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    : ¦¦ ¦¦ _ Ko. 405, December 26y 1857:] T...

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    THE INDIAN RETOLT. Lttcknow is relieved....

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    SPECIAL .-LETTERS FROM INDIA, (From a-Mi...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Our Christmas Homily. I Oub Readers Wilt...

    words of kindness and . friendliness , by examples of self-denial and willing service . All honour and all ' good wishes-to lieh and poor who arc fighting daily against- narrow-mindedness and self-love ; " to all . who long , and labour for the improvement , physical , moral , political , and spiritual , of the whole race and familyof jn an !

    : ¦¦ ¦¦ _ Ko. 405, December 26y 1857:] T...

    : ¦¦ ¦¦ Ko . 405 , December 26 y 1857 : ] THE LEADER .

    122 T

    The Indian Retolt. Lttcknow Is Relieved....

    THE INDIAN RETOLT . Lttcknow is relieved .. So we are informed , by the telegrams which were published in London on Wednesday evening . The same announcement-has been , made before , ami has proved to be fallacious ;; but this time it seems aa if the great object of Outram \ and " - -Have-lock : had really been effectually accomplished . A series of severe straggles terminated on the 19 th of jtfoveinber by the capture of the principal strongholds . of the rebels . Sir Colin Campbell had reached Lucknow on the 2 ud , and joined the force at Alumbagh on tlie llth . On the 13 th , as it would appear ( for there is here a confusion in the dates ) , active operations were commenced , and for the next six days there was a most severe and bloody struggle with the enerny , ending , as we have said , in the Sepoys being driven from all their positions of strength . According to one account , our loss consisted of only five officers killed , and thirty-one wounded ; but nothing is said of the privates . On the 20 tb , the sick and wounded , the women and the children vrere sent back , under an escort to Cawnpore . The army under the Coininander-in-Chief now amounts , according to one account , to 12 , 000 men ; according to another ,- to 22 , 000—a force which is considered amply sufficient to reduce Oude to entire subjection , though this will probably occupy them some months . \ . / . ; . . ;• ' . :. . ; ;¦ ¦ ¦ .: ,... , ' ¦ ¦; . , : " The Mai wa field force , under Brigadier Steuart , " say despatch from Alexandria , to the Foreign Office , " ha & relieved Nusseerabad , dispersed the Mehidpore and Mnadesore rebels , and is now clearing Blalwa of the insurgents . The flying columns under Brigadier Showers , Colonel Cotton , and Colonel Tid & el , are scouring Rohilcund , complete success attending their operations everywhere . Large masses of European troops are reaching India -weekly , and we are relieved from all . alarm far our . garrisons and outposts , lately in such imminent peril . The Governor-General and the Governors of Madras and Bombay are at the seats of Government . " -Further details have been received from the Bombay Government , under date December 4 th . W * > li £ > iv > vfanH .

    " lucknow was taken on 17 th of November . Sir Colin Campbell reached Alumbagh on the 12 th . of November , and began fighting the next day . On the 13 th , two gims were taken from the rebels , and the fort of Jellabadwas destroyed . On the loth , after two hours ' hard fighting , Sir Colin . Campbell occupied Delkhosah and Martiniere . Five hours afterwards , the enemy made a desperate attempt to recover theso positions , but Were beaten back with heavy loss . Sir Colin Campbell crossed the canal on the lGtli , and after an obstinate Rt . YiiCTerin + s \ r \] r QA / tim / 1 * ** i * Ho frli A 'lioiirv oi » f 111 i-i »» ^ t 4 \ ** n

    Was opened on the Samuch , and kept up for threo hours , at the end of which the place was carried . Early on the 17 th , a communication was opened -with the barracks . A long cannonade was commenced , and the place -was carried by assault at threo i \ m . The troops pushed on , and occupied the Motee Mathal before dark . Sir James Outram and Sir Henry llavelock then met Sir Colin Campbell . " The Comnumder-in-Chief , it appears , was slightly wounded-during these engagements , but not in such a way-as would interfere with his performance of his duty . The same despatch contains tho subjoined items ui irum inner ui uuui

    uuwa- X'urts j . : — " C'AWNPOIIK . "The Gwalior reliels advanced to within fifteen miles , of Cawnpore , but hnvo again rolircd to Cnlpuo . General ¦ Windkam is stated to have , uiarchod to attack them . " dki . iii . " \ " Twenty-four inllrior member * of the royal famil y J vrero executed b y sentence of a military commission on : j tho 20 th of November . Zookeen Abdooluh , an intluen-, 1 tial rebel chief , was executed on the , next dnv . Tlui

    force under Colonel Gerard proceeded to intercept the . 4 Jonxlnoro Legion , which , with many other rebels , hail 'i appeared in tthiltawattic , Tho force met tlui enemy , on , | tho 25 th of >{ oveinl ) cr , nonr Nitrnool , and defeated tliem i with great slaughter , ami the loss of all their guns . : j Our Io . hh was liflcvn killed mi I forty-live wounded ; but . Colonel Gerard was among t . lio killol . " , u ; i : a . " Tho detachment * under Colonel lliddcll and Miijor Old arc employed iu cleanup Ihe Ull ^ our ( Aliglmr ?_) ; districts . aiiijo ' r OU , <> u tlu : lDHi of November , fell in : With and dispersed a bo < ly of Koliileuiul insurgents . All : $ ' » quiet iu the Punjab ; tho ( joguriu lining bun been ¦ , \ entirel y put down .

    "Neemuch ^ . & c . " Neenmck has been besieged , by the Mundesore insurgents for : nearly a fortnight . On November 21 st \ an attempt was made to take , the fort by escalade but the enemy were repulsed with , great , lose ,, and the siege was raised-on the 22 nd . " The Mhow column , under Brigadier Steuart , waj attacked near Mundesore by the insurgents onth . e . 21 sl of November . Theinsurgents were repulsed , "On the 23 rd , the column advanced to the noTth . oi Mundesore , on the Neemuch road , and ¦ found ' the rebels in a strong position , with five guns . The position was immediately attacked , and the rebels defeated , with , the loss of all their guns . While this battle was in progress , the Munde 3 ore garrison came out and attacked our rear ; but they got well beaten also . The rebels , in the fights of the 21 st and 23 rd , ; lost , fifteen : hundred men , while our loss was inconsiderable . Lieutenant Gedraavne of . her Majesty ' s 24 th , was killed , and Major Robinson , 24 th Native Infantry , wounded .. The column . afterawards entered Mundesore on the 25 th , the rebels bavin---evacuated it on the night of the 24 th . " The fort and town of Saugor remain untouohed , but large parties of rebels are in the surrounding , districts . A part of the Madras column defeated a body of the insurgentsnear Scorah , on the Jubbulpore -, on thaiOth . ! pf November and took two guns . Captain ' IWerhaui CIottenhain ?) of the 4 th Madras Cavalry , was- killed , and Lieutenant Clarke , the Deputy Commissioner of Jubbulpore , severely wounded . " The 13 heel disturbances in Kbandeiflh continue , but the Uheels are confined to the hills , and will be attacked in their strongholds when the jungle is cleared . The Muuster . of the Kolapore State was stabbed in his office . on the 23 rd of November bv an Arab soldier . The wounds are slight , and the Arab was actuated bv private ¦ motives only . . - " SOUTHERN BEAHRA . TTA . - COUSTKV . ' "Intelligence has just been received of a rising of some Beruds near Moodhole . A force was advanced from Belgaum to restore order . The state of things in that part of the county id not satisfactory . "The remaining part of the Bombay Presidency is quiet . Reinforcements have arrived in the ' Warrior Queen and the Italian , but more are urgently required All is quiet in Madras and the Nizam ' s country . " */ ii /¦ !) eon . ? ' Arith thc 94 th Regiment , arrivecl at Malta from Plymouth on the 20 th-insfc , and left for Alexandras on the . same day . OPINIONS OX THE MUTINY " . ( Extract from a Private Letter . J " . . . We must crush the high castes of-India , if Jv . er we hope to do any real good to the country The thing is easy enough , for the low castes are ten to one : he majority and they are all on our si , ?» Th » i ~ . r ¦

    wll for , many-years to , tome beat everybody-else . Wedo not want the cleverest natives in office , but the mosthonest * the most faithful . A- plain * practical Soodra he V « M T T ^ CaiTy ° hlS W 0 Fk antt S ^ S ? h « nV "V ' - ° L ^ far more USfiful Public servant than scheming Brahmin . AVe desire a much more refined , vengeance than , mere hanging and shooting ; we want revenge upon ca & te ; aasucb , we want to see-Late rendered , au exclusion from . all . public employ , that is " that no- man who will . nat abandon his caste prejudices in-every case where they come in collision , with any possible public duty , should be incompetent to hold anv public situation at all .. Let such be the avowed condition of all service , we shall get plenty ofmenxeadv enough to agree . The principle has already been acted upon ( virtually ) in the Madias army , and certainly the result is very encouraging .

    , castes also are progressionable , we can Europeanize them , the high castes never . Caste leaves the Hindoo no individuality . If caste bids him murder , murdcx he must , though he be the gentlest of human beings If caste bids him rebel , rebel he must , though personal interest , personal attachment , aiul personal fear , all unite to persuade him to the contrary . We have been very near losing India by dealing with the Hindoos too well by treating them as though they were rational , may civilized beings , neither of which they are . A Hindoo can reason , and very acutulv-hut-. lir > ;* tw „ ,. „ +: i tf " ¦'"— J fti IHLlVLlal

    . . , ** 7 « w «> a- _^ u I * being . A rational being is one who is guided by reason , a Hindoo is not , he is guided by caste . A civilized being is a man who calculates , who looks back for examples , and forward to results ; the Hindoo does not calculate , he forgets his experiences , he never cares for records of tho past , there never was such a thing as a Hindoo history ; be can never look forward ; possible results a year hence never enter into his calculations at all ; ho is not a civilized man , he is the slave of caste . What caste ia to the Hindoo , fate is to the IMahomedan ; fate , which is practically another word for impulse . A man does what his passions prompt him and scl . s it down to fate . Moreover , the Mahomcdaus in India have well Tll < r | i 3 } i Innf g \ , 1 f !» n f <\ utf \ fiwi ...... J . » * 1 . „ . __ " . . ci «| - ^ otiiituij in luu aaiuc

    ..,.. ..... v-.. > - nuiimei as tlio Hindoos themselves , especially tho lower orders . Now theso arc the people whom wo have been treating as rational beings , coaxing , arguing , persuading , instead of commanding to do what was right ; and this rebellion is the natural result . I do not look upon it so much in the light ofa crime on the part of the rebels , as a necessary consequence of their system and our truckling to it . We must inflict tremendous vengeance to re-establish our moral iutluencc , to show that our former forbenruncu id iwitMMii uiviiess

    » . « ., Nu as iney imagined , and having done- so , we . should at once and for ever i gnore caste as respecting nil public duties . Caato must never again be allowed to cxc . uso a man going < m board . shi p , working in the trenches , or any nei .-os . snry duty whatever . Thi s ^ hould be proclaimed before tins new Bengal army is mi .--. fd , and then let . such u . h dislike the condition * ku-e ' p out of the M'rviee . The populations of all towns . slumld I ) .: disarmed , they have no need of weapons . The country people , who aro exposed to wild beasts , &< -., .-should be allowed to haw ; i | ' c \\ - under registry of the magistrate . Civilians ami others slum ! . I lie forced to employ men oT all enstes in their ollices , instead of allowing the Urahinins to nionopoli / . o everything , The foinpcUtivti examination must bo done away with , or thc Brahmins

    Special .-Letters From India, (From A-Mi...

    SPECIAL .-LETTERS FROM INDIA , ( From a-Military . Correspondent . ) ¦ Nagpore , November , 18571 " The truth is tliat the whole establishment of our Indian army must bo remodelled , and , in my opinion much reduced . It has far outgrown the . requirements and the financial endurance of the Indian . empire . Our sole strength and really reliable reserve lie in the European troops , yet we have kept up an enormous regular army , with its costly machinery of staff and commissariat and European officers , whose pay ( mark this ) amounts to nearly half of the entire military expenditure of the -empire , and employ that army in duties of domestic security and police , mounting . guard over treasuries , escorting treasure , guarding gaols , escorting convicts , and the like , which could be equally welL done by aimed police , at one quarter of the expense . - At the same time , while this pampered and pipe-clayed infantry was augmented beyond all . necessity , except that of . patronage , the peculiar martial . growth of the country , if I may call them so , the natural , indigenous * ready-made warriors of India , who will spring forward m any numbers at the word of commaud ,. mounted and . armed ,. and ; who'will , do tolerably good service without any drill or regimental system whatever , who : ask for no pensions , or tents ,- or commissariat , or dry-nursing whatever , these invaluable troops , the Irregular Cavalry of India , have been neglected and starved—their pay cut down to starvation point , and their old customs anil privileges so destroyed or modified as to discourage . as much as possible any native of the rank of a nobleman or gentleman from serving in the Irregular Cavalry as au officer . : Notwithstanding- . all , ' .-these discouragements many native gentlemen do serve in this branch of the service ; and the in en of tho Irregular Cavalry Corps have always been remarkable as the most willing aad yviivciiiBUii witaouc

    . . j nu iiavmg tlie servile manners of the ; Hindoo , the most respectful native soldiera in the army . Five hundred men of this sort in . a- district would be far more useful to the civil power in tho case of petty local disturbances than two battalions of the hno , far more useful for escort purposes * and requiring but a small share of the expeusive machinery of'stafF commissariat ,-and inspecting and supervising authorities which swells the bulk of the military budget . I have said that these irregular troopers will do tolerably good service without any drill or regimental Bjteui wnii

    o rever , —bo tney will , but it is not of course intended to advocate the Piiulnrree or Mahratta stylo of warfare . It is merely mentioned to show tlie facility , of recruiting ; but it is absolutel y to bo remembered that Jio . ridmg-school is required or woidd be advisable iu training tho irregular troopers . They ride best im their own way . But with good arms and careful attention to their drill and disoipline , they would form the very class of soldiers in which the British army and every European : army except the Kussiun , has always been deficient—good light cavalry , really light horsemen .. lhoy arc . ill , or with very few exceptions , Mussulmans , and havo no objection to foreign service of any deacri-ptiou . AVhy did we not employ a few thousands of , th « snr

    men in the lute war with ltussia ? I verily believe because , from the wretched rate at which moat of the regiment * are paid , we only had six . or seven corps antli * ciently well mounted , clothed and armed to be of any service . Tho two regiments of Scindo horse and tlie lour , nsffimouta of tho Hyderabad contingent , are puid fairly , not handsomel y—thirty rupeesnmonth—and can , allord to keep good serviceable horses , but tho ordinary pay of tho irrogular trooper i * only twenty rujieu . s a inonlh ,, which , is buroly nuiuoient to keen him / mil hi *

    horai ! alive . 'l'liose troops-ough t to be augmenici . l ,. bettor paid , and ineasuroa tukun to induce tho gentlemen and nobles of the country to oiitur tho sorvico as ollieerw ; and they would then bo by far tho mosL useful Cor ordinary duties in time , of peace , and by fur the ino . sl . usoftil auxiliarius to a Briiirth army in timo ol' war . They will be found brave and dashing lighl . < -nviilry ; and after .-ill light cavalry ur »! not tixpeelnl tu bo ilenth-aitd-glory heroes , to perform linlnUm : i ehar ^ v . * , or < I « tiin «] i > , li lius .-jiai ] squares . The natives of India aro brave , and when ]» roperly handled and trealm I are capable of a jinn military spirit , hill , lliey never will )> v found equal iu energy and Ntern determination , to liuropeau woldicra . Infantry

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 26, 1857, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26121857/page/3/