “all joined in la- menting;” and he added, that if the “es- trangement of officers from men, and espe- cially of English from Native officers, was allowed to continue and grow, it was impos- sible to calculate the fatal consequences that might ensue.”t

* Here, at least, was one point in which the treatment of the Native soldiery was sus- ceptible of improvement. But there were others in which the peculiar advantages they had once enjoyed had sensibly dimin- ished : their work had increased ; their pay, at least in the matter of extra allowances, had decreased. Sinde, for instance, was just as unhealthy — just as far from the homes of the sepoys; under British as under Native government; yet the premium previously given for foreign service was withdrawn on annexation. So also in the Punjab, and elsewhere.

The orders for distant service came round more rapidly as territory increased. The sepoys became involved in debt by change of station, and the Madras troops could ill afford the travelling expenses of their families, from whom they never wil- lingly separate, and whose presence has probably been a chief cause of their fidelity during the crisis. One regiment, for in- stance, has had, within the last few years, to build houses and huts at three different stations ; and on their late return from Burmah, the men had to pay sixty rupees per cart, to bring their wives and children from Burhampoor to Vellore, a distance of 700 miles. This is said to be a fair ave- rage specimen of what is going on every- j where. “The result is, that the men are j ‘ deeply embarrassed. A sepoy on seven

! * Minute, dated 28t’n February. 1856; p. 41.

t See Daily Neivs, July 13th, 1857, p.p. 26, 27.

| Norton’s Rebellion in India.

' § Letter signed “ Caubulee.” — Daily News, July

17th, 1857.

rupees a-month, who has to pay fifty or sixty rupees for his wife’s cart once in every two or three years, is unavoidably plunged in debt. He must borrow at exorbitant in- terest from the money-lender ; and before he can reclaim the past, the ‘ route’ comes for a fresh march to far-distant cantonments, and hurries him into fresh difficulties.” J

The Bengal sepoys do not carry their families with them on a campaign, but leave them in their native villages, visiting them every year. The furloughs granted for this purpose, have been diminished in consequence of the growing necessities of the service ; and another infringement of a prerogative, which their separation from their wives and children rendered very valuable, was committed by the withdrawal of their privilege of franking letters to their homes. Several late regulations regarding the payment of pensions, and increasing strictness on the part of the general in- validing committee, are asserted to have been viewed by the sepoys as involving breach of faith on the part of the govern- ment. They are said to have felt with the old Scotchwoman, “ I ken ye’re cheating me, but I dinna ken exactly hoo.”§ Any alteration in the rules of the retiring pen- sion-list, was watched by the sepoy with jealous care. The terms which secured to him a fixed monthly stipend in the event of becoming incapacitated for further duty after a service of fifteen years, and which, if he died in battle, or from sickness while on foreign service, made some provision for his family, could not of course be altered, even slightly, without exciting alarm as to what further changes might follow. The Bengal sepoys were largely drawn from Oude; and not from Oude generally, but from certain limited districts. Naturally there existed among them the feeling observable in British soldiers born iu the same county, when associated in a regiment on foreign service ; and possibly it was clanship, quite as much as caste, which bound them together: but whatever it was, a strong tie of union, and consequent power of combination, existed among them, which rendered them efficient for good or evil. Sir John Malcolm had given a memorable warning regarding them. Neither the Hindoo nor the Mohammedan soldier were, he said, revengeful, but both were prone to acts of extreme violence in points where they deemed their honour slighted. The absence of any fear of death was common to them all. Such an instru-

112

OPPOSITE VIEWS— MALCOLM AND GENERAL ANSON.

ment as an army constituted of men like | The Afghan war was very unpopular for these afforded, had need be managed with this reason ; and the calamities and sore dis- care and wisdom, or our strength would comfiture endured there, deepened the un- become our danger. The minds of the favourable impression which it made upon

sepoys were alive to every impulse, and would all vibrate to the same touch. Kind- ness, liberality, and justice would preserve their attachment: besides this, Malcolm adds, “ we must attend to the most trifling of their prejudices, and avoid rash inno- vations ; but, above all, those that are calculated to convey to their minds the most distant alarm in points connected with their usages or religion.”* This policy found little favour among the Euro- peans in 1856.

The exclusive payment of the troops in

the whole Native army, and generally upon the people of India. An insurrection in the Saugor and Nerbudda districts broke out in 1842. The wild barons of the hills and jungles swept down over the valleys and cultivated plains ; yet the pillaged inhabi- tants yielded little support to the officers of the government, and would furnish no information with regard to the movements of the insurrectionists. Colonel Sleeman was sent by Lord Ellenborough to inquire into the cause of this inconsistency. He assembled a party of about fifty of the low- such an inconveniently heavy coin as the sil- landers in his tent; and there, seated on ver rupee (two-shilling) piece, obliges them the carpet, each man freely spoke his mind, to resort frequently to money-changers ; Umrao Sing, a sturdy, honest farmer, spoke and thus to lose a per-centage on their of the conduct of the chiefs as quite natural, small stipend. Unfortunately, the gover- The sudden withdrawal of the troops for nor-general, v'hose practical ability might objects of distant conquest, and the tidings have been so beneficially exercised in this of disaster and defeat, awakened their hopes and other matters, appears to have listened of regaining their former position, for they to only one set of statements regarding the thought the British raj at an end. Colonel Native army, and to have acted upon the Sleeman said, that the farmers and cultiva- principle that the sepoy had been “ over- tors of the disturbed districts, having been petted,” and required sterner discipline. more favoured, in regard to life and property, General Anson, who succeeded Sir Wil- than in any other part of India, ought to liam Gomm in command of the army, took have been stanch to their protectors : the same view of the case, only a more exag- “but,” he added, “there are some men who gerated one. "When the cartridge agitation never can be satisfied ; give them what you first commenced, he set at nought the will, they will always be craving after

feelings of the sepoys, by declaring that “ he would never give in to their beastly prejudices.” This speech sufficiently reveals the character of the commander-in-chief to whom it could be even attributed with any show of probability ; and it certainly de- serves a place among the immediate causes of the mutiny. t The European officers appear to have too generally adopted the same tone, especially as regarded the Ben- galees ; and it was commonly said, that whereas the leading feeling with the Bom- bay and Madras sepoys was the honour of their regiment, that of the Bengal sepoy was the pride of caste. But, in fact, all the Hindoos, except the outcastes, maintain more or less strongly, certain religious prejudices which interfere with their effi- ciency as soldiers ; especially their invariable

dislike to sea voyages, and to tain recognised boundaries.

passing cer-

* Malcolm on the Government of India, p. 219. f Cooper’s Crisis in the Punjab, p. 37. j Sleen.an’s Journey through Oiule, vol. ii., p. 95.

more." “ True, sir,” replied Umrao Sing, with the utmost gravity, “there are some people who can never be satisfied, give them what you will ; give them the whole of Hindoostan, and they will go off to Cabool to take more.”J

Hedayut Ali, a subahdar of the Bengal Seik battalion, a man of excellent character, whose father and grandfather had occupied the highest positions attainable to natives in the British service, has furnished some important evidence on the causes of disaffec- tion among the sepoys. He lays much stress on the sufferings endured by the sepoys in Afghanistan in 1838-’9, and the violations of caste which they were com- pelled to commit by the extreme cold, espe- cially in the matter of eating without first bathing, and of wearing sheepskin jackets; whereas no Hindoo, except of the lowest caste, likes to touch the skin of a dead animal.

The annexation of Oude is cited by this witness as having, in addition to other real

ARBITRARY REGULATIONS

or imaginary grievances, caused universal disaffection throughout the army, which from that time determined upon mutinying. The grounds upon which this opinion is based, are very clearly stated. On the 14th of March, 1856, the King of Oude reached Cawnpoor, on his way to Calcutta. Hedayut Ali reached that city on the same day. He remained there six days, and had frequent interviews with the king’s vakeels, courtiers, and servants ; as did also the principal people of Cawnpoor, and many of the Native officers and sepoys of the regiments stationed there; all of whom were indignant at the king’s dispossession. The vakeel of Nana Sahib was among the visitors, and took pains to increase the excitement, by saying how displeased and grieved his master was by the conduct of the English. Shortly after, Hedayut Ali proceeded to join his corps at Lahore, and marched thence to Bengal. On the way, he learnt that the Native in- fantry at Barrackpoor were showing symp- toms of mutiny ; and this, with other intelli- gence, he, from time to time, communicated to his commanding officer.

The King of Oude again visited Cawnpoor in December, 1856, and stayed about a fortnight ; during which time much mischief is said to have been concocted. Meanwhile the commander-in-chief and the governor- general were initiating measures very dis- pleasing to various classes of natives. The Madras sepoys had shown, at Vellore, how dangerous it was to interfere with the marks on their foreheads, or the fashion of their turbans. The Seiks and Mohamme- dans are scarcely less susceptible on the subject of their beards and moustachios. Consequently, in the extensive enlistments of these races, carried on after the annexa- tion of the Punjab, a pledge was given that no interference should be attempted in the matter of hair-dressing. General Anson, however, issued an order, directing the Mohammedans to cut their beards after a prescribed fashion. They refused, pleading the condition of their enlistment. The general insisted on their obeying the order, or quitting the service ; and many of them, Sooner than suffer what, in their view, was a disgrace, took their discharge, and went to their homes. Sir Charles Napier under- stood the native character far too well to have so needlessly played the martinet, in- dependently of the sympathy which he would naturally have felt for the recusants, by reason of having himself “ a beard like a

VOL. II. Q

OF GENERAL ANSON— 1856. 113

Cashmere goat.” The discharged sepoys “bitterly complained of the commanding officers having broken faith with them ; and several of them, who afterwards re-enlisted in the same regiment as Hedayut Ali, frequently spoke of the manner in which they had been deprived of the benefit of several years’ service. But the crowning act of innovation enacted by Lord Canning and General Anson, was the general service order of 1856, by which all recruits were to be compelled to swear that they would go, by sea or land, wherever their services were required. The refusal of the 38th Bengal infantry to march to Burmah, was severely punished by Lord Dalhousie’s sending the regiment by land to Dacca, where the can- tonments were very bad, and the loss of life among the troops extremely heavy.”* He did not, however, attempt to strike such a blow as that now aimed at caste ; for the unqualified aversion to the sea entertained by the Bengal sepoys, would, it was well known, prevent many from bring- ing up their children to a profession which they had learned to look upon as an here- ditary means of obtaining an honourable maintenance. They feared also for them- selves. Hedayut Ali says — “ When the old sepoys heard of this order, they were much frightened and displeased. ‘Up to this day, those men who went to Afghanis- tan have not been readmitted to their caste ; how are we to know where the Eng- lish may force us to go? They will be ordering us next to go to London.’ Any new order is looked upon with much sus- picion by the Native army, and is much canvassed in every regiment.”

This latter remark is unquestionably a just one; the intercourse maintained throughout the Bengal army, and the rapid and correct transmission of intelligence, having beeu one of the most marked features of the mutinies. The following observations are also painfully correct : —

“ Of late years the sepoys have not confided in their officers. * * * A native of Hindoostan seldom

opens his mind to his officer ; he only says what he thinks would please his officer. The sepoys reserve their real opinion until they return to their lines and to their comrades. * * * The government

must be aware, that when a soldier has once or twice shown a disposition to mutiny, he is useless as a soldier : one mutinous sepoy infects a whole com- pany ; and gradually, one man after another, from fear or sympathy, joins the mutineers.

“ Many commanding officers, to my knowledge, reported that regiments were all right, when they

* Norton’s Rebellion in India, p. 21.

114 EVILS OF THE SENIORITY SYSTEM — 18nfi.

knew that there were discontent and bad feeling in the ranks; and, to my belief, for the sake of the name of their respective regiments, concealed the real state of their regiments, until at length the sepoys took to murdering their officers. * * *

Another reason (and, in my opinion, a very serious one) why the army became mutinous and disaffected is this. Promotion all went by seniority, and not, as it ought, according to merit and proficiency. All the old men, from length of service worth nothing as commissioned or non-commissioned officers, re- ceived promotion ; while younger men, in every way fit, languished in their lines : saying, ‘ What use is there in us exerting ourselves ; we cannot get pro- motion until our turn comes, and that time can’t come until our heads are gray and our mouths toothless.’ For this reason, the sepoys for the most part drew their pay, and were careless with regard to their duty. The higher ranks of the Native army, from old age alone, were quite incapacitated from doing their duty, even had they the will to do it. I state confidently, that the generality of Native officers were an encumbrance to the state: instead of commanding sepoys, the sepoys commanded them ; and instead of the commissioned and non- commissioned ranks preventing the men from muti- nying, they rather persuaded them to do so.”*

The above opinion of a Native officer on the effect of the Bengal military system upon his countrymen, reads like the echo of that of Indophilus, regarding its opera- tion on the Europeans. The arguments urged in the two cases are so nearly iden- tical, that it may well be asked whether justice and common sense do not prompt to the same course of general legislation.

“ Under a pure seniority system, an officer’s pro- motion goes on precisely in the same manner whether he exerts himself or takes his ease; and as few love exertion for its own sake, the majority take their ease. Under a system of selection according to qualification and service, promotion is dependent upon exertion, and the majority consequently exert themselves. Those only who know the Bengal army can form some estimate of the amount of idle- ness and bad habit engendered by the seniority system co-operating with the enervating influences of the climate, which would be converted into active interest in professional duty, by the substitution of a well-considered system of promotion according to qualification and good service.”!

Lord Melville J had also urged, so far as he was allowed to do, the evils of the seniority system. Other authorities, more or less di- rectly, assert, that it was the defective charac- ter, rather than the insufficient number, of the officers left to do regimental duty as “the refuse of the army,” which weakened their

* Translated by Captain T. Rattray, from the original Oordoo ; and published in the Times, April 1st, 1858.

t Letters of Indophilus, p. 18.

f The directors are said to defend themselves for neglecting Lord Melville’s representations, on the ground that his “ evidence was contradicted most

hold on their men. Brigadier-general Jacob remarks, that “ qualifications, not numbers, are necessary for the leaders of the native Indian soldiers ;” and his opinion is cor- roborated by the fact, that the irregular aud local force, which ‘was officered entirely by a few but picked men, was — allowing for discrepancies of pay and dates of enlist- ment— generally held to be in an equally, if not more, efficient condition than the regular regiments.

A well-informed, but not unprejudiced witness says, that the conduct of irregular regiments, which possess only three Euro- pean officers, has always contrasted so favourably with that of line regiments, with their fourteen or fifteen, that the natural conclusion one would arrive at is, that the latter are over-officered. He also deprecates the seniority system, by which a sepoy who may enter the service at the age of sixteen, cannot count on finding himself a nailc (corporal) before he attains the age of thirty-six ; a havildar (sergeant) before forty-five; a jemadar (lieutenant) before fifty-four; or a subahdar (captain) before sixty; while, “after fifty, most natives are utterly useless.”§

The full complement of European officers to each regular regiment is twenty-six ; but of these half are generally absent, either on service or on furlough. The commander is usually a lieutenant-colonel ; then there is an adjutant, to superintend the drill; a quartermaster, whose duty it is to look after the clothing of the men; and, lastly, an interpreter. The necessity for this last functionary lies at the root of our late sudden calamity; for the officers, if they had been able and willing to hold close intercourse with their men, and explain to them the reasons for the various unpopular orders recently issued, would, if they could not remove disaffection, at least have become acquainted with its existence. An infantry regiment on the Bengal establishment com- prises ten companies, each containing a hundred privates, two native commissioned, and twelve non-commissioned officers.

The great increase of the irregular regi- ments has been in itself a source of jealousy aud heartburning to the regular troops, who

strongly, in every particular, by that of Sir Patrick Grant, who assured us, that the Bengal army (of which he had been long adjutant-general) was all that it should be.” — Letter, signed “ H. C.” — Daily Neics, July 25th, 1857.

§ Mutiny of the Bengal Army . by one who has served under Sir Charles Napier; pp. 1 ; 7.

ARBITRARY REGULATIONS OF 1856. 115

expected that their numbers would be largely augmented on the recent annexa- tions, and that extensive promotions would take place. This expectation was wholly disappointed. The enormous expenses of the army rendered the comparative cheap- ness of irregular troops an irresistible advan- tage. According to the Army List for 1857, the irregular and local force of Bengal num- bered forty-two infantry, and twenty-seven cavalry regiments ; and the so-called contin- gents of Native States, comprised sixteen of cavalry and nineteen of infantry : in all, ninety-four regiments ; the whole officered by picked men from the twenty-four regi- ments of the regular army. The relative numbers of the three armies need not be given here, as tlieir proportions and distribu- tion are immediately connected with the history about to be entered on. The ques- tion of the greased cartridges has been already noticed under the head of “ Caste ;” and will frequently recur in the ensuing narrative.

A Mohammedan Conspiracy , widely rami- fied and deeply rooted, is urged by some authorities as in itself the great motive power of the late political convulsion; others, on the contrary, deny its existence, on the ground of no sufficient evidence having been adduced thereof.

Dr. Alexander Duff, the eloquent Pres- byterian preacher of Calcutta, writing in August, 1857, says — “ It is a loug-con- cocted Mohammedan conspiracy now come to a head. The main object is the destruc- tion of British power, and the reascendancy of Mohammedan. Even the cartridge affair was only a casual incident, of which the conspirators adroitly took advantage.”* In his published Letters on the Indian Rebellion, the Doctor throughout insists on Mussulman intrigues as being continually developed and exposed ; but he wrote in a season of excitement, when rumours abounded of dangers and atrocities, many of which have happily proved unfounded, but which naturally served to confirm his preconceived opinion. The truth is terrible enough ; and for the sake of our national honour, for the sake of human nature, and, above all, for the sake of truth itself, we

* Speech of the Hon. A. Kinnaira, 11th June, 1857 : second edition ; p. 35.

f Proclamation issued by Prince Mirza Moham- med Feroze Shah, 17th February, 1858.

1 See Times, September 1st, 1857.

should strive to strip this fearful episode of the obscurity in which conflicting exagge- rations have wrapped its origin and pro- gress. Beyond question, the Mohammedan princes of India have strong reason for combining to restore the green flag of Islam to its former supremacy in Hindoostau. If an opportunity offered, it is at least highly probable that the orthodox Sonnites of Delhi, and the heterodox Sheiahs of Oude, would be content to forget for a time the rival claims of Caliphs and Imaums to apostolic succession, and make common cause against the power which treats both with indifference.

The whole Mussulman body would of necessity be drawn closer together by the danger which threatened all alike. They had still something to lose; that is, some- thing to fight for. Submission had not succeeded in preserving the independence of Oude ; and even Hyderabad, much more the titular principality of Delhi, seemed tottering to a close. Still the Mohamme- dans were as a handful amid a heap; and the chief point to solve was, whether the recent innovations had sufficiently disgusted the leading Hindoos to render them willing to forget past usurpations, and join with their former subjugators in attempting the overthrow of the British raj.

Tippoo Sultan had made an effort of the kiud, but without success ; and it now ap- pears, by his own proclamation, that Prince Mirza* Feroze Shah, on his return from a pilgrimage to Mecca, “ persuaded many at Delhi to raise a religious war;” being in- cited thereto by observing that “the Eng- lish were in a bad and precarious state.”f

Great anxiety had been felt at Delhi, throughout the period of Lord Dalhousie’s administration, regarding the manner in which his annexation policy would be brought to bear upon the family who, fallen as they were, still represented, in the minds of the Indian people, the mighty Mogul emperors of old, and whose restoration to power had been prayed for daily in the mosques throughout India for nearly a hundred years. %

In 1849, the heir-apparent died, and the Indian government recommended the Court of Directors to “terminate the dynasty of Timour whenever the reigning king should die.” The court consented ; but so reluc- tantly, that the governor-general did not 1 care to avail himself of their permission, and therefore recognised the grandson of

PERSIAN WAR DEPRIVED INDIA OF EUROPEAN TROOPS— 1856.

116

the king as heir-apparent; “but only on condition that he should quit the palace in Delhi, in order to reside in the palace at the Kootub ; and that he should, as king, receive the governor-general of India, at all times, on terms of perfect equality.”

These conditions show that something of external pomp and circumstance still lingered around Delhi, of which the repre- sentatives of the East India Company were anxious to be rid, and the royal family as anxious to retain. True, the power had long vanished ; but even the tarnished pageantry was clung to, naturally enough, by those who had no other birthright, and no prospect of being able to win their way to wealth and honour as warriors ; the profes- sion of arms being the only one in which a Mohammedan prince of the blood could en- gage without forfeiting caste. The sullateen (plural for sultan) — as the various branches of the family are termed — are probably a very idle and dissolute race. It is in the nature of things that they should have become so. Certainly wre never did anything to hinder their debasement; and have, while acting as their political and pecuniary trustees, been lamentably indifferent to their moral and physical welfare. We never evinced the slightest interest in them; and have no right to wonder at their degradation.

With the downfall of the dynasty we had no concern. In dealing generously with Shah Alum, we acted with sound policy. All India respected us for it. Evan in Leadenhall-street, sufficient memory of the bygone feelings and events lingered in 1849, to make the application of the new absorp- tion laws seem peculiarly harsh in the case of Delhi. The scruples of the Court of Direc- tors induced Lord Dalhousie to draw back his hand, at least as far as the titular sove- reignty was concerned ; but his proposal for its extinction having been once mooted, and even sanctioned, it may be considered that the sentence wTas rather deferred than reversed. This, at least, was the public opinion. It is a singular fact, that the same accounts from India, which have been already quoted as describing the unbroken tranquillity of the entire peninsula at the close of 1856, state that the palace of Delhi wras “ in a ferment,” owing to the recent death of the heir-apparent from cholera, and the renewed discussion regarding the succession. “We have (it is added) no treaty, agreement, or

* Calcutta correspondent, November 8th, 1856. — Times, December 9th, 1856.

stipulation with Delhi. The king’s privi- leges and pension were all granted as of free grace ; and the former will probably be withdrawn. The palace is a sink of iniquity ; and the family, on the death of its present head, will probably be compelled to move.”*

The same paper contains the announce- ment that the anticipated declaration of war against Persia had appeared in a proclama- tion published at Calcutta on the 1st of November, 1856. The casus belli was the breach of the treaty of 1853, by which the Persian government promised to abstain from all interference with Herat; the inde- pendence of that city, under its brave chief, Esa Khan, being deemed essential to the security of the British frontier. On the pretence that Dost Mohammed had been instigated to seize Candahar and advance upon Herat, a Persian army crossed into the Herat territory (which was declared to be Persian soil), and laid siege to the city. Under instructions from the home govern- ment, a force was assembled at Bombay for service in the Persian Gulf. The Times’ correspondent describes the departure of the force, in three divisions, as taking place in the middle of November. The first, con- sisting of H.M.’s 64th regiment and the 20th Native infantry, embarked from Vin- gorla in two steamers, each with its trans- port in tow. The second, comprising a European regiment, the 2nd Belooch cavalry, and two squadrons of the 3rd cavalry, sailed from Poorbuuder and Kurrachee. The third embarked from Kurrachee a few days later, and consisted of the 4th Rifles (a very strong and well-appointed regiment), two troops of the Poona horse, a field battery, a troop of horse artillery, a third-class siege-train, and two companies of sappers and miners. The rendezvous was fixed at Bunder Abbas, a place near the entrance of the gulf, in the occupation of our Arab ally, the Imaum of Muscat.f

At the time the above facts were recorded, no idea appears to have been entertained of any connection existing between the Persian war and the ferment in the palace of Delhi. The declaration of war had been long expected ; and, according to the Times’ correspondent, created little excitement at Bombay. The Persians, who are nume- rous there, as also in other large Indian cities, relied on the promise of protection given them, and remained quiescent. “ Even

f Bombay correspondent, November 17th, 1856. —

) Times, December 9th, 1856.

REPORTS OF MOHAMMEDAN PLOTS— 1856. 117

the Mussulman population, who sympathise with Persia,” he adds, “ sympathise still more with Afghanistan ;* and the fact that we are fighting with, and not against, Dost Mohammed, is thoroughly understood. The European public accepts the war with a feeling of quiet resignation. The idea that it is our destiny to advance — that we cannot help ourselves, has obtained a control over the public mind ; aud every war breaks the monotony of Indian life, which is the curse of India, as of all aristocratic life.”

It seems probable that the Persian war materially, though indirectly, contributed to break up tbe aristocratic monotony of high-caste European life, by denuding India of her most reliable troops. The number sent, of men of all arms, to the Persian Gulf, in November, 1856, amounted to 5,820, of whom 2,270 were Europeans. In the following February a still larger force was dispatched, under Brigadier-general Havelock, consisting of 5,340 men, of whom about 1,770 were Europeans; and 800 cavalry were subsequently dispatched at an enormous cost. Thus the “ army of Persia” deprived India of about 12,000 men, of whom one-third were Europeans. Lord Canning considered this force quite sufficient for any operations which Major- general Outram could undertake before tbe hot season ; but, he adds, “ it is certain that very large reinforcements will be needed before a second campaign, com- mencing with the autumn of 1857, can be entered upon.”

Man proposes — God disposes. Long before the autumn set in, an Indian cam- paign had commenced, which, whether the Persians had or had not withdrawn their claims on Herat, must have equally relieved the governor-general from the task of pro- viding a third armament for the Persian Gulf, “to include not less than six Euro- pean regiments of infantry and one of cavalry.” The Persians were overcome, and the independence of Herat was secured, at a cost to Britain of about £500,000 in money.f Meanwhile, intimations of Persian intrigues were given to the authorities by various persons, but set at nought as idle

* This assertion may be reasonably questioned, since the Sheiahs of Oude looked up to the Shah of Persia as the head of their sect. Mr. Ludlow says that the Persian v/ar caused great excitement in Northern India, where many of the Moslems were of the Sheiah sect ; and he adds, that one of his rela- tives had himself, within the last two or three years, read placards on the walls of Delhi, calling’ true

rumours. The trial of the King of Delhi fur- nishes evidence that inducements to revolt were held forth by the Shah of Persia, who promised money and troops. His procla- mation to that effect was posted over the mosque gate, and was taken down by order of Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, who, moreover, was informed by John Everett, a Christian risaldar very popular with the natives, that he had been warned to fly, as the Persians were coming, and the Mussulmans were greatly excited. Sir T. Metcalfe thought the information of no importance.^ A state- ment of a Mohammedan plot was laid before Mr. Colvin ; but he also suffered the warning to pass unheeded, and did not even report it to government.

At this very time Delhi was absolutely devoid of European troops, yet strongly fortified, and stored with the munitions of war. Its palace-fort was still tenanted by the representative of the rois faineants of the East, whose persons had formerly been fought for by opposing factions as a tower of strength; their compulsory signature being used notoriously to legitimatise usur- pation, and influence the populace.

Extreme insalubrity is given by Lord Ellenborougb as the reason why no Euro- pean regiment had ever yet been stationed there, sickness prevailing to such an extent, that, after the rains, two-thirds of the strength even of the Native troops were in hospital. § Sanitary measures would pro- bably have prevented, or greatly mitigated this evil (as at Seringapatam); nor does it appear that any cause but neglect existed to render Delhi less habitable than of old.

Sir Charles NapieFs prediction was one which any chance traveller might have rea- sonably made ; and there is, therefore, the less excuse for the absence of obviously ne- cessary precautions. “Men,” he said, “of all parts of Asia meet in Delhi ; and, some day or other, much mischief will be hatched within those city walls, and no European troops at hand.” || He knew also, and offi- cially urged upon the governor-general, “ that the powder-magazine was defended only by a guard of fifty natives, and the gates so weak that a mob could push them

believers to the holy war in the name of the Shah of Persia. — Lectures on British India, vol. ii., p. 219.

t Speech of Lord Claude Llamilton : Indian de- bate, July 20th, 1857.

t Calcutta correspondent. — Times, March 29, 1858.

§ Indian debate, July 13th, 1857.

]| Letter to a lieutenant-colonel in the Bengal artillery: published in the Times, 20th August, 1857.

	118 BRITISH RULE TO LAST A HUNDRED YEARS.

in ; whereas the place ought to be garri- soned by 12,000 picked men.”*

The absence of a European garrison in Delhi is the most unpardonable of our blun- ders; and — what does not always follow — it is the one for which we have most dearly paid, not in money only, but in the life- blood of our best and bravest soldiers. One cannot think of Nicholson and his gallant companions without bitterly denouncing tbe neglect which suffered Delhi to fall defenceless at the feet of a few rebels, put at once a sword and shield into their hands, and gave them the aucient Mussulman metropolis of India as a nucleus for every aggrieved chief, every disaffected soldier, every reckless adventurer, escaped convict, pindarree, thug, dacoit, to rally round, for the destruction of the British raj — at least for a long carnival of war and loot. The very heroism of the troops who regained Delhi embitters the recollection of the neglect by which it was lost. Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori ! as one of them (Captain Battye) said when mortally wounded; but, to their country, their very devotion only renders it more painful that the necessity for such sacrifices should have been so culpably occasioned. This is, however, anticipating events, the progress of which will best evidence how far Persian intrigues may have been connected with the mutiny. At present, many assertions are made, the truth of which yet remains in dispute. It would seem, however, that the efforts of the King of Persia had been chiefly directed to Delhi ; and that if communica- tions were entered into with leading Mo- hammedans in other parts of India, these had not had time to ripen; and, conse- quently, when the mutinies broke forth, heralded by incendiary fires in every British camp, the conspirators must have been

! * Memoir cn the Defence of India ; addressed by

Sir C. Napier to Lord Dalhousie. See Indian debate of 23rd July, 1857.

t In the captured tent of the Shahzada com- mander, after the rout of the Persians at Mohum- rah, there was found a royal proclamation addressed “ to all the people of Heran but which also called on “ the Afghan tribes, and the inhabitants of that country who are co-religionists of the Persians, and who possess the same Koran and Kebla, and laws of the prophet, to take part in the Jahad.” It expressly invited the followers of Islam in India and Sinde to unite and wreak vengeance on the British for all the injuries which the holy faith had suffered from them, and not to withhold any sacrifice in the holy cause. “ The old and the young, the small and the great, the wise and the ignorant, the ryot and the sepoy,

taken by surprise almost as much as the Europeans themselves. t

Shett Nowmull, “a native merchant of Kurrachee, for many years favourably known to government on account of his great in- telligence, his extensive influence and con- nexions throughout the countries on our western frontier, and his true attachment to the British government,” communicated, to Mr. Freere, commissioner of Sinde, in June, 1857, his reasons for believing that “ Persian influence was at the bottom of the mutiny.” He declared that cossids (mes- sengers), under different disguises, withletters secreted in the soles of their shoes or other- wise, had, for the last two years, been regu- larly passing between Delhi and the Persian court, via Candahar; that a great spread of the Sheiah tenets of Islamism had been observable during the same period ; and also that a very perceptible decrease had taken place in the rancour usually existing between the Sheiahs and Sonnites. The new cartridges had been used “ through the same influence,” to excite the feelings of the Hindoo portion of the army, and lead them to mutiny. Dost Mohammed, he said, thought more of Persia than of England, for a very pertinent reason — “ Persia is on the DosPs head ; Peshawur is under his feet:”J in other words, a man placed between two fires, would especially dread the more immediate one.

Prophecies of various kinds were current — always are current, in India ; but when the mutiny broke out, more heed was given to them by the natives ; and the Europeans also lent an ear, knowing that a pretended prophecy might disguise an actual plot, and, in more ways than one, work out its own fulfilment. The alleged prediction which limited the duration of the British raj to a hundred years, was repeated far and wide ;§

all without exception,” are summoned by the Shah- in-Shah to arise in defence of the orthodox faith of the prophet ; and having girt up the waist of valour, adorn their persons with arms and weapons ; and let the Ullema and preachers call on the people in the mosques and public assemblies, and in the pulpits, to join in a Jahad, in the cause of God ; and thus shall the Ghazis in the cause of faith have a just title to the promises contained in the words of the prophet, “Verily we are of those who fought in the cause of God.” — Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine for 1857 : article entitled “ The Poorbeah Mutiny.”

+ Letter from H. B. B. Freere, commissioner of Sinde, to Lord Elphinstone, governor of Bombay', 11th June, 1857. — Pari. Papers (253), 4th May, 1858 ; p. 48.

§ Dr. A. Duff’s Letters : London, 1858 ; p. 26.

RUSSIAN INTRIGUES AN ALLEGED CAUSE OF DISS AFFECTION. 119

and the Europeans in Calcutta and many of the leading cities, watched the approach of the centenary of Plassy with a feverish anxiety bordering on panic.

But prophecies such as these, are usually the consequence or the sign, rather than the cause, of popular tumults. In health we can smile at language which, in sickness, excites a fevered imagination to frenzy. For years the natives had been allowed to speculate on the future destiny, and com- ment on the present policy, of their rulers, without any restraint whatever; now, every third word seemed treason. Such of the English functionaries as understood Indian languages, began to examine the literature of the day; and were exceedingly puzzled to decide what was, and what was not, written with a sinister intent.

A Persian paper, for instance, was brought to Mr. Freere about the commencement of hostilities, which described the signs preced- ing the day of judgment, in language strik- ingly applicable to existing circumstances, and calculated to unsettle and excite men's minds, and prepare them for some sudden disturbance ; but it read so like a free trans- lation of a sermon by a popular English preacher on the same subject, as to render it difficult to decide how to act with regard to it.*

The struggle which has taken place be- tween the Christians and the Mussulmans, in various distinct parts of Europe as well as Asia, and which has been cotempora- neous with the Indian mutiny, is viewed as indicating a desire on the part of the pre- sent representatives of Islam to regain some- thing of their former dominaucy. The Iudo- Mohammedans are, however, very unlike their co-religionists in other countries, and the anti-idolatrous doctrines of their founder have been so corrupted by intermixture of the superstitious practices of modern Brali- minism, that it is not possible to judge their feelings by any test applicable to Mohammedans in general.

The English naturally viewed, with great alarm, the fanatical outbreaks at Jaffa, Marash, and Belgrade, and still more so the alarming one at Jeddah; but the govern- ment have wisely striven to repress the sus- picious distrust and aversion manifested by the Europeans to the Mohammedans as a class, fearing to see them driven to revolt by conduct equally unjust and impolitic. f

* Letter from H. B. B. Freere. — Pari. Papers (253), 4th May, 1858 ; p. 48.

This possible source of mutiny has been as yet but very partially explored, and the present heat of prejudice and excitement must be allowed to subside before any satis- factory conclusion can be formed on the subject.

Foreign intrigues are alleged to have been practised against us, and attempts made to undermine our position in India, in various ways, by a Christian as well as by a Mo- hammedan power; by Russia as well as Persia. It is difficult to say how far the vague expectation of Russian invasion (which certainly exists in India) has been occasioned by exaggerated rumours, and perverted re- ports gleaned from European journals, and circulated by the native press during the period of the Crimean war, or how much of it may be attributed to the deliberate machinations of Russia.

In England, both sources of danger were equally disregarded; and, amid the misera- ble inconsistencies which marked the war from beginning to end, not the least was the fact, that one of the arguments used to reconcile the people to heavy additional tax- ation, was the necessity of maintaining and restoring effete and incapable Mohamme- dan Turkey, as a means of checking the in- ordinate increase of the power of Russia, and making the battle-field in the Crimea, rather than on the frontier of our Indian empire. The Russian government intimated, that to roll back their European boundary would but lead them to advance their Asiatic one; and some years before the campaign of 1853, their organ at St. Petersburg declared that, in the event of war, the czar would dictate the terms of peace at Calcutta. In the teeth of this defiant warning, the British ministry, accustomed to treat India as a sort of peculiarly circumstanced colony, and to neglect colonies as a matter of course, paid no heed whatever to the strange excitement manifested throughout India at the first tidings of the Crimean conflict. No pains were taken to ascertain the tone adopted by the natives, or to guard against rumours cir- culated and schemes set afoot by foreign emis- saries, in a country where a passport system would have been a common measure of pru- dence. Ministers concentrated all their energies on the conduct of the European struggle (though not with any very satisfac- tory result), and acted as if on the under- standing that, “ during the Russian war, the

f See letter of Lord Hobart. — Times, December 3rd, 1857.

120 RUSSIAN ROUBLES IN BAZAARS— 1857.

government had too much to do, to be ex- pected to attend to India.”*

The ill effects which the tidings of the Russian and Persian wars were calculated to produce in Iudia, were aggravated by the drain of European troops thereby occa- sioned. The government demand for two regiments of infantry for the Crimean war, was earnestly deprecated by Lord Dalhousie.

“Although the war with Russia,” observes his lordship, “ does not directly affect our Indian do- minions, yet it is unquestionably exercising at this moment a most material influence upon the minds of the people over whom we rule, and upon the feelings of the nations by which we are surrounded ; and thus it is tending indirectly to affect the strength and the stability of our power.

“ The authorities in England cannot, I think, he aware of the exaggerated estimate of the power of Russia which has been formed by the people of India. I was myself unaware of it until the events of the past year have forced it upon my convictions. Letters from various parts of India have shown me, that the present contest is regarded by them with the deepest interest, and that its issue is by no means considered so certain as we might desire. However mortifying to our pride it may be to know it, and however unaccountable such a belief may appear in people living amidst the visible evidences of our might, it is an unquestionable fact, that it is widely believed in India, that Russia is pressing us hard, and that she will be more than a match for us at last.

“ We know by our correspondence in the East, that the King of Ava has declaredly been acting on this feeling ; and that, influenced by it, he has been delaying the dispatch of the mission which many months ago he spoke of sending to Calcutta. * * *

“ India is now in perfect tranquillity from end to end. I entertain no apprehension whatever of dan- ger or disturbance. We are perfectly secure so long as we are strong, and are believed to be so : but if European troops shall be now withdrawn from India to Europe ; if countenance shall thus be given to the belief already prevalent, that we have grappled with an antagonist whose strength will prove equal to overpower us ; if, by consenting to withdrawal, we shall weaken that essential element of our military strength, which has already been declared to be no more than adequate for ordinary times ; and if, further, we should be called lapon to dispatch an army to the Persian Gulf — an event which, unlooked-for now, may any day be brought about by the thraldom in which Persia is held, and by the feeble and fickle character of the Shah ; then, indeed, I shall no longer feel, and can no longer express the same confidence as before, that the security and stability of our position in the East will remain unassailed. * * * In a country where the entire English community is but a handful of scattered strangers, I feel it to be a public duty to record, that in my deliberate judgment, the Euro- pean infantry force in India, ought in no case to be weakened by a single man, so long as Eng-

* Speeches of Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Vernon Smith, president of the India Board. — Indian debate, July 26th. 1857.

f Minute by the governor-general : 13th Septem-

land shall be engaged in her present struggle w ith Russia.” f

The regiments were nevertheless with- drawn, and were not even returned at the close of the Russian war. Then came the Persian war, and the requisition upon Lord Canning, who complied less reluctantly than Lord Dalhousie had done; but still under protest. Lord Canning reminded the home authorities, that, for all Indian purposes, the strength of the army would be equally reduced, whether the regiments were sent to Persia or to the Crimea. He spoke of the excitement which even a dis- tant war raised in the minds of the natives, and insisted on the necessity of an increase of European troops, as necessary to the safety of India during the continuance of hostile operations against Persia. J

It is at least possible that the Russian government should have retaliated on us our invasion of its territory, by striving to sow discord in India. The course of the rebellion has afforded many incidents cal- culated to produce a conviction of their having done so : for instance, the assertion of one of the Delhi princes, that when the mutineers marched on that city, the royal family believed them to be the advanced guard of the Russian army. Another far more significant fact, which was communi- cated to me on the authority of a naval officer in a high position on the Indus, was the extraordinary amount of silver roubles seen in the bazaars in the North-West Provinces, immediately before the mutiny, and supposed to have passed to the tables of the money-changers from the notoriously well-filled pockets of Russian spies. The ex- tent and mode in which this agency may have been employed, will probably never be revealed; but it can hardly be doubted that it is an active and recognised mode of ob- taining the accurate and comprehensive information possessed by the government of St. Petersburg, regarding the condition of the domestic and foreign affairs of every other nation. Spies, in time of peace, may easily become political incendiaries in time of war, in countries hostile to the authority which they serve. As to detecting them, that is next to impossible : a charge of this nature is always difficult to prove ; but, to an Englishman, the difficulty is insur-

ber, 1854. — Pari Papers, 12th Pebruary, 1858; pp. 7 ; 9.

{ Minutes dated 7th and 8th February, 1857. — Pari. Papers, 20th July. 1857 ; pp. 8, 9.

RUSSIAN SPIES AND POLITICAL DETECTIVES.

mountable. Clever thieves, clever forgers, England has produced in abundance: un- scrupulous politicians are not quite un- known among us; but our secret service department has, on the whole, been singu- larly free from subterranean and syste- matised “dirty work.” The secret opening of a letter is scouted at, in a political func- tionary, as listening at a keyhole would be in a private individual; and, even while quite uncertain as to the extent of the mutiny in 1849, Sir Charles Napier would not entertain the idea of examining the correspondence of the sepoys, then passing to an unusual extent through the govern- ment post-offices. The Russian language has probably many words which, like the French on e fin, finesse, and others, have no equivalent in English ; nor has America — sharp, shrewd, and slick as some of her children are — annexed to the mother-tongue any words which serve as fit exponents for that peculiar branch of continental diplo- macy which renders trained spies a regular governmental department. We have no political detectives among us. Our aristo- cracy, whether of rank or letters, may indeed be occasionally annoyed by the indiscretion of caterers for the public press, in the shape of newspaper reporters and gossiping memoir writers ; but, at our tables, the host speaks his mind in the plainest terms regarding the most powerful per- sonages of the moment, without fearing that one of his servants may be taking notes behind his chair, which may procure his exile or imprisonment; and the hostess is equally certain that none of her guests will drive from her roof to lodge informa- tion of some enthusiastic ebullition which has escaped her lips, and for which neither youth nor beauty, character nor station, would save her from personal chastisement under the orders of a Russian Usher of the Black Rod. What we call grumbling in Great Britain, folks abroad call treason; and that is an offence for which Britons have so little temptation, that they are slow to note its existence, or provide against it even when themselves exercising those despotic powers which, if men dare not openly oppose, they secretly strive against. To what extent Russian emissaries have fomented Indian disaffection, will probably never be proved : the natives can, perhaps, give information on the subject, if they will; and if that evidence be obtained, and thoroughly sifted, by men possessing intimate acquaintance with the

VOL. II. R

121

Indiau languages and character, united to sound judgment, some light ma}r yet be thrown on a subject every branch of which is most interesting as regards the past, most important as regards the future.

No Englishman, except under very pecu- liar circumstances, would ever detect spies amid a multitude of foreigners. I speak strongly on this point, because, in China, several Russians were pointed out to me by the experienced Dr. Gutzlaff ; dressed in the costume of the country, speaking the lan- guage, adopting the habits of the people, and appearing, to the casual observer, to all intents native born.

It is notorious that a Captain Vikovitch played a conspicuous part in inciting the unjust and disastrous expedition to Af- ghanistan against Dost Mohammed. This and many other instances, leave little doubt that Russia maintains, in Central Asia, agents to watch and, if possible, influence the proceedings of England, and probably receives from some of the Greek or Arme- nian merchants settled at Calcutta or Bombay, accounts about the state finances, the army, and affairs in general ; but, be- sides this, disclosures are said to have been made which prove that Russian emissaries, under various guises, have been successfully at work in inflaming the bigotry of the Mussulman, and the prejudices of the high-caste Hindoo.* It is possible, how- ever, that information on this subject ob- tained by the government, may, for obvious reasons, be withheld from the public.

This introductory chapter has extended to a greater length than the writer anticipated at its commencement. His design was simply to state the alleged causes of the mutiny, as far as practicable, in the words of those who were their chief exponents, and to refrain from mingling therewith his own views. But the future welfare of India and of England is so manifestly connected with the policy now evolving from the crucible of heated and conflicting public and party feel- ing, that it is barely possible for any one really interested in the result, to look on, and describe the struggle, without revealing his own convictions on points where right and wrong, truth and fallacy, justice and oppres- sion, are clearly at issue.

In the foregoing summary, some alleged causes are noted which appear to be scarcely compatible with one another. The incorn- * Dr. Duff’s Indian Rebellion, p. 93.

122 NATIVE INDIAN ARMY AS LARGE AS EVER— 1858.

patibilitv is perhaps less real than apparent. What we call British India, is, in fact, a congeries of nations, differing in language, creed, and customs, as do European states, and with even less points of union, except- ing only their involuntary association under a foreign government.

It follows, that in striving to trace the origin of wide-spread disaffection, and the connection between seemingly distinct in- surrectionary movements, we must be pre- pared to find great variety of motive — general, local, and temporary — affecting scattered masses, and manifesting itself sometimes in active hostility, sometimes in sullen discontent.

Under a despotic government, with an enormous army of native mercenaries, the outbreak of rebellion would naturally occur among the soldiery. While they were con- tented, the people would almost necessarily remain in complete subjection ; but if the soldiery had grievances, however slight compared with those of the people, the two classes would coalesce; the separate dis- content of each party reacting upon the other, the army would initiate rebellion, the people would maintain it. According to Mr. Disraeli, this has actually been the case; the conduct of the Bengal troops, in revolting, having been that of men “ who were not so much the avengers of profes- sional grievances, as the exponents of gene- ral discontent/-’*

It is difficult to understand what the reason can have been for keeping up such an enormous Native army as a peace es- tablishment. Soldiers were used to perform police duties in the older provinces, where war had been unknown for years, simply be- cause there were not policemen to do them ; and this confounding of civil and military duties lies at the bottom of much misgov- ernment, extortion, and unnecessary ex- pense. The troops so variously engaged were trained only for arms, yet employed mainly in duties which officers and men looked upon as derogatory to them as soldiers, and which, in fact, they had no business with at all. It was at once deteriorating

* Debate (Commons), July 28th, 1857. t Ibid.

J The new recruits are, however, very different men from the tall, well-formed Brahmin or Rajpoot sepoys of the old Bengal army. These were six feet in height, and forty inches round the chest ; docile, polite, doing credit to their officers on parade, smart at drill, neat and clean on duty. Already the re- action has commenced ; and Indian officers in gen- eral appear disposed to recollect (what the best and

their efficiency, and putting power unneces- sarily in their hands, to employ them in functions which should have been, as a mere matter of policy, kept perfectly distinct.

There is much justice in Lord John Russell’s remark, that we have had alto- gether too large an army, and that 50,000 Europeans, with 100,000 Natives, would be a much better security, as far as force is concerned, than a Native army of 300,000. f

At this moment, the total amount of troops in our service is scarcely less than before the mutiuy, so rapidly have new corps replaced the old ones, and new sources of supply become available to meet an urgent demand. J

There is need of care, lest our new aux- iliaries prove equally, if not more dangerous than the old oues. There is more need than ever of moderation, or rather of justice and charity, being urged by the British public on their countrymen in India, lest we lose for ever our hold on the confidence of its vast population.

It is most true that “ the time is really come for the people of England and for the government of the country to meet the manifestations of a spirit which would render our rule in India not only a crime but an impossibility, by an active and reso- lute policy. Outrages on natives must be punished, unless we would willingly and knowingly accept the hostility of India, and, with our eyes open, justify the asser- tions of the intriguers, who tell the people that nothing will content us but their utter extermination/’

The growing alienation of the Europeans from the natives has been already noticed as a cause of disaffection ; but since that section was written, the free, fearless, gra- phic representations of Mr. Russell have thrown new light on the subject, and shown but too plainly a sufficient reason for “ the rift, bottomless and apparently causeless, which, even before the mutiuy, was ob- served as separating the European from the native, and increasing in breadth every day.”§

Unhappily, it is no new thing to be told

wisest of them have never forgotten), that “ Pandj-, until he went mad in 1857, was a good orderly soldier.” “ For myself,” an officer writes in a recent Indian journal, “ I would rather serve with them than with the dirty, unworthy, ungentlemanly (Pandy was a gentleman) set of strange bedfellows with whom misfortune has made us acquainted.” — Mr. Russell — Times, Nov. 8th, 1858.

,§ Ibid., October 20th, 1858.

ILL-TREATMENT OF NATIVES— 1858. 123

that Englishmen in India are arrogant and exclusive. In the last century, West Indian proprietors and East Indian nabobs were chosen by essayists, novelists, and play- writers, as representing a peculiar class of domestic tyrants, wealthy and assumptious ; whose presence, Lord Macaulay said, raised the price of everything in their neighbour- hood, from a rotten borough to a rotten egg. The habits they had acquired indicated the life they had led; and all who knew India, and had the intelligence to form, and the moral courage to express, an opinion on the sub- ject, sorrowfully agreed with Bishop Heber in deprecating the “foolish, surly, national pride,” of which he daily saw but too many instances, and which he w as convinced did us much harm in India. “We are not guilty,” he said, “of wilful injustice or oppression ; but we shut out the natives from our society, and a bullying, insolent manner is contin- ually assumed in speaking to them.”

Some went still further than this, and echoed Lord Byron’s emphatic warning,* of the sure retribution that would attend us, if, instead of striving to elevate India, by safe and sure degrees, to our own height of free- dom, we tried, with selfish blindness, to get and keep her down beneath the iron heel of despotism, using the energy our own dear- bought freedom sustains in us, not to loosen, but to rivet the chains of a feebler race, for whose welfare we have made ourselves re- sponsible before God and man.

Nothing can be more incompatible with the dignity of our position, than the “ vulgar bahaudering” which disgusted Sir Charles Napier in 1850. It appeared then as if Mr. Thackeray’s lash were needed to keep within bounds the vagaries of the Anglo-In- dian variety of the genus “ Snob.” Now the evil seems to have passed dealing with by such means ; it is the provost-marshal or the police-magistrate, not the accomplished satirist, who can alone cope with men whose insolent cruelty needs corporeal rather than mental discipline.

The Duke of Wellington always listened with impatience to commendations of the mere courage of officers. “ Brave !” he would say, “ of course they are; all English- men are brave; but it is the spirit of the

• “Look to the East, where Ganges’ swarthy race Shall shake your tyrant empire to the base;

Lo ! there rebellion rears her ghastly head,

And glares the Nemesis of native dead ;

Till Indus rolls a deep purpureal flood,

And claims his long arrcar of Northern blood ;

gentleman that makes a British officer.” Yet, at this very time, when Englishmen and Englishwomen have passed all former tradi- tions of valour aud steadfastness in extremest peril, when once again India has proved, in Canning’s words, “ fertile in heroes” — a class, it would appear not inconsiderable in number, are acting in such a manner as to disgrace the British army, and even the British nation, in the eyes of Europe, and to render the restoration of peace in India as difficult as they possibly can.

The excessive timidity of the Hindoos (of which their reckless daring, or passive sub- mission when hopeless, is the natural coun- terpart) encourages, in coarse natures, the very arrogance it disarms in higher ones. The wretched manner in which our law- courts are conducted, and the shilling ne- cessary to procure the stamped paper on which to draw up a petition to the court, f operate, in the extreme poverty and depres- sion of the sufferers, in deterring them from bringing any formal complaint, even to obtain justice for a ferocious assault; and so the “ sahibs” (European gentlemen) ride through the bazaars (markets), and lay open the heads of natives with the butt of their whips, just to clear the way ; or, when summoned to court for debt, lay the lash across the shoulders of the presumptuous summonser in the open street, as an expres- sion of opinion. A young gentleman in his cups shoots one of his servants with his revolver ; an officer kicks a servant down- stairs because he has entered without leaving his shoes outside the door; and now, daily at the mess-tables, “ every man of the mute white-turbaned file, who with crossed hands, glistening eyes, and quick ears, stand mo- tionless in attendance,” hears the word “ nigger” used every time a native is named, and knows well that it is an expression of contempt. In India, the ears of Europeans become familiarised with the term, which soon ceases to excite surprise or disgust. In England, it is felt to be painfully sig- nificant of the state of opinion among those who use it, and cannot be disassociated with the idea of slaves and slave-drivers. It seems the very last word whereby British officers (even in the “ griffin” stage) would

So may ye perish ! Pallas, when she gave

Your free-born rights, forbade ye to enslave.”

The Curse of Minerva.

f The number of petitions rejected because not written on stamped paper, is said to be enormous. The fact has been repeatedly alluded to in parliament.

124 IMPORTANCE OP MR. RUSSELL’S COMMUNICATIONS.

choose to denote the men they commanded, or even the people among whom they lived, and who, whatever their colour, are not the less British subjects. But what is to be said for the example given to the European soldiery* by British officers, of Christian parentage and education, one of whom “takes his syce (native groom), because he has put a wrong saddle on his horse, and fastens him on a pole placed out in the full sun of May?” — or by another, who “ fastens down his syce in the sun by heel-ropes and foot-ropes, as if he were a horse, and spreads grain before him in mockery ?” These in- stances Mr. Russell gives publicly. Pri- vately, he offers to send the editor of the Times evidence of still greater significance.

It is a mockery to talk of equal laws, and yet suffer such outrages as these to pass un- punished. It is difficult to understand why the senior regimental officers do not bring the offenders to justice, unless, indeed, the courts-martial are becoming, as Sir Charles Napier prophesied, mere forms, and the most undoubted offenders certain of “ hon- ourable acquittal.” Some of the old offi- cers are said to watch the state of affairs with great dissatisfaction ; and Sir Frederick Currie (the late chairman of the Court of Directors), with Colonel Sykes and some other leading men, have expressed their opinions with a plainness which has exposed them to the invectives of a certain portion of the Anglo-Indian press. f

The plain speaking of Mr. Russell him- self, is of the first importance to the best interests of England and of India. No- thing but the strongest and most genuine love of justice and hatred of oppression, could give him courage to write as he does, circumstanced as he is. Among the deeds of heroism he so eloquently chronicles, none can surpass that which he is himself enact- ing, in pleading even now for the rights of the wretched and despised native popula- tion, while living in the midst of the class to whom that very wretchedness furnishes food for cruel tyranny, or idle, heartless, senseless jests. On this point, as indeed some other leading features of the rebel- lion, the public journals, with the Times

• The European soldiery are unhappily not slow to follow the example. It is alleged, that very re- cently a convoy, under a party of the 97t.h and 20th regiments, were on their way to. Lucknow. Dark- ness fell upon them ; there were confusion and delay on the road ; probably there were apathy, neglect, and laziness on the part of the garrewans, or native drivers, who are usually a most harmless, inoffen-

at their head, and the fragmentary hut deeply interesting accounts of individual sufferers, are almost the exclusive sources of information. The government have, it is true, furnished the House of Com- mons with reams of Blue Books and other parliamentary papers ; but not one of these contains anything approaching a con- nected statement of the view taken by the home or Indian authorities of the cause, origin, or progress of the mutiny, which has now lasted fully eighteen months. Each department appears to have sent in its own papers, duly sifted, weeded, and garbled ; but no person appears to have revised them as a whole. The omissions of one set are partially supplied by the admissions of another; decided assertions made in igno- rance by one functionary, are qualified in the next page by the statement of a colleague. This is the case throughout the whole series yet published, beginning with the various and contradictory allegations made regarding the greased cartridges. To enter into dis- cussion on each point would be endless; and therefore, in subsequent pages, facts, so far as they can be ascertained, will be simply stated, with the authority on which they rest; the counter-statements being left un- noticed, unless they happen to be of peculiar importance or interest.

“ That most vindictive, unchristian, and cruel spirit which the dreadful contest and the crimes of the mutineers have evoked,” is not, however, confined to the army and the press ; it extends to the counting-house, and even to the pulpit. “ One reverend divine has written a book, in which, forgetting that the heart of man is deceitful and des- perately wicked, he takes the cheerful view that the Oriental nature is utterly diaboli- cal and hopelessly depraved, as contradis- tinguished from his own nature and that of his fellows. * * * An excellent clergy- man at Simla, recently took occasion, in his sermon, to rebuke the disposition on the part of certain of his hearers to ill-use the natives ; but generally, the voice from the pulpit has been mute on this matter, or it has called aloud, ‘ Go forth and spare not.’

sive, and honest race. Some ruffians among the soldiery took advantage of the obscurity to wreak their brutal ferocity on the drivers, and pricked them with their bayonets so severely that one man died of his wound almost immediately, and the others were removed to the hospital in litters. — Times, Nov. 8th, 1858. f Ibid., Oct. 20th, 1858.

j J Ibid., November 8th, 1858.

CHAPTER II.

JANUARY TO MAY, 1857.

At the commencement of 1857, the Indian army, exclusive of the contingents of Native states, stood thus : —

Presidency.	Europeans.	Natives.	Total.
Bengal ....	24,366	135,767	160,133
Madras ....	10,726	51,244	61,970
Bombay	10,430	45,213	55,069
Grand Total . . .	45,522	232,224	277,172

The royal European troops included four cavalry and twenty-two infantry regiments, containing, in all, 24,263 men. The Euro- peans in the service of the Company, con- sisted of five horse brigades of artillery, twelve battalions of foot, and nine cavalry regiments. The Native cavalry was com- posed of twenty-one regular, and thirty- three irregular regiments; the Native in- fantry, of 155 regular, and forty-five irregu- lar regiments.*

The whole expense of the Indian army, which, including the Native contingents officered by us, mustered 315,520 men, was returned at £9,802,235, of which £5,668,100 was calculated to be the cost of the 51,316 European soldiers, leaving £4,134,135 as the sum total required for 263,204 natives.

The number of European troops was actually less in 1857 than in 1835, whereas the Native army had increased by 100,000 men. The disproportion was greatest in the Bengal presidency. .In Bombay, the relative strength of European to Native in- fantry was as 1 to 94-; in Madras, as I to 16f; and in Bengal, as 1 to 24§-.f

The preponderance of Brahmins in the Bengal army was very great, and the gov- ernment had directed the enlistment of 200 Seiks in each regiment. But this order had been only very partially obeyed. A large proportion of the Madras -troops are low-caste Hindoos. In the Bombay regi- ments a third are Brahmins, from one to two nundred men are Mussulmans, and the re- mainder low-caste Hindoos, with a few Jews.

The number and strength of the Bengal

* Pari. Papers, April 1 6th, 1858 ; pp. 4, 5.

f Pari. Papers on the Mutinies, 1857 (No. 1),

p. 9.

army (European and Native) in January, 1857, are thus shown : —

Description of Troops.	European Officers.	European Non-Com., and Rank and File.	Native Commissd., Non-Com., and Rank and File.
Queen’s Troops : —
2 Regts. of Dragoons .	56	1,310	—
15 ditto of Infantry .	473	13,956	—
Company’s Troops : —	529	15,266	—
Engineers and Sappers	120	88	1,289
Artillery — Horse . .	63	999	798
„ Foot(Euro.)	102	1,899	1,531
„ „ (Nat.) Cavalry — Regular . .	76	27	2,302
106	28	5,002
„ Irregular .	91	—	14,061
Infantry — Europeans .	114	2,460	—
„ Native Regr.	1,276	136	83,103
Irreg.	126	56	27,355
Veterans Medical Establish-'!	85	186	—
ment and Warrant > Officers . . J	370	163	326
Total	3,058	21,308	135,767
Grand Total	. 160,133

The distribution of the above force was

as follows : —

Distribution of Bengal Army.	Euro- peans.	Natives.	Total.
Presidency Division, includ- 1
ing the garrison of Fort >	1,221	14,639	15,860
William . . J
Sonthal District	41	3,366	3,407
Dinapore Division .	1,174	12,251	13,425
Cawnpoor ditto	314	16,048	16,362
Oude Field Force .	1,034	3,661	4,695
Saugor District	257	5,864	6,121
Meerut Division	3,098	17,248	20,346
Station of Sirdarpoor	1	656	657
“ of Rewah .	6	762	768
“ ofKherwarrah .	6	1,034*	1,040
Sirhind Division	4,930	12,849	17,779
Lahore ditto ....	4,198	15,964	20,162
Peshawur ditto, including 1 Sind Sagur District . j	4,794	20,129	24,923
Punjab Irregular Force .	58	9,049	9,107
Troops in Pegu	1,817	2,121	3,938+

The Native regiments in India are never quartered in barracks, but in thatched huts ; each of the ten companies which form a regiment having its own line, in front of which is a small circular building called

J The above statements were kindly furnished by Captain Eastwick, deputy-chairman of the East India Company.

126 GOVERNMENT WARNED ABOUT GREASED CARTRIDGES— 1853.

“ the Bells,” in which the arms and ac- coutrements are placed after having been cleaned — the key being usually held by the havildar (sergeant) on duty. The officers reside in bungalows (also thatched, and very inflammable), each situated in its own com- pound ; and the powder-magazines and depots of stores are, or rather were, exposed without protection in the open plain. Each cantonment resembled an extensive camp ; and the principal stations (such as Meerut and Cawnpoor) covered so large an area, that they required almost as strong a force to defend them as to occupy them; and" a long time might elapse before what was done in one part of them was known in other parts.* The idea of combination to mutiny, on any ground whatever, was evi- dently the last thing the European officers suspected ; and the construction of the can- tonments was on a par with the blind security which marked the general arrange- ments of the period.

In 1856, the authorities desired to place an improved description of musket in the hands of the sepoys ; that is to say, to sub- stitute the Minie rifle for the old “ Brown Bess.” Considering the nature of our posi- tion in India, and the peaceful character of the duties which the Native army was then fulfilling, and which alone it seemed likely to be required for, the policy of this mea- sure may be doubted ; but of the suicidal folly with which it was carried out, there can scarcely be a second opinion.

In 1853, some rifle ammunition was sent from England to India, and experiments were directed to be tried, which induced Major-general Tucker (then adjutant-gen- eral) to recommend earnestly to govern- ment, that “ in the greasing composition nothing should be used which could pos- sibly offend the caste or religious prejudices of the natives. ”f

This warning did not prevent the autho- rities, three years later, from committing the double error of greasing cartridges in the Dum Dum arsenal, eight miles from Cal- cutta, after the English receipt, with a com- pound chiefly made from tallow ; and of issuing to the Native troops similarly pre- pared cartridges, sent out direct from Eng- land, but which ought, of course, only to have been given to the European troops. Not a single person connected with the

* Indophilus’ Letters to the Times, p. 12.

t Letter of Major-general Tucker to the Times, 1857.

store department cared to remember, that to order the sepoys to tear with their teeth paper smeared with tallow made of mixed animal fat (a filthy composition, whether the animal were clean or unclean, and especially to men who never touch animal food), would naturally excite the distrustful suspicions of the Native soldiery — Moham- medan, Hindoo, and even Seik : for the Seik also considers the cow a sacred animal.

Such suspicions were unquestionably ex- cited; and though much latent disaffection might have existed, it is clear that the car- tridge affair was a grievance which gave the more daring a pretext for rebellion, and a rallying-cry, to which they well knew the multitude would respond. J

The first persons who noticed the ob- noxious means used in preparing the ball cartridges, were the Native workmen em- ployed in the arsenal. A Clashie, or Classie, attached to the rifle depot, asked a sepoy of the 2nd grenadiers for water from his lotah (or brass drinking-vessel.) The sepoy refused, observing, he was not aware of what caste the man was; whereupon the Clashie rejoined, “ You will soon lose your caste, as, ere long, you will have to bite cartridges covered with the fat of pigs and cowTs.” Lieutenant Wright, the officer to whom this circumstance was reported, understood the feelings of the Hindoos too well to neglect the warning. He entered into conversation with the men ; and they told him that the rumour of their intended degradation had spread throughout India, and that when they went home on furlough, their friends would not eat with them. Lieutenant Wright, “ believing it to be the case,” assured them that the grease used was composed of mutton fat and wax : to which they replied, “ It may be so, but our friends will not believe it ; let us obtain the ingredients from the bazaar, and make it up ourselves; we shall then know what is used, and be able to assure our fellow-soldiers and others that there is nothing in it prohibited by our caste.” Lieutenant Wright urged the adoption of the measure suggested by the men.

Major Bontein, the officer in command at Dum Dum, on receiving the above state- ment, assembled all the Native portion of the depot, and asked if they had any com- plaint to make. At least two-thirds of the

I A good summary of the official proceeding regarding the cartridges, is given in a pamphlet by George Crawshay, Esq., mayor of Gateshead.

INCENDIARY FIRES AND OPEN DISCONTENT— JANUARY, 1857. 127

detachment, including all the Native com- missioned officers, immediately stepped to the front, and very respectfully, but dis- tinctly, repeated their previous complaint and request. Major Boutein thought the matter so serious, that he took immediate steps to bring it before the commauder-in- chief.

Major-general Hearsey, the head of the presidency division, in a letter dated “ Bar- rackpoor,* January 23rd, 1857,” represented to government the extreme difficulty of eradicating the notion which had taken hold on the mind of the Native soldiery ; and urged, as the only remedy, that, despite the trouble and inconvenience with which the arrangement would be attended, the sepoys should be allowed to obtain from the bazaars the ingredients necessary to prepare the bullet-patches.

On the 29th, Colonel Abbott, the inspec- tor-general of ordnance, being desired to in- quire into the nature of the composition used at the arseual, found that it was supplied by a contractor, and that “no extraordinary precautions had been taken to insure the absence of any objectionable fat.” He adds — “ It is certainly to be regretted that ammu- nition was not prepared expressly for the practice depot without any grease at all ; but the subject did not occur to me, and I merely gave orders for the requisite number of rounds.”f

Of course, after this admission, no officer, with any regard for truth, could state to his men, that contaminating substances had not been used in the preparation of the car- tridges. Instead of withdrawing the cause of contention at once and entirely, the gov- ernment resolved that the sepoys at the depots should be allowed to use any mixture they might think fit ; but that the question of the state in which cartridges should be issued under other circumstances, and especially for service in the field, must remain open for further consideration. The concession was both tardy and insuffi- cient. It was not communicated to the sepoys at Dum Dum and Barrackpoor until the 28th. In the meantime, several fires occurred simultaneously at Barrackpoor and Raneegunge, where a detachment from Bar- rackpoor were stationed. The electric tele-

* Barrackpoor (or barrack-town) is situated on the Hooghly, sixteen miles from Calcutta. The governor-general has a residence here, commenced on a magnificent scale by Lord Wellesley, and only partially finished, but standing in a park of about 250 acres in extent, laid out with great taste and

graph bungalow at the latter place was burned; and Ensign Chamier, of the 34th regiment, snatched an arrow, with a lighted match at- tached thereto, from the thatch of his own bungalow, and thus saved, or at least post- poned, its destruction. The arrow was one such as the Sonthals use, and suspicion fell on the men of the 2nd grenadiers, who had recently been serving in the Sonthal dis- tricts. A thousand rupees were offered for the conviction of the offenders, but without result. On the 27th, the men had been assembled on parade, and asked if they had any grievance to complain of; upon which a Native officer of the 34th stepped for- ward, and asked Colonel Wheeler whether any orders had yet been received regarding the new cartridges. The answer was, of course, in the negative. To add to the difficulties of the military authorities at the depots, the officer in command of a wing of her majesty's 53rd, stationed at Dum Dum, received directions from Fort William (Cal- cutta), to be ready to turn out at any mo- ment, and to distribute to his men ten rounds of balled ammunition, as a mutiny had broken out at Barrackpoor among the sepoys. General Hearsey represented the ill-feeling which such rash precipitancy was calculated to produce. He also pointed out the influence which was probably exercised by a Brahminical association, called the Dhurma Sobha, formed at Calcutta for the advocacy of ancient Hindoo customs, against European innovations (especially the recent abolition of the laws enforcing perpetual widowhood.) This association he thought had been instrumental in tampering with the sepoys ; and had circulated, if not initiated, the idea, that the new ammunition was in some way or other connected with a general design of government for the destruction of the caste of the whole Bengal army. Every- thingconnected with thecartridges was viewed with suspicion; and it was soon noticed that, although served out ungreased, they had a greasy look ; consequently, by obeying the military regulation, “to bring the cartridge to the mouth, holding it between the fore- finger and thumb, with the ball in the hand, and bite off’ the top elbow close to the body,” J they might still incur the forfeiture of caste, in consequence of some polluting care. Job Charnock is said to have built a bunga- low here in 1689, before the site of Calcutta was decided upon. Barrackpoor has been called the Montpelier of Bengal.

f Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, 1857; p. 7.

t Ibid., p. 37.

128 FATAL INACTION OF GOVERNMENT IN JAN. & FEB., 1857.

ingredient in the paper itself. The new cartridges were, in fact, made from paper sent from England — much more highly glazed than that previously used, and alto- gether thinner and tougher; for the bore of the new rifle being far smaller than that of the former musket, the old thick paper would not contain the amount of powder necessary to throw the bullet to its utmost range, without being inconveniently long.

The officers vainly reasoned with the men : the paper, they said, tore like waxed cloth; and, when thrown in the fire, fizzed, so that there must be grease in it ; in short, General Hearsey declared (February 8th), that “ their suspicions having been fairly roused on the subject of cow and pig fat, it would be quite impossible to allay them.”*

The excitement continued to increase, and information was privately given to the officers, of meetings held at night in the sepoy lines, where plans of resistance to the new cartridges, amounting to open and vio- lent mutiny, were discussed. The four regiments then at Barrackpoor were the 2nd grenadiers, the 34th Native infantry, the 43rd light infantry, and the 70th Native in- fantry. By information which has subse- quently transpired, the incipient mutiny appears to have been at this time confined to the two former regiments. They thought to induce their comrades to make com- mon cause with them, and then to rise against the officers, burn or plunder the buugalows, and proceed to Calcutta and seize Fort William ; or, failing that, take pos- session of the treasury. The man who communicated this intelligence could not be induced to divulge the names of the ringleaders, nor could any proof of the truth of his assertions be obtained.

General Hearsey understood the native character well, and spoke the language with rare facility. He caused the entire brigade to be paraded on the 9th of February, and reasoned with them on the folly of supposing the British government inclined to attempt their forcible conversion. “ Christians of the Book (Protestants),” he said, “ admitted no proselytes, and baptized none, who did not fully understand and believe in the tenets therein inculcated.” His arguments proved successful in tranquillising the troops for the moment; but the brigadier knew

* Appendix to Pari. Papers onMutinies, 1857; p.20. J The franking by the European officers, was in itself calculated to impose some check on the trans- mission of treasonable correspondence.

well that the lull was likely to be of brief duration, and he wrote to government on the 11th, urging that his previous proposal of changing the cartridge paper, might at once either be confirmed or rejected ; that no further time should be lost in coming to some decision ; for, he adds, “ we are dwell- ing on a mine ready for explosion.”

On the 21st of February, Lieutenant- colonel Hogge wrote from Meerut, to pro- pose that the biting of the cartridge should be altogether abolished, and that the men should be instructed to twist off the end with the right hand — a plan which would “ remove all objections from that class of Hindoos who never touch animal food.” On the 2nd of March, Major Bontein wrote from Dum Dum to the same effect; but he adds, that by his suggestion he did not “ in the least intend to consult the caprice of the Native soldiers,” and had no other motive- than increased efficiency.

Apparently this was the right way of putting the case in the sight of the authori- ties; for the governor-general in council, with all due form, and without any undignified haste, informed the commander-in-chief, at Simla, of the proposed alteration; suggesting, that if his excellency approved, new instruc- tions should be given for the rifle practice, in which no allusion should be made to the biting of the cartridge, laid down in pre- vious regulations. Pending the answer of General Anson, private instructions were sent to Dum Dum, to let the musketry prac- tice there stop short of actually loading the rifle.

While the European authorities discussed matters among themselves, the sepoys did the same, but arrived more rapidly at more im- portant conclusions. It is not probable that they viewed the cartridge as a solitary indi- cation of the feeling of government towards them : the general service order of 1856 ; the affront put on the Mohammedans in the Punjab by General Anson in the same year, by expelling them the service for re- fusing to allow their beards to be cut; the total withdrawal, when the penny postage came into operation, of the privilege of having their letters fraukedj by their com- manding officers ; the alterations in the invaliding regulations ; — these and other recent innovations were probably rankling in their minds. The regiments understood one another; a certain power of combi- nation existed, ready to be called into action; and by reason of constant correspou-

MUTINY OF 19th N. I. AT BARRACKPOOR— 26th FEB., 1837.

129

dence, the whole of the Bengal troops were engaged in an incipient conspiracy before 1 they well knew what they were conspiring about. We left the poison full time to work. The filthy cartridges prepared for them did, we cannot now doubt, actually contain the forbidden substance, which pri- soners starving in a dungeon, and sepoys on board ship, will perish sooner than touch ; and yet, instead of manfully owning the error, and atoning for it by changing the paper, and, once for all, I'emoving every shadow of suspicion, we persisted in holding it over their heads like a drawn sword, to be let fall at any moment. So late as the 5th of March (the government respite not having then arrived), the sepoys at Dum Dura were, notwithstanding their remon- strances, employed in making cartridges of the new, and as they believed greased, paper; and Major Bontein was preparing to enforce the regulations, and considering how to deal with the prisoners he expected to be obliged to make for disobedience of orders.* * * §

The first mutiny was not, however, des- tined to occur at Dum Dum : it broke out at Burhampoor on the Ganges, about 120 miles from Calcutta. The only troops then at the station were the 19th Native in- fantry, a detachment of Native cavalry, and a battery of Native artillery. The 19th and 34th had been stationed together at Lucknow for two years ; and the men were of course personally acquainted. During the latter part of the month of February, two sepoy parties of the 34th regiment were sent from Calcutta to Burhampoor. The second came as the escort of some sick Europeans on the 25th, and their communi- cations regarding the proceedings at Bar- rackpoor, so alarmed the 19th, that the whole corps, Hindoos, Seiks, and Moham- medans, resolved upon a general fast ; and for three days, beginning with the 26th, took only bhang, and other exciting drugs. Of this excitement, their commanding officer, Colonel Mitchell, was entirely ignorant. The new muskets had arrived shortly be- fore, and he had explained to the sepoys that the necessary grease would be prepared before them by the pay havildars. On the 26th of February, orders were given for the

* Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 38.

t Ibid., p. 273.

j Minute of March 27th, 1857. — Appendix, p. 50.

§ This threat was. denied by Colonel Mitchell, but established on European as well as Native testi-

VOL. IT. S

firing of fifteen rounds of blank cartridge per man. The cartridges were then sent to the bells of arms, and examined by the men. They had previously been in the habit of making all they used. Those now served out were of two kinds ; one like the paper they had been accustomed to, the other whiter and thinner. The sepoys compared them in all ways ; they burnt the paper, and laid other portions in water. Still they saw, or fancied they saw, a marked difference. They felt convinced that they were greased, and refused to take the percussion-caps served out for the intended practice ; saying, “ Why should we take the caps, as we won’t take the cartridges until the doubt about them is cleared up?”f This occurred at about four o’clock in the afternoon. The incidents which followed are best told in the words of the ' petition subsequently laid before government by the 19th regi- ment, and which the governor-general in council has pronounced to be, “ upon the whole, a fair account of what took place on the occasion of the outbreak; the main points being borne out by the evidence at the court of inquiry.” J

“ At half-past seven o’clock,” the peti- tioners state, “ the colonel, accompanied by the adjutant, came on parade, and very angrily gave orders to us, saying, ‘ If you will not take the cartridges I will take you to Burmah, or to China, § where, through hard- ship, you will all die. These cartridges were left behind by the 7th Native infantry, and I will serve them out to-morrow morning by the hands of the officers commanding com- panies.’ He gave this order so angrily, that we were convinced that the cartridges were greased, otherwise he would not have spoken so.” ||

Colonel Mitchell sent an order to the cavalry and artillery (whose lines were about three miles from those of the infantry), to assemble on parade, for the purpose of com- pelliug the sepoys to use the cartridges. It would appear that the sepoys were right in believing that the cartridges were to be bitten, not toru. The news soon got wind; and the same night, about a quarter to eleven, shouts were heard in the lines ; some persons cried fire, others that they were surrounded by Europeans — that the guns

mony. It might easily have been uttered in the excitement of so critical a moment, and forgotten by the utterer, but not by those whose interests were immediately affected by it. — Appendix, &c., p. 290.

II Appendix to Pari. Papers, pp. 278, 279.

J

| 130 PETITION OF THE 19th AGAINST DISBANDMENT— 1857.

and cavalry had arrived. In the midst of the din the alarm was sounded ; and the sepoys, mad with fear, rushed to the bells and seized their arms.

It is manifest they had no plan, and no intention of attempting violence, or they would not have refused to receive the per- cussion-caps offered them that afternoon, nor have remained passive while the 11th irre- gular cavalry and guns were fetched to the parade, which they reached by torchlight between twelve and one. The armed sepoys then ran out of their lines to the parade in the greatest alarm. The colonel was much excited, and said, that he and the officers were prepared to do their duty, should the men not yield obedience ; they (the officers) were ready to die, and would die there. The Native officers represented that the sepoys really believed that the matter affected their religion, and begged the colonel to send away the cavalry and guns ; which was accordingly done.* The sepoys lodged their arms quietly, and returned to their lines.

; The whole regiment appeared on parade the 1 next morning ; and, on the 28th, there was another parade. The cartridges which the men had refused to fire, were publicly in- spected ; and the two kinds were put up by Colonel Mitchell, and forwarded for the inspection of government, with an account of what had taken place. Daily parades took place, and the 19th again became as ! steady and orderly as any men could be.f

Tranquillity was restored, and might have been maintained, had the government been sufficiently generous or discreet to deal gently with an offence which their own in- discretion had provoked. The disbandment of the regiment was summarily decided on, without any correspondence with the com- mander-in-chief, whose concurrence it ap- peared was necessary to the simple alteration of a clumsy mode of loading, which was goad- ing the troops to mutiny, but was not neces- sary to the enactment of a decree which sud- denly reduced a thousand men, whose fault must have varied very considerably in its cir- cumstances, to the same utter poverty. Their appeal made to government, through Colonel Mitchell, was very touching. They said it was hard, after so many years’ service, to lose their bread. Siuce the unfortunate

* It is highly improbable that, in the absence of European soldiers, the Native corps would have fired on their countrymen in such a case as this ; yet the mode in which “ the coercing force was withdrawn,” was pronounced by the governor in

night of the 26th of February, all their duties had been carefully carried on, and (they add) “so shall be; as long as we live we will faithfully obey all orders; wherever, iu the field of battle, we are ordered to go, there shall we be found ; therefore, with every respect, we now petition, that siuce this is a religious question from which arose our dread, and as religion is, by the order of God, the first thing, we petition that, as we have done formerly, we may be also allowed to make up our own cartridges, and we will obey whatever orders may be given to us, and we will ever pray for you.”

There is no mistaking the earnestness with which the 19th, even in the moment of reaction and reflection, dwell on the im- mediate cause of their outbreak. The gov- ernment, in acquainting the Court of Direc- tors with the whole transaction, give the same version, by saying that the regiment had refused to take the cartridges, “ iu con- sequence of the reports in circulation, that the paper of which they were made was greased with the fat of cows and pigs.”

This despatch is dated 8th April, 1857. On the same day, the directors Avere inditing one expressive of their gratification at learn- ing that the matter had been fully explained to the men at Barrackpoor and Dum Dura, and that they appeared perfectly satisfied that no intention existed of interfering Avith their caste. Of course by this time it was pretty evident that the sepoys generally were convinced of the direct opposite, and viewed the 19th as a body of victims and martyrs.

The penalty of disbandment found little favour with any party. The ultra-discipli- narians pronounced the punishment insuffi- cient, for what the governor-general thought fit to term “ open and defiant mutiny ;” and moderate men considered it would have been wiser to have accejAted the offer of the corps, and make it a general service regi- ment, rather than send a thousand men to their homes, to beg or plunder food for the support of themsehres and their families, and to soav the seed of distrust and disaffec- tion wherev’er they went. Besides, evidence was adduced Avhich proved beyond a doubt that the 19th had been instigated to mutiny by the representations of the 34th, Avho had

council as a special reason for declaring Colonel Mitchell unfit for the command of a regiment. — Appendix to Pari. Papers, p. 297.

f Letter of Lieutenant-colonel Mitchell, March 3rd, 1857. — Appendix, p. 267.

FIRST BLOOD SHED— BARRACKPOOR— 29th MARCH, 1857. 131

been long on the verge of an outbreak, and were only kept back by the influence of their officers. The government, knowing this, resolved on making the 19th the scape- goat for the 34th and other regiments, whose disaffection had been proved by incendiarism and sullen murmurings, and ordered the disbandment to take place at Barrackpoor.

The Calcutta authorities were not quite insensible to the danger pointed out by Napier, of “attempting to bully large masses of men.” The sentence resolved on against the 19th was not made public until H.M.’s 84th regiment had been brought from Rangoon. The 84th arrived at Calcutta on the 20th of March, and were immediately conveyed to Chinsurah — a station about eight miles from Barrackpoor, whither the 19th were ordered to proceed. The arrival of the Europeans increased the excitement among the Native troops at Barrackpoor, which was evidently the centre of disaffec- tion. Two of the 2nd Native grenadiers were taken up on a charge of endeavouring to excite mutiny on the 11th of March, found guilty, and sentenced to fourteen years’ hard labour. The sentence is memo- rable, since General Anson thought fit to write a minute on it from his far-distant residence in the Himalayas — a mark of in- terest which the disbanding of entire regi- ments had not elicited. Death would, he considered, have been the proper penalty ; but fourteen years of disgraceful labour might be to some worse than death ; there- fore he would not call for a revision of the sentence. “ The miserable fate which the prisoners had brought upon themselves, would,” he added, “excite no pity in the breast of any true soldier.” *

Avowedly, in consequence of communica- tions sent them by the 34th regiment, three companies of the 63rd regiment at Sooree refused to accept their furloughs, saying,

! “ If our brethren at Barrackpoor go, we will go ; but we hear they are not going.” After- wards they expressed contrition for their conduct, and were allowed to enjoy their furloughs. The refusal occurred on the 28th of March. On the afternoon of Sunday, the 29th, the Native officers of the 34th regiment at Barrackpoor reported that the men were in a very excited state. Sergeant-major Hewson proceeded to the lines, and found a sepoy walking up and down in front of the quarter-guard, and calling out to the men of the brigade to join him in defending and • Appendix to Pari. Papers, p. 86. f Ibid., p. 147.

dying for their religion and their caste. This was Mungul Pandy, a man of previously excellent character, who had been above seven years in the service, but had lately taken to the use of intoxicating preparations of opium and bhang. Whether he had resorted to these stimulants, as the Indian soldiery are in the habit of doing, to nerve himself for this special purpose, or whether the habit itself had rendered him reckless of consequences, does not appear ; but General Hearsey speaks of the actuating motive as “religious frenzy.” “The Europeans,” Mungul Pandy said, alluding to a wing of her majesty’s 53rd, detached from Dum Dum, “ had come to slaughter the sepoys, or else force them to bite the cartridges, and become apostates and when the English sergeant attempted to seize him, he called out to the men who were thronging the lines, in their undress and unarmed, to come and support him. “ You incited me to this,” he cried ; “ and now, poltroons, you will not join me.” Taking aim at Sergeant Hewson, he fired, but missed; upon which the sergeant retreated, and called to the guard to fall-in and load. Adjutant Baugh, of the 34tli, next rode up, calling out, “Where is he? where is he?” Mungul Pandy fired at the adjutant, and his horse fell wounded. The adjutant drew a pistol from his holster and took aim, but failed; upon which he and the sergeant rushed on Mungul Pandy, who wounded both with his tulwar, or native sword. The other sepoys began to hustle and surround the two Europeans, but their lives were saved by the courage and devotion of a Mo- hammedan sepoy, named Sheik Phultoo, who rushed forward unarmed, and inter- cepted a blow directed at the adjutant; and, flinging his right arm round Mungul Pandy (the left being severely wounded), enabled the Europeans to escape. A shot from the direction of the quarter-guard was fired at them, but without effect. There were about 400 men in the lines, looking on ; and Ad- jutant Baugh, as he passed them maimed and bleeding, said, “You cowardly set of rascals ! You see an officer cut down be- fore your eyes, and not a man of you ad- vances to assist him.” They made no re- ply ; but all turned their backs on the speaker, and moved slowly and sullenly away. The unpopularity of the adjutantf is alleged to have influenced the sepoys ; and, after he had left, they compelled Sheik Phultoo to let Mungul Pandy go.

132 DISBANDMENT OF 19th

Lieutenant-colonel Wheeler, the officer in command of the regiment, came on parade soon after, and ordered the quarter-guard to secure the mutineer. The jemadar 'who ought to have led them, sided with Mungul Pandy ; and, coming up to the colonel, told him that the men refused to obey the order. A native standing by said, that the offender being a Brahmin, nobody would hurt him. Colonel Wheeler “considered it quite useless, and a useless sacrifice of life, to order a European officer with the guard to seize him, as he would no doubt have picked off the European officer, without receiving any assistance from the guard itself.” The colonel therefore left the spot, and re- ported the matter to the brigadier. On learning what had occurred. General Hear- sev, with his two sons and Major Ross, rode to the quarter-guard house, where about ten or twelve men had turned out. Mungul Pandy watched their approach, and Captain Hearsey called out to his father to be on his guard, for the mutineer was taking aim at him. The general re- plied, “ If I fall, John, rush upon him, and put him to death.” In a moment Mungul Pandy dropped on his knee, turned the muzzle of his musket to his own breast, and pulled the trigger with his foot. The bullet made a deep graze, ripping up the muscles of the chest, shoulder, and neck. He fell prostrate, with his clothes on fire, was picked up shivering, convulsed, and apparently dying, and was handcuffed and conveyed to the hospital ; none of the sepoys attempting further interference.

General Hearsey rode amongst the 43rd l and 34th Native regiments, and, while blaming the latter for their conduct (which appears to have been most outrageous), he assured them that no person should be per- mitted to interfere with their religious and caste prejudices while he commanded them. No attempt was made to arrest the jemadar or the sepoys of the quarter-guard, probably because General Hearsey feared to precipi- tate a struggle for which he was not yet prepared. The culprits must have known the rules of British discipline too well to expect to escape with impunity the conse- i quences of their mutinous and dastardly conduct. That night, in the lines, a plan of action was concocted ; and the 19th regi- ment, on their arrival at Baraset (eight miles from Barrackpoor) on the following morning, found messengers waiting for them from the 34th, who proposed to them to

N. I. — 31st MARCH, 1857.

rise that evening, kill their officers, and march to Barrackpoor, where they would find the 2nd and 34th in readiness to co- operate with them in overpowering the European force, and proceeding to surprise and sack Calcutta.

The unfortunate 19th had already suffered deeply for listening to suggestions from Barrackpoor. They rejected the proposals decidedly and at once ; but they did not be- tray their tempters, who returned safely, their errand unsuspected.

The disbandment took place on the fol- lowing morning at Barrackpoor, in presence of the available troops of all arms within two days’ march of that station. The gov- ernment order having been read, the arms were piled, and the colours deposited by tbe sepoys, who evinced much sadness, but no sullenness. The number of the regiment was not to be effaced from the army list ; and there were other slight concessions, of which General Hearsey made the most in addressing the men. They knew he pitied them ; and as they left the grouud, disgraced and impoverished, they cheered him cor- dially, and wished him long life — a wish which he as cordially returned. Perhaps no regiment in the Bengal army was more sound at the core than the 19*th. Lieute- nant-colonel Macgregor, who had been sta- tioned with them at Burhampoor for some months, declared that he had never met with a quieter or better-behaved regiment, and described them as appearing very sorry for the outbreak of the 26th of February. They felt that they had been misled by the 34th ; and when their request to be suffered to re-enlist was refused, they are said to have begged, before leaving the ground, to be allowed to resume their arms for one half- hour, and brought face to face with the 34th, on whom they promised to avenge the quarrel of the government and their own.

Some alarm, says Mr. Mead, was enter- tained lest they should plunder the villages on their way up country, but they seem to have conducted themselves peaceably. Many got employment asdurwans (orgate-keepers), and a few were entertained by magistrates, for whom they have since done efficient ser- vice in the capture of fugitive mutineers. Hundreds died of cholera by the way-side, and a large proportion went into the service of the Nawab of Moorshedabad. It has not been proved that any of them entered the ranks of the rebel army.*

* Mead’s Sepoy Revolt, p. 62.

EXECUTION OF MUNGUL PANDY— APRIL 7th, 1858. 133

The order for the disbandment of the 19th was read on parade to every regiment throughout India. If the change from biting to tearing the cartridges had been simultaneously announced, the army might have been tranquillised, and accepted the fate of the 19th as a vicarious sacrifice for the general benefit. Instead of this the order of disbandment was read alone ; and no mention whatever being made of the cartridges, the natural conclusion was, that the sepoys would be compelled to bite them or be turned on the world after long years of faithful service. The General Orders cer- tainly contained an assertion, that “ it had been the unvarying rule of the government of India to treat the religious feelings of all its servants, of every creed, with careful respect;” but, as it was notorious that a flagrant breach of this rule had been recently committed, and was, so far as the sepoys could tell, to be determinedly per- severed in, it followed that the assurance, intended to tranquillise them, utterly failed in its effect ; and the only part of the address which really impressed them, was the de- clared intention of government never to cease exacting the unhesitating obedience the men had sworn to give.

The 19th being disposed of, the next question was, how to deal with the 34th. Never was prompt actiou more evidently needed ; yet five weeks were allowed to elapse, during which tokens of mutiny were multiplying throughout India, without any decision being arrived at regarding the dastardly quarter-guard. Mungul Pandy was tried, condemned, and hung, on the 7th I of April, in the presence of all the troops then at Barrackpoor. He was much debili- tated by his wound (which would probably have proved mortal) ; but he met his death with perfect composure, and refused to make any statement which could implicate his com- rades. The jemadar, who commanded the guard of the 34th, was also tried and con- demned to death, but the execution of the sentence was delayed until the 21st of April, owing to the time lost in corresponding with the commander-in-chief at Simla; who

* A telegram was transmitted to Simla, on the 14th of April, strongly urging General Anson to issue a special warrant to General Hearsey, for the purpose of at once carrying out the sentence in which the trial then pending was expected to issue. On the 17th, the following telegram was sent to General Hearsey, from Calcutta : — “ The commander- in-chief refuses to empower you to confirm sentences of courts-martial on commissioned officers.” On the

first declined, and then consented, to em- power General Hearsey to confirm the sen- tences of court-martials on Native commis- sioned officers.*

It seemed as if government had resolved to drop proceedings here. The remarks appended to General Anson’s confirmation of the jemadar’s sentence, were very like an act of amnesty to the Barrackpoor troops in general, and the 34th in particular. He stated his trust that the crime of which Mungul Pandy and the jemadar had been 1 guilty, would be viewed with horror by every man in the army ; and he added, in evident allusion to the guard, that if there were any “ who had looked on with apathy or passive encouragement,” he hoped the fate of their guilty comrades would “ have a beneficial effect upon their future conduct. ”f

The Mohammedan orderly who had saved the life of the adjutant and sergeant, was promoted to the rank of havildar by Gen- eral Hearsey, and given an Order of Merit for his conduct. 'The divisional order to this effect was issued on the 5th of April. The general was reproved by the governor-general in council, for having exceeded his authority by this act, and also for having described Mungul Pandy as stimulated by “ religious frenzy .”J Lord Canning, in his own minute, speaks of Mungul Pandy as “ that fanatic ;” but considered, that “ however probable it may be that religious feelings influenced him,” it would have been better to have left this feature of the case unnoticed. §

Early in April, a Native court-martial sen- tenced a jemadar, of the 70th Native infantry, to dismissal from the army (in which he had served thirty-three years), in consequence of his having incited other Native officers to mutiny, as the only means of avoiding the pollution of biting the new cartridges. The commander-in-chief desired that the sen- tence should be revised, as too lenient ; but the Native officers persisted in their decision, which was eventually confirmed.

An event took place at the same time, | which showed that the temper of the distant troops was mutinous and disaffected. The 48tli infantry, a corps reputed to be one of the

20th, General Anson changed his mind, and sent the desired warrant. — (See Appendix to Pari. Papers on the Mutinies, 1857 ; pp. 104 — 107.)

f Ibid., p. 124. A sepoy was identified as having struck the sergeant-major (when cut down by Mun- gul Pandy) with the butt of his musket; but he escaped punishment by desertion. — (p. 158. )

J Divisional order, April 5th, 1857 ; p. 63.

§ Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 63.

134 INCIPIENT MUTINY IN OUDE— APRIL, 1857.

finest in the service, long commanded by ! Sir H. M. Wheeler, the general in charge of Cawnpoor, was at this time stationed at Lucknow, under the command of Lieu- tenant Colonel Palmer. Dr. Wells, the surgeon of the regiment, having occasion to visit the medicine store at the hospital, and being at the time indisposed, drank a por- tion of a carminative from a bottle contain- ing a quantity, after which no high-caste Hin- doo could partake of the remainder without pollution. The Native apothecary in atten- dance, saw and reported the act to the sick sepoys, upon which they all refused to touch any of the medicines prescribed for them. Colonel Palmer assembled the Native officers, and, in their presence, rebuked the surgeon for his heedlessness, and destroyed the bot- tle which he had put to his mouth. The men took their medicines as before ; but a few nights after, the bungalow (thatched house) in which Dr. Wells resided was fired, and most of his property destroyed. It was notorious that the incendiaries be- longed to the 48th Native infantry; but their comrades shielded them, and no proof could be obtained against the individuals.

Not long after, the Native officers of the regiment were reported to be intriguing with Rookan-oo-Dowlah and Mustapha Ali, relatives of the King of Oude, residing in Lucknow. The most absurd rumours were circulated and believed in the city. While the cartridges were to be used as the means of compelling the sepoys to lose caste, other measures were, it was reported, being taken to rob the non-military class of theirs. Government was said to have sent up cart-loads and boat-loads of bone-dust, to mix with the otta (prepared flour) and sweetmeats sold in the bazaars; and the authorities vainly strove to disabuse the pub- lic mind, which was kept in a perpetually-re- curring panic. Money was repeatedly given, with directions to purchase some of the adulterated otta; but though the parties always returned with the money in their hands, stating their inability to find the shops where it was sold, it was evident that

they were silenced, but not convinced of its non-existence. Sir Henry Lawrence lis- tened with patient attention to all these rumours, and did what probably few other men could have done to extract their venom. But the yet unwithdrawn order for biting the cartridges, afforded to the earnest a reason, and to the intriguing a pretext, for distrusting the government; and the four first months of 1857 had given time for the growth of seed, which could not afterwards be prevented from producing baneful fruit. There was a Hindoo subahdar of one of the Oude local artillery batteries, named Dabee Sing, an old and tried soldier. Mr. Gubbins speaks of Sir Henry Lawrence as having been closeted for hours at a time with this man, who told him all the wild projects attributed to the British government for the purpose of procuring the annihilation of the reli- gious and territorial rights of the people of India. Among other things which Dabee Sing gravely related, without expressing his own opinion one way or the other, was a plan for transporting to India the numerous widows of the Europeans who had perished in the Crimean campaign. The principal zemindars of the country were to be com- pelled to marry them ; and their children, who would of course not be Hindoos, were to be declared the heirs to the estates. Thus the Hindoo proprietors of land were to be supplanted !*

How far such reports as these might really gain credence, or how far they might be adopted as a means of expressing the discontent excited by the recent annexation and resumption measures, does not appear ; but throughout the Bengal army, the car- tridges continued to be the rallying-cry for discontent up to and beyond the end of April. At Agra incendiary fires had been frequent, and the sepoys had refused their aid to subdue the flames : at Sealkote, letters had been discovered from the Barrackpoor sepoys, inciting their brethren at that dis- tant station to revolt : at Umballah, the discontent and distrust excited by the new fire-arms, had been most marked. f The

* Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, pp. 86; 88. A sin- gular instance of the extent of the gulf which sepa- rates us from the aboriginal tribes, and the small respect they feel for European civilisation, was witnessed by Mr. Gubbins several years ago. A report got abroad among the hill-men of the sani- tarium at Simla, that orders had arrived from the governor -general for the preparation of a certain quantity of human fat, to be sent down to Calcutta ; and that, for this purpose, the local authorities were

engaged in entrapping the hill-men, killing and boiling them down. Numbers of these men were at this time employed in carrying the ladies’ litters, and in a variety of domestic duties which brought them in daily contact with the Europeans. Yet the panic spread, until numbers fled from the station ; nor were they, Mr. Gubbins believes, ever thoroughly convinced of the falsehood of the report. — (p. 87.)

f Mutiny of the Bengal Army : by one who has served under Sir Charles Napier; p. 28.

r

	DISUNION BETWEEN LORD CANNING AND GEN. ANSON. 135
	Calcutta authorities were, nevertheless, so	Sir Charles Napier, Lord Melville, Sir John
	blind to the imminence of the peril, that the	Lawrence, and Colonel Jacob, all lifted up
	Oriental , which was supposed to be lying at	their voices in vain ; nay, Lord Dalhousie
	Madras, was twice telegraphed for to convey	himself remonstrated against the removal
	the 84th hack to Burmah ; and but for the	of Europeans, in a manner which proved
	accident that sent her across to Rangoon,	his mistrust of the tone and temper of the
	the month of May would have found Cal-	Native army.§ The Duke of Wellington
	cutta left as before, with only the wing of a	always watched Indian proceedings with an
	European regiment. Nothing was decided	anxious eye. His decision against Napier
	upon with regard to the 34th, or the Bar-	was possibly prompted even less by the par-
	rackpoor division in general, despite Briga-	tial statements laid before him, than by the
	dier Hearsey’s warning (given two months	feeling that if the spirit of mutiny had been
	before, and confirmed by the very unsatis-	roused in the Bengal army, it would need
	factory evidence adduced before the court-	all the influence of united authority for its
	martial) regarding the condition of the troops	extinction. No commander-in-chief could
	stationed there. It has since transpired,	effect it except with the full support and
	that an order, and a most needful one, for	cordial co-operation of the governor-general.
	the disbandment of the 34th, was actually	Such a state of thiugs was impossible be-
	drafted immediately after the attack on	tween Lord Dalhousie aud General Napier.
	Lieutenant Baugh ; but it was withheld	“The suppression of mutiny,” the Duke
	until new outbreaks in various directions	wrote, in his memorandum on the proffered
	heralded the shock for which the govern-	resignation of Sir Charles Napier, “ par-
	ment were forewarned, but not forearmed.	ticularly if at all general or extended
	The home authorities shield themselves	to numbers, and the restoration of order
	from the charge of negligence, on the	and subordination to authority and dis-
	ground that up to May, 1857, not “the	cipline among troops who have mutinied, is
	slightest indication of any disaffection among	the most arduous and delicate duty upon
	the troops had been sent home.”* “ Indo-	which an officer can be employed, and which
	pliilus,” who has means of information pecu-	requires, in the person who undertakes it,
	liar to a man whose position enables him to	all the highest qualifications of an officer,
	search the government records, aud examine	and moral qualities ; and he who should
	the original papers unpublished and uu-	undertake to perform the duty, should enjoy,
	garbled, says, that it cannot be ascertained,	in a high degree, the respect and confidence
	by the most careful inquiry, that General	of the troops and of the government.” || Sir
	Anson ever made a single representation to	William Gomm, the successor to Napier ap-
	the directors, f or to any member of her	pointed by the Duke (an active, kind-
	majesty’s government, on the subject; but	hearted, and thoroughly gentlemanly man),
	that, on the contrary, assurances were given	appears to have been popular both with the
	of the satisfactory state of the Bengal army,	government and the army, European and
	and especially of its continued fidelity,	Native, aud mutiny certainly made no head
	which might well lull suspicion to sleep.	under him. It does not appear that Gen-
	“ It is hard,” he adds, “ to expect a govern-	eral Anson enjoyed this advantage, either
	ment to see better than with its own eyes.” J	with regard to the government^ or the
	The government might, perhaps, save the	Native troops ; but, with the latter, decidedly
	nation many disasters, and themselves much	the reverse. His appointment was a no-
	discredit, by condescending to look through	torious instance of the principle of “taking
	the eyes of those bystanders who pro-	care of Dowb,” at the expense of the best
	verbially see more of the game than the	interests of the country. It is true, that in
	players. But in this instance they did not	the civil position of “Clerk of the Ordnance,”
	heed the warnings of even their own servants.	he had been both active and efficient ; and to
	* Speech of Mr. Vernon Smith. — India debate,	If Great difference of opinion is alleged to have
	July 27 th, 1857.	existed between Lord Canning and General Anson ;
	f The chairman of the East India Company like-	and the conduct of the latter, together with the tone
	wise declared in parliament, that not a single word	of the very few and brief communications published,
	of notice had been received from General Anson on	as having passed between Simla and Calcutta even
	the subject. — (India debate, July 15th, 1857.)	in the height of the crisis, tends to confirm this allega-
	J Letters of Lndophilus, p. 25.	tion. Mr. Smith blamed Mr. Disraeli for alluding to
	§ See mite, p. 120.	it ; but acknowledged the prevalence of the assertion
	|| Napier’s Life, vol. iv., p. 414.	“in private circles.” — Times, June 30th, 1857.

136

CHARACTER OF GENERAL ANSON— 1857.

a reputation for practical business habits, be united that of a popular “ man about town ;” was a high authority on racing matters, and a first-rate card-player ; but he bad never commanded a regiment, and would certainly not have been selected, at sixty years of age, to take charge of the Indian army, had be not been a member, not only of an honoured and really honourable, but also of a very influential family. In fact, he was a person to be handsomely provided for. By acts of commission and omission, he largely contributed to bring the mutiny to a head ; yet, strangely enough, those who have been most lavish of censure regarding Lord Can- ning and his colleagues, have for the most part passed over, in complete silence, the notorious fact that General Anson remained quietly in the Himalayas, in the healthiest season of the year for Calcutta, without taking the slightest share in the anxious deliberations of the Supreme Council ; yet, nevertheless, drew £6,000 a-vear for being a member thereof, in addition to his salary of £10,000 as commander-in-chief. For instance, “ One who has served under Sir Charles Napier,” says — “ The men who ruled India in 1857, knew little of Asiatic cha- racter. The two civilians [Messrs. Dorin and Grant] had seen only that specimen of it of which the educated Bengalee is a type : the legal member [Mr. Peacock] and Lord Canning had seen no more; and General Low was a Madras officer :” but the very name of General Anson is significantly omitted. The manner in which the council treated the crisis through which they were passing, proved, he adds, that they did not comprehend it.* This was conspicuous in the reproaches directed against Colonel Wheeler for conversing with the sepoys, as well as the natives genei’ally, on the subject of Christianity, and disseminating tracts among them. No single complaint was ever uttered by the sepoys on this head. They were quite capable of distinguishing the zeal of an individual from the supposed forcible and fraudulent measure of the greased cartridges, by which they believed the government desired to compel them to become apostates en masse. It wras not change of creed, but loss of caste they dreaded ; not tracts and arguments, but greased cartridges, backed by the penalty of disbandment courts-martial, and a park of

* Mutiny of Bengal Army, p. 59.

+ Ibid., p. 58.

X Appendix to Papers on Mutinies, p. 212.

artillery. “ Already, in their eyes, we were on a par with their lowest caste : a Christian was one who drank brandy and ate pork and beef. Was not the idea that we wished to reduce them, by trick, to the same degrading position, sufficient to excite every deep- seated prejudice against us?”f The military writer of the above sentence, does not add that Lord Canning and his council really sought to conciliate the sepoys by every measure short of the compromise of dignity, which they unhappily considered to be in- volved in withdrawing the cartridges (as they ought to have done in January), and publicly denouncing and punishing what the Supreme Council did not hesitate to call, among them- selves, “the very culpable conduct of the Ordnance department, which had caused all this excitement.”]; It is, however, highly improbable that, bad the council proposed such a measure, General Anson would, at any time during the first four months of 1857, have sanctioned such a concession to what he termed the “ beastly preju- dices,” which, ever since he came to India, he had been labouring to destroy ; forget- ting that the Bengal army, whether wisely or foolishly, had been established and main- tained on the basis of toleration of caste observances, and that that basis could not be touched with impunity. He had been for a short time in command at Madras, pre- vious to his appointment as commander-in- chief of the three Indian armies ; and it was probably what he learned there, that gave rise to his strong anti-caste opinions. The sepoys had enjoyed perfect toleration for nearly a hundred years; but General Anson’s policy, from the first, indicated a resolve, which the Anglo-Indian press earnestly supported, to abandon the old policy. The Bengal force had been, from its commence- ment, an enormous local militia, enlisted for service in India, and in India only ; special j regiments (of which there were six), or volunteer corps, being employed on foreign service, and rewarded by extra allowances. In 1856, government declared its in- tention of radically altering the constitution of the army, and issued an order that every ; recruit should be enlisted for general service wherever the state might require. There can be no doubt, says Mr. Gubbins, speaking of the General Service Order, “ that the vast change which it must of necessity make in

o # ••

the position of the Bengal soldier, was not duly weighed ; or, if weighed, provision was certainly not made to meet the consequences j

	ADJ.-GENERAL TUCKER ON GENERAL ANSON’S POLICY. 137
	of the dissatisfaction which it would pro-	(Major-general Tucker), “anxiously desired
	duce.”*	to innovate; his predecessor had been
	Nearly at the same time another order	harshly charged with supineness and apathy;
	was published, which affected not merely	his own he designed should be a reign of a
	the prospects of recruits, but also the	very different description, and he attempted
	dearest privilege of the existing Native	to commence it with a curtailment of the
	troops. Under the old regulations the	leave or furlough annually granted to the
	sepoy might become invalided after fifteen	sepoys — a very hasty and injudicious be-
	years’ service, and retire to his home on	ginning — and apparently so considered by
	a monthly pension of four rupees. The	more than myself; for it was then nega-
	Bengallee, it must be remembered, was	tived, though I have since heard, that at a
	never accompanied by his family when on	later period, it was successfully advocated.” J
	service, like the Madrassee; and so earnestly	The above circumstances tend to ac-
	was the power of returning home coveted,	count for the disbelief evidenced bv the
	that men starved themselves for months,	sepoys in the protestations of govern-
	and became weak and emaciated for the	ment, and the excitement created bv the
	sake of retiring on this scanty pittance. In	unprecedented order to bite cartridges
	former times, the evil had been met bv	made in the arsenal, instead of by them-
	holding out inducements to longer service;	selves, as heretofore. Brigadier Hearsey
	an extra rupee per month being granted	must have been well acquainted with the
	after fifteen, and two rupees after twenty,	general feeling, when he urged in January,
	years’ service. A further allowance, called	the immediate and total withdrawal of the
	hutting-money, was granted to them by	new cartridges ; the idea of forcible con-
	Lord Hardinge; and an honourable dis-	version in connection with them, being so
	tinction, accompanied by a valuable increase	rooted in the minds of the sepoys, that it
	of pay, was opened to the Native officers, by	would be both “idle and unwise to attempt
	the establishment of the “ Order of British	its removal.”
	India.” Still the love of home proved too	This idle and unwise attempt was, as we
	strong ; and in pursuance of the new policy,	have seen, continued through the months of
	it vvas decided that a sepoy who was de-	February, March, and April ; and in spite of
	dared unfit for foreign service, should no	the mutiny of the 34th, and the disband-
	longer be permitted to retire to his home on	ment of the 19th, the experiment of ex-
	an invalid pension, but should be retained	planatory words, and deeds of severe and
	with the colours, and employed in ordinary	increasing coercion, was continued, until the
	cantonment duty. This order was, as usual,	vigorous measures taken in Mav, issued not
	read out to each regiment on parade, and it	in the disbandment, but in the revolt of the
	excited a murmur of general dissatisfaction	entire Bengal army.
	throughout the ranks. By these two mea-	One feature connected with the prelimi-
	sures the retired sepoy was transformed	nary stage of the mutinies remains to be
	into a local militiaman, and the former	noticed ; namely, the circulation in Feb-
	militia became general service soldiers. f	ruary of chupatties (small unleavened cakes)
	The first measure was a direct blow at caste ;	through certain districts of the North-West
	the second was a manifest breach of the	Provinces, and especially of the Saugor
	terms of enlistment. There were also other	territory. Major Erskine, the commissioner
	circumstances, indicative of a policy very	for Saugor, made some enquiry regarding
	different to the genial kindly consideration	the purport of this strange proceeding; but
	of old times. “ General Anson,” savs the	could discover nothing, “ beyond the fact of
	late adjutant-general of the Bombay army	the spread of the cakes, and the general
	* Mutinies in Oudh, p. 94.	younger men were passed over their heads, instead
	t The authority here relied on is Mr. Uubbins.	of being pensioned and suffered to retire and enjoy
	But it appears, that before the alterations in the	their latter years in the bosom of their families.
	invaliding regulations referred to by him, as nearly	“ In my own regiment,” a British officer writes to
	simultaneous with the general service order, strin-	the Times, “ we have havildars (sergeants), of forty
	gent rules had been given to the medical com-	years’ service ; and the last muster roll I signed, the
	mittees, which as early as 1854 had proved “ a	strength of my company bore upon it, I think, five
	fruitful source of discontent and disgust native	full privates of twenty years’ service.” — Times, July
	officers of excellent character being refused promo-	2nd, 1857. Letter signed Sookhn Sunj.
	tion, because “ lame, worn-out, and unfit for fur-	j Major-general Tucker’s Letter to the Times,
	ther service;” yet kept for cantonment duty, while	dated July 19th, 1857.
	VOL. II. T		P

138

CIRCULATION OF THE CHUPATTIES.

belief that such distribution, passed on from village to village, will preveut hail falling,

; and keep away sickness. I also under- stand,” the major adds, “that this practice is adopted by dyers, when their dye will not clear properly ; and the impression is, that these cakes originally came from Sciudia’s, or the Bhopal states.”*

Certainly, there was no attempt at secrecy; the Native officials themselves brought the chupatties to the European magistrates for inspection; but either could not, or would not, give any satisfactory ac- count of the meaning of the transaction. It appears, that each recipient of two cakes was to make ten others, and transmit them in couples to the chokeydars (constables) of the nearest villages. It is asserted, that the cakes were circulated among the heads of villages not concerned in the mutiny, and did not pass at all among the sepoys. f Still, the circumstance was a suspicious one, especially if there be any truth in the allegation, that sugar was used as a signal at the time of the Vellore mutiny. ;[ The notion of thus conveying a warning to be in readiness for a preconcerted rising, is one which would naturally present itself to any people; and we are told that, in China, the “ Feast of the Moon Loaves” is still held, in commemoration of a similar device in the conspiracy by which the Mongol dynasty was overthrown 500 years ago.§ At all events, it w’ould have been only pru- dent in the government to endeavour to trace out the source of the movement, and the intent of its originators.

It is difficult to frame a succinct narrative of the events which occurred during the first few days of May. The various accounts laid before parliament are not only fragmentary, but consist in great part of telegrams founded on current rumours ; and those j narratives of individuals, published in the public journals, are, for the most part,

| from the nature of the subject, trustworthy only as regards transactions which occurred in the immediate locality of the writers. The official documents, however, disconnected aud unsatisfactory as they are, furnish a clue to the inconsistency, indecision, and delay, which characterised the proceedings of the authorities ; namely, that the objects and instructions of the commander-in-chief, were

* Letter, March 5th, 1857. — Pari. Papers, t Edinburgh Review, October, 1857. J Ibid.

§ Gabet and Hue’s Travels in Tartary in 1844, chap. iii.

diametrically opposed to those of the gov- ernor-general in council. They appear to have acted, the one on an avowedly inno- vating and coercive, the other on a pro- fessedly conservative plan ; each issuing orders which puzzled the Europeans, and aggravated the distrust of the natives. The officers were placed in a most painful position ; they could not tell which was to prevail, the Calcutta or the Simla policy ; and, meanwhile, they did not know what tone to adopt towards their men. In a circular issued in May, by the gov- ernor-general in council, their incertitude is specially noticed in a paragraph, which states that, “ from communications lately received by the government, it seems that misapprehension regarding the car- tridges is not confined to the Native troops,” but shared in by “ some officers.” The communications referred to would probably throw light on this critical period ; and a handful of papers, uninteresting or needlessly given in duplicate, might have been left out of the Blue Books to make room for them. But they might involve unpleasant revelations, and are probably purposely withheld. As it is, the series of papers published on the subject, when care- fully analysed, produce a painful conviction, not only that the attitude assumed by both civil and military authorities, was calculated to alarm the natives generally, and the Bengal army in particular ; but also that the authorities themselves being aware of this, have concurred in withholding from the directors of the East India Company and from parliament, the evidences of their own disunion, vacillation, and inconsistency. Otherwise, surely they would have felt it necessary, and found it easy, to furnish the British nation with a connected statement of their measures and policy attested by the needful documents, instead of sending home a heterogeneous mass of papers, which, ex- cept in the case of those specially moved for by resolute members of parliament, re- semble a heap of chaff in which some grains of wheat have been left by mistake.

One of these grains is an official com- munication, dated Simla, 4th of May, in which General Anson, with an infatuation which would be incredible except on his own showing, takes the success of his sys- tem for granted, and informs the Supreme government, as a matter for congratula- tion, that the practice of the Enfield rifle has been commenced at the several mus-

INCENDIARY FIRES AT UMBALLAH.

ketry depots, and that “the men of all grades have unhesitatingly and cheerfully used the new cartridges/’* In the com- mander-in-chief’s private circle “ teaching the sepoys to fire with the Enfield rifle” was, however, spoken of as an “ expensive aruusement”f to government, on account of the incendiary fires by which the sepoys gave vent to their feelings. In a circu- lar issued in the middle of May, the gov- ernor-general in council affirms, that “ no cartridges for the new musket, and no car- tridges made of a new kind of paper, have at any time been issued to any regiment of the army.”J The substitution of tearing for biting, is referred to in the same paper as having been generally carried out; but this was not the case; for unquestionably, the first mutiny which occurred in Oude was directly caused by an attempt to compel a body of men, for the first time in their lives, to bite suspected cartridges.

Oude. 7thN. Infantry disarmed. — On the 1st of May, there were about 2,200 Native troops in Oude, and some 900 Europeans. The entire force consisted of — II. M/s 32nd regiment; a troop of horse artillery; 7th light cavalry; seven regiments of Native infantry; three field batteries of the Oude irregular force; three regiments of Oude irregular infantry : and three regiments of Oude police.

Sir Henry Lawrence was, as has been shown (page 88), fully aware of the dan- gerous character of the force provided by government for the maintenance of British power in Oude. His endeavours- to con- ciliate the taloolcdars by redressing some of the most notorious cases of oppression, had not been ineffectual ; and the reductions made from the original rates of assessment in certain districts, had afforded some mea- sure of relief from our revenue screw. In short, things seemed settling down quietly, or at least the authorities thought so; and they welcomed the rapidity with which the

* Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 370.

t An officer of rank, writing a semi-official letter from Simla on the ‘28th of April, 1857, by com- mand of General Anson, says, “ It is an expensive amusement teaching the sepoys to fire with the Enfield rifle, at least as far as it has turned out at Umballa. It has cost, I believe, the government by two fires alone some 32,700 rupees, and I take the liberty of doubting whether the old musket in the hands of the sepoy was not quite as efficient an arm as the new one is ever likely to prove.” From March 26th to May 1st, fires occurred on fifteen different evenings. “The ‘new cartridges’ were pointed out by Commissioner Barnes as the sole cause which rendered

139

district treasuries were filled on the com- mencement of the month, as a very favour- able indication of the temper of the people. The troops were far from being in a satis- factory condition ; but the care with which Sir Henry watched, met, and explained away rumours calculated to incite them to mutiny, preserved, and might have con- tinued to preserve, at least their outward allegiance, but for the suicidal folly com- mitted in issuing an order to the 7th infantry, which the men could not obey without being, in the words of General Low, “ guilty of a heinous sin.” They therefore refused, “not from any feeling of disloyalty or dis- affection towards the government or their officers, but from an unfeigned and sincere dread, owing to their belief in the late rumours about the construction of these cartridges, that the act of biting them would involve a serious injury to their caste and to their future respectability of character. ”§

The commanding officer, Captain Gray- don, was absent in the hills, on sick leave ; and Lieutenant Watson was in charge, when, on the 2nd of May, according to the brief official account, || the 7th N. infantry, stationed seven miles from the Lucknow cantonments, “ refused to bite the cartridge when ordered by its own officers ; and, subse- quently, by the brigadier,”^ on the ground of a current rumour that the cartridges had been tampered with.** In the afternoon of the following day, Brigadier Gray reported to Sir Henry Lawrence, at Lucknow, that the regiment was in a very mutinous and excited state. About the same time a letter was placed in the hands of Sir Henry, in which the men of the 7th infantry sought the advice and co-operation of their “ superiors” or “ elders” of the 48th, in the matter of the cartridges, and promised to follow their instructions for either active or passive re- sistance. This letter was originally delivered to a Brahmin sepoy of the 48th, who com-

tbe musketry depot obnoxious to the incendiaries.” — May 7th, 157. Further Papers (P arl.), p. 24.

J Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies ; p. 340.

§ Minute by Major-general Low. — Ibid., p. 211.

|| The dates given above are taken from the offi- cial letter written by the secretary of the chief com- missioner (Sir II. Lawrence,) to the secretary to government at Calcutta, on the 4th of May, 1857. Mr. Gubbins, in his interesting account of the affair, places it a week later ; that is, dates the emeutc on Sunday, the 10th, instead of the 3rd of May; and other consecutive events accordingly.

Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 209.

** Gubbins’ Mutinies in Oudh, p. 10.

j 140 SIR H. LAWRENCE DISARMS 7th NATIVE INFANTRY.

1 municated its contents to two Native officers, and the three laid it before the chief com- missioner.* Sir Henry Lawrence ordered the brigadier to parade the regiment, make every possible explanation, and induce the sepoys to bite the cartridge. One Native officer was nearly prevailed on to obey the obnoxious orders ; but several of the meu called out to him that, even if he did so, they would not. A wing of H.M.’s 32nd regiment, and a strong body of Native infantry and cavalry, selected from various corps, were ordered out by Sir Henry, and arrived at the lines of the mutineers about nine o’clock in the even- ing of the 3rd of May, the second Sunday — memorable for panic and strife. But the climax was not yet reached. The cup was not yet full to overflowing. Two officers (Captain Boileau and Lieu- tenant Hardinge) unconnected with the regiment, f and whose extraordinary and most creditable influence is not accounted for, succeeded, before the arrival of the coercing force, in restoring order; and, what was quite unparalleled, in inducing the 7th to deliver up the writers of the treasonable letter before named, and to pro- mise the surrender of forty other ringleaders. The approach of Sir Henry Lawrence and his staff, with the European troops, renewed the excitement which had nearly subsided. The terrified sepoys watched the position taken up by the European artillery and in- fantry. It was bright moonlight, when an artillery sergeant, by some mistake, lighted a port-fire. The 7th thought an order for their extermination had been given. About 120 men stood firm, but the great mass of the regiment flung down their arms and fled. A squadron of light cavalry (native) was sent off to intercept the fugitives, and many of them were brought back. Sir Henry rode up to the remaining men, spoke calmly to them, and bade them place on the ground their muskets and accoutrements. The order was unhesitatingly obeyed. The sepoys laid down their pieces, and took off their cross-belts with subdued exclamations of good-will to the service, resting satisfied with Sir Henry’s assurance, that though government would be asked to disband the corps, those found guiltless might be re- eulisted.J The disarmed men were directed to recall the runaways, which they did ; and * Mutiny of the Bengal Army : by one who has served under Sir Charles Napier ; p. 3*0. f Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 211.

by about noon on the following day (the 4th), the entire regiment had returned and reoccupied its lines. The views taken of the matter by the members of the Supreme Council differed materially; nevertheless, they all agreed with the governor-general in censuring the re-en- listment proposed by Sir Henry Lawrence, and in seeing “ no reason, in the tardy con- trition of the regiment, for hesitating to con- firm the puuishment of all who were guiltv.’’ Mr. Dorin wrote a minute on the subject; which must suffice to exempt him, as senior member of council, from any portion of the censure heaped on Lord Canning for undue “ moderation." He pronounced disband- ment an insufficient punishment; adding — “ The sooner this epidemic of mutiny is put a stop to, the better.’’ (The conclusion is indisputable ; but it was formed some months too late to be acted on.) “ Mild measures wont do it. A severe example is wanted. * * * I would try the whole of the men concerned, for mutiny, and punish them with the utmost rigour of military law. * * * My theory is, that no corps mutinies that is well commanded. If it should turn out that the officers of the 7th have been negligent in their duty, I would remand every one of them to their own regiments." This is a pretty compli- ment to regimental officers in general; per- haps some of them had their theory also, and held that no people rebel who are well governed. If so, they might reasonably inquire whether there were no means of “remandiug" a civilian of sixty years of age, described as being “in all his habits a very Sybarite;’’ who “in no other country but India, and in no other service but the civil service, would have attained any but the most subordinate position ;’’§ but who, nevertheless, in the event of any casualty occurring to Lord Canning, would become, by rule of seniority, the actual and despotic sovereign of the Anglo-Indian empire. To return to the case in point. Mr. Dorin con- cluded his minute by declaring, that the biting of the cartridge could only have been an excuse for mutiny; an assertion which corroborates the opinion expressed by the writer above quoted — that despite Mr. Dorin’s thirtv-three vears’ service in Calcutta (and he had never been fifty miles beyond it), he was “ practically ignorant of J Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 210. § Mutiny in the Bengal Army : by one who has served under Sir Charles Napier ; p. 13.

	MINUTES OF CALCUTTA	COUNCIL— MAY, 1857. 141
	the manners, and customs, and peculiar	it is much more probable that he acted on
	requirements of the people of India.”* Gen-	orders emanating from Simla.
	eral Low, whose experience of native cha-	Whatever the cause of the emeute, Mr.
	racter was second to that of no man in	Grant (who has been satirically described
	India, frankly pointed out the order to bite	as belonging “to a family distinguished
	the cartridge as the cause, not the pretext,	for obstructive ability”)f advised that the
	of mutiny. Had the energy of the general	same “calm, just, considerate, and dignified
	been equal to his judgment and integrity, a	course” which had been adopted in each of
	much wiser course would probably have	the cases of the 19th and 34th Native
	long before been adopted by the council :	infantry, should be followed now ; and he
	but fifty-seven years1 service in India can	suggested “the dismissal of the bad men,
	hardly be expected to leave a man the phy-	with the trial, by court-martial, of a few of
	sical strength needful to the lucid exposition	the worst men a month hence. ”|
	of his views, and to the maintenance and	Fortuuately for the lives of every Euro-
	vindication of his own ripened convictions	pean in India (not excepting that of Mr.
	in antagonism to the prejudices of younger	Grant), Sir Henry Lawrence was not the
	colleagues.	man to stand with folded arms, watching
	Mr. Grant, a civilian, of thirty years’	the progress of a devouring flame, and wait-
	standing, and a man of unquestioned talent,	ing orders regarding the most calm and
	agreed with General Low in attributing the	dignified course to be adopted for its ex-
	conduct of the men to an “ unfeigned dread	tinction “a month hence.” He poured
	of losing caste, engendered by the stories	water on at once, and quenched the flames
	regarding cartridges, which have been	so effectively, that Oude, the very centre of
	running like wildfire through the country	combustion, did not again catch fire until
	lately.” Sepoys are, he added, very much	long after the “ severe example,” desired by
	like children ; and “acts which, on the part of	Mr. Dorin, had taken place in Meerut, and
	European soldiers, would be proof of the	set all India in a blaze.
	blackest disloyalty, may have a very dif-	The conduct of Sir Henry was so utterly
	ferent signification when done by these	opposed to that of a model official, that
	credulous and inconsiderate, but generally	there can be little doubt he would have
	not ill-disposed beings.” He concurred	received something worse than the “severe
	W'ith Mr. Dorin in censuring tbe officers;	wiggingӤ given to General Hearsev, for his
	and considered that the mere fact of making	prompt reward of native fidelity, had not
	cartridge-biting a point, after it had been	one of those crises been at hand, which,
	purposely dropped from the authorised	while they last, secure unchecked authority
	system of drill, merely for “ rifle practice, was	to the men who have nerve and skill to
	a presumption for any imaginable degree of	weather the storm. While the council were
	perverse management.” Lord Canning	deliberating, Sir Henry w'as acting. He
	also seems to have been puzzled on this	forthwith appointed a court of inquiry, to
	point ; for he remarks, that “ it appears	investigate the cause, and attendant circum-
	that the revised instructions for the platoon	stances, of the so-called mutiny; and then,
	exercise, by which the biting of the car-	instead of disbanding the regiment, accord-
	tridge is dispensed with, had not come into	ing to his first impulse, he dismissed all the
	operation at Lucknow.” The mischief	Native officers (with one or two exceptions)
	would have been prevented had the govern-	and about fifteen sepoys, and forgave the
	ment publicly and entirely withdrawn, in-	rest ; re-arming about 200 (probably those
	stead of privately and partially “dropped,”	who stood firm, or were first to return to
	the obnoxious practice : but even as the	their duty), and awaiting the orders of
	case stands, it is unaccountable that a sub-	government with regard to the others. He
	altern, left in charge of a regiment, should,	promoted several whose good conduct had
	on his own responsibility, have issued an	been conspicuous. The Native officers and
	order manifestly provocative of mutiny,	sepoy who brought him the treasonable
	without any apparent object whatever. In	letter from the 7th, were made the objects
	the absence of any evidence to the contrary	of special favour ; as was also a sepoy of the
	* Mutiny of the Bengal Army ; by one who has	§ Mutiny of the Bengal Army; by one who has
	served under Sir Charles Napier; p. 13.	served under Sir Charles Napier ; p. 25. See also
	t Mead’s Sepoy Revolt, p. 21.	ante, p. 133 ; and Lord Derby’s speeches in the India
	1 j Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 213.	debates of December 3rd and 7th, 1857.
.

142

7th N. I. DISARMED. 34th N. I. DISBANDED.

i

13th Native infantry, whose loyalty had been evidenced by the surrender of two Lucknow citizens, who had endeavoured to stir up mutiny in the cantonments. A grand durbar, or state reception, was held at the chief commissioner’s residence, in the Mu- riaon cantonments (whither Sir Henry had removed from the Lucknow residency, on account of the heat). All the chief civilians and military men were present, and chairs were provided for the Native officers of the troops in the cantonments, as also for the leading people of Lucknow. Sir Henry spoke ably and emphatically on the religious toleration of the British government, and appealed to the history of an entire century, for evidence of the improbability of any interference being now attempted. He re- minded his hearers that Mussulman rulers at Delhi had persecuted Hindoos; and Hindoo rulers, at Lahore, had persecuted Mussulmans; but that theBritish had equally protected both parties. Some evil-disposed persons seeing only a few Europeans here and there, imagined that, by circulating false reports, the government might be easily overthrown ; but the power which had sent 50,000 Europeans to fight against Russia, could, in the space of three months, land twice that number in India. Then calling forth the natives who had given proof of fide- lity, he bestowed on them khelats or dresses of honour, swords, and purses of money; and cordially shaking hands with the recipients, wished them long life to enjoy the honours they had richly deserved. The tone taken by Sir Henry was adopted by the other Europeans. They mixed freely with the Native officers ; and such as could under- stand one another conversed together in groups, on the momentous affairs of the period. Sir Henry Lawrence gained time by this judicious policy, and used it wisely in preparing for the struggle which he had delayed, but could not avert.

Disbandment of Zkth at Barrackpoor. — It is now necessary to notice the course adopted by the governor-general in council, with regard to the 34th regiment — a course which Mr. Grant, in a minute dated as late as the 7th of May, applauded in the highest terms, as having been “neither too hasty

* Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 213.

t This resolve, tardy as it was, is said to have been hastened by telegraphic tidings of the emeute in Oude on the 3rd. The government order was dated the 4th of May; the punishment of the 34th being of imperative necessity before the disaffection

nor too dilatory;” adding, “it appears to j me, to have had the best effects, and to have been generally approved by sensible men.”* There were, however, not a few leading men in India who took a very different view of the case, and quoted the long-deferred decision regarding the 34th, in illustration of the assertion of an In- dian journal ( Calcutta Englishman), that of two stamps in the Calcutta post-office, re- spectively marked “ insufficient,” and “ too late,” one or both ought to have been im- pressed upon every act of the Supreme government.

Some five weeks after the memorable Sunday afternoon on which 400 men of the 34th Native infantry witnessed, with more than tacit approval, a murderous at- tack on two of their European officers, the government resolvedf on disbanding the seven companies of that regiment present at the time. The remaining three companies, stationed at Chittagong, were in no way implicated; but had, on the contrary, prof- fered assurances of continued allegiance, and of regret for the misconduct of their comrades.;); On the 6th of May, at five in the morning, in presence of all the troops within two marches of the station, the seven companies were paraded, and commanded to pile their arms and strip off the uniform they had disgraced. They obeyed; the payment of arrears was then commenced ; and in about two hours the men, no longer soldiers, were marched off to Pulta ghaut for conveyance to Chinsurah. General Hearsey, who gave so interesting an ac- count of the disbandment of the 19th, ab- stained from furnishing any particulars in the case of the 34th ; but his very silence is significant, and lends weight to a circum- stance quoted by a military author, in evi- dence of the bitter feelings of the latter corps. The sepoys wore Kilmarnock caps, which, having paid for themselves, they were allowed to keep. Before crossing the river, many of them were seen to take off their caps, dash them on the ground, and trample them in the mud,§ as if in angry defiance of their late masters. The order for their disbandment was directed to be read on parade, at the head of every regiment in

of the 7th irregular infantry could become publicly known at Barrackpoor. Lord Derby commented on the want of foresight and vigour evidenced by Lord Canning’s advisers in these proceedings. — limes, Dec. 4th, 1857.

X Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 147.

§ Mutiny of the Bengal Army, p. 33.

r

INCIPIENT MUTINY AT MEERUT— APRIL 23rd, 1857. 143

India, still unaccompanied by any assurance of the withdrawal of the abhorred cartridges. Either for this or some other reason, Sir Henry Lawrence would not allow the order to be read to the troops in Oude, fearing that it would hasten rather than repress an outbreak.*

We have now reached the end of the "passive, respectful mutinies/’ which our own blind inconsistencies provoked and fostered. The name of Meerut stands at the head of a new series, the history of which might be fitly written in characters of blood.

CHAPTER III.

MEERUT— 23rd APRIL TO 11th MAY, 1858.

The cantonment of Meerut, two miles dis- tant from the town, was divided into two parts by a branch of the Calee Nuddee river, and was chiefly remarkable for its great extent, five miles long by two broad, and for a fine parade-ground, four miles long by one broad. It had a very large bazaar, abounding in "budmashes” (lite- rally, men of bad livelihood), near which stood a gaol crowded with convicts. The road to Delhi (thirty-two miles distant) lay close to the Native lines. The troops stationed here consisted of H.M.’s 6th dragoon guards (carabineers) ; H.M.’s 60th rifles (one bat- talion); a light field battery; a party of horse artillery; 3rd Native light cavalry; 11th and 20th Native infantry; some sap- pers and miners. The European troops (exclusive of the sappers and miners), amounted to 1,863 including 132 commis- sioned officers. The Natives numbered 2,912, including only 52 commissioned officers.f

The chief purpose of stationing an un- usually large proportion of Europeans here, was to keep in check the Native gar- rison of Delhi; but this very proportion seems to have rendered the authorities more than commonly indifferent to the feel- ings of the sepoys, and to the dissatisfaction which manifested itself in the form of deter- mined disobedience to orders as early as the 24th of April. The cause and pretext (cause with the credulous, pretext with the designing) was of course the cartridge, which had by this time become the recog- nised bete noir of the whole Bengal army.

* Mutiny of the Bengal Army : by one who has served under Sir Charles Napier ; p. 34.

t Pari. Paper. — (Commons), 9th February, 185S ; P- 3.

J According to the East India Register and Army List the colonel of the regiment, Colonel H. Thomson was absent “on furlough.” The East

The 3rd Native cavalry was a leading regiment. It had been greatly valued by Lord Lake, for service rendered at Delhi, Laswaree, Deig, and Bhurtpoor; since then Afghanistan, Gfhuznee, Aliwal, and Sobraon, bad been added to its list of battles. It con- tained a large proportion of men of good family and high-caste. The general weapon was the sword ; but fifteen in each troop were taught to use fire-arms, and distin- guished as carabineers or skirmishers. There were a few bad characters among the carabineers, but the majority were the flower of a remarkably fine corps. To these men their commanding officerj sud- denly resolved to teach the mode of tearing instead of biting the cartridges, in antici- pation of the new kind coming out; and on the afternoon of the 23rd, he issued an order for a parade of all the skirmishers on the following morning. The order created great excitement ; and an old Hindoo havildar, named Heerah Sing, waited on Captain Craigie, the captain of his troop, and, in the name of his comrades, besought that the skirmishers might be excused from parade, because the name of the regiment would suffer in the estimation of other corps, if they were to use the cartridges during the present excitement on the sub- ject. They did not threaten to refuse to fire them, but only sued for delay. Captain Craigie reasoned with Heerah Sing on the absurdity of being influenced by groundless rumours ; but he knew that the feeling was real, however unreasonable the cause ; and

India Register dates his first appointment at 1798; and, therefore, after sixty years’ service the veteran officer may be supposed to have been warranted in retiring from active service for the remainder of his life. In the Army List the name of the officer in command is given as Colonel G. M. C. Smyth, and the date of his first commission as 1819.

MEERUT— NATIVE CAVALRY REFUSE CARTRIDGES.

144

it being then nearly ten o’clock, he wrote a private note to the adjutant of the regiment, stating the request which had been made to him, and urging compliance with it, as, “ if disregarded, the regiment might immediately be in a state of mutiny.” Other officers had meanwhile reported on the distress of the regiment, and the colonel seemed inclined to put off the parade, when the adjutant unluckily suggested, that if he did so the men would say that he was afraid of them. The fear of being accused of fear decided the colonel on leaving his order un- cancelled. In the course of the evening, the house of the orderly (the hated favourite of the colonel) was set on fire ; also an empty horse hospital ; and the men kept aloof, in evident disaffection.

Next morning, at daybreak, the skir- mishers appeared on parade, and the fated cartridges were brought forward in bundles. The colonel harangued the men in bad Hindustani, and endeavoured to explain to them that the cartridges were to be used by tearing, not biting ; and assured the troopers that if they obeyed, he would report them to head-quarters, and make them famous. But “there was no confidence towards him in their hearts, and his words only mystified them.” Heerah Sing, and four other troopers, took the cartridges; the other eighty-five refused them. The colonel then dismissed the parade, and re- ported what had occurred to General Hewitt. A court of inquiry was held, and the disobe- dient skirmishers were put off duty, and di- rected to remain in thelines till further orders. The European officers of the 3rd anxiously waited instructions from the commander- in-chief on the subject, anticipating, as an extreme sentence, that, “ the skirmishers

might be dismissed without defence; in 1 which case, it was whispered that the whole corps would mutiny, and be joined by the other Native troops in the station.” The letter from which the above circumstances j are quoted, was written on the 30th of April. The writer adds — “ We are strongly ! garrisoned by European troops here; but what a horrible idea that they should be required to defend us !”

The 3rd of May came, and brought no word from head-quarters, and the alarm began to subside : but between the 3rd and the 8th, orders on the subject must have been sent ; for a despatch was written from Simla on the latter day (from .the adjutant-general to the secretary of gov- j ernment), informing the authorities at Cal- cutta that General Anson had directed the trial, by a general court-martial, of eighty- five men of the 3rd cavalry, who had refused to receive the cartridges tendered to them. It further stated, that a squad of artillery recruits (seventeen in number) having in like manner refused “the carbine cartridges ordered to be served out to them for use at the drill,” had been at once summarily dis- missed by the officer commanding the artil- lery at the station — a punishment which the commander-iu-chief censured as incommen- surate to the offence.* No report of the general court-martial has been made public up to the present time (December, 1858.)f In previous instances, the commander-iu- chief had vainly endeavoured to compel Native courts-martial to adjudge penalties commensurate with his notions of the hei- nousuess of sepoy offences : it is therefore necessary that some explanation should be given for the unaccountable severity of the present sentence. In the first place, did

* Despatch, May 6th. — Appendix to the first series of Pari. Papers on the Mutinies, p. 373. This is the only parliamentary document yet published which contains any reference to the events preceding the 9th of May. The above account is based on the graphic and succinct narrative, evidently written, though not signed, by the wife of Captain Craigie, dated April 30th, and published in the Daily Neivs of 29th July, 1857. Mrs. Craigie adds — “General (Hewitt), commanding here, was extremely angry on learning the crisis which Colonel (Smyth) had brought on, bitterly blaming his having ordered that parade. * * * Of course, ordering the parade at

all, under the present excitement, was a lamentable piece of indiscretion ; but even when that had been done, the colonel might have extricated himself without humiliation. Henry feels convinced that he could have got the men to fire, or the parade might have been turned into an explanation of the new cartridge, without any firing being proposed.

Henry, as a troop captain, had nothing to do be- yond his own troop ; but thither he rode at day- break on that fatal morning, and remained for hours among his men, enjoining them to keep steady, and withstand any impulse to join others in excite- ment; bidding them do nothing without consulting him, and assuring them that, though differing from them in faith, he was one of them — their friend and protector, as long as they were true to their duty ; and the men felt that he spoke the truth. They would have fired for him : they told him they would, though unwillingly.”

f It wras held on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of May', and the court was composed of six Mohammedan and nine Native officers, and presided over by the deputy- judge-advocate-general. For the latter piece of infor- mation, I am indebted to the courtesy of Sir Arch- dale Wilson, and for the former portion of the para graph to that of Mr. Philip Melville, late head of thj military department of the East India House.

COURT-MARTIAL AT MEERUT — 6th, 7th, and 8tii MAY, 1857.

145

the Native officers actually decree the en- tire sentence of hard labour in irons ?* and if so, under what amount of direct or indi- rect coercion was it pronounced? Had the court received any private intimation of the decision at which they were expected to arrive? In what terms did the judge sum up the proceedings, and dictate or suggest the sentence ; and had it or had it not been previously suggested to him? Sufficient evidence has oozed out to prove that the commander-in-chief gave very decided in- ! structions on the conduct of the trial : the British public have a clear right to know precisely what they were, in order to ascer- tain what degree of general mismanagement, of individual crotchets in the governors, affecting the deepest religious convictions of the governed, and of petty tyranny, may be indulged in by future commanders-in- chief, without driving an Indian army too near the dizzy verge of mutiny. It appears, that some days before the assemblage of the court-martial, the European authorities knew the decision which would be arrived at, and anticipated its most natural result; for Mr. Greathed, the commissioner of Meerut, being called away to Alighur on political business, returned to his post on the 9th (a day earlier than he had at first intended),

* Since the above statement was written, some additional information has been published by gov- ernment on the Meerut proceedings, under the title of Further Papers relative to the Insurrection (not mutiny, as heretofore styled by the authorities) in the East Indies. The papers only occupy six pages, and contain the usual amount of repetition and extraneous official matter. The proceedings of the court of inquiry and of the three days’ court-mar- tial are still withheld, and the only new light on the subject is afforded in a“ Memorandum drawn up by the judge-advocate-general of the army, of the cir- cumstances which apparently led to the mutiny of the Native army being precipitated.” It is therein stated, that “by the votes of fourteen out of the fifteen Native officers who composed the court-martial, the whole of the accused were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for ten years each. But the court solicited favourable considera- tion for the prisoners, on account of the good character which they had hitherto borne, as testified to by their commanding officer ; and on account of their having been misled by vague reports regarding the cartridges.” Major-general Ilewitt, however, declared he could find nothing in the conduct of the prisoners to warrant him in attending to the recom- mendation of the court. “ Their former good con- duct has been blasted by present misbehaviour, and their having allowed themselves to be influenced by vague reports, instead of attending to the advice, and obeying the orders of their European superiors, is the gist of the offence for which they have been condemned. * * * Some of them even had the

insolence to desire that firing parades might be VOL. II. U

because “ he knew that imprisonment would follow the trial, and that an attempt to force the gaol and to liberate the prisoners might be expected.”-?

A private letter from Meerut says, it was understood that General Hewitt had been desired to treat the skirmishers with the “ utmost severity.” The trial was con- ducted accordingly. “ The prisoners were charged with disobedience, which was un- deniable, and which .certainly demanded punishment. A few tried to plead, with little skill but considerable truth ; but the principle adopted towards them seemed in- difference to whatever they might have to say, and the men felt themselves condemned already in the minds of their court.” They were all found guilty, and sentenced to im- prisonment in gaol and hard labour — eighty for ten and five for six years, the very note- worthy circumstance in the latter case being, that the favoured five had served under in- stead of above three years. Many of the former must have been able to plead a long term of faithful service ; but that, it seems, ivas regarded as an aggravation, not an ex- ! tenuation, of their fault.

General Hewitt had received orders to carry out the sentence of the court-martial, without waiting its confirmation by the

deferred till the agitation about cartridges among the Native troops had come to a close. * * *

Even now, they attempt to justify so gross an outrage upon discipline, by alleging that they had doubts of the cartridges ; there has been no acknow- ledgment of error, no expression of regret, no pleading for mercy.” This latter hinted aggrava- tion is explained away by the testimony already quoted regarding the conviction entertained by the men, that nothing they could say would shake the foregone conclusion of the court. They persevered in asserting their belief that, by using the “ new greased cartridges” urged upon them, they would forfeit caste. Major-general Hewitt declared, that to the majority of the prisoners no portion of the sentence would be remitted ; but that some of them being very young, those who had not been above five years in the service, would be set free at the expiration of five instead of ten years. Not only was there no remis- sion of the sentence, but a very cruel degradation was superadded, by the painful and ignominious fettering. Even General Anson, when informed of the prisoners having been “ put in irons on parade- ground in the presence of their regiment, expressed his regret at this unusual procedure.” Notwith- standing this qualification, it is evident that General Hewitt acted in accordance with the spirit, if not the letter, of his instructions. In the newly published papers, there is much in confirmation, and nothing in contradiction, of Mrs. Craigie’s statement.

j- Letters written duriny the Siege of Delhi; by II. H. Greathed, Esq., late of the Bengal civil service, and political agent of Delhi. Edited by his widow. Longman, 1858. — Introduction, p. xv.

146 FETTERING OF THE EIGHTY-FIVE TROOPERS— 9th MAY, 1857.

commander-in-chief, and arrangements were made for its execution on the following morning, in the presence of all the troops at the station. A guard of European dragoons and rifles was ordered to keep watch over the prisoners during the night, and some difficulty was experienced in calming the excitement which the presence of the Euro- peans created in the Native lines. At day- break on the 9th of May, the troops assembled for this most memorable punish- ment parade. The “ sunless and stormy” atmosphere, described by an eye-witness, bore but too close an analogy to the temper of the sepoys. The scene must have dis- tressed the British officers of the 3rd ; who, if not absolutely blinded by prejudice, must have felt for aud with their men : but they were compelled to refrain from offering the slightest or most private and respectful warning, at this fearful crisis, by the “ severe j reprimand”* bestowed by the commander- I in-chief on Captain Craigie, for his timely but neglected suggestions, given on the i night before the parade of the 24th of April. After such a lesson, the subor- dinate officers could only watch, in silent amazement, the incendiary proceedings of their superiors. The uniform of the muti- neers was stripped off, and the armourers’ and smiths’ departments of the horse artil- lery being in readiness, each man was heavily ironed and shackled, preparatory to being worked, for the allotted term of years, in gangs on the roads. These ill-omened proceedings occupied three long hours. The victims to our inconsistent policy showed the deepest sense of the degra- dation inflicted on them. But resistance would have been madness; the slightest attempt would have produced an extermi- nating fire from the guns manned by the Europeans, and pointed at them. Some clasped their hands together, and appealed to General Hewitt for mercy; their com- rades stood looking on in gloomy silence, an order having been given that their offi-

cers only should attend on hoi’seback. When the fettering had been at length ac- complished, the men were marched off the field. As they passed the ranks of the 3rd they shouted blessings on Captain Craigie, and curses on their colonel, f and hurled reproaches at the dismounted troopers, for having suffered them to be thus de- graded.! At length, when the military authorities had done their work, they coolly delivered over the mutineers to the civil magistrate, to be lodged in the common gaol, in company with some 1,200 convicts ; the whole to be left under the sole guard of native burkandauz, or matchlockmen.

The sepoys returned to their lines appa- rently completely cowed. The Europeans were left masters of the situation ; and the affair having gone off so quietly, the majority were probably disposed to view more favour- ably than ever, General Anson’s resolve to trample under foot the caste scruples of the sepoys, and “ never give in to their beastly prejudices.”§ The phrase, not a very attractive one, has been quoted before ; but it is necessary to repeat it, as the best explanation of the commander-in-chief’s proceedings. Those about his person could, it is said, furnish other traits, equally strik- ing and characteristic.

The mutineers were, as we have seen, marched off to prison ; the men returned to their lines, aud the Europeans to their bunga- lows, to take a siesta or a drive, to smoke or play billiards, till dinner-time. The officers of the 3rd had, however, a painful task as- signed them — that of visiting the mutineers in prison to inquire about their debts, and arrange their affairs. The anxiety of the captives about 'their destitute families was most touching, and three of the officers re- solved to set on foot a subsci’iption to pro- vide for the support of these innocent suf- ferers. But nothing transpired within tht prison to give the visitors any idea of an intended revolt, or to lend weight to the ru- mours abroad. This same evening, Colonel

* The above fact is taken from a short unpub- lished paper, printed for private circulation, and entitled, A Brief Account of the Mutiny of the 3 rd Light Cavalry ; by Colonel Smyth. It appears that the colonel had, in the early part of April, received intelligence from a friend, regarding the feelings of a party of sepoys with whom he “ had fallen in.” They spoke strongly in favour of the disbanded 19th, and expressed themselves ready to join in a general mutiny. This information Colonel Smyth forwarded to General Anson about the middle of April ; and, on the 23rd, he (Colonel Smyth) ordered a parade, intending to teach the men

to load without biting their cartridges, which he thought they would be pleased to learn. The car- tridges were to be distributed over-night. The men refused to take them ; and Colonel Smyth adds — “ One of my officers (Captain Craigie) wrote to the adjutant in the strongest terms, urging me to put off the parade, for which he received a severe repri- mand from the commander-in-chief.” t Testimony of an eye-witness.

X Mutiny of the Bengal Army: by one who has served under Sir C. Napier ; p. 35. See, also, let- ter of correspondent to Calcutta Englishman.

§ Cooper’s Crisis in the Punjab; p. 37.

MEERUT GAOL BROKEN OPEN— SUNDAY, MAY 10th, 1857. 147

Finuis, of the 11th Native infantry, was seated at Colonel Custine’s dinner table, when a lady remarked that placards were said to have been seen about the city, call- ing upon all true Mussulmans to rise and slaughter the English. “ The threat/’ says Mrs. Greathed, “ was treated by us all with indignant disbelief.”*

If any of the party could have heard what was then passing in the widely scat- tered Native lines, it might have spoiled their sleep that night. As it was, no one — not even the commissioner, who had foreseen the probability of an attack on the gaol — seems to have manifested any anxiety regarding the temper of the Native soldiery, or inquired the workings of their mind upon an act calculated to fill them with shame and sorrow for their comrades, and with terror for themselves. The penalty of disbandment for refusing to use the ab- horred cartridges, was changed, by the act of that morning, into the degrading punish- ment of a common felon : the recusants were doomed to labour for years, perhaps for life, in irons, for the profit of their foreign mas- ters, while their wives and children were left to starve ! Was there no alternative for them except the cruel one of forfeiture of caste, of virtual excommunication, with all its wretched consequences, its civil and religious disabilities? Both Mohamme- dans and Hindoos had, as has been shown, recent grievances rankling in their breasts : the present measure looked like part of a system to prostrate them in the dust, if not to wholly crush them; and when the hum- bled 3rd looked at the empty huts of their comrades, and thought of the crowded gaol (which the excessive cleanliness asso- ciated with high-caste renders specially disgusting) and of their forlorn families, no wonder their hearts sank within them. Beneath the general depression, there were, doubtless, under-currents ; and the sugges- tions of the bolder or more intriguing, would naturally gain ready hearing. There must have been decided dissatisfaction ; but there is no evidence to show that any plot was formed on the night of the 9th ; it rather appears, that until late in the after- noon of Sunday, the 10th, the troops re- mained, as it were, paralysed, but ready to * Greathed’s Letters; Introduction, p. xiv. f Major-general Hewitt to adjutant-general of the army, May 11th, 1857. — Further Papers on Muti- nies (Commons), No. 3; p. 9.

f Letter of the Rev. J. C. Smyth, one of the chap- lains at Meerut. — Times, June 30th, 1857.

be thrown into a state of panic by the most trilling occurrence. In fact, their excessive fear verged on despair : no report regard- ing the hostile intentions of the government was too absurd to be believed ; and fancy- ing themselves driven into a corner, they drugged themselves with bhang, and, to the amazement of the Europeans, suddenly changed their attitude of humble depreca- tion, for one of reckless, pitiless, unreason- ing ferocity.

The best authority on the subject (Gen- eral Hewitt) considers, that “ the outbreak was not premeditated ; but the result of a rumour that a party was parading to seize their arms ; which was strengthened by the fact of the 60th rifles parading for evening

service.”t

The conclusion is evidently a just one; for had there been any combination, how- ever secret, or however superficial, the sepoys would have waited till the Europeans were either in church, or in their beds. They had no superiority of numbers to presume upon; and the majority acted, beyond all doubt, on an ungovernable influence of rage and desperation. Shortly before six o’clock p.m., a body of the 3rd cavalry flung themselves on their horses, and gal- loped off to the gaol, where they released their comrades, and the other prisoners, amounting in number to 1,200. Of course, many of these latter played a leading part in the outrages of that terrible night ; but some were so terrified by the madness of their new associates, that they came and voluntarily gave themselves up to the ma- gistrates as soon as the first tumult had subsided. The rescued “eighty-five” were brought back in triumph to the Native lines. They had had enough of pi’ison dis- cipline to rouse, not quench, their fiercest passions. The degradation was fresh ; their limbs were yet bruised and raw with the fetters. They pi’oceeded to the compound of Captain Galloway, of the 3rd light cav- alry, and compelled his blacksmith to re- move their chains.^ Then they went among their comrades, calling aloud for vengeance. The whole of the 3rd, except Captain Craigie’s troop of fifty men, joined the mutineers : so did the 20th N. I. ; but the 1 1th N. I. hung back, defended their officers, and such of them as were stationed on guard, remained at their posts.

The mass of the troops had now crossed the Rubicon, and knew that to recede or hesitate would be to ensure the death of

148 MUTINY AND MASSACRE AT MEERUT— MAY 10th, 1857.

rebels, or the life of galley-slaves. The inflammable bungalows, mostly thatched with straw, were soon set on fire, including General Hewitt’s. Dense clouds of smoke filled the hot night air, and volumes of flame were seen shooting up iu columus to heaven, or rolling in billows along the ground. The bugle sounded the alarm ; irregular discharges of musketry were heard on every side. The sepoys seemed to have turned in a moment from obedient children to infuriated madmen. The madness, too, was fearfully contagious ; the impetus was irresistible. The 11th held out long, and stood by their officers, while their colonel reasoned with the mutineers. Rut, alas ! the time was past for arguing the matter, save with swords and guns. A sepoy of the 20th Native infantry took aim at Colonel Finnis : the example was instantly followed; and the good and gallant officer fell dead 1 from his horse, amid a shower of bullets. On this the 20th fired into the 11th; and the latter corps being no longer able to remain neutral,* reluctautly joined their country- men, after having first placed their officers in safety. Then incendiarism, practised in 1 detail at the musketry depots ever since the hated cartridges were distributed, reached its height, the mutineers being “ assisted by the population of the bazaar, the city, and the neighbouring villages.” It was mutiny coupled with insurrection. The sepoys had, however, no leaders, and their movements were, to the last degree, irre- gular and disconnected. Kill, kill ! was the cry of a few desperate fanatics mad- dened with bhang; booty, booty! was the all-comprehensive object of the bud- mashes of the city, and of the scum of the vast following which ever attends a large Indian cantonment, and which was now suddenly let loose on the affrighted Euro- pean families. The scene was terrible ; but it resembled rather the raid of insurgent villagers than the revolt of trained troops : there was, in fact, no fighting at all, pro- perly so called ; for the incensed 3rd cav- alry mutineers (who, it must be remembered, were Mohammedans of high family) were anxious to reach Delhi, where they felt sure of the sympathy of their co-religionists while the mass of the sepoys had joined the mutiny because they could not remain neu- tral; and the first flush of excitement passed, their great desire was to get out of the reach of the European guns. Eight women * General Hewitt’s letter.

and seven or eight children perished; and there were instances in which the dead bodies were horribly slashed and cut by the infuriated mob ; but the highest official account of European lives lost, including officers and soldiers, does not reach forty. The only considerable body of sepoys who remained thoroughly staunch during the night was Captain Craigie’s troop of cavalry; but it required not merely his re- markable influence over his men, but con- summate tact in using it, to prevent their being carried away by the torrent. Never was there a more conspicuous instance of the value of that “ faculty for managing natives,” spoken of by the Calcutta cor- respondent of the Times as a “ sixth sense, which can neither be communicated nor learnt.”t Mrs. Craigie’s account of the affair bears strong internal evidence of truthfulness, and is corroborated by cotem- porary official and private statements. She was driving to church with another lady, when, passing the mess of the 3rd regiment, they saw the servants leaning over the walls of the compound, all looking towards the road from the Native infantry lines. Several voices called out to the ladies to return, for there was a mutiny of the Native infantry, and a fight in the bazaar. Crowds of armed men were now seen hurrying to- wards the carriage. Its occupants drove back in great alarm ; but soon overtaking an English private running for his life from several men (not sepoys) armed with lattees (long sticks), they stopped the carriage, and drew in the fugitive, bis assailants continu- ing to strike at him ; but the heroines held out their arms and pleaded for him, and were suffered to drive off in safety with the rescued soldier. On reaching her own bungalow, Mrs. Craigie found her husband in entire ignorance of what was occurring. He started off to the lines of the 3rd, and found that the three first troops had disap- peared ; but his own (the 4th), with the 5th and 6th, were still there. Another of the troop captains, whose name does not appear, but who was senior in rank to Captain Craigie, now joined him, and the two officers asked the men if they could rely on them. The answer was an eager declara- tion of fidelity. The men said they had heard there was fighting at the gaol to re- lease the prisoners ; and clustering round Captain Craigie, professed themselves ready to do whatever he might order. The officers f Times, June loth, 1857.

MASSACRE AND CONFLAGRATION AT MEERUT. 149

directed the troops to mount and follow them. Meanwhile, a gentleman, whose name is not stated, came up, and was asked if he had any orders from the colonel. The reply was, that “the colonel was flying for his life, and had given no orders/’* The officers rode on with the three troops. Captain Craigie, anxiously occupied with his own men, discovered, after riding some distance, that he was alone with the 4th troop. He soon afterwards met the released cavalry mutineers with their irons broken. They were on their way to Delhi, and were mounted and in uniform, their comrades having given them their own equipments. The fugitives recognised Captain Craigie, shouted to him that they were free, and poured forth blessings on him. “ He was,” says his wife, “ indeed their friend ; and had he been listened to, these horrors might never have happened.” Captain Craigie, seeing that it was too late to preserve the gaol, turned back, to try and save the stan- dards of the 3rd from the lines. The roads were thronged with infantry mutineers and bazaar men, armed and firing. A ladyf was driving by in a carriage, when a trooper came up with her and stabbed her. Captain Craigie cut the assassin down with his sword, but the victim was already dead. Soon after this, a ball whizzed by his own ear; and looking round, he saw a trooper out of uniform, with his head muffled, fire at him again. “Was that meant for me?” he shouted. “Yes!” said the trooper, “I will have your blood.”

Captain Craigie’s presence of mind did not desert him ; he believed the men might mutiny from him if he fired; and turning to them, he asked if they would see him shot. They vociferated “ No !” and forced the mutineer back again and again; but would neither kill nor seize him. A Christian trumpeter urged the captain to save him- self by riding faster, and he dashed on to the lines ; but passing his own house by the way, he asked who would go and defend

* “This statement is partially incorrect, for the colonel had directed Adjutant Clarke to order the men to stand to their horses, to be ready to mount if required.” The order did not reach the men, and would evidently have exercised very little effect if it had ; but the former portion of the quotation in ques- tion, is corroborated by Colonel Smyth’s own words. “Six officers,” he states, “came into my compound chased by infantry sepoys, and concealed themselves in my house. I then went to inform the general (Hewitt) of what was going on. I took my own orderly and the field officers with me. I told them to draw swords, as the road was getting crowded, and

his wife. The whole troop (at least all with him) raised their hands. Fie said he only wanted four men. “ I, I, I,” cried every one; so he sent the first four, and rode on with the others to the lines, where he found Major Richardson and two European officers, with a few remaining men of the other troops. The Native infantry were flying across the parade-ground, pursued by the European artillery. The officers, bid- ding their men follow, galloped into the open country, with three of the four regi- mental standards ; and, on seeing them safe, Captain Craigie, by the permission of Major Richardson, returned to provide for the safety of his wife. She, poor lady ! had endured an interval of terrible anxiety ; but, like her husband, had retained perfect self- possession. The rescued European was one of the carabiniers — a guard of whom had been placed over the mutineers, and had thereby become the objects of especial hatred with the mob. She dressed him in her husband’s clothes, and then she and her female companion watched the progress of the incendiary crew, and seeing bungalow after bungalow blazing round them, expected that the lines of fire would close them in. At length the mob reached the next com- pound, and set light to the stables. The groans of the horses were fearful ; but soon the more terrible utterance of human agony was heard through the din ; and Mrs. Craigie, looking from the upper part of her own dwelling, saw a lady (Mrs. Chambers) in the verandah of the next house. At her entreaty, the servants ran to try and bring their unfortunate neighbour over the low separating wall. But it was too late; the poor victim (who had but newly arrived in India, and was on the eve of her confinement) had been already killed, and cut horribly. This was fearful news for Mrs. Craigie and her companions; they soon saw men bringing a burning log from the next compound, and thought their own ordeal was at hand. Crowds gathered round; but the name of

immediately galloped off as fast as I could, the bazaar people striking at me with swords and sticks, and shouting after me, which Mr. Rose, of the barrack department, witnessed. I went first to Mr. Great- hed’s, the gate of whose compound was open ; but a man ran to it to shut it, I suppose; but I got in and rode up to the house, and gave the information to the servants, as I was informed Mr. Greathed was out. I then went on to the general’s, and heard he had just left the house in his carriage.” — Colonel Smyth’s Narrative.

f Mrs. Courtenay, wife of the hotel keeper at Meerut.

	150 CAPTAIN CRAIGIE’S LOYAL TROOP OF CAVALRY.
	Captain Craigie was frequently shouted in deprecation of any assault on his dwelling ; and a few of the Hindoo servants who re- mained faithful, especially one Buctour, a tent lascar, ran to and fro, trying to clear the compound, and declaring that his mas- ter was “ the people’s friend,” and no one should burn his house. At this crisis the ladies saw the four troopers sent to guard them riding in, and, recognising the well-known uniform, though not the wearers, hailed them at once as deliverers. The troopers dismounted, and rushed eagerly upstairs; Mrs. Craigie strove to take their hands in her’s, but they pros- trated themselves before her, and touching her feet with their foreheads, swore to pro- tect her at the hazard of their lives ; which they actually did. They implored her to keep within shelter, and not expose herself on the verandah. But anxiety for her husband overpowered every other con- sideration, and she could not be restrained from gazing forth on the blazing canton- ment in an agony of suspense, which pre- vented her from heeding the blinding, suffo- cating smoke, the parching heat, or even the shots fired at herself, until at length the brother of her young friend arrived in safety, and was soon followed by Captain Craigie, who having nobly performed his public duty, now came to rescue his heroic wife. Fearing that the house would be surrounded, the officers wrapped dark stable-blankets round the light muslin dresses of the ladies, to hide them from the glare of the flaming station, and lessen the risk of fire, and con- cealed them in a little thick-walled, single- doored temple, which stood on the grounds. There they remained several hours ; during which time, a band of armed thieves broke into the house ; but two of them were shot (one by Buctour), and the others fled. Cavalry troopers continued to join the party, including one of the condemned eighty-five, who offered to stay and defend the Europeans; but Captain Craigie said he must surrender him if he did; and, “after a time, the boy disappeared.” The other troopers, to the number of about thirty, entreated Captain Craigie not to take his wife away, as they would protect her with their lives ; but he dared not run the risk :* and when the roads became quieter, he put- to the horses (all the stable-servants having * Captain Craigie’s house, and another, were the only ones left standing in the 3rd cavalry lines. f Greathed’s Letters, p. 291.	fled), and hurried the ladies off to the artil- lery lines, first allowing them to collect together a few clothes and their trinkets. The plate they could not get, the khitmut- gar (Mohammedan steward) having run off with the keys. He had, however, buried the property in the first moments of alarm, and he subsequently brought the whole intact to his master. The troopers, gallantly as they had behaved, “ looked very blank” at the idea of proceeding to the European lines. Instead of confidently expecting re- ward, they “ feared being made prisoners ;” and it was with the utmost difficulty that they were induced to venture within reach of the unreasoning fury of the British force. It is needful to remember this; for probably the excessive dread inspired by our policy, has been, with the vast majority of the Bengal army, the inciting cause of mutiny. Our very inconsistencies and vacillations have been ascribed by them to some hidden motive. At the outset, the only body of sepoys who kept together and obeyed orders during this terrible night, evidenced the most entire disbelief in the gratitude or justice of the military autho- rities, and ventured to remain in allegiance, wholly in dependence on the individual character of their captain. But for him, they too would have joined the mutineers. During the night, many Europeans were 1 saved by the fidelity and daring of native servants, at the risk of their own lives. The commissioner (Mr. Greathed) and his wife are among the number. On seeing the mob approach their house, they took shelter with two English ladies on the terrace roof ; but the wood-work was soon set on fire, and no alternative apparently remained but to de- scend and surrender themselves, when Gho- ! lab Khan, their head gardener, succeeded in inciting the crowd to pillage a large storehouse at some distance, he affecting to share in the plunder.f Ladders were then placed against the opposite wall by others of the establishment, every member con- tinuing faithful, and the whole party es- caped off the roof (which, some few minutes later, fell in with a fearful crash), and took refuge in the garden. When day broke, the rioters having left the place, Gholab Khan brought a buggy, whereiu the com- missioner and his three companions pro- ceeded in safety to the artillery school of instruction, whither, on the morning of the 11th, all the ladies of the cantonment, with their children and servants, were taken by

EUROPEANS MURDERED AT MEERUT— MAY 10th, 1857 151

their husbands without any military escort. The school was a large, easily defensible en- closure, with lines of barracks; and here all the civilians and such of the staff as were not required outside took refuge, there being no fort at Meerut. Captain and Mrs. Macdonald (20th regiment) were both slain ; but their ayah (nurse) seized the children, and conveyed them to a place of safety.

The following is the official list of the Europeans killed at Meerut, not already named. 3rd Light Cavalry — Lieutenant McNabb (a youth of much promise, who had only just joined his regiment, and was returning home unarmed from the artillery mess) ; Veterinary Surgeons Phillips* and Dawson, Mrs. Dawson and children. 60 th Rifles — one corporal. 20th Native In- fantry— Captain Taylor, Lieutenant Hen- derson, Ensign Pattle, Mr. Tregear (in- spector in the educational department). A gunner, two Chelsea pensioners, a fife- major of the 11th Native infantry, four children, five men, and two women (whose names were unknown), were all killed by the released convicts or bazaar people. t

There was, as has been before stated, no organised resistance ; and the general opinion, pronounced almost without a dis- sentient voice by the press of England and of India, is, that the deficiency of the rebels in leaders was more than counterbalanced by the incapacity of the British authorities. After making all reasonable allowance for the suddenness of the shock, and the un- preparedness of the officers in command (although that is, in fact, rather an aggrava- tion than an extenuation of their conduct), it is not possible to account satisfactorily either for the space of time occupied in getting the troops, especially the dragoons, under arms, or for the neglect of any at- tempt to forestal the mutineers in their undisguised plan of proceeding to Delhi, which everybody knew was strongly forti- fied, richly stored, and weakly garrisoned by Native troops ; and the care of which was,

* This gentleman had calmly looked on during the punishment parade of the previous day, and had ad- vocated the adoption of the sternest measures to com- pel the entire corps to use the new cartridges. He was shot while driving his buggy, and, it is said, mu- tilated by five troopers. — Letter of the Rev. J. C. Smyth, chaplain at Meerut. — Times. The governor of the gaol is said to have owed his life entirely to the gratitude of certain of the mutineers, to whom he had spoken kindly while under his charge.

f Supplement to Gazette , May 6th, 1858; p. 2262.

in fact, the one great reason for the main- tenance of the costly and extensive Meerut cantonment. To begin with the first count, the 60th rifles were parading for evening service when the tumult began. They, therefore, ought to have been ready to act at once against the gathering crowds ; while the European dragoons, if too late in mounting to save the gaol, should have been sent off either to intercept the fugitives or preoccupy the city.J Captain Craigie, who had acted on his own responsibility in proceeding with his troop to try and pre- serve the gaol, met several of the released prisoners, already on the road to Delhi, at that early hour of the evening. Even the 3rd cavalry do not appear to have gone oft’ together in any large body, but rather in straggling parties ; and it appears that they might have been cut off, or at least dispersed in detail. The effort ought to have been made at all hazards. There was no fort in Meerut ; but the women and children might surely have been gathered together in the artillery school, under the escort of European soldiers, at the first out- break of the mutiny, while the 11th — who long held back, and to the last protected the families of their officers — were yet obedient; and while one portion of the force remained to protect the cantonment, the cavalry and guns might have overtaken the fugitives, the greater number of whom were on foot.

Major-general Hewitt’s own account of the affair is the best proof of the utter absence of any solicitude on his part, or, it would appear, of any suggestion on the part of those around him, for the preservation of Delhi. In acquainting the adjutant-gene- ral, in a letter dated May the 11th, with the events of the preceding night, he never even alludes to anyplau of proceeding against the mutineers, or anticipates any other employment for the 1,863 European sol- diers stationed at Meerut, than to take care of the half-burned cantonments, and mount guard over their wives and families, until reinforcements should arrive to help them

{ The last witness on the subject is Mr. Russell, who, in October, 1858, examined Meerut in company with Colonel Johnson of the artillery, an officer pre- sent at the mutiny. Mr. Russell satisfied himself that there was indeed just ground, admitting the difficulty of the situation, and many embarrassing circumsiances, “ to deplore the want of energy of those who had ample means in their hands to punish the murderers on the spot, and to, in all probability, arrest or delay considerably the massacre and revolt at Delhi.” — Times, 29th Nov., 1858.

152

APATHY AND INCAPACITY OF MEERUT AUTHORITIES.

hold their own, and assist in carrying out drum-head courts-martial for the punish- ment of the insurgent villagers and bazaar budmashes; as to tlie civil law and civil courts, they were swept away by the first breath of the storm.

Many a gallant spirit must have chafed and raged that night, asking, in bitterness of spirit, the question generally uppermost in the minds of British soldiers — “ What will they say of us in England?” But theu — and it is not the least strange point of the case — we hear of no single soldier or civilian offering to lead a party, or go, if need were, alone, to Delhi, if only to warn the defenceless families assembled there, of the danger by which they were menaced.

The ride was nothing; some thirty-six miles on a moonlight midsummer night : the bullet of a mutineer might bring it to a speedy close; but was that enough to deter soldiers from endeavouring to perform their duty to the state of which they were sworn defenders, or Englishmen from endeavour- ing to save a multitude of their country- women from evils more terrible than death ? As individuals even, they might surely have done something, though perhaps not much, clogged as they were in a peculiar manner by the working of a system which, amid other defects, makes a general of fifty-five a pheno- menon in India.* The commanding officer at Meerut was not a Napier or a Campbell, gifted beyond his fellows with immunity from the physical and mental inertia which threescore years and ten usually bring in their train. If General Hewitt had been ever characterised by vigour and decision, at least these qualities were not evidenced at Meerut. It is painful to animadvert on even the public conduct of a brave old officer ; the more so, because the despatch which evidences what he failed to do, is par- ticularly straightforward and manly. He states, without preface or apology, that “ as soon as the alarm was given, the artillery, carabiniers, and 60th rifles were got under arms ; but by the time we reached the Native infantry parade-ground, it was too dark to act with efficiency in that direction; conse- quently the troops retired to the north of the nullah” (small stream before alluded to), “ so as to cover the barracks and officers’ lines of the artillery, carabiniers, and 60th rifles, which were, with the exception of

* Tones. — Calcutta correspondent, June 15th, 1858.

f Pari. Papers on Mutinies (No. 3), 1857; p. 9.

one house, preserved, though the insurgents — for I believe the mutineers had at that time retired by the Alighur and Delhi roads — burnt the vacant sapper and miner lines.

At break of day the force was divided : one- half on guard, and the other taken to patrol the Native lines.” Then follows a state- ment of certain small parties of the 11th and 20th Native infantry who remained faithful, and of the fifty men of the 3rd cavalry ; and the general adds — “ Efficient measures are being taken to secure the treasure, ammunition, aud barracks, and to place the females and European inhabitants iu the greatest security obtainable. Nearly the whole of the cantonment and Zillah police have deserted.”f

The delay which took place in bringing the 6th dragoons into action is quite unac- counted for. A medical officer, writing from Meerut on the 12th of May, says, that between five and six o’clock on the evening of the previous day, while prepai’ing for a ride with Colonel Finnis, he heard a buzzing, murmuring noise, such as was common in case of fire ; and shortly after, while putting on his uniform, the havildar-major of the 1 1 th rushed into the room, exclaiming, “Fly! sahib, the regiments are in open mutiny; Colonel Finnis has just been shot in my arms. Ride to the European cavalry lines and give the alarm.” The doctor did so; galloped off to the house of the colonel of the dragoon guards, which he had just left, and then on to the barrack lines, where Colonel Jones was engaged in ordering the men to saddle, arm, and mount forthwith. The remaining movements of the dragoons are best told in the words of this eye- witness, whose account is the only circum- stantial one which has been made public, regarding the proceedings of a corps which, | rightly used, might have saved Delhi, and thousands of lives.

“ It took us a long time, in my opinion, to get ready, and it was dark before the dragoons were ready to start in a body ; while by this time flames began to ascend in all directions from the lines, and the officers’ bungalows of the 3rd cavalry and the 11th and 20th Native infantry; from public build- ings, mess-houses, private residences, and, in fact, every structure or thing that came within the reach of the torch, and the fury of the mutineers and of the bazaar canaille. * * * When the carabi-

niers were mounted we rode off at a brisk trot, through clouds of suffocating dust and darkness, in an easterly direction, and along a narrow road ; not advancing in the direction of the conflagration, but, on the contrary, leaving it behind on our right rear. In this way we proceeded for some two or

MUTINEERS BIVOUAC ON THE ROAD TO DELHI.

three miles, to my no small surprise, when sud- denly the ‘ halt’ was sounded, and we faced about, and, retracing our steps and verging off to our left, debouched on the left rear of the Native infantry lines, which were all in a blaze. Skirting along behind these lines we turned them at the western end, and wheeling to the left, came upon the 11th parade-ground, where, at a little distance, we found the horse artillery and H. M.’s GOth rifles. It appears that the three regiments of mutineers had by this time commenced dropping off to the east- ward and to the Delhi-road ; for here some firing took place between them and the rifles ; and pre- sently the horse artillery coming to the front and unlimbering, opened upon a copse or wood in which they had apparently found cover, with heavy discharges of grape and canister, which tore and rattled among the trees, and all was silent again. The horse artillery now limbered up and wheeled round, and here I joined them, having lost the dragoons in the darkness. By this time, how- ever, the moon arose ; ‘ we blessed her useful light’ [so did the mutineers, no doubt] ; and the horse artillery column, with rifles at its head, moving across the parade-ground, we entered the long street, turning from the southward behind the light cavalry lines. It was by this time past ten o’clock, and having made the entire circuit of the lines, we passed up to the eastward of them, and, joined by the dragoons and rifles, bivouacked for the night.”* * * §

At daybreak the doctor proceeded to visit the almost deserted hospital, where a few patients, prostrate with small-pox, alone remained. On his way he met a dhooly, and, stopping; the bearers, inquired what they carried. They answered, “The colonel sahib.” It was the body of poor Finnis (with whom the inquirer had been preparing to ride scarce twelve hours before) which had just been found where he fell, and was being carried towards the church- yard. No search had been made for him or for any other of the fallen Europeans, who, if not wholly killed by the insurgents, must have perished in needless misery. Colonel Smyth, on the following morning, saw ten or twelve European dead bodies on the Delhi-road, near the old gaol.f

The mutineers had abundant leisure to initiate, with a success they could never have anticipated, their first great step of syste- matic hostility. They were not, however, unanimous in their views. Many of the 20th Native infantry were still loyal at heart, and 120 of them turned back, and presented themselves at Meerut, where the influence of the officers and families whom they had protected, procured them a favour-

* Times, June 29th, 1857.

f Brief Account of the Mutiny, p. 6.

t Letter from an eye-witness of the seizure of Delhi by the mutineers. — Times, July 14th, 1857.

§ Letter to the Times, October, 1857.

VOL. IX. X

153

able reception. Several of the 3rd cavalry also appear to have returned and surrendered themselves, and many of them were met with, wandering about the country, longing, but not daring, to return to their homes. Meanwhile, the mass of the mutineers, counselled by a few more daring spirits, took care to cut oft’ the telegraph communi- cation between Meerut and Delhi, and to post a guard of a hundred troopers at a narrow suspension-bridge over the Hindun, one of the two rivers between them and Delhi; but which then, in the height of the hot season, was easily fordable. They knew that there was no other obstacle, the couutry being smooth as a bowling-green ; and they took full advantage of the apathy of the British, by bivouacking for a brief rest, within six miles of the scene of their out- rages ; after which, they rose up and pur- sued their way without the slightest inter- ruption. Their arrival at Delhi will be narrated in the following chapter. The Meerut catastrophe is sufficiently impor- tant to deserve what Nelson wished for — a gazette to itself.

The general opinion of the Indian press and public, declared it “certain that the severe sentences on the mutineers of the 3rd cavalry was the immediate cause of the Meerut massacre.”]; In England, the same conclusion was naturally and almost unavoidably arrived at. Colonel Sykes, ex- chairman of the East India Company, and also a high authority on the score of indi- vidual character and experience, declared in the most emphatic language, his “ thorough conviction, that but for the fatal punish- ment of the eighty-five troopers at Meerut to ten years’ confinement in irons, with hard labour as felons, for resisting the compulsory use of the suspected cartridges, the first instance in a hundred years, in Bengal, of sepoys in combination imbruing their hands in the blood of their officers, would not have occurred. In short, had the policy adopted by Colonel Montresor in the contingent force at Hyderabad in 1806, in abrogating a dangerous order upon his own responsi- bility, been adopted at Meerut, we might still have had a loyal Bengal army, as we still have a loyal Madras army, although the latter had, fifty-one years ago, revolted upon religious grounds.”^

Again, in his place in the House of Com- mons, Colonel Sykes said, that at the moment of ironing the troopers on parade, “an electric shock of sympathy went through

154 COL. SYKES AND LORD ELLENBOROUGH ON THE OUTBREAK.

the whole army, anrl amongst their co-reli- gionists in the contingents with native powers. Up to that time there had been doubts and alarms, but no common sym- pathy or understanding. Then, however, every sepoy in the Bengal army made the case of the condemned his own.”*

Lord Ellenborough contrasted the promp- titude manifested by Sir Henry Lawrence in Oude, with the shiftless incapacity displayed at Meerut. At the latter place, the muti- neers, he said, rose at 6 p.m., and it was not until nightfall that H.M/s carabiniers were able to move. “ How did it happen that I with a Queen’s regiment of infantry, another i of cavalry, and an overwhelming force of horse and foot artillery, the mutineers yet escaped without injury to Delhi, and made a march of thirty to forty miles?” Lord Ellenborough spoke forcibly on the power of individual character in influencing events in India; and, alluding to General Hewitt, he declared that no government was justi- fied in placing in a most important position a man of whom the troops knew nothing, and with whose qualifications the gov- ernment themselves were unacquainted. “ Where,” he added, “ was the commander- in-chief upon this occasion? Why was not he in the midst of his troops ? He must have been aware of all the difficulties which were growing up. He must have known the dangers by which he was beset. * * * He, however, went to the hills, leaving the dangers to wdiich I refer behind him in the plain. Such is not the conduct which a man occupying the position of commander- in-chief ought to have pursued.” f

The leading reviews and magazines took up the same tone ; and the writer of an able and temperate article in one of them, gave a question and reply, which contain, in few words, the common-sense view of the mat- ter. “ Why was nothing done or attempted, before the insurgents reached Delhi, to arrest their murderous progress, and protect the unfortunate residents in that city? Why, but that our leaders were unequal to their duty, and that General Anson had rushed into a menacing display of authority, with- out troubling himself to consider the means or the persons by whom it wras to be sustained.” |

In India, however, the Meerut authorities were not wholly without apologists, and even vindicators. Some intercepted sepoy

* Speech on proposed India Bill, Feb. I8th, 1858.

f India Debate. — Times, 30th June, 1857.

letters were said to show, that the en- tire Bengal army had resolved on a simul- taneous rising on the 15th of May; conse- quently, the blundering cruelties practised at Meerut were supposed to have precipitated the insurrectionary movement, aud pre- vented the intended co-operation of the widely dispersed troops. The evidence in favour of this supposition was little better than rumour; if there had been any of weight, the authorities would have been only too glad to publish it for the diminu- tion of their own blame. But had such a plot existed, its development at Meerut would have been particularly unfortu- nate ; for subsequent events showed, that in most other stations, the officers in com- mand (whether soldiei’s or civilians) were ready to make public duty their paramount consideration ; and proved, in many remark- able instances, no less conspicuous for the employment of their often slender resources for the public good, thau the Meerut leaders had been for the misuse of their almost unparalleled advantages. The wan- tonly provoked catastrophe at Meerut was fitly followed by an access of stupefaction, which can alone account for the absence of any effort to save Delhi.

The following is an extract from a sermon preached on the occasion by Mr. Rottou, one of the chaplains of the Meerut station ; who was subsequently attached to the be- sieging force sent against Delhi, where, according to Mr. Greathed, he was “well thought of,” and “attentive to his duties.”§ The tone indicates the view generally taken of the recent outbreak ; for preaching of so very decided a character would, if not approved, scarcely be tolerated by any congregation.

“ Think awhile of our past position and our brightening prospects. The mutiny came upon us most unexpectedly. The scene of its commencement was Meerut; and the circumstances which led to its out- break here, were doubtless arranged by matchless wisdom and unbounded love. It seems, if report speaks truly, that a diabo- lical and deep-laid plot had been conceived, and was hourly maturing in detail, for the destruction of British supremacy in India.” On this mere rumour, Mr. Rotton pro- ceeded to ground a description of the “ un- paralleled skill” with which “ the Moham- medan” had framed his alleged plot, and the

J Black wood’s Edinburgh Magazine for Sept., 1857.

§ Greathed’s Letters , p. 188.

STATE OF OPINION AT MEERUT— MAY, 1857. 155

means adopted by Providence for its dis- closure. “ Hence, I say, He [the Almighty] arranged every incident connected with the mutiny of Native troops in this station [including, of course, the attempted enforce- ment of the polluting cartridges and the three hours’ fettering] ; and but for the solemn and sad warning which we received here, it is possible, yea, very probable, that the enemy’s plans would have arrived at such maturity, that our destruction might have been certain and complete. Such are the convictions of men of experience and judgment in India. They look on the out- break at Meerut as the salvation of India.”

The above quotation is not a very encou- raging one to lay before the religious portion of the British public, now earnestly striving, iu an entirely opposite spirit, and with entirely different weapons, for the spiritual and tem- poral salvation of the people of India. But it is well that the zealous and self-denying supporters of missionary enterprise should fully recognise the dangers and difficulties, from within and without, which beset the progress of Christianity in India. Within the pale, an insidious spirit of formality, self-sufficiency, and belligerent intolerance is at work, which is diametrically opposed to the first principles of the gospel. The doc- trine of a special Providence, for instance, as illustrated above, can happily do little harm to hearers accustomed from childhood to test human teaching by the standard of Holy Writ, and to rely on the assistance of Divine wisdom to enable them to arrive at a right judgment. “ Christians of the Book,” as General Hearsey aptly translated Protestants, may indeed well dispense with any other light than that reflected from their Bibles by the operation of the Holy Spirit; but if we send missionaries to India for the express purpose of expounding the Scriptures, we ought to be most careful that they be duly qualified for the work.

Such teachers should have, at least in measure, the zeal of Peter and the love of John united with the controversial power of Paul. It is no simple task to disentangle the subtle web of casuistry which modern Brahminism has woven round the great verities of their ancient faith, or to eradicate from the affections of the people the rank growth of impure idolatries, of superstitious and sensual customs founded on allegories originally more graceful and far more meta-

* Her jaghire was included in what is now the Meerut district. See Indian Empire, vol. i., p. 373.

physical than those of Greece or Rome — and to graft in place of them simple faith iu the Father of the spirits of all flesh, and in the One Mediator between God and man.

With the Mohammedans the difficulties are still greater. Their deep reverence for the great Head of our church would seem, at first sight, to facilitate their acceptance of Christianity ; but it is not really so, for they view themselves as the objects of a further and fuller revelation than ours, which it is their duty to guard and propagate. Impressed with this conviction, they will not, like the Brahmins, engage in argu- ments, or view possible conversion to Chris- tianity in any light than as a crime, which if not repented of, must be punished with death. Thus, and thus only, can the plague of apostasy be stayed among them.

There is no surer obstacle to Moham- medan conversion than an irreverent hand- ling of the deepest mysteries of the Christian faith. Ifet the more rash and incompetent the preacher, the more likely is he to “ rush in where angels fear to tread.” An ex- ample of this is quoted by Lord Hastings in the diary kept by him, when making a tour as governor-general in 1815. He went to church at Meerut, in the handsome and extensive structure, towards the recent erec- tion of which the Begum Sumroo* (a Roman Catholic by profession) had been the chief contributor. “The tenor of the sermon was,” he says, “ to impress upon us a strict and defined repartition of functions be- tween the different persons of the Trinity — a line which we were assured would be inviolably preserved from the indelicacy which each must feel would attend the tres- passing of the prerogatives of another.”f

The impediments to making proselytes in India will not, however, deter those from making the attempt who act iu obedience to a Divine command, and iu reliance on Divine aid. Still in this, as in all similar cases, we must do our utmost before venturing to expect a blessing on our labours. Au iuexperienced and slenderly- gifted man, who would preach to empty pews in England, is not likely to attract hearers among a people whom he addresses under all the drawbacks inseparable from the position of a stranger and a foreigner, who, unpractised in their language, and yet more so in their modes of thought, comes to tell his audience that they and their

t Private Journal of the Marquess of Hastings : edited by the Marchioness of Bute ; vol. ii., p. 329.

	156 DELHI BEFORE THE	MUTINY— MAY, 1857.
	fathers, and their venerated priesthood, have	torv,” are controverted points, before ad-
	long lain in ignorance and darkness. To a	mitting the truth of which the Hindoos must
	preacher thus situated, it must be no small	unlearn the lessons of a lifetime, and disown
	advantage to be perfectly versed in the	traditions cherished for centuries as Divine
	antecedents of his hearers : he can hardly	revelations. Alas ! will it please God to raise
	know too much of their customs aud pre-	up the meek, holy scholars who, to human
	judices, of their strength aud their weak-	judgment, seem alone capable of the task.
	ness : his store of information cannot be too	But we must not despair: India has had
	great : he should, like Moses, be versed not	already a Schwartz, Carev, and Martyn, a
	only in Israelitish lustorv, but in all the	Middleton and Heber. She has just lost an
	wisdom of the Egyptians. In fact, the	excellent bishop (in Dr. Wilson, the late
	preliminary course of study requisite for an	venerable diocesan of Calcutta) ; and there
	Indian missionary is altogether an excep-	are probably many now living, clergymen
	tional one. Controversy in Europe is usu-	and laymen, whose labours, though com-
	ally exercised regarding minor points of	paratively unknown, are working out greater
	form, doctrine, and discipline. In India,	results than we dream of. Onlv when we
	the first articles of our faith — the creation	send labourers into the vineyard, let them
	of the world according to the Book of	be our very best — clear-headed, large-
	Genesis, the incarnation of the Saviour	hearted, gentle, men : no bigots, no secta-
	the very existence of the “ Christ of his-	rians, no formalists, no shams.
	CHAPTER IY.
	DELHI— MAY 11th.
	It would be very easy to write a full and	Eurasians). Nowhere else in India was the
	giowing account of the seizure of Delhi and	proportion of Mohammedans to be com-
	its terrible consequences, on the plan of	pared with this : aud although the British
	selecting the most probable and interesting	government might view the ancient capital
	portions of the statements yet published,	of the Moguls as the shrine of buried great-
	and discarding the improbable and conflict-	uess, interesting only to the poet, the anti-
	iug ones ; but it is difficult to frame even a	quarian, or the artist, many a poverty-
	brief narrative, grounded on authentic data,	stricken Moslem noble, many a half-starved
	while the trial of the King of Delhi, with all	Rajpoot chieftain or ousted zemindar, re-
	the important evidence taken thereon, re-	membered that a Great Mogul vet lived
	mains, like the Meerut court-martial, a	within the marble palaces of his ancestors.
	sealed book to the general public, and the	surrounded by a numerous offspring. Brah-
	most important points have to be searched	mins and Rajpoots had fought for the
	for bit by bit, through masses of Blue-Book	Moguls, and had filled the highest offices
	verbiage, or received on the testimony of	of the state, from which Hindoos and Mo-
	individuals, more or less discriminating in	hammedans were alike excluded by the un-
	testing the accuracy of the intelligence they	generous policy of their present rulers.
	communicated to their friends in England.	Men suffering under existing grievances,
	It is from private letters only that we de-	rarely think much of those of their prede-
	rive our information of the state of feeling	cessors from opposite causes ; and it is only
	in Delhi immediately before the outbreak,	natural to suppose that there were many mal-
	and of the excitement occasioned by the	contents in India, who beheld the raj of the
	cartridge question among its immense popu-	Feringhee with intense bitterness, and were
	lation, but especially among the three	well content to unite on common ground as
	Native regiments by which it was garrisoned.	natives, for the expulsion of the hated
	The census of 1846 states the population of	foreigners, and then fight out their own
	the city, exclusive of its suburbs, at 137,977 ;	quarrels by themselves. Of course, the
	of these, 71,530 were Hindoos, 66,120	great mass of the people, who earn a scanty
	Mohammedans, and 327 Christians (chiefly	subsistence literally in the sweat of their

DELHI— THE 10th OP MAY, 1857.

157

brow — who depend on daily toil for daily food, and who die by hundreds when any- thing occurs to interrupt their monotonous, resourceless industry — neither make, nor willingly take part in revolutions ; for it is certain that, whichever side prevails, a mul- titude of the lowest classes will be trodden under foot by the combatants. Thus it was in all cases ; but especially at Delhi, where thousands of peaceful citizens, with helpless families, had as good a rightto expect from the British the benefits of a wise and strong ad- ministration, and protection against the mu- tinous spirit abroad amid the Bengal army, as any member of the covenanted service. The Indian population, could they but find hearing, have a right to initiate rather than echo the indignant question of their fellow-subjects in England — why did govern- ment “ make Delhi a strong fortress, sur- round it with new bastions, excavate a deep ditch out of the gi’auite rock, leave within it a hundred thousand muskets, two parks of the heaviest artillery in India, and powder enough to blaze away at any enemy for a year, and then place the whole in the sole charge of three Native regiments?”* and leave it there, while incendiary fires, in different stations, were telling, week by week and month by month, the spread of disaffection. The circulation of the chupat- ties has been compared to the Fiery Cross transmitted by the Scottish Highlanders. The burning bungalows at the musketry depots ought to have afforded a far more significant warning of what was going on, written, as the information was, in charac- ters of fire, which they who ran might read.

Letters dated almost simultaneously with the execution of that fatal sentence on the Meerut troopers (which was, in truth, the death-warrant of every European massacred in the following week), prove that some at least of the Delhi officers were anxiously watching the signs of the times. Th-e three Native regiments — the 38th, 54th, and 74th Native infantry — consisted of about 3,500 men ; there was also a company of Native artillery, comprising about 160 men. The Europeans numbered, in all, only fifty-two ; of whom three commissioned officers and two sergeants belonged to the artillery. f They occupied the hottest cantonments in

* Times (leader), July 24th, 1857.

f The parliamentary return, from which these statements are taken, gives sixty-five as the total number of “ sick of all ranks but whether this heading is intended to include Europeans, or, as is

India ; the low rocky ridge on which modern Delhi is built, reflecting the intense glare of the fierce Indian sun, under which many sank down in fever; while their comrades had additional work to perform by day, with volunteer duty as nurses by night. Still, so far from being blinded by languor or fatigue to the temper of the Native troops, they noted it well ; and their correspondence tells of a degree of excitement unparalleled for many years; of the disbanding of the 19th (the poor 19th, as those who know its history still sorrowfully term it) ; and of the unremoved persuasion of the sepoys, “ that ox fat and hogs’ lard had been imposed upon them in their cartridges.” Where the offi- cers could speak the language well, they reasoned with their men for a time success- fully ; but where, as in the majority of cases, this free communication did not exist, and “ where the best speakers of native lan- guages had been called away by staff ap- pointments or for civil service, leaving only dumb novices, or even dumb elders behind them,” there mutiny most surely flourished. So said these letters, written some forty- eight hours before the outbreak. Want of head and of moral union among the disaf- fected, was, it was added, the only chance of safety left to the Europeans : and so it proved. J

These vague apprehensions had, however, no connection with Meerut. That station was the last in all India to which the idea of danger was attached, and it was the special point d’appui for the Europeans at Delhi. At what hour the telegraphic com- munication was cut off between these posts, does not appear ; but it is probable that the absence of any intimation of the disturb- ances, which commenced at Meerut as early or earlier than five o’clock on Sunday, was occasioned by the same miserable incapacity which marked the whole conduct of the authorities. The communication with Agra was not cut off till nine o’clock; for at that hour, intimation of what was occurring was dispatched to that city, in the form of a private message, by the postmaster’s sister, to prevent her aunt from starting for Meerut, according to a previous engagement. § Un- happily, no private emergency induced the sending of a similar communication to Delhi.

most probable, only the native patients in hospital, does not appear. — Pari. Papers, February 9th, 1858 ; p. 3.

I See Daily News , July 28th, 1857.

§ Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 175.

DELHI— THE 11th OP MAY, 1857.

158

The mutineers, on their part, do not appear to have sent on messengers ; and there is no ground for believing that, at daybreak on Monday, the 11th of May, any individual of the vast population of the Mohammedan capital and its suburbs had received the slightest warning of the impending calamity.

The troops were paraded, in the cool of the early morning, to hear the sentences of the Barrackpoor courts-martial, which were read here as elsewhere, without any withdrawal of, or explanation regarding, the cartridges. After parade, the garrison guards were told-off, and the officers and men separated to perform their ordinary course of duty.

The first alarm appears to have been taken by Mr. Todd, of the telegraph office; who, finding the communication with Mee- rut interrupted, proceeded to the bridge of boats across the Jumna, near one of the seven gates of the city, and there met a party of the 3rd cavalry, and was murdered by them. His fate was not known until late in the day. The European authorities do not state the manner in which they first learned the arrival of the Meerut mutineers in Delhi ; but it would seem that a few of the released troopers rode in at the river gate,

[ as the forerunners of the disorganised bands then on the road. At about eight o’clock the resident, Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, pro- ceeded to the Delhi magazine, for the pur- pose of ordering two guns to be placed on the bridge, to arrest the progress of the mutineers. He found Lieutenant Wil- loughby, and the other European and Native members of the establishment, at their post; and on alighting from his buggy, Sir Theophilus, with Lieutenants Willoughby and Forrest, proceeded to a small bastion on the river face, which commanded a full view of the bridge, and there saw but too dis- tinctly that the time for preoccupation was over; the mutineers had already posted a body of cavalry on the Delhi side, and were marching on in open column.

The resident and the lieutenant immedi- ately proceeded to ascertain whether the river gate had been closed against the muti- neers: this had been done, but to no pur- pose, and Lieutenant Willoughby hurried back to place the guns and howitzers in the best possible positions for the defence of the magazine. The nine Europeans* then re-

* Lieutenants Willoughby, Forrest, and Raynor; Conductors Buckley, Shaw, Scully, and Acting Sub- Conductor Crow ; Sergeants Edwards and Stewart.

mained in quiet expectation of the worst, which, when it came, they met with such wise valour.

Meanwhile, it may be reasonably asked, who was the chief officer? and what orders did he give? The chief officer was Briga- dier Graves ; and it tvould appear that after parade he, like the other officers, went home to breakfast. When he learned the ap- proach of the mutineers does not appear ; but the first authentic mention of his pre- sence, describes him as having proceeded with his staff to a circular brick building of some strength, whence the daily gun was fired, situated on an eminence near the cantonment, and within a short distance of the Moree and Cashmere gates. To this building, called the Flagstaff tower, the European women and civilians flocked for safety on the first alarm, and found Brigadier Graves watching from thence the movements of the rebel force on the north and western faces of the city. “ He had,” one of the partyt writes, “ no one to advise him, apparently ; and I do not think any one present envied him his post.” In truth, it was no easy task to know what to do for the defence of a city seven miles in circumference, when mutiny without met mutiny within. Pro- bably the brigadier was anxiously looking for reinforcements : indeed, one of the offi- cers of the 38th, says — “ What puzzled us was the non-appearance of Europeans from Meerut, in pursuit of the insur- gents.” An expectation of this kind alone explains the absence of any plan for the re- moval of the ladies and children to Kurnaul or Meerut, instead of suffering them to re- main in the tower from morning till evening, although the obstacles against escape were multiplying every hour. The length of time occupied by the Delhi tragedy is not its least painful feature. The massacre was not a general one, but a series of mur- ders, which might have been cut short at any moment by the arrival of a regiment, or even a troop of European cavalry; for the rebels made no attempt to seize the guns till nearly sunset; nor did any con- siderable body of the Delhi troops join the mutineers until after the disorderly flight of the European officers and their families. The total disorganisation was, perhaps, in- evitable ; but the accounts of many of the sufferers evidence the absence of any clear

f Mrs. Peile, the wife of a lieutenant in the 38th ; who had been very ill, and was about leaving Delhi on sick leave. — Times, September 25th, 1857.

MR. FRASER, CAPTAIN DOUGLAS, AND OTHERS KILLED.

understanding between Brigadier Graves and the officers commanding Native corps.

To form a just idea of the events of this miserable day, they must be detailed, as far as possible, in the order of their occurrence. The next victim after Mr. Todd, was the commissioner, Mr. Fraser; and the only circumstantial account of his death yet published, is given by a native eye-witness, whose narrative, corroborated in various essential points by the official documents, serves to relieve what the Journal des Debats terms their “ incom- parable aridity.”

Early in the morning of the 11th, a party of Hindoos, bound for a well-known place of Brahminical pilgrimage, started from Delhi for Mussoorie. Shortly after crossing the bridge of boats they met eighteen troopers, who inquired their business. “ Pilgrims proceeding to Hurd war,” was the reply. The troopers ordered them to turn back on peril of their lives: they obeyed, and wit- nessed the mutineers enter the city by the Delhi gate, after killing a European (pro- bably Mr. Todd) whom they met on the bridge. The cavalry cantered in, uttering protestations of good-will to the native inhabitants, but death to the Europeans. They appear to have found the gate open, and to have ridden through without opposition ; but it was closed after them. The cutwal, or native magistrate, sent word to Mr. Fraser, who immediately ordered the records of his office to be removed from the palace ; and getting into a buggy, with a double- barrelled gun loaded, with two mounted (native) orderlies, proceeded towards the mutineers. They saw and advanced to meet him, calling out to his escort — “Are you for the Feringhee (the foreigner), or for the faith?” “Deen, deen !” (the faith, the faith !) was the reply. Mr. Fraser heard the omi- nous Mohammedan war-cry once more raised in Delhi ; and as the mutineers ap- proached him, he fired twice, shooting one man through the head, and wounding the horse of another; then springing from his buggy, he rushed in at the Lahore gate of the palace, calling out to the subahdar on duty to close it as he passed, which was accordingly done.

A trooper now rode up, told the Meerut story, gained a hearing despite the efforts of Mr. Fraser and Captain Douglas (the l commandant of the palace guards), and won over the subahdar and company of the 38th then on guard at the palace gate. The

159

subahdar, being reproached by the Euro- peans for treachery in holding a parley with the mutineers, turned angrily on his reprovers, and bade them seek safety in flight, at the same time opening the gate for the troopers. Mr. Fraser and Captain Douglas ran towards the interior of the palace, followed by the mutineers, one of whom fired a pistol after the fugitives, which took effect, for the commissioner staggered and leant against a wall; whereupon another trooper went up, and, with a sword, severed his head from his body at a stroke. Cap- tain Douglas was slain at the same time; and the assassins proceeding to the king’s hall of audience, found two other Europeans (one of whom was probably Mr. Nixon, Mr. Fraser’s head-clerk), and killed them there. The Rev. M. J. Jennings and his daughter, who were living with Captain Douglas over the Lahore gate of the palace, are said to have perished at this time, as also their guest, a Miss Clifford. The mutineers attempted to open a negotiation with the king, who was, it must be remembered, with his family, wholly at their mercy, in that very palace where the eyes of his aged ances- tor, Shah Alum, had been stabbed out by a Mohammedan freebooter. What could a pageant king, of above eighty years of age— surrounded by a progeny born and reared in an atmosphere of besotted sensuality, which we had never made one single effort to purify — do in such a case as this but temporise ? So far as the tale has yet been told, the royal family, doubtless more from fear and interest than any affection for the British government, were extremely loth to countenance the insurgents, and cordially joined the Europeans in hoping for succour from Meerut. The king wrote a letter to Mr. Colvin, the lieutenant-governor at Agra, informing him that the town and fort of Delhi, and his own person, were in the bauds of the rebel troops of the place, who, it was added, had opened the gates, and joined about 100 mutineers from Meerut. The fate of Mr. Fraser, of Captain Douglas, and of Miss Jennings, was also mentioned in this letter ; and a telegram founded on it, was sent from Agra to Calcutta on the 14th.* The account thus given was one of the earliest received by the Supreme gov- ernment.

The Delhi cantonment was two miles from the city. At about ten o’clock, tidings reached the lines of what had taken place at

* Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutinies, p. 178.

160

MUTINY OF 54th REGIMENT— OFFICERS SHOT.

the palace, and the 54th regiment were ordered down to the city. One of the junior officers (a youth of nineteen, who wrote his touching tale home to his sister) says — “ Of course, at this time, we had not the slightest doubt as to its loyalty.” Happily for him, his company and one other were left to wait for two guns, with which Major Paterson was to follow as quickly as possible, the rest of the regiment marching on at once. A lady already men- tioned (Mrs. Peile), who was then liviug close to the lines, watched the 54th pass the house ; and she writes, that seeing “ their cheerful appearance, and yet deter- mined look, we congratulated ourselves on having such a brave set of fellows, as we thought, to go forward and fight for us.”*

Colonel Ripley, the commandant of the regiment, led his men into the city without letting them load, intending to charge the mutineers with the bayonet. The 54th met the rebels advancing towards the canton- ment, in numbers nowhere stated on autho- rity, and, in private accounts, very variously from twenty to 150. The original invaders had been probably, by this time, reinforced by straggling parties of their own mutinous comrades, as also by the rabble of Delhi, and by the lawless Goojurs of the neigh- bouring villages — a predatory and semi- barbarous tribe, whose marauding propen- sities were, even in peace, very imperfectly kept in check by our defective system of police ; and who, in disturbed times, were the indiscriminating enemy of every one who had anything to lose, whether European, Hindoo, or Mohammedan. The insurgents came on, and met Colonel Ripley’s force at the English church, f near the Cashmere gate. They advanced without hesitation, calling out to the 54th, that their quarrel was not with them, but with their officers. The 54th first delayed firing on the plea of not being loaded; and, when they had loaded, their shots whistled harmlessly over the heads of the troopers. These galloping up, took deliberate aim in the faces of the Europeans, all of whom were unarmed ex- cept Colonel Ripley, who shot two of his assailants before he fell — hit by their pistols,

* Letter. — Times, September 25th, 1857.

f The English church was erected at the cost of £10,000, by Lieutenant-colonel Skinner. This officer, one of the ablest commanders of irregular troops who ever served the E. I. Company, was a half- caste, and received an honorary lieutenant-coloni )- ship from Lord Hastings in 1814, the motive being partly the governor-general’s characteristic sense of

and bayoneted by a sepoy of his own corps. The countenances of the troopers are described as wearing the expression of maniacs ; one was a mere youth, rushing about and flourishing his sword, and dis- playing all the fury of a man under the influence of bhang.J Captains Smith and Burrowes, Lieutenants Edwards and Water- field, were killed, and Lieutenant Butler wounded. The Quartermaster -sergeant also fell. Dr. Stewart, the garrison sur- geon, had a very narrow escape : “he tripped on a stone, which saved him from a shot; dodged behind a wall, and reached canton- ments.”§

It was long before the guns to support the 54th were ready ; for the Native artillerymen, though neither disrespectful nor disobedient, were manifestly unwilling to take part against their countrymen. At length Major Paterson, with the re- maining two companies and two pieces of artillery, passed through the Cashmere gate into the city. The mutineers fled at once, in wild disorder, through the streets. Major Paterson then returned through the Cashmere gate, and took up his position at a small fortified bastion, called the Main- guard, where he remained all day in momentary expectation of being attacked. The slaughtered Europeans were lying at a little distance, and the sepoys who had re- mained faithful brought in the bodies. “ It was a most heartrending sight,” says the young officer before quoted, “ to see all our poor chaps, whom we had seen and been with that very morning, talking and laugh- ing together at our coffee-shop, lying dead, side by side, and some of them dreadfully mutilated.” Colonel Ripley had been pre- viously carried back to the cantonments, and was found by two ladies (the wife of Major Paterson and Mrs. Peile), lying on a rude bed at the bells of arms. He pointed to a frightful wound on his left shoulder, and said that the men of his own regiment had bayoneted him. The colonel implored the native doctor to give him a dose of opium to deaden his sufferings, which, after some per- suasion, was done; and the ladies, anxious for the safety of their children, returned to

justice, ami partly, as the marquis himself says, the fear of losing a most valuable public servant, by subjecting him to be placed under the orders of inexperienced European juniors. — Marquis of Has- tings’ Private Journal, vol. i., p. 285.

j Letter from an eye-witness. — Delhi Gazette , published at Agra (after the seizure of Delhi).

§ Private letter from an officer of the 38th.

SUCCOUR FROM MEERUT EXPECTED AT DELHI. 161

their homes. On their way, they met men and women-servants, wandering about in the greatest confusion and distress. The servants begged them not to remain in the lines, as it was understood that the bunga- lows would be burned at night. The two ladies, therefore, packed up such property as they could in boxes, directed the natives to hide it, and left the lines about two o’clock, under the care of Lieutenant Peile, who first sought out Colonel Ripley, placed him in a dhooly, and rode by his side to the Flagstaff tower, which the whole party reached without encountering any moles- tation.

The assembled Europeans were grievously disappointed by the non-arrival of succour from Meerut ;* and Surgeon Batson, of the 7th Native infantry, offered to attempt the conveyance thither of a request for assis- tance. Brigadier Graves accordingly wrote a despatch to this effect; aud Mr, Bat- son, leaving his wife and three daughters in tbe tower, proceeded to his own house, where he dyed his face, hands, and feet; and, assuming the garb of a fakir, went through the city, intending to cross the bridge of boats; but, finding the bridge broken, he returned towards the canton- ment, and tried to pass the Jumna at a ferry near the powder-magazine. The sowars, or troopers of the 3rd cavalry, had, however, preceded him, attended by crowds of Goojurs, who were plundering and firing the houses. Mr. Batson despaired of being able to reach Meerut, and rushed across the parade-ground. Either the act be- trayed him, or his disguise was seen through, for the sepoys fired at him ; but he suc- ceeded in getting as far as the garden near the canal, where he was seized by some villagers, and “deprived of every particle of clothing.” In this forlorn condition he proceeded on the road to Kurnaul, in hopes of overtaking some officers and ladies who had fled in that direction. Thus the only effort to communicate with Meerut was frustrated ; for no other appears to have been attempted, even by the more promising means of native agency.

Had it been successful, it is not probable that the Meerut authorities would have made any effort, or encountered any risk, to remedy the evils their torpor had occa-

* “It was so inexplicable to us Avhy troops from Meerut did not arrive.” — Lieutenant Gambier’s Let- ter.— Times, August 6th, 1857.

f The Chaplain’s Narrative of Sierjeof Delhi, p. 6.

VOL. II. Y

sioned. A message that a few scattered hand- fuls of men, women, and children were in momentary danger of being murdered some thirty-five miles off, would not have star- tled them into compassion ; for the calamity had been foreseen on the Sunday night. The Rev. Mr. Rotton describes himself and his wife as watching their children “reposing in profound security beneath the paternal roof” (a bungalow in the European lines); gazing upon the shining moon, “and an- ticipating what would befall our Christian brethren in Delhi on the coming morn, who, less happy than ourselves, had no faithful and friendly European battalions to shield them from the bloodthirsty rage of the sepoys.”f

Up till a late hour on Monday, the mass of the Delhi sepoys remaiued ostensibly true to their salt. On the departure @f the 54th from the cantonment, the 74th moved on to the artillery parade, where Captain de Teissier was posted with a portion of his battery : the 38th Avere marched towards the Flagstaff tower, and formed in line along the high road. When Major Paterson took up his position at the Mainguard, he directed Captain Wallace to proceed to cantonments to bring down the 74th Native infantry, Avith two more guns.

Major Abbott, the commanding officer of the 74th, had previously heard that the men of the 54th had refused to act, and that their officers were being murdered. The intelligence reached him about eleven o’clock. He says — “ I instantly rode off to the lines of my regiment, and got as many as there Avere in the lines together. I fully explained to them that it Avas a time to show themselves honest; and that as I in- tended to go down to the Cashmere gate of the city, I required good, honest men to follow me, and called for volunteers. Every man present stepped to the front, and being ordered to load, they obeyed promptly, aud marched doAvu in a spirited manner. On arriving at the Cashmere gate, we took possession of the post, drawn up in readi- ness to receive any attack that might be made. Up to 3 p.m. no enemy appeared, nor could we, during that period, get any information of the insurgents.” J

The Meerut mutineers actually in Delhi at this time, were evidently but few : it is

f Despatch from Major Abbott to government; dated “ Meerut, May 13th, 1857.” — Further Par- liamentary Papers on the Mutiny, No. 3 (Commons,) 1858 ; p. 10.

162 DELHI ARSENAL FIRED BY LIEUT. WILLOUGHBY— 3 p.m.

impossible to tell in what numbers, or to what extent, the 38th and 54th had as yet co-operated with them ; but the dregs of the population of the city, suburbs, and villages, were thronging the streets, and especially around the magazine, the surrender of which was demanded by a party of the treacherous palace guards (the 38th), in the name of the king. No reply was given, whereupon the mutineers brought scaling- ladders from the palace, and placed them against the walls. The conduct of the native establishment had before this been suspicious ; and a durwan, or doorkeeper, named Kurreem Buksh, appeared to be keeping up a communication with the enemy, greatly to the annoyance of Lieu- tenant Willoughby, who ordered Lieutenant Forrest to shoot him should he again ap- proach the gate. The escalade from with- out was the signal for a similar movement from within ; for the natives, having first hidden the priming-pouches, deserted the Europeans by climbing up the sloped sheds on the inside of the magazine, and descend- ing the ladders on the outside. The insur- gents then gathered in crowds on the walls; but the besieged kept up an incessant fire of grape, which told well as long as a single round remained. At length, Conductor Buckley — who had been loading and firing with the same steadiness as if on parade, although the enemy were then some hun- dreds in number, and kept up a continual fire of musketry on the Europeans within forty or fifty yards — received a ball in his arm ; and Lieutenant Forrest, who had been assisting him, was at the same time struck by two balls in the left hand. Fur- ther defence was hopeless. The idea of betraying their trust by capitulation never seems to have been entertained by the gal- lant little band. Conductor Scully had volunteered to fire the trains which had been laid hours before, in readiness to blow up the magazine as soon as the last round from the howitzers should be expended. The moment had arrived. Lieutenant Willoughby gave the order; Conductor Buckley, according to previous arrange- ment, raised his hat from his head, and Conductor Scully instantly fired the trains, and perished in the explosion, as did also Sergeant Edwrards. The other Europeans, though all hurt, escaped from beneath the smoking ruins, and retreated through the sally-port on the river face. It is probable that many of the leading mutineers perished

here. “ Lieutenant Willoughby estimated the number killed to be little short of 1,00C men.”* The Hurdwar pilgrims before re- ferred to, fix the same amount ; but a native news-writer, in relating the same event, speaks of about 500 persons being killed in the different streets; adding — “The bullets fell in the houses of people to such a degree, that some children picked up two pounds, and some four pounds, from the yards of their houses.”t

The Europeans at the tower, and those on duty at the Mainguard, had listened to the heavy firing at the magazine with great anxiety. A little after three o’clock the explosion was heard; but it was not very loud, and they did not know whether it was the result of accident or desigu. The 38th Native infantry, on guard at the tower, seized their arms, crying out, “ Deen, Deen !” The Europeans seeing this ominous movement, desired the sepoys to surrender their weapons, which they actually did, and the ladies assisted in passing the arms to the top of the tower. At four o’clock, the telegraphic communication to the north- ward being still uninterrupted, the brigadier dispatched the following message to Um- ballah, the second of three sent here from Delhi in the course of the day : —

“ Telegram. — Cantonment in a state of siege. Mutineers from Meerut, 3rd light cavalry, numbers not known, said to be 150 men, cut off communica- tion with Meerut ; taken possession of the bridge of boats ; 54th N. I. sent against them, but would not act. Several officers killed and wounded. City in a state of considerable excitement. Troops sent down, but nothing certain yet. Information will be for- warded.”!

The brigadier, so far from having yet re- solved on evacuating Delhi, desired to de- fend the cantonments, and ordered Major Abbott to send back two guns. The major’s reasons for not doing so, and the narrative of his subsequent conduct and escape to Meerut, may be best told in his own words. Interesting particulars, on official authority, regarding this memorable epoch, are extremely rare, and claim quotation in extenso, especially where, as in the present instance, the writer has occupied a respon- i sible position in the affairs he describes.

“ This order [for the return of the guns]

I was on the point of carrying out, when

* Major Abbott’s despatch. — Further Pari. Papers (No. 3), p. 10.

f Lahore Chronicle : republished in Times, Sep- tember 18th, 1858.

! Further Papers, No. 3 (Commons), p. 5. The first telegram from Delhi is not given.

FLIGHT OF EUROPEANS FROM DELHI— MAY 11th, 1857. 163

Major Paterson told me, if I did he would abandon the post, and entreated me not to go. He was supported by the civil officer, a deputy-collector, who had charge of the treasury, who said he had no confidence in the 54th men who were on guard at the treasury. Although I strongly objected to this act of, as it were, disobeying orders, yet as the deputy-collector begged for a delay of only a quarter of an hour, I acceded to I his request. When the quarter of an hour was up, I made preparations for leaving the Mainguard, and was about to march out, when the two guns I had sent back to can- tonments, under Second-lieutenant Aislabie, returned to the Mainguard with some men of the 38th light infantry. I inquired why they had come back, and was told, in reply, by the drivers, that the gunners had de- serted the guns, therefore they could not go on. I inquired if any firing had taken place in cantonments. My orderly replied, he had heard several shots ; and said, ‘ Sir, let us go up to cantonments immediately !’ I then ordered the men to form sections. A jemadar said, ‘Never mind sections, pray go on, sir.’ My orderly havildar then called up, and said, ‘ Pray, sir, for God’s sake leave this place — pray be quick !’ I thought this referred to going up to the relief of cantonments, and accordingly gave the order to march. I had scarcely got a hundred paces beyond the gate, when I heard a brisk firing in the Mainguard. I said, ‘What is that?’ Some of the men replied, ‘ The 38th men are shooting the European officers.’ I then ordered the men with me, about a hundred, to return to their assistance. The men said, ‘ Sir, it is useless ; they are all killed by this time,

I and we shall not save any one. We have saved you, and we shall not allow you to go back and be murdered.’ The men formed round me, and hurried me along the road on foot back to cantonments to our quarter- guard. I waited here for some time, and sent up to the saluting [Flagstaff] tower to make inquiries as to what was going on, and where the brigadier was ; but got no reply.”

To supply the hiatus in Major Abbott’s story, as to what was going on at the tower, we must fall back on the statements of private persons.

At about five o’clock, a cart, drawn by bullocks, was seen approaching the building. An attempt had been made to hide its con- tents by throwing one or two woman’s

gowns over them ; but an arm hanging stiff and cold over the side of the cart, betrayed its use as the hearse of the officers who had been shot in the city. Happily, the ladies in the tower had little time, amid the momentarily increasing confusion, to dwell on this painful incident. One poor girl was anxiously enquiring of the officers who were now flocking in from various parts, if they knew anything of her step-brother, Captain Burrowes; but they shrank from her, knowing that all the while his corpse lay but a few hundred yards distant, at the gate under the window of the tower, covered over, like the bodies of his fallen comrades, j with some article of feminine apparel. The men of Captain de Teissier’s horse field bat- tery were at length “ persuaded to take part with the mutineers, but only when pressed round by them in overwhelming numbers, and unable to extricate themselves from their power.”* The commandant had his horse shot under him ; but he reached the tower in safety, and there found his wife, with her infant in her arms, watching in agony for him. The insurgents then took possession of two of the light guns. Major Paterson, and Ensign Elton of the 74tli, came in about the same time from the quarter-guard, and said that the Europeans were being shot down. On receiving this intelligence, the brigadierf ordered a general retreat to Kur- naul, a distance of about seventy miles. Several ladies protested against quitting Delhi until they should be rejoined by their husbands, whom some of them had not seen since the morning. Alas ! there was already at least one widow among their number.! But the night was closing in, and Captain Tytler, of the 38th, urged im- mediate departure, and went with Lieu- tenant Peile to get the men of that regi- ment together to accompany the Europeans. Carriages of all descriptions were in waiting at the foot of the tower ; but, in some cases, the native servants had proved fear- ful or unfaithful; and the vehicles were insufficient for the fugitives, so that wounded men found themselves burdened with the j charge of women and children, with- out any means of conveyance. Lieu- tenant Peile, having Dr. Wood of the 38th (who had been shot in the face), Mrs. Wood,

* Despatch from Lieutenant-governor Colvin, to the governor-general in council, May 22nd, 1857. — Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, p. 312.

f Account by Lieut. Gambier, of the 38th N. I.

j Account by Mrs. Peile. — Times , Sept. 25th, 1857.

1

i

EVACUATION OF FLAGSTAFF TOWER— 6 p.m.

164

and liis own wife and child to take care of, and “ not knowing how he was to get on,” sought counsel of the brigade-major, Cap- tain Nicoll : the answer he received was, “ The best way you can.”*

Another ladyt describes the general de- parture from the tower as taking place at about six o’clock ; and states — “ We got into Captain Nicoll’s carriage [apparently meaning herself, her husband and child], and put in as many others as we could, and drove one pair of horses for fifty miles.” A large number of Europeans, including Brigadier Graves, started at the same time, and some branched off to Meerut; while the others pursued the Kurnaul road, and arrived safely at Kurnaul on the follow- ing morning. Here a fresh separation took place, half the party, or about ten persons, going on to Umballah at once, the remain- ing ten following more slowly. The natives were “ so unwilling” to assist them, “ that,” says the lady above quoted, “ it was with the greatest difficulty we managed to get on at

all ; L [her husband] being obliged to

1 threaten to shoot any one who refused to give us assistance.” However, they did get on, and started from Thunessir, a dawk station on the Umballah road, at six o’clock p.M. on Wednesday, “in a cart draivn by coolies ,” reaching Umballah about eight o’clock on Thursday morning. J

It would be unreasonable to criticise the measures of a man who saw the lives of his wife and infant in imminent peril. Only had the villagers been either cruel or vin- dictive, a few bullets or lattees would have quickly changed the aspect of affairs. The disinclination of the villagers to aid the Europeans, may possibly have some connec- tion with the manner in which the English had recently assumed supremacy over the district of which Thunessir, or Thwanessur, is the chief town. That territory contains about a hundred villages, producing an an- nual revenue of £7,600 sterling A moiety is said to have “ escheated to the British government, by reason of the failure of heirs in 1833 and in 1851,” and the remain- ing portions were soon afterwards confis- cated, “ in consequence of the failure of the chiefs in their allegiance.”^

Very few of the fugitives had the chance

* Account by Mrs. Peile. — Times, September 25th, 1857.

t Probably the wife of one of the law officers, Mr. L. Berkeley, the principal Sudder Ameen, who escaped to Kurnaul with his wife and infant. The

of carrying matters with such a high hand as “ L.” and his companions. So far from harnessing the natives to carts, Englishmen and Englishwomen, cold, naked, and hungry, were then in different villages, beseeching, even on their knees, for food, clothing, and shelter; literally begging — for they were penniless — a morsel of unleavened bread and a drop of water for their children, or a refuge from the night-dews, and the far more dreaded mutineers. The varied ad- ventures of the scattered Europeans are deeply interesting and suggestive. Many an individual gained more experience of native character between Delhi and their haven of refuge in Umballah or Meerut, in that third week of May, 1857, than they would have obtained in a lifetime spent in the ordinary routine of Indian life, than which it is scarcely possible to conceive any- thing more superficial and conventional, or better calculated to foster arrogance and self-indulgence.

The next in order of flight to the brigade- major’s party was Major Abbott, to whose narrative we return, as affording another link in the chain of events. After vainly attempting to get any orders from Brigadier Graves, his attention was directed to some carriages going up the Kurnaul road, among which he recognised his own, occupied by his wife and daughters. The men of his regiment, at the quarter-guard, assured him that the officers and their families were leaving the cantonment, and entreated him to do the same. The major states — “ I yielded to their wishes, and told them, ‘Very well, I am off to Meerut. Bring the colours, and let me see as many of you at Meerut as are not inclined to become traitors.’ I then got up behind Captain Hawkey, on his horse, and rode to the guns, which tvere also proceeding in the direction the carriages had taken, and so rode on one of the waggons for about four miles, when the drivers refused to go any further, because, they said, ‘ we have left our families behind, and there are no artillery- men to serve the guns.’ They then turned their horses, and went back towards canton- ments. I was picked up by Captain Wallace, wffio also took Ensign Elton with him in the buggy.

identification is of some interest, on account of an incident mentioned in the text.

J Letter published in the Times, July 17th, 1857.

§ Thornton’s Gazetteer, on the authority of Indian Pol. Disp., 29th July, 1835; and 10th Sept., 1851.

ESCAPE OF MAJOR ABBOTT FROM DELHI TO MEERUT. 165

“ Ensign Elton informed me, that lie and the rest of the officers of the 74th Na- tive infantry were on the point of going to march out with a detachment, when ; he heard a shot, and, on looking round, saw Captain Gordon down dead ; a second shot, almost simultaneously, laid Lieutenant Revely low; he (Elton) then resolved to do something to save himself; and, making for the bastion of the fort, jumped over the parapet down into the ditch, ran up to the counterscarp, and made across the country to our lines, where he was received bv our men, and there took the direction the rest had, mounted on a gun.” The party with Major Abbott went up the Kurnaul road, until they came to the cross- road leading to Meerut, via the Bhagput Ghaut, which they took, and arrived at Meerut about eight o’clock in the evening of the 12th.*

Regarding the origin of the outbreak, Major Abbott says —

“From all I could glean, there is not the slightest doubt that this insurrection has been originated and matured in the palace of the King of Delhi, and that with his full knowledge and sanction, in the mad attempt to establish himself in the sovereignty of this country. It is well known that he has called on the neighbouring states to co-operate with him in thus trying to subvert the existing government. The method he adopted appears to be to gain the sympathy of the 38th light infantry, by spreading the lying reports now going through the country, of the government having it in contemplation to upset their religion, and have them all forcibly inducted to Christianity.

“ The 38th light infantry, by insidious and false arguments, quietly gained over the 54th and 74t.h Native infantry, each being unacquainted with the other’s real sentiments. I am perfectly persuaded that the 54th and 74th Native infantry were forced to join the combination by threats that, on the one hand, the 38th and 54th would annihilate the 74th Native infantry if they refused, and vice versa, the 38th taking the lead. I am almost convinced that had the 38th Native infantry men not been on guard at the Cashmere gate, the results would have been different. The men of the 74th Native infantry would have shot every man who had the temerity to assail the post.

“ The post-office, electric telegraph, Delhi bank, the Delhi Gazette press, every house in cantonments and the lines, have been destroyed. Those who es- caped the massacre fled with only what they had on their backs, unprovided with any provisions for the road, or money to purchase food. Every officer has lost all he possessed, and not one of us has even a change of clothes.”

* Despatch dated May 13th, 1857. — Further Pari. Papers on the Mutiny (No. 3), p. 10.

f In the letter from which the above facts are taken, the writer says, “ young Metcalfe had fled in the morning.” This is a mistake, for he was still in Delhi, as will be shown in a subsequent page.

Major Abbott’s opinion of the conduct of the King of Delhi, does not appear justified by any evidence yet published ; and his censure of the 38th hardly accords with the fact, that not oue of the officers of that corps were killed.

Lieutenant Gambier, writing from Mee- rut on the 29th of May, says —

“ Meer Mundoor Ali, and Sahye Sing [Native offi- cers from Delhi], who came over for court-martial on the mutineers, declare that nothing of this out- break was known before it occurred, and that if we two [himself and Colonel Knyvett] went to Delhi, the men would flock to us. I also believe our lives would be safe among the 38th, but the rascals would not stand by us; and I make no doubt that the garrison duty men, influenced by the example of the 54th, would have committed any excess.”

The fugitives who escaped in carriages or carts, whether dragged by natives or quad- rupeds, had probably little conception of the sufferings endured by the footsore and weary wanderers who had no such help on their perilous journey. When the sepoys at the Mainguard turned against their officers, the latter strove to escape as Ensign Elton describes himself to have done, but were interrupted by the screams of some ladies in the officers’ quarters. The Europeans ran back, and making a rope with their handkerchiefs, assisted their ter- rified countrywomen to jump from the ram- part into the ditch, and then with great difficulty, and nearly half-an-hour’s labour, succeeded in enabling them to scramble up the opposite side. During the whole time not a shot was fired at them by the sepoys, and the party succeeded in making their way to a house on the banks of the river, belonging to Sir T. Metcalfe, where they ob- tained some food from the servants, who had not seen their master since the morn- ing.]- Here they stayed until they be- held the whole of the three cantonments on fire, and saw “ a regular battle raging in that direction ;”J they then, under cover of nightfall, ran to the river, and made their escape. The party then consisted of five officers and of five ladies — namely, Lieute- nant Forrest, his wife, and three daughters; Lieutenant Procter, of the 38th ; Lieutenant Vibart, of the 54th ; Lieutenant Wilson, of the artillery; a Lieutenant Salkeld, of the engineers ; and Mrs. Fraser, the wife of an

t This fact shows how far the sepoys were from acting on any plan, much less having any recog- nised leader ; in which case, burning the canton- ments and fighting among themselves, after getting rid of their European masters, would have been quite out of the question.

166 ESCAPE OF COLONEL KNYVETT AND LIEUT. GAMBIER.

officer of the engineers, then absent on duty.* This poor lady, though shot through the shoulder at the time the Europeans were fired on in the Mainguard, bore up cheerfully, in the hope of finding her hus- band at Meerut. At an early period of their journey the party fell in with Major Knyvett and Lieutenant Gambier, to the latter of whom a peculiar interest attaches, because, after escaping from Delhi, he re- turned thither with the besieging force, and received his death wound at the hands of the mutineers. By his account, corroborated by other testimony, it seems that at the time of the evacuation of the Flagstaff tower, it was generally supposed that a considerable body, if not the greater portion, of the Native troops would accompany the fugitives to Meerut. They actually started for the pur- pose ; but Lieutenant Gambier, who was in the rear, says the sepoys were soon seen streaming off by hundreds, till at length he and Colonel Knyvett found themselves alone with the colours of the 38th and about 150 men, who refused to proceed further, and, laying hold of the non-commis- sioned officers with the colours, went to their lines. The two Europeans followed them, sounded the “assembly,” and implored them to fall in, but without effect ; aud the colonel, too grieved by the defection of his regiment to be heedful of personal danger, went in amongst them, and said, “If you wish to shoot me, here I am ; you had better do it.” The men vehemently denied any such intention, and then the two officers dismounted, not knowing what they ought to do. Lieutenant Gambier, who tells their adventures with the simplicity which cha- racterises the highest class of bravery, adds — “ I do not know whether we fully recog- nised the extent of the evil, but we then did not think of getting away. I had my bed sent down to the quarter-guard ; and my kit [kitmutgar] went for some dinner.” Wearied with fatigue and excitement he fell asleep, and it was night before he awoke. On looking round, he saw Lieute- nants Peile and Addington (74th), and Mr. McWhirter, collector of Paniput (who was in ill-health, and had come on a visit to Delhi), with Mr. Marshall, an auctioneer and merchant, standing near him. The sepoys urgently pressed the officers to escape, offering shelter and concealment in their huts. Firing was now commencing iu

* Letter of officer of 54th (probably Lieutenant Vibarl).— Times, July 23rd, 1857.

the lines, and Peile and Gambier, each taking a colour, reached the door of the quarter-guard ; but the sepoys thronged round and jerked the colours from the hands of the officers. Lieutenant Gam- bier, meeting Colonel Knyvett in the doorway, said, “ We must be off.” The colonel objected ; but the lieutenant took him by the wrist, pulled him outside, and forced him away from the doomed regiment ; on which the colonel looked back with some- thing of the bitter yearning with which a sea-captain quits the sinking ship which has been for years his home, his pride, and his delight, the parting pang overpowering the sense of danger, even though a frail boat or a bare plank may offer the sole chance of escape from imminent personal peril. Neither the colonel nor his young com- panion had any ladies to protect, other- wise the feelings of husbands aud fathers might naturally have neutralised the in- tense mortification and reluctance with which they turned their backs on Delhi. But though Mrs. Knyvett was safe at a dis- tance, and the lieutenant was unmarried, yet the latter had his colonel to support and save. “We hurried on,” he writes, “ tripping and stumbling, till we reached a tree, under which we fell down exhausted. I feared I should get the colonel no further; he had touched nothing all day, and the sun had more or less affected him ; but to remain was death ; and after a few minutes5 rest, we again started forward. So we passed all that dreadful night. The moon rose, and the blaze of cantonments on fire made it light as day, bringing out the coloneks scales and my scabbard and white clothing iu most disadvantageous relief : as we lay, the colonel used to spread his blue pocket-handkerchief over my jacket, in order to conceal it as much as possible.55 The elder officer was unarmed and bareheaded ; he was, besides, subject to the gout, an attack of which the distress of mind aud bodily fatigue he was undergoing were well calculated to bring on. In the morning, some Brahmins coming to their work discovered the fugi- tives hiding in the long jungle grass, aud after giving them some chupatties and milk, led them to a ford over a branch of the Jumna. They met on the road Mr. Marshall, with whom they had parted iu the quarter-guard : he had wandered ou alone ; Mr. McWhirter having been, he believed, drowned in attempting to cross 1 the canal cut at the back of the canton-

ESCAPE OF THE DELHI FUGITIVES.

167

ments.* Soon afterwards the trio learned from a villager that there were other Euro- peans about a mile further on in the jungle. On proceeding thither, they came up with and joined Lieutenant Eorrest’s party, which raised their number to thirteen. The fording of the Jumna on the second night of their toilsome march, was the greatest obstacle they had to encounter. "The water was so deep, that whereas a tall man might just wade it, a short man must be drowned.” The ladies, however, got over, supported by a native on one side, and a European on the other. Some of them lost their shoes in the river, and had to proceed barefoot over " a country composed exclu- sively of stubble-fields, thistles, and a low thorny bush.” The treatment they met with was very varied : at one village they were given food, and suffered to rest awhile; then they were wilfully misled by their guides, because they had no means of paying them; and had nearly recrossed the Jumna in mistake for the Hindun, but were pre- vented by the presence of mind of Lieu- tenant Salkeld, in ascertaining the course of the stream by throwing some weeds into it. It was intensely cold on the river bank, and the wind seemed to pierce through the wet clothes of the fugitives into their very bones. They laid down side by side for a short time, silent, except for the noise of their chattering teeth ; and then, after an hour or two’s pause (for rest it could hardly be called), they resumed their weary journey. Next they encountered a party of Goojurs, who plun- dered and well-nigh stripped them ; after which they fell in with some humane Brahmins, who brought them to a village called Bhekia or Khekra,f gave them char- poys to rest on, and chupatties and dholl (len- til pottage) to eat. Crowds gathered round the wanderers, " gaping in wonderment, and cracking coarse jokes” at their condition and chance of life. But the villagers, though rough and boorish in manner, were kind in act, until “a horrid hag” suddenly made her way to the Europeans, and flinging up her skinny arms, invoked the most fearful curses on them, tilted up their charpoys one by one,

* Second Supplement to the London Gazette , May 6th, 1858 ; p. 2241.’

f In the copies of this letter printed for private circulation, from one of which the above statements are taken, the name of the village is given as Khekra ; in the abstract .published in the Times, August 6th, 1857, it is Bhekia.

t The faithful remnant of the 3rd did not, how-

and drove them away. A fakir proved more compassionate, and hid them in his dwell- ing; and here their number, though not their strength, was increased by two sergeants’ wives and their babes. One of the latter was a cause of serious inconvenience and even danger; for at a time when the general safety depended on concealment, the poor child was incessantly on the point of compromis- ing them, for it “ roared all day, and howled all night.” On the Thursday after leaving Delhi, a native volunteered to carry a letter to Meerut, and one (written in French) was accordingly entrusted to him. All Satur- day they spent " grilling under some apolo- gies for trees ;” but towards evening a mes- sage arrived from a village named " Hur- chundpoor,” that one Francis Cohen, a European zemindar, would gladly receive and shelter them. With some difficulty they procured a hackery for the ladies, who were by this time completely crippled, and, escorted by about a dozen villagers, reached Hurchundpoor in safety, where they re- ceived the welcome greeting of " How d’ye do? — go inside — sit down.” The speaker, Francis Cohen, though very like a native in appearance and habits, was a German, about eighty-five years of age, who had formerly served under the Begum Sumroo. He placed the upper story of his dwelling at the disposal of the fugitives, sent skirts and petticoats for the ladies, with pieces of stuff to cut into more, and provided the officers with various kinds of native attire; and once again they " ate off plates and sat on chairs.” On Sunday, at sunset, while they were en- joying rest, after such a week’s work as none of them had ever dreamed of enduring, the news came that a party of sowars (Native cavalry) were at the gate, sent by the King of Delhi to conduct the Europeans as prisoners to "the presence.” The officers sprang up, and were hastily resuming the portions of their uniform which they still possessed, when two Europeans rode into the courtyard, announcing themselves as the leaders of thirty troopers from Meerut, come in answer to the letter sent thither by a native mes- senger.

Of course, troopers of the 3rd cavalry^

ever, include Captain Craigie’s entire troop. On his return to the parade-ground with his men, he found, as has been stated, Brevet-major Richardson with part of his troop, and Captain and Lieutenant Fairlie (brothers), with the remains of the 5th and 6th. Some hurried conversation ensued between the officers, which was interrupted by their being fired at. The mob of mutineers from the infantry

1G8 KINDNESS OF EANEE OF BALGHUR.

were the last persons looked to for deliver- ance : nevertheless, Lieutenant Gambier adds — “These fine fellows had ridden all day, first to Bhekia, and afterwards to Hur- chundpoor, near forty miles, to our assis- tance.” Under this escort, Colonel Knyvett and his companions succeeded in reaching Meerut at about 10 p.m. — the eighth night after leaving Delhi. The first question of Mrs. Fraser was for her husband. An officer, not knowing her, immediately com- municated the fact of his death, the manner of which will be hereafter shown. The rest of the party were more fortunate, many friends coming in by degrees, who had been given up for lost.

All the officers of the 38th escaped; Lieutenaut Peile and his wife encountered extreme peril, aggravated for a time by separation from each other, as well as from their child. The carriages had nearly all driven off from the Flagstaff tower, when a gentleman, seeing that Mrs. Peile had no conveyance, offered her a seat in his. She accepted his offer for her little boy, who reached Meerut some days before his parents, and while they were supposed to have perished. Then Mrs. Peile joined Dr. Wood and his wife. The doctor had been shot in the face, as is supposed by the men of his own regiment (the 38th), and his lower jaw was broken. The ladies with him were the last to leave Delhi ; and they had scarcely started, when some natives came to them, and advised their turning hack, declaring that the officers and others who had preceded them on the Kurnaul road had all been murdered. They re- turned accordingly to Delhi, and took re- fuge in the Company’s gardens, where they found a gunner, who went to the hospital, at their request, to fetch a native doctor. Other natives brought a charpoy for the

lines were seen advancing, and the officers agreed to start with the standards for the European lines. Captain Craigie states, that owing to the deafening uproar, the intense excitement, and the bewildering confusion which prevailed, the advance sounded on the trumpet was scarcely audible, and the greater part of the still faithful troopers did not hear it, and were consequently left behind. A few men who were nearest the officers went with them to the European lines; and these, with some married troopers who had gone to place their wives in safety, with between twenty and thirty men of different troops who rallied round Captain Craigie, and assisted in defending his house and escorting him to the European lines, formed the remnant of the 3rd cavalry, which, with few exceptions, re- mained staunch during the mutiny, doing good ser-

wounded European to lie on ; and in about an hour a coolie arrived with some lint and bandages from the hospital, accom- panied by a message from the native doc- tors, that they would gladly have come, but that they were then starting in dhoolies by command of the King of Delhi, to attend on his wounded troops. A band of ma- rauders discovered the trembling women and their helpless companion; carried off their horses, and broke up their carnages. Not daring to remain where they were, they started at midnight in search of a village near the artillery lines, where they were fed and concealed by the head man of the village — an aged Hindoo, who turned the cattle out of a cow-shed to make room for the distressed wayfarers. The next morn- ing, the three started again on their travels ; and after receiving great kindness at several villages, and narrowly escaping death at the hands of marauders, they at length reached a village inhabited by “the ranee of Balghur,” probably a Rajpootui chief- tainess, who received them in her house, bade her servants cook rice and milk for their dinner, and gave them leave to remain as long as they pleased. In the morning, however, she told them she could not pro- tect them a second night, for her people would rise against her. This was on the 18th, and the fugitives were as yet only twenty-two miles from Delhi. Providen- tially, on that very day Major Paterson and Mr. Peile arrived separately at Balghur, from whence they all started together that evening. They met with some remarkable instances of kindness on the road. In one case, “ the working men, seeing what diffi- culty we had in getting the doctor along, volunteered to carry him from village to village, where they could be relieved of their burden. This was a most kind offer,

vice on all occasions. They, and they only, of the Meerut sepoys were permitted to retain their arms ; even the 150 faithful men of the 11th N. I. being disbanded, but taken into service by the magis- trates. Major Smythe reported the state of the regiment, 31st of May, 1857, as follows: —

Remaining in camp . . 78

On furlough .... 83

On command .... 9

Dismissed the service . . 85

Invalided .... 7

Deserted .... 235

Total . . 497

The infant child of Captain and Mrs. Fraser was separated from its parents, and perished from ex- posure on the Kurnaul road. — London Gazette.

FLIGHT FROM DELHI— MAY, 1857.

169

and was most gladly accepted by us.” At length, Mrs. Peile, who had been robbed of her bonnet and shawl at the onset of their flight, began to feel her head affected ; but a wet cloth bound round her temples relieved her, and enabled her to prosecute the remainder of the journey, which termi- nated in a very different manner to its commencement ; for our staunch ally, the rajah of Putteeala, on learning the vicinity of Europeans in distress, sent forty horse- men, well-mounted and gaily dressed, to escort them into Kurnaul, where they arrived on the 20th. Mrs. Paterson and her two children had previously reached | Simla in safety.

Surgeon Batson likewise, after wandering twenty-five days among the topes (groves of trees) and villages, eventually succeeded in joining the force before Delhi. He was an excellent linguist; but he vainly strove to pass as a Cashmere fakir. “No, no,” said the Hindoos, “your blue eyes betray you ; you are surely a Feringhee.” They were, however, kind to him; but the Moham- medans would have killed him, had he not uttered “ the most profound praises in be- half of their prophet Mahomet,” and begged they would spare his life, “ if they believed that the Imaum Mendhee would come to judge the world.” The adjuration was effective, and Surgeon Batson’s term of life was extended a little, and only a little, longer. His wife and daughters were among the more fortunate fugitives.*

The adventures of Sir T. Metcalfe have not been circumstantially related beyond that after leaving Lieutenant Willoughby, he was attacked by the rabble ; but escaped from them, when he concealed himself in the city ; and, after remaining there for three days, eventually succeeded in making his way to Hansi. Lieutenant Willoughby was less for- tunate. He is supposed to have perished near the Hindun river. Lieutenant Gambier states — “ There escaped with Willoughby, Osborne, B , H , and A . Os-

borne’s wound necessitated his being left in a ditch : he ultimately reached this place ; they have not.” From the account given by a native, it is believed that Lieutenant

* Surgeon H. S. Batson’s Letter. — Times, August 18th, 1857.

t Lieutenant Gambler’s account. The mother of Lieutenant Willoughby being left a widow with four children, appealed to Sir Charles Napier, on his return to England after the conquest of Sinde, to aid in providing for her sons ; and he, though a per- I feet stranger, interested himself in the case, and ob- |

VOL. II. Z

Willoughby shot a Brahmin, on which the villagers attacked and murdered him.f

Mr. Wagentreiber, of the Delhi Gazette, fled with his wife and daughter, in his buggy. They were attacked five times. Mrs. Wagentreiber received some severe blows from iron-bound lattees; as he did also, besides a sword-cut on the arm. But the ladies loaded, and he fired at their assail- ants with so much effect, as to kill four, and wound two others; after which, the fugi- tives succeeded in making good their way to Kurnaul. J

Mrs. Leeson, the wife of the deputy-col- lector, made her escape from Delhi on the morning of the 19th, after losing three children in the massacre. § Two faithful natives accompanied and protected her ; one of them perished by the hands of the muti- neers in attempting to pass the Ajmere gate ; the other accompanied her in her wanderings, till they reached the European picket at Subzie Mundie. The poor lady, who had nothing but a dirty piece of cloth round her body, and another piece, folded turban-fashion, on her head, on finding herself again in safety, knelt down, and thanked heaven for her deliverance. ||

In the midst of all these tales of strife and misery, it is well that an English offi- cial has placed on record the following statement of the humanity evinced by the villagers generally. Mr. Greathed, the com- missioner, writing from Meerut, in the very height of the excitement, states — “ All the Delhi fugitives have to tell of some kind acts of protection and rough hospitality; and yesterday a fakir came in with a European child he had picked up on the Jumna. He had been a good deal mauled on the way, but he made good his point. He refused any present, but expressed a hope that a well might be made in his name, to commemorate the act. I promised to attend to his wishes; and Himam Bhartee, of Dhunoura, will, I hope, long live in the memory of man. The parents have not been discovered, but there are plenty of good Samaritans.”

The loyalty of the nawab of Kurnaul largely contributed to the safety of the

tained Addiscombe cadetships for two of the young men. Sir Charles, had he lived to see the career of his proteges, would have been richly rewarded for his disinterested kindness. — United Service Gazette.

J Lieut. Gambier’s account. — Times, July 14, 1857.

§ Second Supplement to the London Gazette, May 6th, 1858.

|| Ball’s Indian Mutiny, pp. 100 — 107.

	170 THE SUFFERINGS AND DEATH OF COLONEL RIPLEY.
	fugitive Europeans, who chose the road to	a sleepless night in meditating on the state
	Umballah instead of to Meerut. Mr. le	of affairs. I have decided to throw in my
	Bas, the Delhi judge, had a very interesting	lot with your’s. My sword, my purse, and
	interview with this chief. There was at the	my followers are at your disposal.” And
	time no European force in the neighbour-	he redeemed his promise in many ways;
	hood of Kurnaul, to counteract the effect of	among others, by raising an efficient troop
	the unmolested retreat of the mutineers	of 100 horse, which he armed and equipped
	from the head-quarters of the British artil-	on the model of the Punjab mounted police
	lery at Meerut, followed by their unopposed	corps. Mr. le Bas subsequently presented
	occupation of Delhi. Moreover, European	the nawab with the favourite horse whose
	women and children were known to have	speed had saved his master’s life.f It is to
	been left to perish there ; and cherished	be hoped the British government will be
	wives and mothers, on whom crowds of	similarly mindful of the service rendered	•
	servants had waited from the moment they	by their faithful ally.
	set foot in India, were now seen ragged,	Many providential preservations have
	hungry, and footsore, begging their way to	been related : the painful task remains of
	the nearest stations. The chiefs, country-	describing, as far as possible, the fate of
	people, and ryots doubted if they were awake	the Europeans who were unable to effect
	or dreaming ; but if awake, then surely	their escape from Delhi. Among the victims
	the British raj had come to an end. At all	was Colonel Ripley. His dhooly-bearers
	events, the Great Mogul was in Delhi, and	refused to carry him on with the first party
	from Delhi the British had fled in the	of Europeans; and Lieutenant Peile, his
	wildest disoider; whereupon a native jour-	former preserver, having left even his own
	nalist thought fit to raise the following	wife and child to try and save the regi-
	lo Pean, which, like all similar effusions,	mental colours, the wounded officer re-
	whether indited by Europeans or Asiatics,	mained at the mercy of the native bearers,
	is characterised by the most irreverent	whose services are at the best of times little
	bigotry	to be depended on ; for, being frequently
	“ Oh ! Lord the English have now seen	compulsory, they naturally take the first
	a specimen of Thy power !	opportunity of escaping to their homes.
	“ To-day they were in a state of high	They did not, however, give up the colonel
	power; to-morrow they wrapped them-	to the mutineers, but hid him near the ice-
	selves in blood, and began to fly. Notwith-	pits at the cantonments. Here he remained
	standing that their forces were about three	for some davs, until he was found and killed
	lacs strong in India, they began to yield	by a sepoy. This, at least, was the account
	up life like cowards. Forgetting their	given to Surgeon Batson, during his wander-
	palanquins and carriages, they fled to the	ings among the jungles. J Colonel Ripley’s
	jungles without either boots or hats.	sufferings must have been fearful. His
	Leaving their houses, they asked shelter	isolation, and the state of utter helplessness
	from the meanest of men ; and, abandoning	in which he awaited the violent death which
	their power, they fell into the hands of	at length terminated his protracted an-
	marauders.”*	guish, renders him the subject of a quite
	The British cause was, in May, 1857, gen-	peculiar interest. The little that is nar-
	erally considered the losing one; and even	rated of him conveys the idea of a thoroughly
	those friendly to it, were for the most part	brave man. He had need of all his natural
	anxious, in native phraseology, “ to keep	courage, and of the far higher strength im-
	their feet in both stirrups.” There were,	parted from Above, to enable him to resist
	however, many brilliant exceptions — but for	the temptation to suicide ; to which, later in
	which, the sceptre of Queen Victoria would	the rebellion, others yielded, under (so far as
	hardly now have much authority in Nor-	human judgment can decide) much less
	them India. The nawab of Kurnaul was	temptation.
	one of the first to identify himself with	The mutineers found it very difficult to
	the British in the hour of their deepest	convince the king, and probably still more
	humiliation.	so to convince themselves, that European
	Soon after the arrival of Mr. le Bas, the	troops were not already marching on Delhi.
	nawab came to him and said, “ I have spent	It is positively asserted, on European
	* Parsee Reformer : quoted in Bombay Telegraph.	f Raikes’ Revolt in N. W. Provinces, pp. 91, 92.
	— See Times, August 3rd, 1857.	\ Times, August 18th, 1857.

EUROPEANS MASSACRED IN DELHI— MAY, 1858.

171

authority, that “ the king sent a sowaree camel* down to the Meerut road, to report how near the British troops were to his city. When the messenger returned, saying there were certainly no European soldiers within twenty miles of Delhi, the spirit of mutiny could restrain itself no longer /’f A native, writing to the vakeel of one of the Rajpootana chiefs, says that it was at ten at night two pultuns (regiments) arrived from Meerut, and fired a royal salute of twenty-one guns; but he adds, that “it was not until the following day, about three in the afternoon, that the empire was pro- claimed under the King of Delhi, and the imperial flag hoisted at the Cutwallee, or chief police-station.” But the authority thus proclaimed, was at first at least almost entirely nominal ; and later testimony tends to confirm the statement of the native eye- witness previously quoted ; who, writing on the 13th of May, says — “ There is now no ruler in the city, and no order. Everyone has to defend his house. An attack was made on the great bauker, Mungnee Ram ; but he had assembled so many defenders, that after much fighting, the attack was un- successful. Other bankers’ establishments were pillaged ; hundreds of wealthy men have become beggars; hundreds of vaga bonds have become men of mark. When an heir to the city arises, then the public mar- ket will be reopened, and order be restored. For these two days thousands have remained fasting; such of the shops as are left un- pillaged, being closed. * * * Hundreds of corpses are lying under the magazine. The burners of the dead wander about to recog- nise the looked-for faces, and give them funeral rites. * * * The mutineers

roam about the city, sacking it on every side. The post is stopped. The electric wires have men cut. There is not a Eu- ropean face to be seen. Where have they gene, and how many have been killed?” This last question has been but imperfectly answered. The following statement is com- piled from the report furnished by the magistrate of Delhi, and other government returns : —

List of the European victims ( not before named) who

perished on the 11 th of May, or at some unknown

date, in Delhi.

Mr. Hutchinson, officiating magistrate and col- lector, after going to cantonments for assistance,

* Meaning a trooper on a camel.

t Statement of Delhi deputy-collector. — Rot- ton’s Narrative of the Siege of Delhi, p. 12.

rejoined Mr. Fraser, and is believed to have been killed at the Calcutta gate, on duty.

Mr. A. Galloway, joint magistrate and deputy- collector, perished at the Cutchery, on duty.

The Rev. A. Hubbard, missionary. Mr. L. Sandy s, the head-master of the Delhi mission school, and Mr. L. Cock, or Koehe, were killed at the school or at the bank.

Mr. F. Taylor, principal of the Delhi college, and Mr. R. Stewart, the second master, are thought to have been in the magazine until the explosion, and then to have taken refuge with Moolvee Bakir Aii, who gave them up to the mutineers.

Mr. J. McNally, second clerk in the commis- sioner’s office, was killed on his way thither. Messrs. Montreaux and Fleming, fifth and sixth clerks, perished, but the particulars of their death are not known.

Mr. Beresford, the manager of the Delhi bank, would not quit his post, though warned by his ser- vants ; he was murdered there with his wife and three young children, and the money seized on by the mob. Mr. Churcher, the deputy-manager, like- wise perished.

Mr. Dalton, inspector of post-offices, and Mr. C. Bayley, the deputy-postmaster, were cut down at their post.

Sergeant Edwards, of the ordnance department, perished at the magazine on duty; and Sergeant Hoyle is supposed to have been killed on his way thither.

Mr. T. Corbett, of the medical department, was on a visit to Mr. McNally ; and he aiso perished on the 11th of May.

Mr. T. W. Collins fled to the Cutchery, and was killed there; his wife and three children were mur- dered in the college compound, but on what day is not known.

Mr. Staines, the head-clerk of the treasury office, and two youths of the same name, were killed, the former at the Cutchery, and the latter at Deria- gunge.

Mr. E. Staines, draftsman, railway department, also fell in Delhi.

Mrs. Thompson, the widow of a Baptist mis- sionary, with her two daughters, and a Mrs. Hunt, were killed in the city.

Mr. G. White, head-clerk of the political agency office, was murdered in Delhi, but on what day is not known.

Sergeant Dennis, of the canal department, with his wife, his son, and Mrs. White, were killed at his house on the canal banks.

Mr. J. Rennell, pensioner, his wife, two daughters and his son-in-law, and Mr. G. Skinner, were mas- sacred in the city, but the date of the latter crime has not been ascertained.

Sergeant Foulan, of the public works’ department, and Mr. Thomas, agent of the Inland Transit Com- pany, and an Italian showman and his wife, named Georsetti, engaged in exhibiting wax-work figures, were massacred near the Hindun river.

Three persons surnamed George — one a youth who had received pay from the King of Delhi for some service not known — were massacred in Delhi ; as was also a Portuguese music-master, named Perez, and a Mr. O’Brien.

Father Zacharias, a Roman Catholic priest, was murdered in the city.

Mrs. [Major) Foster, and her sister, Mrs. Fuller, endeavoured to escape, and got “ into the city ditch”

172

EUROPEANS MASSACRED IN DELHI— MAY, 1858.

(probably near the Mainguard). Mrs. Foster was unable to proceed any further, and her sister would not leave her ; they are supposed to have been found and murdered there. Mrs. Hickie (described as a half-servant, probably a half-caste), in atten- dance on Mrs. Foster, was killed in the city.

Chummum Loll, the native assistant-surgeon, was one of the earliest victims of the outbreak.

Mr. Philips, a pensioner, was killed in Delhi, but on what day is not known. A Mr. Clarke, a pensioner, occupied a two-story house in the Cash- mere bazaar, with his wife and child, in conjunction with a Mr. and Mrs. Morley , and their three chil- dren, and was murdered there on the 11th.

In a letter signed “James Morley,” and published when the public excitement was at its height, the following horrible par- ticulars were related concerning the murder of Mr. Clarke and his family. The Gazette makes no mention of the circumstances; but the statement is important, as one of the exceptional ones made by a European eye- witness, of massacre aggravated by wanton cruelty.

Mr. Morley states, that after the blowing up of the magazine, he crept from his hiding- place in the city, and went to his own house, near the door of which he found a faithful old Hindoo [a dhobv, or washer man], sitting and crying bitterly. The Hindoo said that a large crowd, armed with sticks, swords, and spears, had entered the compound, pushed past Mr. Clarke, and began to “ loot” or break everything,. At length one man went up to Mrs. Clarke,

“ and touched her face, and spoke bad words to her.” The enraged husband called the wretch by the most opprobrious epithet which can be applied to a Mohammedan (you pig !), and shot him dead ; then, after discharging the contents of the second bar- rel into the body of another of the insur- gents, he began fighting with the butt-end of his gun. The old Hindoo, knowing that the doom of both husband and wife was now sealed, ran off in search of his own mistress and her children; but they were already in the hands of the mob, who drove off the dhoby with blows, and threatened to kill him if he did not keep away. Morley went into the house with his servant, and found Mr. and Mrs. Clarke (she far advanced in pregnancy) lying side by side, and their little boy pinned to the wall, with a pool of blood at his feet. Turning away from this sickening sight, Morley rushed on towards the bath-room, at the door of which the old man stood wringing his hands The fear of seeing his own wife as he had seen Mrs. Clarke, deterred him, he says.

from ascertaining for himself the fate of Mrs. Morley and his children. When the first shock was over, he put on a petticoat and veil belonging to the wife of the Hindoo, and succeeded, accompanied by the latter, in reaching Kurnaul in six days. In the course of the journey, he states himself to have seen “the body of a European woman lying shockingly mutilated by the road-side; and it made me sick to see a vulture come flying along with a shrill cry. I saw another body of one of our countrymen.

It was that of a lad about sixteen. He had been evidently killed with the blow of a stick. I buried him; but it was but a shallow grave I could give him. I heard, on the road, of a party of Europeans being some distance ahead of me, and tried to overtake them, but could not.” It is rather strange that the parties who preceded Mr. Morley, should neither have seen nor heard of the murdered man and woman ; and it is still more strange, that this one European should narrate horrors so far exceeding any which the other fugitives encountered, or heard of. Stories of mutilation, together with violation of the most abominable de- scription, were certainly published in the Indian and English papers of 1857 ; but they were almost exclusively founded on bazaar reports, or, what is much the same thing, the accounts of the lowest class of natives, who knew quite well, that the more highly coloured the narrative, the more attention it was likely to excite. Perhaps reporters of a higher class were not uninflu- enced by a similar desire to gratify the mor- bid curiosity of the moment ; for the atro- cities alleged to have been committed, were such as only the most practised imagination could conceive, or the most incarnate fiends have perpetrated. It should be remembered, that so far as indignities to English women were concerned, the least aggravated of the alleged offences would have cost the high- caste, or twice-born Hindoos, whether Brahmin or Rajpoot, the irremediable for- feiture of caste. Besides, the class of crime is one utterly opposed to their character and habits, and scarcely less so to that of the Goojurs, who, in fact, had no passion either of lust or revenge to indulge — nothing but an absorbing love of loot, which might tempt them to rob a lady of the cherished wedding-ring, but not to defile the purity of the sacred union it symbolised. With the Mohammedans the case may be dif- ferent : but whatever we may think of

MASSACRE AT DELHI — 12th, 13th, AND 16th OF MAY, 1857. 173

the unwarrantable license given by the Ko- ran, it may be doubted whether the scenes recorded in the history of cities sacked in European warfare by nominally Christian conquerors, have not afforded sufficient evi- dence of lust and rapine to explain why we looked to hear of such things, almost as necessary incidents, in a calamity like that of Delhi. But happily for us, our foes were not a united body of soldiers ; far from this, the great mass of the sepoys, and even of the escaped convicts, were a disorderly, panic- struck crew; and it was only the long interval of rest which elapsed while the authorities were making up their minds howto prepare for action, that taught the sepoys the value of the advantages which our superlative folly had given them, and the importance of their position in the eyes of their coun- trymen throughout India. At first their leading thought was, “ let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die ;” and it was during this phase of their career that they broke open the gaol, and released some 500 con- victs. Gradually a few of the more capable of the mutineers began to think that there was a chance for them, and that that chance lay in the extirpation of “ the seed of the accursed Feringhee” from the land. Con- scious of their own weakness, they natu- rally adopted a cowardly and merciless, but not vindictive or wantonly cruel policy. The Europeans slain on the 11th of May, or subsequently at an unknown date, have been enumerated. The following is the —

List of the Delhi victims killed on the 12 th, 13 th, and 16 th of May.

Mr. T. Jones, of the collector’s office, and Mr. T. Leonard , of the magistrate’s office, with his wife, and two youths of the same, held out in the house which they occupied together near the Moree gate, until some time on the 12th, when they perished by the hands of the insurgents.

A much larger party defended themselves until the 13th, at Deriagunge, in a house belonging to the rajah of Bullubghur, but rented by a Mr. Aldwell. Here Mr. Nolan, one of the conductors of the ordnance department, was killed on the 12th by a grapeshot. On the 13th, a man named Azeezullah enticed the whole party from their retreat by saying that the king had sent him to fetch them safely to the palace. The Europeans, who were probably holding out in hopes of succour from Meerut, were deceived by the traitor, and were thus spared a longer period of sickening suspense, with des- pair as its climax. The official record states, that Mr. A. G. Aldwell, son of the gentleman who rented the house ; Mr. F. Davies, third clerk of the commissioner’s office ; Mr. T. Davies , head-clerk of the agency office, and Miss J. Davies; Mr. J. B. Hanley, another agency clerk, with his wife and four of his family; Mr. Mackey, a Baptist mis-

sionary ; Mrs. Wilson, and her son ; Mrs. Nolan, and her six children ; Mr. Settle, conductor of ordnance ; Mrs. and Miss Settle ; Mrs. Crowe, and her two daughters ; Sergeants Connor, Hoyle, and Steicart, of the ordnance department, with a child belonging to the last ; Mrs. Buckley, and her three children; Mrs. Prince; Mrs. JR iley, and her son; Mrs. Ives, and Mrs. Foulan — were all slaughtered on the 13th, in a bullock-shed near the house.

After this horrible butchery, no Eu- ropeans were found in Delhi until the 16th; and on that day, a party who had taken refuge in the palace on the 11th, were now delivered up to the insurgents, and put to death. The native authority above quoted, describes the victims as having been tied to a tree and shot, after which the bodies were burned.

Mr. E. Roberts, head-master of the Delhi col- lege, and his son, together with Mrs. S. S. Stewart, two Misses Steicart and their brother, are said to have been massacred “ at the instigation of Zeenath Mahal.” The two Misses Beresford ; Mrs. Shaw, and her two children ; Mrs. Glynn ; Mrs. Scully ; Mrs. Edwards, and her three children ; Mrs. Molloy, the wife of the band-master of the 54th Native infantry, and her two sons; Mr. J. Smith, head-clerk of the Delhi magazine ; Mrs. Corbett, and her child ; Mrs. E. P. Staines ; the two jl/i’sses Hunt, and their young brother ; Mrs. Cochrane ; Mrs. and Miss Sheehan, govern- ment pensioners ; Miss C. Staines, and Miss Louisa Ryley — are recorded as having been murdered, with- out any particulars being given of the attendant circumstances.*

The above statements are taken from the Gazette. A native gives the following somewhat different account of particulars which he describes himself as having actually witnessed : — “ On the third day, the mutineers went back to the house [Mr. Aid well’s] near the mosque, where some Europeans had taken refuge. As they were without water, &c., for several days, they called for a subahdar and five others, and asked them to take their oaths that they would give them water and take them alive to the king; he might kill them if he liked. On this oath the Europeans came out: the mutineers placed water before them, and said, ‘Lay down your arms, and then you get water.’ They gave over two guns, all they had. The mutineers gave no water. They seized eleven children (among them infants), eight ladies, and eight gentlemen. They took them to the cattle-sheds. One lady, who seemed more self- possessed than the rest, observed that they were not taking them to the palace; they replied, they were taking them via Derya Gunje. Deponent says that he saw all this, and saw them placed in a row and shot. One woman entreated them to give her child w'ater, though they might kill her. A sepoy took her child and dashed it on the ground. The people looked on in dismay, and feared for Delhi.”f

An anonymous writer, who describes

* Second Supplement to the London Gazette, May 6th, 1858.

t Statement made to deputy-commissioner Far- rington, of Jullundur, by three servants of Kapor- thella rajah. — Times, August 3rd, 1857.

174 STATE OF DELHI IN MAY, 1857.

himself as having been in Delhi at the outbreak, but who does not state either the time or the manner of his own escape, writes — “ Several Europeans, said to number forty-eight, were taken to the palace, or perhaps went there for protection. These were taken care of by the King of Delhi; but the sowars of the 3rd cavalry, whose thirst for European blood had not been quenched, rested not till they were all given up to them, when they murdered them one by one in cold blood.” The narrator adds, that the troopers were said “ to have pointed to their legs before they murdered their victims, and called attention to the marks of their manacles, asking if they were not justified in what they were doing.”*

In a separate and evidently incorrect list, published in the same Gazette as that from which the above account has been framed, several names are given in addition to, or in mistake for, those already stated. t Among others, a “Mrs. Morgan and her grand- child” are said to have been among the vic- tims of this most horrible butchery, in which maid and matron, the grandame and the babe, were alike mercilessly hewn down. It must, however, be remembered, that many put down in the official records as massacred at Delhi, were probably killed after escaping from the city.

We have not, and probably never shall have, any authentic statement of the number of Eurasians who perished at this period, nor of the amount of native life lost in the struggle between the citizens of Delhi and the ruthless insurgents. The mutineers, it is said, “ asked the king either to give them two months’ pay, or their daily rations. The king summoned all the shroffs and mahajuns (bankers and money- changers), telling them, if they did not meet the demand of the mutineers they would be murdered ; on which the shroffs agreed to give them dholl rotee for twenty days ; adding, they could not afford more. The mutineers replied — ‘ We have deter- mined to die; how can we eat dholl rotee for the few days we have to live in this world.’ ”J The cavalry, consequently, received one rupee, and the infantry four annas a day. With every offensive weapon

* Times , July 14th, 1857.

t The same persons are given under different names : Koehe in one, is Cock in the other ; Aldwell in one, is Aidwell in the other; -with other mistakes of a similar character. Compare page 2220 with pages 2238 to 2241 of Gazette, May 6th, 1858.

Delhi was abundantly stocked. After the escape of Lieutenant Willoughby and his companions, the mutineers (according to a native news-writer previously quoted),

" together with the low people of the city, entered the magazine compound and began to plunder weapons, accoutrements, gun- caps, &c. The ‘loot’ continued for three days ; each sepoy took three or four muskets, and as many swords and bayonets as he could. The Classies filled their houses with fine blacksmiths’ tools, weapons, and gun- caps, which they sell by degrees at the rate of two seers per rupee. In these successful days, the highest price of a musket was eight annas, or one shilling; however, the people feared to buy it : a fine English sword was dear for four annas, and one anna was too much for a good bayonet. Pouches and belts were so common, that the owners could not get anything for this booty of theirs. ”§ Lieutenant Willoughby and his companions had succeeded in destroying a portion of the stores in the Delhi ar- senal ; but abundance of shot and shell remained behind, and the cantonments afforded large stores of gunpowder. From native testimony we further learn, that “ the Derya Gunje Bazaar was turned into an en- campment for the mutineers. Shops were plundei’ed in the Chandnee Chouk|| and Diereeba Bazaar. The shops were shut for five days. The king refused to go upon the throne. The mutineers assured him that a similar massacre had taken place up to Peshawur and down to Calcutta. He agreed, and commenced to give orders : went through the city, and told the people to open their shops. On the fifth day, notice was given that if any one concealed a European he wTould be destroyed. People disguised many, and sent them off; but many were killed that day, mostly by people of the city. A tailor concealed no less than five Europeans. * * * The mutineers say,

when the army approaches they will fight, and that the Native troops with the army are sure to join them. Many mutineers who tried to get away with plunder were robbed ; this has prevented many others from leaving.”^

This latter statement accords with a

X Statement of Hurd war pilgrims, before quoted.

§ See Times, September 18th, 1857.

(j The principal street in Delhi.

Statement made to deputy-commissioner Far- rington, of Jullundur, by three servants of the rajah of Kaporthella. — Times, August 3rd, 1857.

FEROCITY OF ESCAPED CONVICTS— DELHI, MAY, 1857.

prominent feature in the character of the Hindoos — namely, their strong attachment to their native village. All experienced ma- gistrates know, that however great a crime a Hindoo may have committed, he will, sooner or later, risk even death for the sake of revisiting his early home. Their domestic affections are likewise very powerful ; and, undoubtedly, the combination against us would have been far stronger, but for the temporarily successful attempts of many, and the unsuccessful attempts of many more, to escape to their wives and children from the vortex of destruction towards which they had been impelled. Hundreds, and probably thousands, remained in Delhi because their sole chance of life lay in combined resistance. The sepoys, as a body, felt that they would be held answerable for the slaughter at the “ bullock-shed,” and for atrocities which, there is every reason to believe, were never perpetrated by them ; but which, in the words of an English officer, “ were committed by the scum of the earth, that never comes forth but on such occa- sions of murder and rapine, whose existence most people are ignorant of.”*

We know, however, that this scum exists even in England; the daily police reports give us occasional glimpses of it : those whose professional duties compel them to examine the records of our penal settlements (Nor- folk Island for instance), sec its most hideous aspect ; while others who have witnessed the class which appears with the barricades in Paris, and disappears with them, can easily imagine the bloody vengeance a mass of released convicts would be likely to inflict on their foreign masters. Many of the sepoys, especially of the 3rd cavalry, would gladly have returned to their allegiance. Captain Craigie received earnest solicitations to this effect from men whom he knew to have been completely carried away by the current ; but it was too late : they were taught to consider their doom sealed ; there was for them no hope of escape, no mitiga- tion of their sentence, the execution of which might tarry, but would never be voluntarily abandoned. A most horrible epoch of crime and suffering, pillage, de- struction, bloodshed and starvation, had commenced for Delhi. The escaped Eu- ropeans shuddered as they thought of the probable fate of those they had left behind : but far more torturing were the apprehen-

* Diary of an Officer in Calcutta. — Times, August I 3rd, 1857.

175

sions of the natives who had accompanied the flight of their English mistresses and foster-children, not simply at the risk of their lives, but at the cost of forsaking their own htisbands and families. So soon as they had seen the Europeans in safety, their natural yearnings became irresistible, and they persisted in returning to ascertain the fate of their relatives. A lady who arrived at Meerut on the evening of the 12th of May, with her husband and children, having, she writes, “ come the whole distance with our own poor horses, only stopping day or night to bait for an hour or two here and there,” and had since learned that her house had been burnt to the ground ; adds — “ Of all our poor servants we have not since been able to hear a word ; four came with us ; but of the rest we know nothing ; and I have many fears as to what became of them, as, if all had been right, I feel sure that they would have followed us in some way, several of them having been with us ever since we came out. Our coachman and children’s ayah (nurse) set off to Delhi three days ago, dressing themselves as beg- gars, in order to make some inquiries about their families. We begged them not to enter Delhi, and they promised not to do so. Should they do so they will be almost sure to be killed ; they will return to us in a few days we hope.”t

This melancholy chapter can hardly have a more soothing conclusion. The writer depicts herself lodged in the artillery school at Meerut, in a “centre strip” of a large arched building partitioned off with mat- ting. It is night — her husband and chil- dren are in their beds, and the rain is pour- ing down “in plenty of places; but that is nothing.” Afraid of being late for the post the next day, she sits writing to Eng- land ; and it is after mentioning very briefly that she and her husband have “lost every- thing they had,” that she expresses, at much greater length, her solicitude for the lives of her faithful household. The host of admi- rable letters written for home circles, but generously published to gratify the earnest longing of the British nation for Indian intelligence, do not furnish a more charm- ing picture of the quiet courage and cheer- fulness, under circumstances of peril and privation, which we proudly believe to cha- racterise our countrywomen, than the one thus unconsciously afforded.

t Letter from the wife of a Delhi officer. — Times September 3rd, 1857.

CHAPTER V.

UMBALLAH— KURNAUL— MEERUT— FEROZPOOR.— MAY, 1857.

Umballah is a military station, fifty-five miles north of Kurnaul, 120 miles N.N.W. of Delhi, and 1,020 N.W. of Calcutta. The district known by this name was formerly in the possession of a Seik sirdar, but “ has escheated to the East India Company in default of rightful heirs/’* The large walled town of Umballah has a fort, under the walls of which lies the encamping-ground of the British troops. The actual force sta- tioned here at the time of the outbreak, was as follows : —

Two troops of artillery. Europeans — 12 commis- sioned officers, 19 sergeants, 207 rank and file. Native — 2 havildars, 54 rank and file, and 15 sick of all ranks.

One regiment of H.M.’s dragoons, 9th lancers. Europeans — 24 commissioned officers, 48 sergeants, 563 rank and file ; 27 sick of all ranks.

One regiment of Native light cavalry. Europeans — 14 commissioned officers, 2 sergeants. Native — 11 commissioned officers, 25 havildars, 421 rank and file ; 20 sick of all ranks.

The 5th and 60th regiments of Native infantry. 29 commissioned officers, 4 sergeants. Native — 40 commissioned officers, 117 havildars, 2,116 rank and file ; 43 sick of all ranks. Detachment of irregular cavalry. [No European officer.] Native — 3 commissioned officers, 1 havildar, and 89 rank ; and file.f

Thus, at Umballah, there were, exclusive of the sick, about 2,290 Europeans to 2,819 Natives. Here, as at Meerut, the strength of the Europeans appears to have rendered them indifferent to the mutinous feeling exhibited in the conflagrations already noticed as occurring in March, April, and the opening days of May, 1857. The cause of the disaffection was notorious, and was nowhere more clearly evidenced than in the immediate circle of the commander-in-chief, i The circumstances have not been made public; and, as they are of importance, they are given here in the words in which they were communicated to the author.

“In the commencement of 1857, each regi- ment of Native infantry received instruc- tions to detach one smart officer, aud a party of sepoys, to the school of instruction, for practice in the use of the Enfield rifle.

“ The 36th Native infantry, at the time of

* Thornton’s Gazetteer; and Prinsep’s Life of Run- jeet Sing, p. 215.

the issue of these instructions, composed part of the escort of the commander-in- chief. The quota furnished by this corps left General Anson’s camp at Agra for the school of musketry at Umballah, commanded by a promising young officer, Lieutenant A. W. Craigie, since dead of wounds re- ceived in the encounter with the Joudpoor legion. The commander-in-chief continued his tour of inspection, and, after passing through Bareilly, arrived at Umballah in March. The detachment of the 36th came out to meet their regiment on its marching into the station ; but were repulsed by their comrades, and by the Native officers of their regiment, and declared ‘ Hookah panee bund ' (excommunicated), in consequence of their having lost caste by the use of the polluted cartridges at the school. The men explained to their regiment that there was nothing polluting in the cartridges, and nothing which any Hindoo or Mussulman could object to. The regiment was deaf to their explanations, and treated them as outcasts. The unhappy men then repaired to their officer, Lieutenant Craigie, and informed him of the fact. Wringing their hands, and with tears in their eyes, they described their miserable state. They said that they were convinced of the purity of the cartridges, but that they were ruined for ever, as their families would refuse to receive them after what had happened in the regiment.

“ The circumstances were brought to the notice of the officers commanding the depot, who communicated with the officer com- manding the 36th Native infantry. This officer, assembling the Native officers, stated to them the facts, as reported to him, and censured them severely for permitting such unwarrantable treatment to the men. The Native officers replied, that there was no sub- stance in the complaint, and that the re- fusal to eat, or smoke the hookah, with the men of the depot, had been simply a jest ! Here, unfortunately, the matter was per- mitted to rest ; and such was the prevailing conviction in the minds of the natives on

f Pari. Papers (Commons), 9th February, 1858 j pp. 4, 5.

I

OUTBREAK OF MUTINY AT UMBALLAH— MAY 10th, 1857. 177

this question, that the unhappy detachment of the 36th Native infantry attending the school, were never acknowledged again by the regiment.”

It was after this memorable warning, and in defiance of increasing incendiarism, that i General Anson persisted in enforcing the use of the obnoxious cartridges. In fact, he fairly launched the sepoys on the stream of mutiny, and left them to drift on towards the engulphing vortex at their own time 1 and discretion, while he went off “ on a shooting excursion among the hills,”* no one knew exactly where ; nor was the point of much importance until it became necessary to acquaint him of the massacres of Meerut and Delhi, and of the rapidity with which the Bengal army “ was relieving itself of the benefit of his command.”f

It appears that the Umballah regiments were with difficulty restrained from follow- ing out the course taken at Meerut. No official account has been published of the Umballah emeute ; but private letters show that the authorities acted with consider- able energy and discretion. An officer of the Lancers, writing on the 14th, gives the following description of the scenes in which he took part.

“Last Sunday, after we had returned from church and just finished our breakfast, at about 10 a.m., the alarm sounded for the regiment to turn out. The men were lying in the barracks undressed, and most of them asleep ; but in an almost incredibly short time they were all on parade, mounted, and fully equipped ; the artillery were ready nearly as soon. When on the parade-ground, we found that the 60th Native infantry had mutinied, and turned out with their arms ; but we could not go down, because they had their officers prisoners, and threat- ened to shoot them if we came down ; but that if we did not they would return quietly. If our men had had the chance to go in at them, they would have made short work of them, they are so enraged at having had so much night-work lately, in con- sequence of the fires, which are all attributed to the sepoys. They (i.e., our men) only get about two nights a-week in bed. At twelve o’clock (noon) we were turned out again in consequence of the 5th Native infantry having turned out; but we were again disappointed. They appeared to think us too attentive, and returned to their barracks. For the last two nights the wives of married officers are sent down to the canteen for better security. An officer remains at the Mainguard all night, and an artillery officer with the guns, which are loaded ; and ammunition is served out every hour. Two patrols go out every hour; and all is alert. Yester- day (May 13th), three companies of the 75th (H.M.) marched up from Kussowlee. They started at noon

* Mead’s Sepoy Revolt, p. 73.

t The Bengal Mutiny. Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, 1858 ; p. 387.

J Times, September 18th, 1857.

VOL. II. 2 A

on Tuesday, and arrived at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The distance is forty-eight miles — a wonderful march under an Indian sun, when the thermometer was 92° to 94° in the shade : there was not a single straggler.”

A young civilian, attached to the Punjab district, who also witnessed the incipient mutiny at Umballah, and claims to have been the first to convey the tidiugs of the general revolt to the commander-in-chief, thus narrates what he saw and did ; —

“ On Monday we received the painful news of what was going on at Delhi. It was heartrending to know that our countrymen and countrywomen were actually being murdered at the very moment we received the intelligence. The news came in by electric telegraph. * * * Towards afternoon we received another message, mentioning the names of some of the unfortunates.

“ On Tuesday came the news from Meerut, which took longer in coming, as it had to come by post instead of telegraph. But it was not a quiet night that we passed at Umballah. We had intelligence, which, thank God, turned out to be false, that on this night all the natives were to rise. Though three miles from cantonments, we were best off at the civil lines, as we had only our treasury guard of about fifty men of the 5th Native infantry to dread, while we had 200 faithful Sikhs to back us up. We patrolled the city all night, and the people in the cantonments kept a sharp look-out. All was quiet. But it seemed to us, in our excitement, a quiet of ill omen.

“ On Monday, the commander-in-chief, who was up at Simla, about ninety miles from] Umballah, was written to, to send down troops at once from the hills, where three regiments of Europeans are stationed.

“ On Tuesday, the first of the Delhi fugitives came creeping in ; and on Wednesday evening there came a letter from a small band of miserables, who were collected at Kurnaul (eighty miles from Delhi, whence they had escaped), asking for aid. This letter, and another calling for immediate assistance in Europeans, I volunteered to take up to the com- mander-in-chief at Simla, and, after a hot ride through the heat of the day, and the best part of the night, I reached the commander-in-chief at about half-past four in the morning of Thursday. I turned him out of bed ; they held a council of war, and at half-past ten, we were all riding back again. On reaching the foot of the hills, 1 was knocked up — the sun, and want of sleep for two nights, added to a ride of 130 miles, having been too much for me. By this time the last European had left the hills, and on Sunday morning all were cantoned in Umballah. I reached Umballah myself on Satur- day.”!

The first telegram referred to in the above letter, has been given in the preceding chapter; the second is uudated, and appears to have been sent by the members of the telegraph establishment on their private responsibility, just before taking flight.

Second (or third ) Telegram from Delhi (May 1 \tK).

“ We must leave office. All the bungalows are

178

GENERAL ANSON'S RECANTATION— MAY 14th, 1857.

burning down by the sepoys from Meerut. They

came in this morning — we are off — dont

“To-&r.v Mr. C. Todd is dead, I think. He went out this morning, and has not returned yet. We heard that nine Europeans were killed. Good- bye.”

This intelligence was promptly conveyed from the Umballah office to the neighbour- ing station at Dehra, and was sent on from thence by Major-general Sir Henry Bar- nard, the officer in command of the Sirhind division, to the adjutant-general at Simla, with the following comment thereon : —

“ As Delhi has a large magazine, and only Native troops in cantonments there, the in- telligence may be of importance. * * *

Philloor, also, with a large magazine, has only Native troops, who have been in a state of disorganisation. As it is possible this may be a combined movement, I have sent private despatches to the officers in com- mand in the hills, to hold their men ready (quietly) to move at the shortest notice. I have also sent on to Jullundur and Philloor ; and should the officer in command at Phil- loor be under any appreheusion, I have authorised him to apply to Jullundur by telegraph for assistance. * * * It may

be possible that the message is greatly ex- aggerated ; but coming at the present crisis, and from the authority of Europeans at- tached to the telegraph, I have deemed precaution desirable, and that his excel- lency should be made acquainted with the circumstances without delay. I send by my aide-de-camp, Captain Barnard.”* "Whether Captain Barnard or the young civilian had the honour of first communi- cating the above intelligence to General Anson, does not appear ; but the adjutant- general (Colonel Chester), on the 14th of | May, forwarded it to the secretary to the government at Calcutta, with a very brief notice of the state of affairs at Umballah, and the measures initiated by the com- mander-in-chief.

After recapitulating the Meerut and Delhi intelligence, Colonel Chester adds —

“ Circumstances have also taken place at Umbal- lah which render it impossible to rely on the perfect fidelity of the 5th and 60th regiments of N. I. His excellency, therefore, has made the following ar- rangements to meet the existing state of affairs : — “The 75th foot marched yesterday from Kus- sowlee for Umballah, which place they will reach

• Further Papers on the Mutiny (No. 3), p. 6. t Ibid., p. 5.

| Mead’s Sepoy Revolt, p. 73. This assertion is partially corroborated by a telegram dated “ Cal. cutta, May 26th, 1857,” in which the Supreme gov.

to-morrow morning. The 1st European fusiliers from Dugshaie have been ordered to follow the 75th foot with all practicable expedition. The 2nd European fusiliers are held in readiness to move at the shortest notice. The Sirmoor battalion has been ordered from Dehra to Meerut. Two companies of the 8th foot from Jullundur have been ordered to proceed from Lahore to Govindghur. The officer commanding at Ferozepoor has been ordered to place a detachment of European troops in charge of the magazine.

“ General Anson, I am to add, is anxiously look- ing for further intelligence, which will enable him to decide on the advisability of his at once moving down to Umballah.”f

The above despatch took a long time in reaching its destination; for it is asserted that, for three weeks after the Meerut mutiny, no direct intelligence of the move- ments of the commander-in-chief was re- ceived at Calcutta. J Before those three weeks had elapsed, General Anson was dead. The interval preceding his demise must have been one of intense mental suffering. His fatal misconception of the temper of the Bengal army, ceased just at the moment when the policy founded on it was in full bearing. Sir John Lawrence, § and Lieutenant-governor Colvin, addressed such cogent arguments to him on the sub- ject, warning him that the irregulars would follow the example of the regular corps, that the commauder-in-chief followed up the proclamation issued by him on the 14th of May (withdrawing the cartridges), with another and far stronger one ; in which, after expressing his hope that the former order would have calmed the pre- vailing excitement, he confesses his mis- take. The general order of the 19th con- tains the following singular admissions : —

“ He [General Anson] still perceives that the very name of the new cartridges causes agitation ; and he has been in- formed, that some of those sepoys who entertain the strongest attachment and loyalty to government, and are ready at any moment to obey its orders, would still be apprehensive that their families would not believe that they were not in some way or other contaminated by its use. * * * i

His excellency, therefore, has determined that the new cartridge shall be discon- tinued. He announces this to the Native army, in the full confidence that all will

eminent asks, whether, “ notwithstanding the failure ( of the dawk and telegraph, some means might not be devised of communicating with the commander-in- i chief.” — Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, p. 320.

§ Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, p. 373.

GENERAL ANSON DIES AT

now perform their duty free from anxiety and care, and be prepared to stand and shed the last drop of their blood, as they have formerly done, by the side of the British troops, and in defence of their country.”

This climax is simply absurd : the con- test now unhappily commenced had none of the elements of defensive warfare in it, but involved the most revolting attri- butes of civil strife. Mohammedans and Hindoos, if true to their salt, were called on to fight, in support of Christian supre- macy, against their co-religionists — it might be, against their own relatives. The gen- eral order, however, need not be discussed : before it could be promulgated, the process of dissolution of the Bengal army was well- nigh complete — the vitality, the coherence, quite extinct.

General Anson, grievously as he had erred, was both brave and energetic. His energy and his ignorance, together with his utter inexperience in military life, had com- bined in producing the present state of affairs. His fatal innovations were such as Generals Hewitt and Wilson would not have attempted ; but had he been at Meerut on the 10th, the mutineers would probably never have reached Delhi : as it was, he no sooner learned the fate of the city, than he earnestly desired to press for- ward for its immediate recapture. He reached Umballah on the 15th of May. A council of war was held, composed of five members, none of whom lived to see the capture of Delhi. Generals Anson and Barnard, Brigadier Halifax, and Colonel Mowatt, died of cholera ; Colonel Chester, the adjutant, was killed in action. Anson proposed to march on to Delhi at once, without waiting for reinforcements. “The guns might follow, he thought ; but it was pointed out to him that there was no com- missariat, no camels, not a day’s allowance of provisions for troops in the field and, to crown the whole, not a single medicine- chest available.

“We cannot move at present,” General Anson himself says, in an undated tele- gram addressed to the governor-general,

* Neither the date of the despatch nor of the receipt of this telegram is given in the Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, p. 372.

f Despatch to Major-general Hewitt. — Further Papers (No. 3), pp. 19, 20.

j Times, 25th September, 1857. It is worthy of remark, that on the 26th ult., the day previous to General Anson’s death, and again on the following

KURNAUL— MAY 27th, 1857. 179

“ for want of tents and carriage ; it would destroy Europeans to march without both, and we have no men to spare. I see the risk of going to Delhi with such small means as we have — perhaps 2,500 Euro- peans ; for should they suffer any loss, it would be serious, having nothing more to depend upon in the North-West Provinces ; but it must be done.”*

On the 23rd, he writes from Umballah, that he proposes advancing towards Delhi from Kurnaul on the 1st of June, and hopes to be joined by reinforcements (including 120 artillerymen, to work the small siege- train already on the road from Loodiana) from Meerut, under General Hewitt, at Bhagput on the 5th. He adds — “ It is reported here that a detachment of the mutineers, with two guns, are posted on the Meerut side of the river. They should be captured, and no mercy must be shown to the mutineers.”+

At half-past two on the morning of the 27th, General Ansou died of cholera at Kurnaul, J a few hours after his first seizure, and was buried that same evening at sunset. One of the Delhi fugitives who was at Kurnaul at the time, says, “ I do not know why it was, but he was laid in his grave without a military honour.” Lieutenant-governor Colvin, in the telegram reporting this intelligence to the Supreme government, mentions that a copy of the order withdrawing all new cartridges came by the same express. Mr. Colvin adds — “ The issue of an immediate nomination to the command-in-chief of the army proceed- ing fast on Delhi, under General Anson’s orders, is solicited. Indian ability and ex- perience will be very valuable; but time is before all ; every hour is precious.”§

The government announcement of the death of the commander-in-chief, declares that, “ in General Anson, the army has lost a commander than whom none was ever more earnest and indefatigable in labouring to improve the condition, extend the comforts, and increase the efficiency of every branch of the service committed to his charge.” ||

An official notice of the death of a leading personage generally follows the rule of

day, when the event took place, there was a report in the bazaars here that the general had died either by assassination or a stroke of the sun, according to different accounts. The notion had taken a strong hold of the natives, and was generally entertained by them. — Bengal Hurkaru, June 5th.

§ Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, p. 363.

|| Gen. Order, 5th June, 1857. — London Gazette.

1SU ANTECEDENTS OF

tombstone inscriptions, and describes “ not what he was, but what he should have been/’ Yet the praise, so far as the European branch of the service is concerned, was pro- bably not undeserved ; for, in reviewing the various regiments, he is described by the officers as having been keenly alive to their discipline; and even as giving the example of diligent application to the study of native languages — a mark of no small energy in a man who was some fifty-five years of age when he first set foot in India. Whatever progress he made in the native languages, it is certain he manifested a most lamentable ignorance of the native character ; and there were probably few men in India in May, 1857, who, however well they individually liked the commander-in-chief, did not agree with Major-general Tucker, that “both the results of his (General Anson’s) command and his antecedents, are in proof that a vast weight of responsibility rests upon those who appointed to this important command a general so utterly inexperienced in practi- cal military affairs. * * * I venture

to say,” Major-general Tucker adds, “ it will be found, on inquiry, that he was quite unequal to the occasion ; and paiuful as it is to point to the weakness of one who was talented, amiable, and gentlemanly, it is yet due to the country, and to those whose sons and daughters, and kith and kin, are being sacrificed in India, to expose the favouritism which in high places has led to many such appointments.”*

Major-general Tucker writes, it must be recollected, as one whose past position under General Anson, as adjutant-general, entitles his opinion to consideration. The Indian correspondence of the period confirms his observations; but gives further, and certainly exaggerated, views of the late commander-in- chief’s notorious unfitness. One writer, apparently an Indian official of a certain rank, asserts — “ General Anson’s death saved him from assassination. He was hated by the troops, and they burnt his tents. He was quite unfitted for his post. Horses and gaming appear to have been his pursuits; and, as a gentleman said, ‘ No court pet flunky ought to come to India.’ Every one gave a sigh of relief when they heard he was gone. Pat Grant is come over from Madras, to head the army till orders come from England. Henry Law- rence (also a brigadier-general) has been

* Letter of Major-general Tucker to the editor of the Times, July 19th, 1S57.

GENERAL ANSON.

named for the appointment, but he cannot be spared from Oude.”f

The term “ court pet flunky” is not fairly applicable to the officer in question; but it is quoted here because expressions such as these, emanating from one of the masters of India, exercise an influence in the native mind, the effect of which can hardly be over-estimated. Englishmen at the din- ner-table are not famed for diplomatic re- serve: it follows that, through the servants in attendance (as well as in many other ways), the quick-witted natives are euabled to form a pretty clear notion of the views of the sahib logue (literally master-people ) regard- ing their chief functionaries. Thus we know, on the authority of Mr. Raikes, that in February, 1857, a native journal had the audacity to declare — “Now is the time for India to rise, with a governor-general who has had no experience of public affairs in this country, and a commander-in-chief who has had no experience of war in any country.’’^;

This is nearly correct. General Anson (son of the first Viscount Anson, and brother of the first Earl of Lichfield) had been a commissioned officer in the 3rd or Scots fusilier guards, with which regiment he served at the battle of Waterloo, in the baggage guard, beiug then eighteen years of age. Ten years later he was placed on half pay as a lieutenant-colonel by brevet.

The Times describes his election to parlia- ment, as member for Great Yarmouth, in 1818, and his acceptance of the Chiltern Hundreds in 1853, on his departure for Madras. The local rank of general was conferred on him in 1855 ; and in December, 1856, he was nominated to the colonelcy of the 55th regiment of foot. His occupation as Clerk of the Ordnance (from 1846 to 1852) has been already adverted to ; and he had previously filled the office of principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance, under the administration of Viscount Melbourne. “ He was by hereditary descent, and by personal conviction, a liberal in politics, and invariably sided with the whig leaders.” This sentence probably explains why her majesty’s ministers considered Colonel Anson eligible for one of the most lucrative appointments in their gift, despite the mani- fest impropriety of confiding the charge of a large army to an officer who had never commanded a regiment; and the conclud-

t Daily Keics, August 5th, 1857.

j liaikes, p. 173.

INCOMPETENCY OF THE

ing statement of the obituary, that Colonel Anson “ was a zealous patron of the turf/’* shows why the far-away appointment was eligible to a most popular man about I town. Only, had Sir Charles Napier’s words been deemed worth attention, the government would have felt that a character of an altogether different type was needed to influence, by precept and example, Euro- | pean officers in India, where gentlemanly vices (and especially gaming, and the plea- sures of the table) are peculiarly seductive, as enlivening the monotony of military routine, in a most enervating climate, during a period of profound peace. As to the Native army, it is the less to be wondered at that utter inexperience was not deemed a disqualification for its command ; because the authorities, if they thought of it at all, viewed it as a huge, clumsy, old-fashioned, but very safe machine, not quite fitted for the requirements of the times, but alto- gether too great an affair to be meddled with by persons entrusted with political powers of certainly very precarious, and possibly ephemeral, existence.

So the army was supplemented with “ irregular” corps, which in many points re- sembled what the old regiments had been in, and long after, the days of Clive. These addi- tions complicated the working of the original machine, the constructors of which had long ago died, and, it would seem, their plans with them ; for when the whole concern was suddenly found to be dropping in pieces, the chief engineer proved utterly incapable of pointing out, much less of counteracting, the cause of the mischief.

The Friend of India, the best known of Indian journals, in a leader published on

* Times, July 14th, 1857.

f In the year 1857, the Times, in alluding to the manner in which this sum had been diverted from its original destination, remarked — “ We should be glad if the widows and families of those persons who have distinguished themselves in war, in diplo- macy, or in administration, could be provided for from some other fund ; for certainly the sum of £1,200 a-year is no great amount for such a coun- try as England to expend upon the relief of science and literature in distress.” To the widow of Mr. Gilbert A’Beckett a pension of £100 per annum was allotted, “ in consideration of the literary merits of her husband, also of the eminent public services rendered by him in his capacity of a police magis- trate in the metropolis, and of the destitute circum- stances in which his widow and their children are now placed.” — (Times, July 9th, 1857). In this case, it would appear that a conjunction of reasons are deemed necessary to justify the pension of a single hundred a-year to the widow of a distin- guished litterateur. A pension of £70 to the widow

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 181

the 14th of May, 1857 (while General Anson was yet alive), says —

“ An army has often been likened to a machine ; and we wish the comparison were thoroughly accepted. When your engine goes wrong, it is found needful to have at hand a man who understands every portion of it. Being able to place his hand on the defective spot, he knows exactly what is required in the way of reparation, and how to set about the work. But we never, except by chance, have a capable engineer in the person of the exalted official who has to guide the vast and powerful mechanism that holds the soil and collects the revenues of India. It is hard to divine in most cases the cause of his appoint- ment— harder still to justify the fact of it. It is a miserable thing to say that the state gains by the idleness of a commander-in-chief ; and yet, in most cases, all ranks of the community would join in wishing that he would fold his hands, and only open them to clutch what ought to be the recompense of zeal, intellect, and energy.”

It is asserted, that immediately before his seizure, General Anson, finding that his utter inexperience in warfare disqualified him for conducting the attack on Delhi, had formally communicated to General Barnard, through the adjutant-general, the intention to resign the command of the army.

One other circumstance remains to be noticed, in illustration of the ill-advised “favouritism” which Major-general Tucker denounces as exercising so baneful an influ- ence in India. About the same time, when the “ good-service pension” of £100 a-year was meted out to the gallant Havelock, an intimation appeared that the widow of General Anson had, in addition to the pen- sion on account of her late husband’s rank in the service, been granted a stipend of £200 a-year out of the annual sum of £1,200 granted by parliament, and known as the “ Literary Fund.”f

of Hugh Millar, is likewise accorded on the double ground of his eminent literary services and her poverty. In 1858, a pension of £100 per annum was allotted from the same fund to the widow of Douglas Jerrold ; £50 per annum to each of the two Miss Lan- ders, “in consideration of the eminent services of their father, the late Mr. John Lander, who died from the effects of the climate while exploring the river Niger, and of the straitened circumstances in which they are placed at his decease £40 per annum to the daughter of James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd ; and £50 to the aged widow of the late Dr. Dick, the author of the Christiati Philosopher and other admi- rable works, “ in consideration of the merits of her late husband as a moral and theological writer, and of the straitened circumstances in which she is now placed.” Then follows — £200 per annum to the Hon. Isabella Elizabeth Annabella Anson, in con- sideration of the services of her husband, the late General the Hon. George Anson j and £200 per annum to Dame Isabella Letitia Barnard, in consideration of the services of her husband, the

182

MUTINOUS OUTBREAK AT MEERUT

It seems to be an inevitable necessity that, save in some rare cases, the rank of those who serve, rather than the value of the service rendered, is to be the rule of the reward. The East India Company have been accused of carrying this principle to an extreme, by their rigid adherence to the seniority system ; but it would be hard to bring against them any more direct in- stance (so far as the Europeans are con- cerned) of robbing poor Peter to pay rich Paul than that above noticed.

The Indian crisis, however, for the mo- ment, laid favouritism, patronage, and seni- ority together on the shelf, and the ques- tion was earnestly and eagerly discussed, “ Who is the fittest man to command the forces?” The emergency was far greater than that which had previously issued in the sending out of General Napier ; but the result was partially the same ; for as the war was ended before Sir Charles reached the scene of action, so, in 1857, the news of the recapture of Delhi greeted Sir Colin Camp- bell on his arrival at Calcutta. The predic- tion of Lieutenant-governor Colvin had, in fact, been fulfilled — “ John Lawrence and his Sikhs had saved India.”*

Pending the decision of the Calcutta gov- ernment regarding the vacant position of commander-iu-cliief, the command devolved on Major-general Barnard, who was himself summoned, by a telegraph, from a sick bed to receive the last instructions of General Anson regarding the intended march on Delhi. New delays are said to have arisen, in consequence of the detention of Brigadier Archdale Wilson, and the reinforcements expected from Meerut, by the orders of Mr. Greathed ; so that General Barnard, disap- pointed of the artillery and gunners which were to have joined the Delhi column ac- cording to General Anson’s arrangements, was compelled to send elephants to Meerut to bring on the troops from thence.f The authorities at" that unfortunate cantonment had not yet recovered from the paralytic panic which had seized them on the 10th. In fact, they had had a new shock; for a fresh mutiny had broken out among a body of 600 Native sappers and miners, who had beensent

late Major-general Sir H. W. Barnard, K.C.B. {Times, July 28th, 1858). In the two last-named cases, the allusion to “ straitened circumstances” is omitted. Yet it is the only conceivable excuse for placing these two ladies on the Literary Fund. In the case of Mrs. Dick and others, it -would surely have been more gracious to have accorded their slender pittances as a token of public respect

in from Roorkee to repair and strengthen the Meerut station. They arrived on the 15th of May. On the 16th about 400 of them rose in a body, and after murdering their commandant (Captain Fraser), they made off towards Delhi, but being pursued by two squadrons of the carabineers, were over- taken about six miles off, and forty-seven of them slain. The remainder continued their flight. One of the carabineers was killed, and two or three wounded, including Colonel Hogge, an active and energetic officer, who led the pursuit, and received a ball in his thigh, which unfortunately laid him up at a time when his services could be ill-spared. The remaining two companieswere disarmed, and continued perfectly quiet.

Two days later, a sapper detachment, about 300 strong, mutinied at Roorkee. A company had been detached to join the commander-in-chiefs column, and had got half-way to Seharunpore, when tidings reached it of the collision at Meerut, in which Captain Fraser lost his life. It would advance no farther, but marched back to the cantonment at Roorkee, bringing the European officers, and treating them per- sonally with respect. When the men re- turned, Lieutenants Drummond, Bingham, and Fulford, had already left cantonments at the earnest request of the Native officers, and had been escorted to the college by them ; and a body of old sepoys resolutely resisted the attempts of a small party among the men, who urged the massacre of the Europeans. J

On the 13th, intelligence reached Meerut that Sirdhana, formerly the chief place of the Begum Sumroo’s jaghire, had been de- vastated by the villagers, and that the nuns and children of the convent there were actually in a state of siege. The postmaster at Meerut, having female relations at Sird- hana, asked for a small escort to go to their relief. The authorities replied, that not a single European soldier could be spared from the station, but that four Native troopers would be allowed to accompany him. Even these he could not get ; but he armed three or four of his office people, started off at half-past four on the Thursday

to the merits of the departed, and not as a charitable dole, their claim to which needed to be eked out by poverty.

* Itaikes’ Revolt in the N. TV. Provinces.

j- See Memoir of General Barnard’s Services : by a near connexion. — Times, December 25th, 1857.

J Bombay correspondent : Daily New s, July 15th, 1857.

OUTBREAK OF THE MUTINY AT FEROZPOOR. 183

evening, and returned a little after seven, with five females and girls. The nuns would not abandon the children, but had entreated him to try and send them some help. The Rev. Mr. Smythe, who was at Meerut at the time, says — “ The postmaster tried all he could to get a guard to escort them to this station, but did not succeed ; and yesterday morning (the 15th), having given up the idea of procuring a guard from the military authorities, he went round, and by speaking to some gentlemen, got about fifteen persons to volunteer their services to go and rescue the poor nuns and children from Sirdhana; and, I am happy to say, they succeeded in their charitable errand without any one having been injured.”*

The authorities subsequently took care to publish the rescue of the defenceless women and children, but were discreetly silent as to the individual gallantry by which it had been accomplished. Neither did they mention an offer made, according to the Rev. Mr. Rotton, on the evening of the mutiny, by an officer of the carabineers, to pursue the fugitives, but “ declined by the general commanding the Meerut division.”+

Mr. Raikes also, in describing the course of events at Agra, records “ the indignation with which, on Thursday evening, we learned that the mutineers, after firing the station, murdering our countrymen, women, and children, and breaking the gaol, had been permitted to retire quietly on Delhi, taking their barbers, water-carriers, bag and bag- gage, just as if they had been on an ordinary march and adds, “ I now know that Major Rosser, of II.M.’s 6th carabineers, asked permission to follow them with cavalry and guns. If he had been allowed to do so, it is quite possible, and indeed probable, that the mutiny, for the present at least, might have been crushed.”! The Calcutta govern- ment were not insensible of the supineness indulged in at Meerut; for the governor-

* Letters of Rev. Mr. Smythe, dated 16th and 17th May, 1857.

t The Chaplain’s Narrative of the Siege of Delhi , p. 7. Mr. Rotton (whose book is far more moderate in tone than might have been expected from the ex- tract from his sermon given in Colonel Smythe’s Nar- rative, and quoted at p. 154) says, that “in truth, our military authorities were paralysed. No one knew what was best to do, and nothing accordingly was done. The rebels had it all their own way.” Mr Rotton also adverts to the “ one thing which impressed every one — the delay in leading the troops from the grand parade-ground to the scene of mutiny and bloodshed. The native soldiery, and the fellows of baser sort in the bazaars, had ample time to corn-

general in council, in a telegram dated June 1st, 1857, entreated Mr. Colvin to endeavour “ to keep up communication with the south;” adding, “this, like everything else, has been culpably neglected at Meerut.”§

Ferozpoor. — The next outbreak after that at Delhi, occurred at Ferozpoor, an im- portant city, which long formed our fron- tier station in the north-west, and which, in May, 1857, contained an intrenched magazine of the largest class, filled with military stores scarcely inferior in amount to those in the arsenal of Fort William. Ferozpoor commands one high road from Lahore to Delhi, as Umritsir does the other.

The troops stationed there consisted of II.M.’s 61st foot, about 1,000 stroug; two companies of artillery, composed of a nearly equal number of Europeans, about 300 in all ; the 10th Native light cavalry, under 500 men ; and the 45th and 57th Native infantry. Brigadier Innes|| assumed the command at Ferozpoor on the 11th of May; on the 12th, he learned the events which had occurred at Meerut ; and, on the following morning, he ordered a general parade, with the view of ascertaining the temper of the troops ; which, on reviewing them, he thought “ haughty.” At noon, information arrived of the occupation of Delhi (seventy-three miles distant) by the rebels. The intrenchments were at this time held by a company of the 57th Native infantry ; but a detachment of H.M.’s 61st, under Major Redmond, was immediately dispatched thither. The brigadier likewise resolved “to move the Native troops out of cantonments ;” and the European artillery, with twelve guns, was ordered down, “to overawe or destroy the two Native corps” — that is, of infantry ; the cavalry being con- sidered perfectly reliable, and entrusted with the care of the new arsenal, its magazine, and contents. The preliminary arrange- ments were completed by five o’clock ; and

mit the greatest outrages in consequence of this simple fact.” — (p. 4.) It is, however, alleged that General Hewitt cannot justly be held responsible for this tardiness, because although he was general of the Meerut division, Brigadier Wilson was in command of the station ; and it is urged, that of the proceedings of the latter officer during the memo- rable night of the outbreak, not one word, good, bad, or indifferent, is on record.

1 Revolt in the N.W. Provinces, p. 13.

§ Appendix to Papers on Mutiny, p. 355.

|| Printed “ James” in Further Papers on Mutiny (No. 3, p. 8), by one of the unaccountable blunders with which the Indian and Colonial Blue Books abound.

184

BRIGADIER INNES’ CONDUCT AT FEROZPOOR.

the Native troops being assembled on the parade-ground at that hour, the brigadier formed them up in quarter-distance co- lumns, addressed them, and ordered the two regiments to move off in contrary directions. Both obeyed without hesitation ; but the road the 45th were directed to take to the place where they were to encamp, lay close to the intrenched camp ; on reaching which, the men broke into open mutiny, loaded their muskets, and, heedless of the entreaties of their officers, ran to the north- west bastion of the magazine, and stood still, apparently hesitating what to do next. At this moment, scaling-ladders were thrown out to them by the company of the 57th, who had been left there to avoid raising the suspicions of their com- rades before the parade. The 45th com- menced climbing the parapet; and some 300 of them having succeeded in making their way over, attacked a company of the 61st, which was hurriedly drawn up to receive them. Major Redmond was wounded in repulsing the mutineers, who made a second attempt; but, being again defeated, broke up, and dispersed themselves through the bazaars and cantonments. A body of about 150 men continued to obey Colonel Liptrap and their other officers, and en- camped in the place pointed out to them ; the rest were deaf to threats and entreaties. Instead of acting on the offensive, and im- mediately following the mutineers, Brigadier Innes, according to his report, assumed an exclusively defensive attitude. He desired the Europeans to leave the cantonments, and come into the barracks; and suffered a portion of H.M.’s 61st to remain in their lines, while the mutineers, having carried their dead to the Mohammedan burying- ground, returned in small bodies to the can- tonments, and burned the church, Roman Catholic chapel, two vacant hospitals, the mess-house of the 61st, and sixteen bunga- lows. Two merchants (Messrs. Coates and Hughes) positively refused to abandon their houses, and, collecting their servants, successfully defended themselves ; Mr. Hughes’ son, a mere boy, shooting one of the assailants. The fact of there being “ 20,000 barrels of gunpowder in the arsenal”* to care for, is alleged in excuse for the sacri- fice of the buildings. The next measure

* Cooper’s Crisis in the Punjab , p. 13.

t Brigadier Innes’ despatch, May 16th, 1857. — Further Pari. Papers (No. 3), p. 7.

I Crisis in the Punjab, p. 13.

was still more extraordinary. Brigadier Iunes states —

“ On hearing from Colonel Liptrap that the 45th intended to seize their magazine on the morning of the 14th, I determined to blow up the magazines both of the 45th and 57th. * * * The blowing

up of the magazines so enraged the 45th, that they immediately seized their colours, and marched off towards Furreed Kote. On Colonel Liptrap re- porting this, I desired him to march in with those that stood faithful, and lay down their arms to the 61st; 133 of all ranks did so. Three troops of the 10th light cavalry, under Majors Beatson and Harvey, and two guns, I sent in pursuit of the j mutineers.

“Major Marsden, deputy-commissioner, having : volunteered his services, and from his knowledge of the country, I entrusted to him the command of the whole. He followed them for about twelve miles. They dispersed in all directions, throwing away their arms and colours into wells and other places.

A few were made prisoners, and the country-people have since brought in several.

“The above occurrences took place on the 14th.

In the early part of the day, I acquainted Colonel j Darvall that I would receive such men of his regi- • ment as would come in and lay down their arms : I the light company, under Captain Salmon, and owing to his exertions, almost to a man did so. On laying down their arms, I permitted them to return to their lines. It was immediately reported that stragglers from the 45th had entered their lines and threatened them, on which a company of the 61st cleared their lines. Unfortunately, the 57th, seeing European troops in their lines, believed that their light company were being made prisoners, which caused a panic in the 57th, and prevented their coming in to lay down their arms, which Colonel Darvall reported they intended to have done. On regaining confidence, several parties came in under their officers ; and in the evening Colonel

Darvall brought in of all ranks, with his colours,

and I required them to lay down their arms, which they did without hesitation, but with a haughty air. I

“ I am unable to furnish present states, but I believe that, of the 57th, about 520 men are present, and about half that number of the 45th.

“ It is gratifying to state that the 25th Native light cavalry have remained staunch, and have done good service. The greatest credit is due to Major M‘Don- nell and his officers for keeping his regiment together, for this corps must have the same ideas as the other portions of the Native army. * * * The 10th

cavalry are constantly in the saddle.”!

Such is the account given, by the leading authority, of an affair which occasioned his “ summary removal from the list of briga- diers,” and materially strengthened the rebel cause.

Mr. Cooper remarks that, “on the 28th of May, the remainder of the 45th were turned ingloriously out of cantonments, and escorted to the boundaries of the dis- trict. They probably combated with no diminished acrimony against us at Delhi, from having been allowed to reach it alive, without money aud without food.”!

CHAPTER VI.

AGRA, ALIGHUR, MYNPOORIE, NEEMUCH, AND NUS SEER AB AD. — MAY AND

JUNE, 1857.

Agra. — Nowhere could the tidings of the rebellion be more calculated to excite alarm than in the stately city of Agra — the rival of Delhi in the palmy days of the Mogul empire, and now the chief place in the division of the British dominions known as the N. W. Provinces. Agra is situated on the banks of the Jumna, 139 miles south-east of Delhi.

The troops in the station consisted of one company of artillery (chiefly Europeans), H.M.’s 3rd foot, the 44th and G7th regi- ments of Native infantry,, and a detachment of irregular cavalry, consisting of thirty-seven men, commanded by two Native officers. Intelligence of the outbreak at Meerut was published in Agra on the morning of the lltli of May ; but the newspaper announce- ment was accompanied by a remark, on the part of the editor, that, “in a station like Meerut, with the 6th dragoons, 60th rifles, and European artillery, it might be pre- sumed that the mutineers had a very short race of it.”* It was not until three days later that the Europeans at Agra became acquainted with the extent of the calamity.

Lieutenant-governor Colvin was, happily, a man of experience and discretion. While the cloud was as yet no bigger than a man’s hand, he recognised the tempest it portended ; and, slowly as the intelligence reached Agra, he w7as more ready for the worst than some who had had longer warn- ing. On the 13tli he dispatched a telegram to Calcutta, suggesting that “the force re- turning from the Persian gulf, or a con- siderable portion of it, should be summoned in straight to Calcutta, and thence sent up the country.” On the 14th, he wrote urging that martial law should be pro- claimed in the Meerut district ; which, as we have seen, was done, and necessarily so, for our civil and criminal courts, always de- tested by the natives, were swept away by the first blast of the storm ; and, a few days later, Lieutenant-governor Colvin reported that, “ around Meerut, the state of license

* Mofussulite (extra)-, May 11th, 1857.

t Despatch from Lieutenant-governor Colvin, May 22nd, 1857. — Appendix to Pari. Papers, p. 311.

VOL. II. 2 B

in the villages, caused by the absence of all government, spread for about twenty or twenty-five miles south, and about the same limit, or somewhat more, north. Within this belt, unchecked license reigned from the Jumna to the Ganges. The absence of any light cavalry, or effective means of scouring the country in this severely hot weather, paralysed the attempts of the Meerut force to maintain any regularity or order beyond the immediate line of its pickets.”f

The question of holding the various small stations scattered throughout the disturbed provinces, became early one of anxious interest. They could be retained only at imminent risk to the handful of Europeans who were placed there ; nevertheless, the general good could scarcely be more effec- tively served, than by each man standing to his post at all hazards, sooner than seem to fly before the rebels. Every one who knew the Asiatic character, concurred in this opinion ; and none stated it more clearly than Lieutenant-governor Colvin. His view of the conduct of the collector of Goorgaon — a district, the chief place of which (also named Goorgaon) is only eigh- teen miles from Delhi — shows how stern a sense he had of the duty of even civilians under new and trying circumstances. In describing the state of affairs in the North- Western Provinces, he writes : —

“On the evening of the 13th instant [May], Mr. Ford, and his assistant, Mr. W. Clifford, having no support beyond their police and a party of the con- tingent of the Jhujjur horse, whose tone and conduct became rapidly menacing, thought that no good object would be attained by their staying at Goor- gaon. The lieutenant-governor regrets the determi- nation to quit the station on Mr. Ford’s part, because he does not doubt that the best mode, especially in India, of staying violent outbursts against authority of this kind, is to remain at the post to the last, even at the direct risk of life.

“ Withdrawal from a post, except under immediate attack and irresistible compulsion, at once destroys all authority, which, in our civil administration, in its strength is respected, if exercised only by a Chupprassee ; while in the event of any general resistance, accompanied by defection of our military force, it has in truth no solid foundation to rest upon : but the lieutenant-governor has not thought

186 AGRA AND THE NORTH-WEST PROVINCES— MAY, 1857.

f it necessary on this account, after such alarmingly emergent circumstances as had occurred at Delhi, to censure Mr. Ford for the course which he adopted.

“ The introduction of general disorder into the villages of the Goorgaon district, soon communicated itself to the northern portion of Muttra ; and the isolated customs’ patrol officers, whose duties render them necessarily unpopular, fell back from their posts with their men. This spread further the im- pression of a cessation of all government, and was having a very injurious effect up to the very walls of the important town of Muttra.

“ This state of things has, however, greatly altered for the better by the advance of an effective portion of the Bhurtpoor troops, which has now taken up a position on the Muttra and Goorgaon frontier.”

The Jhujjur and Bhurtpoor troops men- tioned in the foregoing paragraph, consisted partly of a contingent or subsidiary force, furnished by the chiefs of those territories to the British government, and partly of their own immediate retainers, who, being I a kind of feudal militia, were perfectly trustworthy; whereas the former, whether ! contingent or subsidiary, were essentially a ! portion of the Bengal army, drawn from the same sources, disciplined in the same ! ; manner, and officered by Europeans — hav- ing in all respects a fellow-feeling with the Delhi mutineers. At first, a degree of con- ! fidence was reposed in the fidelity of the native contingents, which was neither war- ranted by their antecedents, nor supported by their subsequent conduct ; for they were false to us, in defiance of the strenuous en- deavours of the native princes, on whom we had forced them under a mistaken view of our own interests. Sindia, Holcar, the rajah of Bhurtpoor, and other princes, never wavered in their opinion of the disaf- j fection of the subsidiary troops, and gave conspicuous and self-sacrificing tokens of their personal fidelity, by placing their owrn retainers at the disposal of the British. As ; ; early as the 14th of May, Colvin received a | message from Sindia, that his body-guard of 400 cavalry, and a battery of horse artil- lery, would be ready to start from Gwalior for Agra on the following evening. The ofi’er was gladly accepted.

On the 15th, the lieutenant-governor re- viewed the troops stationed at Agra, having previously ascertained, from undoubted au- thority, that a deep and genuine conviction had seized the mind of the sepoy army, that the government was steadily bent on causing a general forfeiture of caste by the compul- sory handling of impure things. Privately, and on parade, the men assured the lieute- nant-governor, that “ all they wanted to be

certain of,” was the non-existence of the suspected plot : he therefore addressed the Supreme government by telegraph, urging the immediate issue of a proclamation con- taining a simple and direct assurance that no attempt whatever would be made against the caste of the Native troops. He added — “An inducement, too, is wanted for not joining the mutineers, and for leaving them. I am in the thick of it, and know what is wanted. I earnestly beg this, to strengthen me.”*

On the 16th, the governor-general in council sent a telegraphic reply, promising that the desired proclamation should be issued, and encouraging Colvin in the course he was pursuing, by the following cordial expression of approval: — “I thank you sincerely for all you have so admirably done, and for your stout heart.”f

No proclamation, properly so called, ap- pears to have been issued; but, according to the inaccurate and hasty summary of events sent to the Court of Directors from Calcutta, “a circular was issued on the 29th, explaining that none of the new car- tridges had been issued toNative regiments.” This statement was, as has been before stated, in complete opposition to that of General Anson, who had, some days before, formally withdrawn the identical cartridges which Lord Canning declared had never been issued. To complicate the matter still further, the same page of the Calcutta intelligence which contains the notice of the circular of the Supreme government, states, also, as the latest intelligence from Umritsir, that “the 59th N. I. do not object to the new cartridges.”^

The position of Colvin was most harass- ing. He never received any communica- tion whatever from General Anson — the regular posts being stopped, and the general not fertile in expedients for the conveyance or obtainment of intelligence. A council of war was held at the Agra government- house on the 13th of May : and even at this early period, Mr. Raikes describes the lieutenant-governor as “exposed to that rush of alarm, advice, suggestion, expostula- tion, and threat, which went on increasing for nearly two months, until he was driven nearly broken-hearted into the fort.” The officers naturally urged advice with especial earnestness on a civil governor, and “ every

* Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, 1857 ;

p. 181.

t Ibid., p. 193. J Ibid., p. 301.

MR. COLVIN’S PROCLAMATION— AGRA— MAY 25th, 1857

187

man was anxious to do his best, but to do it his own way.”*

Long experience of native character, how- ever, had given Mr. Colvin an insight into the causes of the mutiny, which convinced him of the paramount influence that panic, and the feeling of being irremediably compromised by the misconduct of others, had exercised, and were still exercising, in the minds of the sepoys. In the excitement of the crisis his policy was the subject of sweeping censure; but, eventually, measures of a similar tendency were resorted to, as the sole means of healing a breach which he strove to narrow and close at its commencement. With regard to the Euro- peans, the attitude he advised and adopted was most unflinching. The same feeling which induced him to blame the abandon- ment of Goorgaon, led him to declare, a week later, when the danger was fast in- creasing—

“ It is a vitally useful lesson to be learnt from the experience of present events, that not one step should be yielded in retreat, on an outbreak in India, which can be avoided with any safety. Plunder and gene- ral license immediately commence, and all useful tenure of the country is annihilated. It is not by shutting ourselves in forts in India that our power can be upheld ; and I will decidedly oppose myself to any proposal for throwing the European force into the fort except in the very last extremity.”-)-

With regard to the Native army, lie believed one measure, and only one, re- mained which might arrest the plague of mutiny by affording opportunity for repen- tance before war a I’outrance should be de- clared against the Europeans. Addressing the governor-general by telegraph on the 24th of May, he writes ■. —

“On the mode of dealing with the mutineers, I would strenuously oppose general severity towards all. Such a course would, as we are unanimously convinced by a knowledge of the feeling of the people, acquired among them from a variety of sources, estrange the remainder of the army. Hope, I am firmly convinced, should be held out to all those who were not ringleaders or actively concerned in murder and violence. Many are in the rebels’ ranks because they could not get away ; many cer- tainly thought we were tricking them out of their caste; and this opinion is held, however unwisely, by the mass of the population, and even by some of tne more intelligent classes. Never was delusion more wide or deep. Many of the best soldiers in the army — among others, of its most faithful section,

* Raikes’ Revolt in the N.W. Provinces , p. 10.

t Mr. Colvin to the governor-general, May 22nd, 1857. — The first two sentences of the quotation from Mr. Colvin’s despatch to the governor-general, are quoted from the Appendix to Pari. Papers on

the irregular cavalry — show a marked reluctance to engage in a war against men whom they believe to have been misled on the point of religious honour. A tone of general menace would, I am persuaded, be wrong. The commander-in-chief should, in my view, be authorised to act upon the above line of policy; and when means of escape are thus open to those who can be admitted to mercy, the remnant will be considered obstinate traitors even by then- own countrymen, who will have no hesitation in siding against them.”

On the following day, Mr. Colvin reported to the governor-general that be had himself taken the decisive step : —

“ Impressed by the knowledge of the feelings of the native population, as communicated in my mes- sage of yesterday, and supported by the unanimous opinion of all officers of experience here, that this mutiny is not one to be put down by high-handed authority; and thinking it essential at present to give a favourable turn to the feelings of the sepoys who have not yet entered against us, I have taken the grave responsibility of issuing, on my own autho- rity, the following proclamation. A weighty reason with me has been the total dissolution of order, and the loss of every means of control in many districts. My latest letter from Meerut is now seven days old, and not a single letter has reached me from the commander-in-chief.

“ Proclamation.

“ Soldiers engaged in the late disturbances, who are desirous of going to their own homes, and who give up their arms at the nearest government civil or military post, and retire quietly, shall be per- mitted to do so unmolested.

“ Many faithful soldiers have been driven into resistance to government only because they were in the ranks and could not escape from them, and because they really thought their feelings of religion and honour injured by the measures of government. This feeling was wholly a mistake; but it acted on men’s minds. A proclamation of the governor- general now issued is perfectly explicit, and will remove all doubts on these points.

“ Every evil-minded instigator in the disturbance, and those guilty of heinous crimes against private persons, shall be punished. All those who appear in arms against the government after this notifica- tion is known shall be treated as open enemies.”}:

The proclamation, according to Sir Charles Trevelyan, “was universally approved at Agra.” He adds, that “its object was to apply a solvent to reduce the compact mass of rebellion to its elements, and to give to the well-disposed an opportunity of return- ing to their allegiance, leaving the guilty remainder to their well-deserved fate.”§

The governor-general in council took a different view of the subject ; and a tele- gram, dated May 26th, declared that the

Mutiny, p. 313; the third, omitted in the Blue Book, is given by “ Indophilus” in his Letter to the Times, Dec. 25th, 1857.

t Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, 1857.

§ Times, December 25th, 1857.

188

THE RAJAH OF PUTTEEALA.

proclamation was disapproved, and that the embarrassment in which it would place the government and the commander-in-chief was very great. Everything was therefore to be done to stop its operation. Mr. Colvin protested against the repudiation of the proclamation, and denied the justice of the chief ground on which it was denounced by the governor-general in council — namely, that it offered means of escape to the men who murdered their officers. Lord Canning persisted in ordering its withdrawal, and directed that the following proclamation should be issued in its stead : —

“ Every soldier of a regiment which, although it has deserted its post, has not committed outrages, will receive a free pardon and permission to proceed to his home, if he immediately delivers up his arms to the civil or military authority, and if no heinous crime is shown to have been perpetrated by himself personally.

“This offer of free and unconditional pardon cannot be extended to those regiments which have killed or wounded their officers or other persons, or which have been concerned in the commission of cruel outrages.

“ The men of such regiments must submit them- selves unconditionally to the authority and justice of the government of India.

“ Any proclamations offering pardon to soldiers engaged in the late disturbances, which may have been issued by local authorities previously to the promulgation of the present proclamation, will there- upon cease to have effect; but all persons who may have availed themselves of the offer made in such proclamations, shall enjoy the benefit thereof.”*

It was clearly impolitic to issue orders and counter-orders which, to the natives, would bear the semblance of vacillation of purpose, if not of double-dealing. But in the excitement of the period, it is probable that nothing short of an explicit offer of amnesty to all who could not be proved to have actually shed blood, or been notorious ringleaders, would have sufficed to arrest the course of mutiny. The gov- ernment of India, true to the motto of ! their policy, “ insufficient or too late,” could not yet understand the urgency of the case, and went so far as to blame the lieutenant- governor for having taken upon himself the responsibility of an important measure, “without necessity for any extreme haste.” And this to a man who heard the “ crash of regiments” on every side.

Lord Elphinstoue, the governor of Bom- bay, dispatched a telegram to Lord Canning on the 17th of May, proposing to send an officer in a fast steamer, to overtake the

* Appendix to Pari. Papers on Mutiny, 1857 ; pp. 334-5.

mail, which had left Bombay four days pre- viously. The governor-general rejected the offer as unnecessary, although it involved the saving of twenty-eight days in the appeal for reinforcements from England. About the same time, intelligence reached Agra that the treaty of peace was ratified with Persia, and that three European regi- ments, and a portion of the European artil- lery, were to return to India immediately. Mr. Colvin entreated that the troops, on arriving at Calcutta, might be immediately dispatched to the Upper Provinces; but the answer he received was, that many weeks must elapse before the force could i reach India; in the meantime, a European regiment had been called for from Madras, j and one from Pegu; but these were not ' expected at Calcutta under a fortnight, and not a single European could be spared until then. In the event of being severely pressed, Mr. Colvin was to apply to the rajah of Putteeala, or to the rajah of Jheend, for aid. The services of both these chiefs had already been volunteered, and imme- diately accepted and employed.

The rajah of Putteeala has been men- tioned as sending cavalry to the rescue of the fugitives from Delhi. His name will recur frequently, in the course of the narra- tive, as that of “ a constant, honourable, and invaluable ally.” His principality is one of the most important of those known as the Seik protected states; and its extent has been recently increased by grants from the British government, bestowed in reward of his fidelity during the war with Lahore, on condition of his making and maintaining in repair a military road, and abolishing Suttee, infanticide, and slave-dealing in his dominions.

The latest parliamentary return on the subject states the area of Putteeala at 4,448 miles, and the population at 662,752 per- sons. The territory is very fertile, and exports large quantities of grain across the Sutlej to Lahore and Umritsir. The chief place, also named Putteeala (twenty miles from Umballah), is a densely peopled and compact town, with a small citadel, in which the rajah, or, as he is more generally called, the maharajah, resides. He is de- scribed as “ a man in the prime of life, of some thirty-three or thirty-four years of age, of commanding stature and fine pre- sence, inclining to obesity ; a handsome oval face, black flowing beard, moustache, and whiskers; Grecian nose, and large dark

MUTINY AT ALIGHUR— MAY 20th. 1857. 189

eves of the almond shape, which is so much admired by the Asiatics. His court is the last which is left in the north-west of India, and is maintained with Oriental magnifi- cence. As a governor he is absolute in his own dominions, which he rules vigorously and energetically with his own hands.”* * * § The position of Putteeala, the resources and energy of its ruler, and the disaffection of many of his subjects towards British supremacy, rendered the question of his allegiance one of extreme importance. His decision was immediate and unquali- fied ; and he assisted the British govern- ment, not only with troops and supplies of provision, but actually with a loan of money to the amount of ,£210,000.t The Uin- ballah cantonment was in so disorganised a condition at the time of the general mutiny, that, according to Mr. Raikes, it could hardly have been preserved without the help of the Putteeala rajah. When sum- moned thither, he came clad in a suit of mail, driving his own elephant, and spared no exertion to prove his zeal.J

Jheend is another, but much smaller, Cis-Sutlej state, part of which was annexed on the failure of dii’ect heirs; but the re- mainder was suffered to pass into the possession of a collateral heir in 1837. Its limits were increased after the conclusion of the war with Lahore, on the same terms as those of Putteeala, and for the same reason — namely, the good service rendered by its rajah. Jheend comprises an area of 376 square miles, and a popula- tion of about 56,000 persons. The rajah had an early opportunity of manifesting his determined allegiance to the English. It is said, that a deputation from Delhi sought him while reviewing his troops in his chief place, and that, on learning their errand, he immediately ordered every man of the messengers to be cut down.§

These were the allies to whom Lord Can- ning bade Mr. Colvin turn for the help ; and to them, among other benefits, we owe the aid of our first Seik levies. ||

As the month of May wore on, affairs in Agra began to assume a gloomier aspect. The detachments of the Gwalior contingent, sent as reinforcements, speedily betrayed their sympathy with the mutineers against

* Times (Mr. Russell), 29th November, 1858.

t Ibid.

Raikes’ Revolt in the N. IF. Provinces, pp. 88, 89.

§ Daily Neios, June 29th, 1857

|1 Murray’s Quarterly Review, 1858; p. 226.

whom they were expected to act, by asking whether the flour supplied to their camp was from the government stores. If so, they would not touch it, having been in- formed that cows’ bones had been pulver- ised and mixed with the otta sold in the bazaars. These iudications of disaffection wrere marked by the Europeans with great uneasiness, the general feeling being, that the Hindoos were completely under the influence of the Mussulmans, who “ were all, or nearly all, thirsting for English blood.” And, indeed, the feeling against them became so general and indiscrimi- nating, that Mohammedan, in the North- West Provinces, was viewed as only “another word for a rebel.”** The news from out- stations gave additional cause for alarm and distrust.

Aliyhur lies between Delhi and Agra, about fifty-one miles to the north of the latter city. The position was very impor- tant, as it commanded the communications up and down the country. It was garri- soned by three or four companies of the 9th N.I., “the men of which behaved very steadily and well; and, in this manner, broke the shock of the insurrection for a few days.”ff On the 19th of May, a reli- gious mendicant appeared in the lines, and endeavoured to incite the men to mutiny. Two of the sepoys whom he addressed, seized and carried him before the com- manding officer, who ordered a court-mar- tial to be instantly assembled. The Native officers found the prisoner guilty, and sen- tenced him to death. On the following morning the troops were assembled, and the offender brought out and hung, no opposition or displeasure being evinced at his fate ; but before the men were marched off the ground, the rifle company, which had just been relieved from the outpost of Bolundshuhur, made their appearance; and a Brahmin sepoy, stepping out from the ranks, upbraided his comrades for having betrayed a holy man, who came to save them from disgrace in this world, and eternal perdition in the next.JJ The men listened, debated, wavered, and finally broke up with loud shouts, declaring their inten- tion of joining their comrades at Delhi, which they actually did; for it is stated,

Raikes’ Revolt in N. IF. Provinces, p. 14.

** Ibid., pp. 53; 173.

ft Lieutenant-governor Colvin to governor-gen- eral; May 22nd, 1857. — Appendix, p. 313.

Mead’s Sepoy Revolt, p. 148.

I

I

I

190 MUTINY AT MYNPOORIE — MAY 22nd, 1857.

that the regimental number of the 9th was found on the bodies of some of the most daring opponents of the British army.* The officers, and Europeans generally, were neither injured nor insulted ; but, on their departure, the treasury was seized, the gaol broken open, and the bungalows burned. The officials, both civil and military, re- treated to Hattrass, a station about twenty miles distant; but some persons fled in different directions; and Mr. Raikes de- scribes Lady Outram (the wife of General Sir James Outram) as reaching Agra on the 23rd, “ foot-sore, from Alighur, having fled part of the way without her shoes.”

The fall of Alighur, recounted with all imaginable exaggerations, became the imme- diate topic of conversation in Agra. The budmashes twisted their moustachios signi- ficantly in the bazaars, and the Englishmen handled their swords or revolvers. Mr. Raikes mentions a singular exception to the prevailing panic. The Church Missionary Coliege, he writes, “was about the last to close, and the first to reopen, of all our public institutions at Agra during the period of the revolt. There Dr. French, the prin- cipal, sat calmly, hundreds of young natives at his feet, hanging on the lips which taught them the simple lessons of the Bible. The students at the government, and still more the missionary schools, kept steadily to ; their classes; and when others doubted or fled, they trusted implicitly to their teachers, and openly espoused the Christian cause.”

Their exemplary conduct did not excite 1 any special rancour against them on the part of the insurgents ; on the contrary, it is as- serted as “a curious fact, that at Agra, Alighur, Mynpoorie, Futtehghur, and other places, less danger was done to the churches than to the private dwellings of the Eng- lish.”! This was also the case at Meerut. Three companies of the 9th Native infantry, stationed at Mynpoorie, mutinied there on the 23rd of May. Mynpoorie is the chief town of a district of the same name, ceded by Dowlut Rao Sindia to the East India Company, in 1803. The population are chiefly Hindoos of high caste. One of the Meerut mutineers (a Rajpoot, named Raj- nath Sing) escaped to his native village. The magistrate sent some police and a de- tachment of the 9th to apprehend their coun- tryman and co-religionist; instead of which,

* Mead's Sepoy Revolt, p. 148.

t Raikes’ Revolt in the N. W. Provinces, pp. 15, 16; 94.

they, as might have been expected, enabled him to escape. The news of the mutiny at Alighur reached Mynpoorie on the even- ing of the 22nd, and created great excite- ment, which, being reported to the magis- trate, he immediately made arrangements for sending the European females (sixteen in number), with their children, to Agra, seventy miles distant, which city they reached in safety.

Being thus relieved from the office of protecting a helpless crowd, the leading Europeans prepared to lay down their lives in defence of their public charge. Their pre- sence of mind and moderation was crowned with extraordinary success. The particu- lars of the affair are thus narrated by Mr. J. Power, the magistrate of Myn- poorie. After the departure of the women, he writes —

“Mr. Cocks and I proceeded to the house of Lieutenant Crawford, commanding the station, and this officer agreed directly to take the detachment out of the station and march them to Bhowgaon. After leaving a small guard at the treasury and quarter-guard, which I visited with him, Lieutenant Crawford then left the station, and I then returned to my house, where I found Dr. Watson [surgeon], the Rev. Mr. Kellner, and Mr Cocks assembled.

“ This was about four or five in the morning ; and I had not retired to rest more than ten minutes, before Lieutenant Crawford galloped back to my house, and informed me that his men had broken out into open mutiny, and, after refusing to obey him, had fired at him with their muskets.

“Lieutenant Crawford stated he had then found it useless to attempt commanding his men, and that he had thought it best to hurry back to Mynpoorie to warn the station, and that he believed Lieutenant de Kantzow was killed. Mr. Cocks and the Rev. Mr. Kellner immediately decided on leaving, and the former tried to induce me to leave also: as I informed him that I did not desire to leave my post, he honoured me by terming my conduct ‘romantic,’ and immediately departed in company with the Rev. Mr. Kellner. I then left my house, which I had no means of defending, and which I was informed the sepoys meant to attack, and proceeded to the large bridge over the Eesun, on the grand trunk road. My brother determined on accompanying me, and to share my fate ; and I shall not be accused of favour- itism, I hope, when I state that his coolness and determination were of the greatest aid and comfort to me throughout this trying occasion.

“ On proceeding to the bridge, I was joined by Dr. Watson, and shortly afterwards by Rao Bhowanee Sing, the first cousin of the rajah of Mynpoorie, with a small force of horse and foot; Sergeants Mitchell, Scott, and Montgomery, of the road and canal departments; and Mr. McGlone, clerk in the Myn- poorie magistrate’s office, also joined me at the bridge.

“I was, at this time, most doubtful of the fate of Mr. de Kantzow, for I had not coincided in Lieu- tenant Crawford’s opinion that he had been killed, Lieutenant Crawford not having seen him fall ; and on this account I was unwilling to leave the position

I

GALLANT DEFENCE— MYNPOORIE— MAY 22nd, 1857.

I had taken, though strongly urged to do so. The sepoys returned at this time to the station, having utterly thrown off all control, dragging (as I after- wards learnt) Lieutenant de Kantzow with them. They passed the dak bungalow, and fired a volley into the house of Sergeant Montgomery (which was j close by), the inmates of which had fortunately left, and they then searched the whole house over, with the view of finding money; they also fired at Dr. Watson’s house, who had, as I have mentioned, joined me; and they then proceeded to the rear- guard, the magazine of which they broke open, plundering it completely of its contents.

“ Lieutenant de Kantzow informed me that the rebels took the whole of the ammunition away, and being unable to carry it themselves, they procured two government camels for that purpose from the lines ; each man must have supplied himself with some 300 rounds or more ; and an immense quantity of other government stores was taken by them besides. Lieutenant de Kantzow informs me that his life stood in the greatest danger at the rear-guard at this time. The men fired at random, and muskets were levelled at him, but dashed aside by some better-disposed of the infuriated brutes, who re- membered, perhaps, even in that moment of madness, the kind and generous disposition of their brave oung officer. Lieutenant de Kantzow stood up efore his men ; he showed the utmost coolness and presence of mind ; he urged them to reflect on the lawlessness of their acts, and evinced the utmost indifference of his own life in his zeal to make the sepoys return to their duty. The men turned from the rear-guard to the Cutchery, dragging the lieu- tenant with them. They were met at the treasury by my gaol guard, who were prepared to oppose them and fire on them; but Mr. de Kantzow pre- vented them from firing, and his order has certainly prevented an immense loss of life.

“ A fearful scene here occurred ; the sepoys tried to force open the iron gates of the treasury, and were opposed by the gaol guard and some of the gaol officials ; the latter rallied round Mr. de Kantzow, and did their best to assist him; but they, though behaving excellently, were only a handful of twenty or thirty (if so many), and poorly armed, against the infuriated sepoys, who were well and completely armed and in full force.

“ It is impossible to describe, accurately, the con- tinuation of the scene of the disturbance at the treasury; left by bis superior officer, unaided by the presence of any European, jostled with cruel and insulting violence, buffeted by the hands of men who had received innumerable kindnesses from him, and who had obeyed him but a few hours before with crawling servility, Lieutenant de Kantzow stood for three dreary hours against the rebels at the imminent peril of life.

“ It was not till long after he had thus been situ- ated at the treasury, that I learnt of his being there. I was anxious with all my heart to help him, but was deterred from going by the urgent advice of Rao Bhowanee Sing, who informed me that it was impossible to face the sepoys with the small force at my disposal ; and I received at this time a brief note from Lieutenant de Kantzow himself, by a trust- worthy emissary I sent to him, desiring me not to come to the treasury, as the sepoys were getting quieted, and that my presence would only make matters worse, as the beasts were yelling for my life. At this time, the most signal service was done

191

by Rao Bhowanee Sing, who went alone to the rebels, volunteering to use his own influence and persuasion to make them retire. It is unnecessary to iengthen the account; Rao Bhowanee Sing suc- ceeded ably in his efforts, drew off, and then accom- panied the rebels to the lines ; where, after a space of time, they broke open and looted the bells of arms, the quarter-guard carrying off, it is supposed, 6,000 rupees in money, and all the arms, &c., they found of use to them.

“ I had retired, and the Europeans with me, to the rajah of Mynpoorie’s fort, on the departure of Rao Bhowanee Sing, according to his advice ; and shortly after the sepoys left the treasury, Lieutenant de Kantzow joined me, and I again took possession of the Cutchery. I found, on my return, the whole of the Malkhana looted, the sepoys having helped themselves to swords, iron-bound sticks, &c., which had accumulated during ages past. The staples of the stout iron doors of the treasury had alone given way, but the coors themselves stood firm.

“ My motives in taking up a position at the bridge were, first, that I might keep the high road open ; second, to keep the sepoys from proceeding to the city, and the budmashes of the city from join- ing the sepoys. The effect of the victory (if I may use such a term) over the sepoys, trifling though it may appear, has been of incalculable benefit. It has restored confidence in the city and district, and among the panic-stricken inhabitants; and I hope the safety of the treasure, amounting to three lacs, will prove an advantage in these troubled times to government. * * * Kao Bhowanee Sing’s con-

duct has been deserving in the extreme; I believe he has saved the station and our lives by his cool- ness and tact, and has supported the ancient charac- ter of his race for loyalty to the British government.

“ During the insurrection of the sepoys, I was joined by Dumber Sing, Risaldar, of the 2nd irregu- lars— a fine old Rajpoot, who did me right good service; and by Pylad Sing, Duffadar, of the 8th irregulars. These men guarded the gaol, which the sepoys threatened to break into. Their conduct I beg to bring to the special notice of his honour the lieutenant-governor. These officers have since raised for me a most excellent body of horse, com- posed chiefly of irregulars, which I have placed under the care of the Risaldar.”

The magistrate concluded by stating, that he and his companions had fortified the office, and could “ easily stand a siege in it.”*

Mr. Colvin was delighted by a spirit so congenial to his own, and hastened to lav the whole account before the governor- general ; who, besides sending Lieutenant de Kantzow the thanks of government, wrote him a private note, declaring that he (Lord Canning) could not adequately describe the admiration and respect with which he had read the report of the magistrate of Myn- poorie, concerning the “ noble example of courage, patience, good judgment, and temper, exhibited by the young officer.”f

* Letter of magistrate of Mynpoorie, May 25t.h, 1857. — Appendix, pp. 54, 55.

t Lord Canning, June 7th, 1857.

192

DEATH OF CAPTAIN FLETCHER HAYES— JUNE 1st, 1857.

Another detachment of the 9th Native infantry, stationed at Etawah, likewise mutinied and marched off to Delhi, after plundering the treasury and burning the buugalows. No blood was shed. Mr. Hume, the magistrate, escaped iu the dress of a native woman. A chief, spoken of as the Etawah or Elah rajah, took part with the mutineers. The post between Agra and Allahabad was by this means inter- rupted; while the evacuation of Alighur broke off the communication between Meerut and Agra, and between the former place and Cawnpoor.

Immediately before the outbreak at Ali- ghur, 233 of the irregular Gwalior cavalry were sent from Agra thither, under the command of Lieutenant Cockburn. They arrived just in time to assist in escorting the Europeans to Hattrass. After ac- complishing this, eighty of the Gwalior horse broke into open mutiny, formed, and rode round the camp, entreating their com- rades to join them by even7 plea of temporal and eternal interest; but finding their argu- ment of no avail, they went off by them- selves to Delhi. With a party now reduced to 123 men, and in a disturbed, if not abso- lutely hostile, country, Lieutenant Cockburn and his troopers contrived to do good ser- vice. Hearing that a party of 500 men had collected near Hattrass, and were plunder- ing the neighbouring country, the lieute- nant procured a curtained bullock-cart, such as coloured women travel in up the country; and having let down the curtains, and per- suaded four of his troopers to enter it with loaded carbines, and go forward, he himself, with twenty men, followed at a distance, screened by the shade of some trees. The plot succeeded. The marauders, on seeing the cart, rushed forward to attack and plunder the women whom they believed to be concealed inside. The foremost of them was shot dead ; and Lieutenant Cockburn’ s party, on hearing the report, advanced in- stantly on the insurgents, and rapidly dispersed them — killing forty-eight, wound- ing three, and taking ten prisoners; while others, in the extremity of their fear, flung themselves into wells, to avoid falling into the hands of their pursuers.*

A subsequent expedition, attempted for the purpose of attacking the Elali rajah, and reopening the Alighur road, had a very different termination. The expedition con-

* Friend of India ; quoted in Times, August 6th, 1857.

sisted of 200 men of the 2nd irregular cavalry, under Captain Fletcher Hayes (military secretary to Sir H. Lawrence), who was accompanied by Captain Carey, of the 17th N.I., and two other Europeans, Adjutant Barber and Mr. Fayrer. The detachment reached Bowgous on Saturday, May 30th ; and Captains Hayes and Carey, leaving their men iu charge of the adjutant, proceeded, on the same evening, to Myn- poorie, eight miles distant, to consult with the magistrate (Power) on their proposed movements, and remained there until the following Monday. In the meantime, the thauadar of Bowgous sent a message to Captain Haves regarding the disaffection of the men ; but he attributing it to annoy- ance at long and frequent marches, paid little heed to the warning, and started, according to his previous inteution, on Monday morning, to join the men at the appointed place. The two officers — Hayes and Carey — “ cantered along all merrily,” writes the survivor, “and after riding about eleven miles, came in sight of the troopers going quietly along a parallel road.” The officers crossed an intervening plain, to join the men, who faced round, and halted at their approach; but one or two of the Native officers rode forward, and said, in an under tone, “Fly, Sahibs, fly!” “Upon this,” Captain Carey states, “ poor Hayes said to me, as we wheeled round our horses, ‘Well, we must now fly for our lives ;’ and away we went, with the twro troops after us like demons yelling, and sending the bullets from their carbines flying all round us.” Hayes was cut down from his saddle by pne blow from a Native officer; his Arab horse dashed on riderless. Carey escaped unhurt. He was chased for about two miles by two horsemen ; and after they had relinquished the pursuit, his own mare was unable to proceed further, and he was saved by meet- ing opportunely one of the troopers, who appears to have lagged behind bis comrades, and who took the European up on his own horse till they overtook Captain Hayes’ Arab, which Captain Carey mounted, and reached Mynpoorie in safety. An old Seik sirdar, with two followers, who had accom- panied the expedition, and remained faithful to the British, said that Barber and Fayrer had been murdered ten minutes before the arrival of the other two Europeans. A sowar (trooper) stole behind young Fayrer as he was drinking at a well, and with one blow of his tulwar half severed the head

	THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 65
	edness, Broughton ashed only for advantages to the Company of which lie was the servant; and, in return for his skilful treatment of the suffering princess, and his subse- quent attendance upon the household of the emperor, and Prince Shnja, the governor of Bengal, he obtained a licence to the company of English merchants trading to the Ea-t Indies, for unlimited trade throughout the empire, with freedom from custom dues in all places except Surat, and permission to erect factories; which was speedily availed of, by the establishment of them at various places; and of which one was at Hooghly, on the western bank of the river. At this factory the Company continued to trade until 1696, when the emperor Aurungzebe permitted them to remove their establishment to the petty native village of Govindpoor, on the eastern bank ; and, in the following year, to secure their possession bv a small fort. So slow was the early progress of the new settle- ment, that up to 171 7, Govindpoor — the site of Calicata, or Calcutta, now the “City of Palaces” — remained an assemblage of wretched huts, with only a few hundreds of inhabi- tants ; and even so late as 1756, it had not more than seventy houses in it occupied by Europeans. In 1742, it was found necessary to augment the means of defence against the incursions of the Mahrattas, who had become troublesome; and the fort was surrounded by a ditch — a precaution that was found utterly useless when, in June, 1756, the subahdar, or viceroy of Bengal, Surajah-ud-Dowlah, made an attack upon the factory, of which he obtained possession, and immortalised the memory of his conquest by the wanton destruction of the European residents by suffocation in one of the dungeons of the fort.” The catastrophe is thus related : — “ Upon the soldiers of Surajah- ud-Dowlah entering the fort, after a well-sustained resistance, by which they had lost many men, the inhabitants surrendered their arms, and the victors refrained from blood- shed. The subahdar, notwithstanding his character for inhumanity, showed no signs of it on this occasion, but took his seat in the chief apartment of the factory, and received the congratulatory addresses of his officers and attendants with extreme elation ; all angry feelings being merged in the emotions of gratified vanity at the victory he had achieved. The smallness of the sum found in the treasury (50,000 rupees) disappointed him ; but when Mr. Ilolwell, a member of council (upon whom the defence of the factory had devolved after the troops had deserted the place), was brought into his presence with fettered hands, he was immediately set free; and notwithstanding some expressions of resentment at the English for the defence of the fort, Surajah declared, upon the faith of a soldier, not a hair of their heads should be touched. The conference terminated about seven in the evening, and Mr. Holwell returned to his companions in captivity (146 in number), while the question was discussed by their captors, how they were to be secured for the night. No suitable place could be found; and while the guards were searching about, the prisoners, relieved from fear by the unexpected gentleness of Surajah Dowlah, stood in groups conversing together, utterly unsuspicious of their impending doom. The chief officer at length reported, that the only place of security he could find -was the garrison prison — known, in military parlance, as ‘the Black Hole’ — a chamber eighteen feet long by fourteen broad, lit and ventilated by two small windows secured by thick iron bars, and overhung by a verandah. Even for a dozen European offenders, this dungeon would have been insufferably close and narrow; but the prisoners of the subahdar numbered 146 persons, the greater part of whom wrere English, whose constitu- tions could scarcely sustain the fierce heat of Bengal in the summer season, even with the aid of every mitigation that art could invent or money purchase. These unfortunates, in their ignorance of Mahratta nature, at first derided- the idea of being shut up in the ‘ Black Hole/ as being a manifest impossibility; but their incredulity was of short duration. The guards, hardened to the sight of suffering, and habitually careless of life, forced them all (including a half-caste woman, who clung to her husband) into the cell at the point of the sword, and fastened the door upon the helpless crowd. Mr. Holwell strove, by bribes and entreaties, to persuade an old man of some authority among the guard, to procure their separation into two places. He apparently made some attempt to effect this ; but returned, declaring that the subahdar slept, and none dared disturb him to request the desired permission, without which, no change could be made in the disposi- tion of the prisoners. The scene which ensued perhaps admits but of one comparison in horror — that one is, the hold of a slave-ship. Some few individuals retained conscious- ness to the last; and after hours of agony, surrounded by sights and sounds of the most ITT. K

66 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

appalling description, they rendered up their souls tranquilly to their Creator; while others, maddened by the double torment of heat and thirst, fought with each other like furious beasts, to approach the windows, or to obtain a share in the pittance of water procured through the intervention of one compassionate soldier; the other guards hold- ing lights to the iron bars, and shouting with fiendish laughter at the death-agonies and frantic struggles of the prisoners. Towards daybreak, the tumult in the cell of death began to diminish; shrieks and supplications were succeeded by low, fitful moans; a sickly pestilential vapour steamed through the bars — the majority of the prisoners had perished ; corruption had commenced ; and the few who yet survived, were sinking fast. The sleep of Surajah Dowlah at length ceased, and he was informed of the importuni- ties of the prisoners. The door was then forced open by his command. After the suffocatiug vapour had partially escaped, the guards ordered the prisoners to come forth ; and from the dark gloom of that dungeon, and over the corpses that laid thick upon its floor, twenty-three ghastly figures staggered into the light of day, one by one, faint and crushed by the intensity of their sufferings through the suffocating agonies of that dreadful night.” Among the survivors of this horrible catastrophe were Mr. Holwell and the half-caste woman mentioned, who entered that dungeon a devoted wife, and left it a forlorn and broken-hearted widow — her European husband having fallen in the sacrificial oblation to Mahratta vengeance. Upon the result of the night’s work being reported to the chief, he ordered a pit to be dug in front of the dungeon, into which the bodies of the 123 murdered men were promiscuously thrown.

No appearance of regret was manifested by the subahdar for this atrocity. The first flush of exultation had passed away, and resentment for his pecuniary disappointment became now the dominant feeling. Mr. Holwell, unable to walk, was carried into his presence, and harshly interrogated regarding the treasure of the Company, which had been removed previous to the capture of the fort. As no satisfactory answer could be given to his inquiries, the few surviving victims were lodged in miserable sheds, fed on grain and water, and left to endure, as they might, the crisis of the fever consequent upon their imprisonment through the night of the 20th of June. Several did survive; and their release was eventually procured through the intercession of the grandmother of Surajah Dowlah, and a native merchant named Omicliund. Upon the return of Mr. Holwell to Europe some time afterwards, that gentleman and a Mr. Cooke, a sharer of his sufferings, gave a painfully-interesting account of the whole catastrophe before a committee of the House of Commons.* In October, 1756, Calcutta was recovered by a force under General Clive, after a siege of two hours only; at the end of which the Mahratta chief and his garrison sought their safety by flight. The “ Black Hole” was afterwards converted into a warehouse; and an obelisk, fifty feet high, raised before the entrance, com- memorates the names of the victims that perished within its fatal enclosure.

Passing by the gradual development of this now important city until it had taken rank among the capitals of empires, it may be observed, that within little more than half a century from the event above-mentioned, the inconsiderable village and fort of 1756, which merely covered a few acres of land, had grown into a magnificent city, extending for more than six miles along the river side, and penetrating inland, in some places, to nearly the same distance. The authoress of Scenes and Characteristics of Hindoostan, w hen exercising her pleasingly-descriptive pen upon reminiscences of Calcutta, says — “ The approach to the ‘ City of Palaces’ from the river is exceedingly fine ; the Hooghly, at all periods of the year, presents a broad surface of sparkling water; and as it winds through a richly-wooded country, clothed with eternal verdure, and interspersed with stately build- ings, the stranger feels that banishment may be endured amid scenes of so much picturesque beauty, attended by so many luxurious accompaniments.” The usual landing- place, Champaul Ghaut, is formed by a magnificent flight of stone steps, ascending from the water to a noble esplanade, which opens to the town by a triumphal arch of fine proportions, and supported by columns of elaborate design. Passing beneath this orna- mental structure, a wide plain (or meidan), occupying a spacious quadrangular area, is intersected by broad roads w hich lead towards the interior. On two sides of this quad- rangle, a part of the city and of the fashionable suburb of Chowringee extend themselves. The houses are, for the most part, detached from each other, or are connected only by long

* Pari. Papers (East India Company), 1772.

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 67

ranges of raised terraces, surmounted, like the flat roofs of the houses, with balustrades. In many instances pillared verandahs extend the entire height and width of the buildings, only intersected by spacious porticos : the architectural effect of the interminable clusters of columns, balustered terraces, and lofty gateways, occasionally intermingled with brilliant foliage and shrubs of surpassing loveliness, is indescribably beautiful. The material of the houses is termed puckha — brick coated with cement of dazzling whiteness; and although the claims of the “ City of Palaces” to high architectural merit have been questioned, and there may be many faults discoverable when tested by the strict rules of art, there is still sufficient to inspire the stranger with un mingled admiration at the mag- nificence of the coup d’oeil that is presented from the Champaul Ghaut, from which point the eye embraces a wide range of the city, diversified by palaces and temples, spires and minarets, domes and towers, whose sharp, clear outlines are thrown into bold relief by the umbrageous verdure with which they are intermingled.

The magnificent building erected by the Marquis Wellesley for the residence of the governor-general of British India, is situated on one side of the spacious quadrangle mentioned; and in a line with it, on either side, is a range of handsome buildings occupied as offices of the government, and the abode of the higher class of officials in its service. The governor-general’s palace consists of a rustic basement, with a superstructure of the Ionic order. A spacious flight of steps, on the north side of the edifice, extends over an | arch by which carriages approach the principal entrance ; and the south side is decorated with a circular colonnade, surmounted by a dome. The wings contain the private apart- ments of the palace, which are connected by circular passages, arranged to have the advantage of the air from all quarters. The central portion of the building contains several magnificent apartments for state occasions, and the council-chamber of the governor-general.

The principal square of Calcutta, called Tank-square, occupies a quadrangular area of about 500 yards; in the centre of which is a large tank, sixty feet deep, surrounded by a wall and balustrade, and having steps descending to the bottom. The square contains | the old fort of Govindpoor (the original Calicata) and the custom-house — a noble build- ing, in front of which a handsome quay has been formed. This portion of Calcutta is called “ The Strand,” and extends hence more than two miles along the bank of the river. During the administration of the Marquis of Hastings, from 1813 to 1823, much was done to improve the sauitary state of the capital by drainage and ventilation. A street sixty feet wide was opened through the centre of it, from end to end, and several squares were laid out, each of which, like the one already mentioned, has a tank in the centre, surrounded by planted walks. The southern part of the city is chiefly inhabited by Europeans; but a view of Calcutta limited to that portion only, would give a very erroneous idea of the whole of the metropolis of British India.

The portion principally occupied by the natives is called Black Town, and lies northward of the European quarter, to which it presents a marked contrast. In extent it comprises about three-fourths of the entire space built over ; the streets and avenues being narrow, dirty, and unpaved. Many of the houses of the better class of inhabitants are built of brick, two storeys high, with terraced roofs; but the far greater number of habitations are either mud cottages, or huts built of bamboo, or other slight material, and swarm with an excess of population in proportion to the accommodation they are calculated to afford. From the close contiguity, and fragile material used in these build- ings, fires are frequent and destructive in the Black Town, but do not often affect the European quarter. Upwards of twenty bazaars, well supplied with merchandise from all parts of the world, and w ith provisions in abundance, offer to the inhabitants all that is requisite for their consumption.

Besides the government-house and the old fort, the other public buildings of note in Calcutta are the town-house, the courts of justice, the theatres and assembly-rooms, and numerous places of worship adapted to the various rituals that flourish under the tolerant rule of Britain. Amongst them are two churches belonging to the English — one of them being the cathedral of the diocese of Calcutta ; other edifices, dedicated to Christian worship, belong to the Portuguese, the Armenians, and the Greeks; and there | are also several temples and mosques belonging to the Hindoo and Mohammedan inhabitants.

r

j | 68 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED,

j ;

Fort William stands about a quarter of a mile below the town, and has been con- sidered the strongest fortress belonging to the English throughout their possessions in India. In form it is an irregular octagon, built at a cost of £.200,000, after a design approved by Clive soon after the battle of Plassv, in 1757. The five sides of the octagon next the land are extensive, and are mounted with a formidable armament for the protec- tion, or, if necessary, for the destruction of the town, or auy adverse force in possession of it : the three sides towards the river completely command the approach to the town in that direction. The interior of the fort is open, and affords a vast space for military parades, besides well-arranged and shaded promenades, kept in excellent order. The barracks, which are bomb-proof, are sufficiently large to accommodate 10,000 men; and it would require, with its 619 pieces of cannon in position, and adequately manned, as many troops to garrison it as would form an army capable of taking the field. Besides the quarters for the men, Fort William contains only such buildings as are absolutely neces- sary for the convenience of the establishment ; a house for the commandant, officers’ quarters, and the arsenal, which is kept well supplied with military stores. The entire cost of this fortress, since its construction in 1757, has exceeded £1,000,000 sterling.

As the seat of government, Calcutta possesses also the supreme court of judicature for the presidency of Bengal. Tliis court is under the control of a chief justice and two puisne judges, appointed by the crown. The native courts of Sudder Dewanny Adawlut, and Nazamut Adawlut (the former for civil, and the latter for criminal causes), are courts of appeal from the provincial courts in all parts of Ilindoostan.

Calcutta was erected into a diocese under the prelacy of the Rev. Dr. Ileber in 1814 ; and the annual stipend of the bishopric is £5,000, with an episcopal palace. The religious, educational, literary, and scientific institutions of Calcutta are numerous, and of a high order. A Sanscrit college, a Mohammedan college, and an Auglo-Indian col- lege are severally supported by grants from the government, which also affords aid to many establishments for instructing the native children, and those of the poorer classes of Europeans. The college of Fort 'William (founded by the Marquis "Wellesley) is chiefly directed to the completion of the education, in native languages, of cadets and employes of the East India Company, who have been partially educated at Haileybury. The opulent inhabitants of Calcutta, both native and European, also contribute liberally to the support of charitable foundations of various kinds.

Besides the five libraries of the public institutions, such as those of the Asiatic ! Society of Bengal (founded by Sir William Jones in 1784), Fort William College, the Botanical Society, the Agricultural and Horticultural Societies of India, the Calcutta Literary Society, &c., the capital is amply supplied with excellent subscription libraries and reading-rooms. Of these, the Calcutta Public Library is entitled to the first rank.

A Mechanics’ Institute has also been established, and is well supported by the class for whose benefit it was designed.

The Botanical Gardens are situated on a bend of the river at Garden Reach, the favourite summer residence of opulent Anglo-Indians ; and are within about half-au-hour’s row from Champaul Ghaut. This noble establishment of the government is at all times open to visitors : it contains all the varieties of vegetation known throughout Hiudoostan ; with a vast collection of exotics, chiefly from Nepaul, Pulo-Penaug, Sumatra, and Java; besides contributions from Brazil, the Cape, and other regions of the Americas and of Africa, as well as from Australia and the islands of the Southern Ocean. Above this magnificent garden is a large plantation of teak — a wood which is not indigenous in this part of India, but is most invaluable in ship-building; a branch of national industry that is carried on at Calcutta to a considerable extent.

One of the great inconveniences of Calcutta arises from its great deficiency of w'ater. It has not un frequently happened, in and about the city, that after boring to a depth of more than 150 feet, no springs have been reached : the water-supply of a great portion of the inhabitants is therefore dependent upon bheesties (or water-carriers), who are attached to almost every establishment.

The markets of Calcutta are profusely supplied with butchers’ meat, venison, game, fish, vegetables and fruits, all of which are generally to be obtained at moderate prices. The game consists of hares, wild ducks, teal, ortolans, snipes, &c. Amongst the water products is the mango-fish — which derives its name from appearing in the river only at the

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. G9

season in which the mangoes ripen ; and is regarded as a great delicacy. Pine-apples, melons, oranges, peaches, guavas, loquats, strawberries, &c., are produced in infinite variety, and are of the most exquisite flavour.

Amongst the luxurious abundance beneath which the tables of the upper class of public servants at the seat of government literally groan, it is amusing to find that the recognised delicacies of an entertainment chiefly consist of hermetically-sealed salmon, red-herrings, cheese, smoked sprats, raspberry jam, and dried fruits : these articles coming from Europe, and being sometimes difficult to procure in a desirable state, are frequently sold at almost fabulous prices.

The population of Calcutta, exclusive of the suburbs, was, in 1850, estimated at 413,182; that of the entire place, with the districts adjacent, comprised within a circle of twenty miles, was computed by the magistrates, a few years since, at 2,225,000 persons; and the numbers have progressively increased to the present time. Besides the human crowds which people the capital and its suburbs, the swarms of animal life, of an inferior order, that are attracted by the enormous quantity of viands, of every kind, that are daily thrown into the thoroughfares, are remarkable. The exceeding waste of animal and other food by European families at this place, is partly accounted for by the fact of the religious prejudices of the native servants, who will not partake of food prepared by others than of their own caste. The lower order of the Portuguese, who constitute the bulk of Europeau society of their class, and to whom much of the wasted abundance might be serviceable, cannot consume the whole, and their inefficiency is accordingly made up for by amazing flocks of crows, kites, and vultures; which, undisturbed by man, live together, and, at times, almost cover the houses and gardens. In their useful occu- pation as scavengers, the kites and crows are assisted, during the day, by the adjutant- bird, or stork, and, after sunset, by pariah dogs, foxes, and jackals, which then emerge from the neighbouring jungles, and fight over their garbage, making “ night hideous with their discordant noises.”

Calcutta, from its position and local resources, was not likely to be materially affected by the insurrectionary outbreak that carried fire and sword with desolating fury through the fair provinces of which it was the capital; and many reasons conspired to secure this immunity. For instance, there were, on all occasions, more Europeans at Calcutta than in any other city in India, who could present a formidable barrier to the efforts of the disaffected : there was the immediate presence and influence of the viceregal court — objects of great weight upon the native mind; the head-quarters of all authority was concentrated in the city, ensuring the promptest measures that, in any exigency, might be required : and besides all this, it was the port of debarkation for successive arrivals of European troops — a fact which alone would have sufficed to quench the aspirations of the most sanguine amongst the rebelliously inclined of its native population. Yet the capital was not altogether free from causes of disquietude, nor was the government regard- less of the necessity for unremitting vigilance. Two important measures, however, that were considered requisite for the safety of the state — namely, a bill restraining the exuberant tone of the press, and for the registration of arms — met with much popular clamour. A great cause of uneasiness also arose from the fact that, at the time of the outbreak, scarcely any English troops were quartered in Fort William ; while the proximity of the military stations at Barrackpoor and Dumdum (the first beiug sixteen miles, and the latter only eight miles from the seat of government, and, at the time of the mutiny, chiefly occupied by native troops), was a circumstance well calculated to inspire alarm : fortunately, beyond alarm, no immediate evil result afflicted Calcutta society, in connection with the revolt. The first occasion for disquietude arose on the 17th of May, immediately after intelligence of the outages a,t Meerut and Delhi had reached the government. Some men belonging to a native regiment, encamped on the esplanade between the Coolie Bazaar aud Fort William, were reported as having made mutinous overtures to the soldiers on duty at the fort ; their object, in the first instance, being to obtain ammuni- tion, and then, in conjunction with the sepoys, to take possession of the fort during the night ; aud after putting the Europeans within the walls to death, to turn the guns of the fort upon the shipping, to prevent intelligence being conveyed from the country ; and then to play upon the city while the European population were massacred, and their property destroyed. Having effected thus much, the city was to be given up to pillage.

70

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

and the native troops, laden with spoil, were then to march to Delhi, and join the standard of the Mogul. However much or little of truth there might be in the report, it was at once conveyed to the fort-major by the men to whom the alleged design had been revealed, and steps were immediately taken for the protection of the fort and city. The drawbridges at Fort William were raised, and ladders of communication withdrawn from the ditches ; the guns on the several bastions were shotted, and additional guards placed over the arsenal. European sentinels were stationed at the officers’ quarters, and on the ramparts; while patrols were kept on duty through the city, to report the first symptom of active outbreak. The night, however, passed over without any attempt to disturb the peace; and on the following day a sufficient European force was moved into the capital, and the regiments on the esplanade were then quietly disarmed.

About the middle of June, circumstances transpired that rendered it expedient to remove the ex-king of Oude (who had, for some time previous, occupied a residence at Garden Reach, a suburb of Calcutta) from the native influences that surrounded him ; and it was determined that, for a time, his majesty should become an inmate of Fort William, to which he was accordingly removed, under the following circumstances : — At daybreak on the morning of the 15th of June, a detachment of the 37th regiment, which had just arrived at Calcutta from Ceylon, was marched down to Garden Reach, with two guns; and, before its approach was observed, had surrounded the palace. The officer in command then demanded an audience of his majesty; and, reaching his pre- sence, respectfully announced his mission, and, at the same time, delivered an autograph from the governor-general, addressed to the king, in the following terms : —

“ Fort William, June 15th.

“ Sir, — It is with pain that I find myself compelled to require that your majesty’s person should, for a season, be removed to within the precincts of Fort William. The name of your majesty, and the authority of your court, are used by persons who seek to excite resistance to the British government; and it is necessary that this should cease. Your majesty knows that, from the day when it pleased you to fix your residence near Calcutta to the present time, yourself, and those about your majesty, have been eutirely free and uncontrolled. Your majesty may be assured, then, that it is not the desire of the governor-general in council to interfere needlessly with your movements and actions. Your majesty may be equally certain that the respect due to your majesty’s high position w ill never be forgotten by the government or its officers, and that every possible provision will be made for your majesty’s convenience and comfort. — Canning.”*

The surprise was so perfect, and the arrangements so well carried out, that not the slightest chance of successful opposition to the measure existed. No resistance was offered ; and, at seven o’clock in the morning, the king of Oude, accompanied by two commissioned officers of the governor-general’s staff, was quietly conveyed a prisoner to apartments prepared for his reception in Fort William.

Numerous arrests followed this decisive step; and the subsequent conspiracy for a general rising in the city and suburbs, as well as in other parts of the province of Bengal, and the late kingdom of Oude, became known to the government in ample time to enable it to adopt measures for the security of the capital.

THE CITY OF MADRAS.

The city of Madras (or Fort St. George), the capital of a presidency, and the chief emporium of commerce on the western shore of the Bay of Bengal, is situated in lat. 13° 5' N., long. 80° 21' E. In travelling distances, it is 1,030 miles S. from Calcutta, 758 S.E. from Bombay, and 1,275 S.E. from Delhi. The approach to Madras from the sea is peculiar: low, fiat, sandy shores extend far to the north and south ; and small * History of the Indian Mutiny , vol. i., p. 586.

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71

barren bills, that form the boundary of the view inland, contribute to impress the spec- tator with a sense of sterility and loneliness that only wears off with a near proximity to the land, when the beach is seen, as it were, alive with the swarms of animate nature that cover it to the very verge of the sea. The public offices and buildings erected near the beach are handsome, with colonnades or verandahs to the upper storeys; supported on arched bases, and covered with the beautiful shell mortar (or chunam) of Madras — hard, smooth, and polished like marble. Within a few yards of the sea the fortifications of Fort St. George present an imposing appearance, and beyond them are seen minarets and pagodas, intermixed with luxuriant foliage. Within the fort a lighthouse rears its monitory crest ninety feet above the level of the sea, and is visible from the mast-head of a large ship, at a distance of twenty-six miles.

Madras has no harbour, and vessels of heavy burthen are obliged to moor in the roads — about two miles from the fort. A strong current runs along the coast, and a tremen- dous surf breaks on the shore, rendering it difficult to land even in the calmest weather. In crossing this surf the natives use boats of a peculiar construction, built of very thin planks laced together, and made as pliable as possible. The boats from the vessels often row to the outside of the surf, and wait for the masulah (or native boats) to take the pas- sengers on shore. Fishermen, and others of the lower class employed on the water, fre- quently use a simple kind of con veyance for passing the surf, called a “catamaran,” which they resort to when the sea is too rough for the masulah boats to venture out. These substitutes are formed of two or three logs of wood about ten feet long, lashed together, with a piece of wood between them to serve as a helm. Sitting astride this unique barque, two men, armed with paddles, launch themselves upon the surf to fish, or to con- vey messages to and from the ships in the roads, w’hen no other means of communication is available. The Madras boatmen are expert swimmers; and when, as is frequently the case, they are washed from the catamaran by the force of the surging waves, they make no difficulty in regaining their perilous seats, and proceeding on their mission.

The most striking object from the sea is Fort St. George, which, as it now stands, embraces the remains of the original fortress (erected in 1610), and long since converted into storehouses and public offices. The present building is strong and handsome, extensive, and wrell defended ; its face towards the sea being deemed impregnable, as the heavy surf would effectually prevent the landing of an enemy. Within the walls are the post-office, magazines, storehouses, barracks, hospitals, and other necessary requirements. The governor’s residence is a spacious building of some pretension to architectural beauty ; and on the esplanade in front of it, is a marble statue of the Marquis Cornwallis. Southward from the site of the Old Fort is a large and commodious church, in which has been erected a splendid memorial of Bishop Heber — sculptured by Chantrey, and repre- senting the estimable prelate in the solemn act of confirming two native converts in the doctrines of a faith more pure, more holy, than those of the benighted race from whose errors they have been rescued.

The southern exit from the fort leads to the fashionable drive of European Madras — the South Beach, which is a strip of road about a quarter of a mile in length along the shore. At the end of the drive is an oval enclosure, consisting of a lawn aud gravel- walks; in the centre of which a military band “discourses sw'eet music,” for about an hour, to the elite of Madras society, on three evenings of the week. There are several other pleasant drives in the vicinity of the town, especially the Mount-road — so named from its leading to the artillery station at St. Thomas’s Mount. This road, which is six miles in length, presents a continuous succession of charming villas, interspersed with luxuriant foliage, and nestled in gardens, where the rich glow of Oriental flowers is tem- pered by the sober verdure of the groves that surround them, and leave nothing for fancy to desire for delighting the eye or enchanting the imagination. “ Here,” says a recent traveller, “ are to be seen, in the most lavish abundance, the plume-like broad- leaved plantain, the gracefully drooping bamboo, the proud coronet of the cocoa waving with every breeze, the fan-leaf of the still taller palm, the delicate areca, the obelisk-like aloe, the majestic banian with its drooping stems — the giant arms outstretching from a columnar and strangely convoluted trunk, and shooting forth the pliant fibrous strings which plant themselves in the earth below, aud add support and dignity to the umbra- geous canopy above them.”

72 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

Near the Mount-road is the racecourse, on the town side of which is a stone bridge of many arches, over a wide and deep ravine which forms a channel for the waters during the rainy season — a shallow stream meandering along its bed at other times; on the banks of which are generally collected some hundreds of dhobies (washermen), with the tents in which their families are located. It is noticed as peculiarly characteristic of the arro- gance and exclusive pretensions of Europeans in India, that their own vehicles alone are permitted to traverse this bridge ; the bullock hackeries of the natives being compelled to descend on one side, and, after wading through the water, ascend the somewhat precipi- tous bank on the other. With such, and many equally offensive assumptions of superiority regulating the intercourse between the English residents and the native population, it is hardly likely that any other feeling could be cherished by the latter than that of hatred, not the less intense because veiled beneath a mask of servile obsequiousness.

Government-house, which is by no means remarkable either for architectural beauty or the accommodation it affords, is situated at the head of the Mount-road. The garden, or park, by which it is surrounded, is spacious, and extends to the shore, where the gov- ernor of the presidency has a smaller habitation, named the “Marine Villa.”

The Black Town, which is beyond the fort from the sea, is described by a recent traveller as being large and very populous : the streets mostly run at right angles, and parallel with each other. As the mercantile business of the place is transacted here, the shops of Europeans and natives are chiefly established in the Black Town; and, with the residences of the Portuguese and natives, occupy a considerable ax-ea. The joint population of the two towns is estimated at 480,000.

The climate of Madras is considered to be less sultry than that of Bengal; and such stations as ai’e situated on the higher grounds of the table-land, enjoy a very agreeable j temperature. Society is more limited than that of Calcutta, and displays less attention to the elegancies of life. Parbury, in his Handbook of India, describes the manners of the Europeans as of a haughty and ridiculously exclusive character — an assertion which seems to be warranted by the fact l-elated of the Ravine bridge.

During the recent calamitous events that have deluged avast portion of the sister pre- sidency with blood, that of Madras remained almost entirely free from disturbance. With one solitary exception (the 8th regiment of Madras native cavalry), the native troops not only kept faith with the government that fed and paid them, but also cheerfully offered their services against the mutinous sepoys of Bengal. Many of the l’egiments were employed in the course of the struggles of 1857-’8, and rendered good service in the battles fought with the insurgent ti’oops. The only instance of dissatisfaction and reluc- tance to obey the orders of their commander, was furnished by the l’egiment above-men- tioned, which mutinied on its way from Bangalore to Madras (where it was to embark for Calcutta), on the ground of the unsatisfactory rates of pay, batta, and pension. The local government unwisely yielded to the demands of the men in this instance, and the regiment resumed its march; but after proceeding thirteen miles further, the troopers again halted, and declared “ they would not go forth to war against their countrymen.” Prompt measures were then taken to put an end to this insubordinate conduct : the men were unhorsed and disarmed, and sent to do dismounted duty at Arcot ; and their horses and arms were forthwith shipped to Calcutta, where the accession was, at the mo- ment, of great value to the government.

BOMBAY.

The island, town, and harbour of Bombay, from which the presidency has been named, lie off the western shore of the Concan, in the province of Bejapoor ; the town occupying the south-eastern extremity of the island, and being in lat. 18° 56' N., long. 72° 57' E. Its distance from Calcutta is 1,301 miles south-east; and, from Madras, 774 miles, also

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 73

south-east. The small island upon which the capital of the presidency is situated, is about eight miles in length from north to south, and is three miles broad in its widest part. Separated from the mainland by an arm of the sea, Bombay forms, with the contiguous islands of Colaba, or “Old Woman's Island/’ Salsette (“ Butcher’s Island”), and Caranja — visible in the annexed engraving — one of the finest harbours in Hin- doostan. Two derivations have been assigned to the present name of the island — one from the Hindoo goddess, Bomba (Devi); the other from the Portuguese, Buon Bahia (a good bay or harbour.)

The harbour of Bombay presents one of the most striking and beautiful views that ever delighted the eye of an artist. The splendour and sublimity of its scenery offer such numberless claims to admiration, that it is considered by many to bear the palm from the far-famed Bay of Naples. During the best season of the year the sea is smooth, its undulations resembling rather those of an inland lake than the waters of an ocean ; while the breeze blowing in-shore during the greater part of the day, enables the very smallest boats, with the assistance of the tide, to voyage along the coast, or to the several islands which gem the scarcely ruffled wave, and to return with the succeeding flood without encountering any of the dangers that are experienced iu less secure places. Even during the monsoon, when many other points of the Indian coast are unapproachable — when the lofty and apparently interminable mountains which form the magnificent background are capped with clouds, and the sea-birds that love the storm skim between the foam-crowned billows — the fishing-boats breast the waves in Bombay harbour, and pursue their occupation without hindrance. At this season, although the reality of the danger is nothing to experienced sailors, the aspect of the harbour becomes w ild and even terrific ; darkness envelopes the sky, and the woody promontories and bold romantic cliffs, rising above village, town, and tower, are obscured by the dingy scud which drives along. When, however, the wrath of the storm -king has subsided, aud the fury of the monsoon has exhausted itself, settled weather and clear skies once more appear, and the harbour is again seen in all its beauty and luxuriance.

Bombay derives its origin and importance, as a European settlement, from the Portuguese, to whom it was ceded by the Mogul government in 1530; having previously been a dependency belonging to a Hindoo prince residing at Tanna, in the island of Salsette. It came into possession of the English in 1662, on the marriage of Charles II. with the infanta Catheriue of Portugal, as part of the marriage downy of that princess. By the king it was disposed of to the East India Company, who took possession of it on the 23rd of September, 1668, and retained it in their hands until their territorial rights iu India were surrendered to the crown of England in 1858.

Standing principally on a narrow neck of land at the south-eastern extremity of the island, the fort and town command a beautiful prospect across a bay diversified with rocky islets, and crowned by a background of picturesque hills. The town itself is low, and, during the rainy season, is subject to inundation. The fortifications are extensive, and would require a numerous garrison for their defence : towards the sea, they are of great strength ; but on the land side, an enemy having once obtained a footing on the island, would find little difficulty with them. The fort or garrison embraces a surface of 234 acres, and contains a very large population. On oue side, between the fort and the sea (at Back Bay), is a tract of almost level ground, 387 acres in extent, and about 1,800 yards in length along the shore; which is not available for any purpose of improve- ment, through a regulation which prohibits the erection of any permanent building within 800 yards of the batteries. This regulation is, however, evaded by the expensive and incouveuient expedient of erecting, and demolishing annually, a line of temporary erections, of about three-quarters of a mile in length; which, for the time allowed, supply the place of houses. These habitations are constructed of wood, with trellis-work of bamboo, and surrounded with a canvas like a large tent. They are thatched over with cadjous, or the leaves of the palmvra-tree, aud lined inside with curtains or ornamental clotb, and are chiefly occupied by the highest class of the military officers and civil servants of the government. Beyond this line is a large encampment for officers tem- porarily resident in Bombay, who occupy tents. The bungalows are surrounded by , ornamental railings, covered with the passion-flower, aud other rapidly-growing creeping plants, and are generally furnished with flower or vegetable gardens. The compound

III. L

74 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

thus formed, opens out on the sea-beach on one side, and on a line of road nearly parallel with the batteries on the other. The effect of the whole is highly picturesque and pleasing ; but the garrison regulations require that they shall be removed once a year. Up to the middle of May, then, we have a line of beautiful rustic villas, which, together with the officers' tents at its extremity, extends nearly a mile along the shore. All at once, as though some panic had seized the inhabitants, or a plague had broken out in the doomed suburb, the buugalows or villas of the esplanade begin to be deserted, and are forthwith demolished, the materials of which they are composed being rapidly removed. So quickly does the work of destruction proceed, that, in the course of a fortnight, not a vestige is to be seen of the lately populous suburb of Bombay. Bv the first fall of rain, the dwellings have vanished as if by magic — roofs, walls, and frame- work; the very tents and their occupants are also gone. The esplanade, for a few days, presents a very unsightly appearance : the floor and foundations of houses, torn paper- hangings, the refuse of straw used for packing, fragments of broken fences, and the remains of ruined shrubberies and flower-pots, are all that is left to designate the site of the departed town. Another week, and all this is changed : the first fall of rain covers everything with grass; and the esplanade, which was, on the 15th of May, covered by a town, and on the 1st of June presented a scene of slovenly and unsightly desolation — by the 15th of June is a bright green sward, as close and continuous as that on which the deer of some ancestral manor in England have browsed for centuries. The reappearance of these ephemeral habitations is nearly as magical as their departure : the 15th of Sep- tember sees the esplanade a verdant lawn ; October again witnesses the suburb formerly described.

Many of the permanent residences, both within and without the fort, are, however, commodiously built, particularly in the European quarter. Those within the fort, that were originally erected by the Portuguese, have wooden verandahs, supported by pillars of the same material ; and as this style of building has been continued, Bombay bears no resemblance to the sister capitals of Calcutta and Madras. The northern quarter of the fort, inhabited chiefly by Parsee fanatics, is dirty and offensive ; and the lower classes of the inhabitants live in little clay huts thatched with palmyra-leaves, outside the fort.

There are several churches belonging to the Portuguese and Armenians, as also three or four synagogues, both within and beyond the fortifications, as well as a number of mosques and Hindoo temples. The largest of the latter, dedicated to the worship of Bomba Devi, is about a mile and a-half from the fort. The only English church in Bombay is within the fort.

The government-house, or Castle, as it was originally designated, is a large commo- dious building; but it has long been disused as a state residence, and is appropriated for public offices. The governor has two other residences for his accommodation ; the one named Parell, at a short distauce northward from the fort, being usually occupied as a town residence ; the other, used as a retreat in the hot weather, being at Malabar Point. Parell, originally a college of Jesuits, though not built in a commanding position, is described as very prettily situated “in the midst of gardens, having a rich background of wood; vliile, from the upper windows, the eye, after ranging over luxuriant groves, catches a view of the sea, and is carried away to more remote regions by the waving outline of distant hills melting into the soft haze, until it effaces all their details.”* The house is an irregular structure, without pretension to architectural design or ornamenta- tion, but yet having something noble in its appearance ; an impression which is increased by a fine portico and castellated roof. The interior is spacious and convenient. Two flights of marble stairs, twelve feet wide, lead into a handsome suite of drawing-rooms, with galleries on either side. The terrace over the portico, separated from this suite of rooms by a verandah, is easily convertible into another reception-room, being roofed in by an awning, and furnished with blinds which, in the daytime, give an Italian air to the entire building. The gardens are purely Italian, with cypress-trees and fountains, and the arrangements of the grounds are sufficiently picturesque to satisfy even fastidious criticism. A broad terrace, overlooking a large tank, runs along one side of the gardens; and beyond, upon a rising hill, are seen the new horticultural gardens, and a part of the picturesque village of Metunga. The floral features of the gardens at Parell are of the * Miss Roberts’ Overland Journey to Bombay.

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

most choice description; but the abundance of roses seems to defy computation, bushels being collected every day for months without any apparent diminution ; and it has been questioned whether there is, in any part of the world, so great a consumption of this beau- tiful flower as in Bombay. The natives cultivate it largely ; and as comparatively but few employ it in the manufacture of rose-water, it is gathered and given away in the most lavish profusion. “At Parell,” writes Miss Roberts, “every morning, one of the garden- ers renews the flowers which decorate the apartments of the guesfs: bouquets are placed on the breakfast tables ; vases, filled with roses, meet the eye in every direction, and present specimens of this beautiful flower — the common productions of the garden — that are rarely found even in the hothouses of Europe.5’

Malabar Point, the summer retreat for the governor’s establishment, is a remarkable promontory on the island of Bombay ; wdiere there is a hole or cleft in the rock, of much sanctity with the Hindoos. Pilgrims resort thither for the purpose of regeneration, which they conceive to be effected by passing themselves through the cleft. The spot is of considerable elevation, among rocks of difficult access ; and, in the stormy season, is incessantly lashed by the surf of the ocean — a circumstance that involves no difficulty in it when viewed through the eye of fanaticism. Near it are the ruins of a temple believed to have been destroyed by the Portuguese, in their pious detestation of the idols of any other faith than their own.

The governor’s mansion, and several bungalows around it, occupy the side of a hill | overlooking and washed by the sea. The views are beautiful ; the harbour affording, at | all times and from every point of view, scenes of great liveliness and interest ; while the aerial summits of the hills in the distance, amid their purple splendours, complete the charm. The numerous fairv-like skiffs, with their white sails catching the sunlight, give animation to the picture ; while the cottages of the fishermen are often placed, with artistic effect, upon the neighbouring shore. Since their expulsion from Persia by the Mohammedans, the Parsees, or Fire-worshippers, have constituted a large portion of the population of Bombay. They are a peculiar race, and adhere scrupulously to their ancient religious customs and observances. In the morning and evening they crowd to the esplanade or the sea-shore, to prostrate themselves iu adoration before the sun. Taken as a whole, they are an active, intelligent, and loyal body of men, and contribute greatly to the growth and prosperity of the settlement, the mercantile wealth and property of which is principally in their hands. Among the lower class of these people, it is observed that, though the men are fouud in the service of every European family, they do not allow their wives or daughters to become domestics to foreigners, and only permit them to become servants among their own people. Their funerals are of a remarkable character — the dead being deposited in large cylindrical tow'ers open to the air, and left until the vultures denude the bones, which are then removed, and mysteriously disposed of. The houses of the European families at Bombay are described as of a superior order, in regard to interior embellishment, to those of Calcutta; the greater part having handsome ceilings, and the doorways and windows being decorated with mouldings, and, in other respects, better fitted up and furnished. The portion of the town formerly denominated the “Black Town,” but now known as the Bliona Bazaar, is a broad street, forming the high-road to the fort. This is the avenue most frequented by Europeans; and is remarkable for the strange variety and grotesque irregularity of its buildings. Most of the better kind of houses are ascended by a flight of steps, which leads to a sort of verandah, formed bv the floor above projecting over it, and supported by wooden pillars, or some sort of framework, in front. Iu the Parsee houses of this kind, there is usually a nitch in the lower storey for a lamp, which is kept always burning. The higher classes of natives have adopted European equipages, and associate much with the corresponding ranks of English society.

There is much variety of heat and cold in the different seasons at Bombay. The dry season is the most uniform, and extends from October to June. The cold period sets in early in November, and continues to the beginning of March, when the heat gains strength again, and prevails until about the third week in May, when the uniform bright- ness of the sky begins to be interrupted. About the 6th of June, sudden blasts and squalls ensue, and the rain descends in an unbroken sheet of water. The first fall usually commences at night, and continues for thirty or forty hours ; and then, not only are

76 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

the contents of spouts from the house-eaves rushing down in absolute cataracts, but everv water-channel overflows with an impetuous torrent. The streets and level grounds are flooded for miles. The entire duration of the south-west monsoon is nearly four months. From June to the end of September, the hills are shrouded by thick, black, impenetrable clouds, out of which the rain pours without intermission. It would be difficult for a European not having been in India, to imagine the interruption which the rains occasion to general intercourse throughout the greater part of the country during the three rainv months. Originating in the mountain-ranges, the streams which flow through the level lands, and ultimately, in many instances, form vast rivers, will often rise and fall from ten to fifteen feet perpendicularly in the course of twenty-four hours; and five-aud- twenty feet are not an unusual variation between the fair and wet weather elevations.

The population of the island of Bombay has been estimated at 222,000 persons, and it continues to increase. The insurrectionary storm that troubled Bengal and the north- west, once only affected the capital of the presidency of Bombay : but the province itself was partially infected by the taint of rebellion; and during the months of June and Julv, 1857, symptoms appeared at Kolapore, Poona, and in various other quarters to the north, south, and east of the capital, that required careful watching, and, in more than one instance, prompt and vigorous action also, to restrain the growing mischief from overflow- ing Bombay with its destructive waves.

SIMLA.

The celebrated and favourite resort of the tlite of European society from all parts of India, that is known by this name, must be sought for among hills that rise between the Sutlej and the Jumna, below the lower range of the Himalaya; and situated at the north-eastern extremity of Bengal, about 1,112 miles from Calcutta. The spot occupied by this Cheltenham of the East, in one of the most salubrious and picturesque districts of Hindoostan, has risen to its present importance from the accidental circumstance of a military station and sanatarium having been established at a village called Sabathoo, in its immediate vicinity;* followed by the erection of a summer residence for the political agent at Lahore — the site for which was happily selected amidst the delightful scenery of Simla. From its early establishment as a European station, the place has maintained a high repute for its sanitary influences, and it has, consequently, been periodically visited, for the purposes of health and recreation, by successive governors-general, and the superior military and civil authorities of Bengal and the sister presidencies : nor has the church been regardless of its attractions; since the bishops of Calcutta, and other digni- taries of the establishment, have frequently sought to recruit their enfeebled energies among its pure and bracing influences.

As a town or village, the station is built in two distinct divisions, named Simla and Cota (or Minor) Simla; a deep ravine, through which, in the rainy season, an impetuous torrent rushes downward to the plains, separating the two portions, which are, however, connected by a bridge of simple construction, erected in 1828, by Lord Combermere, then the commander-in-chief in India. Previous to the accommodation thus afforded, Simla may be considered as comparatively unknown, there being at the place only two or three houses, and scarcely any practicable road by which to approach them. The interest taken in the prosperity of the infant settlement by the gallant officer, induced him to make it for a time his head-quarters; and to his active interference and influence, Simla indebted for most, if not all, of its early improvements ; among the foremost of

* Sabathoo is the only spot in the Himalaya garrisoned by British troops : it has barracks, a parade- ground on a level area of four or five acres, and all other military requirements. In the winter it is warmer than Simla, its elevation being less by 3,000 feet; and being more quiet and retired, it is preferred by many to the more fashionable locality above it.

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■which were some excellent roads, broad, safe, and free from any abrupt acclivities. The bridge represented in the accompanying engraving, connects the most important of these, which encircles the hill on which the station is built ; another, that stretches to a very considerable distance, is of sufficient breadth and gradient for st angers to ride along with rapidity and safety. Bungalows, or dak-houses, were also erected at conve- nient distances, varying from eight to ten miles, for the accommodation of travellers pro- ceeding to the inner ranges of the Himalaya.

The greater number of houses at Simla are built at an elevation that ranges from seven to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. A very considerable portion of these residences have an ornamental appearance ; and many of the sites chosen for them are exceedingly beautiful — the summit of a small green knoll, sheltered by a steeper hill at the back, and looking down upon a valley, being usually selected. Every part of this delightful region is magnificently wooded with stately pines, intermingled with larch and cedar, the evergreen oak and the rhododendron, which here grows as high and as thickly foliated as any English forest tree, and bears masses of rich crimson blossoms, whose only fault is that their glowing tints throw too much bright colour into the landscape. Captain Thomas, in some Descriptive Views of Simla, published in 1846, writes enthusi- astically of the scenery around this mountain retreat. After traciug the route from Umballah (a military station a few miles south-west of the settlement) to the bank of the river Gumbhur, about three miles below it, he says — “ From the foot of the ghaut, or pass, which begins its upward course beside the river, the ascent to Simla is steep and tedious : at length, emerging from barren hills, you are suddenly in the midst of forests of oak and walnut, and every variety of pine; and with these, as you proceed, are mingled masses of the crimson rhododendron. Advancing still further, you are again surrounded by pines and cork, intermingled with lesser trees covered with the blossoms of the wild cherry, the pear, the apple, the apricot, the wild rose, and, lastly, to remind you still more forcibly of home, the may; while violets cast their perfume around your feet at every step: and in the midst of this profusion of natural loveliness the first full view of Simla bursts j upon the delighted traveller. From March, when the sleet and snow may be said to have passed away, to the middle of July, the climate is heavenly. There is nothing like it on earth ! Nothing ! Nothing in Italy ! Nothing in France ! Nothing anywhere that I know of. Recall the fairest day, nay hour, of sunshine you have ever known iu an English spring, and conceive the beauty and gladness of that sunshine, brightened by continuing without a storm, almost without a shower daily, for months together, and deck the fruit trees and bushes in a thousand English blossoms, and spread violets and daisies, and strawberry blossoms and wild roses, and anemones, thickly over the bright close emerald turf; over crags, amid the pine-roots, and far away down amid the ferns beside the ‘ runnels,’ and you may fancy something of what our Simla spring and too brief summer are. And then, alas, come the rains! From the middle of July to the middle of September you have healthy weather still, but no end to rain ; in short, a climate as per- fectly English as England is nearly three-parts of the year. From early in September to the end of December, you have a dry, clear, frosty weather, very delicious, and very bracing ; and from that time till spring again you may count upon living, like ‘ the ancient mariner/ in a land of mist and snow; very healthy, certainly, but not agreeable.”

Among many delightful spots about Simla, are twro picturesquely situated waterfalls about half a mile from each other — the lovely valley of Annadale, covered with pines and walnut-trees; and at about half-a-dozen miles distant, the magnificent forest of Ma- hassoo. The racecourse of Simla is in the valley of Annadale ; and it is remarkable for having a descent, at a sharp turning, of twenty-three yards in i!00, with a precipice immediately below it !

An excellent bazaar is established in each division of Simla, well supplied with foreign products, and with provisions in abundance from the plains. A theatre and assembly-rooms offer their attractions to the rich and fashionable visitors to the hills; who, combining benevolence with pleasure, have frequently rendered a sojourn at this place the means of extensive benefit to the surrounding native and other population. Annadale has repeatedly been the scene of festive enjoyment through the medium of fancy fairs, at which large sums have been realised for the establishment of schools for the native children. Simla was chosen, on account of its position, as one of the Indian stations

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for carrying on some recent important magnetical observations under the auspices of government. The first fire insurance company ever established on the Bengal side of India was formed at Simla, but has since been removed to Calcutta.

A singular practice is recorded by Captain Thomas, as prevalent among the natives of the hills in the neighbourhood of Simla; namely, their custom of putting infants to sleep with their heads under running water. This, he observes, “ is a strange custom, and yet a very common one; and the traveller to Simla from the plains, may see, any day about sunrise, or from that till noon, half a score of children ( infants of a few days old), some of them lying asleep under any convenient brook by the road-side : when the brook, flowing over some hank or stone, makes a descent from two to four feet, the water is caused to ruu through a narrow tube or spout, consisting simply of a long straight piece of the hark of a pine-tree. Beneath this, with its bare skull immediately below the concen- trated body of water (whose circumference may measure some four inches, and of whose current the force is, of course, considerably increased by its compression), the infant, while still ‘ wide awake/ is laid upon a blanket, which, if the mother be over-careful, may be secured from thorough saturation by the interposition of a few whisps of the lank coarse grass that commonly fringes either bank. The somnific effects of this chilly application are really incredible. I have seen a child cry at being placed upon its watery bed ; and yet, ere it had been there many seconds, it was asleep.”*

Several varieties of deer are met with in the neighbourhood of Simla ; but the favourite sport of the natives is hog shooting. The tusks of the wild hog of these hills are larger than those of his brethren of the plains; his colour is iron gray, and he is , large, fleet, strong, and of indomitable courage, not hesitating to charge even a score of I spearmen after he has got a ball or two in him. The hill people, when they go out hog shooting, unshackled by the presence of the English, struggle as hard for the honour of the first ball, as the latter do in the plains for the first spear ; and, with them, whoever draws “ first blood,” is entitled to the boar’s head. When the party is numerous, and several shots have been fired, the struggle for this often involves serious contention, and sometimes the effusion of a little human blood. Whenever a wild hog is killed, it is necessary to send a leg of it to the chief of the pergunnah, or, in his absence, to his locum tenens. “ These,” writes Captain Thomas, “ are the only game laics I have heard of among the hills, aud they are said to be as old as the Hills themselves.”

Game is not abundant at Simla, although earnest sportsmen have found it practicable to employ dogs with success ; but it is very necessary to keep a vigilant eye upon the canine race about Simla, for the hyena and the leopard are its deadly enemies. The former prowls about at nigbt, and will sometimes, in the dusk of the evening, rush at a solitary dog, and walk off with him with the greatest ease — occasionally carrying one away from the very door of a European dwelling. The leopard will make the attack in open day; and, when pursued, these animals manage to conceal themselves with so much adroitness, as to lead persons to suppose they have taken to earth. A solitary tiger will occasionally struggle up to the neighbourhood of Simla; and the natives, though not distinguished for their bravery, will, on such an emergency, attack him very boldly, and generally succeed in at least driving him off.

The terrible events that convulsed India in the summer of 1857, were not without some unpleasant influences even at the remote station of Simla; and although the sword of the traitor, and the torch of rebellion, did not penetrate its mountain homes, circumstances occurred that, for a brief space, rudely interrupted the agreeable occupa- tions of its society, and changed the abodes of enjoyment into a scene of terror and lamentation. The incidents which led to this sudden interruption of social quiet were as follow's : — Early in May, 1857, the then commander-in-chief (General the Hon. George Anson, K.C.B.) was enjoying at Simla a short period of relaxation from the duties of his high command, when the harsh notes of rebellion broke upou the quiet of his retreat, and called him to instant action. The mutiny at Meerut had been succeeded by outrages and revolt at Delhi ; and the whole native army of Bengal appeared to be falling from its allegiance, and scattering fire and slaughter among the cities of the plains. At this period, it became necessary to concentrate a European force for the * Thomas’s Views of Simla ; published in 1846.

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recovery of Delhi; and the military station of Umballah was, from its proximity to the commander-in-chief, selected for the purpose. A regiment of Europeans that had hitherto been quartered at Simla, was accordingly moved down to Umballah — their place being supplied by a battalion of Goorkas. It happened, about this time, that a portion of the latter force was under orders to furnish an escort for a siege-train, on its way from Phillour to join the army about to proceed to Delhi, and the men were forbidden to take their families with them — an arrangement in the highest degree offensive to the sensitive and jealous mountaineers. In addition to this grievance, they j were further offended by having the charge of the treasury and other important posts ; transferred from their hands to those of the armed police ; and having represented these : causes of discontent to their officers, the men, one and all, declared their intention not to move from the station until the offensive orders were rescinded. After some parley, this was done by order of the commander-in-chief, and the men returned to their duty.

But, in the meanwhile, rumour, with her “ thousand tongues,” had proclaimed throughout the settlement, that the Goorkas were in a state of open mutiny, and that Simla was about to become a scene of carnage and desolation. A panic instantly robbed age of its prudence, and manhood of its valour. The European residents, many of them men holding high public appointments, waited not to learn if any grounds existed for the report, but sought, in hasty and uudignified flight, for a chance of escape from the imaginary dangers that menaced them. Some of these fugitives, who had but a day or two previously affixed their signatures to a requisition for enrolling a volunteer corps for the defence of the station, were the first to show an example of pusillanimity, and fled down the khuds (ravines), leaving women and children to their fate in the hands of the Goorkas — whatever that might be. The consternation became general ; and its effects were speedily contagious throughout the European circle. Old and young — the healthy and the sick — hysterical ladies and “ strong-minded” women — screaming children and terror-stricken nurses — half-clad, and ill-provided for exposure to the weather, rushed down the rough and precipitous bye-paths of the ravine, hoping, in its depths and recesses, to find shelter from the murderous knives of the terrible Goorkas. Property of all kind was abandoned to the mercy of the native servants ; homes were deserted ; households rudely scattered : only one thing seemed worthy of preservation, and that was clung to with a tenacity that enabled the fugitives to endure every hardship and inconvenience so that life might be secure. Of the hunt ton that had dignified the hills at Simla with its presence, there were many individuals of both sexes that, but the day before, would have felt indignant at the supposition of so vulgar a possibility as that they could walk a mile ; and yet who, in their flight, actually accom- plished fifteen and even twenty miles before they could be prevailed upon to halt and look calmly around them. Old men, decrepid with age and tottering with infirmity, became once more young and vigorous, and vied with the most active to be foremost in the general flight ; the road from Simla to Dugshaie being, for upwards of twenty-four hours, thronged with terror-stricken fugitives, of all sorts and conditions. “On ! on to Dugshaie!” was the cry; “the Goorkas have slaughtered all who were mad enough to remain at Simla, and they are in close pursuit to murder us !” At length the panic died away from sheer exhaustion, since not even the shadow of a Goorka could be seen to keep up the requisite stimulus ; and the runaways, by degrees, came to a conclusion that their alarm was groundless. They presently regained sufficient confidence to return to their deserted homes at Simla; but, as might have been expected from the manner of their flight, not a few of their household gods had availed themselves of the opportunity to take flight also.

This sadly derogatory and inexcusable conduct on the part of the male portion of the European community at Simla, subjected the individuals to a galling fire of raillery and sarcasm, which lost none of its force for lack of application. A marked anxiety for self-preservation had been exhibited by several individuals of the sterner sex, without any perceptible care for the protection or comfort of their gentler companions of the ball-room or the ride ; and this fact, coupled with a tendency to repeat the uncere- monious flight upon a subsequent occasion, when some of them again sought a refuge in the khuds, at length subjected the valiant “light-heels” of Simla to the following

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infliction, which appeared in the columns of a local newspaper, and was circulated throughout Bengal : —

“Notice. — On Wednesday, the 15th of July, the ladies of Simla will hold a meeting at Rose Castle, for the purpose of consulting about the best measures to be taken for the protection of the gentlemen.

“ The ladies beg to inform those who sleep in the khuds, that they sincerelv compas- sionate their sufferings ; and are now preparing pillows for them, stuffed with the purest white feathers. Should they feel inclined to attend the meeting, they will then be pre- sented to them. Rest ! warriors, rest !

“ Clementina Bricks.”

S HUH UR — JEYPOOR.

The city of Jeypoor — capital of the Rajpoot state of similar name, one of the central provinces of India — is situated about 150 miles south-west of Delhi, in lat. 26° 56' N., long. 75° 40' E.; and is considered to be one of the handsomest towns in Hindoostan. Spacious streets, lined with magnificent edifices, intersect each other at right angles; and the palace-fortress of Shuliur, or Umeer, which rises boldly on a steep rocky eminence, and commands the entire place, is encompassed by a line of fortifications four miles in extent, and rich in those picturesque features that occasionally break the level monotony of the plains of Central India. The fortress was considered, by the late Bishop Heber, as not inferior to Windsor Castle ; and it certainly presents an object of feudal grandeur that carries the imagination of the European stranger back to the ages of chivalry and romance. Jeypoor, in addition to its being the chief mart in the north of India for the horses brought from Cabool and Persia, is also a grand emporium for diamonds and other precious gems, which are procured with little trouble or expense in the rocky districts of the principality. The garnets so obtained are particularly beautiful ; and amethysts and other gems sell at comparatively low prices. Occasionally, great bargains may be obtained of the dealers in pearls, as the common prices are much below those demanded in places more remote from the commerce of Persia.

Some historical traditions connected with the fortress of Shuliur are interesting, and strikingly illustrate the political influence that has been retained by females in provinces which have never been thoroughly subjected to the jealous domination of Mogul rulers. The late (or present) sovereign of Jeypoor was a surreptitious child, placed upon the throne wholly by the intrigues of the artful and clever woman who professed to be his mother. She had been a principal favourite of the former rajah, but was childless ; and, at his death, being anxious to preserve to herself the share she had obtained in the government of the country, she imposed upon the chief officers the offspring of one of her domestics, as her own son by the rajah, born in due time after his decease, and consequently heir to the musnud. Aided by the influence of a chief of high rank and popularity, she then contrived to get herself appointed to the regency, with the title of Maha Ranee ; and, as soon afterwards as practicable, she introduced the child at a banquet in the castle of Shuliur, where a large proportion of the nobles of Rajast’hau were invited to attend — presenting the infant as the future sovereign of Jeypoor. By this means she secured the recognition of the child as rightful heir to the throne ; inasmuch, as after the nobles had eaten rice with it in that character, the imposture, if ever discovered, would never be made a subject of dispute. The real mother of the infant was a Pariah (or sweeper) — a class held in the utmost abhorrence by the high-born Hindoos, who would have considered themselves polluted if a child of such an outcast race had even touched their garments. Had the true parentage of the infant been revealed at any period subsequent to the feast of recognition, many heads of Rajpoot houses must have shared in the inevitable degradation to which he would have been

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subjected; since all who had dipped their hands in the same dish with him would have lost caste throughout India; and, consequently, if the worst should happen in respect to discovering the imposture, their silence and co-operation were effectually secured. The ascendancy thus gained by the ambitious intriguant at length became irksome to the nobles ; but the times were not favourable for resistance to her authority ; and the fortunate descendant of the most degraded and despised race among the populations of the East, remained in tranquil possession of the high rank to which he had been elevated by his ambitious patroness, and in due time became the undisturbed rajah of Jeypoor.

HINDOO TEMPLE AT CIIANDGOAN.

The temple represented in the accompanying engraving, is situated in the obscure and otherwise uninteresting village of Chandgoan, in the south-eastern quarter of the Jeypoor territory, and near the direct route from Agra to Kotah, and other places in Central India. Chandgoan occurs in the middle of a stage, and it is therefore rarely but from accident that travellers halt in its neighbourhood, or obtain more than a passing glance of the temple as they journey on. The country round about is tame and sterile, consisting of a series of flat, arid plains, thinly dotted with attenuated trees, which so often fatigue the eye during a journey through the Upper Provinces of Hindoostan.

The temple at Chandgoan is a picturesque and interesting structure, affording a good specimen of Hindoo architecture, unadulterated by foreign innovations. The pointed, mitre-like form of the towers show the antiquity of the edifice; the greater number of Hindoo buildings erected after the settlement of the Mohammedans in the country, having the round domes introduced by the conquerors. The shrines of the deities are placed in these steeple-crowned towers ; the part devoted to the religious services of the temple bearing a very inconsiderable proportion to that appropriated for the accommoda- tion of the officiating Brahmins and their various and numerous attendants, including, generally, a troop of nautch, or dancing-girls — the inseparable adjuncts of a large and well-endowed establishment. These young ladies, though dedicated to the service of the temple, are not supposed to be the most immaculate of their sex ; but their devotion sanctifies their occupation ; and being under the protection of the Brahmins, nautcli- women belonging to a temple are not considered impure and degraded, as is the case with such of the sisterhood as have not the honour of priestly protection. Among the poorer classes of the Hindoos, there is no difficulty in finding parents who will readily devote their daughters to the service of their deities, or rather of their priests ; and deserted children, who are sometimes adopted from compassionate motives by the Brahmins, are always brought up to assist in religious festivals, and at their sacrifices — the young and most beautiful being generally the first victims of the obscene and degraded ritual.

Among the religious festivals of the Hindoos, there is one especially in honour of Krishna; in which, after the dancing-girls have displayed their charms of art and allure- ment, a ballet is performed by young and handsome boys, educated for the purpose, who represent the early adventures of the deity during his sojourn in the lower world. Tliese boys are always Brahmins ; and the most accomplished corps of them belong to Muttra, a town scarcely inferior to Benares for sanctity and learning. The corps de ballet — if they may be so denominated — attached to any Hindoo establishment of high celebrity, travel about during the seasons of particular festivals, and perform at the courts of the native princes. They are always well paid for their exertions, and frequently become a source of great wealth to the temple to which they belong.

Of the history of the temple at Chandgoan, little or nothing is at present known, except that it exists, and that, from its unusual state of good repair, there are evidently III. M

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native resources available for the purpose of its preservation. The state in which it is situated is under British protection; but its capital, Jevpoor, has been rarely visited by the Anglo-Indian residents of Hindoostan; and consequently, although it is decidedly the finest town in Rajpootana, it has hitherto attracted but a comparatively small portion of attention.

PERAWA— MALWA.

The province of Malwa, one of the most elevated regions of Hindoostan, is situated principally between the 22nd and 23rd degrees of north latitude. Perawa, whose ancient fort is the subject of the accompanying plate, is an irregular and meanly built town, about seventy miles distant from Oojein, the original capital of the province. It is a place of little importance — surrounded by a decayed wall of mud and brickwork, so weak and dilapidated as scarcely to oppose a barrier to the incursions of truant cattle. The only building counected with Perawa that is at all worth notice, is the old stone fort represented in the engraving ; which, though not boasting much architectural beauty, is in the highest degree picturesque, and affords a fair specimen of edifices of similar character that are frequently met with in the wildest and most remote districts of India. The style of this fortress is partly Mohammedan, and partly Hindoo — the ghaut, with its open pavilions (to the left of the picture), affording a pleasing contrast to the bastioned walls of the citadel. This approach terminates with a gateway, which, although it will not bear comparison with the noble portals of many of the places of arms in other parts of India, is not wholly destitute of artistic merit.

Early in the thirteenth century, Malwa was either entirely conquered, or became otherwise tributary to the Patan sovereigns of Delhi. It was afterwards raised to inde- pendence by the Afghans, who fixed their capital at Mandoo. But the state did not long maintain its supremacy, becoming subject to the Moguls, to whose empire it was attached until the death of Aurungzebe. The Mahratta power then obtained the mastery over Malwa; and during a long series of years, its possession was disputed by different chieftains, whose struggles afforded their less formidable neighbours opportunity to invade, plunder, and appropriate every village their armed followers were strong enough to keep in subjection. The unsettled state of provinces thus continually at w ar with each other, and exposed to outrages of every description, rendered such fortresses as that of Perawa of vital importance to rulers who were frequently dependent upon the protection of their walls for bare existence. Many such were strong enough to resist the ineffective weapons of native warfare ; but wfith the exception of Gwalior, Bhurtpoor, and a few other strongly-fortified places, few could withstand the power of European ordnance ; and it was not thought within the limits of probability that the old fort at Perawa would ever reassume the warlike character of its early days. j

Some short time after the commencement of the present century, a formidable band of robbers, organised under the name of Pindarries, attracted the notice of the Anglo- Indian government. These men, in the first instance, had composed the mercenary troops attached to the service of the Peishwa, Sindia; and upon his withdrawing from the field, had thrown themselves upon the people for subsistence by pillage, 'lhe contribu- tions so gathered from their own and the neighbouring states, soon rendered the occupa- tion popular with idle and depraved men of all castes and religious, who thronged to the banners of the chiefs, and carried on their lawless pursuits w ith impunity. At length, however, the force became so formidable, and its depredations were so extensive, that the English government felt itself bound to interfere for the protection of the tributary states exposed to their ravages. An army from Bengal was therefore dispatched against tne Pindarries; and, after some severe campaigns, succeeded in completely defeating them, and their auxiliaries, at the battle of Mehidpoor, and subsequently took possession of the

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whole of their fortresses. The government was then enabled, through Sir John Malcolm, to dictate the terms of a peace, by which it established a subsidiary force in Malwa, and placed the capital, Oojein, and the family of the reigning prince, under its immediate surveillance. Tranquillity was thus restored to, or rather established in, Malwa, which for a long period had known only the transient and fitful repose of hollow truces.

The calm that spread over the country, under the auspices of Sir John Malcolm, was not, however, destined to endure without interruption; and thus, in the progress of the sepoy rebellion of 1857, the towns and villages of Malwa became again the theatres of frightful outrage. The defection of the Gwalior contingent at Indore; the revolt and its associated atrocities at Mhow ; and the disorder that prevailed in almost every part of the province, testified to the fact, that the wild and lawless tendencies of the Pin- darries had not been entirely discouraged by the people of Malwa, and that the natural disposition of the latter was prone to turbulence, and impatient of wholesome restraint.

Malwa is a fruitful province, its soil consisting chiefly of a black vegetable mould, which, in the rainy season, becomes so soft as to render travelling hardly practicable. On drying, it cracks in all directions; and the fissures in many places along the roads are so wide and deep, that the traveller is exposed to much peril ; for a horse getting his foot into one of these openings, not only endangers his own limbs, but the life of his rider also. The quantity of rain that falls in ordinary seasons is so considerable, and the ground so retentive of moisture, that wells are not resorted to for the purpose of irriga- tion, as in other parts of Hindoostan; and thus a great portion of the labour necessary in some places is saved. But this advantage is counterbalanced by the greater severity of suffering upon a failure of the periodical rains ; for the husbandman, accustomed to depend upon the spontaneous bounty of Providence, is with difficulty persuaded to under- take the unusual labour of watering his fields, especially as that operation must be preceded by the toil of well-digging.

The harvest here, as in Hindoostan generally, is divided over two periods ; one being in March and April, the other in September and October. Erom its elevation, Malwa enjoys a temperature favourable to the production of many kinds of fruit that are destroyed by the heat of the Lower Provinces. The most abundant product, however, of the regiou is opium, which is, from this place, held in great estimation by the Chinese, who consider it more pure than that of any other growth. In some districts the opium is adulterated with oil ; but the practice is avowed ; and the reason assigned is to prevent the drug from drying. In adulterations that are secret, and considered fraudulent, the leaves of the poppy, dried and powdered, are added to the opium. The poppy, which is sown iu November or December, flowers in February ; and the opium is extracted in March or April, according to the time of sowing. In thinning a piece of ground under cultivation, the very young plants are used as pot-herbs; but when they attain to a foot and a-lialf in height, their intoxicating quality renders them highly dangerous for that purpose.

THE KING’S FORT— BOORHANPOOR.

Boorhanpoor, formerly the capital of the province of Candeish, is situated in lat. 21° 16' N., and long. 7G° 18' E., on the north bank of the Taptee river, which rises in the province of Gundwana, and running westward, nearly in a parallel line with the Nerbudda, falls into the Gulf of Cambay at Surat. This beautiful stream, wdiich is fordable during the dry season, laves the walls of the picturesque ruins of the King’s Fort, whose time-worn bastions and dilapidated ramparts are mirrored on the tranquil surface of its shining waters.

Boorhanpoor, when under Moslem rule, was a large and flourishing city. Being

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founded by a holy person of great repute, it was early chosen as the residence of one of the most powerful chiefs established in the Deccan — Boorhau-ood-deen, who is represented to have been one of those ambitious and daring impostors which Islamism has so often produced since the days of its founder. This chief raised himself to great authority during his lifetime; and, since his death, has been esteemed as a saint. His mausoleum, at Rozah, surpasses in splendour the imperial sepulchre of Aurungzebe ; and far greater honours are paid to his memory. Lamps are still kept burning over the venerated dust, and his sarcophagus is canopied by a pall of green velvet — the sacred colour, which indi- cates that those vho are permitted to use it, are either descendants of the prophet, or have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. The precincts of the building are the abode of moollahs, and other pious men, who are in daily attendance at the tomb ; and upon great occasions, large nobuts (or drums), which are kept in one of the ante-chambers for the purpose, are beaten by the faithful to commemorate the merits of the deceased saint.

The King’s Fort (or Citadel of Boorhanpoor), no longer formidable as a place of arms, is picturesque in its decay. Rising boldly from an elevated bank of the river, it con- veys to the spectator an idea of strength which a closer inspection does not warrant : for its vast tenantless courts are cumbered with huge fragments of ruins, and rank vegetation has penetrated to its most secret recesses. Still it is an interesting relic of Moslem grandeur fading before the relentless footsteps of Time ; and the deserted chambers and ruined courts cannot be contemplated without a feeling of sadness. The adjoining city is still comparatively populous, and has been considered to be one of the largest and best built in the Deccan. The greater number of the houses are of brick, handsomely orna- mented ; and many of them are three storeys high : there is also a large chowk (or market-place), and an extensive thoroughfare called the Raj Bazaar. The remains of Mohammedan tombs and mosques in the neighbourhood, show that Boorhanpoor, under its original masters, was an important place. Its principal religious edifice, the Jumma Musjid, still bears substantial evidence of the wealth of its rulers, and is a handsome building of grey marble, crowned with lofty minarets. The followers of Boorhan-ood- deen, by whom this mosque as well as the fort was built, are still very numerous among the resident population, and constitute a peculiar sect known by the denomination of Bohrahs. They are a noble-looking race, and are distinguished from the rest of the inhabitants by a costume, in which is blended that of the place, and also of Arabia, the supposed birthplace of the saint whose precepts they follow. They are men of active habits, and generally of great wealth, acquired in mercantile pursuits. The best houses in the city are occupied by the Bohrahs, and they are celebrated all over India for their commercial probity and enterprise.

After the decline of the Mohammedan empire in Hindoostan, Boorhanpoor and its adjacent territory fell into the hands of the Mahrattas; and these, with the neighbouring fortress of Asseerghur (styled the key of the Deccan), were among the first trophies of the campaigns which, under Lake, TVellesley, and others, ultimately subdued the formidable power which had risen upon the ruin of the Mohammedan states, and threatened to involve the whole of India in a cruel and devastating war.

THE JUMMA MUSJID AND WATER PAL ACE— MANDOO.

Mandoo is a ruined city of Central India, situated about forty-seven miles south-west from Oojein, and was once the magnificent capital of a district of the same name, between 22° and 23° N. lat. It is now a mass of ruins, almost veiled from sight by jungle, and daily crumbling into fragments. Ancient writers have recorded that it was founded by the Patan sovereign of Malwa — Mohammed Khiljee; and that, within its circuit of thirty-seven miles, abounding with treasures of art, it far surpassed in splendour all the other great cities of Central Hindoostau. Occupying the crest of the Viudhya

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mountains, enclosed in every direction by a natural ravine, and a strong interior wall nearly inaccessible, it appears in its prosperity rather to have been a fortified district than a mere city ; but after its reduction by the emperor Akber, in 1575, it fell rapidly into decay; and when, some forty years afterwards (1615), it was visited by Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador from James I. to the emperor Jehangeer, the city was much dilapidated, and “ Ichabod” appeared already written upon the portals of its temples.

The wide chasm that separates the platform of the mountain on which the city is built, from the neighbouring hills, although a natural formation, has the appearance of an artificial ditch of enormous dimensions. Over it, towards the north, is a broad causeway, which at some seasons forms the only approach to the city, the surrounding ravine being filled with water during the rains. This passage was guarded by three gateways, still nearly entire, placed at a considerable distance from each other — the last being on the summit of the hill, which is ascended by a winding road cut through the rock. The masses of ruined buildings which remain amidst a profusion of vegetation (apparently the unchecked growth of ages), somewhat resemble those of the city of Gour in Bengal, where, also, the forest has intruded upon the courts and halls of palaces. The prevailing style of the architecture that lies scattered around is Afghan; and some of the specimens are among the finest which that splendid race has left in India : the material is chiefly a fine calcareous red stone; but the mausoleum of Hossein Shah, one of the most remarkable relics yet existing, is composed entirely of white marble brought from the banks of the Nerbudda.

The Jumma Musjid at Mandoo is still believed to have once been the finest and largest specimen of the Afghan mosque to be met with amongst the marvellous architec- ture of an extraordinary people. The remains of a piazza (as shown in the accompanying plate) would indicate that the sacred edifice was enclosed in a quadrangle; and the small- ness and perfectly circular form of the cupolas, declare the peculiar characteristics cf Afghan architecture: while the wild and desolate aspect of the whole ruin, is exactly cor- respondent with the state of the city, whose fragments lay scattered around. Adjacent to the remains of the Jumma Musjid are the ruins of a large structure, once the abode of learning, now little more than a silent heap of crumbling stones ; the small number of human beings that share the once glorious city with the wild beasts of the forest, being merely a few Hindoo devotees, who are at little pains to defend themselves from the attack of tigers that prowl amongst the ruins, because they believe that death inflicted by one of those animals affords a sure passport to heaven.

Another beautiful relic of Afghan magnificence is presented by the ruins of Tehaz Ka Mahal (or Water Palace), which is erected upon an isthmus that divides two large tanks of water from each other. The situation is exceedingly picturesque; and the calm, quiet beauty of the structure, particularly where reflected from the glassy surface of the water that stretches itself on either side, affords an object of delightful though pensive con- templation to the traveller before whom the interesting ruin is suddenly unveiled.

The decay of Mandoo commenced, as already observed, more than a century before Malwa became tributary to the Anglo-Indian government. For a long period it formed an occasional retreat for a predatory tribe called Bheels, who, having ravaged the surrounding country, established themselves, from time to time, in the fortress of the almost deserted city : these, however, have long since given place to a race of inhabitants scarcely more destructive or ferocious than themselves : the jackal, the vulture, the serpent, and the wolf, are their successors, and, with the tiger and the leopard, make their lairs amid the temples, and bring forth their young in the halls of kings.

In 1792, so little remained of this once celebrated abode of princes, that in the narrative of a tour made by some Europeans between Agra and Oojein, no mention what- ever is made of a ruin so remarkable, though the travellers must have crossed the river Chumbul, almost contiguous to the site of Mandoo. It has of late years, and until the more serious events of the sepoy rebellion gave other occupation to the Europeans in the vicinity, been an occasional object of attraction to the military officers and others stationed at Mhow ; who can only have derived a melancholy gratification when wandering amidst the scenes of fallen greatness that are unveiled to them at every step; since the most exuberant and buoyant spirit could scarcely avoid becoming depressed by the solemn stillness and utter desolation that pervades Mandoo.

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The doom of Mandoo appears to have long been irrevocably pronounced : its desola- tion is complete ; and, in a few more years, the last vestiges of its pristine glory will have passed away for ever.

THE FORTRESS OF DOWLUTABAD.

Tagara (Deoghur, or Dowlutabad) is a town and fortress in the dominions of the Nizam — situated upon the road between Ellora and Aurungabad, at the distance of seven miles from the latter city. When the Mohammedans, under Allah-ud-deen, overran this part of the Deccan about the year 1293, Tagara, or Deoghur, was the residence of a power- ful Hindoo rajah, who was defeated by the invader — his capital being taken, and plundered of immense riches. In 1306, the city and surrounding district were reduced to perma- neut subjection by Malek Naib, the Mogul emperor’s general; soon after which the emperor Mahommed made an attempt to establish the capital of his empire at Deoghur, the name of which he changed to Dowlutabad. In the endeavour to effect this removal, he almost ruined Delhi, by driving its inhabitants to his new seat of government — a dis- tance of 750 miles from their habitation: the scheme, however, proved abortive, after he had sacrificed some thousands of his wretched subjects iu the experiment.

About the year 1595, Dowlutabad came into the possession of Ahmed Nizam Shah ; ! and on the fall of his dynasty, the place was seized by Malek Amber, originally an Abyssinian slave, but then esteemed the ablest general, politician, and financier of the age. The successors of this extraordinary man continued to hold Dowlutabad until 1634, when it was taken by Shah Jehan, who converted the whole district into a soubah of the Mogul empire. The capital was then transferred from Dowlutabad to the neighbouring town or village of Gurka, which becoming the favourite residence of Aurungzebe during his viceroyalty of the Deccan, it received from him the name of Aurungabad. Dowluta- bad was subsequently comprehended in the dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad, and was looked upon as the key of the Deccau.

So long as the early Asiatic mode of warfare prevailed, hill fortresses were considered by all races as of great importance; and none could possibly be more so than the rock fort of Dowlutabad, which nature and art had combined to render one of the strongest, as well as the most remarkable of all the places of the kind iu Hiudoostan. A rocky hill, which iu shape has been compared to a compressed bee-hive, rises abruptly from the plain, at about a mile distant from the foot of the range of Ellora, so famed for its excavations, and from which, it has been assumed, the mountain must have been forcibly separated by some convulsion of the earth. The form and size of this isolated eminence were particularly favourable for the exercise of the skill and patience of which Hindoo architects have left so many imperishable monuments. The height of the hill is from five to six hundred feet, and it is about a mile iu circumference. The face of the rock has been rendered precipitous by the labour of man, and forms, round the base of the hill, a steep smooth nail, or scarp, of one hundred and fifty feet in height ; a wide and deep ditch giving addi- tional security to the already inaccessible defences. Upon crossing the ditch, the ascent is through an excavation in the heart of the rock, which is carried in a most singular manner to the upper works, winding through the intricate recesses and caverns of the hill. The commencement of this subterranean passage is low, and can only be traversed in a stooping position ; but after a few paces, it emerges into a lofty vault, illuminated by torches. From this hall, a gallery twelve feet high by twelve feet broad, ascending by a gradual and gentle incliue uutil it approaches the summit of the mountain, conducts the visitor to various halting-places, where there are trap-doors, from which narrow flights of steps lead to the ditch that surrounds the hill. In these subterraneous communications there is no light, except such as is afforded by torches. Several avenues branch off at different elevations from the main passage, towards store vaults, formed by recesses within

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the rock ; all of which are protected by massive iron gates. After ascending for a con- siderable distance, the passage terminates in a cavity about twenty feet square, having at the upper end a circular opening of about five feet diameter, through which the remainder of the ascent must be accomplished. This aperture is protected by a large iron plate, which can be laid over it in case an enemy should penetrate so far up the mountain ; when a large fire would be kindled, and, by means of holes for directing a current of flame in the proper direction, the heat of the furnace would have the effect of suffocating an approaching enemy in the subterraneous passages.

Upon emerging from the bowels of the mountain, the road becomes steep and narrow ; the ground is in many places covered with brushwood, and several buildings are scattered over it. The house of the governor is large and handsome ; and, from the flag- staff, the view is extensive and beautiful. On the extreme apex of the hill, a large brass gun has been placed, for the purpose of salutes or signals. The difficulty of the under- taking is said to have been immense, and was only overcome by the persevering assiduity of an engineer, who, on promise of being allowed to return to his own home, suffered no obstacle to relax his efforts, and, after numerous trials, at last accomplished his object.

The suspicion inherent to Asiatic rulers, rendered the post of honour conferred upon the officer entrusted with the command of Dowlutabad, one of discomfort and danger. His family were compulsorily detained as hostages at Hyderabad, and, upon the least appearance of irregularity, were dependent upon the caprice of the sovereign for life. Under the Mogul emperors, Akber and Jehangeer, no one was suffered to retain the important and dangerous command for more than three years ; and many of the governors fell victims to the awakened suspicions of their masters even before that brief term of authority had expired.

Dowlutabad is almost wholly destitute of ordnance ; and under the present system of military operations, has lost much of its original importance : it does not command any road, pass, or country, and is now chiefly interesting as affording a very remarkable speci- men of a hill fortress in Iliudoostan.

THE TOMB OF AURUNGZEBE— ROZ AH.

Rozah is a small town in the province of Aurungabad, and about fourteen miles from the city which gives its name to the district : standing upon a highly elevated tract of table- land, the summit of a hill-pass between Dowlutabad and Ellora, it commands a very beautiful and extensive view. Aurungabad appears in the distance ; and that bold, abrupt conical mound, Dowlutabad, the pyramidal wonder of the scene, crowned with a bristling rampart, and deeply scarped at its base — the most singular of the hill fortresses of India — forms a conspicuous object from the elevated platform on which the sepulchral town of Rozah has been built. The place is approached by a well-paved causeway twenty feet wide, and is surrounded by a wall constructed with great solidity : it contains numerous vestiges of its original magnificence, as the resting-place of the last mighty emperor of the Mogul dynasty; but the sculptured walls of the palaces of the Omrahs, which, in the days of Mogul glory, here reared their proud pinnacles to heaven, are now fast verging to the last stages of decay.

Rozah being the royal burial-place during the period in which Aurungabad formed the capital of the Mogul empire, it is thickly strewn with tombs of great aud pious men; and it is probable, in the first instauce, that from its already possessing the mausoleums of many reputed saints, a monarch who professed to feel the strongest zeal for the cause of Mohammedanism, was induced to select it for the place of his own sepulture; and thus the tomb of the last of the imperial descendants of Tamerlane, who maintained tire ances- tral glory bequeathed to them by that mighty conqueror, stands within the same euclo-

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sure iu which the remains of a Moslem saint are deposited : but the mausoleum of Boorhan-ood-deen eclipses in splendour that of the arbiter of the hundred thrones of Ilindoostan, while his memory is yet far more highly reverenced.

Aurungzebe’s tomb, though picturesque, has little claim to grandeur or even elegance. The monarch’s taste and liberality have been called in question by those who suppose it to have been his own work; but as he always displayed great plainness, and even simplicity, in his personal appearance, if he actually was himself the architect of his own monument, it was only in keeping with the character he desired to maintain.

The marble sarcophagus containing the ashes of the last of the conquering Moguls, is covered with a paltry canopy of wood, which has long presented a wretchedly dilapidated appearance ; lamps are no longer lighted before it, and the utmost neglect is visible iu every part. Some of the monarch’s family also repose iu the same enclosure ; but the place would scarcely repay a visit, except as it is associated with the memory of one whose unenviable greatness has rendered his name an historical souvenir, alike suggestive of admiration and of horror.

Upon attaining the summit of his ambition through treachery and parricide, Aurungzebe rendered his imperial sway acceptable to the people whom he governed ; but his public virtues were obscured by the atrocities of his private life, his filial impiety, and the cruel persecution of his more popular brothers. Though enduring the monarch who ruled with wisdom and moderation, the vast multitude, while readily yielding obedience to laws justly administered, detested the man; and thus, notwithstanding the reputation for sanctity which he strove to acquire, the emperor remained uncanonised ; and, while his relics wrere carelessly resigned to the care of a few of the most indigent of the priesthood, incense is burned, and flowers are still strewed, before the neighbouring shrine of a comparatively unimportant individual. The emperor Aurungzebe died at Ahmednuggur — the capital of one of the sovereignties of the Deccan — in February, 1707 ; having entered upon the fiftieth year of his reign, and the eighty-ninth of his age.

A passage in his farewell letter to his sous, exhibits, in disconnected sentences, the utter inefficiency of earthly power to still the voice of conscience, when the portals of the tomb are about to open before frail mortality. “ Wherever I look,” writes the dying emperor, “ I see nothing but darkness — I know nothing of myself — what I am — and for what I am destined. The instant which passed in power hath left only sorrow behind it. I have not been the guardian and protector of the empire. Wherever I look 1 see nothing but darkness ! I have committed many crimes, and know not with what punishments I may be seized. The agonies of death come upon me fast. Farewell ! farewell ! farewell !” The will of this monarch contained directions for his funeral, the expense of which was to be defrayed by a sum “equal iu value to ten shillings, saved from the price of caps which he had made and sold ; and 805 rupees, gained by copying the Koran, were to be distributed among the poor.”* It may be, the parsimonious directions of Aurungzebe iu regard to his burial, had some influence upon the feeling that afterwards consigned his tomb to neglect and uncared-for dilapidation.

SASSOOR— IN THE DECCAN.

The valley of Sassoor, in the Deccan, situated a few miles to the south-east of Poona, is a sort of oasis in the desert; its splendid architectural treasures, cool, transparent waters, and luxuriant foliage, contrasting most beautifully with the country that surrounds it, which is singularly barren and unattractive. The most secluded and remote districts in India frequently display to the astonished eyes of the European traveller, scenes of beauty and splendour which, if situated in any other part of the world, would attract crowds of tourists to the spot ; and the surprise of a traveller proceeding through a tract

* Vide Eiphinsione’s India, vol. ii., p. 551.

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of country divested of any peculiar claims upon his admiration, may be easily conceived, when a scene like that represented in the engraving is suddenly unveiled before him, as is the case on reaching Sassoor, on the way from Poona to Bejapoor. In this valley of enchantment, splendid ghauts, shrines, and temples, are erected at the confluence of two streams — a circumstance which, in the eves of an Hindoo, always invests the spot in which it occurs with peculiar sanctity. The junction, in this instance, takes place near the fortified hill of Porhundhur, to the south-east of Poona. The principal temple observed in the engraving, is dedicated to Mahadeo, and is surrounded by several shrines, sepulcliral erections, and memorials of suttee — for the celebration of which inhuman rite this beautiful valley was once notorious. Very few Hindoo castes bury their dead ; but, in many instances, after immolation of the corpse with the living victim of a cruel law, the ashes are collected and preserved in edifices prepared for their reception. Of such records of human sacrifices upon the funeral pile of a deceased husband, there are many specimens at Sassoor; the practice being esteemed so honour- able, that it is generally commemorated. To the right of the magnificent temple, with its singularly formed domes and spiral terminations, is a lofty and massive wall, enclosing the palace of one of the great Brahmin family of Porundhurree, whose fortunes, for more than half a century, were intimately connected with those of the Peishwas of the Deccan. Like other buildings of similar importance, this palace is strongly fortified; and, in the war of 1818, against Bajee Rao, its garrison held out for ten days against a division of the British army.

The neighbouring town of Sassoor contains a considerable number of substantial brick and stone buildings; and the adjacent fortress of Porhundhur commands a very extensive view over the valley, which is richly cultivated, being watered by fertilising streams that, in India, are so highly valued as to become objects of veneration. To this feeling may be attributed the beautiful pagodas, and other erections, which rise upon their banks, and afford, with their accompanying ghauts, opportunities for recreation and enjoyment to the inhabitants, and of rest and refreshnent to the wayfarer.

In the engraving, the usual idlers at an Indian ghaut are seen bathing, praying, gossiping, or drawing water, together with the ever-present gosa, Iri (a saint or holy person),* who may be distinguished in the stream by the drapery thrown over his right arm. Looking beyond the ghaut, in the direction of some distant towers seen through the trees, is the small camp of a European party resting on their journey ; and, in the foreground (to the right of the picture) is a native equipage used by females of rank, called a rhat, or rheta. The vehicle is surmounted by a canopy of fine scarlet cloth, ornamented at the top with a golden pine-apple. Such carriages are usually drawn by two bullocks of the purest white; and two Mali ratta horsemen, armed with their long aud taperiug spears, form the escort of the veiled beauties, enshrined within the ample folds of drapery that fall from the canopy.

TOMBS OE THE KINGS— GOLCONDA.

Golconoa, a city once celebrated throughout the world for the mines of diamonds in its vicinity (now long since worked to exhaustion), is situated on a hill, six miles west of Hyderabad, the capital of the Nizam’s dominions, in lat. 17° 15' N., and long. 78° 32' E. Golconda has been repeatedly the capital of an extensive kingdom : first under native Hindoo princes, and afterwards, for many years, under one or other of the independent Mohammedan sovereignties, which ultimately were subdued by the emperor Aurungzebe, who, by uniting the whole empire in his own person, bequeathed so vast aud unwieldy a territory to his descendants, that it was broken in pieces and lost. Conquered at an

* “According to tradition, the ardour of devotion attained by these Mohammedan saints is such, that their heads and limbs fall Irom their bodies, in the last act of worship.” — Forbes.

HI. N

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early period by the followers of the prophet, the Deccan oecame the seat of several suc- cessive dynasties ; hut it would he impossible, in a brief notice like the present, to trace the devious fortunes of the successive adventurers that, from time to time, have held supreme power in this the diamond-throned capital of the most potent of Asiatic sovereigns.

In the vicinity of the city is the fortress of Nulgonda, which crowns the summit of a conical hill, about six miles W.N.W. from Hyderabad. Into this fortress — so strong by nature and art, that it is believed by the natives to be impregnable — no European had been admitted until within a very recent period ; but the principal inhabitants and bankers of Hyderabad were suffered by the Nizam to have residences within the fort, to which they retire with their money and other treasure on any occasion of alarm.

The magnificent buildings represented in the engraving, are tombs of the kings of the Kootb Shah dynasty, which was founded at Golconda about a.d. 1512, by a Turcoman soldier named Kooli Kootb, who came from Hamadan, in Persia, in quest of military service — entered the guards of the Bahmani kings of the Deccan, was promoted, and, on the dissolution of the monarchy, held sway over Telingana, which he retained until his death in 1543, making Golconda his capital. The most ancient of these tombs is the mau- soleum of the founder, Kooli Kootb; which was built above 300 years ago — the remainder being erected at intervals during about 150 years subsequently, which gives the date of the last erection. The tombs of the kings are spread over a wide plain on the north side of the city, about 600 yards from the fort ; and many of them still present very splendid specimens of the Saracenic style of architecture that has since spread over the civilised world, and effected so much for the ornamentation of the great cites of Europe. The form of the tomb of Kooli Kootb is quadrangular, crowned by a dome — the basement resting upon a spacious terrace, approached by flights of steps, and surrounded by an arcade, each face of which presents an equal number of pointed arches surmounted by a rich and lofty balustrade, with a minaret at each angle. Above the arcade the body of the building rises in the larger tombs about thirty feet, the four faces being ornamented in stucco, and supporting a balustrade and minarets, smaller and more simple than those on the arcade. From the centre of this portion of the building springs the dome, which, by its magnitude, forms the principal feature of the design. It swells considerably as it rises, the largest diameter being about one-third of the entire height. The lower portion of these edifices is composed of grey granite, very finely wrought ; the upper storey being coated with stucco or chunam : some are orna- mented by the porcelain tiles generally used in Mohammedan buildings. These decorations are, in several of the tombs, disposed in a kind of mosaic work, and still retain the brilliancy of their colours undiminished. Extracts from the Koran fre- quently occur as ornaments to the cornices — executed in white letters upon a blue polished surface; all in good preservation, and producing a fine effect.

The body of Kooli Kootb Shah (assassinated in his ninetieth year, at the instigation of his second son Jamsheed, avIio, having already put out the eyes of his elder brother, then ascended the throne) is deposited in a crypt, under a ponderous slab of plain black granite ; and immediately over it, in the principal apartment of the tomb, a highly ornamented sarcophagus indicates the spot where the remains of the ferocious conqueror of Nulgonda were left to their last repose. The circumstances connected with the capture of the hill fort of Nulgonda, were as follow : — Having repeatedly, but vainly, at- tempted to carry the fort by storm, the Sultan Kooli Kootb Shah at leugth sent a flag of truce to the commandant, Rajah Hari Chandra, promising to withdraw the troops if he would consent to become tributary to Golconda; but threatening, in the event of refusal, to procure reinforcements, destroy the neighbouring towns, and devastate the country, and thus reduce the place by cutting off its supplies, in which case he would not spare the life even of an infant in the garrison. The rajah, hopeless of being able to resist the power of the sultan, yielded consent; and the latter, upon being assured of his submission, remarked, that as Nulgonda was the only hill fort which had successfully resisted him, he should like to see it, and therefore desired to be allowed to enter with a few attendants. The request being granted, Kooli instructed his body-guard (whom, to disarm suspicion, he had left in the town below) how to act, and ascended the hill with four chosen soldiers completely armed. On entering the gateway, he drew his sword

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and cut down one sentinel; while his companions, attacking the others, held possession until their comrades came rushing up to their assistance; and the whole of his army soon poured into the fortress. Neither man, woman, or child was spared on this occa- sion; and the rajah, thus taken by surprise, on being made prisoner, was for some time kept confined in an iron cage, and was eventually put to death by his trea- cherous enemy.

In some of the tombs of the royal descendants of this founder of a line of kings, the dome forms the roof of the principal chambers ; but in others, it is separated by a ceiling stretching over the whole quadrangle. According to the usual custom in such buildings, there is a mosque attached to each; and formerly the whole was surrounded by pleasure- grounds, well planted with trees and flowers, and watered by fountains. These beautiful accessories have long since disappeared, together with much of the interior decorations of the buildings — such as the rich carpets that covered the floors, and the magnificent draperies once thrown over the sarcophagi that still remain to indicate the spot in which the bodies of the dead were deposited. The large tomb on the left of the engraving, was erected over the corpse of a female ruler, Hyat Begum ; whose father, having no male issue, bequeathed his kingdom to the husband of his daughter; and upon the death of the latter, her grateful consort had her here interred among the kings of her race.

THE BRITISH RESIDENCY AT HYDERABAD.

Hyderabad, the capital city of a province similarly named, in the dominions of the Nizam of the Deccan, is the seat of his government, and is situated in lat. 17° 15' N., long. 78° 42' E., ou the banks of the river Musah, a stream of inconsiderable note, except in the rainy season, when it is augmented by the floods from the hills. The city was originally founded by Mohammed Kooli, the fifth of the Kootb Shah kings, who began to reign in 1580. He removed the seat of government from Golconda to a site in the vicinity, where he built a magnificent city, called Bhagnuggur, in honour of Bhag- muttee, his favourite mistress — a public singer, for whom 1,000 cavalry were assigned as an escort. After her death, the name was changed to Hyderabad, by which it has since been distinguished by the Mohammedans, although the Hindoos still call it by its original appellation, “ Bhagnuggur.” The place was taken and plundered by the armies of the emperor Auruugzebe in 1687 — the principal inhabitants escaping the violence of his soldiers by taking shelter in the neighbouring fortress of Golconda.

The city is encompassed by a wall of stone, of sufficient strength to resist the attacks of cavalry; and within this enclosure, the buildings and streets extend about four miles in one direction, and three in another. Most of the houses are but of one storey in height, and are built of slight materials. The streets, as in most Indian towns, are very narrow ; but having long been the principal Mohammedan station in the Deccan, it con- tains an unusual number of mosques, some of which are very handsome. The Nizam, who here maintains some semblance of Oriental pomp, has large magazines at Hyderabad; in which have been deposited, through successive reigns, the costly presents received from European sovereigns. The population of the city, including the suburbs, is estimated at about 120,000 persons. A handsome bridge, sufficiently broad to allow two carriages to pass, crosses the river Musah; and about a mile westward from the city is a large tank, said to cover a space of 10,000 acres.

The magnificent building represented in the accompanying plate, was erected for the accommodation of the British resident at the court of the Nizam, by a former ruler of the territory. The original plan was designed, and the progress of the works superintended, by a young officer of the Madras engineers — a branch of the service which has chiefly supplied the architects of the European community in India. The facade shown in the engraving, is the south or back front, looking towards the city, from which it is separated by the river. The front towards the north is erected in a corresponding style of ele-

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gance, being adorned with a spacious Corinthian portico of six columns. The house to the right, standing immediately above the bank of the river, is occupied by the officer commanding the resident’s body-guard; and the whole landscape, with its fine accom- paniments of wood and water, affords a magnificent and striking scene, scarcely less im- posing than that which is presented by the government-house at Calcutta. The artist has seized the occasion presented by one of the visits of ceremony, that were formerly frequent between the Nizam and the British resident at his court, to introduce one of the picturesque cavalcades which form the splendid pageants of the East. The covered ambarry — a vehicle usually of silver or gold, canopied with gold brocade, which sur- mounts the back of the foremost elephant — is an emblem of royalty none except sovereign princes are permitted to use. The second elephant bears the common native howdah, which is often formed of solid silver, or of wood covered with silver plates, and is the conveyance used by nobles and persons of high rank. There is room in front for two persons, and a seat behind for an attendant, who, upon ordi- nary occasions, carries an umbrella; but in the presence of monarchy, no person of inferior rank is permitted to interpose any screen between the sun and his devoted head. The British resident, as the representative of his sovereign, has a right to a seat in the ambarry; and it is the etiquette upon state occasions, for the prince who desires to testify his respect for the government with which he is in alliance, to invite the party he desires to honour, to a seat upon his own elephant.

The court of Hyderabad is still kept up with great splendour, and there is more of the ancient ceremonial retained than is usual in the present depressed state of the native princes. The Omrahs are men of considerable wealth ; and there has long been an increasing demand for foreign luxuries and elegancies at the capital of the Deccan.

BEJAPOOR.

This ruined city, which is left almost alone to commemorate the short but splendid reign of the Adil Shahee dynasty, lias been styled, by Sir John Mackintosh, “ the Palmyra of the Deccan.” It contains the relics of an immense number of buildings, not less ’ interesting than magnificent, which arose and were finished within two centuries, and which, despite of the desolation which has fallen upon them, still retain a considerable portion of their original beauty, many having yet been scarcely injured by the lapse of time, the utter abandonment of man, or the strife of the elements. On approaching from the north, the great dome of Mohammed Shah’s tomb first attracts the eye, it being visible from the village of Kunnoor at the distance of fourteen miles ; and in drawing nearer, other cupolas, towers, and pinnacles spring up so thickly and continuously, that it is impossible to avoid the idea of approaching a populous and still flourishing capital. The road to the outer wall, it is true, leads through a long vista of ruined edifices ; but this is no uucommon circumstance in the environs of Indian cities ; and the impression is not dispelled until the traveller actually finds himself in the streets, many of which are so choked with juugle as to be impassable. Bejapoor is now a city of tombs and ruins ; and travellers wandering through its noiseless solitudes, have remarked the melancholy contrast afforded by the admirable state of repair which distinguishes those edifices reared in honour of the dead, with the utter decay and desolation of the houses formerly inhabited by the living residents of the city.

The magnificent remains of the ancient capital of the province of Bejapoor are to be found in lat. 17° 9' N., long. 75° 42' E., and about 245 miles S.E. from Bombay. The origin of the city — which, on its foundation, was designated Vijaya-pura, the “ Impreg- nable”— is, like that of most of the cities of India, somewhat obscure; but its alleged founder (who was also the founder of the Adil Shahee dynasty, which arose from obscurity in 1489) was Yusuf Adil Shah, who reigned from that date until 15i0. This personage is said to have been a sou of the Ottoman emperor Amurah, at whose death

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 93

he escaped destruction by the contrivance of his mother, who had him conveyed to Persia, from whence, at the age of sixteen, he was compelled to fly, through suspicions which had been awakened with regard to his birth. In his effort to escape the pursuit of his enemies the prince was captured, and afterwards sold at the Bahmani court (a kingdom of the Deccan) as a Georgian slave. From this ignoble position he rose, according to the practice of Mamaluke adventurers, until, by favour of his patron, he became the governor of Bejapoor; and then, taking advantage of the death of his sovereign, by an act of flagrant disloyalty, for which the age and country afforded him abundance of pre- cedent, he seized the first opportunity to declare himself an independent prince. From that moment he became occupied in hostilities with the chiefs around his usurped dominions ; who, like himself, were endeavouring to exalt themselves upon the disjointed fragments of a once powerful state. After a time he succeeded in forming alliances with the new rulers of Ahmed nuggur and Berar, by which their mutual aggressions were recognised, and their several kingdoms strengthened by a confederacy for mutual defence.

Notwithstanding the internal troubles and foreign wars in which the successors of Yusuf Add Shah were constantly engaged throughout the whole period of their rule, they have severally left behind them works that would seem to require a protracted interval of the most profound peace to accomplish. There is at the present time scarcely a city throughout India which can exhibit erections of so much original beauty and utility as Bejapoor. The mosques and tombs of the shahs are numerous and magnificent even in decay ; and the aqueducts remaining are extensive, and even superb in design. There are, also, innumerable fountains, wells, tanks, and bowlees (ponds) — for which the city was indebted to the magnificence of the shahs — still spread over the place, and bearing testimony of their regard for the comfort of the people and the adornment of their capital.

In 1689, Bejapoor was seized by Aurungzebe, at which period it covered au extensive area — its fort alone being eight miles in circumference. Between the fort and the city wall there was sufficient space for an encampment of 50,000 cavalry. Within the citadel was the king’s palace, with numerous mosques, gardens, residences of the nobility, magazines, &c. ; and around the whole was a deep ditch always well supplied with water. Beyond the city walls were large suburbs with noble buildings ; and native historians assert that, during its flourishing state, Bejapoor contained 984,000 inhabited houses, and 1,600 mosques. After its capture, the country around became waste to a great distance; and at present, the site of the city and fort presents to view a district composed of ruins, interspersed by several detached towns and villages. Toorvee (or Torwav) especially, about a mile and a-half from the western wall, is surrounded by magnificent piles of ruins, amongst which are the tombs of several Mohammedan princes and saints, which are still the resort of devotees.

To Ali Add Shah, the fifth monarch of his race, the city of Bejapoor was indebted for the aqueducts which still convey water through the streets. The fountains erected by him would alone suffice to perpetuate the greatness of his design for the embellishment of the city and the convenience of its inhabitants. The building represented on the left of the picture, is a portion of the Jumma Musjid, which has hitherto survived the ruin around it in every direction. This superb edifice is also the work of Ali Add Shah, and is a noble building, having the peculiarity of being entirely open on one side : the mosque is, in fact, composed of rows of arches, forming entrances that stretch along the whole facade, fronting a spacious quadrangle enclosed with a cloister or piazza, arched in the same manner as the principal building. A large light dome springs from the centre, and the court beyond is embellished by a reservoir and fountain. The faith- ful often perform their devotions by the side of this basin, prostrating themselves upon the ground, and touching the pavement many times with their foreheads.

The interior of the Jumma Musjid is very richly ornamented with inscriptions of gold upon lapis lazuli. Its entire aspect reminds the spectator of the solemn grandeur of the cathedral structures of Europe : the series of arches which suc- ceed and cross each other, from whatever point of view observed, produce a noble perspective ; and the style of ornaments, which are judiciously, though sparingly, dis- tributed over the walls, is io true keeping with the character of the building. A few

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poor priests still attend to perform the sendees of the mosque ; but the outer chambers, formerly appropriated to the accommodation of the moollahs and holy persons belonging to it, are now inhabited by some of the most disreputable classes of Bejapoor society. Occasionally, of late years, a transient gleam of splendour has been imparted to the desolate and romantic city of Bejapoor, by a visit from one or other of the rulers of the presidency of Bombay : and upon one such occasion, some few years since, the honours paid to the governor of Bombay had nearly proved the downfall of the mouldering fragments of architectural grandeur that still embellish and give a charm to the place, many of which were shaken to their foundations by the concussion of air produced by the thunder of artillery.

There were formerly preserved among the curiosities in the fort at Bejapoor, a number of enormously large guns ; but they have gradually been removed, until there is now but one remaining — a piece of ordnance by some said to have been cast by Aurungzebe to commemorate the reduction of the city. There is reason, however, to believe that it is of far more remote origin, as it is an object of veneration to the Hindoos of all castes and sects, who offer to the unseen power lodged in the vast engine of destruction, a homage almost amounting to divine honours. Many fabulous legends are preserved by the natives about this gun, named “ Mulk-i-Meidan” (Sovereign of the Plain); which, they assert, became the spoil of Ali Adil Shah, who took it in liis war with the king of Ahmednuggur in 1562. According to another version of its history, this splendid piece of ordnance was the workmanship of Ckulebv Rhoomy Khan, an officer in the service of Ploossein Nizam Shah at Ahmednuggur ; and the mould in which it was cast is still in existence, but lying neglected in the garden of the tomb of the founder, which has been converted into quarters for an Euglish officer. However this may be, it is certain the weight of the “ Sovereign of the Plain” is forty tons; and it is of correspondent dimensions — so large, in fact, that it has never yet been charged with the quantity of powder which its chamber would contain. The metal of which it is composed is said to have a large portion of silver, and a smaller quantity of gold, mixed with the tin and copper that form its chief materials. It is enriched with inscriptions and devices in the usual florid style of Orieutal embellishment, and when struck, emits a clear but somewhat awful sound, similar to that of an enormous bell, which is only endurable at a considerable distance. This mighty voice given forth by a touch, added to the terrible idea of havoc conveyed by the ponderous tube, has doubtless assisted in impressing the natives with a feeling of reverence towards a prodigy of strength and power, which they do not imagine to have been wholly the work of man. Thus they burn iucense before it, and decorate it; and Europeans visiting Bejapoor, have frequently seen, with surprise, the natives advance towards it with joined hands and devotional gestures. At such times flowers are strewn on the bore, and the fore-part of the muzzle is anointed with cinnabar and oil; while marks, as well as odours of burnt perfumes, plainly indicate that a propitiatory offering has been made to the spirit residing in the warlike shrine. For its calibre, an iron ball of the weight of 2,646 pounds would be required.

A notion is prevalent that vast treasures are concealed among the ruins of this city ; and from the habit of the people of the East iu hiding their property in times of danger, it is not improbable that such may be the case.

THE TOMB OF MAHOMED SH AH— BE JAPOOR.

The Burra Gumbooze (Great Dome), as it is called by the natives, which surmounts the massive tomb of the most popular monarch of the Adil Sliahee dynasty, forms the principal attraction of a city full of wondrous beauty amidst premature decay. Mahomed Shah was the last independent sovereign of Bejapoor: he succeeded to the throne

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 95

in the sixteenth year of his age, and found a large treasury, a country still flourishing, and a well-appointed army, reported to be 280,000 strong.

The taste for architectural splendour and posthumous fame, so remarkably exemplified in the tombs of Hindoostan, is displayed to the fullest extent in the mausoleum of Mahomed Shah, which was constructed in the lifetime of the monarch, and under his own auspices. Though somewhat heavy and cumbrous in its structure, its amazing size, and the symmetry of its proportions, fill the mind with reverential feelings from whatso- ever point it is surveyed : whether near or at a distance, its surpassing magnitude reduces all the surrounding objects to comparative insignificance; while its grave and solemn character assimilates very harmoniously with the desolate grandeur of the ruins which it overtops.

The Burra Gumbooze exceeds the dome of St. Paul’s in diameter, and is only inferior to that of St. Peter’s at Rome. It crowns a stately quadrangular building, consisting of a single hall, 150 feet square, and, including the cupola, upwards of 150 feet in height. There are four octagonal towers, one at each angle — each surmounted by a dome, and containing a spiral staircase, by which the ascent to the roof is made. Although there is more of apparent solidity than elegance in this vast structure, its ornaments are rich and appropriate, and none are introduced that injure its simplicity, or detract from its general character ; but, unfortunately, the prodigious weight of the dome, and perhaps the faultiness of the foundation for so vast a structure, have reduced the whole fabric to a state approximating general decay; and an engineer, who visited Bejapoor a short time since, reported, that the primary walls are not only rent in some places through and through, but also in a parallel direction to their faces ; so that, in all probability, and at no distant period, the whole will fall in one mighty crash to the ground. The tomb is raised upon a terrace of granite 200 yards square, the lower portion being divided into a labyrinth of gloomy chambers, now for the greater part filled with rubbish, and forming lairs for the wild and ferocious animals that haunt the desolate abode of powerless royalty. The spacious quadrangle in front of the main building is adorned with fountains; and on the western side is a second terrace, leading to a mosque corresponding in form with the mausoleum, but embellished by two slight and elegant minarets, which give grace and lightness to the whole. The sarcophagus of Mahomed Shah is placed upon a raised platform of granite, under a wooden canopy in the centre of the hall : on the right of it are the tombs of his son and daughter-in-law; on the left, those of his wife and daughter, and of a favourite dancing-girl : the whole are now covered with a thick coating of holy earth brought from Mecca, mixed with the dust of sandal-wood; which, although calculated to excite the devout admiration of the true believers in the doctrines of the Koran, by no means enhances the beauty of the monuments. A shrine of solid silver is said to have originally encased the tomb of Mahomed; but this having fallen a prey to the rapacity of the Mahrattas, a covering of humbler materials was substituted. The surrounding walls are embellished with inscriptions from the Koran, in alto relievo ; the characters being gilded and raised upon a deep-blue ground of enamel, formed by a liquid coating of lapis lazuli ; the gold orna- ments, beautifully interwoven together, and embossed upon this splendid ground, are introduced with great judgment, and produce a very fine effect.

The inhabitants of Bejapoor retain more vivid traditions of the Shah Mahomed than of any of his predecessors : he is represented to have been a prince of amiable character, and to have possessed the virtues most esteemed among Asiatics : he is still extolled for his wisdom, his justice, and, above all, for his munificence. During the whole of his reign he maintained a good understanding with the Mogul emperor Shah Jehan, with whom he corresponded through the medium of the favourite son of the latter, the prince Dara ; until the intimacy and confidence which existed between the sovereign of Bejapoor and the latter, excited the jealousy of Aurungzebe, who, independent of his ambitious desire to bring all the Mohammedan kingdoms of India under his own sway, entertained a personal hatred to all who espoused the interests of his brother; and the enmity thus drawn upon Bejapoor was openly displayed by the fratricide at the first convenient opportunity. Mahomed, who died in November, 1656, was succeeded by his son Add Shah II., a youth of nineteen, who mounted the throne without any complimentary reference or observance of the homage which Aurungzebe professed to claim by right of

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a concession from Mahomed Shah. The Mohammedans in the interest of Aurungzebe, thereupon immediately reported that Add was not a son of the late shah, and that it was incumbent on the emperor to nominate a successor to the throne of Bejapoor. A war ensued, the result of which was the subversion of the independence of the kingdom. “ This war,” observes the historian, “upon the part of the Moguls, appears to have been more completely destitute of apology than any that is commonly found even in the unprincipled transactions ' of Asiatic governments.” It is recorded, that on the final reduction of Bejapoor, the conqueror received a severe reproof from the lips of his favourite daughter. Boasting of the success with which Providence had crowned his arms in every quarter, and of his having, by the extinction of this sovereignty, accomplished all the objects of his ambi- tion, and subdued and dethroned every powerful king throughout Hindoostan and the Deccan ; the begum observed — “ Your majesty, it is true, is the conqueror of the world; but you have departed from the wise policy of your illustrious ancestors, who, when they subdued kingdoms, made the possessors of them their subjects and tribu- taries, and thus became king of kings; while you are only a simple monarch, without royal subjects to pay you homage.” Aurungzebe, it is related, was forcibly struck with the justice of this remark, which occasioned him so much mortification, that he expressed his displeasure by au order for the imprisonment of the princess.

i

PALACE OF THE SEVEN STOREYS— BE JAPOOR.

Very few Eastern cities have the advantage, in a picturesque sense, of so much variety in the style of their ancient buildings, as is to be met with among the ruined palaces and tombs of Bejapoor; a circumstance which may, probably, be in some measure accounted for by the encouragement given to foreign visitors and artistes at the court of its princes, who were themselves of Ottoman descent. For a considerable period, the greater portion of the nobles in attendance upon the kings of Bejapoor, consisted of Persians, Turks, and other Eastern adventurers, who met with a gracious reception, and contributed, by their wealth and magnificence, to enhance the barbaric splendour of the court. Gradually settling down among the native adherents of the sovereign, many of them were doubtless stimulated by the example of the latter to add to the architectural embellishineuts of the capital, and thus introduced those novelties in the style of Asiatic buildings that are so frequently met with among the existing ruins of the city. Ferishta, the Persian historian, states, that the first sovereign of the Adil Shahee dynasty invited artists from distant lands to assist in the embellishment of his capital-city, and “ made them easy under the shade of his bounty ;” and it may be fairly assumed, that to the encourage- ment thus given, the city of Bejapoor owed much of its pristine magnificence.

The beautiful remains of the once splendid palace (represented in the accompanying engraving) are situated within the bounds of the fortified portion of the city. The style of its architecture, which is of a light and graceful character, differs much from that pre- vailing among the uumerous ruins which surround it, and attract the eye in every direc- tion over the vast area now silent as the tomb, but once resounding with the echoes of an immense and busy population.

History appears to be almost silent, and Time itself has preserved but few traditions of the “ Palace of the Seven Storeys.” That within its walls the gorgeous pageants of Oriental magnificence, as well as the gloomy deeds of Asiatic treachery and revenge have often been enacted, it would be unreasonable to doubt : but the days of its glory and of its guilt have alike passed into the shadowy obscurity of the past, and have left no trace of their existence in the ruined towers and roofless chambers of the desolate palace that, little more than three centuries since, was thronged with the glittering chivalry of an Eastern court.

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	From a comparison of the Palace of the Seven Storeys with any other of the most important architectural remains at Bejapoor, it has been considered most probable that the edifice was designed for, and used as, the residence of Yusuf Add Shah (the founder of the monarchy), who reigned from a.d. 1489 to 1510, and that it continued to be the palace of his successors, the kings of Bejapoor, until the subversion of the monarchy by the emperor Aurungzebe, in 1G56. An incident in the history of Ibrahim Adil Shah, the fourth king of Bejapoor (a.d. 1535), is probably so far connected with the Palace of the Seven Storeys, as to deserve mention in connection with it. This prince had formed an alliance with Bhoj Turmul (who had obtained the throne of Beejanuggur by the murder of its young occupant, his own nephew) against Rama Rajah, the regent, and brother-in-law of the murdered sovereign. Ibrahim sent an army to the assistance of Bhoj Turmul, who, in return, paid him down fifty lacs of hoons ( a coin equal to eight shillings), or two millions sterling, and promised to acknowledge himself a tributary to the kings of Bejapoor. In carrying out this arrangement, the presence of the traitor, Bhoj Turmul, was necessary at the court of the latter; and he had been received at the palace with the honours due to his preten- sions as king of Beejanuggur ; where he remained until after the departure of the army intended to support his usurpation. No sooner, however, had the Bejapoor troops left the city, than Rama Rajah, justly incensed at the perfidy of Ibrahim, with whom he had been at peace, assaulted it, and carried fire and sword through its streets and palaces. The king and his protege, were constrained to shut themselves up in the Palace of the Seven Storeys, from the lofty towers of which they could behold the devastation they had brought upon the city by their guilty ambition. Mad with rage and despair, in a paroxysm of fury, Ibrahim commanded that all the royal elephants and horses should be blinded, to prevent their being useful to the enemy; and collecting together, in one glittering heap, the diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls, and other gems, amassed by the princes of his race, he caused them to be crushed to powder between mill-stones ; and prepared to collect the gold and other treasures of the palace into a pile, pre- vious to firing the interior, and perishing, with all his court, in the flames, rather than fall into the hands of the incensed rajah. From this extremity he was, however, saved by the accidental return of a portion of his army, just as the attack upon the palace had commenced; and the enemy retired, satisfied with the punishment they had inflicted upon a perfidious ally. Bhoj Turmul, on finding that the unexpected result of his ambition had involved the ruin of the capital of his friend, had no other prospect before him than a cruel death at the hands of one or other of the offended and injured parties ; and mis- taking the return of the Bejapoor troops to the palace for the approach of those of the hitherto victorious Rama Rajah, he rushed to the upper apartment of the Tower of Seven Storeys, and fixing a sword-blade into the tracery of a pillar, rushed upon it at the moment the palace gates were opened to admit the troops of the king. Ibrahim Adil Shah, who, with all his faults, possessed the taste and munificent spirit of his race, immediately began to repair and restore the city to somewhat of its former magnificence ; but in the midst of his efforts to accomplish that object, he was stricken down by a complication of diseases brought on by extravagant indulgences, which speedily laid him in the tomb — an event, doubtless, accelerated by his conduct to his physicians, several of whom he caused to be trodden to death by elephants, for failing to cure him ; whereupon all such of them as could escape, fled for their lives, leaving the tyrant to perish at his leisure. His successor, Ali Shah, inherited, with the taste of his predecessor, his cruelty also ; since he greatly improved and beautified the capital, by constructing the wall which surrounded it, and the splendid aqueducts which still convey water through the streets ; but, at the same time, having entered into an alliance with Rama Rajah, and united his forces with those of the latter, they jointly invaded the terri- tory of Nizam Shah, and, according to Ferishta, “ laid it waste so thoroughly, that from Purenda to Joonere, and from Ahmednuggur to Dowlutabad, not a vestige of population was left.” The numerous vicissitudes to which the city of Bejapoor has been subjected, have suggested the idea that immense treasures, in gold and jewels, are secreted amidst its ruins ; and there are persons resident within the walls who are yet willing to give large sums to the local government for the privilege of digging among the foundations. As III. o	l

98 THE ILLUSTRATED INDIAN EMPIRE.

yet, the beautiful remains of the Seven-Storied Palace have been preserved from the dangerous operations of the treasure-seekers ; though, as the building has already- suffered more from the injuries which time and war have brought upon Bejapoor than most of its immediate neighbours, its final ruin has now advanced too far to be arrested.

Of the city generally, it is observed by those who have wandered amidst its ruins, that the freshness and unimpaired strength of many of the buildings are remarkable, when compared with the prevailing character of decay and desolation which, in some parts, exhibit such a wild waste of ruin, that it seems scarcely credible so much destruc- tion could have been effected by man’s neglect in the ordinary course of time, but rather that some violent convulsion of nature (of which, however, thei’e is no record extant) must have caused the mighty, terrible, yet partial devastation. This idea is certaiuly borne out by the numberless beautiful and massive remains which have escaped the fearful havoc, and which, still exhibiting the noblest specimens of Eastern architecture, give promise of almost endless durability. It is observable also, that the remains of the carved work and gilding, still to be found in the interior of the Seven-Storied Palace, have not yet lost their first gloss and brilliancy ; while the elaborate ornaments of many of the exterior, retain their minute and exquisite degree of finish wholly unimpaired.

MOSQUE OF MUSTAPHA KHAN— BE JAPOOR.

This be?Cutiful edifice stands near the centre of the city, in an open area leading from the principal street. The quadrangle by which it is surrounded is entered by a large massive gateway, under a noble arch. Time, which has been busy with the buildings that lie prostrate on every side, has dealt gently with the mosque of Mustapha Khan, which rears its graceful dome aud minarets, almost wholly uninjured amidst the general desolation. This temple, though far inferior in size to the Jumma Musjid, is lofty, and beautifully proportioned ; and the external ornaments, though of a less florid character than those of many other structures in its neighbourhood, are chaste and appropriate ; while there is something peculiarly elegant in the shape and decorations of the dome. The high, narrow arches that ruu along the front, and are continued throughout the interior, afford a variety to the ordinary style, and the effect of their perspective is exceedingly pleasing.

Hitherto Bejapoor has only been a place of casual sojourn for amateur tourists, who have satisfied themselves, or have been compelled for want of time to be content, with a hasty and cursory glance at its decaying beauties ; while the most diligent among them have left the greater part of the splendours springing up on every side wholly undescribed : and thus, amidst other objects of deep interest, of which there is no authentic history extant, we vainly seek for any detailed account of the mosque of Mustapha Khan, or of the personal history of its founder.

Not far from the outer enclosure of this sacred building, is a small pool of water, wdiich is pointed out to the curious as possessing a high degree of sanctity in the minds of the Hindoos, and which the Moslems, who believe iu many of their neighbours’ marvels, look upon with some degree of respect. It is milky in its appearance, but perfectly wholesome. No other spring of the kind is found in any part of the neighbour- hood ; and none may presume to question the truth of the tradition which ascribes it to the piety of a Brahmin, who brought a small quantity of the holy water of the Ganges to this remote spot. Rapidly increasing into the pool that yet spreads its pearly surface to the air, it maintains its distinct character, and affords to the devout believer a miraculous proof of the sanctity of the far-distant and venerated river.

A tomb in the neighbourhood of this mosque, named the Mootee-gil (House of Pearl), in consequence of the pure whiteness and brilliant lustre of the chunam with which it is

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lined, has an interesting story recorded of its occupant — a chief of high rank at the court of Ibrahim, who had amassed an enormous quantity of wealth. The reputation of it at length awakened the avaricious propensities of his sovereign, who desired to transfer the treasure to his own coffers, and resorted to a practice common to Eastern despots to accomplish his object. It was determined to bring an accusation of treason against the envied possessor, and upon this plea to seize and appropriate his riches. The plot was deeply laid ; but the intended victim, having obtained timely information of his danger, explained to the females of his zenana the predicament in which he stood, and consulted with them upon the best means of avoiding the fatal consequences of his too good fortune.

It happened that the greater part of the chief's coveted acquisitions consisted of valuable pearls, and other ornaments for the zenana; and the faithful and devoted women to whom he had confided his danger, immediately devised a plan, which, though it involved the sacrifice of objects dear to woman’s vanity, promised to secure to them a still dearer life. They proposed to break into pieces the pearls which had excited the king’s cupidity ; and they were accordingly reduced to powder ! The destruction of those gems becoming a topic of general notoriety, it was no longer worth while to persecute the owner for the sake of obtaining them. The king, foiled by the stratagem, and not caring to avow his object for oppressing the chief (who was much beloved by the people), ceased further persecution ; and his intended victim, though impoverished by the prudent destruction of his treasures, spent the residue of his days in tranquillity, and, at his death, was interred in the Mootee-gil prepared for him — the chunam lining of which was partly composed of the pulverised ornaments of the ladies of his zenana.

TOMB OF IBRAHIM PADSHAH— BE JAPOOR.

About half a mile to the northward of the city, in the garden of the Twelve Imaums, the Durga of Abou al Muzaffir (as the natives term the majestic tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II.) rises with a pomp of architecture exceeding the most sumptuous of the edifices in its neighbourhood. The great and amiable sovereign who sleeps within this noble pile, is represented by Ferishta, his historian and contemporary, as having been one of the brightest ornaments of royalty. His virtues still live in the memory of the people of the Deccan; and, to this day, the ashes of the good and great — the parent, the instructor, and the friend — are visited, with equal reverence and delight, by the Mussulman, the Hindoo, and the Christian traveller.

This splendid mausoleum was built under the direction of Mulick Secunder, or, as he is sometimes called, Mulick Scindal, who is said to have constructed the Taj Bowlee at his own expense. According to report, it was commenced in the reign of Ibrahim, and intended as the tomb of his beloved daughter, Zoran Sultana, who died at the age of six years, and whose infant virtues are commemorated in a Persian inscription upon her tomb. The death of the monarch who planned the design in all its grand and beautiful proportions, took place before it was completed ; but he lies interred, surrounded by the members of his family, in the mausoleum of the garden which gave its name to the neigh- bouring entrance of the city, formerly called the Imaum’s, but now known as the Mecca gate of Bejapoor.

The style of Ibrahim Shah’s tomb differs entirely from that of the Burra Gumbooze, bearing a stronger resemblance to the generality of the Durgas seen in Hindoostan. It consists of a mosque and mausoleum raised upon the same platform, both of which are represented in the accompanying engraving. The basement of these superb edifices is 130 yards in length, and fifty-two in breadth, rising to the height of fifteen feet, and enclosed by buildings of a single storey, open both from without and within, and intended for the accommodation of travellers, visitors, and the attendants of the palace. The

entrance to the interior quadrangle, which is seen to the right of the plate, is on the north side of the main edifice, and is a loftv and elegant gateway, flanked bv tall minarets of exquisite grace and lightness. This portal leads to a handsome flight of steps, and through another gate of a novel construction, up to the raised terrace, on which the mosque and the place of sepulture stand. The sarcophagi of the king and his family are placed in a large hall in the centre of the building. This hall is enclosed by an outer and inner verandah ; the first thirteen feet broad and twenty-two feet high ; the other twenty feet by thirty, supported by seven arches on each face. The dome above is raised on arches ; five in the length of the curtain, and three in the depth. A staircase leads to a flat terrace spreading above the verandah; and from the minarets at each corner, a lofty balustraded wall, richly ornamented, extends on every side: a second balustrade, of similar proportions, a storey higher, forms a spacious balcony round the base of the dome; and it is furnished in the same style of elegance, with corresponding minarets at the angles, differing only from those below in their height, as may be observed in the engraving. The dome is thirty-five feet in diameter ; but, unlike that of the Jumma Musjid, it has the shape of a segment of a globe, cut through one-third part of its perpendicular axis. This form is airy and elegant, but would be difficult to execute upon a large scale, owing to the narrow span of its aperture, and the great exterior flexure of the curve which overhangs its base. A column rises from the summit of the dome, surmounted by a crescent.

The simplicity of the central hall, which contains the monumental remains of the king and his family, forms a striking contrast to the splendour of embellishment lavished on the exterior; yet its ornaments are not less effective or worthy of admiration. The apartment is forty feet square and thirty feet high, and the walls are of such finely- grained black granite, as to have been mistaken for marble. The ceiling is particularly fine, the whole roof being formed of the same kind of stone, and, as it is asserted, with- out the slightest admixture of timber. It is so constructed that it does not appear to rest upon the main walls of the building, but on a cornice projected from them, so that the area is reduced from forty to twenty-two feet on each side. The roof is quite flat, and richly ornamented, being divided into square compartments, the traverses of which, though of several pieces, look like solid beams ; and it excites wonder, that a heavy mass, so disposed, should have existed so many years without the slightest derangement of its parts. The death of Ibrahim Adil Shah II. took place in 1626. His sepulchre, there- fore, must be about 232 years old, as the building was commenced in his lifetime, and only occupied twelve years in its erection. The interstices of the stones on the top of the arches in the surrounding verandahs, are filled with lead, and clamped together by ponderous bars of iron, some of which have been wrenched from their places by the destructive Mahrattas, who probably expected to find a rich treasure deposited near them.

The verandahs and walls are ornamented with beautiful sculpture, chiefly from the Koran, the whole of which is said to be carved on the several compartments. The inscriptions are raised in basso-relievo ; and so highly polished as to shine like glass. On the northern side, the letters are given a greater degree of prominence, by being gilt and embossed on a blue enamelled ground, adorned with flowers ; and the whole has been compared to the illuminations of an Oriental MS. seen through a magnifying glass, and adding the beauties of sculpture to those of painting. The doors, which are the only specimens of wood-work used in the building, are exceedingly handsome, and were studded with golden bosses; the doorways, on either side, are adorned with a great variety of ornaments beautifully executed ; and there are windows on each side of the doors, which are four in number : these, and the arches above, are filled with a singular stone lattice-work of Arabian sentences, instead of the ordinary pattern of similar perforations : the light that they admit, proceeding through the verandah, is not strong ; and the whole of the hall is characterised by a gloomy solemnity, in correct keeping with the last resting-place of the illustrious dead, but not usually a feature in Mohammedan sepulchral architecture.

The sarcophagi lie north and south. The first contains the body of Hajee Burra Sahib, the Padshah’s mother; next to her, is Taj Sultana, his queen; thirdly, the king himself : on his left, Zoran Sultana, the beloved daughter to whom the building was

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originally dedicated. Boran Shah, the youngest son of Ibrahim, lies interred by the side of this lamented princess ; and beyond, at the farthest extremity, Shah Jaslah, the monarch's eldest son. The canopies over these tombs, on which Moslems usually expend lavish sums, are of tattered silk, scarcely retaining a vestige of their original magnificence — a circumstance accounted for by the small number and the distressed condition of the followers of the prophet in the neighbourhood.

The gallery on the verandah which surrounds this hall, is remarkable on account of its stone roof, which is most tastefully sculptured. It is divided into compartments, oblong and square, 144 in number, very few of which have the same ornaments. Each division is formed of a single stone, and exhibits an elegaut combination of arabesques in flowers and wreaths, in those fanciful and spirited designs in which Indian artists excel, and which are of so truly oriental a character. Imagination has here shown how rich and exhaustless are its stores ; and these excellent delineations are executed with the same masterly power exhibited in the grouping and combination of the endless variety of interwoven garlands. One of the cross-stones which support the roof of the verandah on the north face, was struck by a cannon-ball during the last siege of Bejapoor. The shot was said to have been fired from the Mulk-e-Meidan before mentioned ;* which may not be improbable, as the mausoleum lies within the range of that extraordinary piece of ordnance. The stone, though split at both ends, and hanging only by the pressure of a single arch against the lower part of the splinter, which holds fast in the cornice, has remained in that position since the year 1685, without any perceptible alteration.

The mosque, which fronts this splendid mausoleum at a distance of forty yards, having a piece of water and a fountain between, is a plain building, 115 feet by 76, crowned with a dome, and flanked at the angles of each storey with slender and lofty minarets. The stones of both these buildings are so neatly put together, that it is scarcely possible to perceive where they are joined ; and the whole pile, notwithstanding the absence of the white marble, which adds such brilliant relief to the mausoleums of Hindoostan, may vie in magnificence with the most celebrated shrines of Eastern monarchs.

The attendants at the tomb of Ibrahim Padshah II. are poor, and few in number, owing the income allotted for their maintenance entirely to the bounty of the rulers of the city. About 3,500 rupees are annually distributed, from the revenues of the district, among the Mohammedan attendants at the different shrines and mosques ; and they have no other means of subsistence, except at the hands of charity. Such, now, are the only courtiers of the once mighty sovereign of Bejapoor, Ibrahim Padshah.

TAJ BOWLEE— BEJAPOOR.

The fine reservoir of water, Taj Bowlee (or Crown of Ponds), delineated in the engraving, is situated under the walls of Bejapoor, at a short distance from the gate of the Imaums, towards Mecca, and is said to have been the work of Mulick Scindal, the favourite archi- tect and friend of the Sultan Mahmoud, the most popular of the Add Shahee race of kings ; and who signalised his gratitude for the favours conferred upon him by his sovereign, by the formation of one of the most splendid tanks which can be found iu this part of India. The pond, or bowlee, as it is called, is nearly a hundred yards square, and is fifty feet deep, surrounded, on three sides, by a colonnade with a gallery above : on the fourth, the entrance is through a magnificent gateway flanked by handsome wings, expressly built for the accommodation of travellers. The water is kept very pure by the few natives who inhabit the vicinity; and though sometimes polluted by contact with Christian bathers, the European visitors usually desist from that mode of annoyance when remon- strated with on the subject.

At a short distance from the Taj Bowlee, there is another very interesting building,

* See ante , p. 94.

	1 102 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

consisting of a mosque and gateway, called the Maitree Kujoos. It is small, but elegant in its design, and elaborately finished : the material is a fine, closely-grained black stone, capable of receiving a high polish. The building is three storeys in height ; and from the angles are attached an embellishment not uncommon in India, consisting of massive stone chains, cut out of solid blocks, there being no joinings perceptible in the links. A tradition connected with this mosque is worthy repetition, and is as follows : — Its founder was a Hindoo outcast, belonging to the very lowest class of society, following an occupa- tion of the most degrading nature, and who could not, in the ordinary course of things, attain to either wealth or consequence ; his class being that of the Pariahs, and his employment that of a sweeper — to this day the most abject of the menials tolerated in an Indian establishment. The subsequent good fortune of this individual was owing to an accident, which disconcerted the schemes of a pretender to the occult art, at the court of Bejapoor. The king, Ibrahim Shah I., having for a long period been afflicted with a distressing malady, and having in vain consulted the physicians, who could render him no relief, at length summoned to his chamber an astrologer of high repute in his king- dom, and inquired of him whether he could procure his restoration to health through the influence of the stars. The sage determined that one person, at least, should be benefited by their means; and intending that the good fortune should fall into his own lap, told the king that the heavenly bodies would prove favourable to his wishes, if, upon a par- ticular morning, he should present a very large sum of money (naming the amount) to the first human being he should see. There is no doubt, according to the tradition, that the astrologer intended to present himself to the notice of the king; but Ibrahim, in his natural eagerness to avail himself of so easy a mode of procuring relief, arose at an unusually early hour ; and, proceeding across a court of the palace, was met by a sweeper — a domestic compelled to be astir early in the morning, that his presence should not offend the sight of his superiors. The king, in strict compliance with the directions of the astrologer, called the trembling servant to him ; and, to the astonishment of the latter, instead of smiting off his head for daring to be visible in the presence of the sove- reign, put the money into his hands, and bade him use it as the gift of the king. The pariah, who knew that, outcast as he was, the possession of wealth would not procure for him respect and distinction, and that a temple raised by him to the deities of his people would be considered a profanation, determined to employ it in the erection of a building in which the Mohammedan subjects of his royal benefactor could offer their prayers for his recovery to health ; and, accordingly, he built the Maitree Kujoos, which still remains entire, and attracts the traveller’s admiration by the symmetry of its proportions, and the beautiful carved work with which it is adorned.

It may be presumed that neither the stars or the pious gratitude of the Pariah were of any avail in mitigating the disease by which the king was afflicted, as it is recorded among the traditions of the Seven-Storied Tower, that, after causing several of his physi- cians to be trampled to death by his elephants, for their inability to cure him, he sank under the ravages of his malady, and left an unquiet kingdom to Ali Shah, his son and emulator in works of taste and in acts of cruelty.

ASSER MAHAL— BEJAPOOR.

The accompanying engraving affords a correct view of one of the numerous palaces, now in the last stage of ruin, which embellished the once flourishing capital of Bejapoor. The massive pile stands upon the margin of a broad moat which encircles the ruined citadel, in the central part of the city, where the progress of decay has been more rapid and extensive than in any other of the desolate quarters of this extraordinary city of premature ruins.

The annals of Bejapoor contain some curious instances of the political influence and the bold interference of females in affairs of state, tolerated in that kingdom ; for notwithstanding the jealous exclusion, by the Mohammedans, of females from any part of

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 103

the government, and the little influence they were permitted to have in society, they, upon many occasions, contrived to take an active part in the intrigues and revolutions of courts; and with one of those instances of womanly interference in the affairs of state, the Asser Mahal appears to have been connected. The occasion was as follows: — Upon the death of the third monarch of Bejapoor, his son and rightful successor, Ismail Adil Shah, was a boy of tender age, who had not yet left the zenana of the palace; and the affairs of the kingdom were consequently administered for a time by a regent, Khumul Khan, who, by the desire of the dying king, was to govern for his son during the minority of the latter. The regent, however, preferred to govern for himself; and formed a design to seize the prince, and, by his death, to remove the chief obstacle to his ambitious intentions. The queen-mother became aware of the plot, and determined to preserve her son by the assassination of the treacherous regent. This important point was accomplished; but the counter-plot, though successful as far as the death of Khumul Khan was concerned, was nearly frustrated by the measures resorted to by the mother of the murdered regent; who, concealing the fact of her son’s death, had his body magnifi- cently dressed, but supported by pillows, as if labouring under indisposition; and, iu this state, presented it at an open balcony of the palace, to receive the accustomed homage of the nobles; during which ceremony, she directed her grandson to proceed to the Asser Mahal, the royal residence, with an armed force, and seize the person of the young king. The queen-mother, who had been informed of the approach of troops, imagined that Khumul Khan had escaped the dagger aimed at his heart ; and, in her terror, was at first disposed to throw herself at the feet of her enemies — a step she was, however, prevented taking, by the counsel of Dilshad Agha, the young monarch’s foster-aunt, who addressed the guard of the king upon the imminent danger of their royal master, and, ordering the palace gates to be closed, dispatched messengers to the foreign chiefs in her retinue, who had lately accompanied her from Persia, to inform them that the palace was surrounded by the troops of the usurper ; adjuring them not to heed the superiority of numbers which the enemy could bring against them, but to stand up valorously for their prince, and overthrow the traitor who, for his ingratitude aud ambition, was accursed of God and man. The foreign guards instantly drew their weapons in defence of the young sove- reign, and proceeded towards the palace. Meanwhile, the troops within resisted every attempt of the enemy to gain admittance; the queen-mother, and Dilshad Agha, ani- mated the garrison by assuming male attire, and appeared on the walls clad in the harness of warriors, and armed with bows and arrows, but still wearing their veils. The boy-king, Ismail Adil Sbah, accompanied them, attended by a Turkish woman named Moortufa, who held the yellow umbrella (the emblem of sovereignty assumed by his father) over the head of the young prince. An animated conflict ensued beneath the walls ; and though the foreign guard without, and the little garrison within the palace, fought with deter- mined resolution, the disparity of numbers would eventually have secured the victory to the traitors, had not a body of Toorkoraans, resident in the city, been enabled to gain admission to the palace by scaling the terrace at a distant part of the building, and thus coming to the rescue of the king. This fortunate accession had scarcely been reported to the queen-mother, when the outer gate of the palace was forced, and the besiegers rushed into the first court, from which they were speedily driven by the troops led by Dilshad Agha. The young king, with his mother and a few attendants, were together on the tower over the outer gateway, from whence they could perceive the course of events below on either side ; and when, on the repulse of the rebel troops, the latter emerged through the gateway, the young king, observing that Jufdar Khan, the late regent’s son, had crouched down to avoid a flight of arrows, opportunely rolled from the parapet a ponderous stone upon the stooping traitor, which crushed him ; and his adhe- rents, dismayed by his fate, abandoned the attack on the palace, aud sought to provide for their own safety by timely flight.

Bejapoor, in its prosperous days, was distinguished for the magnificence with which the great festivals of the faithful were celebrated within its walls; and more especially that of the Mohurrum, which the majority of the inhabitants kept with the greatest degree of solemnity and splendour; and, upon these occasions, high state was kept in the royal palace of Asser Mahal, now so desolate, and whose deathlike silence is only broken by the shrill cry of the jackal, or the hoarse scream of the famished vulture.

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THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

S1NGHAM MAHAL, TORWAY— BE JAPOOR.

The remains of a royal palace, built by one of tbe early sovereigns of Bejapoor, at a village called Torway, about five miles from the -western gate of the city, are represented in the accompanying plate. The ruins of a mosque, and the fragments of other important buildings scattered around, would seem to imply that Torway had been a place of some importance during the prosperous state of the kingdom whose capital it so nearly adjoined. The direct road from Poona to Bejapoor lies through Torway, from several points of which, magnificent views of the lonely city present themselves; and here, as from all other points which command a prospect of the capital, the majestic dome of the mausoleum of Mahomed Shah (the Burra Gumbooze) arrests the wander- ing eye, as it rises in solemn grandeur above the clustering towers and pinnacles of the surrounding buildings. At this spot, the extreme desolation of the country, its scanty cultivation, and the scarcity of its inhabitants, are seen in its undisturbed loneliness, and do not fail to impress the mind of the spectator with melancholy sentiment. Never, perhaps, could the traveller who has followed at a distance the devastating progress of Mahratta conquest, behold at one glance more striking proofs of the misery to which the rule of that power has doomed every portion of the land submitted to its sway, than is spread before him as he stands upon the ruined towers of Singham Mahal at Torway.

Delighting in a roving existence, and preferring the uncertain but exciting shelter of a camp to the more quiet and peaceful abodes of cities, the Mahrattas cared nothing for fine buildings, and the skill of the architect was lavished upon them in vain. Unlike the Moslems, who, whenever they extended their dominion, introduced new arts and luxuries; and when pulling down the temples of the unbelievers, never failed to erect mosques of equal or superior magnificence in their stead — who converted waste places into flourishing cities, and have left almost imperishable marks of their genius and their glory wherever they planted the standard of the prophet — the Mahrattas, on the contrary, passed over a land like a pestilence, blighting and destroying all that came within their baleful influence, and converting the fairest possessions into a sterile desert, or shattered ruins. Bejapoor has suffered much from their devastating fury; and yet less than many other cities that have been overrun by them, since they have actually, for some cause or other, set apart a portion of its revenues for the support of its tombs and mosques — an almost isolated instance of their liberality in regard to the works of their predecessors when rulers of the country.

The ruin delineated upon the accompanying engraving, consists of a succession of square towers of various elevations, rising from an artificial platform considerably above the level of the surrounding district. The appi’oach to the interior is by a singularly pointed arch of great height, but beautiful proportions, in a square tower at the right extremity of the building. A series of narrow courts, communicating by gateways of smaller dimensions, occupy the interior area of the ruin, few of the chambers being now accessible. On the left of the picture, a smaller arch conducts to a guard-chamber and some inferior courts, which communicate with the gardens of the palace, now in a state of utter dilapidation and ruin. Many of the lower apartments of the palace have been appropriated by some natives in the vicinity for dwelling-places, owing perhaps to the contiguity of a small bowlee (or pond), which is situated at a short distance from the outer wall of the main building. The solidity of the workmanship aud materials of the Singham Mahal, will doubtless, for many years to come, enable it to resist the wear of time and the fury of the elements ; but “ Ichabod” is written over its gates : and it is impossible to stand upon the massive tower and look down upon the country at its feet, without feeling of a truth that the glory of the land has departed.

The ruin before us was evidently but a small portion of the original structure, which would appear to have been less burthened with ornament than the buildings of the city, aud to approximate in style to the design of the Asser Mahal before noticed, aud with which, in all probability, it was coeval, if not built by the same architect.

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 105

Seen from a distance, the broad white towers of Singham Mahal stand out against the horizon like some pale spectral monitor, to proclaim the transitory grandeur of man, and the ephemeral duration of kingdoms, as represented by the oblivion to which their founder has been consigned, and by the ruins of his capital that lie scattered before it.

HINDOO TEMPLE AND PALACE— MADURA.

The singularly interesting remains represented in the accompanying engraving occur in the immediate neighbourhood of the ancient city of Madura, situated almost at the southern extremity of the Indian peninsula, and about 270 miles S.W. of Madras. The city is enclosed by old bastioned stone walls, and was formerly the capital of a province. Its principal streets are wide and regular, and the public buildings, for the most part, are magnificent; but its private dwellings are unusually mean and insignifi- cant. At this place are still the remains, in excellent preservation, of some of the most remarkable buildings in India, comprising an extensive palace, a vast temple with pyramidal towers, and a choultry, or inn, of very large dimensions. The temple covered an amazing extent of ground, and had numerous shrines dedicated to the favourite deities of the country.

Madura was celebrated, for several centuries, as the seat of learniug in this part of the world, its college being famous throughout the East ; and, previous to the changes which took place after the Mohammedan conquest, it exercised a strong degree of influence over the entire native population. It continued to flourish duriug seven cen- turies, securing to both male and female children (for in those days the sex was not degraded) the advantages of a liberal education. By the rules established at the founda- tion of this college, every person, without respect to caste, was eligible to become a professor, upon showing the requisite qualifications; and, at a somewhat later period, when the prejudices of the Brahminical faith had become more confirmed, two persons presented themselves who were Pariahs, a brother and sister. An attempt was made to exclude these candidates; but, confidently appealing to the laws passed on the establishment of the college, and being found to excel all other competitors, they were elected, aud speedily arrived at the head of the institution, where they continued all their lives. Tunvaluver, the brother, and the author of many distinguished works in the Tansil language, became the president; aud to Avyia, the sister, the country was indebted for the best elementary treatises that had yet appeared — her productions being, to this day, the class-books of scholars of the highest rank and caste in all the Hindoo schools of the Southern Carnatic.

The ruins at Madura are objects of particular attention at the present time, on account of attempts recently made to revive learning in the East, and to restore the college to its original splendour. In consequence of the influence so long exercised by it over the Hindoos in the southern peninsula of India, two celebrated Jesuit mis- sionaries, Robertus de Nobilius, and Berchi, who lived in the seventeenth aud eighteenth centuries, formed plans for its revival, and commenced the restoration of such parts of the building as had fallen into decay ; but, owing to dissensions in their order, they were unable to carry their design into effect. Some progress in the restoration was, however, made by them, and a material deviation from the architectural style of the original builder was occasioned at the suggestion of the Jesuit Nobilius, who, with a view to the introduction of the religion he himself professed, recommended the ornamental appen- dages of angels on various parts of the pyramidal towers — an innovation upon the rules of the sacred architecture of India that none but a zealous champion of the church of Rome, regardless of consequences, would have ventured upon.

At a much later period, another effort was made to restore the college to efficiency, under the auspices of the British authorities; but obstacles intervened, aud it now pre- iii. p

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sents but a faint shadow of its former importance. The city itself is still regarded by the Hindoos as peculiarly sacred.

THE CAVE TEMPLE OF ELEPHANTA.

Elephanta is the name given to an island in the harbour of Bombay, situate about seven miles south-west of the city, and something more than six miles in circumference. By the natives of the adjacent coast it is still called by its original name, “ Gare-poori” (the Place of Caves) ; but the Portuguese, during their occupation of the island of Bombay, distinguished it by the term “Elephanta,” from a colossal but rude figure of an elephant carved out of the solid rock, which once formed a striking object on approaching the shore; but has now, for many years past, been little more than a huge misshapen mass of stone. Upon landing, visitors to the island are conducted, by Brah- mins in attendance, from the shore to the platform of the temple by a steep and narrow pathway, which winds through very beautiful scenery, sometimes stretching along the margin of a precipice, and then meandering through richly wooded groves, where the flloriosa superba spreads its clustering flowers amidst luxuriant branches bending with fruit and foliage. In the route, the prospects obtained of the harbour, the opposite shore of Salsette, and of the northern part of the island, are bold yet interesting. At intervals glimpses may be caught, between the interstices of the surrounding trees, of the distant ghats on the mainland, and the upper part of the beautiful bay in which Elephanta is embosomed — the high ground broken into innumerable ridges, and thickly covered by magnificent topes, amongst which the coronals of the Tara palm are conspicuous, aud affording to the delighted gazer one of the grandest displays of forest sceuery, with its bright aud never-fading verdure, gigantic leaves, and gorgeous blossoms, that can be found along the coast of India.

Having accomplished about two-thirds of the ascent of the hill, the path opens upon a platform of exquisite loveliness, immediately in front of the entrance to the Caveru Temple roofed in by the wood-crowned mountain, wfithin which its mysterious treasures are concealed; and whose facade presents a combination of architectural and artistic skill, that imperceptibly prepares the mind for the development of the yet greater wonders that lay hidden in the mysterious gloom of the fane itself.

The view given in the annexed plate represents the front or principal entrance to the cave, the main features of which consist in the multiplicity and arrangement of beauti- fully sculptured columns, by which the ponderous roof is sustained, and through which a dim yet magnificent perspective is presented along cathedral-like aisles of vast dimen- sions, that is at length lost in the profound darkness of the space prepared for a worship whose ritual has been imperfectly preserved among the traditions of an antiquity coeval with European notions of the creation.

The stone of which the Cavern Temple of Elephanta is composed, appears to be of a quality resembling porphyry, and the tracery and sculptures with which the singularly- formed columns of the entrance, and also of the interior, are decorated, are exquisitely delicate, and, in many places, still preserve the fresh impress of the original design. But, with these works of marvellous beauty and grandeur, as with those found in the interior of the temple, ignorance and superstition have committed strange and barbarous havoc; and the blind fanaticism of the Portuguese has more than aided the ravages of time in the work of dilapidation aud ruin. The ultra-bigots of the European peninsula, who have never been able to tolerate any idolatry but their own, very soon after their I first settlement upon the island of Bombay and its dependencies (of which Gare-poori was one of the most remarkable), found employment for their ill-directed zeal in the destruction of every accessible relic of the worship of the natives, however curious and wonderful, as a work of art, might be the object of their antipathy. In these caves,

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among other means of accomplishing their object, they adopted a process for the mutila- tion of the columns and sculptures that was ingenious and partly effective. Lighting large fires around the columns, and before the massive sculptures within the temple, they would, when the masses had become sufficiently heated, throw cold water upon them, which, causing expansion, made the stone split in all directions. Of the pillars seen in the accompanying plate, many of the shafts and capitals have been subjected to this destructive process ; and others, although still erect, have had large splinters rent off from the top to the bottom. This, however, was not the only method resorted to by the iconoclasts of Portugal, in India : at times, guns were brought to the island, and dis- charged at the columns and sculptures, for the purpose of battering them down. Thus few of the remarkable groups and isolated figures that once filled this singular temple with a theogony so darkly mysterious, and powerful in its influences upon an imaginative people, are now in a perfect state ; and it is to be regretted, that what of mischief was left unaccomplished by the Portuguese zealots in those days of bigotry, has been since effected to a lamentable extent by modern travellers from other countries, who, carried away by an affectation of geological studies, or a yet less excusable propen- sity to obtain memorials of these extraordinary relics of far-distant ages of mankind, have broken and carried off fragments of foliage and statuary to a merciless extent, merely for the sake of specimens.

The period attributed for the construction of the Cavern Temple of “ Gare poori” is involved in impenetrable doubt and obscurity. The traditions connected with it, as with the Caves of Ellora, are so vague and unsatisfactory, as to afford little assistance in arriving at any probable conclusion. The occurrence of these temples in one particular portion of the peninsula, and upon ground exclusively occupied by the Mahrattas, render very probable the supposition that they were the work of some great people insu- lated from the rest of the world, and whose existence has been forgotten in the lapse of ages ; and it cannot be doubted, that a nation must have progressed many years to produce works requiring such extraordinary and persevering labour.

The area occupied by the temple is nearly a parallelogram, being 130 feet deep, and about 133 broad, divided into niue aisles formed of twenty-six pillars, of which eight are broken away altogether, and most of the remainder are much injured. Time has done much to accomplish this; but man, to his discredit, has immeasurably outstripped the wear of time, in the extent of mischief perpetrated in the Cave Temple of Elephanta.

INTERIOR OF ELEPHANTA— THE TRIAD BUST.

For a proper examination of the wonders of this far-famed temple, the visitor is provided with torches by persons who hover about the caverns for the purpose of conducting strangers to the interior. A dim light that gradually fades into inteuse dark- ness at the further extremity of the cavern, faintly reveals the innumerable specimens of characteristic sculpture that cover the walls from the entrance to the farthest recess of the excavation ; but as the torches advance, and their light is thrown upon the mystic forms that meet th.e eye in every direction, one massive object, amidst the gloom of distance, fronts the spectator, and arrests his attention probably to the exclusion for a time of every other idea than that of surprise and awe. The colossal triple-headed bust, represented in the engraving, is the wonder of Elephanta, and occupies a vast recess at the extremity of the central aisle of the temple. The dimensions of this extraordinary relic of ancient art and superstition are, from the bottom of the bust to the summit of the cap on the central head, eighteen feet ; the principal face is five feet in length ; aud the width, from the front of the ear to the middle of the nose, is three feet four inches : the width of the whole bust is twenty feet. The face of the central head is presented full, and is expressive of dignified composure, and of the absorbed state which constitutes

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the supreme felicity of the Indian deity; a towering pyramidal cap surmounts the head, once richly decorated with superb jewels ; and the devices with which the cap is covered are exquisitely wrought: around the neck of the same figure was formerly suspended a broad collar, composed of precious stones and pearls, long since appropriated to a more useful purpose than the decoration of a block of carved stone in the bowels of a mountain.

The face on the left of the central figure is in profile. The head-dress, like that of the former, is elaborately decorated, and the countenance is expressive of gentleness and benignity. One hand is shown of this figure, in which is held the sacred lotus; in the other is grasped a fruit resembling a pomegranate ; and a ring, fashioned and worn like those used by Hindoos at the present time, is placed upon one of the wrists. The head on the right also shows the face in profile ; but the expression, and the person represented, are distinctly contrasted with those of the sculptured deity just described.

In this case, stern ferocity marks the features; the forehead projects; the eyes seem to glare upon the spectator; snakes supply the place of hair; and human skulls are embossed upon the mitre-shaped covering of the head. One hand of this terrific-looking image grasps a monstrous cobra de capella ; the other holds a smaller reptile of the same deadly species ; and the effect of the design is indescribably repulsive.

The whole of this singular triad is hewn out of the solid rock, which is a coarse-grained dark-gray basaltic formation, called by geologists trachyte; and, as before mentioned, it occupies a recess cut into the rock to the depth of thirteen feet, including the thickness of the doorway screen, or wall, projecting beyond it, which is about two feet and a-half. The basement upon which it rests is raised two feet nine inches from the ground, having at each corner holes, apparently for the purpose of receiving door- posts; and a groove runs along the floor in front, which, it is probable, was intended to receive a screen or veil, let dowu occasionally to conceal the mysterious group. On each side of the niche is sculptured a gigautic human figure, having in one hand an attribute of the Deity, and with the other resting upon a dwarf-like figure standing by its side.

Niches, or recesses of large dimensions, and crowded with sculpture, appear on either side of the one occupied by the triad. In that on the right-hand side is a colossal figure, apparently a female, but with one breast only. This figure has four arms; the foremost right-hand rests on the head of a bull ; the other grasps a cobra de capella. A circular shield is borne on the inner left-hand; but the second arm on that side has been broken off. The head-dress of this figure is like that of the central triad, and is richly ornamented. On the right of this female is a male figure of smaller proportions, bearing a pronged instrument representing a trident ; on the left, a female bears a sceptre. Near the principal figure described, is an elephant, surmounted by a beautiful youth; and above the latter is a figure with four heads, supported by birds. Opposite to these is a male figure with four arms, sitting on the shoulders of another personage, who has a sceptre in one of the hands ; and at the upper part of the back of the recess are numerous small sculptured figures, in a variety of attitudes and dress, supported by clouds.

Turning to the niche on the left, the most conspicuous of the group that is presented to sight is the statue of a male, near seventeen feet in height, having four arms. To the left of this is a female fifteen feet in height : rings, of the same pattern as now worn by Hindoo women, are shown on the wrists and ankles of this figure, and her hair is also arranged strictly in accordance with the style among Hindoo females at the present time. The countenance of this statue is sweetly feminine, and expressive of gentleness and amiability. In the background is a figure with four heads, supported by birds; and another with four arms, sitting on the shoulders of one in an erect posture. Several minor figures are in attendance upon the principal personages; one.of them, having his right knee bent to the ground, as in the act of addressing the chief, bears a crese like those now used by the Malays. The head-gear of the whole of the small figures bears a striking resemblance to the wigs worn by our modern judges.

On either side of the groups last described, an opening from the recess leads to a small chamber unadorned by sculpture, and probably intended for the private use of the officiating Brahmins, when the triune worship of Brahma was daily offered in this mysterious temple. These dark and rarely visited cells are now the hiding-places of bats, spiders, and scorpions ; nor are the venomous reptiles of the island strangers to the shelter they afford.

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Turning from these dismal holes and their dangerous occupants, a few paces to the left of the last- described group, approaching the side of the cave, brings the visitor opposite another cluster of figures, of a less repulsive character than the preceding. Here a male figure is observed in the act of leading a young female towards a majestic personage seated upon a sort of couch at the corner of the niche. The decoration of his head is strikingly similar to that of an English judge. The countenance and attitude of the female is expressive of modesty and reluctance, and she is apparently urged forward by a male figure behind her. Several small figures, in various attitudes, and bearing symbols of the attributes of the Deity, fill up the sides and back of this recess.

Crossing to the opposite side of the cave, and about fifty feet from the entrance, is another recess of larger dimensions, enclosing a gigantic half-length of a male figure with eight arms. Round one on the left side is a belt composed of human heads. One of the right-hands grasps a sword uplifted, as if to cut in twain a figure kneeling before a block, held in the correspondent left-hand. From under one arm protrudes the head of a cobra, and among the ornaments of the head is a skull. Many smaller figures surround this terrible conception, whose features are marked by unrelenting ferocity; and the countenances of all the subordinate figures are expressive of remorse and pain. Of this group, scarcely a single figure has been left unmutilated.

Again, crossing to the opposite side of the temple, near one of the dark chambers already mentioned, is a recess containing a male figure, sitting in the exact and peculiar position still adopted by the native Hindoos. A female figure, in a similar posture, is on his left-hand, and each has an attendant on either side. At the feet of the male, a bull lies couchant, and a colossal male figure, armed, stands at each corner of the niche. Facing this is a correspondent niche ; but the figures have been damaged beyond the possibility of description.

A recess, or niche, of similar proportions to the preceding, appears on each side within the entrance to the cavern. In one is a male figure, much mutilated, and having only fragments of the eight arms it was originally formed with by the sculptor. Behind this, in very bold relief, is a figure having four heads, and another with four uplifted arms ; both of these figures are supported in the air by birds. In the corresponding recess, on the other side of the entrance, is a colossal figure of a male in a sitting posture, having behind him another figure on horseback. The animal is caparisoned precisely in the style of the country at the present time.

Returning towards the recess of the triformed idol, at the extreme end of the temple, by the left side, we arrive at a chamber excavated from the rock, of vast height, and forming a parallelogram of about thirty feet : in the centre of this apartment, upon a square altar, is the Lingam, or symbol of the god Mahadeva, or Maliadeo, which consists of a huge polished stone of cylindrical form, rounded and slightly convex at the top.* This emblem represents the god in his character of Regenerator; and it appears to be synonymous with the Phallus of the Greeks, and the Priapus of the Romans, although its origin, as an object of worship, preceded the existence of those nations by many ages. The chamber in which this representation of deity is enshrined, is detached on each side from the living rock, and has an entrance in the centre of each face. On either side of these doorways stands a male figure, seventeen feet in height, bearing various symbols in a state of utter dilapidation ; but the ornaments of

* “ Mahadeva, or Mahadeo (the Great God), is a name of Siva. Of the origin of the mystic worship of the Linga, little appears to be understood ; it may be presumed to have been Nature under the male and female forms, personified as Siva, the Sun or Fire, the genial heat of which pervades, generates, and vivifies all j and Bhawani, who, as the goddess of nature, is also the earth, the universal mother. The two active principles of life having been thus personified, may have been subsequently converted, by the grossness of idolatry (which in its progress invariably seeks to gratify the sensual appetites, rather than to elevate the minds of its votaries), from imaginary forms to gross realities; from the personified symbols of nature, to typical representations of the procreative powers of the symbols themselves. The places of Linga worship, or idolatry, are still numerous throughout Hindoostan ; and the votaries of the idol are, beyond comparison, in excess of the worshippers of any other deity or symbol recognised by the sacred books of the Hindoos. Some of these emblems are of enormous size, and are usually of basalt: others are made, at morning and evening, of the clay of the Ganges, and, after worship, are cast into the sacred stream.” — Coleman’s Mythology of the Hindoos. In the cavern temple, under the fort of Allahabad, there is still an altar with the Linga of Mahadeo, looked upon with great reverence by those worshippers who can obtain access to it. See History of the Mutiny in India, vol. i., p. 249.

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dress sculptured on each are iu tolerable preservation, and very much diversified in character.

The whole of the excavations hitherto described comprise the area of the Great Cavern Temple ; hut there are various chambers of minor dimensions branching off on each side of it. Most of these have been rendered inaccessible by the ravages of the Portuguese spoilers, who appear to have employed themselves more successfully in battering down the columns or other supports of the roofs of the secondary chambers, than they were in their destructive operations against the principal temple; and huge fragments of rock, and masses of earth, now block up the approaches to these mysterious caverns. From one point, however, a glimpse is obtained of an interior, of apparently vast dimensions, having the walls enriched with sculpture : a band surmounts the figures, covered with characters, that are represented by the attendant Brahmins as an inscrip- tion ; but they do not profess to decipher or explain it. Among the sculpture cut from the wall of this apartment is a large human figure, with the head of an elephant ; and in the midst of the gloom in which this chamber is enveloped, a portion of an enclosure can be perceived, of like character and dimensions to that containing the Lingam, on the opposite side of the Great Temple.

Various conjectures have been hazarded by the learned, as to the origin and purposes of these extraordinary cavern temples, which, from the style of sculpture and peculiar symbols borne by the various figures, there can be little room to doubt were constructed, at a very early period, by the progenitors of the races that still occupy Hindoostan. That they were appropriated to the worship of Mahadeva, or Mahadeo (a name of Siva, “ the destroyer or changer”), appears probable, from the frequency of the representation of that deity, and the innumerable varieties of attributes and symbols by which his imper- sonation is accompanied ; and the following explanation of some of the extraordinary sculptures in the caverns at Elephanta, is from a paper preserved among the collec- tions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. The triple-headed colossal bust, which forms the chief object of the large temple, is described in this document as a personifica- tion of the three great attributes of that being for whom the ancients, as well as the Hindoos of the present day, have entertained the most profound veneration, and of whom they appear to have had most extravagant conceptions. The middle head of the group represents Brahma, or the creative power ; that on the left is the same deity, in his character of Vishnu, or the preserver; and the head on the right is that of the god, in the form of Siva, the destructive, or changing, attribute of the triune god of the Hindoos.

The figure represented as a female with one breast, symbolises the wife of Siva exer- cising the active powers of her lord, not only as Bhawaui, a destroyer, but as Isani, the goddess of nature — combining the male and female sexes in one; and also as Durga, the protector of the virtuous. The bull couchant at the feet of one of the deities, symbolises an attribute of Siva, under his name of Iswara ; and the male figure near it bears the trisulc, or trident of that god. The beautiful youth on the elephant, already noticed, represents Cama, the Hindoo god of love; the figure with four heads, supported and surrounded by birds, is a form of Brahma; and that with four arms, mounted on the shoulders of another figure, is a representation of Vishnu.

The two principal figures in the niche to the left, represent Siva, and his consort as Parvati; with Brahma and Vishnu in the background: and the terrific figure with eight arms, represents the destroyer Siva in action. The distant scene, with small figures expressive of pain and distress, denotes the sufferings of those sentenced by Bralnna to the place of torment.

The sitting male and female figures, with a bull couchant at the feet of the former, are also Siva and his consort Bhawani. The form with human body and an elephant’s head, represents Ganesa, the Hindoo god of wisdom, and first-born son of Siva; and the pre- sence of the Lingam is of itself considered an unquestionable proof that the whole of the cave temple of the island of Gare-poori, or Elephanta, was dedicated to the worship of the god Siva, and to the mysteries of his cruel and impure ritual.

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THE CAVE OF KARLI.

This extraordinary excavation occurs near the village of Ekverah, in the province of Aurungabad, and in the midst of a chain of hills of a very picturesque character. Many of the ridges are level ; but others rise abruptly from the range, and towering above their fellows in lonely majesty, lift their forked and riven summits high into the heavens. Of the lower eminences, many have large platforms of table-land at the top ; and are, on that account, well adapted for the hill fortresses which, in the early days of Indian warfare, were the favourite strongholds of predatory chieftains of the various races. Two of such mountain fortresses have been at some remote period erected in the neighbourhood of Ekverah, or Karli, and are still in good repair. Merely separated by the valley in which the village is built, their scarped sides and bas- tioned heights give to the surrounding scenery a formidable, and by no means inviting, appearance.

The subject of the accompanying plate is the entrance to the Cave Temple of Karli, situated at a distance of about 300 feet from the base of one of the hills. It is approached from the valley by a difficult pathway, which has more the appearance of a gufley formed by the rains, than a regular road, being very steep, and exceedingly rugged. The track, however, when surmounted, ends in a terrace or platform, about a hundred feet in width, and partly artificial, being cut in the face of the hill, and constructed of rock hewn from the interior of it. In front, and on the left side of the entrance, is a column twenty-four feet high, and about eight in diameter, having the upper part dome-shaped, and surmounted by a flat slab, on which are the mutilated remains of three lions of considerable proportions. It is believed that a corresponding pillar, on the opposite side of the entrance, has at some very remote period been removed, to afford space for the erection of a small temple which now occupies the site, dedicated to the worship of Bhawani. The column is girdled with an inscription, in characters similar to those in the smaller cavern temple in Elephauta; and, like those, has baffled all attempts to decipher it.

A screen has originally ran across the entrance; but this is partly broken down, and thus displays the grandeur of the arch cut over the doorway — an aperture not at all commensurate with the noble dimensions of the iuterior. Between the outer and inner screens there is a verandah or vestibule, extending the whole width of the cave, very finely sculptured, with figures of men and animals in alto-relievo. Three colossal elephants stand on each side, with driver, and riders iu their howdahs, executed in a very free and bold manner; and other figures, both male and female, are finished in the same artistic style. The sculptured deities at Karli are, however, confined to the walls ; the only detached object of importance being a large circular altar of stone, surmounted by a wooden canopy. The length of the great cavern is 126 feet, and it is 46 feet wide. The roof, which is arched and libbed with wood (a circumstance which adds to its singularity, while it somewhat injures its effect), is supported by two rows of pillars, each surmounted by an elephant bearing a male and female figure on its back, encircling each other in their arms, and crouching beneath the weight above them.

The whole aspect of the temple is grand and imposing; but it is, if possible, more gloomy tliau the cavern fanes of Elephanta or Ellora. That when resorted to by worshippers it was artificially illuminated, there can be little doubt; as, without the aid of torches or lamps, the sculptures in the side aisles are not distinguishable. The wood-work is conjectured to have beeu added at a period subsequent to the first formation of the temple : it is of teak ; and is traditionally reported to have existed 900 years. A portion of this ribbing is shown in the plate, on the roof of the arch iu front; and it is still in a high state of preservation.

Indian literati have decided Karli to be a Boodhist temple, the figure of Boodh, and the symbols of that deity, being the predominant ornaments ; while it is destitute of a single vestige of the twenty-four attributes of the Jains — a distinguishing feature in the

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temples belonging to that sect. Several other chambers are connected with the main temple, but they have all been left in an unfinished and rude state, and contain nothing to attract notice. Outside the cavern there are a few native huts, inhabited bv the servants of the Brahmins, who, a few years siuce, mustered in greater strength at Karli than at any other of the cave temples. According to the doctrine of these infatuated idolaters, a state of complete abstraction from all outward influences is the summum bonum of earthly felicity ; and among the priesthood of Boodh were to be found many who, from their total indifference to worldly and personal concerns, and total abandon- ment to an idiotic state of contemplation, might have been deemed worthy to represent the deity itself. One of such individuals had for a long time sat, day and night, before a flame of fire, with a cloth over his mouth to prevent him from inhaling pollution, and subsisting solely upon parched grain and water, strained through a cloth. In vain did the Peisbwa, who supported the bigot from his own treasury, endeavour to induce him to reside at his court. Nothing could detach him from the post of mistaken duty ; and there, after a long period of self-denial and valueless existence, the Boodhist priest passed away from idiotic abstraction before the altar at Karli, to his perfect heaven of uncon- sciousness. What influence the recent disturbances in India may have upon the native resources from which the race of ascetics in that country have hitherto been supported, time must determine; but there is little doubt that the confiscations which have naturally followed the crimes of rebellion, will have deprived very many of those chiefs and zemindars most likely to uphold such fanatics, of the means of doing so ; and thus, notwithstanding the partiality for a life of indolence, by which vacancies in the ranks of these idiots have hitherto been filled up, a total deprivation of support will doubtless have the effect of extinguishing the ambition of individuals who might otherwise succeed to the hermitages of so-called “ holy men.”

The view from the terrace in front of the temple at Karli is very fine, stretching over a rich and beautiful couutry, and bounded by a chain of distant mountains. The village, from which the temple is named, is situated about two miles from the excavation, and forms a pretty object in the landscape — its rural habitations peeping out from the midst of mango groves, and embellished by a large tank and a pagoda of considerable architec- tural beauty. The chain of mountains, amid which the excavations are found, extend from Cape Comorin, at the southern extremity of the Indian peninsula, to the northern boundary of the province of Caudeish, in a series unbroken except at one place, about twelve miles broad, in a portion of the Malabar territory. This hilly range in no instance recedes more than fifty miles from the sea, or approaches it within eight ; and but few of the passes through it are yet known to Europeans — the passage of the Western Ghauts being still a service of great difficulty, and no inconsiderable amount of danger.

THE CAVE TEMPLES OF ELLORA.

Among the numerous astonishing works of ancient art still spread over India to excite the surprise and admiration of posterity, the Cave Temples of Ellora are justly entitled to be deemed extraordinary, even in a land of wonders ; and of these, the one designated “ Keylas,” or “ the paradise of the gods,” is eminently deserving of notice. The mountain range in which the excavations we are about to describe occur, takes its name from a village of the Deccan, near Dowlutabad — a singular hill fortress, and capital of a district of Central India; and is of an extremely picturesque character, independent of the interest associated with the partly subterranean and partly isolated temples and palaces it contains, and which are cut from the living rock, and enriched with a variety and redundance of sculptured ornament that defy any efforts fully to describe.

According to the Brahminical account of the origin of these excavations, 7,894 years have elapsed since they were commenced, as a work of pious gratitude, by Eeloo Rajah,

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sou of Peshpout of Ellichpore, when 3,000 years of the Dwarpa Yoag were unaccom- plished ; which, added to the 4,894 years of the present, or “ Kal Yoag,” completes the full number, 7,894. Eeloo Rajah was, as they record, afflicted by a disease that resisted all efforts to cure or alleviate it. Iu quest of relief, the sufferer sought a then famous purifying water, named Sewa Lye, or Sewallee, which had been curtailed by Vishnu, at the instigation of Yemdhurhum, or Jum (the destroying spirit), from the dimensions of sixty bowshots’ length and four in width, to the size of a cow’s hoof. In this water Eeloo dipped a cloth, and cleansed with it his face and hands — an operation which cured him of the disease. He then built a khoond or cistern, and bathing therein his whole person, became purified ; and looking upon the site of such a miraculous recovery as holy, he first constructed the temple-palace called Keylas, and then continued his pious work to the place of Biskurma, “ the creator or maker of the world ; known among the gods as the ‘ Carpenter or Artificer of Ramchundur.”’ The excavations, altogether, embrace a series of fifteen larger, and an unascertained number of smaller, temples and shrines, cut in the bed of the mountain, of various dimensions and elevations. Of these, “ Keylas,” the most remarkable for its extent and marvellous sculpture, is the subject of the accompanying engravings.

The front entrance to the temple (as seen in the plate) is, for want of uniformity in design, less beautiful than many of the facades to be met with in the mountain series; but though deficient in exterior elegance, the Cave of Keylas — of which the portion represented is merely an outwork — is, upon the whole, the most elaborately designed and artistically enriched of the whole. In the plate, the summit of a pagoda — which stands insulated in the centre of a cleared area of considerable magnitude, and which is ornamented by colossal figures of the gods, with their various attributes — appears above the wall which connects the gateway, and the chamber over it, with the scarp of the rock. A part of one of the obelisks may likewise be seen a short distauce to the left of the pagoda.

The height of the outer gateway of Keylas is fourteen feet, opening to a passage with apartments on either side. The sculptures on the outside are partly Boodhist, and J partly of the school of Brahma. Over the doorway is the Nogara Khana, or music gallery, the floor of which forms the roof of a passage leading from the entrance to the excavated area within. Entering upon the latter, which is a wide expanse of level ; ground, formed by cutting down through the solid rock of the hill, an immense temple of a complex pyramidal form presents itself, connected with the gateway by a bridge, constructed by leaving a portion of the rock during the progress of the excavations. In front of the structure, and between the gateway and the temple, are the obelisks of Keylas, placed one on each side a pagoda or shrine, dedicated to the sacred bull Nundee. These obelisks are of a quadrangular form, eleven feet square, sculptured in a great variety of devices, all of which are elaborately finished ; their height is about forty-one feet, and they are surmounted by the remains of some animal, supposed to have been a lion, which, though not an object of Brahmaua veneration, occurs very frequently amongst the decorations of the Cave Temples. Approaching the entrance to the temple is a colossal figure of Bhawaui, supported by a lotus, having on each side an elephant, whose trunks form a canopy over the head of the goddess. On each side of the passage, from the inner entrance, are recesses of great depth and proportions, in one of which, resting upon a solid square mass, is the bull Nundee, superbly decorated with ornaments and rich tracery ; beyond this, on the opposite side, is a similar recess, in which is a sitting figure representing Boodh, surrounded by attendants; and near the end of the passage, where the body of the great temple commences, is a sitting figure of Guttordhirj (one of the incarnations of Siva), with his ten hands variously occupied. Turning to the right, the walls of the structure are covered by sculptures representing the battles of Ram and Rouon, in which the achievements of the monkey-god, Humayun, are conspicuously displayed. Pursuing the storey depicted by these sculptures to the end of the area, interrupted in some parts by fragments of the wall and broken columns, the extremity discloses the entrances into three distinct excavations, supposed to be also temples ; but as yet, for various causes, unexplored. Returning by the left side of the area, towards the entrance, the sculptured history of the war of the gods is continued, but in a pitiable state of dilapida- tion. It is worthy of remark, that the whole length of the substructure appears to be III. Q

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supported on the backs of animals, such as elephants, lions, horses, &c., which project from the base of the piers in the surrounding walls, and give to the vast superincumbent mass an air of lightness and movability.

Kevlas is further distinguished by the extent and beauty of its upper store}', to which the ascent is by two flights of stairs, consisting of thirty-six steps, which wind inwards, on each side of the entrance, and lead to the gallery over the porch of the temple : from hence, a small bridge conducts the visitor into a square chamber, in which is another image of the bull Nundee. A second bridge from this chamber communi- cates with a handsome portico, supported by two curiously-formed columns, which are surmounted on the outer face by animals representing lions, and, on the inside, by figures bearing a resemblance to the Egyptian sphinx. Passing this, another bridge and an ascent of four steps, conduct to a passage guarded by colossal figures bearing maces, and opening to the grand apartment of the temple, which is divided by two rows of pillars, and enclosed by massive piers. On each side there is a vacant space for one column towards the end of the area ; and the accustomed recess — forming the shrine of the Lingam, and to which there is an ascent of five steps — occupies the extreme end.

Of this extraordinary structure and its accessories, it may suffice to mention, that every portion of the exterior, as well as the interior, is carved into columns, pilasters, friezes, and pediments, embellished with the representation of men and animals, singly or in groups, and accompanied with all the attributes which have rendered the Hindoo pantheon a vast gathering of monstrous conceptions. The galleries contain sculptured histories of the Hindoo mythology, which are represented in recessed compartments of the stoue scarping, and in which are forty-two gigantic figures of gods and goddesses. Part of the south side of the area is occupied by chambers richly and lavishly embellished, one of them containing groups of female figures so exquisitely proportioned and sculptured, that even Grecian art has scarcely surpassed the beauty of the workmanship. Pen and pencil, it has been observed, however accurate and vivid, can afford very ineffectual aid in a field so vast and unparalleled as that of the Keylas of Ellora. The exceeding number and variety of the objects which present themselves to the eye, actually excite pain, until the tremulous sensations they arouse in the mind subside, and calm contemplatiou is enabled to succeed astonishment and awe. Of the Brahminical tradition of the origin of these stupendous works, mention has been made in the commencement of this article ; but the popular belief among the natives ascribes it to supernatural agency. “Biskurma,” say they, “the carpenter of Ramchundur, caused a night of six months ; in which, having perfected these excava- tions, he was to connect them with the hill-fort of Dowlatabad, or Deoghur, about four coss distant ; but the cock crowing before the completion of his task, the work was left unfinished, and the divine artificer passed into the outer (avatar) of Boodh.” At any rate, conjecture is baffled in its endeavours to trace these mighty works to their founders.

Though still frequented by some fakirs, they have not, for many years, been held in much reverence by Hindoos generally. Their sacred character has been lost in the obscurity of unknown ages; and it can only be said that, whoever may have been the projectors of undertakings so vast and difficult, they must have possessed intellectual and imaginative gifts of extraordinary power, with vast resources for the supply of labour, and, moreover, must have existed in times of perfect security and peace. The rock from which the temples of Ellora are wrought, is a hard red granite; and from every peak aud pinnacle of the sacred mountain, the eye roams over scenes of romantic beauty aud marvellous grandeur. The dimensions of the excavation for Keylas are as follow : —

Feet.

Height of the gateway 14

Passage, with rooms on each side, 15 feet by 9 . . . .42

Breadth of inner area or court 150

Length from gateway to the opposite scarp 247

Height of rock excavated . 100

Dimensions of the temple itself : —

Door of the portico 12 feet by 6 —

Length from the door of temple to back wall .... 103

Ditto from door to platform behind the temple . • • 142

Extreme breadth of the interior ... ... 61

Height of the principal chamber ... ... 47

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THE DUS OUTAR— ELLORA.

The temple-cavern bearing this name occurs in the centre of the mountain-range of Ellora, and appears to have been devoted to the representation of the “ ten incarnations, or avatars, of Vishnu,” whose achievements are sculptured on the compartments by which the walls of the temple are adorned. The Dus Outar (ten avatars) — though it is evidently, from the multitude of its figures actively engaged in terrestrial affairs, a Brahminical temple — is distinguished from other excavations in the range, by having cells opening into its principal hall, resembling those which are found in caves purely Boodhist. Figures in the attitudes assumed by Boodh, surmount the capitals of the pillars in front, and various indications occur in every direction to render its positive character doubtful, particularly as the decorations of the cave are not peculiar to it, inasmuch as each of the adjacent temples is equally supplied with delineations of the achievements of the god during his sojourn in the nether world.

The subject of the accompanying plate is taken from one of the most perfect remains of the numerous compartments of the temple; and it is supposed to represent Siva in the act of crushing under his foot a demon who had offered insult to the goddess Parwutee, whom the former, in his avatar of Ehr Budr, had espoused. The mutilated condition of the group has totally obliterated any portion of grace that may formerly have characterised the female deity, who appears to be partly reclining on the ground, with outstretched arms, as if suddenly awakened in a state of alarm — a circumstance that might well be accounted for, had she possessed a mirror to reflect the charms of her countenance. The face of the recess in which this singular group appears, is in excellent preservation, as are the massive pillars that support the roof of the chamber, which is in an upper storey of the temple, and is 102 feet long, by 98 broad. The apartment has a flat roof twelve feet in height, supported by forty-eight enormous pillars, and twenty-two pilasters along the walls, dividing the sculptured recesses from each other. The whole facade of the temple is open, admitting more than the usual portion of light, and exhibiting the interior embellishments to much advantage.

ENTRANCE TO THE RAMESWAR.

Rameswar, one of the Ellora group of excavations, is of comparatively small dimen- sions among the gigantic works of similar kind and date in its vicinity. The excavation consists of a hall ninety feet in length, beyond which is a temple thirty-one feet square — both supported by massive pillars. Opposite the entrance to the outer cave is a square pedestal, surmounted by the bull Nundee, and, on the left of it, a tank of very fine water, to which the access is by a low doorway and steps cut in the rock. On either side of the entrance to the temple (shown in the accompanying engraving) are female figures sculptured with great delicacy, and of considerable beauty ; and the entrance itself is supported by four pillars of extraordinary design, covered with rich tracery, and surmounted by capitals perfectly unique in style even in this vast museum of ancient art. Directly opposite the entrance, at the extreme end of the first cave, is a recess with the accustomed Lingam of Mahadeo, an invariable accessory to the symbols with which Hindoo temples are always profusely adorned. The walls and roof of this apart- ment are covered with figures, chiefly relating to the amusements of the deities, who are represented as enjoying themselves like common mortals, in dance and revelry.

Like the other wonderful relics of an unknown age in the mountains of Ellora, the decorations of Rameswar have beeu subjected to the wanton ravages of the spoiler, as

	116 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.
	well as to the slow but sure depredations of time ; and thus, of the innumerable figures that once ornamented the interior of the Rameswar, there are few that preserve sufficient of their original features, or characteristics, to allow of identification with the heroes and deities of the Hindoo pantheon. The subject of the design that occupies the greater portion of the wall, is, however, believed to refer to the nuptials of the gods, in which, among other incidents, dances and sacrifices were important features, as they afterwards became with the Greeks, and people of other nations, upon similar occasions.

SKELETON GROUP IN THE RAMESWAR.

The singular collection of skeleton figures represented in the accompanying plate, occupies a recess of the temple on the right-hand side of the entrance, and forms a striking contrast to the joyous character of the groups in each of the other compart- ments or recesses. Of this design, it will be seen the principal figures are represented as skeletons, with two children of the same description clinging to their fleshless limbs. In the rear, and on both sides of the skeleton group, are humau figures of various pro- portions, and the background is beautifully filled up with foliage and clusters of fruit, separated by a mound of earth from the chief figures, who appear to have been the victims of famine. Various theories have been from time to time advanced, as to the history supposed to be connected with this singular and repulsive group ; one of which suggests that it commemorates the guilt aud punishment of a wicked family, who plun- dered the temples, and having enriched themselves with the pillage of the gods, and the hardly-gathered earnings wrung from the people, hoarded their ill-gotten wealth, and thus provoked the vengeance of heaven, which descended upon them in the deprivation of food and wasting of their bodies, by which they became a warning and terror to future evil-doers — besides the famine to which they were doomed in the midst of their abun- dance ; and while in a helpless state from long fasting and grief, they had further the ineffable misery of seeing their ill-gotten wealth carried away before their eyes, without power to prevent it. One of the plunderers is seen in the left corner of the upper part of the recess, as in the act of running off with a bag of gold ; while others, on a level with the miserable family, are contemplating their sufferings. Such is one version of the traditionary history attached to the skeleton group of Rameswar. Another refers to the incident represented as being connected with a sacrifice at a festival, in which the Now Ratree, or Hindoo Fates — who are exhibited in the persons of seven females, sculptured in an adjoining compartment — are engaged ; and that the central figure, the father of a starving family, is selling his wife and children for the purpose. This version hardly appears reconcilable with the presence of Cama, the Hindoo god of love ; who, in his person and attributes, appears on the right of the group, and whose presence could hardly be compatible with such a disposition of a wife and children. However wide either of these traditions may fall from the intention of the artist by whom these singular sculptures were wrought from the living rock, there is nothing now by which light can be thrown upon their history ; and visitors to Ellora are generally more inclined to wonder at the skill of the workman, than to penetrate the mists that obscure the precise meaning of his design. Moreover, there is a degree of repulsiveness in the idea thus embodied (whatever may have been its origin, or the actual meaning of the sculptor), that combines, with the surrounding gloom, and the mysterious accessories of the cavern itself, to prevent individuals of mere ordinary nerve from dwelling upon a subject so hideous in conception and ghastly in effect.

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DHER WARRA— ELLORA.

At the southern extremity of the excavations of this wonderful mountain, the mighty works of Ellora are terminated by a large cave temple, less richly ornamented than others | of the series, but still very imposing from its extent, and the elegance and number of the columns, by which on either side it is supported.

The temple is said by the Brahmins to have been originally constructed for, and ap- propriated to, the religious observances of the Dhairs, or Sweepers — an impure caste, with whom it was contamination to hold intercourse. In consequence, the native prejudice is so great against the Dher Warra, that the Brahmin guides not only refuse to enter it themselves, but remonstrate with European visitants on the degradation which they also must incur in treading the polluted area. Fortunately, European prejudices do not in- cline in the same direction as those of Hindoo fanatics ; and thus have many of the finest remains of the architectural treasures of ancient India become familiarised to us, and to the civilised western world.

The “ Dher Warra/’ both as a name and in its supposed counection with the Dhairs, is a fable of comparatively modern origin, as, like many others of the cave temples of Ellora, it bears every indication of having been a temple of Boodh, whose statue and attributes appear here in precisely the same manner as in the Biskurma and other acknowledged Boodhist temples. The principal chamber or hall of the Dher Warra — in which are enshrined the images of the deity and his attendants, with their various sym- bols of power — is about 100 feet in length, from the entrance to the recesses at the oppo- site end; the width of the chamber, exclusive of recesses on either side for the Lingam, being about forty feet. The walls of this temple are not so abundantly enriched with sculpture as are those of others in the mountain series, and the pillars which support the roof are slighter, but more elegant, than those seen in the other caves : there is also a peculiarity in the arrangement of the area of the temple, that is not observable in any other ; namely, two platforms of stone slightly elevated from the ground, and extending parallel to each other, from the entrance, to the steps of the shrine at the farther extremity of the cavern. Of the purpose for which these elevations were constructed, nothing is known beyond conjecture, which has pointed to them as intended for seats for the convenience of students, scribes, or the vendors of merchandise ; the latter supposition being hardly tenable, from the fact of the rigid care with which the Hindoo and Boodhist temples were preserved from contamination — an evil that could not have been avoided if the place was resorted to for purposes of traffic. Moreover, there is no similar construc- tion in the area of the other cave temples. A wide and level passage is formed by these platforms to the foot of the shrine, in which the idol still remains.

The front of this cave is open for its whole breadth ; and, during the rainy season, a mountain torrent pours from above over the face of it like a small river, upon the plain below, forming in its descent a crystal curtain before the temple, behind which it would be hazardous to venture, even if the altitude could be reached in safety at such a period. Through the prejudices of the Ellora Brahmins and neighbouring villagers, this fine cavern has been abandoned to neglect, and its uninterrupted quiet has rendered it a favourite asylum for cattle and goats. The dirt occasioned by these animals, and the multitude of all sorts of insects and vermin attracted to the place by them, may perhaps partly have given occasion for the ill-repute into which the cave has fallen.

With the Dher Warra, our descriptive views of the antiquities of Ellora terminate. The solemn loneliness of these caves, their wild seclusion on the mountain side, remote from the populous resorts of man, and the beauty and grandeur which meet the eye on every side, and fill the mind with wonder, will amply compensate the pilgrim to Ellora for the fatigue and difficulties he has to encounter. Unfortunately the gratification can be but partial ; for the natural curiosity awakened can never be satisfied. There is no clue to guide us through the labyrinths of thought opened by these sublime relics of long- departed ages. If we turn from the numberless subjects of doubt and difficulty, which the most accomplished of Oriental scholars have vainly endeavoured to elucidate, to the

118 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

human hands which wrought the marvels we see around, the attempt is equally fruitless. Their history is not less obscure than are the traditions of the ages that immediately succeeded chaos.

The absence at Ellora of that religious veneration which the Hindoos are so prone to show to the objects of their idolatry, is also unaccounted for : nor can any one presume to guess why these mighty and mysterious shrines have been abandoned by the multi- tudes who still offer adoration in other places to the same deities, whose effigies are here unreverenced in the most wonderful of their temples.

It may be observed, in conclusion, that when the Mohammedan emperor, Aurung- zebe, visited these caves, shortly after his acquisition of the country, he daringly, and with a view to insult the people whom he had conquered, sought to destroy one of the mountain temples (Keylas) by breaking down some of the massive columns that support the roof, on pretence of tryiug the power of the Hindoo god to protect his own temples. Finding, after this daring effort, that no part of the superincumbent rock gave way, the tempter desisted, but gave orders to deface the sculptures and painted roof of the temple, and its shrines, by filling the chambers with straw and setting lire to it. The blackness of the sculpture in various places, and the discolouration of the roofs of many of the chambers, are attributed to this cause ; and it is not impossible, that the aban- donment of the temples by the people, may have been occasioned by the desecration wantonly perpetrated by the followers of the conqueror.

A SUTTEE.

Nothing more strongly marks the state of society among nations than the condition of their females. Among all barbarous tribes they are absolute slaves ; but, as civilisation advances, they are gradually elevated to their proper rank as the fairest work of creation. Scarcely any state can be more degrading and dependent than that of women among the Hindoos. They have no choice in their own destiny, for they are entirely at the disposal of their father till three years after their nuptial age ; and it is one of the sacred duties of a parent to place his daughter in a situation to become a mother. If he neglects this till the time above-mentioned, he forfeits all control over her, and she is then at liberty to choose a husband for herself. When married she is immured in her husband’s dwelling, excluded from all education, from religious instruction, and from the temples. Her dependence upon her husband is perpetual ; and, on this point, the laws are full and minute. “By a girl, or by a young woman, or by a woman advanced in years, nothing must be done even in her own dwelling-place, according to her mere pleasure; in child- hood, a female must be dependent on her father; in youth, on her husband; her lord being dead, or her sons, a woman must never seek independence.” The deference which is exacted from a wife towards her husband is boundless : if ever so ill-treated she is commanded to revere him as a superior being ; and, notwithstanding so much is exacted from females, nothing can exceed the contempt with which they are treated in the sacred books, where they are scarcely ever mentioned but in connection with some degrading epithet. Polygamy is tolerated ; but females are not allowed to marry a second time. A husband can dismiss a wife on numerous pretexts ; but nothing can absolve a wife from her matrimonial engagement. The wife is not permitted to eat in the presence of her husband. Girls are generally married between the ages of seven and nine, but remain at their father’s house for a few years, when they are taken to the house of their new master.

Marriage is considered the most important event in the life of a Hindoo; and the ceremony is generally resorted to in the months of March, April, May, and June. Among the Brahmins it occupies five days, and closes with a procession through the streets of the town or village, in which women hail the new-married couple with the

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Arati — a song of rejoicing. In the course of events this melody is changed for the wail of death ; for the husband is smitten, and the last trial of the wife is about to com- mence and find its consummation in the cruel rites of Suttee.

As soon as the sick man has expired, ablutions and offerings are made by way of purification, and the deceased is then dressed in his richest garments, frequently adorned with jewels and other ornaments, and laid on a kind of state-bed while the funeral pile is prepared, which generally consists of fragrant wood intermingled with spices and odoriferous flowers, and surrounded by a trench. When ready, the body is stripped of the greater part of its ornaments, and carried, by four Brahmins, to the place set apart for the funeral ceremonies; the Dharga, or chief of the funeral, bearing with him con- secrated fire in a vessel for the purpose. Meanwhile the toilet of the, it may be young, wife is prepared in the manner enjoined by the Bhagavata, or sacred books, from which the subjoined passages are translated.

“ Having first bathed, the widow, dressed in two clean garments, and holding some cusa grass, sips water from the palm of her hand; bearing cusa and tita on her head, she looks towards the east or north, while the Brahmana utters the mystic word, ‘ Om !’ Bowing to Narayana, she next declares the Sancalpa, thus : — * On this month, so named, in such a parcha, on such a lit-hi, I, (naming herself and her family), that I may meet Arundhati, and reside in Swarga ; that the years of my stay may be numerous as the hairs on the human body; that I may enjoy, with my husband, the felicity of heaven, and sanctify my paternal and maternal progenitors, and the ancestry of my husband’s father; that, lauded by the Apsarases, I may be happy with my lord through the reign of the Indras ; that expiation be made for my husband’s offences, whether he have killed a Brahmana, broken the ties of gratitude, or murdered his friend — thus I ascend my hus- band’s pile. I call on you, ye guardians of the eight regions of the world ! — Sun and moon ! — air, fire, ether, earth, and water ! — my own soul ! — Yama ! — day, night, and twilight ! and thou, conscience, bear witness — I follow my husband’s corpse on the funeral pile 1’

“ Having repeated the Sancalpa, she walks thrice round the pile, while the Brahmana utters the following Mantras : — * Om ! Let these women, not to be widowed, good wives, adorned with collyrium, holding clarified butter, consign themselves to the fire ! Immortal ; not childless, nor husbandlfiss — excellent 1 Let them pass into fire, whose original element is water. Om ! Let these wives, pure, beautiful, commit themselves to the fire with their husbands’ corpse.’

“ A Purannee Mantra is chanted.

“ With this benediction, and uttering the mystic ‘nami-namah !’ she ascends the pile.

“ While the prescribed ceremonies are performed by the widow, the sou, or other near kinsman of the deceased, applies the first torch, with the forms directed for the funeral rites in the Gry-Hya (sacred books), by which his tribe is governed.

“ The wife who commits herself to the flames with her husband’s corpse, shall equal Arundhati, and reside in Swarga. Accompanying her husband, she shall reside so long in Swarga as are the thirty-five millions of hairs on the human body. As the snake- catcher forcibly draws the serpent from his earth, so, bearing her husband from heli, with him she shall enjoy heavenly bliss.

“Dying with her husband, she sanctifies her maternal and paternal ancestors, and the ancestry of him to Avhom she gave her virginity. Such a wife, adoring her husband, enters into celestial felicity with him — greatest and most admired; lauded by the choirs of heaven, with him shall enjoy the delights of heaven, while fourteen Indras reign.

“ Though her husband had killed a Brahmana, broken the ties of gratitude, or mur- dered his friend, she expiates the crime.

“ The Mantras are adopted on the authority of the Brahmana Parana.

“While the pile is preparing, tell the faithful wife of the greatest duty of woman. She is alone loyal and pure who burns herself with her husband’s corpse. Having thus fortified her resolution, and full of affection, she completes the Prayashita, and ascends to Swarga.

“A widow, on receiving news of her husband dying in a distant country, should expe- ditiously burn herself; so shall she attain perfection. Should the husband die on a journey, holding his sandals to her breast, let her pass into the flames.”*

* Asiatic Researches, vol. vi., ed. 1795.

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120 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. All the ceremonies essential to this rite are prescribed in the sacred books, and especially in the Bhagavata and Purana ; but many practices were introduced iu Suttee, not sanctioned by the ritual. Among these innovations, a woman who declared her intention of burning, was required to give a token of her fortitude ; and it was ordained, that any one who should seek to recede after the ceremony commenced, might be compelled by her relatives to complete the sacrifice : in the original rules, an alternative barely short of death was offered to the widow. For instance, the following passages from the text of Menu, the great Hindoo lawgiver, clearly leave it open to the wife to perform Suttee, or live in a state of perpetual widowhood : — “ A faithful wife, who wishes to attain in heaven the mansion of her husband, must do nothing unkind to him be he living or dead. Let her emaciate her body by living voluntarily on pure flowers, roots, and fruits ; but let her not, when her husband is deceased, even pronounce the name of another man. Let her continue until death, forgiving all injuries, perform- ing harsh duties, avoiding every sensual pleasure, and cheerfully practising the incom- parable rules of virtue which have been followed by such women as have been devoted to one only husband.”* The torch having been applied to the four corners of the pile, the crowd of attend- ants accompanying the procession retire to a distance, leaving only the four Brah- mins who have carried the bier. As the materials are dry and combustible, the fire rages ; and the covering of rushes, which forms a canopy over the corpse and the victim, speedily envelop both in a sheet of flame. When all is consumed, a series of purifica- tions follow, and the family of the deceased are permitted to eat ; food being forbidden till the whole ceremony is completed. In another portion of the sacred books referred to, as quoted in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, f the formula of Suttee is thus also described : — “ Adorned with jewels, decked with minium and other customary ornaments, with the box of minium in her hand, having made puja, or adoration to the Devatas — thus reflecting, that ‘ this life is naught, my lord and master to me was all’ — she walks round the burning pile. She bestows jewels on the Brahmins, and comforts her relations, and shows her friends the attentions of civility. While calling the sun and elements to witness, she distributes minium at pleasure; and having repeated the Sancalpa, proceeds into the flames. There embracing the corpse, she abandons herself to the fire, calling, ‘ Satya ! Satya ! Satya !’ “ The by-standers throw on butter and wood ; for this, they are taught that they acquire merit exceeding ten million fold the merits of an aswamadha, or other great sacrifice; but those who join in the procession from the house of the deceased to the funeral pile, for every step are rewarded as for an aswamadha The abolition of the dreadful rite of Suttee throughout the territories subject to British rule in India, has, for some years past, prevented at least the open perpetra- tion of the diabolical act in those parts, although the hideous practice is still common in the independent states. The sacrifice might be performed in any convenient place; but the bank of a river was always selected if possible, as bathing is one of the preparatory observances enjoined to the victim. The Suttee commemorated in the accompanying engraving, took place in the neigh- bourhood of Baroda, in the dominions of the Guicowar, about seventy-eight miles north- east of Surat, during the period in which Sir James Carnac was political resident at the court of Dowlah Rao Sindia. The circumstances connected with the immolation were described by Captain Grindlay, of the East India Company’s service (who was present throughout the scene), as of a somewhat romantic nature, investing the sacrifice with a more than usual degree of interest. The Suttee was a young Brahminee woman from the Deccan, married to a person of her own caste, holding an appointment under one of the chiefs of the court, and absent at the time from his home. Oue night the death of her husband was communicated to her in a dream ; and, being strongly impressed with the truth of the revelation, she became a prey to anxiety and grief. Shortly afterwards, while returning to her cottage with a pot of water upon her head (an occupation always performed by females of her class), a circumstance happened which confirmed her worst apprehensions. She had placed her necklace, the symbol of her * Martin’s India (Note), p. 514. f Asiatic Researches, vol. vi., ed. 1796.

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married state, on the top of the jar, and a crow alighting, flew away with it. This dreadful omen produced a conviction amounting to perfect faith that the fatal event had taken place. Throwing down the vessel, and loosing her hair, she returned to her desolate home, declaring her intention to join her husband in the grave.

The circumstance being reported to the British resident, he immediately repaired to the house of the presumed widow, with the humane intention of dissuading her from her rash intent. Finding his efforts unavailing, he engaged the assistance of the ruling prince, who readily undertook the benevolent mission, appearing with a large retinue at the door; and when his representations failed to produce the desired effect, he surrounded the avenue with his attendants, in order to prevent the unhappy woman from flying to persons who would encourage her in her desperate resolve. Aware that the abject state of poverty to which a Hindoo widow, who can inherit nothing, is reduced upon the death of her husband, was often the real cause of Suttee, the prince gene- rously offered the woman the means of future subsistence, urging at the same time the duties which she owed to her family, whom she would leave unprotected, and the uncertainty of the loss which she deplored. The widow remained unmoved, and unconvinced ; and on being assured that she would not be permitted to ascend the fatal pile, drew a dagger from the folds of her dress, and with all the vehemence which passion could lend to fanaticism, declared that her blood — the blood of a Brahmin woman — should be upon the soul of him who offered to prevent her performing her duty to her husband. Few Indians are proof against fear of the consequences of driving an enthusiast to this act of desperation. The curse is believed to be unmitigable by any effort to expiate the crime that produced it; and thus, perceiving her determination could not be shaken, the Guicowar, with his retinue, withdrew.

“ Self-sacrifice is considered so honourable among every class of Hindoos, that the widow, although rushing almost companionless to the Ghaut, was soon surrounded by thronging multitudes of kindred, friends, and spectators. She formed a small image of rice to represent the body of her husband; the pile was prepared; and, having gone through the prescribed ceremonies and ablutions, she repaired to the fatal spot (imme- diately behind the domed arch on the left of the engraving), and threw herself into the midst of the flames.

“The most astonishing part of the tale remains to be told. In the course of three weeks after this event, tidings arrived at Baroda of the death of the husband, which, upon inquiry, Avas fouud to have occurred at a period correspondent to the date of the wife’s dream.”

This was evidently an instance of determined and voluntary self-sacrifice ; but there are numberless instances upon record, in which the cruel and inexorable rites of Suttee have been performed, when youug and unwilling victims have been immolated on the funeral pile of an aged husband, despite their tears, their shrieks, and their resistance. Perhaps our wonder may be diminished at the infliction of such barbarity, when we reflect that, according to the sacred writings of the Brahmins, the crimes of the husband, however enormous, are expiated by the sacrifice of the wife ; and that a natural desire on the part of his relations that he should obtain admission to paradise, would stimulate them, irrespective of all other considerations, to urge the voluntary, or, if need be, the enforced act that would open the gates to him.

Self-murder, which of course included the practice of Suttee, was suppressed by a prohibitory edict of the supreme government of India, dated the 4th of December, 1829, during the administration of Lord William Beutinck. By this ordinance, all persons aiding and abetting Suttee, were declared liable to the penalty inflicted by the law fox- culpable homicide. The Brahmins, who had originated Suttee to prevent their widows remarrying, declax-ed that it was purely a religious rite, and objected to its forcible sup- pression ; but, with this exception, no opposition was manifested by the people under British authority. Widow-burning, however, still continues in several provinces which are not yet under the immediate control of the goveniment of this country.

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THE FORT AT ALLAHABAD.

The city of Allahabad — capital of one of the North-Western Provinces of Hindoostan — is situated at the junction of the rivers Ganges and Jumna, 80 miles W. by N. from Benares, and 498 miles N.W. from Calcutta, in 25° 27' N. lat., and 81° 50' E. long. The place is supposed to occupy the site of an ancient city of the Prasii, named Palibothra, which flourished prior to the invasion of India by Alexander the Great. It is called by the Brahmins Bhat Prayag (most holy), on account of its position at the most venerated of all the confluences of rivers in Hindoostan (such confluences being declared sacred by the Vedas); and so great has been the repute of its sanctity, that more than 200,000 pilgrims and devotees have visited it from distant parts of India in the course of a single year, merely for the gratification of bathing in the waters that lave its walls ; while, in time gone past, numbers of pilgrims have drowned themselves at the precise point of junction of the two mighty streams, in full assurance that, by so doing, they secured for themselves an eternity of happiness. The modern city was built about j . the middle of the sixteenth century, by the emperor Akber, and became one of his most favoured residences, being enriched by him with a number of magnificent edifices, and a i fort of great extent and strength, intended as well for the imperial residence as for the protection of the surrounding territory. The city is built on the western bank of the Jumna, and on the west of the fort ; but the greater portion of the now remaining edifices are of mud, and are erected on ancient foundations of substantial brick struc- tures. Much of the soil in the immediate neighbourhood consists of materials that have been used for building purposes at some remote period, and of fragments of pottery and household vessels; at once attesting the antiquity and original magnitude of | the city of Akber. Among other improvements upon its recently neglected condition, the city contains a number of new and commodious buildings, for the official purposes of the provincial government, and the residence of its chief officers and of the wealthy native and European inhabitants. It has also a government school or college, which, prior to the disturbances, was attended by 103 pupils, of whom eighty-one were Hindoos. The cantonments for the military are situated about four miles from the fort, and were generally occupied by two or more regiments of native infantry, some cavalry, and a company of artillery; but the officer in command of the whole usually resided in the fort.

Among its other institutions of importance, as the capital of a province, Allahabad possesses a permanent judicial establishment, whence periodical circuits are made ■ through the province; and during the greater portion of the year 1858, the city was chosen by the governor-general of India, Viscount Canning, for the temporary seat of the supreme government. Some few years since, a railway had been projected from Allahabad to Cawnpoor, in continuation of the Great Trunk line from Calcutta to Lahore ; and a portion of this line, from Allahabad to Futtehpoor, was opened with the usual formalities, by the governor-general, in 1858, under circumstances of unusual interest; the greater part of the distance traversed lying through an enemy’s country, overrun with their movable columns, and the safety of the party rendering it expedient to burn down the native villages on each side of the line; while the termini, and j stations between them, were protected by troops and artillery, to resist any attempt by the rebels to carry off the governor-general and his suite, while engaged in the ceremony of inaugurating the line.

The fort at Allahabad is still an imposing structure, having been preserved in excel- lent condition since it came into the exclusive possession of the East India Company in 1801. The walls, which are of great elevation, enclose an extent of 2,500 yards; and, with the numerous bastions and towers, are pierced for artillery. A part of the fortress ( is built over a cavern, or subterranean temple of the Hindoos, dedicated to the worship of Siva (the destroyer), the roof of which is supported by pillars of singular form and colossal dimensions ; and within this gloomy vault, sank deep into the bosom of the earth, a portion of the mysterious rites enjoined to the pilgrims who visit the city of Allah

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must be performed, before the deity of the Hindoos can be propitiated. The cavern is vast, and profoundly dark. Its actual extent is not known to the present generation of mau ; but it is asserted, and believed by the devotees who seek its gloomy recesses, to extend as far as Delhi — a distance of more than 400 miles ; and to be infested, for the greater part of the distance, by enormous serpents and noxious reptiles. The author of the Hand-Book for India and Egypt, who, some few years since, ventured into the depths of this extraordinary temple of a fanatical creed (called by the natives Peebulpooree), says — “A fakir is constantly in attendance at the entrance to the cavern, who, for a small gratuity, is ready to desceird with the pious devotee or inquiring traveller, and exhibit a portion of its gloomy wonders by the aid of torches; as it is only at the eutrance, and one other distant locality, that the light of day penetrates the utter darkness that fills the undefined space. The passage to the great vault is, for a consider- able length, not more than four feet broad by eight in height, and has been cut through an argillaceous limestone rock of chunam. As it descends, the walls and roof are seen covered with inscriptions, and grotesque and monstrous figures, with niches at intervals, containing mutilated fragments of idols, and other objects of Hindoo veneration. After gradually descending for about a hundred feet from the level of the entrance, the cavern widens out to gigantic proportions, the limits of which are obscured by the profound darkness, which the light of a few torches is unable to penetrate ; but in the apparent centre of the space, the Lingam, or symbol of Mahadeo (a name of Siva), is presented to the view of his worshippers. From this hall of gloom and mystery, paths branch off in various directions, forming, in their number and intersections, a perfect labyrinth ; having in their course a number of recesses piled up with the fragments of idols — silent but memorable records of the hatred and vengeance of the Moslem troops of Akber, by whom the cavern-temple and its altars were first profaned. The immense and awful vault, and its passages, are now tenanted by insects and reptiles without number; and among them are millions of cockroaches, which, attracted by the unusual light, fly around it, and settle upon the unwelcome intruders on their repose. Toads and snakes crawl and glide across the slimy paths, and appear ready to dispute the invasion of their dismal territory ; while a host of bats flit about so close to the torch of the guide, that its non-extinction is surprising. All here is damp, dreary, and noisome.”

The fort at Allahabad was the scene of important events connected with the sepoy mutiny of 1857. On the 5th of June, in that memorable year for India, a telegram from Sir H. Wheeler, the brigadier in command at Cawnpoor, directed the officer in charge at Allahabad to “man the fort with every serviceable European, and to make a good stand.” This message, in the existing posture of affairs, was ominous of impending mischief, and was instantly attended to. The civilians at Allahabad were at once ordered into the fort, and such as were capable of service were formed into a volunteer corps, numbering, with some few invalided soldiers and staff sergeants, about a hundred men ; the charge of the main gate of the fort being left to eighty men of the 6th native regiment, which, that very morning, had made a demonstration of its loyalty by waiting, unarmed, in a body upon their European officers, and, “ with tears in their eyes, beseeching them to rely upon their honour and good faith.” Several European merchants, and some half-castes in government employ, still, however, remained outside the fort, being unwilling to believe the possibility of danger to themselves personally. Some of the European officers, also, whose families were resident between the fort and the cantonments, were still without the walls of the fortress, as were others on duty at outposts. All necessary caution was used, and the usual appearance of order and subordination was presented through the day ; but, as night approached, it became evident that a mutinous spirit was at work among the native troops in cantonment ; and at half-past nine in the evening, while the officers were yet together in the mess-room, a bugler of the 6th regiment sounded the “ assembly.” The officers, imagining that some disturbance had occurred in the bazaar or neighbourhood, rushed out to learn the cause, and the foremost of them were instantly shot down. One or two others contrived to escape to the fort ; but five English officers of the 6th regiment, and several young ensigns doing duty with that corps, were at once massacred by the men who, on the same morning, had besought them to rely on their fidelity ! One officer of the 6th was actually pinned to the ground by bayonets, and, while yet writhing in agony, a fire Avas kindled on his body. The vengeance of the

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infuriated sepoys did not confine itself to their officers alone : women and children, the old and the young, perished alike in their reckless thirst for blood. More than fifty Europeans fell in the first outburst of this demoniacal treachery ; and to many of the females, a merciless death was the least of the fearful wrongs to which they were subjected.

One of the civilians who had taken refuge in the fort, afterwards writing of the events of that night, says — “ On the alarm being sounded, we ran up to the ramparts in breathless silence. The firing without grew heavier, and we all thought the insurgents from Benares had entered the station, and were being beaten off by the regiment.

' Oh/ we said, ‘ those gallant sepoys are beating off the rebels V for the firing grew fainter in the distance, as if a force was retiring; but before long the sad truth was known. Harwood* rode into the fort, bringing tidings that the 6th had risen, and had seized the guns. He had just escaped, and ran up to poor Alexander’s camp,f who jumped on his horse, and rode up towards the lines with as many of his men as could be got ready ; he was caught in an ambush by a party of sepoys lying in wait for prey, and was killed by a musket being placed to his side and blowing out his heart. His poor body was brought in late in the night ; and I gave his hand a last shake, and shed tears over his last bed.”

It is not the purpose here to enter upon a detail of occurrences connected with the mutiuy of the 6th native regiment at Allahabad ; but the following incident, as related by one of the officers who happily survived the murderous onslaught, may be recorded, ■ as exhibiting in the conduct of a mere lad, a glorious example of heroic fortitude and Christian faith. The narrator, whose words we transcribe, says — “ When the wretched 1 6th regiment mutinied at Allahabad, and murdered their officers, an ensign only sixteen years of age, who was left for dead among the rest, escaped in the darkness to a neighbouring ravine. Here he found a stream, the water of which sustained his life for four days and nights. Although desperately wounded, he contrived to raise himself into a tree during the night, for protection from wild beasts. Poor boy ! he had a high commission to fulfil before death released him from his sufferings. On the fifth day he was discovered, and dragged by the brutal sepoys before one of their leaders, to have the little life left in him extinguished. There he found another prisoner — a Christian catechist, formerly a Mohammedan — whom' the sepoys were endeavouring to torment and terrify into a recantation. The firmness of the native was giving way as he knelt amid his persecutors, with no human sympathy to support him. The boy-officer, after anxiously watching him for a short time, cried out — ‘ Oh, my friend ! come what may, do not deny the Lord Jesus !’ ”

Just at this moment, the alarm of a sudden attack by Colonel Neill, with his Madras fusiliers, caused the precipitate flight of the murderous fanatics. The catechist’s life was saved. Pie turned to bless the boy whose faith had strengthened his faltering spirit ; but the young martyr had passed beyond the reach of human sympathy — he had entered into rest.J

LUCKNOW.

Lucknow, the capital of the now British province of Oude, is situated on the river Goomtee, between 26° and 27° N. lat., 95 miles north-west from Allahabad, and 280 south-by-east from Delhi. The river is navigable for boats at all seasons ; and the appearance of the city from its northern bank is one of considerable magnificence, from the number and variety of splendid structures that line its river-front. Palaces, mosques, and mausolea, with their gilt roofs and rich and graceful architecture, meet the eye along a wide range of beautifully diversified ground ; and the tapering pinnacles and swelling domes that rise amidst and above the masses of buildings in the interior, are apt

* Commanding a detachment of artillery in cantonments, t This officer commanded a detachment of irregular cavalry, j Vide History of the Indian Mutiny, vol. i., p. 256.

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to excite expectations which, on nearer approach, are not realised — the greater portion of the dwellings of the inhabitants being of a very inferior description, and the streets in many parts of the town sinking from ten to twelve feet below the level of the ground through which they are constructed, being consequently both narrow and dirty. Lucknow, as a capital city, attained the meridian of its prosperity about the commence- ment of the present century, when its population was estimated at 300,000 persons ; but its greatness had even then greatly decreased with the waning power of its rulers. The palace built by Asoph-ud-Dowlah — known as the Kaiserbagh — was reputed to be one of the most magnificent structures in India, with the exception of those built by the emperors of Delhi.

The important part taken by the city of Lucknow in the great drama of the sepoy rebellion, and the subsequent insurrection of the people of Oude, is amply chronicled in the History of the Indian Mutiny ,* to which we refer for details of the occurrences connected with it ; the immediate object of the present work being to describe such of the most important of the public buildings of the city, as the artist has contrived to group in the accompanying engraving. ,

The city of Lucknow, as already observed, lies on the south bank of the Goomtee, which runs nearly from north-west to south-east, all the buildings on the opposite or left bank of the river being merely suburban. After winding round buildings designated La Martiniere and Dilkoosha, the river changes its course to direct south. Access to the city from the opposite bank was formerly by three bridges — namely, one of boats, another of iron, and the third of stone. The south-eastern extremity of the city is bounded by a canal, which enters the Goomtee near the Martiniere ; but there is no defined boundary on the south-west, west, or north-west. Previous to the revolt, between the crowded or trading part of the town and the river, a long range of palaces and gardens extended some five miles along the bank of the Goomtee, and formed a belt between it and the poorer or more dense part of the city. These structures were known to Europeans by the several names of the Secunderbagh, the Shah Nujeef, Shah Munzil, the Motee Mahal, the Kaiserbagh, the Chuttur Munzil, Furreed Buksh, the Residency iuclosure, Muchee Bowun, the Great Emaumbarra, and the Moosabagh. Of these various edifices, the Kaiserbagh, or Palace of the King; the Motee Mahal, or Pearl Palace (the residence of the begums of Oude) ; the cupolas and minarets of the Furreed Buksh ; a portion of the Residency inclosure, and of the Muchee Bowun and Emaum- barra, are represented in the accompanying engraving.

The Shah Nujeef, or Emaumbarra of Asoph-ud-Dowlah, is a model of fantastic but elegant Mohammedan architecture, and has elicited the encomiums of all who have beheld it. Lord Valentia, in the record of his travels in Hindoostan, says — “ From the brilliant white of tbe composition, and the minute delicacy of the workmanship, an enthusiast might believe that genii had been the artificers and Bishop Heber expressed his admiration of the whole design, in the following unequivocal language: — “I have never seen an architectural view which pleased me more, from its richness and variety, as well as the proportions and general good taste of its principal features.” The design consists of many large buildings surrounding two open courts, which are connected by three archways of lofty proportions and exquisite workmanship : in the centre of these is the tomb of the founder, guarded by soldiers of the royal household, and attended by moollahs perpetually reciting passages of the Koran. The central hall is of vast size, and magnificent in all its details, presenting a brilliant focus, from whence the wondrous beauties of the mausoleum radiate in every direction. This structure is called the King’s Emaumbarra, or Irnaumbarra — the name given by the sect of Moslems called Shealis, to buildings raised by them for the celebration of the religious festival of the Mohurrum. Every family of distinction has its own Emaumbarra — large or small, gorgeous or simple, as the wealth and piety of the owner may dictate; and it is generally selected as his own burial-place, and that of the most favoured of his family. It must be confessed that the beauty of the design and workmanship employed upon the Shah Nujeef is materially diminished, upon close examination, by the poverty of the materials used, which are chiefly brick, coated with chunam, or clay cement. The Roumee Durwaza, or Gate of the Sultan — a beautiful structure, with an elaborately-decorated arch in * Vol. i., pp. 51 ; 181 : vol. ii., pp. 1 ; 78 ; 285.

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the Saracenic style of architecture — is in close proximity to the Shah Nujeef, and shares the admiration which that building, with its accessories and combinations of Moslem minarets and Hindoo cupolas and domes, never fails to elicit.

Another building in Lucknow, well entitled to notice (previous to the revolt), was the Mosque of Saadut Ali, one of the former rulers of Oude — the lofty dome of which was a remarkable object from all parts of the city. Of the Kaiserbagh, or King’s Palace, we have elsewhere spoken ; but the following passage from a recent work on Oude will not be inappropriate here. The author, who is represented to be an Englishman in

the service of the king of Oude in 1834, in speaking of the royal residence, says

“The great extent of the buildings generally called ‘the King’s Palace,’ surprised me in the first instance. It is not properly a palace, but a continuation of palaces, stretching all along the bank of the Goomtee, the river on which Lucknow is built. In this, how- ever, the royal residence in Oude only resembles what one reads of the seraglio at Constantinople, the khan’s residence at Teheran, and the imperial buildings of Pekin. In all Oriental states the palaces are not so much the abode of the sovereign only, as the centre of his government — little towns, in fact, containing extensive ranges of buildings, occupied by the harem and its vast number of attendants, and containing courts, gardens, tanks, fountains, and squares, as well as the offices of the chief ministers of state.”*

South-east of the city, and at a short distance from the banks of the Goomtee, is the mansion erected by Claude Martine — a Frenchman of extraordinary abilities and tact, who, from the position of a mere adventurer, advanced himself to the possession of vast wealth and power at the court of Oude. Eccentric in his tastes, and left to the unbridled indulgence of his own fancy, he designed and completed the building which has ever since claimed notoriety for its grotesque and extravagant appearance, in which all the rules of European and Asiatic architecture are set at defiance. The ornaments with which the structure is loaded, both within and without, give it the appearance of a museum of curiosities. Among the details of minutely-finished fretwork that surmounted the building, were placed enormous lions of stucco, with glaring lamps in lieu of eyes ; Chinese mandarins, and female figures, with undulating heads, thronged the parapets of j the terraced roof ; and the whole Pantheon of the mythology of Greece and Rome, were scattered over the mansion and grounds in the most incongruous proximity to

“ Fabled monsters, which the world ne’er saw.”

This singular residence was solidly built of stone, and is of large dimensions : the tomb of the owner occupies the centre of the topmost story, surrounded by the extraordinary specimens of bad taste we have mentioned ; but the sarcophagus containing his corpse is deposited in a lower apartment. During the lifetime of the owner he gave it the name of Constantia; but, since his death, the property came into the hands of the East India Company, who established a school or college in the building ; and in memory of the extraordinary man to whom it had belonged, called it “La Martiniere.” During the advance of Sir Colin Campbell to the relief of the residency in November, 1857, this place was the scene of fearful conflict ; and afterwards, for a short time, became the head-quarters of the army of Oude.

The Kaiserbagh was not only the most splendid of the palaces of Lucknow, but, as the residence of the king, was also the strongest as a place of defence; and it was next to the Emaumbarra, or Mosque of the Seven Emaums, the most beautiful in an architectural point of view. Both of these superb edifices were doomed to sustain the heaviest weight of the terrific assaults which, continuing from the 2nd to the 16th of March, at length ended in the complete reduction of all the fortifications of the place, and the flight and' dispersion of the rebel forces. An extract from one of Mr. Russeil’s graphic sketches of events dui’ing and after the assault by the troops under Sir Colin Campbell, will suffice to give an idea of the terrible revulsion to which the palace of the sovereigns of Oude was subjected, in the desperate struggle for its possession. He had ascended to the roof of the Emaumbarra, and says — “ From this position a good view could be obtained of portions of the Kaiserbagh, the road to which was thronged with men bearing litters with the wounded. Artillerymen, sailors, and oxen, were busily employed in draggiug up heavy guns and mortars to secure the new position; while troops

* Knighton’s Private Life of an Eastern King.

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were marching rapidly towards the Kaiserbagh, or were already in the courts and streets around it. Descending from the roof, as wo Struggled over the masses of fallen brick- work, the traces of our sap, choked up here aud there with fallen earth, were close on our left, till the sap reached a long corridor by the side of a court, which served as an excellent covered-way for our sappers. The enemy’s cooking places, lotas, clothing, belts, broken muskets, swords, and pistols were scattered over the ground on every side ; hut there were not many dead visible till we reached some of the courts. The large hall of the Emaumbarra, which appeared to have been used as a sort of museum, and had con- tained many curious models of mosques, and fine mirrors aud chandeliers, was a heap of ruin. Working our way through, we approached the Kaiserbagh, and managed to get into one of the courts through a breach in the parapet of the outer works. This court was surrounded by rooms with latticed windows, to which access was gained by means of stairs opening into the court, the strong doors of which were barred on the inside. The walls were decorated with indifferent frescoes, representing feats of arms and female dancers. On one side, the trees of a garden could be seen through Venetian blinds ; and there was evidence that we were near to the king’s zenana, and that the buildings around us belonged to his eunuchs. We proceeded forward to the entrance of the main building. Our men were just crashing through the rooms of the palace, which were, as yet, filled with the evidence of barbaric magnificence and splendour. The Kaiserbagh cannot be described; the whole place is a series of palaces, kiosks, and mosques, all of fanciful Oriental architecture — some light and graceful, others merely fantastic aud curious, con- nected, generally, by long corridors arched and open in the front, or by extensive wings, which enclose tbe courts and gardens contained within the outer walls. In every room throughout the endless series there was a profusion of mirrors in ponderous gilt frames. From every ceiling hung glass chandeliers, of every age, form, colour, and design. As to the furniture, it looked, in many cases, like collections from the lumber-rooms of all the old palaces in Europe, relieved by rich carpets and sumptuous divans, by cushions covered with golden embroidery, by rich screens of Cashmere shawls, and by table-covers ponderous with pearls and gold. In some of the rooms were a few pictures in gorgeous frames ; but the hand of the spoiler had been heavy among all. Those which hung out of the reach of the musket-stock aud bayonet-thrust, were not safe from a bullet or the leg of a table, converted into an impromptu missile for the operation. Down came chan- deliers, in a tinkling clattering rain of glass : crash followed crash, as door and window, mirror and pendule, were battered down by the excited and thoughtless victors.”

The important events connected with the city and the rebellion of 1857, may be thus enumerated in order of date. The siege of the British position in Lucknow, which then consisted of the residency and the Muchee Bowun only, commenced on the 1st of July. On the 2nd of the same month, Sir Henry Lawrence, the chief commissioner of Oude, received the wound which, on the 4th, eventuated in liis death. From that time until the 25th of September, when the occupants of the residency were relieved by the force under General Havelock, they had been subject to all the perils and privations of a close siege by the rebel army, under various leaders. Exposed to the calamities of war, and at times almost without the hope of rescue, the gallant baud under Inglis resisted every attempt of the insurgents to force them from their position, aud heroically held out until the arrival of succour. The relieving force was, however, unequal to the great task of withdrawing the wounded, and the women aud children, from the shelter of their defences at the residency ; and they were, in turn, also besieged from the 25th of September until the arrival of Sir Colin Campbell on the 17th of November. On the 22nd of that month, the whole European garrison, with the women, the wounded, and state prisoners, the king’s treasure, and other pi'operty, were safely removed from the residency in the presence of the whole force of Oude, aud conveyed on the way to Cawn- poor, en route for Allahabad and Calcutta. The rebel army, commanded by the begum of Oude and the moulvie of Fyzabad, still held possession of Lucknow ; Sir James Outrara, with a considerable force, being stationed at the Alumbagh, a short distance from the city, to watch their movements, and serve as a nucleus on which to base future operations. On the 2nd of March, 1858, Sir Colin Campbell again appeared before the city, which, by the 16th, was entirely in the possession of the British troops.

But Lucknow was by this time a chaos — a place of terror and desolation. The

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license inevitable after the assault of a large town, had here been indulged in to a lamentable extent, aud had perfected the Avork which the ravages of war and the consuming brand commenced. Thousands of the native inhabitants who had fled from the citv on the approach of the British troops, would fain have returned to their homes, or to' the ruins of them. But there were tens of thousands who were destined never again to enter the gates of the once proud city; for their king had fallen from his throne, aud the palaces of their chiefs and nobles were heaps of smouldering ruins.

Simultaneously with the restoration of order iu the city, arrangements were made by its conquerors for its future occupancy aud necessary defence. The Muchee Bowun was selected as the key of the British military position ; diverging from which, a number of wide avenues or streets were cleared through the winding lanes aud masses of buildings that intervened between it and the various strategic points ; such streets or avenues forming, in effect, military roads, connecting each point with the others and with the Muchee Bowun. The civil power also resumed authority, and proceeded to establish law and order. A police force was enrolled, and gradually the city subsided into a state of quietude; though it was long before confidence could be restored among the native popula- tion aud their no longer indulgent masters.

VIEW OF THE PALACE AT DELHI, FROM THE RIVER; AND OF

THE DEWAN KHASS.

The engraving which accompanies this article, represents the river-front of the celebrated palace of the emperor Shah Jehan, at Delhi, as it is seen from the opposite bank of the Jumna. The palace, with its numberless courts, its various edifices and magnificent gar- dens, occupies au area of one square mile, and, on the laud side, is protected by a lofty Avail, embattled and flauked by numerous tOAvers and bastions, aud, towards the river, by a fort called Selimgurh, Avith Avhich it is connected by a lofty bridge. Of the erection of the palace and its gorgeous accessories, by the emperor Shah Jehan, in 1631, mention has already been made in this work.* Of the vicissitudes of Oriental rule — under which the palace of Delhi became the abode of successive monarchs Avhose path to em- pire Avas traced through perfidy and blood, in the course of the comparatively short period of little more than two ceuturies, before it came into the hands of the British rulers of India as a spoil of Avar — it is uuuecessary here to expatiate; but it maybe observed, that it was iu this palace, on the 10th of September, 1803, that Shah Alum, the last actual possessor of the once mighty throne of the Moguls, after being the sport of fortune for years, thankfully placed himself and his empire under the protection of the British commauder, General Lord Lake, then engaged in a fierce Avar against the Mahrattas — the remorseless aud inveterate enemies of the aged and afflicted monarch, Avhom the general, upon his entry to the palace, found seated uuder a small tattered canopy ; “his person emaciated by indigence and infirmity, bis countenance disfigured by the loss of his eyes, and bearing marks of extreme old age and settled melancholy.” The incidents connected with the loss of sight by Shah Alum, are both interesting aud extraordinary. This prince, from the time of the death of his general, Ntijeef Khan, in 1782, had been compelled to submit to the Avill of his neighbours — the Mahratta and Rohilla chiefs, as they respectively gained the ascendency, and assumed the post of vicegerent of the Mogul empire. In 1785, Sindia, the Mahratta, became paramount; but having engaged in Avar with Pertab Sing, of Jeypoor, advantage Avas taken of his absence by Gliolam Kadir Khan (the son of Zabila Khan, the Rohilla), to obtain possession of Delhi. This he accomplished in 1788, through the treachery of the nazir, or chief eunuch, to Avhom the management of the imperial establishment avus entrusted. The inmates of the palace Avere treated by the usurper Avith a degree of

* See p. 58.

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steps four or five feet in height, to the terrace on which the Dewan Khass is built, and looking in through the wide arched doorways, or rather between the rows of pillars on which the roof rests, we saw anything but the dazzling magnificence for which our reading had prepared us. In fact, the Hall of the Moguls was filled, not with turbaned and jewelled rajahs, Mogul guards, and Oriental splendour; but with British infantry in its least prepossessing aspect — namely, in its undress, and in its washing and purely domestic hours. From pillar to pillar, and column to column, extended the ungraceful curves of the clothes-line ; and shirts, and socks, and drawers flaunted in the air in lieu of silken banners and gorgeous shawls and draperies. The hall was so obscure, that the richness of the decorations and the great beauty of the interior were not visible until the eye became accustomed to the darkness. The magnificent pavement had been taken up and destroyed, and the hand of the spoiler had been busied on the columns and walls of the building; but still, above and around one could see the solid marble worked as though it had been wax, and its surface inlaid with the richest, most profuse and fanciful, and exquisite designs in foliage and arabesque ; the fruits and flowers being represented by sections of gems — such as amethysts, cornelian, bloodstone, garnet, topaz, and various- coloured crystals set in the brasswork of the tracery with which the entire place is covered. Every one of the columns are thus decorated and covered with inscriptions from the Koran, and the walls have the appearance of some rich work from the loom, in which a brilliant pattern is woven on a pure white ground, the tracery of rare and cunning artists. When the hall was cleaned and lighted up, and when its greatest ornament, the Takt Taous, or Peacock Throne (constructed for the emperor Shah Jehan, at a cost of thirty millions sterling), and the great crystal chair of state, were in the midst, the coup d’osil must have been exceedingly rich and beautiful.” The soldiers were expert at picking out the stones from the decorations of the Dewau Khass, with their bayonets, until forbidden to do so. The crystal chair is still in existence, and was forwarded to | England as a trophy of conquest ; but the peacock throne had been carried off by Nadir Shah, after his invasion of Hindoostan in 1739. This costly work of art, which was framed so as to be easily taken to pieces and reconstructed, was ascended by steps of silver, at the summit of which rose a massive seat of pure gold, with a canopy of the same metal inlaid with jewels. The chief feature of the design was a peacock with its tail spread, the natural colours being represented by pure gems; a vine also was introduced in the design, the leaves and fruit of which were of precious stones, whose rays were reflected from mirrors set in large pearls. From the spoil taken off by the conqueror, a portable tent was constructed for his use, the outside covered with scarlet broadcloth, and the inside with violet-coloured satin, on which birds aud beasts, trees and flowers, were depicted in precious stones. On either side the peacock throne a screen extended, adorned with the figures of two angels, also represented in various-coloured gems. Even the tent-poles were adorned with jewels, and the pins were of massive gold. The whole formed a load for seven elephants. This gorgeous trophy was broken up by Adil Shah, the nephew and successor of the captor. In its entirety the value must have been prodigious.

VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL STREET— AGRA.

The chowk, or principal street of the capital of the province of Agra,* is an exception to the general rule of street architecture in the cities of the East, inasmuch as it is of sufficient width to admit the passage of carriages and other vehicles; a convenience rarely met with in other large towns of India. The accompanying view represents this avenue as it appears during the business hours of the day, when the chowk is teeming with life and activity, and the merchants and shopkeepers of the city display their wares to the best advantage. The style of shop architecture is in no way distinguished

* See page 50.

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	from that adopted in other Oriental cities, being simply stalls, open in front, and screened from the sun by blinds and awnings of every diversity of colour and pattern ; which, combined with the variety of merchandise displayed, and the picturesque costumes of the people, present a brilliant and interesting coup d’ceil, that can hardly be described without the aid of colours. The houses in Agra are, as will be seen by the engraving, generally of lofty proportions, and, for the most part, are built of stone. With the exception of the principal street, the thoroughfares are gloomy and dirty, and are also so narrow, that per- sons riding in the native carriages, may easily touch the walls on either side with their hands as they pass. It has already been observed,* that the city contains several palaces, besides public baths, caravanserais, and mosques; but most of the principal edifices of the Mohammedan era have long been in a state of progressive decay. Since, however, the city has been in the possession of the English, much has been done to repair the injuries inflicted by the ravages of time and conquest, and large sums have been expended by the government on public works — including courts for the administration of justice ; deposi- tories for the records of the province; revenue offices; a palace for the residency; a European cemetery ; several bridges, and some excellent roads : on one of the latter of which, leading from Agra to Bombay, a sum of thirteen lacs of rupees, or £130,000 ster- ling, had been expended up to November, 1847. The city having been selected for the seat of government for the North-West Provinces, a large European community has set- tled there and in its vicinity, between tbe fort and the cantonments ; and at one period, it was in contemplation to make Agra the seat of the supreme government for the whole of India. The terrible events of 1857 did not leave the favourite city of Akber unscathed by their desolating influences. Startled from its tranquillity by the sullen indications of an impending storm, the European inhabitants, so early as the 24th of May, were first awakened to the dangers that were gathering round them, by a succession of incendiary fires, of which the men belonging to a native regiment in cantonment were believed to be the cause ; the object being to occupy the attention of the few European troops at the station in extinguishing the flames, while they (the native soldiers) -would fall upon and massacre the defenceless inhabitants, and, after plundering and destroying their dwellings, march off and join their brethren in revolt at Delhi. This plan was happily frustrated by the timely arrival of a detachment of English troops, by whom the two native regiments (44th and 67th) were deprived of their arms; a proceeding they resented by immediately de- serting in a body, but without, at the time, attempting to perpetrate further mischief than the fires alluded to. The quiet that followed the desertion of the mutinous regiments was not of very long duration. On the 23rd of June, the native guard at the gaol, in which about 4,000 offenders, of various degrees of criminality, were then confined, also deserted its post; and two nights subsequently the gaol was discovered to be on fire. Every measure that could be resorted to for securing the safety of the place was at once adopted, and the whole of the women and children were collected in the fort for protection ; but the anxiety of the European residents became indescribable. At length, on the 5tli of July, a rebel band, estimated altogether to amount to about 9,000 men of all arms, was reported to be approaching the city ; and a force, consisting of a few soldiers of the 3rd European regiment, the civil militia, and some volunteers, num- bering altogether about 500 men, marched out, uuder the command of Brigadier Polwhele, to oppose their progress. They were met near the village of Shahgunge, about four miles from Agra, and a conflict ensued ; but owing to a deficiency of ammunition, and other causes, the British force was compelled to retire from the field, closely followed by the rebels to the very gate of the fort ; which was scarcely closed, before the cavalry of the enemy swept past on their way to the town aud cantonments, which they entered and took possession of. Their first act was to liberate the prisoners in the gaol ; who, being in turn joined by the budmashes and rabble of the place, the work of pillage and wanton destruction commenced. The bungalows of the European families, and of natives in gov- ernment employ, were speedily in flames; the houses of the merchants, as well native as European, were pillaged and set on fire; the very doors and windows of several of them were torn out and shattered into splinters, leaving nothing but the bare brick walls. * See pages 50, 51.

132 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

Property was strewn about the streets in all directions, and the chowk was rendered im- passable by the heaps of plunder wantonly ravaged from the inhabitants, and destroyed. The total loss upon .this occasion was afterwards estimated at ten lacs of rupees, or £100,000 sterling. While this havoc was raging in the city, thirty-four native Christians, who had neglected in time to seek shelter in the fort, were savagely murdered. A letter from one of the European officers in the fort on the 19th of the month, says — “ Here we are, shut up in this wretched place since the 5th. There are about 4,500 men, women, and children in here now, and they are well packed. As soon as we get help we will go out. The rebels have burnt and plundered all the cantonments and civil lines, and you never saw such a blaze as it was. They killed a great many trying to come into the fort, stripped them naked, and cut their heads off ; and women and children are lying about the roads.”*

In this fort the Europeans of Agra continued closely invested by the rebels, until relieved by an English force, under Brigadier-general Greathed, on the 10th of October, 1857, when a decisive battle was fought, and the enemy, whose force consisted altogether of about 7,000 men, with from fifteen to eighteen guns, was, after an obstinate engage- ment, completely defeated, aud fled, being pursued and cut down for more than ten miles on their route. Their loss upon this occasion was calculated at 1,000 men, as no prisoners were taken, aud none were merely wounded.

TOMB OF ELMAD-UD-DOWLAH— AGRA.

The subject of the accompanying engraving presents one of the most beautiful, as it is also, from its incidents, one of the most interesting, specimens of Mohammedan architec- ture to be met with even in a city so replete with artistic triumphs as was the once imperial Agra — the creation of the renowned Akber, aud the favourite resort of himself and the nobles of his court.

The history of this celebrated tomb, which stands in the midst of a dense forest near the Jahara Bang — once a garden-seat of the emperor Akber, and since a place of recrea- tion for the population of the town — is so closely connected with that of the famous Nour Jehan (the favourite wife of Jehangeer), that a reference to the latter will not be out of place in a description of the work of her own filial devotion. The tomb itself has already been briefly noticed in a former part of this work, as one of the most chaste and beautiful specimens of architecture that the Moguls have left as testimonials of their rule. The building, rising from a broad platform, is of marble, of a quadrangular shape, flanked by octagonal towers, which are surmounted by cupolas, on a series of open columns. From the centre of the roof of the main building springs a small tomb- like structure, elaborately carved and decorated, the corners of the roof terminating in golden spires. Immediately below this, on the floor of the hall, is the tomb enclosing the body of Elmad-ud-Dowlah, father of Nour Jehan, by whose orders the fairy pile was raised. Interiorly and exteriorly, the building is covered, as with beautiful lace, by lattice-work, delicately wrought in marble, covered with foliage and flowers, and intermingled with scrolls bearing passages from the Koran. Every inch of the surface of the mausoleum is thus enriched ; and all that Oriental art could suggest, or genius execute, in the completion of the structure, was devoted to its adornment. The original idea of the pious daughter by whom it was raised, was to construct the shrine of her father of solid silver; aud she was only diverted from her purpose by the assurance that, if marble was not equally costly, it was certain to be more durable, and less likely to attract the cupidity of after-ages.

The life of Nour Jehan was an extraordinary one. Glieias, a Persian of good ancestry, but of reduced means, was driven, at the latter end of the sixteenth century, to * History of the Indian Mutiny, vol. i., pp. 551 — 559.

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 133

seek subsistence by emigrating from his native country to India, with his wife and children. Directly after reaching Candahar, on his way, a daughter was born to the afflicted family; and being worn down with fatigue and privation, the miserable parents exposed the infant on a spot by which an approaching caravan would pass. The expedient succeeded. A rich merchant saw and took compassion on the child ; relieved the distress of its parents; and, perceiving the father and eldest son to be persons of education and ability, he took them under his protection, and procured for them suitable employment. Gheias in a short time attracted the notice of Akber, with whom he found favour, and was advanced to a position of trust and honour. His wife, herself of noble lineage, frequently visited the royal harem with her young daughter, whose beauty captivated Prince Selim, the heir-apparent. Akber being informed of the attachment, commanded that the girl should be at once given in marriage to Sheer Afghan — a young Persian distinguished for his bravery, to whom the emperor gave a jaghire in Bengal, whither he was commanded to proceed with his young bride. Shortly after the accession of Selim, who had assumed the name of Jehangeer, he took occasion to intimate to the viceroy of Bengal his desire to obtain possession of the beautiful creature who, by his father’s command, had been given to the arms of another. Endeavours were used to announce the emperor’s wish to Sheer Afghan without arousing his resentment ; but the latter, upon the first intimation of the design against his honour, threw up the command with which he was entrusted, and laid aside his arms, as a sign that he was no longer in the king’s service. Repeated attempts were then made to assassinate him ; and at length, at a compulsory interview with the viceroy (where he found himself betrayed), he was murdered ; but not until he had sold his life dearly — having killed the viceroy and several of his attendants before he fell covered with wounds. His young wife was then seized and conveyed to the harem of the royal lover ; but, either from some feeling of compunction on his part, or from the aversion she naturally felt to the murderer of her husband, she was allowed, during four years, to remain unnoticed in the seraglio. The passion of the emperor at length revived — he sought his captive, and, in the ardour of his affection, made her his wife, bestowing upon her, by special edict, the title of empress, and styling her first Nour Mahal (the Light of the Harem), and afterwards Nour Jehan (the Light of the World). Her influence thenceforth became unbounded. Honours never before enjoyed by the consort of an Indian potentate were lavished upon her, even to the conjunction of her name on the coin with that of Jehangeer; her father, Mirza Gheias, was made prime minister, and assumed the name of Elmad-ud-Dowlah ; her brother, Asuf Khan, was appointed to a station of high dignity; and in every affair in which she took an interest, the will of Nour Jehan was law, which no one dared dispute. The legislative ability of Elmad-ud-Dowlah soon produced beneficial results in public affairs ; his modest yet manly bearing conciliated the nobility, who learned to appreciate the value of the control which he exercised over the ill-regulated mind of the emperor. The empress Nour Jehan found delight in superintending the construction of public edifices and gardens ; and, by her skilful management, increased the magnifi- cence of the court, while she reduced its expenditure. As an instance of her practical mind, it may be observed, that the mode of preparing the famous atta of roses is generally attributed in India to this empress.

The life of Nour Jehan was chequered by vicissitudes, although she died surrounded with honours; and her fidelity to him who had raised her to a throne was most devoted. Upon an occasion of revolt the emperor had fallen into the hands of his enemies, and was conveyed a prisoner to the camp of the insurgents. Upon Nour Jehan learning the fact, she put on a disguise, repaired to the adherents of the emperor in the field, and set on foot vigorous measures for his rescue. To effect this, it was necessary to cross the river by a ford, the bridge having been destroyed. Rockets, balls, and arrows were discharged upon the royal troops as they strove to make good their passage over a dangerous shoal, full of pools, with deep water on either side ; and on setting foot on the beach, they were fiercely opposed by the enemy, who drove them back into the water, sword in hand. The ford became choked with drowning horses and elephants, and a frightful sacrifice of life ensued. The empress was among those who succeeded in effecting a landing, and at once became the special object of attack. The elephant on

134 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 1LLU TRATED.

which she rode was speedily surrounded ; the guards were cut to pieces ; and among the balls and arrows which fell thick round her howdah; one wounded the infaut daughter of Prince Sheliriar (youngest son of Jehangeer ; who had married her daughter), and another killed her driver. The elephant, receiving a severe cut across the proboscis, dashed into the river, and for a time was carried along by the current ; but, after several plunges? swam out, and safely reached the shore, where the empress was quickly surrounded by her terrified attendants, who found her engaged in extracting the arrow, and binding up the wound of the bleeding infant.

Nour Jehan, perceiving the hopelessness of attempting the forcible rescue of the emperor, determined to obtain by stratagem what was denied to valour; and she suc- ceeded in restoring her husband to liberty and his throne : but shortly after his return to power, an attack of asthma carried him off while on his way to Cashmere, and he expired in the year 1627, in the sixty-sixth year of his age.*

With Jehangeer the star of Nour Jehan faded; the throne was occupied by a prince hostile to his father’s memory, adverse to her power, and jealous of her influence; and, shortly after the accession of Shah Jehan, she was placed in a state of honourable captivity, which, however, was not of long continuance. Upon her release she was treated with the reverence due to her exalted rank, and allowed a yearly stipend of a quarter of a million sterling. Throughout her widowhood she lived quietly ; abstained from all public entertainments ; wore no colour but white, as a symbol of perpetual mourning; and at her death, in 1646, was buried in a tomb she had "herself erected close to that of the emperor, her husband.

THE RESIDENCY AT LUCKNOW.

The palace of the chief commissioner of Oude, at Lucknow, may be considered as the centre of an extensive area, separated from the buildings of the city by an irregular wall, and enclosing a great number of edifices attached to the civil purposes of government, occupied by various official servants of the Company. Of this extensive enclosure, the dwelling of the chief commissioner formed the principal feature, and gave the name of “the Residency” to the entire locality.

The residency itself — i.e., the official dwelling of the commissioner — was, in the spring of 1857, a very extensive and even elegant brick edifice, containing a vast number of lofty and magnificently-decorated rooms : extensive verandahs, and noble porticos were among its exterior embellishments ; and, besides the accommodation afforded by a ground-floor and two upper storeys, it possessed a Tyekhana, or excavated suite of hand- some apartments, which ran under the whole superstructure, and were designed to shelter the residents at the court of Lucknow from the intense heat of the day. These apart- ments were well lighted and ventilated by shafts and basement windows ; and the extent of ground occupied by the state residence may be imagined from the fact, that in a time of emergency, from eight hundred to a thousand persons could find accommodation within the building.

At one of the angles of the structure, an octagonal, dome-crowned tower led by a spiral staircase of noble proportions to the terraced roof, from whence an extensive and richly-diversified view of the whole city might be obtained — the residency itself being erected upon a slightly-elevated portion of the enclosure, and overtopping the buildings by which it was surrounded. On the summit of the tower mentioned, a flagstaff and signal-post W'as raised, by which, during the events of the subsequent siege, communica- tion was kept up with distant posts without the city.

At the time of the breaking out of the sepoy rebellion of 1857, the residency was occupied by Sir Henry Lawrence, then chief commissioner of Oude. The painful

• Martin’s India , vol. i., p. 121.

THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED. 135

circumstances under which that great man, and most valuable public servant, met his death at the post of duty, are fully detailed in the History of the Indian Mutiny * to which we refer the reader.

The most interesting and descriptive account of the residency at Lucknow, now extant, is presented in the following extract from A Personal Narrative of the Siege of Lucknow , by E. L. R. Rees, a gentleman who happened to be staying in the city at the time of the outbreak, and who subsequently shared the dangers and privations of the European garrison shut up within the suddenly arranged fortifications. The graphic pen of this author thus traces the features of the residency enclosure : — •

“ Our intrenchments were in the form of an irregular pentagon. To the corner of the south and east side was the house of Captain Anderson, surrounded by a compound. To the south, the house faced the Cawnpoor road ; to the east, a road leading to it in one direction, and to the Bailey Guard gate in another. Within the compound was a trench towards the two tolerably deep roads, with palisades within them. The house itself was defended by barricades, and, like every other place within the garrison, loopholed in all directions. It was two-storied, and had two large verandahs facing the east and west. Next to Captain Anderson’s house, and communicating by a hole in a wall, was the : Cawnpoor battery, with three guns ; before the platform on which the largest gun was placed, protected without by a stockade, and within by sand-bags, was a trench leading | past Anderson’s compound wall.

“ The next building, called Deprat’s house, had a verandah overlooking the exterior wall towards the street: this was walled up with mud about six feet high, and two and a-half thick. A sloping roof covered it, which, besides the two feet of clear space between it and the mud wall, had a number of loopholes, and other means of sight to fire from. The mud wall was continued outside of the house, leading in a straight line to the wall of the next house. This continuation of a wall was about nine feet high, and a very cutcha affair it was.f Time had not been given to complete it as designed, before attention was called to other defences. As it was, it protected very imperfectly a little yard with a well almost in the centre. No stockade was in front of it; and we all felt this to be a con- siderably weak point. Deprat’s house itself was a lower storied one, with three large rooms in it. Below it was a Tyekhana, or cellar range, having the same number of rooms as above, besides the one under the verandah. These latter apartments were, at the beginning of the siege, well stocked with stores of all kinds, and with the furniture of various persons.

“ Next to us was one of the houses of the mahajuns, Shah Beharee Loll and Rugbnr Dial, but now occupied as a school-house by the Martiniere. The massive brick wall of the house itself needed no other protection, but it yet had a stockade of high beams before it, and was loopholed of course. The house was a corner house, being separated from the King’s Hospital, opposite its north side, by a fine road leading to the residency, past its own entrance and those leading to the Sikcha gaol and post-office on the right. Facing it was the gate of the Begum’s Kothee, leading past the left to a little road abutting on the financial commissioner’s house ; on its left was the judicial commissioner’s house; and on its right the Residency Jailkhana, where formerly a guard of Captain Weston’s police were over the prisoners within. The former road was then blocked up by a stockade consisting of huge beams, and extending past the school-houses to near the wall of Deprat’s courtyard. Down this road, and between the two walls forming it, before arriving at the post-office, was a barricade formed of a mud wall, and a trench in front of it.

,f Continuing our line in a southerly direction, the Daroo Shuffa (or King’s Hospital) came next. It was a very high and convenient building, now converted into the mess of the officers of the Oude force and native infantry regiments ; and from its lofty and well- protected terrace, overtopping both Johannes’ house and the buildings on the Golagunge road, commanded capital positions for rifle-shooting and musketry. It was then known as the Brigade Mess, and had in its rear a parallelogram, bounded by tolerably convenient outhouses, occupied by officers and other families, and divided by another range of low pukha buildings into two large and commodious squares.

“Next in order, and almost in a direct line with the Brigade Mess, were low pukha * Vol. ii., pp. 6, 7. + Cutcha signifies earthen, or imperfect work of building.

136 THE INDIAN EMPIRE ILLUSTRATED.

buildings, tlien known as the Seilc Square. A sort of scaffolding was made within to enable the Seik guard and native Christians that garrisoned the place to fire from a more elevated position. Behind it, in another square, or rather parallelogram, were the artillery bullocks; and further in, a third square contained the horses of the 7th light, and of the Seik cavalry.

“ A narrow lane separated the latter outpost from Gubbins’ battery, for it was not then barricaded at its entrance. The only defence to the approach of the enemy up the lane was a barricade of earth, hastily thrown up, and strewed with a few brambles. The garden, in the ceutre of which was the house of Mr. Gubbins, the financial commissioner, was bounded to the south by the Golagunge road, and by the walls of a house known as Young Johannes. These were commanded by outhouses belonging to Mr. Gubbins’ yard, those to the left being guarded by our Seiks, from whose roofs a low earth wall, covered with sand-bags, enabled them to fire. Those to the right, and separated by a high wall from the former, which they otherwise resembled, had in them a passage leading to a half-moon battery erected by Mr. Gubbins at his own expense, but for the cost of which he was about to be remunerated.

“ This battery had at first only a 9-pouuder, which, however, could play on three different points: one commanding the road between Johannes’ house to that leading down to Hill’s shop in the direction of the iron bridge ; another, the Golagunge Bazaar; and a third, numerous little buildings to the west. Gubbins’ outpost advanced out of a straight line towards the west, projecting considerably in that direction. Another batterv of one gun, also a 9-pounder, faced a low garden, originally belonging to Mr. Gubbins’ house, and surrounded by a low wall, behind which the enemy was afterwards wont to fire at us. The gun was next to a range of outhouses, the roofs and interior of which were occupied by our sentries. Another very narrow lane, to the west, used to lead to a thickly-peopled part of the town, which had then been mostly knocked down, but not sufficiently to prevent the enemy’s occupying the ruins, and peppering at us thence, and erecting batteries against us in front. Gubbins’ garrison was commanded by Major Apthorp.

“Next to Gubbins’ west side were what were called the Bhoosa intrenchraents, commanding a musketry fire through the loopholes all along the outhouses and walls surrounding them. In front of them were the ruins of a number of houses occupied by the enemv, in several of which they subsequently erected batteries of guns. Included iu the Bhoosa intrenchments were the bullock-sheds, the butcher-yard, the slaughter-house, and a guard-house of Europeans. Behind these was the Bhoosa store (cut chaff), in what was formerly the Ball-alley (or racket-court), facing a low terrace, which also commanded the Avest side. Still further to the rear was Ommaney’s house, protected towards the Bhoosa intrenchments, in the event of their being taken by the enemy, by a deep ditch and a hedge of cactus, and fortified, should Gubbins’ outpost be carried by the rebels, by a couple of guns, intended to sweep the road leading to it and to the Seik Square.

“ Between the Bhoosa intrenchments and the Bhervkhana (or sheep-pen), Avhich adjoins the former, there was an uncompleted battery, since finished, and then supplied w ith mortars. There was only a very weak native guard there, as the ground facing it had been in a great measure leA'elled, and consisted of only low ruins, and Avas, besides, commanded by the Bhoosa intrenchments and Gubbins’ battery on one side, and the Church garrison and Innes’ outpost on the other. Captain Boileau commanded these outposts.

“The churchvard was contiguous to the sheep-pen. In its centre was the church — a Gothic building, Avitk twenty Ioav pinnacles, then converted into a store-room for grain, aud guarded by a dozen Europeans. At the gate to the east Avas a mortar battery, destined to shell the Avhole of the Avestern and northern buildings as far as the iron and stone bridges. The victims of the former insurrection at cantonments Avere the first Avho Avere buried here. It had not before been used as a place of interment, but it Avas soon destined to be filled with heaps of the corpses of the gallant defenders of the Lucknow garrison.

“ Innes’ outpost — so called from having been, previously to the siege, the residence of Lieutenant M'Leod Innes, of the engineers — Avas separated from the churchyard by a low