Current:

Leader (1850-1860), 4th September 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 905, Untitled Article

Page 905
Page 17
17 of 32

On this page

  • Departments (1)
    • -"vy'i * 31 tt^rnlltr^ \ '
  • Text (4)
  • Transcript

    • 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.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Untitled Article

      THE MUTINIES IN OUDH . An Account of the Mutinies in Oud / i , and of the Siege of the , Lucknow Residency ; with some Observations on the Condition of ike Province of Oudh , and on the Causes of the Mutiny of the Bengal Army . By Martin Richard Gubbins , of the Bengal Civil Service , Financial Commissioner for Oudh . Richard Bentley . On the causes of the mutiny arid the condition of Oudh generally we may look for no better informed writer than Mr . Gubbins , who entered the province on its annexation as a member of the British Commission , and was for fourteen months previous to the outbreak in daily communication with all classes

      late ' . So , about the end of May , defensive works were commenced , and treasure collected where possible from the outlying districts . On the 31 st of May the mutinous Sepoys in garrison were st il undisarmed , though most of them had actually revolted , burnt the military , cantonments , and , were in march for Delhi . Mr . -Gubbins , indeed , fully establishes — though lie does so without trace of ill feeling towards the departed— - that the conduct of Sir Henry Lawrence was vacillating and pernicious in the extreme , and leaves no other inference open to us than that , had it timely been otherwise , much subsequent loss , suffering , and bloodshed at Lucknow might have been averted . The disarmament of the 7 th Light Cavalry and of the 9 th O . I . Infantry only took place on the 9 th

      It has never fallen to my lot to witness such a scene of sorrow . While we were " clustered round Sir Henry ' s bed , the enemy were pouring a heavy musketry fire upon the place ; and ballets were striking the outside of the pillars of the verandah in which we were collected . Sir Henry's attenuated frame , and . the severe nature of the injury , at once decided the medical men not to attempt amputation ; but it was necessary to stay the bleeding by applying the tourniquet , and the agony which this caused was fearful to behold . It was impossible to avoid

      sobbing like a child . Sir Henry alluded to his having nominated Major Banks to be his successor ; and then earnestly pointed out the worthlessness of all human distinction , recommending all to fix their thoughts on a better world . He referred to his own success in life , and asked what was it worth then ? He enjoined on U 3 particularlv to be careful of our ammunition , and often repeated— " " Save the Iadie 3 . " He afterwards continued in much suffering , and lingered until the morning of the 4 th , when he expired .

      Upon his death-bed Sir Henry referred to the disaster at Chinhut , and said that he had acted against his own judgment , from the fear of man . I have often inquired , but I have never learnt the name of any one who had counselled the step , which resulted in so severe a calamity . Thus passedArom among us as noble a spirit as ever animated human clay . Unselfish , kind , frank , and affectionate , Sir Henry Lawrence possessed the art of attaching those with whom he came in contact . He was particularly beloved by the natives , and with good reason , for few Europeans treated them with more kindly consideration , and none made more just allowance for those

      weak points in which they differ from Europeans-July was an awful month . Day by day shell and musket ball thinned the ranks of the party : fever , dysentery , and bad air swept off ladies , and especially children . Major Banks , whom Sir Henry had appointed his civil successor , was shot ; and the military commandant objecting to the office being filled up , the civil authority was- at an end , and Mr . Gubbins , on whom the post would , in common course , have devolved , remained a combatant only . The enemy were mining round the Residency in every direction , and an- . active subterranean warfare was-added-to the labours of the besieged . Her

      Majesty ' s 32 nd , too—will -it be believed—^ were still armed with indifferent p ercussion muskets , while- the revolted Sepoys maae " excellent practice with first-rate rifl . es . At file beginning of August the defence was becoming monotonous . Still the besiegers faltered not ; though , thanks to the heroism of the garrison , they made slow progress . But on the 15 th of August the faithful Ungud brought word that Havelock was on the road . Colonel Tytlcr ' s letter to Gubbins , in which this i nformation was conveyed , caused sad uneasiness to all . Ifc spoke of a weak relieving force , and proposed to the Lucknow garrison to cut its way out , a thing clearly impossible with 120 sick and wounded , 220 women , 230 children , 30 pieces of artillery , and

      230 , 000 / . of treasure . u consequence of the news received , " was Brigadier IngUs's answer to Havelock , " I shall soon put the force on half rations unless I hoar from you . Our provisions will last us then , till about the 10 th of September . If vou hope to s : ive this force no time must be lost . . . • The enemy are within a few yards of our defences . . . . their 18-pounders are within 150 yards , and we cannot reply to them . My strength now in Europeans is 350 , and about 800 natives . The men are dreadfully harassed , and many are without shelter . " Mr . Gubbins thought much more hopefully of the commissariat thau the military department , nnd

      so fur objected to tins despatch , as calculated unduly to precipitate Attempts for their relief . But he was overruled , and Havelock ' s answer to the above communication—for the pleasure , indeed , of extracting which wo have alluded to the episodearrived as follows on the 29 th of August : — My dear Colonel , —I have your letter of the 10 th instant . I cim only say , do not negotiate , but rather perbh sword in hand . Sir Colin Campbell , who came out wt a day ' a notice to command , upon the nowa arriving of General Anson ' e death , promises me fresh troops , and you will be my first caro . The reinforcements may reach mo in from twenty to twenty-live days , and I will propnro everything for a march on Lucknow . Yours very sincoroly , II . Havbi-ock , Br .-

      6 ^ Qnr « gTo ^ eoloneMngHar'HT My r 8 andt-JBeeime " '' - " " The dilapidation of all the posts proceeded rapidly under the enemy ' s lire . The guard-houses and Cawnporc battery wqrc in ruins , the judicial ff arnson ... houso untenable , the Residency a mere sicvo , and Gubbins ' s house , for soino reason or other , tho object of a ccmoeutrated flro under which it crumbled . This slate of things , accompanied by the daily loss of precious lives , daily desertions ut natives , and alarms of t « -onson , wont on until Ungud brought word , on tho 22 nd of September ,

      and 11 th of June . On the 12 th , the 3 rd Military Police deserted in a body to Nana Sahib , and only on the 18 th were defensive operations commenced in earnest , under Captains Fulton and Anderson . Air . Gubbins ' s account of these is as luminous as if drawn up by a professional engineer , and in our poor judgment his narrative of all that transpired within the scope of his observation during the siege of the position by the rebels will bear comparison , in point of style and precision , with many stirring passages of the historian Napier , while in painful interest it far surpasses any tales of wars both parties to which have been civilised enough to temper the horrors of strife with occasional amenities of civilisation .

      The strategical details are varied by interesting references to the writer ' s other pursuits and duties . He had to dole out such portions of salary to the officials as were necessary to their sustenance , wheu brandy was worth from 1 / . 5 s . to 21 . 10 s . a bottle , beer and ' sherry 12 s . a bottle , cigars 2 s , each , flannel shirts 3 / . 12 s . each , a tin of soup 21 . 5 s ., and a canister of gunpowder 11 . 12 s . He was concerned in the maintenance , as long as that was practicable ,

      of public credit . \ Yhen it was impossible to make advances to native bankers on Government bills , he purchased 20 , 000 £ * Js ; Qrth for Sir Henry . Lawrence at 75 per eent ., which , at a later period , he might have had at . 25 per cent . As intelligencer-general , he received the passionate calls for aTd from the Cawnpore garrison , and the sad refusals of those to whom he had himself appealed for it . _ A visit of his most faithful letter-carrier , Ungud , is thus described : —

      Nor could any picture be more characteristic of the siege he presented than one which should represent Ungud just after one of his midnight entrances , recounting to our eagerly listening ears the events which he had witnessed . The low room on the ground floor , with a single light carefully screened on the outer side , lest it should attract the " bullets of the enemy ; the anxious faces of the men who crowded round and listened with breathless attention to question and answer ; the

      exclamation of joy as pieces of good tidings were given out , and laughter at some of Ungud'a jests upon tho enemy . More retired would be shown tho indistinct forms of the women in their night attire , who had been attracted from their rooms in hopes of catching early some part of the good news which had come in . The animated and intelligent face of our messenger , as ho assured us of the near approach of help , occupies the foreground . All these together form u scena which must live , as long as life remains , in the memory of us all .

      Tho mutinous army closed in , upon Lucknow on the 291 h of June . A reconnoissance in force was attempted and failed lamentably , with the loss of an S-mch howitzer . Next day tho Residency was invested , und tho outlying positions on the southwest side of . the place were abandoned . For two rupees a night , instead of the usual wages , an eighth of a rupee , natives were procured to build outworks , and strengthen tho positions selected for defence—Gubbins ' s post among others—under a severe fire . While LieutenantsIIutchinson , of thcEngincers , and Chnrllon , of the 32 nd , with eight European soldiers ,

      who wore allotted to tho commissioner ' s little garrison , directed tho civilians and natives , tho ladies of Gubbins ' s family , and the strangers "whom his hospitality had mado welcome , watched , nursed , and supplied refreshments . There wore at this time 927 ^ tlr o p' 0 a lls "' u"t i' 7 Q' ^ 350 of the former ( including 4 . 1 military and 2 civil officers , and 1 assistant chaplain ) ami 133 of tho latter wore killotl during tho siogo . Of tho natives , 230 dosortod ; and there wore . found , by General Havolook , at tho llrst relief , 577 Europeans and 102 natives .

      On tho 2 nd of July , Sir Henry Lawrcnoo was mortally wounded by a fragment of a shell . Tho author was summoned to his death-bed , and thus doscribos tho scone :-

      —of natives , making during 1 S 5 G-57 an official tour through the jurisdiction to review , and where necessary revise , the summary settlement of the land revenue . As manager of the intelligence department under Sir Henry Lawrence and his successor Brigadier-General Inglis , during the investment of the Residency by the mutineers , he was as perfectly informed as could be any one under the circumstances of all that transpired without the walls during that period of unparalleled anxiety and suffering ; and as joint defender , with military officers , of a prominent post during the siege , and member of the council of war , he was evidently

      one of those best qualified to record the fluctuating fortunes , hopes , and fears of the whole beleaguered community as well as those of his own proper garrison . There may doubtless be some carping objections to'the prominence given by the author to all transactions , at " Gubbins ^ s garrison , " but no kindly reader will fail to sympathise with the civilian who after a long Oriental residence found physical and mental " stuff" in him to ¦ alternate . with such dashing avidity the use of pen aiid sword , or with his proper pride , who after struggling shoulder' to shoulder with trained warriors like Forbes , Hawes , Apthorp , Banks , and Fulton , still lives to fight his consciousness that h

      battle o ' er again in happy thoug a few pillars mark the wasted sight of his Lucknow home , his heart ' s treasure was , in the fulness of time , delivered safely , not merely from the peril of the crashing shot and bursting shell , but from the more dreadful fate that sad experience told him might wait upon capitulation . They must indeed be poor in spirit who would protest against the reflection on the commissioner ' s page of the proper pride wherewith he must review his own share in that glorious transaction . At the beginning of May , 1 S 57 , tho condition of Oudh ( for such is Mr . Gubbins ' s orthography ) seemed tranquil , but it was known to the nigh

      officials that even deeper disaffection prevailed among the Sepoys thau had been made manifest ; and oir II . Lawrence , the Chief Commissioner , applied himself to concentrate the military resources of his command , which were distributed in a careless and unscientific manner . He was scarcely in time , for , on the 7 lh of May , mutiny burst out in Lucknow on the refusal of a part of tho 7 th Oudh Irregular Infantry to use the cartridges servod but to them . On the 11 th , news was received of tho seizure of the Delhi treasury and magazine , and after some hesitation Captain Fletcher Hayes and Mr . Gubbins persuaded Sir Henry Lawrence to take measures to protect the Lucknow Residency , its inhabitants , and its treasury .

      Tho only European infantry at tho station , the 32 ud , was so disposed , partly in the Residency , as to be available , which it had not been previously . Our author , who seems , in the first instance , to have foreseen and prepared himself for tho worst , began to fortify his own house , somewhat to tho amusement ot his more confiding neighbours ; while tho Chiof Commissioner gave orders for tho repair of tho military position of tho Muchce Bhowun , which ,

      ¦ uem | nOT 0 HraTTrOTrTlT 6 ^ mt ^ mahxtajnablo by tho slender garrison , luul subsequently to bo abandoned . On tho 20 th of May , Sir Henry was invested with tho military oownnand of Ouclh . <• WiUiin a fewdays tho first act ' of tho tragedy at Cawnporo took plaoe ; and on tho 25 th , after unmistakable signs of approaching trouble , tlio ladies of tho Luckuow garrison wore ordered into tho Kosidenoy . The Chief Commissioner leant towards conciliation and small demonstrations . It was too

      Untitled Article

      w — - ? Critics are not the legislators , but the judges and police of literature . They do not make laws— -they interpret and try to enforce ' ' them . —Edinburgh Review . -. ¦»

      -"Vy'i * 31 Tt^Rnlltr^ \ '

      .. ICiterntitrt .

      Untitled Article

      jSTq . 441 , September 4 , 1858 . ] T HE L , E APE B . 905

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 4, 1858, page 905, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2258/page/17/