10 MARCH 1849, Page 12

THE GENERAL IN THE PUNJAUB.

THE pleas on which Lord Gough justifies his sudden but not overwhelming attack on the Sikh force appear to be three,—that Chuttur Singh was on the point of joining Shere Singh; that the Political Agent had intimated how desirable it was to inflict a blow ; and that the Silths were quite ready to fight, and if not attacked would have been the assailants. These pleas -would have been conclusive, if the assault had been so—if Shire Singh had been effectually routed before Chuttur Singh came up—if the blow had been of a kind to crush and not to encourage the Sikhs : but in the absence of such results, the plea does not touch the case as it stands. • There is, na donhiol dispoeititutte " tun &ten " Lord' Gough, which deprives thitAmoffietal aceofintetifuthe reliance that may usually be placed oiveotictirredtuttsitiintiiry from many sources; but some of the fltettPdriieVident enoulek even in the negative testimony of the officiatIdespatches ; mill other allegations may easily be put to the tea!, `since they turn upon matters of fact whicbmust be known to competent witnesses. Of this class is the statement that 'Lord Gough had certain deliberate intentions which he hastily abandoned in a fit ofanger; 'and that altheugh he knew the ground, he made his attnek Withontlakifig sufficient pains to ascertain the position of the Mb*: These are state- ments on points of fact essential to a trite judgment on 'the trans- actions ; and we presume that they will be duly negatived or affirmed. Other facts are more evident: the battle was begun when the troops were in want of repose, if not Of refreshment': Now, vic- tories have been won by soldiers just off• the march, through the very surprise;, but not when the erienlY.weli safely ensconced in a position whence he could only be dislodged in detail, so that you might aewell have hoped to drive a barrel of oysters from their shells by a coup de main. The sequel proved the mistake : the battle was one of detail; demanding perseveranee and sus- tained vigonr—Jan at-it-again spirit, a life of heart which is Want- ing in men when they are tired and hungry. It is perfectly plain, from the Commander-in-chief's own despatches, that he began his battle, without any comprehensive design,. and that when it was going forward be did net hold his army in hand : he neither directed its movements nor commanded its obedience : his very report as commander, in more places than one, is con- ceived in the vague and doubting language cif a person imper- fectly informed ; and throughout the passages that Mention the reverses, there is a tone implying that it Was all the fault Of the subordinate commanders—an innuendo couched in the language of compliment. We all know what is confessed when the parent complains that his .children don't mind hini—when the workman complains of his tools. The same despatch unquestionably stretches the truth to imply a degree of success not warranted by the facts : a small and doubtful success, one which has filled every class in England with dismay, was so described by the unlucky commander, that the Governor-General Was induced to celebrate it as a great triumph. The inferences to be drawn from the soberest survey of these self-evident facts are—that although Lord Gough is as strong and tough in courage as ever he was, he has not developed any faculties beyond those required in every regimental officer, scarcely so ifiueh—he is a commander-in-chief with a subaltern mind ; that he has not faculty of invention, and is wholly at a loss from the time when he comes in front of the enemy until the fighting begins ; that as he is most at home in the region of hard knocks, he is always eager to get into it, trusting to the fighting of British soldiers to bring him through. That even his un- doubted courage has failed to inspire his men with confidence, is rendered deplorably evident in the flight of a Native regiment at the moment of attack, and the precipitate " retreat " Of a Queen's regiment. Lord Gough is a commander who inspires confidence only in the.enemy. He has been training the Sikh armies into very efficient enemies. His capacity in those respects must have been perfectly known to those on whom his appointment depended. The history of his career illustrates the paralyzing effect of the routine that maintained him in a post for which his sole qualifi- cation was the order of his name in the chronology of the Army List. Every respect maybe shown to a brave and faithful man, without sacrificing the safety of an empire to the'compliment. The same mortal influence swayed the responsible authorities in the choice of asuecessor to Lord Gough : the lot fell upon a man so little known to fame of arms, that there was a universal burst of the question, " Who is Sir William Gomm ?" And the only in- formation about him was that he had filled a civil post with toler- able credit, as Governor of Mauritius. Positive alarm has at last induced the same responsible authorities to follow the suggestion of public opinion, and to select Sir Charles Napier '• but the choice is made in the most untoward manner : instead of advancing heartily and choosing him in free will, as the ablest man for a given work, the Company reluctantly submit to him as a political necessity. After squabbling with him about prize-money—after trying to elude his claim to service—after slighting and disgust- ing him—they again send forth the impetuous dictator of Scinde with the idea that he is decreed by fate as the dictator of the Punjaub and the redeemer of British India. It would hardly be wonderful if, after such suggestive experiences, the Napier genius Were to flower in some wild extravagance, and the Ctesar were to write home to his beloved sister Queen Victoria, how he would vouchsafe a friendly alliance as Emperor of India.