COLONEL OUTRAM'S REPLY TO THE RAPIERS.
Tins Second Fart of Colonel Ontram's defence of himself and the Ameers of Scinde commences with his discussions at Hyderabad and the assault of the Belooches upon the Residency ; proceeding through the subsequent campaign with its consequences, and indeed coming down to the present time, so far as the position of the Ameers and the state of Scinde is con- cerned. The book, however, rather extends over a warlike period than deals with warlike matters. Some remark is made on a plan of Sir Charles Napier anterior to the battle of Meeauee, which the reader is led to infer might have endangered the British army bad not Colonel Outram in- terfered; and there is it long, and we think a valid defence of himself, against the charge of General Napier the historian, as to the Colonel's views enabling the large force under one of the Ameers, who had not been in the action, to escape. But there is no account of either of the two great battles of Sir Charles Napier, and a very slight notice of the author's own gallant and skilful defence of the Residency. Admitting the abilities of Napier as a general, and his own incompetence to speak of them, Colonel Outram confines himself to the conduct which he affirms precipitated the war, and to a defence from the charges brought against him by General Napier in The Conquest of Scinde; at the same time accusing the General of plundering the Ameers and their families of their private property, and of calumniating the characters of the fallen princes in the
filsest and foulest way. •
With respect to the political matter of this controversy, we have found nothing to modify the opinion we expressed in noticing the First Part. We still believe the war to have originated in an abrogation of existing treaties, and a demand for new terms, which the Indian Government was not justified in making, and which it would not have made to a state able to protect itself, or surrounded by others watchful to support a" balance of power." It was, in fact, preying upon the defenceless. With this Sir Charles Napier had nothing to do. His own conduct when he came upon the field of action was abrupt and discourteous : but any man with his decision of character, and unaccustomed to Oriental dealings, would, we think, have acted in a similar way. Even now, with all Colonel Outram's pleadings in favour of the Ameers, we cannot read the account of the later discussions without a feeling that their conduct was childish, or their intentions treacherous, or both. We believe that had Sir Charles Napier handed over Colonel Outram's " minutes " to any Englishman, he would have come to the same conclusion as Sir Charles seems to have done ; and we cannot wonder that a general should be inclined to the "promptus in mann," when he had not three thousand men to oppose to an army of upwards of twenty thousand, with another of ten thousand en route to join, a, power in the enemy to call up more, and the sickly season approaching. These fears or misconceptions may have arisen from Sir Charles Napier's ignorance of Oriental character ; but the same ignorance will sway the judgment of Great Britain. There are other topics of a more personal and painful character, because they extend to the veracity of one of the three parties. The accusation of suppressing' public documents is continued, and apparently confirmed.
The charge of ill-treating the Ameers, and of violation of word, requires much fuller independent evidence to pronounce upon : it is one of those painful topics we have already alluded to. Whether any necessity existed in justice or policy for the deposition of the Ameers, is also an open question : it was certainly contrary to our usual mode of Indian dealing, it; indeed, it has any other precedent than the deposition of Cheit- Singh by Warren Hastings. The charges of plundering private property and calumniating the characters of the fallen princes seem, we are sorry to say, established. The term "plunder" may indeed be denied ; but the private property of the princes was taken, the private apartments of the zenana (harem) were entered in the absence of the ladies, who seem to have been frightened out of their houses, and their jewels and furniture " conveyed " away : these charges, except the last, being admitted by the prize-agents—seemingly unconscious of what they were doing ; al- though there stood in the Despatches of the Marquis Wellesley a censure by that lofty-minded man against conduct less flagitious.* Unless we suppose that Colonel Outram descends to the interrogative form to make charges which rest upon neither knowledge nor evidence, there was con- duct more discreditable than the foregoing. The following queries con- vey accusations of a very shocking complexion.
"8d. Will the prize-agents deny that a woman, then the concubine of an officer of one of the regiments in Scinde and who has since, for some offence, been im- prisoned with hard labour at Hydrabad, was employed to search women belonging to the zenana., and stationed at the gate of the fortress to prevent the possibility of their passing out unsearched; and that in this way jewels and other property
were seized from their persons? •
"4th. Will they deny that the process of searching was conducted by that woman in such an indecent miumer as naturally to cause the Ameers' ladies, even if they had permission to take jewels away with them, rather to sacrifice all—as stated in the petitions—in the fear of being Subjected to such outrage? "5th. Will they deny that everything in the shape of clothing, furniture, Ste, belonging to the female apartments, was seized and sold by public auction; even to the cots on which they slept? If they deny this, I challenge them to produce the sale-lists.
"6th. Will they deny that one lady, who being on the point of delivery sent to beg for her cot, which had beenaeized with the others by the prize-agents; or that her request was refused by one of those agents? And will Captain Brow; Sir Charles Napier's secretary, deny that the man who had been sent by the lady to make the request afterwards complained to him?
"7th. Will it be denied that, in the first instance, no provision whatever was made for these queens and princesses. but that they were left entirely to shift for themselves from the time they departed, fled, or were expelled from the fortress, in March or April, until the arrangements announced by Sir Charles Napier to the Governor-Gen'eral on the 27th June 1843."
The charges brought against the Ameers seem to be as clearly dis- proved, whether they originate in invention, or (like the story of the brass rod kept in the zenana to flog the ladies) in ignorance and miscon- ception. Colonel Outram has printed a series of letters from many, perhaps from most, of the public servants employed in &lade and brought into personal contact with the Ameers. These certificates of character extend from 1820 to the present time ; and are written by military officers and medical men, including those who have now the charge of the prisoners. They bear a general testimony to the excellent character of all the Ameers, compared with other Mahometan princes ; speak strongly of the humane and domestic character of many ; and expressly negative the charge of drunkenness. It is Colonel Outram's opinion, that even after the battle of Meeanee, Scinde would have been more beneficial to us under native rule than annexed to our empire. He asserts that ten thousand troops are now less available for the internal protection and defence of the country
* "I have learned, with the utmost degree of surprise and concern, that the zenana palace of the Sultan was searched for treasure some time after the capture of the place. I could have wished for the honour of the British name that the apartments of the women had not been disturbed. In the heat and confusion of an assault, such excesses are frequently unavoidable; but I shall for ever lament that this scene Should have been acted long after contest had subsided, and when the whole place had submitted to the superiority of our victorious arms. If any per- sonal ornaments or articles of value were taken from the women in that unfortunate moment, I trust that the Commander-in-chief will make it his business to vindi- cate the humanity of the British character by using the most zealous exertions to obtain a full restitution of the property in question. After these observations, it is superfluous to add my most anxious expectation that the utmost degree of care will be taken to secure the personal property of the princes, and of the women when the period of removal shall arrive—Instructions to General ffarrie, 12th Miry 1799. than three thousand before ; and be predicts that the territory will be a Constant drain both of men and money upon the Indian Government. From these and some other remarks it may be inferred that he is in favour of the restoration of the Ameers : but this is a question beset with far greater difficulties now than immediately after the battle of Meeanee. It is a law of nature from which there is no escape, that every action carries its consequences with it ; and, right or wrong, we have taken Scinde, and must bear its burden, or somewhat discreditably throw it off.
Upon one point to which Colonel Outram alludes the Government has indeed power ; and that is the prize-money. To this the army has no legal claim, since war was not declared between the states. This, how- ever, is a mere technical objection on which we should not feel inclined to rest. Property acquired by an armed force vests in the state. Its distribu- tion as prize-money is an act of grace, which may be withheld at plea- sure-; and certainly, before the treasures taken at Hyderabad be dis- tributed to men against whom such grave accusations are brought by an authority like Colonel Outram, a searching inquiry should be instituted into the ease. To give them the private treasure of the princes and the jewels of the ladies, would be to countenance a robbery that ought-never to have taken place, and which should not now be allowed to pass unpunished.
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