tility to us had become a bond of union, they conciliated the masses, whose sup The annexation of Oudh was justified at the time on much the same principle as coercive measures against the sultan of Turkey are called for-namely, that "the British government would be guilty in the sight of God and man if it were any longer to aid in sustaining by its countenance an administration fraught with suffering to millions." Such a doctrine is always more soothing to the despoiler than to the despoiled. The natives regarded it as an unprovoked usurpation, much as Europe would regard the application of a similar doctrine to the Turks. They did not believe in the purity and disinterestedness of our motives. We were inflated by our power and by the brilliant results of Lord Dalhousie's reign, and were proportionately more dogmatic than compromising in introducing Western reforms and curing Oriental practices by our views of what is sound, regardless of native ideas and tradition. We accordingly revelled in a sense of security at the very time when we were teaching all the lesser powers to regard us with suspicion and dread. We were defying them to do their worst at the very time that we were practically trusting the native army with the military possession of the country. The third leader was Nana Sahib, the Rajah of Bithur. He was the adopted son and ir of the last of the Peshwas, the chief of the Mahratta confederacy. He was looked upon by the British residents at Cawnpore as a perfectly harmless individual; but he was intriguing with the king of Delhi, the king of Oudh, and other great personages, disaffected by reason of the discontinuance of a pension to which he was not entitled, and by the refusal of a salute of guns. The disgust of the wealthy and influential classes was fostered by our system of land revenue, and the consequent inquiries into rights of occupancy and ownership, the detection of numerous acts of spoliation and oppression, and their redress. Pillage and extortion had been practised from time immemorial. Restraints upon them disgusted the ruling families more than port, moreover, would in no case have been of much political value. Assessments of land revenue, harsh sales on default of payment, the strict enforcement of the doctrine of the lapse of property in the absence of direct or collateral heirs, restrictions on the right of adoption, all tended to alienate the influential classes. It was not difficult for these classes to act on the minds of the sepoys, who were mostly drawn from the agricultural community, and therefore directly interested in the very questions on which the sense of grievance was growing. Questions of religion and caste also interested them. They knew that railways and education were striking blows at caste, by compelling persons of all castes to travel and work together. The Brahmins were trembling for their influence and privileges, and all were in terror of being forced to embrace Christianity. The grievance of the greased cartridges, which roused to a white heat the anger of both Hindu and Mussulman, was the match placed to a magazine of gunpowder. That was the contribution made by our own folly and supineness to the general convulsion. And a further contribution we offered in this way, that, owing to indifference and over-confidence, our army was not organized, disciplined, and officered in a satisfactory manner; there was too great a preponderance of native as compared with British troops, the arsenals and magazines had been allowed to fall under their control, the artillery had been too much intrusted to their hands. The disproportion between native and British troops was one of the main encouragements to the Mutiny, and one would think that the faintest instinct of self-preservation will prevent that disproportion from ever being repeated. Native troops had for years been levied in continually increasing numbers. During the thirteen years before 1857 a native army of two hundred and seventeen thousand men and one hundred and seventy-six guns was increased by forty thousand men and forty guns, while no addition was made to the British force, doubtless munication by road and railway, over from economical considerations, which and above the old trunk-roads estabconsisted of little more than forty thou- lished by the company. A great netsand. Lord Dalhousie protested. He work of telegraphs now intersects the pointed out that his annexations and country. Canals have been constructed. conquests necessitated a proportional The result is twofold. The area of land increase of British soldiers. Neverthe- under cultivation has been increased, less, withdrawals were made to some the prices of agricultural produce being slight extent for the Crimea and Persia. equalized, and a considerable export Thus, in spite of Lord Dalhousie's pro- trade created. And from a military test, the British force was rather dimin- point of view greater security has been ished than increased; and when the attained by the increased facilities for Mutiny broke out we were left with rapidly assembling troops at any centre thirty-six thousand British against two of disturbance. Again, the number of hundred and fifty-seven thousand native British soldiers has been more than soldiers. It no doubt was believed that doubled, while the number of native if the result of the Russian, Persian, soldiers has been materially reduced. and China wars had been to withdraw We may take it for granted that the troops from India, there would remain arsenals and magazines will henceforth for some time to come a lack of power be exclusively in possession of the to send reinforcements. The hour and British, and that the artillery and other the opportunity had come; fortunately, more effective branches of military seror unfortunately for the natives, the vice will also be mainly in their hands. man was conspicuous by his absence. More rapid communication with EnProbably the Mutiny was an ordeal gland, and the greater interest felt in through which it was essential that the India as an integral portion of the embritish should pass before they fully pire, will also make themselves felt as comprehended their real position in the factors of the utmost importance in country, and the necessity for consoli- checking any fresh outbreak. Lord dating their power on a durable basis, Roberts expresses his belief that, "as and of making India both in name and regards the native equally with the in reality an integral part of the domin- British army of India, a better feeling ion of the queen. never existed throughout all ranks than Since the Mutiny that task has been exists at present." It is remarkable taken in hand. India is no longer the that this book gives no account of the appanage of a company, the happy hunt- excesses which were inevitable in the ing-field of the nominees of a particular suppression of a mutiny which had been class. Most families of all classes are stained by so much bloodshed, treachin one way or another connected with ery, and cruel massacre of English India, and greater interest is felt in its women and children. Their effect in atrairs. The proclamation of the queen perpetuating a feud between European in 1858 was no idle ceremony. Since and native seems to have been slight. that time the authority of the crown has The clemency party, headed by Lord been asserted in every direction. A Canning in India, and by most leading viceroy has replaced the governor-gen- statesmen at home, roused great anieral, the higher appointments proceed mosity during the continuance of the direct from the crown, the higher courts fierce passions of 1857. of justice are created by the crown under authority of Parliament, and its judges are appointed by the queen. Much has been done to improve both the civil and the military administration. And, above all, our position has been materially strengthened by the provision of numerous lines of com688 LIVING AGE. VOL. XIV. Perhaps their efforts were appreciated by the natives, who after their defeat found themselves exposed to all the strength of civilization temporarily deprived of those feelings of mercy and humanity which are supposed to accompany it. Or possibly the natives yielded submissively to fate, and regarded re venge and resentment as beyond their reach, while severe retribution was the inevitable sequel of defeat. At all events, the passions of that time died away. The sepoys were mostly exterminated or disappeared. Rebellious feudatories were severely punished; loyal supporters were duly rewarded with grants and titles. Caution and conciliation are still necessary in administrative and legislative matters; for it may be taken for granted that native soldiers will reflect the sentiments of the people generally more particularly upon any subject which involves their religion or the continuance of ancient and cherished usages. The whole experiment of a Western democracy governing peoples of stereotyped Oriental habits and manners is unique in the history of the world. It is inevitable that blunders should be made, that what commends itself to the rulers as sound and just may arouse the utmost discontent and animosity on the part of the ruled. Doctrinaire politicians, with their one-sided views of life, are wholly out of place in India. The greatest men in that country have always been in favor of gradual reforms pursued with extreme caution and toleration, in sympathy with prejudices which, however alien to our own ideas, are deep-rooted in the native mind. Lord Roberts instances at the present day forest laws and sanitary regulations, our legislative and fiscal systems, as being all of them subjects requiring care and circumspection. In a former generation such questions as the burning, and later the remarriage, widows created widespread consternation, and our handling of them was amongst the causes of disaffection to our rule. Only in 1892 the closing of the great Hurdwar Fair, on account of a serious outbreak of cholera, however obvious a measure in the eyes of Westerns, was keenly resented by the natives as a blow aimed at their religion and a violation of the religious toleration proclaimed in 1858. To be robbed by officious sanitary inspectors of the privilege of bathing in sacred waters. after they have toiled over hundreds of miles and surmounted every degree of of fatigue and privation, is to lose that which they value more than life, in obedience to Western sanitary ideas which they do not understand. There will always be risk of causing political dissatisfaction. A free press amongst the natives would be the best corrective, provided it is properly regulated. Lord Roberts draws attention to the license allowed to that press in vilifying the government and its officials, and in persistently misrepresenting the motives and policy of the ruling power. This always strikes us as a most indefensible proceeding, transplanting the free press of the West into the East without any precaution against a seditious, hostile, and defiant spirit being openly indulged. However cautious and tolerant our proceedings, the good-will and confidence of the natives cannot be gained in the face of persistent misrepresentation and calumny. Details of this kind are numerous, but from a military point of view the lesson of the Mutiny is that we must preserve a due proportion of British and native troops, retain in our own hands the possession of arsenals and the more effective branches of the service, and open up speedy communications both internally and with England. Two great ceremonials are described in this book, which will have an enduring historical interest as long as our Indian army lasts-namely, the grand entry of Lord Canning into Lucknow on the 22d October, 1859; and the proclamation of her Majesty as empress of India on the 1st January, 1877. Lord Roberts took a prominent part in both of them. The political interest of the former lies in the meeting a few days later between Lord Canning and the one hundred and sixty taluqdars of Oudh, whose estate and property he had confiscated by his summary proclamation of March 15, 1858. They had, many of them, angrily resisted the process of converting them into law-abiding subjects from having been feudal chiefs with unlimited power of oppression and usurpation. Confiscation was made general and sweeping. It extended to the whole soil of Oudh, and reminds one to some slight extent of the Duke of the Alva's sentencing the whole population of the Netherlands to death. The object, however, was, besides punishing the guilty, to establish the revenue system on a new and satisfactory footing. Lord Canning now announced virtual though partial repeal of confiscation. Taluqdars who submitted received back their possessions as a free gift from the government. Those who uad done good service were rewarded with grants of confiscated lands. A month later at Cawnpore great satisfaction was given to the assembled chiefs by the announcement that the estates of native princes would be scrupulously respected, and that the right of adoption was conceded to them. That meant that instead of their possessions lapsing to the British government on failure of heirs, their right, which in many previous cases had been refused, would hereafter be recognized of adopting a son, who, according to Hindu notions, would as effectively continue his adoptive father's line as a natural-born son would do. This, says Lord Roberts, .did more than any other measure to make the feudatory princes believe in the amnesty proclamation. ation by what they regarded as the rapacity of a company, but were to consider themselves as part and parcel of the British empire, enrolled amongst its feudatories, secure in their possessions whilst they continued in their loyalty. The same year, 1877, which witnessed this final consummation of empire after more than a century of heroic achievement, also witnessed the outbreak of war between Russia and Turkey, and the consequent unrest on the frontiers which looked in the direction of Russian power. The Trans-Indus tract of country was now removed from the Punjab government, formed into a separate district, under the control of a chief commissioner who would be responsible direct to the government of India for frontier administration and trans-frontier relations. This post, with the command of the Punjab Frontier Force, was conferred on Roberts, who now had our relations with Afghanistan and Kussia primarily in his hands. Lord Roberts's account of the great historical occurrences which date from 1877 is as valuable as that of the still more stirring events of twenty years earlier. Of both series of events he is entitled to say, "Quorum pars magna fui." In the latter his responsibility was of course far the greater. The dominant feature of the situation which now engrossed his attention was that both England and Russia were solicitous for the friendship of the ameer of Afghanistan. His territories were conterminous with ours, while Russia in two centuries had expanded along nearly four thousand miles of territory which lay between her boundary of that date and the present border-line of our Indian Empire. Both Afghan wars have been brought about by the presence of Russian officers in The other ceremonial was at Delhi, when Lord Lytton received in durbar sixty-three ruling chiefs and nearly three hundred titular chiefs and persons of distinction, the assemblage being intended to emphasize and repeat the proclamation of the queen in 1858 in her public assumption of the title of "Empress of India." Lord Roberts played a leading part in its arrangement and conduct. He conversed, he says, with every one of the princes and nobles, and each in turn repeated the same sentiments of loyalty as had been publicly expressed by the leading Maharajahs. The political object, which must have been to some extent Kabul. In 1877 Russia's southern furthered by this tremendous ceremonial, was to assure each potentate and prince, "not only of the close union between the throne of England and your loyal and princely house, but also of the earnest desire of the paramount power to see your dynasty strong, prosperous. and permanent." In other words, they were no longer to fear annex boundary was almost conterminous with the northern boundary of Afghanistan. The ameer felt that Russia was in a position to crush him, while he was doubtful if we would protect him. In 1878 there was considerable risk of England having to go to war with Russia, and Indian troops had been brought to Malta with that view. At that moment the ameer, at a council of his leading chiefs, decided to throw in his lot with Russia, and to receive at Kabul a Russian mission, headed by General Stolietoff. An offensive and defensive alliance between Russia and the ameer was contemplated (Lord Roberts gives the proofs), had the Berlin Congress of that year failed to establish peace. Lord Lytton, with the sanction of the Cabinet at home, insisted on the ameer receiving a friendly British mission at Kabul, intimating that a refusal to grant it a free passage and safeconduct would be deemed an act of open hostility. Every one knows that this led to the second Afghan war in which Lord Roberts assumed the command of the Kuram field force and conducted the invasion. The manner in which the Peiwar Kotal was carried is told in a clear, finished, and precise manner, observing the via media between vagueness and excessive detail, in an appreciative and generous spirit to his comrades in arms. An advance was then made to Khost, which the force was not strong enough to hold, and a further forward movement was postponed till the following year. Shere Ali, the ameer, on hearing of the defeat of his army, had fled with the members of the Russian mission, and was succeeded by his son, Yakub Khan, who, on the death of his father in February, 1879, expressed anxiety for friendship with the viceroy. Cavagnari was with his consent deputed to Kabul on a mission to him, and was there with his staff brutally murdered. The British people at that time were reluctant to go to war. South Africa was giving trouble, and we had only just escaped from a threatened war with Russia. The Liberal Opposition was eagerly preparing for a general election, and Mr. Gladstone was extremely vocal on the subject of Shere Ali's wrongs. Further hostilities were therefore out of the question until the murder of Cavagnari. Lord Roberts expresses the misgivings he felt at the time at our resorting under the circumstances to negotiation before we had inspired the warlike Afghans with a sufficient sense of defeat to convince them of our strength and ability to punish any breach of treaty, on which conviction he rightly relied as the sole guarantee of its due observance. Accordingly chapter one of this year was concluded by the treaty of Gandamak, signed on the 26th May, 1879, and effected by "the tact and diplomatic skill of Louis Cavagnari." We received under it cession of territory, promising, on the other hand, support against external aggression, and arranging for the reception of a mission at Kabul. Lord Roberts's forebodings as to what would befall this mission turned out to be correct. Accordingly the second invasion proceeded under his command. That wonderful march then took place, with the result that after severe fighting Kabul at last was at his mercy. It was part of the policy of this invasion to tell the tribes who were disposed to be friendly that we should never again altogether withdraw from Afguanistan, and so leave our friends in the hands of their enemies. A very singular feature of this invasion was that the Ameer Yakub Khan, who disavowed all responsibility for the death of Cavagnari, came to the British camp as our ally, seeking refuge from his mutinous soldiers. He had evidently done nothing to save Cavagnari, even if he had not originated the assault. His desire was to delay the British advance. He earnestly pressed that policy on Lord Roberts, but without success. He remained in our camp, in constant communication with Kabul, important tidings evidently passing to and fro, his position enabling him to give accurate information to the enemy as to our numbers and movements. When Kabul was taken Lord Roberts made the ameer's ministers prisoners and on their guilt with respect to Cavagnari's murder being proved, they, as well as Yakub Khan, were deported to India. and an amnesty was proclaimed to all persons not concerned in the attack on the Residency, Lord Roberts finding it impossible to treat as rebels to the ameer's authority men who, it was clearly proved, had only carried out his |