CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

DURING the whole course of the rebellion I have collected copious notes illustrative of its progress, with the intention of publishing a second edition of the work which I put forth at its commencement. At the time I wrote, but few of the multitudinous facts, which have subsequently established the positions I then ventured to lay down, had occurred; and more than one of my critics has taken fair exception to the apparently scanty materials on which I based my conclusionthat the present crisis is not one of mere mutiny. But mere self-justification would not, in my humble judgment, be a sufficient plea for appearing again before the public. I am willing to leave to the events themselves, and to public opinion, the vindication of the correctness of the views which I formed rather early than hastily; contenting myself with this declaration, that I have seen no reason to alter, retract, or modify a word of what I have written: nor have I met with a refutation of any of the facts or arguments on which I based my propositions. Among the chief of these was this, that we should err in regarding the present outbreak as a purely military revolt; although it was to be expected that the most strenuous efforts would be made by those interested, to maintain that such was its character; also that it behoved us at such a crisis to take a review of all the elements of disaffection which might be lurking among the natives of India. Since then I have seen myself held up* as the leader of a party which declares that the condition

"Bombay Times."

B

of the people is such, that there ought to be a national revolution, even if there is not; and which persuades itself, in spite of facts, that there is such a revolution.* A candid perusal of my pages

will show that this is mere distorted exaggeration. With the whole of the Madras Presidency tranquil, and the whole of Bombay nearly so; with the facts before me that out of some two hundred millions, probably not more than one million has risen in arms against us, I was not likely to fall into such an error, or to make any such statement. On the other hand, it is, I think, equally preposterous to limit the outbreak, either as to its origin or its character, to a mere military mutiny. We are still much in the dark as to the secret history of the rebellion; and the nation will probably not be satisfied without a thoroughly searching investigation, carried on by the most able and independent Commission it can appoint :† but much light has doubtless been cast upon the subject by what we have ourselves witnessed, altogether independent of official information. Viewing the matter by such lights as we at present possess, the truth stands out indisputably clear, that annexation is at the bottom of the rebellion; and that large and important classes, other than the military, have participated in the insurrection.

At the same time it is not my intention now to enter upon a consideration of the full proofs of these assertions. The "Times" has said, with a strange mixture of truth and fallacy, that there is no use in looking back, and that our cares must be concentrated on the future of India. When I wrote, it would have been manifestly impertinent to have entered upon a long disquisition of the wants of India and the remedies requisite for her condition. The very existence of our continued supremacy was

* Put in other words, the argument stands just as rationally thus. This is purely a military mutiny. If so, the villagers ought not to take any part in it; therefore, they do not.

+ The Court of Directors has already ordered the Governor-General to appoint a Commission for this purpose. But it is evident that any Commission appointed by the Supreme Government must of necessity be a mere blind; any inquiry which they may make, a mere sham inquiry. They have a particular theory to support, namely, that we have been suffering from a military-mutiny, not a rebellion. They have their measures to justify, and their policy to prove correct. Any persons whom they may appoint must almost certainly be their own servants, certainly open to the gravest suspicion. The judgment is scarcely likely to be deemed satisfactory when the accused select their own judges, and these judges from their own subordinates.

then questionable; and all men's thoughts were absorbed by the paramount interest of passing events. The eyes of the whole nation were straining into the far east, bent upon the progress of their countrymen; there was no sympathy, no patience for any matter not intimately connected with their condition, their sufferings, their heroism, their triumphs. To have craved a hearing at such a season for proposals of future reform, would have been impertinent folly; and, therefore, while lending my best aid to defeat the object of Lord Canning's Gagging Act, and striving to call the attention of the public to the true bearings of the crisis, I contented myself with such a hurried and brief sketch of the measures requisite for the regeneration of India, that even a friendly critic has misunderstood my views, which, however, may be summed up in the single word-Justice.

Now, however, times are altered. The suppression of rebellion and restoration of order are a mere question of time; the representatives of the nation are about to deliberate on the future of India; and I conceive that one who has enjoyed the opportunities which I have, and gathered carefully the experience of sixteen years of active life in India, may usefully state his convictions, and pour forth his knowledge for the benefit of those, who, without similar advantages, will have to consider what the future policy of England towards India, and what the future government of India, shall be.

The greater portion of this present book will therefore be devoted to such topics; although I cannot admit the soundness of that advice which bids us not look back at all. How we are indeed to look forward with any prospect of utility or success, unless we first of all thoroughly understand the past; how we can safely apply a remedy unless we are first certain what is the evil; why in this particular instance we should voluntarily reject the teachings of history, I cannot understand. We cannot have too accurate a comprehension of the limits and character of the whole rebellion: for if, as it has been persistently asserted, it is really a pure military mutiny, and nothing more, the measures to be adopted are abundantly clear, simple, and easy, If it were a national rebellion, in the sense of a general simultaneous rising of the entire population between the Himalayas and Cape

* "Athenæum," London.

Comorin, remedy might be hopeless; but fortunately it is not that, though it might have been. If it be a rebellion commenced indeed by the soldiery in fact, but the result of premeditation and secret conspiracy among men of the higher classes, who used the sepoys as mere tools—and if large bodies of the people have risen against us, then we may argue such a condition among them, and such latent general disaffection,* as requires the most delicate handling on the part of our statesmen and politicians.

That this last will be found to be the true character of the rebellion, I entertain not the slightest doubt; the proofs, indeed, all tend one way, however selfish interest, influence, and ignorance may struggle to conceal the fact, and divert attention to other directions. If we impose upon ourselves in this particular, or if we suffer ourselves to be imposed upon, the results may be most calamitous both for England and India; and I would, therefore, without attempting any detail, beg to point to some of the more prominent facts, which will be suggestive enough for those who choose to follow up the inquiry for themselves. And this leads me directly to my first topic, which cannot be altogether passed over, although it deals with the past, and my principal concern is with the future.†

*See L. Reid, Esq., House of Lords' Report, Question 2700.

+ I shall have to quote largely from Indian journals of acknowledged reputation in this country; and I crave an attentive perusal of these extracts, for I can assure my readers that the selections will amply repay their perusal. I know that it is a very common practice to skip such passages, and pass on to the original matter. The journals in question, too, may be but little known, or not known to the English public; but a little reflection will convince those who wish to master Indian topics, that they can scarcely go to a better source than the respectable journals of India, whose editors devote their entire time to the task of collecting trustworthy materials, digesting voluminous records, and placing valuable information before their subscribers in a readable shape. Depend upon it, that Indian journals are safer guides on Indian subjects than even the most brilliant of the home press. I might, at a very little outlay of time and labour, have presented all those valuable contributions in the shape of original matter. But whatever others may do, I cannot bring myself to filch or suck the brains of other men without acknowledgment; and as my object is to open up sources of information and reflection, I trust a too common prejudice will not operate to prevent the perusal of quoted as well as original matter.

CHAPTER II.

TOPIC 1ST.

I. What is the character of the Rebellion? II. What is its cause?

THESE two questions are intimately connected; for unless the rebellion was, in its origin, a mere military mutiny, which assumed a totally different character as the infection spread and its dimensions grew beyond the control of the mutineers, it is obvious that the character of the rebellion has been determined, and may be judged of by its cause. Those who assert that the outbreak is purely a military mutiny are bound to establish two points. They must shew that it is confined to the sepoys, for only they can be mutineers; and they must assign some satisfactory reason for the sepoys suddenly rushing into mutiny.

It may be said, and that plausibly, that the panic into which the sepoys were thrown by the fear of losing their caste and their religion, by being compelled to bite the obnoxious cartridges, affords such reason-that the sepoy is the creature of impulse, ignorant to a degree, and a mere unreasoning child on such matters. The mutiny at Vellore may be quoted; and it may be argued that the merest trifles, a change of an article of dress or the like, has heretofore proved sufficient to kindle the suspicions of native soldiery, and to hurry them into mutiny. I am very far from saying that this plea of the cartridge was a mere pretext, so far as the sepoys were concerned, in the first instance. I think it must be admitted that a real bonâ-fide alarm was excited in the mind of the sepoys, both Hindoo and Mussulman, by their belief that the new cartridges were compounded of the fat of pigs and bullocks. But this will not account for the conduct of those sepoys who mutinied at a period long subsequent to the outbreak of the rebellion, at isolated stations, after the