complaint, to his commanding officer, who in a short time despatched a fleet messenger, bearing an official document of huge dimensions and threatening aspect to the culprit's master, peremptorily demanding abject apology, condign punishment, and we know not what, for the commission of this most heinous and daring offence; but an unexpected refusal to this cool request being met with, a report was forwarded to the Brigade-Major, through whom it eventually reached the Brigadier commanding the station. A combined attack was then organized and carried out, and after the consumption of a quire or two of foolscap, the poor water-carrier's master, thoroughly badgered and wigged, found it incumbent on him to submit.

There is a strong resemblance between this casual rencontre and the one between the klassee and the Sepoy, which is cited as having occasioned the cartridge-biting commotion; and probably, if the sapper's cause had not been so powerfully advocated, and the unfortunate water-carrier sent to the wall, refractory symptoms would have been observable in the corps of Sappers and Miners. The high-caste man thinks (or pretends he thinks) it a great effort of condescension on his part to perform the manual labour of an engineer, and has completely succeeded in persuading the authorities to be of the same opinion. Yet, in the face of all this, the exclusion of the menial and operative classes is doggedly persisted in, even where skill, aptitude, and industry at labour, are the chief qualifications requisite.*

But the recruiting monopoly must be a little more contracted; and therefore, with the plausible excuse that the peasantry of Oude are the finest of the Hindoo race, and best adapted for the profession of armswhich, true or not, does not do away with the idea that equally fine specimens of Hindoos may be picked up here and there all over Indiait is confined, with, comparatively speaking, few exceptions, to that country. Still, the object is not attained-the regular infantry must be very exclusive and very recherché, consequently we have an arrangement by which each regiment, as far as Hindoos are concerned, is allotted to, and reserved for, a certain set of families and kinsfolk.

The line, then, being by this process composed, with the exception of a few Sikhs and Mussulmans, of men of one district and one religion, bound to each other by feelings, by ties of relationship, and ties of caste, it is not an arduous task for an uneasy, or turbulent, or discontented spirit to get up a conspiracy, using some scruple of caste as a pretext, which shall travel with the speed of wildfire from soldier to soldier, from corps to corps, whenever the humour shall seize him.

On the other hand, it is advanced in defence that the high castes possess greater courage, spirit, and bodily qualifications, combined with a leaning to the trade of war; that the exclusion of the low castes tends to preserve a high moral tone in the army, as well as physical. The average superiority of stature of the Bengal Sepoy is beyond all dispute, as it has been proved by actual measurement. As for this high-caste monopoly being conducive to a mutinous disposition, are matters in this particular a bit better on the Madras side, where the Brahmin (priest) and Chutree (warrior) stand side by side with the * Tilling the soil is the means of livelihood to many of the high caste, consequently the excommunication does not include all agriculturists.

Mihtur, the lowest of all castes? The mutiny at Vellore, the bloodiest one in the annals of the native army, caused by the attempted introduction of leather shakos, is a sufficient answer, without referring to others. Yet further, the Madras Sepoys, with all their lowness of caste, are more exacting than those of Bengal. Among other inconveniences, they insist on lugging their families, large and small, with them, wherever they march.

Hence it would appear, whether exclusion or non-exclusion be the order of the day, the plague of caste suffers little or no abatement, but continues to torment and worry with the same virulence. The poisonous influence of the Brahmins, who enlist in large numbers, contributes in no slight measure to this seeming state of incurability. In the one case, high among the high, they are certain to meet with respect, sympathy, and obedience in religious matters, from those who look up to them as the born guardians and bona fide representatives of their faith and privileges. In the other, surrounded as they are by men infinitely inferior in social and religious status, their authority is all but unlimited; not to mince matters, a high Brahmin in a regiment, though a mere recruit, has more real power than the Colonel. What serves as an index to his character and disposition is, that whenever success has crowned the endeavours to fathom the bottom of any mutiny, so often has a Brahmin and his handiwork been stumbled upon.

To counteract the evil, an excellent standing order was framed and published, cautioning officers against the admittance of these soldier-priests into the ranks, forbidding it entirely, if not partially. But, like many other orders, precisely because if acted up to it would be productive of great benefit, it is neglected, and has almost become a dead letter. The Brahmin, aware of it, is ready prepared with an expedient should any opposition be offered to his enlistment. It is not uncommon to find him anticipate the difficulty by assuming another caste, usually the Kisahtrya, the one next in rank to his own; that is, in the presence of British officers-among his comrades he takes precious good care to preserve his dignity intact.

It affords us great pleasure to have it in our power to announce that one step, at least, in the right direction has been recently made; after a long delay, and considerable hesitation, the " coup de grâce" has been inflicted on one of the most important of the many pusillanimous concessions to the dictatorial demands of caste. Nevertheless, we regret to add, its evils will be unavoidably felt for some time longer. We allude to the enlistment oath of the Bengal Sepoy, as it was and as it now is. The former oath did not bind him to obey any order to march more than a certain distance from his native soil, and exempted him altogether from a voyage on the "Kala Panee," or Black Water, as the ocean is termed in his figurative tongue; and when it was found necessary to march a body of troops into the territories of some hostile power, or into some newly-acquired province, it was usual for the Government, by cringing and fawning to the black soldiery, and promising them temporary increase of pay, to endeavour to persuade them to assent, in place of peremptorily ordering them. The hauteur and self-sufficiency of the native militaires on

such occasions may be more easily imagined than described. The mutiny of the 47th N.I. at Barrackpore, and the refusal of 30,000 men to march into Sindh, on the withdrawal of increase of batta by Lord Ellenborough, and many other disobedient acts of a similar nature, recorded in the history of the past, were necessary consequences of this "chef d'œuvre" of imbecility: the wonder would have been had they not occurred.

So late as the date of the last Burmese war, and the annexation of Pegu, the commander-in-chief, Sir W. Gomm, and the staff, were driven to their wits' end by the efforts they made to detail troops for the occupation of the newly-conquered country, as the only regiments that could be directed to embark, without involving a breach of trust, were a few battalions enlisted for general service, styled balumteers (volunteers), which unluckily were then stationed far up the country; and although many regiments were quartered at a much more convenient distance from the point of embarkation, there was no alternative. The balumteers were ordered down, causing great loss of time and money, and a complete disarrangement of the roster: while the public was entertained by the episode of several zealous officers striving to prevail on their men to volunteer, and the coy behaviour of Jack Sepoy, acquiescing one minute, conveying a direct refusal the next, rapidly succeeded by growlings and disobedience.

Although the future Sepoys of Bengal will be thus placed on a level with those of Madras and Bombay as regards general service, some years will elapse before those of the limited service will be entirely out of the way; and their presence, however small in number, will be conducive to breed discontent among their less favoured comrades. Besides, as promotion goes by seniority in Bengal, they will have the support of legitimate authority.

In these strictures on the native army, we beg not to be understood as sneering unreservedly at the worthy Sepoy, and everything and everybody connected with him. On the contrary, we avow he has many noble qualities, for which we might almost say we should fruitlessly search among British soldiers. Honesty and fair dealing in transactions with his officers are with him the rule; with us, they have much the appearance of being the exception. A swindling kote havildar* is almost as seldom seen as a tortoise-shell tom-cat; whereas a dishonest pay-sergeant-we speak from dear-bought experience is by no means a rarity. As we reflect on the frequent casualties from delirium tremens in her Majesty's forces, we can well afford to pity those who smile at the idea of the native infantry officer rewarding his men with so many pounds of meethaw (sweetmeat), in lieu of a lot of alcohol, all round. And he who has seen a drunken Sepoy, may compare notes with the log of the last Yankee mariner favoured with a view of the great sea serpent.

While animadverting on the constant recurrence of offences against discipline and subordination, arising from changes in dress, accoutrements, &c., we fully admit that the taste of our military administration, which professedly seeks to unite ornament with utility, is in most instances miserably deficient of both. In place of tormenting soldiers * Pay-sergeant.

1857.] THE REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.

323

in a hot climate with glazed leather shakos, to attract the rays of the sun, and stocks well adapted for strangling, a lesson might be taken from the French-no incompetent teachers in the art of taste or war; and some dress similar to that worn by the Zouaves might be adopted with advantage.

To return to the subject. There can be little doubt there is something extremely defective in the organization and management of the regular infantry-else why exists the anomaly of their continuous state of insubordination, while there is little cause of complaint on that score in the artillery, cavalry, and irregular infantry? The Bombay infantry, too, comes off with colours flying, for we believe we are not far wrong when we say, there never has been any mutiny of consequence in any one of its regiments. And why, it may reasonably be asked, does not the infantry of the two other presidencies vie with it in loyalty and due submission to authority? We do not attach much value to a reason we have heard enunciated, "that in Bombay the European troops bear a proportion to the native army sufficient to overawe it; in Madras and Bengal the case is otherwise, the proportion of European to native troops is considerably less; if the number of European troops were slightly increased, the same result would probably be obtained." It is worthy of observation, that the Sepoy who was hanged for the attempted assassination of the sergeant-major and adjutant of the 34th, was a Brahmin, and that this mutinous regiment, the 34th, is in fact a local corps, which stepped into the shoes of the old 34th, on its being disbanded for mutiny some years since. The inference might be deduced, that there is some strong moral contagion in the line. We sincerely trust the Ghoorkhas, who were brought into the line by Sir C. Napier, after the 66th were sent about their business, will not catch the infection. In the midst of this, it is some consolation to learn from the public prints that the Sikhs are disgusted at, and the Mussulmans and Ghoorkhas deride, the behaviour of the Hindoos.

THE REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY MEDICAL
DEPARTMENT.

ONE of the latest fruits of our Crimean campaigns is the Report of the Committee on the Medical Department of the Army; and the doctors have every reason to be proud of the testimony borne by the best and highest authorities to their uniform zeal, energy, and courage, displayed under the most trying circumstances that men could be placed in. The executive members did their duty well, but could not overcome the defects of an administration which left them without either medicines, medical comforts, or the mechanical assistance requisite to carry out the details of an hospital. The department had been under what may be justly termed "the foolscap system" for about forty years, and it had gradually grown worse and worse. Registers, returns, requisitions, receipts, memoranda, and certificates of all kinds of impossibilities, occupied the time and disgusted the souls of the officers, who were expected to be not only physicians, surgeons, accoucheurs,

apothecaries, oculists, aurists, and dentists, but also clerks, accountants, stewards, storekeepers, and purveyors, good judges of tea, and able to explain satisfactorily why a pudding cost 34d. when "the regulations" declared it should not exceed 3d. (We have seen two pages of foolscap occupied in elucidating this abstruse point.) Gentlemen who had been thus schooled respecting puddings, and who, à fortiori, would have shrunk from the thoughts of laying out a crownpiece in the purchase of castor-oil, could hardly be expected, we submit, to take the responsibility of engaging steamers to fetch their missing stores, at a possible cost of £20,000 (vide query 124), though we by no means say that they ought not to have done so. Still, when we read (query 4,539), on Sir Richard Airey's authority, that the senior medical officer of his division was afraid to buy a fowl, we get a clue to a great deal that occurred, and an idea of the system which produced it.

Active service soon made an end of the foolscap; and it was proved, by sad experience, that doctors, with plenty of pen and ink, were not all that was requisite to carry a regiment safely through a campaign. A lurking belief to the contrary still seems, however, to possess the Director-General; he sturdily resisted all acknowledgment of the fallacy of certificates. Medical officers certify, "agreeably to regulation," that they do not allow any hospital subordinate to make up pills or potions, and therefore he cannot suppose it is ever otherwise, although his returns may show him an hospital of 100 sick dependent on one officer. He ignores all consciousness of the extent of human capability, and keeps up a set of regulations which would require three times the present number of medical officers to carry them out. Public opinion and public legislators have long since decided what the effect is of keeping up laws which cannot be obeyed, such as the old system of affidavits of all kinds, leading to a general laxity of conscience and disregard of all laws. Any respectable lad, with the ordinary elementary education and a little instruction, is trusted to make up the prescriptions of, and for, all London; but it is considered in the army that nobody but an officer, a man qualified to perform lithotomy (by regulation), can be trusted with this function. Notwithstanding the experience of the Guards, open and avowed, and that of the whole service, sub rosa, medical officers are prevented from availing themselves of the intelligence, and even trained skill, to be found in the ranks for the perfection of their hospital arrangements; and consequently when the push comes the foolscap fails altogether; and, as Lord de Ros told the committee, the medical officers, who ought to be beside the sick, are drudging, disgusted and discontented, in making up pills and mixtures.

How would this system answer in any civil hospital? No one ever thinks of such a thing. Look at the cholera hospitals opened in times of its epidemic prevalence. The first thing is to provide a proper surgery, with dispensers. But if sickness to any extent, within the walls of an hospital or barrack, renders it impossible for the physician to be also apothecary, how much stronger is the case when we come to consider sickness as affecting the women, the children, the officers and their families, scattered in the slums of a town, or widespread over