is nothing of the kind now-a-days. The habits of European officers are purely European, and they know little of their men.

The promotion of the European officers of the Company's army follows the most inflexible rule of seniority, without any exception whatever. The commanders of regiments are generally twenty years past their prime, and those only attain superior commands who far outlive the common term of humanity.

The system followed in the regiments called irregular differs much from that of the regular regiments. Vested rights have not yet grown up; commanding officers are permitted to exercise a larger discretion. Men are taken from classes not common in the regular army, but the lowest caste men are still excluded. Promotion does not go by seniority. The companies are officered by efficient native officers, and by natives alone. The European regimental commanders, if not selected strictly in proportion to efficiency, must be at least above the average, and have certainly this great advantage, that they are in the prime of life. The native regiments which have been most distinguished in late battles have been of this description (the Goorkhas for instance); for or dinary duties I believe them to be fully as efficient as the regulars at half the cost; and they have not mutinied. Their system of equipment, drill, and physical discipline is, as I have said, exactly the same (in the infantry) as in the regular regiments. The irregular infantry are, in fact, exactly the description of troops who gained for the sepoys, in former days, that excellent character which has always been attributed to them. We must, then, seek some remedies for the deficiencies of the army, and they must be at the remedies. same time economical remedies, for money we positively cannot afford. The most important question is the extent to which natives shall be employed as

Proposed

pro

Employment of natives in supe

rior grades;

commissioned officers. While the natives have much gressed in all the civil departments, in the army they have not only not advanced, but have retrograded. All the higher grades have been almost exclusively filled by Europeans, at a great expense. Is there sufficient reason for such a course? Is it necessary, and is it politic? If so, it must either be on the ground of the incapacity of the natives, or of the impolicy of trusting them. I do not now speak of the command of regiments. I am not yet prepared to say that we should trust to natives the command of regiments, any more than the charge of districts; but as regards the command and officering of companies (duties which seem to me to correspond to the subordinate civil charges under European district officers, which are held exclusively by natives), I should say that the natives are exceedingly competent, and that the only question to be debated is the policy of trusting them. That question resolves itself into this: Have you the greatest hold over your native army through competent native officers, or without such officers? In the latter case you have not the benefit of the influence of officers in your favour, but you also do not run the risk of their influence against you. I have already argued that, if you have good officers faithful to you, you can depend on the men. Now, which are most likely to be in your interest-officers promoted by you, who owe everything to your service, who have much to gain by fidelity, and much to lose by misconduct-or the men who, with little to gain or to lose, combine on some petty question of pay? It seems to me that you would have every possible assurance of the good conduct of good officers under such circumstances, and that all our experience tends to the belief that it is so. I think, therefore, that, under the eye of a good commanding officer, proper native officers of companies would do the

work with efficiency and safety, and I see not why the majority of our native regiments should not be so officered. In any case we must fully make up our minds to one of two things-either to increase the number of European officers, and thus fully to officer the corps, or to trust to good native officers. The double system is altogether a failure, and only involves a double expense with a much diminished efficiency. To supply the requisite number of efficient European officers would be so expensive that we cannot afford it; and if we could, I should very much doubt the policy of the measure.

I am, therefore, for adopting the other alternative, and for putting a majority of the native regiments on the footing of the present

and change from present system to that

called irregular. irregular corps, to the great pecuniary saving of the state, and, as I believe, to its greater safety and more efficient service.

The following are the arrangements which I would propose :

First, of the cavalry. I shall not enter into the comparative merits in the field of regular and irregular horse, but this I will say, that, if the regular troopers are of no use in the field, they are

Proposed cavalry arrangements.

certainly of no use anywhere else. They are not like the infantry regiments, who perform many miscellaneous duties, and are employed on continual escorts. It seems to me that, with the exception of two individuals acting as orderlies to the General in command of a division, the regular cavalry, in times of peace, do nothing whatever; and therefore if, as their detractors allege, they run away in the day of battle, they must indeed be an unprofitable, as they are assuredly a most expensive, arm. The irregulars, on the other hand, whatever they may be in a pitched battle, are certainly a most useful set of fellows on ordinary occasions. They

are continually all over the country, on all sorts of duties; and there can be no doubt that, in any irregular guerilla war, or in pursuit of a beaten enemy, they would be the most effective of all troops.

After all that has been said against the regular cavalry, the most convincing argument is their enormous expense. It may be a surprise to find that their cost is in so large a proportion to that of European dragoons; it was so to me, and I might have doubted the accuracy of my calculation if I had not called to mind that of one of the best possible authorities which I have quoted in confirmation of mine. I say then that it is quite absurd to keep up five regular native troopers at a cost equal to that of four dragoons or ten irregular horsemen; and that you had much better dismount them forthwith, and supply their places by dragoons or irregulars. On the principle that in a cavalry regiment three-fourths of the expenses are just the same for Europeans as for natives, and that, therefore, it is comparatively cheaper in this arm than in the infantry to maintain a European force; and, considering that we should have in our army a due proportion of regular cavalry; I would substitute for the regular cavalry a large body of dragoons.

On the comparative scale which I have calculated, the total cost of our present cavalry is as follows:

-besides being possessed of a far more efficient force.

£174,000

I shall not attempt to discuss the artillery. The natives make capital artillerymen, but, as

Artillery.

the material costs the same with native gunners, it may be sound policy to retain a majority of Europeans. The strength of the arm seems small in proportion to the army (and our six-pounders certainly proved of little use before the Sikh batteries), but I do not think that we can afford to increase it at present. If we keep plenty of guns and shot in our depôts we may increase our artillery to any extent while the Russians are marching from the Oxus. I imagine that, with a few practised artillerymen to lay the guns, the same very artificial discipline acquired by very long practice, that is indispensable to an infantry soldier, is by no means necessary to serve a battery; and that we might man our guns, on an emergency, just as they are manned in the navy every time that a ship is put into commission.*

I would keep the European infantry at its present strength (about 32,500). With the command of the cavalry and artillery, and a more judicious organization of the native infantry, I think that we should be safe for the present, without an increase which we can ill afford. Now as to the infantry. With regard to the native infantry we must not change our whole fantry arrange system too suddenly, and must deal cautiously with the vested rights of existing sepoys; but we might very soon bring about a change. I would not desire altogether to abolish the regular native regiments, especially as it will always be necessary to

Proposed in

ments.

* It has often struck me that for the defensive militia of a great city nothing would be so good as artillery. Suppose we had in London 1000 heavy guns, with an artilleryman to each, and served by volunteers or militiamen. If the French were to land at Brighton, we should harness the dray-horses, go out to the new Crystal Palace, draw up our guns in a line, and support an inadequate infantry with an enormous artillery. It would be just what we have felt in attacking the native Indian powers.