We trust the old officers of the Army who approved
the- suppression of independent Correspondence now perceive that secrecy is not equivalent to safety. General Roberts has gained nothing by his monopoly of intelligence, except this,— that nothing is ready to repair his misfortunes. Special Corre- spondents would have warned India as well as England that the Cabuleos were hostile, that native reports were alarm- ing, that our men were stabbed if they straggled, that severity only increased gloom. They would have told us that the Europeans were too few, and have explained why the proportion of officers who fall is so terribly large. They would have " fussed " about transport and great-coats and medi- cal supplies, have described engagements till the officers com- manding in them would have been understood, and have enabled Lord Lytton and Lord Cranbrook, as well as John Smith, to comprehend the position in Shirpore. They would, in fact, have given "intelligence," which is as necessary for statesmen and for nations, when called upon for effort, as for Generals. Correspondents are the Uhlans of the popular force, and to put out their eyes, or fetter them in reporting, is sheer folly, possible only to those who will not understand that, for good or evil, this country, since Lord Beaconsfield's Reform Bill, is governed by a democracy, which it is necessary to teach.
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