imagine when I tell you that three men only have been sent to drill for the last month, and those only for very minor offences, such as dirty buttons and hair too long! Don't laugh -we all have a weakness, and you may recollect my dislike to 'curls!'

I am very sorry for old Mitchell. He could have known but little of either officers or men, and they nothing of him. I view the conduct of the men of the 34th Native Infantry in a far worse light than that of the 19th, and only trust they will get severely handled-the wretches! * Wheler ought to be made either to give up preaching or the command of a Native regiment that's certain.

(Diary) 15th April.-Heard from Curzon this morning that His Excellency would not see me till half-past one; so took my time, and I need not have hurried, as he didn't make his appearance till about half-past two. Not much work for him. The trial of the man of the 34th who shot at the Adjutant,† submitted by me to His Excellency, disposed of before, however, by General Hearsay.

16th April.-Before I was dressed got a note from the Chief, with a telegraphic message from Government wanting His Excellency to give a warrant to General Hearsay to carry out sentence on Native commissioned officers. Found it could not be done, but His Excellency thought otherwise. He, however, came round to my opinion in the afternoon when I went over to him, and a telegraphic message was sent to Government accordingly.

General ANSON to Colonel KEITH YOUNG.

SIMLA, 16th April.

MY DEAR COLONEL,-What is the meaning of this telegraphic message just received? I thought that the warrant that was sent to Major-General Hearsay gave him all the powers he needed, and

* Colonel Wheler, of the 34th Native Infantry.

+ The man was Mangul Pandy, whose name was supposed to be the origin of the Sepoys being called Pandies. (See Appendix E.) The Adjutant was Lieutenant Baugh. Pandy was executed.

E

6

SENTENCE ON ISURREE PANDY

that the execution of the Sepoy * had been carried out under them. If it does not extend to Native commissioned officers, I imagine the power must be given him, as the Government desire it. The message to say so had better be sent by express to Umballa and be forwarded by telegraph from there, and the warrant by this day's dâk.-Yours truly,

GEORGE ANSON.

SIMLA, 19th April.

MY DEAR COLONEL,-It is most satisfactory to find that the Court have done their duty. I wish that the sentence could have been carried out at once without my confirmation. If you think it would be desirable that any remarks should be made on the enormity of the crime, it may be as well to prepare them. It may be difficult, however, to allude to anything but the facts that appear upon the evidence, with a general warning to the Army. -Yours truly,

GEORGE ANSON.

SIMLA, 20th April.

MY DEAR COLONEL,-I think it will be better for me to confirm the sentence on Isurree Pandy, as it will be granted sooner than by warrant granted to General Hearsay. I think I can grant the warrant according to the meaning of the Act. If you have received the proceedings and come up earlier than two o'clock, I will attend to your business and defer any other.-Yours truly,

GEORGE ANSON.

SIMLA, 20th April.

MY DEAR COLONEL,-Telegraphic message just received. Did I see Section 6 of Victoria 7, Chapter XVIII.? The question is whether to send the warrant asked for, or to confirm the sentence by telegraph when the proceedings of trial are received. We ought to hear to-morrow at latest, and the last mode, if regular, would now be the quickest.-Yours truly, GEORGE ANSON.

(Diary) Monday, 20th April.-Woke up at about 3.30 this morning by the arrival of an express containing the trial of the

* Isurree Pandy, a Jemadar (Native Lieutenant) of the 34th Native Infantry, who forbade his men to aid their officers when Mangul Pandy mutinied.

CONFIRMED BY TELEGRAPH.

7

Jemadar of the 34th. With the Chief about it; and His Excellency decides on sending telegraphic message to carry out sentence of death passed on Jemadar. I go to Chester's with it, and then to the post-office, sending it off by express-the first time, I fancy, that an execution has been ordered by telegraph.

22nd April.-To the Chief's at twelve, but little work for him. He read me part of a letter from Lord Canning, who, it appears, spoke to Mr Peacock* about ordering the execution of a sentence of death by electric telegraph, and he saw no objection to it; so we are all right.

General ANSON to Colonel KEITH YOUNG.

SIMLA, 23rd April.

cases.

MY DEAR COLONEL,-There seems to be no help for it in these The sentence is certainly inadequate to their offence. I am rather of opinion that they might have been put upon their trials under Article 33. I think that the conduct of the prisoners was an 'insult to the religious prejudices of the Jemadar.' However, having been tried and sentenced to dismissal, I see no other course than to allow the sentence of dismissal to be carried out. I am not inclined to doubt their wish to be discharged, and it is therefore in fact no punishment; but they will be well got rid of.-Yours truly, GEORGE ANSON.

SIMLA, 27th April.

MY DEAR COLONEL,-I entirely agree with you that warrants should be given to officers commanding divisions to empower them to deal summarily with all such cases of insubordination as this in the 3rd Light Cavalry.† It is equally necessary in the event of the detection of an incendiary, which I hope is not so hopeless as Major Harriott predicts. The measures adopted seem to be judicious. If there has been no harshness on the part of the commander or other officers, and if this turns out to be a pre

* The Legal Member of the Supreme Council.

+ Commanded by Colonel Smyth at Meerut; the first Cavalry regiment that mutinied.

Deputy Judge-Advocate at Meerut.

8

MUTINY OF THE 3RD LIGHT CAVALRY:

determined combination of the troopers of the 3rd Light Cavalry, it is unpardonable after the issue of the order on the disbandment of the 19th Native Infantry, and I am satisfied that the right way of dealing with it will be to order the summary discharge of the whole of the men who refused to take the cartridges. We have the 60th Rifles and European Artillery, which will render such a proceeding perfectly safe. The burning of the Havildar's hut simultaneously with this act of mutiny proves that it is an organised system of the Sepoys, and it must be stopped. You had better prepare the warrants at once for the Meerut and Sirhind divisions.-Yours truly, GEORGE ANSON.

(Diary) 28th April.-To-day's Calcutta mentions that the Jemadar, 34th Native Infantry, was hanged last Tuesday afternoon, the 21st. The order only left here the day before about

3 P.M.

29th April.-Busy this morning with the 3rd Cavalry cartridge case-a bad business; hope they will be well punished. Order given for the trial of the offenders by General Court-Martial. Long talk with the Chief on the subject of the disaffection; he is very irate with Government apparently for having appointed an officer of the 19th-McAndrew-to the Staff. Call on Chester about the 3rd Cavalry affair, and then ride to post-office with telegraphic message to General Hewitt* to recall Harriott.

1st May. All this morning busy with that case of Jemadar Salikram, which has come up from Calcutta ; and though it is now nearly five o'clock, the Chief has not sent my man back yet who took the papers to him at about one. Get them at last, and approves of my views.

he

General ANSON to Colonel KEITH YOUNG.

SIMLA, 2nd May.

MY DEAR COLONEL,-Major Harriott will, of course, remain at Meerut. It will be advisable to tell him not to go until we are satisfied that he will not be wanted for any further cases of this description.--Yours truly, GEORGE ANSON.

* General Commanding at Meerut.

SHARP ANd severe measureS NECESSARY.

9

Colonel KEITH YOUNG to Colonel H. B. HENDERSON, London. SIMLA, 2nd May.

Harry is well, and full of his homeward trip at the end of the year, and nothing so far as human eye can see is likely to interfere with his plans, unless we are all 'kicked out' of India before then by our mutinous Native Army. I suppose the late accounts received of their doings are making a great stir at home; and well they may. There is no little uneasiness felt in India on the subject, for the disaffection appears so universal that I am quite prepared to see it show itself at any of our stations. Barrackpore, they say, is now quieted down, and the neck of the Mutiny has been broken there by the late examples made. But we have the open refusal to obey orders to deal with in the 3rd Cavalry at Meerut, where nearly one hundred men point-blank refused to load their carbines with cartridges-the cartridges being just the same that had been in use in the regiment for the last thirty years; and to-day I understand that a party of Artillery recruits at Meerut have refused to use the common cartridges also. I have seen no official report of this latter affair yet; but as to the 3rd Cavalry, orders went off some days ago to try them all by General Court-Martial, and I hope to hear before the week is over that all are at work on the roads, or that some have been hanged-if there is any more open resistance to authority on their part than has yet appeared. I am convinced that sharp and severe measures are the only ones left to us if we wish to quell the mutinous spirit now so prevalent; and every general officer of division is being furnished with authority to deal with cases at once as they arise, without sending up the trials to Head-Quarters. My old Chief, poor old Sir Charles Napier, would be the man for the present occasion. Decisive action is everything in such emergencies, and he was just the man to act with energy.

All the Native troops in the Punjab are quiet and well-behaved at present; but there is no saying how long it may be so, for this business in the 3rd Cavalry was the last thing in the world to have expected, the Cavalry having hitherto always refrained from joining the Infantry in their mutinous proceedings. There is no doubt of the fact of the Enfield rifle cartridges having been