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Leader (1850-1860), 23rd January 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 75

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      bUitv can be felt .. Tha great crowd of young Englishmen ? both in - tha civil aad militiry services , whom nafasanage sends-to India to be provided for in annually increasing numbers-, serve but to make the English , name cheap , and . common , and contemptible amonff all classes of natives .. In one word , our physical strength is to be found in our European troops ; our-moral strength , m our qualified and earnest European officers . For- all nositions of command ; or superintendence over natives , or of administrative authority , English * officers must be selected who are apt , willing , and qualified . There will always be a sufficient field for selection . Let the Government send out more doctors and more engineers , and let the public send out more missionaries and more schoolmasters—but no more ensigns , no more ' writers , ' whether they be the product of . Haileybury or of open competition , if you please .

      This is a subject which I must pass hghtly orer now , for it . requires a letter to itself ; but I trust I shall not be misunderstood . 1 am not disparaging my young eonatrymen ; I was a beer-drinking and billiard-piay ing ensign myself ., and no better than the average of my comrades . I know tho stuff they are made of ; all our bast men , after all , have been drawn from the ranks of onx writers and cadets . Give them work and . tLey will do-it . But it is to their useless position , to tlieir worse than superfluous numbers , to the vile system of patronage and intrusion of unqualified Europeans into every place of honour and emolument , to the exclusion and discouragement and degradation of natives , that I object . to the second of

      And . this brings us dynamical source our security and success during this period of trial—the active services of bold and able men , both European and native , in , the administration and pacification of districts , and in preserving our relations with the native states ; Of Sir John Lawrence ' s invaluable exertions , and those of the noble body of men by whom he is supported , in thfr Punjab , I . need say nothing here ; they will not escape notice or fail to be duly appreciated in England . For four months the force before Delhi literally existed on Sir John Lawrence ' s superhuman efforts to supply them with money , provisions , and military stores , and to reinforce them with trustworthy men . Without these they must have raised the siege after the first month . Mr . Gubbins , at Benares , with rare judgment and

      firmness upheld the honour and authority of Government during a period of great excitement . Many mora might be mentioned ; on whose individual skill , prudence , and intrepidity the safety of not only their own but of all the adjoining districts depended . But all of these able public servants , Sir John Lawrence , Colonel Etlwardes at our frpntier station of Peshawur , the brave defenders of Lucknow , Major Davidson at Hyderabad , would acknowledge how much they were indebted to the information and the intelligent advice derived from loyal and devoted natives , both servants of the Government andi . persons of independent furtmie . What could Mr . Gubbins have done at Benares without Rajah Deo Narrain and Sirdar Soorut Sing ? What could Mr . Robert Ellis fa name that will be well known , in England some without the vi and

      day ) have done at Nagpore gilance wise counsels of Sheik Tuffussool Hoossain Khan ? Let these cases be well marked and understood . Wherever the contrary course has been pursued failure has been universal . Colonel Durand , the Resident atlndore , a distinguished and able officer , but notorious for hia supercilious disregard to native opinion , and aversion to Jatniliar intercourse with natives , was , up to the very moment of an attack being made on his Residency by aomo mutinous troops , totally ignorant of all that was going on , and of thu state of public feeling ia lndore . He then appears to have run into the uufounded belief that tho Maharajah Holkar had joined in tho war against us , abandoned llolkar ' s territory , and denounced the Rajah to Government . Oh finding out his mistake

      he returned and took up hia quarters at Mhow , tl » o military cantonment , only ton miles from Indore , wlioro tho officer commanding a company of Bengal Artillery had already re-establi » hod friendly communications with Holkar . But of all our political , or , aa you , would moro properly cull thorn , diplomatic officers , the most remarkable and honourable part has undoubtedly been played by young Willoughby Odborne , who maintulnod himself at Rowah in Bundlccund , although tho JLiajah repeatedly warned , him tliat he could not be unawerablo for hia life , but who with indomitable pluck and perseverance kept the Rajah in tho right path , and gradually bent tho rebellious noblon uud mutinous troops to his will , and in now in company with tho Rojiih loading them into tho fluid iu aid of our forces . "Would thut

      older men , such as Major Macphuraon tho Rosldont at Gwalior , whp took rufngo in Ayra Fort , « nU Major Rlckardti , tho 1 ' oliticiil Agent at Bhopal , wlio with all tho officers of tho Bhopal Contingent botook tliomsolves to tho nearest slation of Madras troops , lloslngabad , Jiad-b (! en ~ milmated"bythe- 'Sttme-fl |> ii'itof-dovoUou ^ tp , lholr , immediate duty . It iu truo that tho llnjah of Gwalior and tho Begum of Bhopal respectively told tliewo officers that they could not control their aorvanta anil soldiers ; but -what did young Omborno do under ciroumatnneca exactly ahnilar ? Ho did not dosort bin poatjutit at tho very time when its retention was most important , but kept close to thb Rnjuh " and warned him that lie would bo hold personally responsible for tho milky of our Government ' s representative . Oaborno ia a lioiitonant in tho 24 th Madras ) N . I ., and has only sorvud eight

      vears in India . Major ! Davidson , tho Resident at Hyderabad , was begged by several native noblemen- in the city to go to Secunderabad , the military cantonment only four miles from the Residency , as a place of great er security ; but he replied that he was attached to the Residency by many old associations , and had a particular fancy to be buried in the garden . It is extremely probable that this advice was not really given , to him with friendly intentions , but to try and create a panic , which might spread among- the Madras troops . A few davs afterwards the Residency was attaeked at night by some hundreds of Rohillas , no doubt aa a feeler to see huw the Madras sepoys would behave ,, but they were met by a heavy . fire from the native horse artillery and infantry , and easily repulsed ; and the vigorous measures instituted by Salar Jung , the Nizam ' s minister , prevented any second attempt . E . V .

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      NAVA L AND MILITARY LETTERS FROM CHINA . EXTRACTS FROM PRIVATE LETTERS . " It . M . S . , Canton River , Oet . 26 * 1857 . " . . . I have just returned from , a cruise- up the creeks where I have been , in company with three gunboats and the boats of the Sybille ,. Tribune , and Esfc , the commodore ( Elliot ) commanded the expedition . We went first of all to a village called Chan-Chune , a place oft little importance except that there were a large number of junks , and we expected to find some Mandarin ones among them . We took the fort ( which made no resistance , the garrison having bolted on our arrival , at least we found no one in it ) , spiked the guns , taking away two brass

      ones , and burnt three or four junks , said to be Mandarin ones .. We cut the chain across the entrance of the creek leading up to the village under a heavy fire of crackers from a joss-house hard by — casualties , one man slightly wounded throug h the cold chisel dipping . We anchored for the night some way below the village . , Next day , by various cross creeks we got into what is called the West River ( it is a branch running parallel with the main river ) , and proceeded up for about two days ^ anchoring at night , passing pagodas and forts no end . As we arrived at the latter , which by-the-by were mostly dismantled , the Commodore signalled us to prepare for action ; but as none of them attacked us , we left them alone ; although , once or twice

      I thought we should have a go in , as I saw the fellows at their , guns . One Mandarin had the cheek to show his flag . The worst of it was > it was always Prepare for action ! ' just at meal times , and the chaps wanted to put the breakfast or dinner off , as the case might be , but I never would consent to fight on an empty stomach , so we gobbled our grub as we best could . We reached a point on the river at the end of the third day from starting-, thirty miles due west of Canton , and a place where an Englishman was never seen before ; we then turned and came down again having taken and burnt several . Mandarin junks and row-boats on the way . Instead of returning through the cross creeks , we continued straight down this branch into the ' Broadway , ' where we came across

      a lot of junks , five or six of which were Mandarins , so we chased them to a town called Gong-Moon , or Kong-Mun , and burnt them . During this litter operation , the forts of the town opened fire on us , but their shot did not reach us , so we just dropped a few shell into them from the gunboats , which silenced the beggars , and then proceeded on our way , as it was no part of the Commodore ' s plan to risk the loss of any men in such a fruitless skirmish as the assault of that town would have been . On the Sunday forenoon we sighted a Mandarin junk up a creek , and started iu the boats iu cliase . He opened fire on the headmost boat as it rounded a point and came in sight of him—this was the Commodore ' s boat—but as soon as one of the ship ' s gunboats

      roundod tho point and let fly at him , ho ran on shore and bolted for tho hills . I mean tho junk ran on shore , and the crow ran to tho hilla . We took her , und burnt her ; throe or four Chinamen were killed and wounded in this ' pidgen . ' The Mandarin and his wife wore on board , and escaped with the greater part of tho crow to tho shoro . Ho waa- most likely taking a pleasure cruise—poor old beggar I Tho same afternoon we came up to a fort containing four guns , and wero obliged to blaze away at it . 1 think we must have taken the follows by surprise , as they did not return the lire for some ten minutey , and when they did , that blessed lungridgeahot ull aorta of ruaty nails and bullets put into a bag came whizzing about us , but did no damage , aa they were in such a devil of a funk that they took no aim .

      In tho meantime wo got tho Marines on shore . They made a rush for tho fort , headed by tho Commodore . When I got to the fort , I found the Chinamen running , the Marines in the fort , and the Commodore up to hia nock jn mud . Wo . ohaaod and potted at tho Chinamen for a short distance , tlien rotui no ' u 7 tlosir 6 y 6 d"l"he gurfs ^ arid burnt tho fort , which was a wooden ono , collected our forces , and returned on board . Tho gunboats arrived just in tiino to bo too late . Monday evening we arrived at Macao , and anchored there tho night , and on Tuesday returned to our ship , having beon uw-ay jiiafc ono week . Bo ended that pidgen . ' Prize-monoy , doltlam for tho good of the ship , " Wo aro going down to Hong-Kong in a week or ho , to give tho men loavo , and complete storoa . Wo take

      our turn with the other ships in the river , and after they have all been down , and the remaining-gun-boats-arrive , the Admiral , intends' closing : in round Canton , retaking the factories ( or rather what is left of them ) and preparing the place for the reception of the Marines * order to commence , active operations as soon as they arrive ; 1 understand that a naval brigade will be formed , and the Admiral has ordered all ships'to prepare their men for landing , so I shall be engaged either with our rifle company , or field piece . The mosquitoes are getting more troublesome than ever , notwithstanding that the weather is getting much cooler . It is almost impossible to keep your seat in . a , cane-bottomed chair , and if you . go to sleep without a curtain around you , in . five minutes you are covered with white blotches the size of a pea , which itch dreadfully for a quarter of an hour . Scratch them , and you ara a perfect Lazarus .

      " Captain Astley Cooper Key , of the Sanspareil , will probably command the naval brigade . " " IT . M . S . , Hong-Kong , Nov . 15 , 1857 . " ... Two-thirds of the Marines have arrived , and' when th % other third arrives we are to have a go in at Canton : The French are to join us , and they will probably furnish about a thousand men . I am sorry for this , as we are better without them . It is reported that the Chinese have mined the place , and have buried spears in trie ground within a few inches of the top , besides other contrivances for our benefit . Whether this is all true I don t know , but we shall soon see .

      " The French , Russian , American , and other Ministers are here , and there is such a saluting going on that our crockery gets most awfully smashed , and as for the glass , it stands no chance at all . " We are here in order that our men may have a run on shore before we go up the river to Canton . " ( From the Overland Register andi Price Current , Nov . 14 , 1857 . ) " ' HonGt-Kong . —Most active preparations- have been , made during the past months and we believe every available man and ship are now within reach except the Adelaide ; and we expect that very shortly every man and ship that can be spared will be in the Canton river and before Canton . We expect that , with theAdmiral' a help , Major-General Struabenzee will riot have fewer men under him than 8000 to 9000 , a force three times greater than Sir Hugh Gough had with him .

      " ' There seems to be no doubt that we shall have our French allies to give us assistance . ' "( From the same paper of Nov . 28 , 1857 . ) " ' Beyond the capture of a large fire-raft in course of preparation , there is nothing to report . The fleet is assembling at Wang-Tung , which is the point most convenient for a rendezvous . By some people the delay of commencing operations is laid to the non-arrival of the Adelaide , with Colonel Hollow ay and the remainder of the Marines . But there is a detachment of the 59 th and

      some Royal Engineers expected from Calcutta , and there is no absolute necessity for commencing operations before we have every available man present . The weather is fine , and we know it will continue so for months . As a personal matter , we have to express our annoyance at the fear of the Admiral ' s displeasure having induced the person from whom we , with others , had arranged to charter a small steamer to take us up the river , to refuse to complete thecharter . We hope someotherless timorous owner of steamers may be met with before operations commence in earnest . ' "

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      AMJSKICA . Great excitement continues to be felt with respect tp the arrest of the Filibusters . New Orleans , Mobile ^ and Virginia , have vehemently denounced tho arrest of Walker and his followers by Commodore Paulding 1 . Congress has re-assembled , and in both Houses resolutions have been adopted calling on the President to communicate all the circumstances relating to tho recent proceedings in Nicaragua . Tho Senate , in executive session , has ratified the Danish Sound 1 Dues Treaty .

      Walker ' s men have beeit discharged from the Saratoga , at Norfolk , by orders from Washington , and at the lost advices wero wandering- about im a destitute condition . The General himself has written a letter to tho President , declaring his determination to proceed against ; Nicaragua ; and Mr . Buchanan has caused peremptory orders to bo issued to tho Federal officers in the South to atop all Filibustering expeditions , if possible . The steamer Fashion , which convoyed Walker and his- men to San Juan , has been soizod by tho United States consul at Havannah for irregularity in hor papers .

      Mr . Soward hae presented to the Senate a petition from a Mr . Maillurd , an American citizen , praying for tho intervention of tho United States Government to assist him in securing hia right to largo proporty in Irelan dr'Vi'hioh-he'ailegea-is-wiclihold-ft-oin-. him . iUptfaMX and by mob violence . Tho mutter has boon referred to the President ftir official , investigation . A doubtful report from St . Louis apoalce of a great battle in Kansas , between General Lime ' s forces anu th » United btatoa dragoona at Sugar Mound , in which it in said thnt several of tho latter wore killed . Tho dragoons * according to thin atory , retreated , and Governor Denver mint four companion of infantry to ausiat thorn . Iho Froo State muu undor Lane amounted to 2500 ; and ft

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      Na 409 , January 23 , 185 * . ]; THE ; IEABER . 75

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 23, 1858, page 75, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2227/page/3/