INDIAN NATIVE ARMY.
Belguum,18th August, 1859. SIR—I have had no opportunity of becoming acquainted with the work- ing of the present system, so as to arrive at an idea of its faults, wants, remedies ; but I am quite disposed, from what I have seen and see daily of the Natives, to believe that no good will ever be done with them, in the state they now are, with a commander whose authority is anything short of absolute. They have become so accustomed to associate absolute, irrespon- sible power with their idea of a chief, that one from whose decision and commands they can appeal becomes, and isin their eyes, contemptible. They will be happier under a despotic authority than any other ; they reverence it, look for it, and anything short of it will fail, 1 think, to keep them in order among themselves, or inspire them with respect for their governors ; if this be true of them, and if a Despotism be necessary, as I believe it firmly to be, to their well-being in a civil state, much more is it necessary, imperative, when they are banded together in Regiments, where their in- terests are so nearly all identical, and tending to produce an unanimity amongst them impossible to be attained in a civil community. Therefore think anything less than absolutism in their chief will be a great mistake, and will sooner or later bring its punishment, as effect follows cause. At the same time there does seem to be required some provision that absolutism shall not degenerate into tyranny, and this I take it is the difficult point. We know what human nature is, and how prone it is to evil. A slight acquaintance with the working of despotic governments only is necessary to perceive that this is the rock on which they generally split. If some counterbalancing power could but be devised to ensure that in a Despotism the power should always be wielded for the benefit of the governed, which could say, thus far shalt thou go and no farther, there is, I think, little doubt but that a Despotism would be as happy a form of government as could be devised. To establish some such power in our Native Army ap- pears to me to be the thing which is wanted. Whether it can be devised or not, without interfering too much with the apparent absolutism of the chief, is a question ; but if it be devised, I think we then have a system whose tendency would be to create a loyal and devoted Native Army. A NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER SERVfliG IN INDIA.
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