We regret to record the sudden death of General Sir
George Chesney, M.P. for Oxford, which occurred on Sunday, the cause being angina pectoris. Sir George was beat known in England as the author of "The Battle of Dorking," a story, or rather pamphlet, describing the probable results of an invasion, which caught the public attention, and seriously aided the Government in providing for the national defence. He was, however, an officer with unusual capacity for organising, for the control of military finance, and generally for the hard
governing work of a great army. He was placed at the head of the ,Engineers', College at Cooper's Hill; which trains engineers for India, and was then made Military Member of the Viceroy's Council, the highest appointment, except a command-in-chief, which an Indian officer can hold. Sir George Chesney, though a man of wide knowledge and per- suasive tongue, failed, like most Anglo-Indians, to make much impression in the House of Commons ; but he was one of a group of men always consulted upon great Indian affairs, and thoroughly trusted by his superiors. He had, in fact, all the qualifications of a War Minister, and his death reduces the number of men qualified to relieve India from a crisis.
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