ilorlligitt#16-14/ ilWilikkeiti.iiAtthettnielantiinoirtudt do hureirepeired; news tigrin*Pahisinba,irmtitTllinittlay* , , Liaatobaell whit* kes t anot lint,
iregaind DR tittadfreahol,l9tImEgnia4; phpntizare„titmted,F,91 ate
g
, offlt , ,t1Fir_ayil,forylloffilsr41 _ In in theNdpe in- 'OrgatickarY inofi elt. /it& e4141111d.frillIV, eitEllettlifdileagoii4311/219h6-po:rtidfttlie ally: lifklkbattilientrki our Ipa$6,• din' tag fitaintideas ivaddrmipinue enthenntinenee uarevil councils* there lantlle to fear- !I Viit-shiAhk ''.oRi attlegerk #et ottlffirPS conapiracy,"-whieb., appears to me most improbable—tit ij itiniemibie,4,2,8*- aggerato the danger. Out_ empire in India is,. indeed, iii dyspeeg, ease aheuldliteTS(klis, Who-arb. now fightin„, our battles in every distriet an enemy to'nur rule .cantiefotifirelittMn'traitors ere the mass of that oree- ments from England can reach us . i'Phere.is,retrsou to believe that miichief has been brewing- at Dora Ismaili Khan since the (1140901y of the plot Wine)). occasioned such:exeiteitent -in-the north-weateili provinces a few weeks age, It would appear as if Brigadier Chamberlain's investigations into the origin of this plot had led him to the knowledge'ef facts which he coelsidered of a dangerous character, for it ie. only-within the last few days that a column, consisting of Blount's troop of horse artillery, a -wing of the 7th Fusileera, a squadron of the 7th Dragoon Guards, and:some aOir.k Sikh infantry, marched from Lahore to strengthen the place, winch is mainly *portant because it commands the Indus (on the right bank of which it is elluated , and further, that it contains the magazine of the whole of the ' Irregular Force. All over India-the Sikh nation and the Pl111j81.1- bee8;',compoSed otHindeos and Mahomedans, are giving evidence of their courage and devotion to our rule. Each day. we hear of actions in which killth police and Punjaub regiments have defeated the rebels, and it would be deplorable indeed if we were suddenly forced to withhold our confidence from those gallant soldiers, and to exercise that surveillance over them which is requisite in the case of mercenaries who may become enemies at any moment. There is no use in disguising the fact that the great nuniber of those Punjaubee battalions excited serious apprehensions in the minds of many who were, however forced to admit their existence to be a necessary evil. Our Frankensteins had created a monster on whose fidelity and devo- tion:We must rely in hope and trustfulness, whose services were great as his strength. Those who are acquainted with Lord Clyde's views will admit . that he was among those who shared in the apprehensions so justly caused by our forced reliance on such a gathering of Oriental races—the most war- like of the East—who had many traditions of recent glory and the memories of late defeat ; the knowledge of Atfghanistan, of the passes of Cabool, fresh in their minds, great lust of gold, and all the fickleness and subtlety of the Aiiatic. It is remembered that those fierce soldiers even at Delhi were fond of recalling the stories of the great battles in which they in vain sought to destroy the supremacy of our arms, and that they were, in xnd.e jocosity, wont to say,—'.We fought against you tea years ago and you beat us; now we are fighting for you; in ten years, more or less, we may once more be fighting against you.' During the late campaign they fought aide by side with our best troops, and were foremost in many of our most desperate assaults. In a former letter I have told you of their strength, which cannot be less now than 80,000 horse and foot. It would be unjust in the very highest degree to asume now that any considerable portion, or even any appreciable portion, of theae troops, are disaffected, but the Delhi regiment is known to have been troublesome on several occasions. The . Idalwa Sikhs of one corps have notoriously conspired against us, and the -guistion, which might arise, ' What would you do in case all the Pun- jatibeea revolted' ? is one to which, as matter of pure hypothesis, we should be prepared with an answer. In the Dere Jilt, of which Dora Ismail Khan may be regarded as the capital, there are, unfortunately, the three Punjaub frontier batteries organized by Lord Dalhousie, consisting of eighteen pieces of in very complete order ; hilt that is the only force of guns ac- tually in their hands. The strength of Europeans in the Punjaub is about eight battalions of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, and some fifty-four field guns ; but further south the country is almost denuded of British sol- diers. In any case we shall require to manage the Sikhs with great tact, particularly when the time comes for reducing the battalions under arms to a, peace establishment. I am told that an occurrence at Umballa the other day-gave great offence to these irascible warriors. The Rajah of Putteeala's wife presented him with a son, on which there were greet rejoicings, and the sounds of the salute fired on the occasion alarmed the officer on duty at Unibella,who thought that the Sikhs had risen, and in that belief turned out the European guard, marched them to the,posts occupied by detach- ments of a Punjaubee regiment, and forced thein -to deliver up' heir arms. At the moment I write a telegraphic despatch has been received by one of my companions, Colonel Toombs, dated Meerut, September 26, informing . him that half of his troop has been ordered to Delhi, and requiring him to go down to Meerut without a moment's delay. The 9th Lancers are. on their way Irma Uroballa down country, and ,their presence will probably insure the safety of the main trunk road for the time. "—Times 8peolislibr- respondent.
Previous page
