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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd558fd --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #53278 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53278) diff --git a/old/53278-0.txt b/old/53278-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ed267e5..0000000 --- a/old/53278-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6099 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lord Lawrence, by Richard Temple - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Lord Lawrence - -Author: Richard Temple - -Release Date: October 14, 2016 [EBook #53278] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LORD LAWRENCE *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif, MWS and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - - - English Men of Action - - - LORD LAWRENCE - - [Illustration: colophon] - - [Illustration: LORD LAWRENCE - - Engraved by O. LACOUR after a Photograph by MAULL AND POLYBANK] - - - - - LORD LAWRENCE - - - BY - - SIR RICHARD TEMPLE - - - London - MACMILLAN AND CO. - AND NEW YORK - 1889 - - _The right of translation and reproduction is reserved_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE -CHAPTER I - -INTRODUCTION 1 - - -CHAPTER II - -EARLY LIFE, 1811-1829 7 - - -CHAPTER III - -THE DELHI TERRITORY, 1829-1846 15 - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE TRANS-SUTLEJ STATES, 1846-1849 27 - - -CHAPTER V - -PUNJAB BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION, 1849-1853 45 - - -CHAPTER VI - -CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF THE PUNJAB, 1853-1857 69 - -CHAPTER VII - -WAR OF THE MUTINIES, 1857-1859 92 - - -CHAPTER VIII - -SOJOURN IN ENGLAND, 1859-1863 137 - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, 1864-1869 148 - - -CHAPTER X - -CONCLUSION, 1869-1879 190 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -INTRODUCTION - - -John Laird Mair Lawrence was born in 1811 and died in 1879, being -sixty-eight years of age. Within that time he entered the Civil Service -of the East India Company, governed the Punjab then the most difficult -province in India, took a very prominent part in the War of the -Mutinies, was by many called the saviour of the Indian empire, and -became Viceroy of India. By reason of his conduct in these capacities he -is regarded as a man of heroic simplicity, and as one of the best -British type, to be reckoned among our national worthies. - -I shall write the following account of him as a man of action, partly -from authentic records, but chiefly from personal knowledge. I was his -Secretary during some of the most busy and important years when he was -governing the Punjab, and one of his Councillors when he was Viceroy. My -acquaintance with him began in 1851, and continued on intimate terms -till 1870, from which time until his death I was separated from him by -distance. Thus I have been in great part an eyewitness of what is to be -related of him. My knowledge, too, of his views is derived, not from -correspondence nor from private letters, but from verbal communication. -For several years it was my chief duty so to imbue my mind with his -policy and opinions that I might be able to express them in writing at a -moment’s notice. - -He was a man of action as distinguished from a man of letters. He did -not write a book nor contribute to periodical literature. Among his -predecessors and successors in high office amidst the imperial affairs -of India, some have been men either of letters or of literary culture; -as for instance, Warren Hastings, Wellesley, Teignmouth, Mountstuart -Elphinstone, Lytton. Though neither unlettered nor uncultured, he had no -literary training nor did he possess that which would nowadays be called -culture. Again, some of his predecessors and successors had acquired a -considerable position either in political and parliamentary life at home -or in imperial affairs abroad, as for example Amherst, Ellenborough, -Hardinge, Dalhousie, Canning, Elgin, Mayo, Northbrook. But he derived -his position solely from experience of India, knowledge of her people, -and services rendered within her limits. The son of a poor and hardy -veteran officer, he was essentially a self-made and a self-taught man. -It is therefore interesting to learn how he came to make and teach -himself thus grandly, and what was the process of the making and the -teaching. For he had no wondrous gifts of intellect or imagination and -few external graces. He never enjoyed the advantages of high education, -of family connection, of contact with political life, of guidance from -the lights of the age. He had to raise himself by his own up-heaving -force, and to propel himself by his own motive power. Before him many -great men have been singled out for greatness by every observer from -their youth onwards. But he as a young man was never deemed remarkable, -and almost up to his middle life he was not expected by his best friends -to acquire greatness. Then the hour of difficulty came, and was followed -by other hours harder and harder still; and he was found more and more -to be the man for them all. From a good magistrate of a comparatively -old district he became the administrator of a newly-annexed territory. -Thence he rose to be Resident at a Native Court in time of trouble, and -virtual governor of an arduous province. While thus occupied he was -overtaken by the desperate tempest of the Mutinies, and he rode on the -crest of every wave. Thence he was promoted in natural order to the -supreme command in India. Thus he rose not by assumed antecedents nor by -collateral advantages, but by proved merit in action. Doing lesser -things very well he was tried in greater things, and he did them with -equal efficiency. Tested in the furnace of fiery danger he showed the -purest metal. Lastly, when elevated to the highest office he was still -successful. - -All this while, his qualities were for the most part those which are -commonly possessed by British people. He evinced only two qualities in -an uncommon degree, namely energy and resolution. But if he was not a -man of genius in the ordinary acceptation of the term, there must have -been a certain genius in him, and that was virtue. Such genius is indeed -heaven-born, and this was the moral force which combined all his -faculties into a harmonious whole and made him a potent instrument for -good, a man of peace or of war, according to the requirements of right -and justice. His virtue was private as well as political, domestic as -well as public. He was a dutiful son, a faithful husband, a kind father, -an affectionate brother, a steadfast friend. There have been men eminent -in national affairs over whose life a veil must partially be thrown; but -his conduct was unassailable even by those who assailed his policy and -proceedings. However fiercely the light might beat on him, he was seen -to be unspotted from the world. Again there have been statesmen who, -vigilant as regards the public interests, have yet neglected their own -concerns; but he was a good steward in small things as well as in great. -He always found the means of meeting charitable demands; he was ever -ready with trusty counsel for his friends; he managed a fund formed by -himself and his brothers as a provision for their widowed mother. But, -while upright and undaunted before men, he was inwardly downcast and -humble before the all-seeing Judge. He relied on divine mercy alone, -according to the Christian dispensation. Apart from the effect of his -constant example in Christian action, he made no display of religion -beyond that which occasion might require. In this cardinal respect as in -all lesser respects he was unostentatious, excelling more in practice -than in precept. Amidst the excitement of success in emergent affairs, -he would reflect on the coming time of quiet and retirement. In the -heyday of strength and influence he would anticipate the hour when the -silver cord must be loosed and the golden bowl broken; when surrounded -with pomp and circumstance, he would reckon up the moments when the -splendid harness must be cast aside. In a word, massive vigour, -simplicity and single-mindedness were the keynotes of his character. - -In the following pages, then, the development of this character will be -traced through many striking circumstances in distant fields of action, -through several grave contingencies and some tremendous events. The -portrait will, indeed, be drawn by the hand of affection. Nevertheless -every endeavour will be made to preserve accurately the majestic -features, to pourtray the weather-beaten aspect, to depict the -honourable scars, the wrinkles of thought, the furrows of anxiety. In a -word he is to be delineated as he actually was in gentleness or -ruggedness, in repose or activity, in sickness or health. - -His course, from the beginning to the end of life, should have a -spirit-stirring effect on the middle class from which he sprung. For to -his career may be applied the Napoleonic theory of a marshal’s baton -being carried by conscripts in their knapsacks during a campaign. With -virtue, energy and resolution like his, British youths of scanty means, -winning their places by competition, may carry with them to the Eastern -empire the possibilities of national usefulness and the resources for -conquering fortune in her noblest sphere. - -Moreover, a special lesson may be learnt from him, namely that of -endurance; for he was, in the midst of energetic life, often troubled -and sometimes even afflicted by sickness. In early life he seemed to -have been born with powerful robustness; but as a young man he suffered -several times from critical illness, and in middle age ailments, -affecting chiefly the head, grew upon him like gathering clouds. As an -elderly man he was prematurely borne down to the dust of death, while -according to ordinary hope he might yet have been spared for some years -to his family his friends and his country. If anything could add to the -estimation in which he is held, it is the remembrance that when he -magnificently swayed the Punjab his health was fitfully uncertain, that -it was still worse when he stemmed the tide of the Mutiny and Rebellion, -that it had never been really restored even when he became Viceroy, and -that during the performance of deeds, always arduous and often heroic, -he had to struggle with physical pain and depression as well as wrestle -with public emergencies. - -But though he might have added something to the long list of his -achievements had his life been prolonged, still the main objects of his -existence had been fulfilled, and he died neither too early nor too late -for his fame. Even if it cannot be said of him that he lived long enough -to be gathered to his fathers like a full shock of corn, still there is -a fulness and a completeness in his career. To his memory may be applied -the lines of Schiller on a dead hero: “He is the happy one. He has -finished. For him is no more future here below. For him destiny weaves -no webs of envy now. His life seems spotless, and spreads out with -brightness. In it no dark blemish remains behind. No sorrow-laden hour -knocks to rouse him. He is far-off beyond hope and fear. He depends no -longer on the delusive wavering planets. For him ’tis well for ever. But -for us, who knows what the dark-veiled hour may next bring forth!” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -EARLY LIFE - -1811-1829 - - -He who would understand this story aright must stretch the wings of his -imagination for a flight across the ocean to the sunny shores beyond. In -these northern latitudes sunshine is regarded as genial and benignant, -but in those regions the sun is spoken of by the natives as cruel and -relentless. It is with fierce rays that he strikes the stately -architecture, the crowded marts, the dusty highways, the arid plains, -the many-coloured costumes, the gorgeous pageantry,--in the midst of -which our action is laid, and which in their combination form the -theatre where the mighty actors of our drama are to play their parts. -But not in such a climate nor amidst such scenes were these actors born -and bred. In the time of youth,--when the physical frame is developed, -and the foundation of the character is laid,--their stamina were -hardened, their faculties nursed, their courage fostered, under the grey -skies and misty atmosphere, in the dales and hills, amidst the green -fields and the smoky cities of Great Britain and Ireland. - -The village of Richmond is situated in the North Riding of Yorkshire at -the western base of the hills which flank the Westmoreland plateau, and -near the head-waters of the Swale, an affluent of the Ouse. In the year -1811 it formed the headquarters of the Nineteenth Regiment of Foot, of -which Alexander Lawrence was the Major. - -Here John Lawrence was born on March 4th, 1811: being the eighth in a -family of twelve children. His sister Letitia, his elder brothers George -and Henry, his younger brother Richard, will be mentioned in the -following narrative. His brother Henry, indeed, was closely associated -with some of the events to be related hereafter. - -The parents were people of British race domiciled for some generations -in Ulster. The mother was a descendant of John Knox the Scotch reformer, -and the daughter of a clergyman in the Church of England, holding a cure -in Donegal. The father had run a military career for full fifteen years -in India and Ceylon, and had been among the leaders of the forlorn hope -in the storming of Seringapatam. He was a fighting man, ardent for -warlike adventure, maimed with wounds, fevered by exposure, yet withal -unlucky in promotion. He was full of affection for his family, and of -generosity towards his friends. Despite the _res angusta domi_ which -often clings to unrewarded veterans, he was happy in his domestic life. -His only sorrow was the indignant sense of the scant gratitude with -which his country had regarded his services. Nevertheless he sent forth -three of his sons for military careers in that same East where he -himself had fought and bled,--of whom two rose to high rank and good -emoluments. But he placed them all in the service of the East India -Company, which he hoped would prove a good master, and that hope was -realised. - -As a child, John Lawrence went with his parents from Richmond to -Guernsey, thence to Ostend where the father commanded a Veteran -Battalion during the Waterloo campaign, and thence soon after 1815 to -Clifton near Bristol. During his childhood he suffered severely from an -affection of the eyes, the very ailment which, as we shall see -hereafter, overshadowed his declining years. From Clifton he went to a -day-school at College Green in Bristol, walking daily over the breezy -uplands that then separated the two places, in company with his brother -Henry, his elder by five years. It would seem that according to the -fashion of the schools of this class in those times, he received a -rudimentary education with a harsh discipline. His home, being furnished -with scanty means, must have been destitute of external amenities. But -he enjoyed the care of one who, though forced by circumstances to be -rigid, was a thoroughly good mother, and the tender thoughtfulness of -his sister Letitia which he never forgot. He listened eagerly to his -father’s animated tales of war, as the veteran recounted - - “the story of his life - From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes, - That he had passed ... - Wherein he spoke of most disastrous chances, - Of moving accidents by flood and field, - Of hair-breadth ’scapes i’ the imminent deadly breach.” - -Doubtless it was from his father’s conversation in these days of -childhood that he acquired the soldierly predilections which clung to -him throughout his civil career. The receptive years of his boyhood up -to twelve were thus spent in English surroundings, and amidst English -scenery of an attractive character. Despite the whirl and worry of his -after-life, he ever remembered the beautiful Clifton of his day--before -the rocks were pierced for railway-tunnels or the valley spanned by a -suspension-bridge. He loved the forest-clad heights, the limestone -cliffs, the bed of the tidal Avon. - -At twelve years of age he went to Foyle College close to Londonderry, to -be under the care of the Reverend James Knox, his mother’s brother. In -this College were his brothers George and Henry, also Robert Montgomery, -who was in future years to become to him the best of colleagues. Here he -stayed during two years of great importance in the forming of his mind -and disposition, as he breathed the air, imbibed the ideas, and gathered -the associations of Ulster. At first, however, his ways were so much -those of England that his companions called him “English John.” The -education which he there received was characteristic of the British -type, for it tended rather to form and strengthen the character than to -enlighten the intellect. The religious training, to which he was -subjected, appears to have been somewhat too severely strict. Yet in -combination with home influences and with natural impulses, it planted -religion ineradicably deep in his heart. The recollection of it, -however, rendered him adverse to formalism of any kind. - -Foyle College as an educational institution has doubtless been much -developed since his time. But the building and its precincts may now be -seen almost exactly as they were when he was there. From the upper -windows is the same prospect which he had of the Foyle estuary, and from -the field where he played football is beheld a view of the historic -city. As he used to stay there with his uncle during the holidays, he -must have often walked round the terrace on the top of the well-kept -walls, that still enclose the old citadel-town wherein the faith and -freedom of the Protestants were sheltered during the storm of war in -1688-9. Here he found the historic memories preserved with wonderful -tenacity. So he must have gazed at the Ship-Quay, the Water-gate as it -once was, whither the relieving ships from England, after fighting their -way up the Foyle, brought victuals for the long-suffering and famished -garrison. He must have passed beneath the venerable bastions where the -defenders repeatedly beat back the French soldiers of King James. He -attended on Sundays divine service in the Cathedral which stood close to -the fighting-ground during the defence, and where the bones of eminent -defenders were interred. This, then, was just the place to be for him a -_nutrix leonum_, and the meet nurse for a heroic child; as indeed it is -the Saragossa of the British Isles. In after life his talk would oft -revert to the Foyle as to him the queen of rivers. Forty years later, -when at the summit of his greatness, he spoke publicly to his admirers -in the Punjab about the memories of Londonderry, as nerving Britons in -other lands to stubborn resistance. - -At fifteen years of age he returned to England and went to a school kept -at Wraxall Hall, near Bath, an Elizabethan structure with picturesque -courtyards and orchards. It was comparatively near to his paternal home -at Clifton, and in it were renewed those rural associations of English -life which he had gathered in childhood. Shortly afterwards he was -offered a civil appointment in the East India Company’s service by a -good friend, Mr. Hudlestone, who had already given appointments in the -Company’s military service to three of the elder brothers, one of whom -was Henry. But he was minded to decline the civil appointment, then -considered of all appointments the most desirable, and to ask for a -military appointment instead. He would not regard the advice of his -father, nor of his brother Henry, who had just returned from India on -sick leave after hard service in the wars. The influence of his sister -Letitia alone persuaded him to accept the civil appointment. -Consequently at the age of seventeen he went to the East India Company’s -College at Haileybury near Hertford, and remained there for the -appointed term of two years. There he heard lectures in political -economy from Malthus, and in law from Empson, afterwards editor of the -_Edinburgh Review_. The discipline was not specially strict, nor was the -intellectual training severe; but as the Company maintained a highly -qualified and distinguished staff of professors, he had educational -opportunities of which he availed himself in a moderate or average -degree only. He was a fairly good student, but was not regarded by his -compeers as remarkable for learning or for prowess in games. His frame -was tall and well knit but gaunt. His manner was reserved in public, -sometimes tending to taciturnity, but vivacious and pleasant in private. -As he had been thought to be English when in Ireland, so now when in -England he was deemed to be somewhat Irish in his ways. In his case, as -in many eminent cases, the temper and disposition were being fixed and -settled, while the mental faculties were being slowly developed. The -basis of his great character was being founded in silence. But his -fondness for the rural side of English life must have been gratified to -the full at College. He had not cultivated any architectural taste, and -if he had, it would have been offended by the plainness even ugliness of -the collegiate architecture; but his nature rejoiced in the surroundings -of the College, the extensive woods reaching to the very gates, the -outburst of vernal foliage, the singing birds in their leafy haunts, the -open heath, the Rye House meadows, the waters of the Lea. He would roam -with long strides in the meads and woodlands. Though not gifted with any -æsthetic insight into the beauties of Nature, yet he would inwardly -commune with her, and he had an observant eye for her salient features. -Such things helped to establish a mind like his, and to temper it like -pure steel for the battle of life. - -He used to spend a part of his vacation in each year at the house of a -friend at Chelsea, before returning to his home at Clifton. Having -passed through College he spent four months in England, in order to have -the companionship of Henry on the voyage out to India. He sailed in -September 1829, being nineteen years old, in a vessel bound for Calcutta -by the route round the Cape of Good Hope. - -At a later stage in his life, some analysis will be given to show how -far he partook of the several elements in our composite national -character, English, Scotch and Irish. It may suffice here to state that -for all these years his nurture, bringing up, and education generally, -had been English, with the important exception of the two years which he -spent at Londonderry. Whatever Scotch or Irish proclivities he may have -possessed, and they will be considered hereafter, no son of England, of -his age, ever left her shores more imbued than he with her ideas, more -loyal to her principles, more cognisant of her strength or weakness, of -her safety or danger, of her virtues or failings. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE DELHI TERRITORY - -1829-1846 - - -John Lawrence, in company with his elder brother Henry, entered in 1829 -upon his new life, beginning with a five months’ voyage through the -Atlantic and Indian Oceans. On this voyage he suffered severely from -sea-sickness, and the suffering was protracted over several weeks. This -must have aggravated any constitutional tendency to nervous irritability -in his head. He landed at Calcutta in February, 1830, just when the cool -season was over and the weather was growing warmer and warmer till it -attained the heat of early summer. Then he passed through the rainy -period of midsummer, which in those latitudes always had a depressing -effect on him as on many others. He was an ordinarily good student in -the College of Fort William--the official name whereby the stronghold of -Calcutta is called. He mixed but little in the society of the capital, -and pined for his English home, fancying that poverty there would be -better than affluence in the East; he even allowed himself to be -dominated by this sort of home-sickness, for the first and last time in -his life. However, after sojourning for a few months in Calcutta, and -passing the examination in the vernacular of Upper India, he asked for -and obtained an appointment at Delhi, partly because his brother Henry -was serving in the Artillery at Kurnal in that neighbourhood, partly -also because the far-off frontier had a fascination for him as for many -others. In those days a journey from Calcutta to Delhi (now accomplished -by railway within three days) often occupied nearly three months by boat -on the Ganges; but by travelling in a palanquin he traversed the -distance, about eleven hundred miles, within three weeks. - -Arrived at Delhi, in 1830, he felt that happy revulsion of thought and -sentiment which is well known to many who have passed through similar -circumstances. He had not only landed on a strange and distant shore, -but had advanced many hundred miles into the interior of the country. He -had thus, so to speak, cut his cables and cast away home-sickness, -treasuring the memory of the former existence in the sunniest corner of -his heart, but bracing and buckling himself to the work of the new -existence. This work of his, too, was varied and intensely human in its -interests. Its nature was such as made him anxious to learn, and yet the -learning was extraordinarily hard at first. His dormant energies were -thus awakened, as he dived deep into the affairs of the Indian people, -listened to their petitions, guarded their rights, collected the taxes, -watched the criminal classes, traced out crime, regulated the police. -The work was in part sedentary, but it also afforded him healthy -exercise on foot and on horseback, as he helped in supervising the -streets, the drains, the roads, and the municipal institutions of all -sorts in a great city and its neighbourhood. - -He was, moreover, impressed deeply by imperial Delhi itself as one of -the most noteworthy cities in the world, and as - - “The lone mother of dead empires.” - -The matchless palace of the Great Mogul overhanging the river Jumna, the -hall of audience, the white marble mosque, a veritable pearl of -architecture, the great city mosque, probably the finest place of -worship ever raised by Moslem hands, the ruins outside the walls of -several capitals belonging to extinct dynasties, doubtless affected his -imagination in some degree. But he was too much pre-occupied by work to -regard these things as they would be regarded by artists or -antiquarians. Nevertheless his native keenness of observation served him -well even here, for he would describe the structural merits of these -noble piles, the clean cutting of the red-sandstone and the welding -together of the massive masonry. He was more likely to observe fully the -geographical situation, which gave commercial and political importance -to the city in many ages, and preserved it as a capital throughout -several revolutions. In the intervals of practical business he must have -noticed the condition of the Great Mogul, whom the British Government -then maintained as a phantom sovereign in the palace. But he could not -have anticipated the position of fell activity into which this very _roi -fainéant_ was fated to be thrust some twenty-seven years later. It will -be seen hereafter that the local knowledge which he thus gained of -Delhi, served him in good stead during the most critical period of his -after-life. - -In 1834 he was placed in temporary charge of the district of Paniput, in -a vast plain that stretches along the western bank of the Jumna. His -being after only four years’ service entrusted, as acting Magistrate and -Collector, with the command of a district containing some thousands of -square miles and some hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, was a proof -of the early reputation he had won as a capable officer and -well-informed administrator. At Paniput he controlled, as a superior, -much the same work as that which he had performed as a subordinate at -Delhi. That which he had learnt by laborious self-instruction on a -smaller scale, he was now to practise on a larger. The area being -extensive, and rapidity of movement being essential to the maintenance -of a personal control over affairs, he used to ride on horseback over -his district from end to end. Every arduous or dangerous case, fiscal or -criminal, he would keep in his own hands; though even in these early -days he trusted his subordinates when trustworthy, and made them do -their duty as he did his. He did not, indeed, adorn all that he touched, -but he stamped on it the mark of individuality. The natives soon learnt -to regard him as the embodiment of British justice. The various sections -of the population, the evil-disposed or the industrious, the oppressor -or the oppressed, the suppliant for redress or the hardened -wrong-doer,--all in their respective ways felt his personality. The good -officers in India live, move and have their being among the people, and -such was his daily routine. He could not fail, moreover, to be moved by -the historic traditions of Paniput--the scene of the Mahabhârat, that -antique epic of the Hindoos; the victory of the young Akber, the first -of the Great Moguls; the Persian invasion under Nâdir Shah; the rout of -the Mahrattas under Ahmed Shah the Afghan: especially must the tragic -and touching incidents of the Mahratta disaster have appealed to -susceptibilities such as his. - -In these days he practised himself much in horsemanship, becoming a -strong rider and a good judge of horses; it was truly to be said of him -_gaudet equis canibusque_. He was a keen observer of steers and heifers, -of bullocks for draught and plough. Being fond of animals generally, he -studied their breeding, nurture and training, their temper, habits and -capabilities. Though a stranger to botany as a science, he knew the -local names of every tree and plant. He had a discriminating eye for the -varieties of soil, the qualities of growing crops, the faults and merits -of husbandry. Though not versed in the theory of economic science, he -had an insight into the causes affecting the rise and fall of prices, -the interchange of commodities, the origin and progress of wealth, the -incidence of taxation. He had hardly, indeed, mastered the -technicalities of finance, yet he had a natural bent for figures, and -was a financier almost by instinct. - -This was the spring-tide of his public life when he was bursting forth -into vigour of body, soaring in spirit, and rejoicing like a young lion -in healthy strength. Then, too, he was able to withstand the climate all -the year round. For although in summer the sky was as brass, the earth -as iron, the wind as a blast from a furnace, still in winter the -marching in tents was salubrious, the breeze invigorating, the -temperature delicious by day, and the air at night frosty. - -After an incumbency of three years at Paniput he was transferred to -Gurgaum, a district south of Delhi. There his work was the same as that -already described, only somewhat harder, owing to the lawless and -intractable habits of some classes among the inhabitants, and because of -drought which visited and distressed that region. Then in 1838 he was -appointed Settlement-Officer of Etawah, a district south-east of Delhi -between the Ganges and the Jumna. In technical or official language, his -settlement-work included the whole scope of landed affairs, in the most -comprehensive as well as in the minutest sense,--the assessment of that -land-tax, which is the main burden of the peasantry and the prime -resource of the State--the cadastral survey of every field in every -village or parish--the adjudication of all disputes regarding the -rights, interests and property in land--the registration of landed -tenures. His duty herein was, of all duties which can be entrusted to a -man in India, the one of most interest and importance, the one which -penetrates deepest into the national life, the one for which the -Government always chooses its most promising officers. This duty, -moreover, universally attractive to the best men throughout India, had -for him especial charms in the districts between the Ganges and the -Jumna. For here he found, in all their pristine and unimpaired vigour, -those Village Communities which have survived the shocks of war and -revolution, and have engaged the thoughts of jurists and philosophers. -His business was to guard the innate and indestructible energy of these -ancient communities, to adapt their development to the wants of the -present time, to fence round their privileges and responsibilities with -all the forms of a civilized administration. The experience thus gained -was to him of unspeakable value in the most arduous passages of his -after life. But though he entered with all his heart and mind into this -work, he felt the district itself to be dull and distasteful after Delhi -and Paniput, and this feeling shows how the antique splendour of the -former and the historic traditions of the latter had affected his -imagination. He could no longer live contentedly unless amidst his -surroundings there were something grand for his mind to feed upon. -However grateful he may have felt to Etawah for the experience it had -given him, he never looked back on the place with pleasure. One -melancholy recollection abided with him, for it was here that he caught -his first serious illness, a violent fever which rapidly reduced him to -the verge of death. By an effort of nature he shook it off and rallied -for a while. Then in the autumn of 1839 he glided, as an invalid in -river-boats, down the Jumna and the Ganges to Calcutta. There he had a -relapse of fever, and decided in the beginning of 1840 to proceed to -England, being entitled to furlough after his active service of ten -years. He arrived in England during June of that year. - -The first act in the drama of his public life was thus concluded. He had -done well, he had mastered the details of a difficult profession, in his -own words he “had learnt his business.” He was esteemed by his comrades -and his superiors as a competent officer in all respects; beyond this, -however, nothing more was said or thought of him at that time. All this -has been and yet will be recorded of hundreds of British officers in -India, before or after him, whose names are nevertheless not written in -the roll of fame. _Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona multi_: indeed many men -as good as he then was are now living and will still live. Furthermore, -many officers have, in the course of their first ten years, shown more -signs of genius, or talent, or statesmanlike accomplishments, than he -had displayed up to this time. When he sailed from Calcutta for England -in 1840 neither he himself nor his friends had, on a retrospect of his -first ten years, formed any idea of the career which he was to run -during his second ten years, and had never, even in day-dreams, caught a -vision of the destiny which awaited him during his third ten years. The -elements of his character were being gradually fused into granitic -consistency. To him was applicable that British metaphor, which though -familiar is never trite because the proofs of its truth are -oft-recurring: the sturdy oak grows slowly, but in proportion to that -slowness is the ultimate strength to bear the weight, withstand the -strain and resist the storm. - -Returning to England during the summer of 1840, he found the home of his -youth at Clifton much altered. His father had passed away, his sister -Letitia had married, but his mother remained to benefit by his -affectionate assistance. Though his health was not re-established, yet -his energy and spirits revived under the European skies, and his -vivacity astonished both friends and acquaintances. He proceeded to -Bonn, and stayed there for a time with his sister-in-law, the wife of -George Lawrence who was in Afghanistan. Then he paid visits in England -and travelled in Scotland and Ireland. In Donegal he was so fortunate as -to meet Harriette, daughter of the Reverend Richard Hamilton, whom he -married in August 1841, thus forming a union of the very happiest -character. He proceeded to the continent of Europe on a wedding-tour, -passing through Switzerland to Italy, and gathered notions, in his -practical way, regarding the policy and strategy of ancient Rome. He -particularly noticed the campaigns of Hannibal, to which he often -alluded in after-life. But the Indian ailments partially reappeared in -the malarious climate of the Roman campagna. At Naples, in the beginning -of 1842, he received news of the disasters at Caubul and hurried home to -England, sorely anxious regarding the captivity of his brother George -amidst the Afghans. In London he had a grave relapse of illness, but was -sufficiently recovered by the autumn to start for India by the overland -route, after bidding a last farewell to his mother. - -During his sojourn in England of little more than two years, he left -upon every one who conversed with him a marked impression of his -originality, elasticity, animated conversation, brightness of spirit and -physical force. Those who saw him only when he was well, little thought -how suddenly he could become ill, and--erroneously, alas!--supposed him -to be a man of abounding health as well as strength. None, however, -foresaw his future greatness, or even predicted for him a career more -useful than that which is run by the many able and zealous men who are -found in the Indian service. This failure of prescience is the more -remarkable, because his elder brother Henry had long been designated by -admiring comrades as one of the heroes and statesmen of the future. - -He landed with his wife at Bombay towards the end of 1842, and thus -gained his first experience of Western India. Thence he travelled by -palanquin, at the rate of thirty miles a day, over the eight hundred -miles that separated him from Allahabad in the North-Western Provinces -to which he officially belonged. In the beginning of 1843 he marched at -the rate of ten miles a day in tents towards the Delhi territory, where -he was thankful to find employment. The tent-life in the bracing -winter-season of Upper India was very beneficial to him physically, and -he resumed work amidst his early associations in good health. With his -wife and young children he settled down to the routine of public life, -and girded himself for the discharge of ordinary duties. At Kurnal, not -far from Delhi, he made a searching and practical analysis of the causes -which produced a malarious and disabling sickness among the troops -stationed there. In 1844 he was appointed to the substantive post of -Magistrate and Collector of Delhi. While holding this appointment he -laid the foundation of his fortunes in public life. In November, 1845, -he first met the Governor-General, Lord Hardinge, who passed through -Delhi to join the army assembling near the Sutlej for the first Sikh -war. His bearing, conversation and subsequent proceedings, made a -lasting impression on the mind of the Governor-General, who ever -afterwards spoke and wrote of him as the ideal of what a civil officer -for India ought to be. - -He soon justified by deeds the high estimate thus formed respecting -him, for he was charged with the duty of finding transport for the siege -train with its heavy guns, stores and munitions from Delhi to the -battlefields on the bank of the Sutlej; and this transport was to -consist of four thousand carts with bullocks and drivers complete. He -furnished a signal instance of the manner whereby in India the civil -administration aids the army by providing transport in time of war. Such -transport, in quantities adequate for the service, cannot be obtained -without a really powerful organisation; during public emergency it can -by law be forcibly impressed, but when thus collected it is likely to -prove inefficient unless the civil authority makes such arrangements as -may secure the contentment of those from whom the vehicles and the -animals are hired: in this case his arrangements were practically -perfect. Within a very short time he so managed that all the thousands -of carts should be driven by their owners, who, for good hire, partly -paid in advance, became willing to undertake the service. He despatched -the long-extended train in complete order so that it arrived, without -any straggling or deserting, without the failure of a man, a wheel or a -bullock, in time for the battle of Sobraon. For the first time in his -life a public service had been demanded from him of definite importance, -requiring knowledge of the natives, aptitude for command and power of -organisation. He at once stepped to the very front as if to the manner -born. His capacity, too, was evinced in a large affair, wherein the -Governor-General from personal experience was peculiarly qualified to -adjudge the merit. So when, as a consequence of the war, the -Trans-Sutlej States were shorn from the Sikh kingdom and annexed to the -British dominions, he was appointed by Lord Hardinge to be the -Commissioner and Superintendent of the newly-acquired territory. - -He quitted his command at Delhi early in 1846, never dreaming of the -wonderful circumstances in which he was destined to resume it only -eleven short years later in 1857. Those who reflect on the reserve -force, the dormant capacity, the latent energy that existed within him, -might imagine poetically the surging thoughts that made his breast heave -as he drove or rode off from the bank of the Jumna with his face set -towards the bank of the Sutlej. But such was not his manner; if he had -leisure to meditate at all, he would have peered into the future with a -modest even a humble look, anticipating the disappointments rather than -the successes that might be in store for him. On his way, though at the -most favourable season of the year, he was seized with a sharp attack of -cholera. From that, however, he rallied quickly, and crossed the Sutlej -in sufficiently good health, and with buoyant spirits. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE TRANS-SUTLEJ STATES - -1846-1849 - - -From the last preceding chapter it has been seen that in March, 1846, -John Lawrence was appointed Commissioner of the territory, known -officially as the Trans-Sutlej States, and geographically as the -Jullundur Doab, containing thirteen thousand square miles and two and a -half millions of inhabitants. He thus became prefect of this -newly-annexed territory, which was placed not under any provincial -Government but under the immediate administration of the -Governor-General in Council. It was divided into three districts, with -district officers who were to exercise power as great as that which he -had possessed at Delhi, in some respects greater indeed, and he was in -command of them all. He was at the head of what was then the frontier -province of the empire, and under the eye of the Governor-General. His -foot was on the first step of the ladder which leads to greatness, but -it was quite doubtful whether he would succeed in mounting any further -steps. His temper was naturally masterful in that degree which is -essential to any considerable achievements in human affairs. This -quality in him had been fostered by his service at Delhi. It had the -fullest play in his new province, which lay half at the base of the -Himalayas and half within the mountains. Below the hills he found the -territory fertile, the population sturdy, and the land with its -inhabitants like plastic clay to be moulded by his hand. Old-standing -wrongs were to be redressed, half-suppressed rights to be vindicated, -tenures to be settled, crimes to be stamped out, order to be introduced -not gradually but rapidly, law to be enforced in spirit if not in -letter, an administration to be rough-hewn after civilised models, -provincial finance to be managed; here, then, he was in his element. -This was, probably, the happiest time of his whole life, and the most -satisfactory portion of his long career. In after years he would recur -to it wistfully, when troubled by other surroundings and beset by other -circumstances. There he had quite his own way, and left his proper mark; -for in a few months he laid broadly and deeply the foundations of good -administration. Besides the civil business, there was other work -demanding his care. The province contained not only the rich and peopled -plain near the confluence of the Sutlej and the Beas, but also a -Himalayan region extending northwards to Tibet and held by mountaineer -chieftains; and he had to reduce this mountainous country also to -reasonable obedience. The results he attained in six months, that is -from March to August 1846, seem on a retrospect to be wonderful, and -prove with what method as well as force, what steadiness as well as -energy, what directness of aim, what adaptation of means to righteous -purposes, he must have laboured. Throughout these affairs he was in -direct and immediate relations with the Government of India from whom -he received ample support. And he more than justified the confidence of -the Governor-General, Lord Hardinge, who had selected him. - -Though his new charge in the Trans-Sutlej States was distant not more -than two hundred miles from his old charge at Delhi,--which for -north-western India is a short distance--there was a change of scene. -Around Delhi and Paniput he had seen scenery as flat as that of northern -or south-eastern Europe in the basin, for instance, of the Elbe and the -Oder or of the Don and the Volga. No mountain wall, no abrupt peak, no -wooded eminence, broke for him the monotony of outline, or bounded his -horizon which ran in a complete circle like the horizon at sea. But in -the Trans-Sutlej States on a fine winter’s morn, his northern horizon of -the plains was bounded by a glittering wall of the snowy Himalayas, a -sight which, when beheld by Europeans for the first time, so affects -them that they instinctively raise their hats to the peerless mountains. -Within the lower hills, which are outworks of the greater ranges, he -rode up and down stony bridle-paths or across the sandy beds of -summer-torrents, and gazed at hill-forts on stiff heights, or on castles -like that of Kot-Kangra rising proudly from the midst of ravines with -precipitous surroundings. Penetrating further northwards he reached -mountains, with fir-woods bounded by snow, which reminded him of his -Alpine tour only four years ago, and thought how short that interval -was, and yet how much had happened to him within it. Though not -specially sensitive to the beauties of Nature, he would yet dilate with -something near enthusiasm on the vale of Dhurmsala, with its cultivated -slopes, intersected by a net-work of artificial rivulets or murmuring -brooks, and surrounded by forests of oak and pine, while above the scene -there towered the everlasting snows that look down upon the transient -littleness of man. But he lingered not in any scene, however glorious, -for his heart was with the swarthy population under his charge in the -hot and dusty plains below. - -In August, 1846, he was called away to Lahore to act for his brother -Henry as British Resident with the Regency of the Punjab. Here he had a -fresh field of action, which though nominally new was yet one where his -experience of native life enabled him to enter at once with full effect. -He was temporarily the agent of the paramount British power in a Native -State, torn by restless and incompatible factions, and possessing the -_débris_ of a warlike power that had been shattered by British arms in -recent campaigns. He was, however, acting for his brother absent on -leave, on whose lines he loyally worked. But though he had no chance of -showing originality, he yet evinced capacity for that which in India is -called political work, and which though cognate to, is yet distinct -from, civil administration. - -He resumed charge of his province, the Trans-Sutlej States, by the end -of 1846, and consolidated his work there during the first half of 1847. -But in August of that year he was again called to act for Henry at -Lahore, who had proceeded on sick leave to England. By this time a -further arrangement had been made, placing the supervision of the -Punjab, during the minority of the Native Prince, under the British -Resident. Consequently during this his second incumbency at Lahore he -enjoyed a largely extended authority, and the evidence he gave of -capacity increased together with his opportunities. He remained at -Lahore from the middle of 1847 to the spring of 1848, when he made over -his political charge to Sir Frederick Currie, and returned to his -province in the Trans-Sutlej States. During this time his friend Lord -Hardinge had been succeeded by Lord Dalhousie as Governor-General. -Hardly had he resumed the civil command of his province when the -rebellion broke out at Mooltan in the southern Punjab, and spread over -the whole country west of Lahore. During the events which followed, -throughout 1848 and up to the spring of 1849, and which have been -regarded by history as constituting the second Punjab War, he held his -provincial command with characteristic vigour. The rebellious fire in -the Punjab sent many sparks into the inflammable materials in the -hill-districts of his jurisdiction. Newly subdued chiefs, occupying -mountainous territories, showed their teeth, and there was anxiety for -the safety of Kot-Kangra, the famous hill-fort which was the key of the -surrounding country; but in an instant he seemed to be ubiquitous. With -scanty resources in troops, and with hastily raised levies, he struck -blows which prevented insurrection from making head. Throughout the war -his Trans-Sutlej province, occupying a critical position between the -elder British dominions and the Punjab, was kept well in hand. - -In the beginning of 1849 he repaired to Lahore to confer with Henry, who -had come back from England and resumed charge of the Residency. He -remained in close communication with his brother till after the -termination of the war by the battle of Gujerat in February of that -year. In March he went on his brother’s behalf to Ferozepur, whither the -Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, had come in order to determine the -fate of the Punjab. There he met Lord Dalhousie for the first time, and -discussed with him the principal matters connected with the annexation -of the country--not the policy of annexing, for that had really been -determined, but rather the best way of carrying that measure into -effect. The conference being verbal and confidential, the substance -cannot be given; but he certainly advised the Governor-General that if -annexation was to be decreed there was not a moment to be lost, for in -the first place the spring crops, the main sources of the land revenue, -were ripening for harvest, and the Government interests would be -sacrificed by delay; and in the second place, the hot weather was coming -on apace, and very few weeks remained wherein the British officers could -possibly move about and establish order in the country. This valuable -and withal characteristic advice of his must have carried due weight -with Lord Dalhousie. - -The Punjab being annexed immediately afterwards, he was appointed a -member of the Board of Administration of which Henry was President. The -Board was constituted for managing the country, though the powers of the -Government were reserved for the Governor-General in Council; but its -functions were comprehensive and he was an important member of it. - -He was now on the threshold of Anglo-Indian greatness, with nineteen -years’ standing in the service, including two years of furlough in -England. For some time his health had been fairly good; he was in the -zenith of strength and in the prime of life; he was happy in his -domestic circumstances; he was as yet on good terms officially with his -eminent brother Henry as he ever was privately. He had shown himself to -be perfectly equipped for civil administration, competent for extended -command, able in dealing with political contingencies, active in the -field as well as laborious in the cabinet, prompt in suppressing -disturbance, equal to grave emergency. Nevertheless he had not up to -this time conceived any idea of a great future being in store for him. -He had seen men of signal power, whom he reverently regarded, leave -India without reward or external honour, although their fame might live -for generations in the hearts of many millions, and he hardly expected -any different issue for himself. - -At the present stage the main points may be reviewed in his public -character which by this time had been cast in its lasting mould. The -basis and framework of his nature assuredly belonged to what is -familiarly known as the British type. The earliest influences brought to -bear upon him had been English absolutely, and the effect, thus produced -at the most impressionable age, abided with him to the end. Later on, -however, a quality developed itself in him which is not especially -English, namely caution. This he derived, no doubt, from his mother’s -Scottish blood. He was an extremely cautious man, and obeyed the -dictates of caution up to the utmost reasonable limit. Whenever he acted -in a dashing and daring manner--as he sometimes had to do--it was only -after a cool, even though a rapid, review of diverse considerations. He -thought that as a race the English are incautious, even impatient in -time of energetic action, and apt to feel too secure and self-sufficing -in time of quiet. When preparing instructions for a possible emergency, -he would often say that they must be so framed as to guard against the -over-impetuous disposition of our countrymen in the presence of danger. -As a cognate quality to caution, he had forethought in the highest -degree. In all considerable affairs he habitually disciplined his mind -to think out the probable or possible future, to perceive beforehand -what might or might not happen, to conjure up the contingencies which -might arise, to anticipate the various turns which events might take. -This faculty must, indeed, be possessed more or less by all who achieve -anything great in public life; but probably few men ever possessed it in -a higher degree than he. For ill-digested policy, or hastily judged -action, or inconsiderate rashness, he had nothing but pity and contempt. -With such a temperament as this he would willingly, indeed anxiously, -listen to all that could be said on the several sides of every question, -collate the opinions of others, and gather local knowledge before making -up his own mind. After that, however, his mind would be made up -decisively without further delay, and would be followed by action with -all his might. Thus he became essentially a man of strong opinions, and -was then self-reliant absolutely. The test of a first-rate man, as -distinguished from ordinary men, is the fitness to walk alone; that was -his favourite expression, meaning doubtless the exercise of undivided -responsibility. Thus he was masterful in temperament. He would yield -obedience readily to those whom he was bound to obey, but would quickly -chafe if the orders he received were couched in inconsiderate terms. He -would co-operate cordially with those from whom he had no right to -expect more than co-operation; but he always desired to be placed in -positions where he would be entitled to command. Though not thirsting -for power in the ordinary sense of the term, he never at any stage of -his career felt that he had power enough for his work and his -responsibilities. He certainly complained often on this score. His -confidence in the justice of his own views was complete, because he knew -that he had thought them out, and was conscious of being gifted with the -power of thinking. Still he was not aggressively dogmatic, nor -uncharitable to contrary opinions on the part of others, but rather -forbearing. He would modestly say that these opinions of theirs should -be respected, but his own view was formed, and he must act upon it. -Hesitancy might be desirable during the stage of deliberation, but was -not, in his mind, permissible when once the conclusions had been -reached, for then it must give place to promptitude in action. - -He had one faculty which is characteristic of the best English type, -namely, the power of judging evenly and calmly in regard to the merits -or demerits of those with whom he had to deal. Without undue -predilection he would note the faults or failings of those who on the -whole had his admiration. Equally without prejudice he would make -allowance for the weakness of those whom he reprobated, and would -recollect any countervailing virtue. He was ready to condone errors in -those who were zealous for the public service. But to those who were -lacking in desire for the performance of duty he would show no -consideration, notwithstanding any gifts or accomplishments which they -might possess. In holding a just balance between virtues and faults in -others, or estimating with discrimination the diverse moral and -intellectual qualities of those who were responsible to him, he has -rarely, if ever, been surpassed. It almost necessarily follows that he -was a keen observer and an accurate judge of character in all with whom -he came in contact. He was inclined to believe more in men than in -measures. Almost any plan, he would say, will answer with good men to -execute it, with such men even an inferior system will succeed; but with -bad or indifferent men to work it, the best system will fail. - -While the basis of his disposition was British, still there was in him -an Irish element. His heart was with Ulster, and in his hardest times he -would recur to the defence of Londonderry. He was often humorous, -vivacious and laughter-loving, to a degree which is not usual with -Britons of so rough and hard a fibre as his. He was frequently grave and -silent; his temper, too, though very good in reality, was not mild, and -occasionally might seem to be irascible; nevertheless when at his ease, -or off his guard, he would relax at once into smiles and witticisms. If -wrapped up in preoccupation of thought--as was but too often the -case--he must needs be serious. But if not preoccupied, he would look -forth upon the world around him, men, things, animals and objects -generally, with a genial desire to gain amusement from them all, and to -express that amusement in racy terms to any friend or companion who -might be with him. As he moved along a thoroughfare of traffic or the -streets of a city, his talk sparkled like a hill-stream flowing freshly -over a stony bed. His wit was abundantly seasoned by the use of -metaphor. His figures of speech were drawn not only from his native West -but from the East of his adoption. His _repertoire_ and vocabulary were -thus enriched from Oriental resources which abound in imagery. He had in -early years acquired not a scholar-like but a competent knowledge of -Persian. Thus he was able to apply the similes, the tropes, the quirks -of that flowery language to passing objects in a manner which moved -everyone European or Native to laughter. He had an amazing memory for -tales of real life, in the East chiefly, and these he would on occasion -narrate in a vivid or graphic style. - -Beneath a rough-hewn exterior there flowed an undercurrent of gentleness -and tenderness which he reserved for his home. In his domestic life he -was thoroughly happy, and fortunate beyond the average lot of mankind. -This had a quieting and softening effect upon him amidst the distraction -and excitement of active life. Never having studied art of any kind, or -paid any attention to music and painting, he would not idealize -anything, nor take an artistic view of the grand and glorious objects in -Nature that often met his eye. But if such an object affected military -or political combinations--as for instance a precipitous defile, a bluff -headland, a treacherous river-passage, a rockbound ravine--then he would -describe it with eloquent, even poetic, illustrations. - -He had by nature an acute and far-reaching eyesight, which, however, in -middle life became impaired by excessive reading both in print and -manuscript. But this reading of his ranged for the most part over -official papers only. He read but little of literature generally,--that -little, however, would be in the heroic mould, something that related to -the struggles of ancient Rome, or her contest with Carthage, or the -marches of Alexander the Great, or the stirring episodes of Irish -history, or the English policy of Cromwell, or the travels of -Livingstone. His classical lore extended to Latin only; he knew but -little of Greek and rarely alluded to the efforts of Athens or Sparta. -To the Book of books he turned daily; with its more than mortal -eloquence he had by reverent study familiarised himself. As a steadfast -member of the Church of England, he had passages from the Church -Services read to him constantly. For all other books, too, he would, if -possible, find some one to read aloud, being anxious to spare his eyes. -Had he not lived always in official harness, he would have been -adventurous, for he loved to collate and describe the adventures of -others. Had his leisure sufficed, he would have been a reader of the -fine romances with which our literature is adorned. But he could only -enjoy a few selected works, and his choice fell chiefly on the novels of -Walter Scott. The finest of these would be read out to him in evenings -at home, because, among other reasons, they reminded him of his visit to -Scotland in 1841. - -His pen was that of a ready as well as a busy writer, though in all his -life he never wrote a line of literary composition. His writing was -either official or what is called demi-official. In the Delhi territory -his extensive correspondence was mainly in the vernacular, for which -native amanuenses were employed. In the Trans-Sutlej States it was -largely in English, and had to be conducted by his own hand. In the -still higher offices which he was now to fill, the services of -secretaries are available, and he needed seldom to write long despatches -or minutes. Some few reports, however, he did write, and these are -marked throughout by a clear, straightforward and forcible style; the -salient features in a situation, the points in the character of a -person, the elements in a political combination, being sketched offhand -in a simple but telling manner, and even with some degree of picturesque -effect. The excellence in these reports of his, few and far between, -attracted Lord Dalhousie’s notice. He never was content with -communicating his views and wishes officially, but would usually -reinforce his public instructions with private letters. He wrote -privately to all officers of importance whom he wished to impress with -his sentiments. He encouraged them to write to him and he invariably -answered their letters. Distance, separation and other circumstances, -render it necessary to employ writing more largely in India than in any -other country, and certainly his writing was enormous in quantity as -well as varied in interest. Copies were kept of his countless letters, -filling many volumes. Still every letter was short and decisive, for he -tried to spare words and to array his meaning in the most succinct form. -But his extant correspondence is almost entirely of a public nature. The -series of his private letters to his sister Letitia is stated to have -been deliberately destroyed. At the time now under reference the -electric telegraph had not been introduced into India; after its -introduction he seized on this new means of communication, the brevity -of which suited his temperament. In the years between 1856 and 1859 -probably no man in the world sent off so many telegrams as he. He had no -practice whatever for public speaking in English, but he could address a -limited audience of Natives, either civil or military, in the vernacular -with point and effect. - -Though never courting applause, and ready to incur odium for the sake of -duty, he was not indifferent to the good opinion of others. With all his -reserve, he was more sensitive to sympathy or to estrangement than was, -perhaps, commonly supposed. He had not, during the middle stage of his -career, much to do with the Press or the organs of public opinion. He -was strict in demanding from all men a more than ordinary standard of -work and of exertion, setting an example by his own practice. He was -guarded, even chary, in awarding praise; still for real desert he always -had the good word which was spoken in season and was valued accordingly. -He never forgot that by training and profession he was a Covenanted -Civil Servant, first of the East Indian Company and then of the Crown. -No member of the Covenanted Civil Service was ever more jealous of its -traditions, more proud of its repute, than he. No officer ever laboured -harder than he to learn civil business proper, as distinguished from all -other kinds of business. Yet he was by instinct and temper a soldier, -and was ever studying martial affairs or acquiring military knowledge. -He would familiarly speak of himself as the son of a soldier and the -brother of three soldiers. Herbert Edwardes of Peshawur, who knew him -well and was a competent judge on such a subject, wrote of him as a man -of real military genius. - -The crowning grace of his rough-hewn character was a simplicity, the -genuine result of single-mindedness. The light of religion shed a gentle -radiance over his whole life and conversation. For him, too, the path of -religious duty was brightened by his wife’s example. - -The habits of his daily life are worth mentioning, as they were -originally and as they became afterwards. Up to the present time, 1849, -he always rose early, and by sunrise all the year round was on horseback -or on foot. Returning home before the sun was high in the heaven, he did -some of his best work indoors before breakfast. This work would be -continued all day till late in the afternoon, when he would be again out -of doors until nightfall. After that he would refrain from work and -retire early. As he had duty out of doors as well as indoors, this -routine was very suitable to the public service and preserved the _mens -sana in corpore sano_. It was kept up by him after 1849 whenever he was -on the march or in camp, for several months in every year, though he -would sometimes drive in a gig or a carriage where formerly he would -have ridden or walked. But it became gradually intermitted when he was -in quarters, that is when he was stationary under a roof, owing to -illness and to the consequent diminution of physical force. He would -then go out in the early morning if there was anything to be done, such -as the inspecting of public works or the visiting of institutions. But -if he did not move out, still he would be at work in his study very soon -after sunrise at all seasons. At no time, however, did he fail to be in -the open air at eventide when the sun was low. He was temperate and -abstemious, and he advocated moderation, believing that in a hot climate -the European constitution is apt to suffer not only from the use of -stimulants but also from excess of animal food. - -The mode of his work changed as years rolled on. Up to this time, 1849, -he had to listen and talk more, to read and write less; and for his -constitution this was the best. But after 1849, the process became -reversed by degrees, and he had to read and write very much, which was -detrimental to him. In official diligence and regularity, distributed -evenly over the whole range and course of business, he has never been -excelled and rarely equalled. In the power of despatching affairs of all -sorts great and small, ordinary and emergent, in perfect style for all -practical purposes, he was a master hand. When he had risen to high -office with a secretariat staff at his disposal, his ordinary method was -in this wise. As he read a long despatch or reference he inscribed short -marginal notes as his eye passed on from paragraph to paragraph; or if -the reference was a short one in a folded letter, he would in the fewest -words endorse his opinion on the outer fold. From the marginal notes or -from the endorsements his secretaries would prepare the despatches in -draft, and the drafts in all important cases would be submitted for his -approval. The number of despatches which within a few hours would come -back from him with his marks on them to the secretariat was astonishing. -Again in the largest matters he had a masterly manner of explaining -verbally to a secretary the substance of what was to be written and -touching on the various points. He would thus indicate orally in a few -minutes a course of argument which must for the secretary occupy some -hours in order to express it all in writing. But though no statesman -ever knew better how to make a full use of the secretariat, still he -bore even in writing his full share, and his secretaries entirely joined -in the admiration felt for him by the world at large. Indeed they -esteemed him the most because they knew him the best. Though no longer -brought into hourly intercourse with the Natives all day, he yet kept up -the habit of conversing with them, of receiving visits from them, of -listening to petitions, of gathering information even from the humblest -regarding the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows of the people. While -anxious to consult the views and wishes of the upper classes, he was -resolved that the industrial masses of the population should be cared -for. He dissented from the opinion which has been sometimes held that -gratitude finds no place in the Oriental vocabulary. Give the Natives -something to be grateful for, he would say, and they will shew gratitude -fast enough. - -His appearance was much in accord with the character which has thus been -sketched. He was above the middle height, with a broad and powerful -frame, a forward-gait and a strong stride; though, alas, care, labour -and sickness, as years rolled on, reduced the frame and lessened its -activity. His head was massive, his brow open, his face lined and -furrowed, his eye grey and piercing but somewhat small, his hair -originally dark but slightly silvered even in middle life, his -complexion somewhat sunburnt. His expression was that of majestic -simplicity, but when in repose he had an air of solemnity. His voice in -ordinary talk was neither loud nor deep, but under strong emotion it -could resound powerfully. The most noteworthy feature was his mouth; for -though it might be closely set while the mind was working, yet in -moments of ease it was mobile, and constantly opened with a natural -grace for smiles, or laughter, or the play of wit and fancy. Withal he -was of that rugged type, sometimes termed Cromwellian by his friends, -which affords some of the fittest subjects for the painter or the -sculptor. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -PUNJAB BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION - -1849-1853 - - -In the preceding chapters we have followed the development of John -Lawrence’s character amidst his personal surroundings, without dwelling -upon the condition of the provinces in which he served. But in this -chapter and in the succeeding chapter, we must note specifically the -status and the progress of the great Province in which he is engaged. He -is now in a commanding position, certainly; but the crisis of his life -is not yet come. Against that crisis he is unconsciously to make ready -himself and his province. He is to set his house in order straightway, -because on such ordering must depend the ability of the Punjab for doing -that which it was required to do eight years later. Upon that supreme -ability, on the part of him and his at the crucial moment, hung the fate -of British dominion in the most important part of the Indian empire. The -warship of the Punjab is now in sight, that ship which is not only to -brave the battle and the breeze, bearing her own wounds, but is also to -tow her wounded, battered, half-disabled consort into the haven of -safety. It is well, then, for us to see how she was designed, welded -compactly, built in water-tight compartments, launched and sent to sea. - -Further, though John Lawrence has a commanding position, he is not yet -in sole command of the Punjab administration. It is necessary to recount -the circumstances whereby he came to be vested locally with that single -and individual authority which he wielded with immense effect, during -the crisis to be described hereafter. - -It has been seen, then, that the Board of Administration for the Punjab -was constituted by Lord Dalhousie in March, 1849. Henry Lawrence was -President of the Board, and John was his colleague. A third member was -also appointed, but after a short time he went away. The successor was -Robert Montgomery, who had been the schoolfellow of the two Lawrences at -Foyle College and a friend to them both equally. He was the one man in -whom each of them would confide, when they differed with one another. -Henry would, in his differences with John, open his heart to Montgomery. -John too would speak of Montgomery as his bhai or brother. In addition -to sterner qualities, the signal display of which will be seen -hereafter, Montgomery possessed all those qualities which are needed for -a peacemaker and mediator. His position at the Board, then, in -conjunction with the two Lawrences was most fortunate. He had the art of -making business move smoothly, rapidly and pleasantly. For the two -brothers did, as will be explained presently, differ not privately nor -fraternally but officially. When differences arise between two such -eminent persons as these, each of them must naturally have his own -adherents, especially as Henry was a military Officer in Staff employ -and John a Covenanted Civil Servant, or in simpler phrase the former was -a soldier and the latter a civilian. Consequently something like party -spirit arose which never was very acute and which has perhaps, under the -influence of time, died away. To attempt any description of Henry -Lawrence here would be to travel beyond the purpose of this book. But he -cannot, even here, be wholly dissociated from the present account of -John’s career. In order to avoid the semblance of passing over or -disparaging Henry, it may suffice now to state briefly and summarily -what he was in 1849, and what he continued to be up to his untimely and -lamented death in 1857. This may preferably be done now, before the -necessity arrives for explaining the difference (respecting certain -public affairs only) which arose between him and his brother. - -Henry Lawrence, then, was a man of talent, of poetic temper, of -sentiment, of meteoric energy, and of genius. Though destitute of -external gifts and graces, he yet possessed qualities which were inner -gifts and graces of the soul, and which acted powerfully upon men. From -his spirit an effulgence radiated through an ever-widening circle of -friends and acquaintances. Being truly lovable, he was not only popular -but beloved both among Europeans and Natives. He was generous almost to -a fault, and compassionately philanthropic. Indeed his nature was aglow -with the enthusiasm of humanity. As might perhaps be expected, he was -quick-tempered and over-sensitive. His conversational powers were -brilliant, and his literary aptitude was considerable, though needing -more culture for perfect development. His capacity for some important -kinds of affairs was vast. In emergencies demanding a combination of -military, political and civil measures he has never been surpassed in -India. He was mortally wounded by a shell when at the height of his -usefulness. Had he lived to confront national danger in its extremity, -he would have proved himself to be one of the ablest and greatest men -that ever went forth from the shores of England to vindicate the British -cause in the East. As a civil governor he had some but not all of the -necessary qualifications. He had knowledge, wide and deep, of the Indian -people, sympathy with their hopes and fears, tenderness for their -prejudices, an abiding sense of justice towards them and an ardent -desire for their welfare. He had that mastery of topographical details -which is very desirable in administration. He was zealous in promoting -public improvement and material development. He had a clear insight into -character, and knew perfectly how to select men after his own heart. -These he would attach to himself as disciples to a master. But in a -civil capacity he had several defects. Though he could despatch affairs -spasmodically, he was unsystematic almost unmethodical in business. -Though he might make a system succeed in a certain way while he and his -_alumni_ lived or remained present to exercise control, yet he would not -have been able to carry measures of complexity and establish them on -foundations to stand the test of time. Moreover he was not, and never -could have become, a financier; indeed he was not sufficiently alive to -financial considerations. Great things have indeed been sometimes -accomplished by statesmen and by nations in disregard, even in -contravention, of financial principles; yet he might as a civil -governor, if uncontrolled, have run the State ship into danger in this -respect. Then being by nature impetuous, and possessed with ideas in -themselves noble, he was hard to be controlled. - -This short digression is necessary, in order to do justice to a great -and good man who is indissolubly connected with the subject of this -book. - -The Board of Administration, then, composed of these three men began, -founded and built up an administration, which lasted without -interruption till 1857, and was the most brilliant that has ever been -seen in India. They had co-ordinate authority, and ostensibly acted in -solidarity. But among themselves there was a division of labour in -ordinary matters: that is to say, Henry took the political and military -departments, John the financial and fiscal including the land -settlements, Montgomery the judicial and the police; while on important -matters pertaining to any department whatever, each of the three members -had his voice, the majority of course prevailing. If figuratively Henry -was the heart of the Board and Montgomery its arm, then John was -veritably its backbone. - -Accordingly John had his headquarters permanently fixed at Lahore, and -he straightway proceeded to build himself a home there. He found it to -be really a Mahommedan city, the ancient capital of Moslem dynasties -from Central Asia, which had been retained by the Sikhs as their -political centre, while their national and religious centre was at -Amritsar, some thirty miles off. Its noble mosques, its fortress-palace, -its imperial tombs, must have brought back to his mind the associations -of Delhi. At this time, 1849-50, he was in full health and strength; -alas, these were the last years of unimpaired comfort physically that he -was ever to enjoy. Those who saw in after years the iron resolution and -the energy which even sickness could not subdue, can imagine the -magnificent vigour he threw at this time into the work of pacifying a -much disturbed province, reducing it to order and calling forth its -resources. - -There is not space here to describe the territories under the Board of -Administration. Suffice it to say that the British territories comprised -the Cis and Trans-Sutlej States and the Punjab proper, or the basins of -the Indus and its affluents, together with Native States on the east of -the Sutlej, and in the Himalayan region, including the famous valley of -Cashmere. The name Punjab, a Persian word denoting five-waters, refers -to this river-system. The total area of all kinds amounted to one -hundred and thirty-five thousand square miles, and the population to -just twenty millions; both area and population being exclusive of the -Cashmere kingdom. The climate is much the same as that of the Delhi -territory already described, except that the winter is sharper and -longer while the autumn is more feverish. The people, consisting chiefly -of Moslems and Sikhs, was quite the strongest, manliest and sturdiest -that the British had ever had to deal with in India. On two sides the -country was bordered by British districts, and on one side by the -Himalayas. So far, then, the circumstances were favourable. But on the -front or western side, the border touched on Afghanistan for eight -hundred miles, and was the most arduous frontier in the Eastern empire. - -The administration, known as that of the Lawrences in the Punjab, was in -its day famous throughout India, and those engaged in it were too busy -to reflect upon its characteristics. But after the lapse of a whole -generation, or more than thirty years, a retrospect of that epoch may be -calmly taken in a summary divested of technicalities. - -In 1852 the Board caused a report to be drawn up of their -administration; which is known in Indian history as “The First Punjab -Report.” But it would not now suffice to state, in the words of this -document, that internal peace had been preserved, the frontier guarded, -and the various establishments of the State organised; that violent -crime had been repressed, the penal law executed, and prison discipline -enforced; that civil justice had been administered in a simple and -popular manner; the taxation readjusted and the revenue system reformed; -that commerce had been set free, agriculture fostered, the national -resources developed, and plans for future improvement projected. - -Some further explanation is needed to indicate the true position of the -Board in the administrative annals of India. For, together with due -acknowledgment of the zeal, capacity and knowledge, evinced in all these -cardinal matters, it must yet be remembered that these are the very -matters which have always been undertaken either promptly or tardily, -and with more or less of success, by every administration in every -province that has within this century been added to the Indian empire. -Nevertheless the Punjab Board had an unsurpassed, perhaps even an -unequalled merit; and it is well to note exactly in what that merit -consisted; for through this merit alone was the province subdued, -pacified and organised in time, so as to be prepared for the political -storm which it was destined to confront within eight short years. Time -indeed was an essential element in the grand preparation. Upon this -preparedness, as we shall see hereafter, the issue was to depend, either -for victory or for wide-spread disaster, to the British cause in -Northern India. - -Now the Board showed its statesmanship because it did straightway, -almost out of hand, with comparative completeness, that which others had -done elsewhere by degrees at first and sometimes incompletely at last. -To enjoin authoritatively the carrying out of such measures and to -describe them when carried out may be comparatively easy; but to carry -them out all at once in a new province under strange conditions, and in -the teeth of innumerable obstacles, is hard indeed. Yet this is what the -Board actually accomplished. It set to work simultaneously upon varied -and intricate subjects, which other authorities elsewhere had been -content, or else had been forced, to undertake by degrees, or piecemeal -one by one according to opportunities in the course of years. But to the -Board every week was precious and every month was eventful. It thus -managed to effect, in a short span of years, as much as had been -effected elsewhere in two or more decades. It is indeed but too easily -conceivable that work done with rapid energy may result in imperfections -injuring the effect of the whole. But the Board’s operations were -masterly in conception, thorough in foundation, business-like in -details. So far the work has never been excelled and seldom rivalled in -other provinces, either before or since that era. - -On the other hand, the Board enjoyed several advantages which were -almost unique. Its genius was partly shown in this that such advantages -were seized, grasped tightly and turned to the best use. A mass of -valuable experience has been garnered up amidst the older provinces, and -was available for guidance or encouragement. Thus many projects became -demonstrably practicable as well as desirable, which might otherwise -have been disputable or untenable. The Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, -having annexed the Punjab, had justly the strongest motives for ensuring -speedy success for the administration of the province. He had at his -disposal the imperial resources, and these were consequently placed at -the disposal of the Board to an extent which has never been seen in any -other Indian province. Again, there was something in the strategic -position, the historic repute, and in the internal circumstances of the -Punjab, to attract the idiosyncrasy of the Anglo-Indian Services; -therefore able and aspiring men were willing to volunteer for service -there, even with all its risks and hardships. Among the internal -circumstances was the national character of the inhabitants, who were -known to be sturdier and straighter than those of other provinces, and -were expected to present more fully a _tabula rasa_, for the proceedings -of British rule. The Board had an insight into character, and a faculty -for choosing men for the administration. Believing its own reputation, -as well as the public good, to depend on this choice, it pursued the -object with circumspection and single-mindedness. Though India is -essentially the land of administrators, yet no governing body in any -province has ever possessed at one time so many subordinates with -talents applicable to so many branches, as the Board had for several -years. - -Thus the Board owed something to its auspicious star, but still more to -its own innate power and inherent aptitude. - -Apart from the general administration, some few measures may be noticed -here as being peculiar to the Punjab. The first step after annexation -was the disbandment of the late Sikh army. The men had been drawn -chiefly from the class of peasant proprietors. They now reverted to the -ancestral holdings, where their rights and interests were found to be -secured by British arrangements. They were disarmed on being discharged, -and no swords were left to be turned into ploughshares. But they settled -down at once to agriculture, which was at that time more prosperous and -profitable that it had ever been within living memory. Next, the people -at large, by a disarming proclamation, were required to give up their -arms. This they did without hesitation and almost without fail. Their -minds had been overawed by the British victories and their spirit -stupefied by recent defeat. This general disarming tended to the -immediate pacification of the province, and ultimately proved of -priceless advantage during the crisis which supervened eight years -afterwards. If at that moment any men were disposed to raise their hands -against us, they had no weapons to wield. - -Then, defensive arrangements were made for the Trans-Indus Frontier, -running as it did for full eight hundred miles at the base of the -mountains which surround the valley of Peshawur and then stretching -southwards, separate India from Afghanistan. The British border, thus -formed, was itself inhabited by wild Moslem races, and was subject to -incursions from still fiercer tribes dwelling in the adjacent hills. To -guard this long-extended frontier a special body of troops, some twelve -thousand men horse and foot, was organised and styled “The Punjab -Frontier Force”; and it was placed not under the Commander-in-Chief of -the Army, but under the Board of Administration. This frontier service -immediately became an object of ambition to the European officers of the -army as affording a school for soldiers and a field for distinction. -Consequently the Board were able to draw from the ranks of the regular -army many of the most promising officers of the day. The Native soldiers -were recruited from among the most martial tribes in the border -mountains, and the Native officers were chosen for personal merit and -social status. Indeed this Force became perhaps the finest body of -Native troops ever arrayed under British banners in India. As will be -seen hereafter, it was able within eight years from this time to render -signal service to the empire during the War of the Mutinies. In these -arrangements the experience and talent of Henry Lawrence were -conspicuously valuable. - -Works of material improvement were at once to be undertaken in all parts -of the province, and the Board were fortunate in being able to obtain -for the direction of these operations the services of Major Robert -Napier--now Lord Napier of Magdala. - -In those days, before the introduction of railways, the primary object -was to construct the main trunk lines of roads. Such a trunk line had -already been constructed through the older provinces from Calcutta to -Delhi, a distance of about twelve hundred miles. The Board decided to -continue this line from Delhi to Peshawur, a further distance of eight -hundred miles. The viaducts over the Five Rivers were to be postponed, -but the bridging of all lesser streams in the champaign country was to -be undertaken, and especially a good passage made through the rugged -region between the Jhelum and the Indus. At the outset, hopes were -entertained that the Five Rivers would become the water-highways between -this inland province and the coast, and be navigated by vessels with -much steam power and yet with light draught. But there was difficulty -for some years in building suitable vessels for service in the shifting -and shallow channels; and in the end this idea vanished before the -railway system which was advancing from the east. - -In the land of the Five Rivers artificial irrigation occupied a -prominent place. A new canal was now undertaken, to be drawn from the -river Ravi, near the base of the Himalayas. It was to water the -territory near Lahore the political capital, and Amritsar the religious -centre, of the Sikhs. This territory was the home of the Sikh -nationality and the most important part of the Punjab. - -A feudal system had existed under the Sikh rule and ramified over the -whole country. The status of the Native aristocracy depended mainly upon -it. This system was absorbing much of the State resources, and could not -be maintained under British rule. Its abolition gave rise to individual -claims of intricacy, even of delicacy. These had to be treated -generously and considerately so far as such treatment might consist with -the policy itself, and with the just interests of public finance. In -this department the kindly influence of Henry Lawrence was especially -felt, and he did much to bridge over the gulf between Native and British -rule. - -In the civil administration the Board desired that, in the first -instance at least, the forms of British procedure should be simplified, -cheap, speedy and substantial justice dispensed, and affairs conducted -after what was termed the patriarchal model. The native races here were -more frank in their utterance, more open in their demeanour, more direct -in all their ways, than is usual in most parts of India. Every European -officer was directed to cultivate from the outset a friendly -understanding with them, so as to banish all sense of strangeness from -their minds, and to make them feel at home and at ease under the British -rule. This object is indeed aimed at universally in India, but it was -attained with unrivalled success in the Punjab, and thereby was laid the -foundation of that popular contentment which stood the Government in -good stead during the season of dire trial eight years later in 1857. - -The intense application, bestowed by the Board on many diverse subjects -simultaneously, aggravated the toils of the members. But they derived -relief and benefit from the division of labour (already mentioned) -whereby for ordinary business the political and military branches were -allotted to Henry, the fiscal and financial to John, the judicial to -Montgomery. - -In the fiscal department John found the noblest sphere for his special -ability, because herein was included the settlement of the land -revenue, the all-important scope of which has been explained in a -preceding chapter. Then despite his unfavourable recollections of Etawah -in 1838-39, he must have looked back with some gratitude to that place -which had given him priceless experience in settlement-work. Here he -was, happily for the Punjab, at home and in his element; as a -consequence the field-survey, the assessment of the land-tax, the -adjudication of rights and interests, the registration of tenures, were -conducted with admirable completeness, promptitude and efficiency. He -well knew that such operations were not likely to be turned out complete -offhand; the affairs themselves were novel both to the officials and to -the people; errors, failures, oversights, would occur, but he would have -them rectified, again and again, until at last after re-constructing, -re-casting, re-writing,--a full, accurate and abiding result was -obtained. This cardinal operation has been one of the first cares of the -Government in every province of India; but in no province has it ever -been effected so completely, within a comparatively short time, as it -was in the Punjab under his supervision. Its success conduced largely to -that popular contentment which proved a bulwark of safety to British -rule, during the danger which eight years afterwards menaced the -Province. - -Before the Native population, before the world, and for the most part -before the European officers, the Board preserved an unbroken front and -kept up the appearance of solidarity. But though the wheels of the great -machine moved powerfully, and with apparent smoothness, still within the -Board itself there was increasing friction. It became known, not perhaps -to the public, but to the European officers around the centre of -affairs, that Henry and John were not always in accord regarding policy -and practice. And this matter affected the future for both of them, and -especially for John. - -Between Henry and John there was agreement in many essential matters -such as the military occupation and the pacification of the province, -the guarding of the Trans-Indus Frontier, the political relations with -the Native States comprised within the Punjab, the development of -material resources, the progressive policy of the administration. They -were absolutely united in the diffusion of zeal among all grades and -classes of officers and officials, and in stamping the best possible -characteristics upon the public service. But they differed more or less -on certain other points, and this difference must unavoidably be -noticed, however briefly, because among other consequences, it had a -considerable effect on the subsequent career of John. It was, however, -official only and did not affect the sentiments of admiration and -affection with which each regarded the other. - -The difference then related to three points: the system of collecting -the land revenue, the management of the finances, and the treatment of -the feudal classes on the introduction of British rule. Some brief -allusion must be made to each of these three points. - -Under Native rule the land revenue had been collected sometimes in kind -and sometimes in cash. John abhorred the system of collection in kind, -as being the parent of oppressive abuses. His voice was consonant with -the best traditions of British rule, and was at first popular with the -agriculturists. But from various circumstances the prices of produce -fell for several years abnormally, and the men had difficulty in -obtaining money for their produce wherewith to pay their land-tax in -cash. So they began to ask that it might as heretofore be paid in kind. -Henry, partly from tenderness to old customs under Native rule, partly -too from want of familiarity with fiscal abuses, inclined his ear to -these murmurs which were indeed coming to be requests. John of course -insisted on the cash system being maintained, though he was willing, -indeed anxious, that the tax should be so assessed that the people could -pay it easily even in the altered circumstances. - -The finance of the province was ever present to the mind of John. Though -keenly anxious for improvements of all sorts, he held that such measures -must be regulated according to the financial means available within the -province. Henry would not deny this in theory but would overlook it in -practice. Having initiated projects tending to civilisation in a newly -annexed province, he would press them forward without adequately -considering how the cost was to be defrayed. He had an inner conviction -that once a very desirable thing had been accomplished successfully, the -difficulties on the score of expenses would either vanish or right -themselves. - -The treatment of the feudal classes on the introduction of British rule -depended on a certain method which had been adopted under Native rule in -the Punjab as in other parts of India. The land revenue belonged to and -was the mainstay of the State. The ruler of the day would assign to an -individual the revenue thus receivable from specified lands or villages. -The right of the assignee extended only to the receipt of the land -revenue. It did not necessarily affect the right to the property, that -is to say, he had not thereby any title to collect the rent, as that -would depend on whether he did or did not acquire the property. The -assignment would be made generally on one or other of three grounds, the -maintenance of religious establishments, the bestowal of favour, the -reward or remuneration of services. The difference of opinion between -Henry and John showed itself less on the first of the three grounds, but -more on the second, and still further on the third. The discussion -between the two brothers on the third or feudal ground may be summarised -in this wise. - -The Native ruler or sovereign would assign temporarily to his chieftains -the land revenue of certain villages, or whole tracts of territory, on -the condition of feudal service, chiefly military, being rendered. This -service is not wanted under British rule, and cannot be maintained; then -the question arises whether the assignment of the land revenue is to be -continued. Similarly, allowances in cash from the State treasury are -made to local chiefs in consideration of duty nominal or real being -performed. This duty cannot be accepted under British rule, and a -discussion springs up regarding the extent to which the allowances are -to be withdrawn. When these cases exist on a large scale, involving -extensive interests, it will be seen at a glance that there is much room -for divergence of opinion between statesmen equally able, humane and -conscientious. Henry thought that liberal concessions ought to be made -to these feudal classes, for reasons of policy in allaying discontent -among influential sections of the community. He held that the greater -part of the former grants ought to be continued, although the -obligation of service might be remitted. This must be effected, despite -the financial cost which such arrangements might involve. John would -rejoin that these grants must at once be curtailed, and provision made -for their cessation on the demise of present incumbents. The government -could not bear the double expense of continuing grants for the old -service just dispensed with, and of defraying the charge of the newly -organized service which the British Government must introduce according -to its own ideas. - -This is but a bare summary of a large and complex question, affecting -not only thousands but tens of thousands of cases scattered all over the -country. Upon such a question as this the social contentment and the -financial equilibrium of the province largely depended. This much of -notice is needed in order to show how the matter concerned the career -and fortunes of John. - -The Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, became aware of the growing -difference of opinion between Henry and John, but viewing it from afar -he thought at first that more good than harm would result. He had the -highest respect for both the brothers, but knowing them to have an -independent will and potential force of character, he surmised that each -might be inclining towards an extreme and that one would correct the -other. Moreover he saw that the friction produced apparently that mental -heat which supplied force to move the administration on and on towards -success. With the excellent results displayed before him in the “First -Punjab Report” in 1852, he was little disposed to interfere with the -mechanism, and hoped that the two eminent brothers might gradually learn -_componere lites_. But afterwards he began to perceive that this -difference was working harm inasmuch as the discussions not only -produced delay, but sometimes caused important matters to be put aside -on account of the diversity of argument, for which no solution could be -found. - -Had these conditions lasted, moreover, an additional evil must have -arisen; for in the ranks of the public service two parties would have -sprung up. Each brother was loyal to the other, and was as reticent as -possible regarding the difference in opinion between them. Still -inevitably the fact transpired, and accordingly some officers agreed -with Henry and others with John. Though these good men obeyed orders, -yet those orders would be issued only after their views had been -submitted and considered. These views would become tinged with the -colouring of the thought in two schools of opinion. It must be added -that the Natives, who had concessions to ask, were persuasively -insistent with their requests. Eloquence is one of nature’s gifts to -Oriental races. The skill with which a native will plead his cause in -the ear of a listening official, is conceivable only to those Europeans -who have experienced it. In these particular cases much that was -dramatic or historical, affecting or pathetic, would be urged. Even the -sterner mind of John would be touched sometimes, and much more so the -more susceptible heart of Henry. Then the susceptibilities of the latter -would be taken up by the officers who had been chosen by him for service -in the Punjab. In the turn which events took, the formation of two -parties, and the detriment to the public service which would have -followed, were avoided. - -Soon Lord Dalhousie and his Council at Calcutta concluded that an -opportunity must be taken to effect a change; and that as one only of -the two brothers should remain in the Punjab, John must be the man. -While this conclusion was affecting the mind of the Governor-General, it -so happened that, on an important vacancy occurring elsewhere, both -brothers simultaneously offered to resign their positions in the Punjab -and take service in some other part of India. This precipitated the -decision of the Supreme Government. - -That decision was communicated to Henry Lawrence by Lord Dalhousie in a -memorable letter, from which some passages may be quoted to show -historically how the matter stood. - - “It has for some time been the recorded opinion of the Supreme - Government that, whenever an opportunity occurred for effecting a - change, the administration of the Punjab would best be conducted by - a Chief Commissioner, having a Judicial and a Revenue Commissioner - under him. But it was also the opinion of the Government that, - whenever the change should be made, the Chief Commissioner ought to - be an officer of the Civil Service. You stand far too high, and - have received too many assurances and too many proofs of the great - estimation in which your ability, qualities, and services have been - held by the successive governments under which you have been - employed, to render it necessary that I should bear testimony here - to the value which has been set upon your labours and upon your - service as the head of the administration of the Punjab by the - Government over which I have had the honour to preside. We do not - regard it as in any degree disparaging to you that we, - nevertheless, do not consider it expedient to commit the sole - executive charge of the administration of a kingdom to any other - than to a thoroughly trained and experienced civil officer. - Although the Regulations do not prevail in the Punjab, and - although the system of civil government has wisely and - successfully been made more simple in its forms, still we are of - opinion that the superintendence of so large a system, everywhere - founded on the Regulations, and pervaded by their spirit, can be - thoroughly controlled and moulded, as changes from time to time may - become necessary, only by a civilian fully versed in the system of - the elder provinces and experienced in its operation. - - “As the Government entertained these views, it became evident that - the change it contemplates in the form of administration could not - be effected, nor could the dissensions existing be reconciled, - unless it were agreeable to you to transfer your services to some - other department. - - “The result of our consideration was the statement I have now to - make, that if you are willing to accept Rajputana, the Government - will be happy to appoint you to it, with a view to effecting the - change of the form of administration in the Punjab, to which I have - already referred.” - -So Henry departed for Rajputana in 1853, with honour acknowledged of all -men, and amidst the sorrowing farewells of friends, European and Native. -He left a fragrant memory behind him as he crossed the Sutlej for the -last time on his way to Rajputana, whither countless good wishes -followed his course. But no man then anticipated the grave events which, -within four years, would open out for him in Oude a sphere as grand as -that which he was now quitting. - -Thus after a term of four years’ service in the Board of Administration, -that is from 1849 to 1853, John Lawrence was left in sole command of the -Punjab. But though his nerve was unimpaired, his capacity developed, his -experience enlarged, he was not physically the same man at the end of -this term that he was at the beginning. In October, 1850, at Lahore, he -had been stricken down by a severe fever, as bad as that from which he -had suffered just ten years previously at Etawah, and his health never -was fully restored after that shock. He, however, recovered sufficiently -to accompany Lord Dalhousie on a march in the Punjab during the winter -months, and afterwards in the following spring 1851 to examine the -condition of the Peshawur valley. The ensuing months he spent at Simla -in company with his wife and children. - -Then, for the first time in his toil-worn life, he enjoyed the blessings -of a Himalayan retreat, after the torrid heat and the depressing damp of -twenty previous summers. He resorted thither, not on leave but on duty, -by the special direction of Lord Dalhousie who was there also. He was -indeed obliged to quit Lahore for that summer, and had not a retreat to -Simla been open to him, he must for a time have relinquished his office -in the Punjab. As he ascended the Simla mountains, seven to nine -thousand feet above sea-level, the sight of the Himalayas was not new to -him, for he had seen them in the Trans-Sutlej States; twice also he had -paid brief visits to Simla itself. How pleasant, then, through the -summer of 1851, was it for him to bask in mild sunshine, to drink in the -balmy air, to recline in the shadows of oaken glades, to roam amidst -forests of pine and cedar, to watch the light gilding peak after peak in -the snowy range at sunrise, to perceive through a field-glass at sunset -the familiar Sutlej winding like the thinnest of silver threads through -the distant plains, to note the rain-clouds rolling up the mountain -sides, to hear the thunder-peals echo among the crags! These things -would have been delights to him even as a visitor in the easiest -circumstances, in hale robustness, in all the pride of life; but no pen -can describe what they were to the over-taxed brain, the strained -nerves, the fevered constitution, the shaken strength--such as his. He -revived apace and remained in official harness, having taken the most -important part of his work with him, and receiving by the daily post his -papers and despatches from Lahore. Further, he had the advantage of -personal intercourse with Lord Dalhousie, and thus formed a friendship -which, at first official, soon became personal. After two or three -months of this changed life, his old vivacity returned, and his -conversation was almost as it had been in England and Ireland. But -recurrence of Indian fever after an interval is almost a rule, and his -case was no exception. At Simla in the autumn his Lahore fever -reappeared severely, just a year after its original appearance. This -time he was stronger to meet the attack, and so threw it off. But he -rose from the sick-bed, for the second time in thirteen months, with -vitality impaired. He was, as the event proved, sufficiently recovered -to escape any serious illness for nearly three years, and to work -without interruption till 1854. But during this summer of 1851, he -calmly reviewed his position. He thus actually prepared himself for -closing the important part of his career, and for speedily retiring from -the public service. With his usual forethought, and in his unassuming -way, he would reckon up his resources, and estimate how to live in some -quiet and inexpensive place in England on a modest competency. But -Providence decreed otherwise, and the possible necessity, though ever -borne in mind, did not reach the point of action. So in the early -winter he returned to his post at Lahore, to mix in all the troublous -discussions, and to bear the official fatigues which have been already -mentioned, until the spring of 1853, from which point our narrative -takes a fresh departure. - -Though now left, in his own phrase, to walk alone--the very course most -acceptable to him--he ever remembered his absent brother. In after years -he was anxious that Henry’s name should be linked with his own in the -annals of the Punjab. At Lahore in 1864, at the culminating point of his -fame, and in the plenitude of his authority--when the memory of former -differences had long been buried in his brother’s grave--he used these -words in a speech to the assembled princes and chiefs of the province: -“My brother Henry and I governed this province. You all knew him well, -and his memory will ever dwell in your hearts as a ruler who was a real -friend of the people. We studied to make ourselves acquainted with the -usages, feelings and wants of every class and race, and to improve the -condition of all.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF THE PUNJAB - -1853-1857 - - -The governing idea, as set forth at the outset of the last chapter, must -be sustained in this chapter also. The administration of the Punjab, -already sketched, must be yet further delineated; for upon its -completeness depended the ability and sufficiency of the province to -keep its own head aloft in the rising tide, and to hold up its -neighbours amidst the dashing breakers of the rebellion destined to -occur only four years later. We need not ask what would have happened -had the Punjab been governed with feebleness and inefficiency, because -such defects are not to be anticipated under British rule; but the -chance was this, that even under an ordinarily fair administration, the -preparation of the province might not have been effected within the too -short time allowed by events,--that, for instance, the pacification had -not been perfect, the frontier tribes not entirely over-awed, the -dangerous classes not fully disarmed, the feudal classes not conciliated -by timely concessions, the land-settlement not complete, the agrarian -disputes not quite composed, the official establishments not so -organized as to call forth all the provincial resources at a moment’s -notice. For all these things in combination, an extraordinarily good -administration was needed, and that the Punjab had. Without that, the -province must have been submerged by the floods of rebellion in 1857, -and then all Northern India, the finest part of the Indian empire, must -have succumbed. - -John Lawrence was now, during the spring of 1853, installed in the sole -and chief command of the Punjab, with the title of Chief Commissioner, -and without any colleague of equal station with himself. This title was -created on this occasion for the first time in India, and has since been -borne by other men in other provinces; but the fact of its being -originally borne by him has invested it with peculiar dignity, and -rendered every one proud to bear it. The Punjab had been divided from -the beginning of British rule, under his Board, into seven divisions, -each being under the civil command of a Commissioner--namely, the -Cis-Sutlej on the east of that river, the Trans-Sutlej on the west, the -central or Lahore division round the capital, the southern division -around Mooltan near the confluence of the Indus and its tributaries, the -Sind Sagar division on the east of the Middle Indus,--Sind being the -original name of Indus--the Peshawur division comprising that famous -valley with the surrounding hills, and the Derajat division at the base -of the Sulemani range dividing India from Afghanistan. These seven -divisions or commissionerships being placed under him, he was styled the -Chief Commissioner. In the management of the country he was assisted by -two high officers styled the Judicial Commissioner for law and justice, -and the Financial Commissioner for revenue and general administration. -His colleague in the late Board, Montgomery, filled the Judicial -Commissionership. The Financial Commissionership was, after a year, -filled by Donald Macleod, who had been for some time Commissioner of the -Trans-Sutlej division. Macleod was eminently worthy of this post in all -respects save one. Though prompt and attentive in ordinary affairs, and -most useful in emergencies, he had a habit of procrastination in matters -requiring deliberative thought. Despite this drawback, he was one of the -most eminent men then in India. His scholar-like acquirements, his -profound knowledge of eastern life and manners, his refined intellect -and polished manner, rendered him an ornament to the Punjab service. -Moreover, he had a serene courage, a calm judgment amidst turmoil and -peril, which, during the troublous years to come, stood him and his -country in good stead. - -Thus John Lawrence was blessed with two coadjutors after his own heart, -who were personally his devoted friends, who set before all men the -example which he most approved, and diffused around the very tone which -he wished to prevail. He was in complete accord with them; they were -proud to support him, he was thankful to lean on them. No doubt the -recent tension with his brother, amidst the urgency of affairs, had -affected his health. With him as with other men, the anxiety of -undecided controversy, the trial of the temper, the irritating annoyance -of reiterated argument, caused more wear and tear than did labour and -responsibility. But now he began to have halcyon days officially. His -spirits rose as the fresh air of undivided responsibility braced his -nerves. Though far from being physically the man he was before the -illness of 1850, he was yet sufficiently well to give a full impulse to -the country and its affairs, and he girded himself with gladness for the -work before him. Like the good ship _Argo_ of old, he propelled himself -with his own native force-- - - “Soon as clear’d the harbour--like a bird-- - _Argo_ sprang forward with a bound, and bent - Her course across the water-path.” - -The administration of the county proceeded in the same course, even -along the same lines and in the same grooves, under him as under the -late Board. There may have been some change in tendency here and there, -or rather existing tendencies may have been drawn a little in this or -that direction; but for the most part he introduced no perceptible -modification. This fact may appear strange, when the differences of -opinion between him and his brother are remembered. These differences, -however, had been reserved as much as possible for discussion _inter -se_, and so kept back from the public eye; thus many important matters -had for a time been laid aside; consequently he had not anything to undo -in these matters, for in fact nothing had finally been done. So he had -no decisions to reverse in cases which had for a while been left -undecided. But being relieved from the irritation of controversy, he -paid more regard to the known opinions or the recorded convictions of -his now absent brother, than perhaps he had done when the brother was -present to press the counter-arguments. Thus he succeeded in carrying on -the administration without any external break of continuity. If anything -like the formation or growth of two schools or parties of opinion among -the civil officers had begun, that ceased and disappeared at once. All -men knew that the public policy would be directed by one guiding hand, -and that when all those who had a claim to be consulted had said their -say, a decision would be pronounced which must be obeyed _ex animo_. But -this obedience was rendered easy, because no marked deflection from -former principle or procedure was perceptible. It had for some time been -notified in various ways that the expenses were growing too fast for the -income, and greater financial strictness would be required. None were -surprised, therefore, when a more rigid adjustment of expenditure in -reference to revenue, and of outlay to resources, was introduced. The -Board had designed to adjust the income and expenses so that the -Province should from its provincial revenues defray the cost of its -administration and contribute a share towards defraying the cost of the -army cantoned within its limits; and he carried that financial design -into full effect. It was not expected of him that his Province should -pay for the whole of that army which defended the empire as well as the -Province. But he managed that his provincial treasury should give its -proper quota. - -In most, perhaps almost all, other respects the conduct of business was -the same as that described as existing under the late Board. The march -of affairs was rapid and the stream flowed smoothly. The only novelty -would be the introduction of additional improvements according to the -opportunities of each succeeding year, and the growing requirements of -the time. Such improvements were a brief digest of Native law and of -British procedure for the use of the courts of justice, commonly called -at the time the Punjab Code; the taking of a census and other -statistics; the introduction of primary education under State agency, -and others. - -In weighing the burden which now fell on John Lawrence’s shoulders, it -is to be remembered that though before the public and at the bar of -history he was the virtual Governor of the Punjab, yet the Government -was not technically vested in him, nor had he the status and title of -Lieutenant-Governor. As Chief Commissioner he was the deputy of, or the -principal executive authority under, the Governor-General in Council. -Not only was he under the constant control of the Government of India, -but also he had to obtain the specific sanction of that supreme -authority for every considerable proceeding, and for the appointment of -every man to any office of importance. Being high in the confidence of -the Government of India, he was almost always able to obtain the -requisite sanction, which was, as a general rule, given considerately -and generously. On a historic retrospect it may appear that he ought -then to have been appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, on an -equal footing with the Lieutenant-Governors of the North-Western -Provinces and of Bengal, and that he who really did the work and bore -the responsibility should also have had the rank and the status. But at -that time _dîs aliter visum_. The point ought however to be mentioned -here, because it greatly affected the extent of his labours and -anxieties. It was one thing for him to devise and arrange what ought to -be done, and to prepare for carrying it out; but it was an additional -thing for him to obtain the sanction on grounds to be set forth in every -important case. The selection of the right men to fill the various -offices of trust fell upon him. But instead of appointing them -straightway to the places, he had to obtain sanction, in view of which -sanction some explanation would have to be rendered. Sometimes, too, the -Government of India might desire to appoint some officer other than the -one whom he had recommended. Thereupon he would be sure to press his -view, believing that the success and efficiency of his work depended on -the fitting man being placed in the right position. Being regarded by -the Governor-General with generous confidence, he almost invariably -carried his point. But the correspondence, official and private, caused -hereby was considerable, and the anxiety was greater still. But although -as Chief Commissioner he found the work more laborious than it would -have been to him as Lieutenant-Governor, still he gladly accepted the -position with this drawback, because within his jurisdiction he had his -own way. He must come to an understanding with the Government of India -indeed; but once he had succeeded in that, no colleague at home, no high -officer near his provincial throne, could challenge his policy. This -autonomy, even with its unavoidable limitations, was a great boon to a -man of his temperament. - -Having set to work under new and favourable conditions, he pursued his -task with what in many men would be termed ardour and enthusiasm. These -qualities were evinced by him, no doubt, but in his nature they were -over-borne by persistency and determination. Thus it would be more -correct to say that he urged on the chariot of state with disciplined -energy. He well knew, as the Board before him had known, that the -results of large operations must in the long run be well reported for -public information. But he held that the reporting might be deferred for -a short season. Meanwhile he would secure actual success; the work -should from beginning to end be accurately tested; it should be tempered -and polished like steel and finished _usque ad unguem_. Some officers -would ensure an excellent quality of work with great pains, but then -they would fall short in quantity; others would despatch a vast -quantity, but then it would be of inferior quality; he would have both -quality and quantity, all the work that came to hand must be performed -in time, but then it must also be done well. Nothing is more common even -for able administrators than to lean too much towards one or the other -of these two alternatives; no man ever held the balance between the two -better than he, and very few could hold it as well. In no respect was -his pre-eminence as an administrator more marked than in this. In the -first instance he would prepare no elaborate despatches, indite no -minutes, order no detailed reports to be prepared, write no long -letters. He would have action absolutely, and work rendered complete. -His management of men may be aptly described by the following lines from -Coleridge’s translation of Schiller: - - “Well for the whole, if there be found a man - Who makes himself what nature destined him, - The pause, the central point, to thousand thousands-- - Stands fixed and stately like a firm-built column. - - * * * * * - - “How he incites and strengthens all around him, - Infusing life and vigour. Every power - Seems as it were redoubled by his presence; - He draws forth every latent energy, - Showing to each his own peculiar talent.” - -He knew that an administrator shines, not only in what he does himself, -but also in what he induces others to do, that his policy will in part -be tested by the character of the men whom he raises up around him, that -the master is recognised in his pupils, and that if his work is to live -after him, he must have those ready who will hand on the tradition, and -will even take his place should he fall in the battle of life. His aim, -then, was to establish a system and found a school. - -During 1853 and the early part of 1854 he remained in fair health, -though not in full strength according to his normal standard. During the -early summer of 1854 he sojourned at Murri, a Himalayan sanatorium in -the region between the Jhelum and the Indus. At this sanatorium, six to -eight thousand feet above sea-level, he enjoyed the advantages which -have been already described in reference to Simla. His horizon was -bounded by the snowy ranges that overlook the valley of Cashmere. About -midsummer he returned to his headquarters at Lahore in the hottest time -of the year, and he was once more stricken down with illness, from the -effects of which he certainly did not recover during the remainder of -his career in the Punjab. Fever there was with acute nervous distress, -but it was in the head that the symptoms were agonizing. He said with -gasps that he felt as if _rakshas_ (Hindoo mythological giants) were -driving prongs through his brain. The physicians afforded relief by -casting cold douches of water on his head; but when the anguish was over -his nerve-system seemed momentarily injured. Afterwards when alluding to -attacks of illness, he would say that he had once or twice been on the -point of death. Perhaps this may have been one of the occasions in his -mind. For a man of his strength the attack hardly involved mortal -danger; still it was very grave and caused ill effects to ensue. After a -few days he rallied rapidly, went back to Murri, and resumed his work, -disposing of the arrears which in the interval had accumulated. -Doubtless he returned to duty too soon for his proper recovery, but this -was unavoidable. - -After 1854 he spent the summer months of each year at Murri, having been -urged to do so by the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie. - -At various times he visited several of the Native States under his -charge, exchanging courtesies, conforming to their ceremonial usages, -holding Oriental levees, and mixing in scenes of Asiatic pomp amidst -localities of exceeding picturesqueness. He strove to set the seal on -their contentment--hardly anticipating how soon he would have to require -them to draw their swords for the Empire. He again visited Peshawur, -directed operations against some offending hill-tribes, and marched -along the whole Trans-Indus frontier. - -In 1854 he caused a report of his civil administration to be prepared. -This report recounted the efforts made for imparting force and vigour to -the police, simplicity and cheapness to civil justice, popularity to -municipal institutions, salubrity and discipline to the prisons, -security to the landed tenures, moderation as well as fixity to the -land-tax. It narrated the beginning of a national education, and the -establishment of institutions such as dispensaries and hospitals, -evincing a practical interest in the well-being of the people. It -adverted specially to the construction of roads and bridges in the face -of physical difficulties, the excavation of canals, the patrolling of -the highways and the erection of caravan-serais. None could then foresee -the enormous service which these highways would render to the British -cause during the troubles which were in store for the country. - -In corroboration of this summary, the following testimony was afterwards -afforded in 1859 in a farewell address presented to him by his officers, -when he was about to lay down his power, and to quit them perhaps for -ever. Most of them were either eye-witnesses, or otherwise personally -cognisant, of what they relate. - - “Those among us who have served in political and diplomatic - capacities know how you have preserved friendly relations, during - critical and uncertain times, with the native principalities by - which this province is surrounded; how, all along an extended, - rugged, and difficult frontier, you have successfully maintained an - attitude of consistency and resolution with wild and martial - tribes, neither interfering unduly, on the one hand, nor yielding - anything important on the other. - - “Those among us who are immediately connected with the civil - administration know how, in the interior of the country, you have - kept the native chiefs and gentry true to their allegiance by - strictness tempered with conciliation; how emphatically you have - been the friend of the middle and lower classes among the natives, - the husbandman, the artisan, and the labourer. They know how, with - a large measure of success, you have endeavoured to moderate - taxation; to introduce judicial reforms; to produce a real security - of life and property; to administer the finances in a prudent and - economical spirit; to further the cause of material improvements, - advancing public works so far as the means, financial and - executive, of the Government might permit; to found a popular - system of secular education; to advocate the display of true - Christianity before the people, without infringing those - principles of religions toleration which guide the British - Government in dealing with its native subjects. They know how you - have always administered patronage truly and indifferently for the - good of the State. To the civil officers you have always set the - best example and given the soundest precepts, and there are many - who are proud to think that they belong to your school.” - -In this address the maintenance of order along the frontier Trans-Indus -is mentioned prominently, and indeed this thorny subject had engaged his -attention almost incessantly. He had been obliged frequently to order -military expeditions against the martial and intractable tribes -inhabiting that wild border. No such difficult frontier having -previously been incorporated in British India, his policy though -unavoidable was in some degree novel, and the public mind became at -times agitated, perhaps even mistrustful of the necessity for this -frequent recourse to arms. In 1855, at Lord Dalhousie’s suggestion, he -caused his Secretary to draw up a report of the expeditions which had -been undertaken, and of the offences which had afforded not only -justification but grounds of necessity. That report was an exposition of -his frontier policy at the time. - -This frontier was described as being eight hundred miles in length. The -tribes were grouped in two categories, one having one hundred and -thirty-five thousand, the other eighty thousand fighting men, real -warriors, brave and hardy, well armed though undisciplined. After a -precise summary of the chronic and heinous offences perpetrated by each -tribe within British territory, the character of the tribes generally -was set forth. They were savages, noble savages perhaps, and not without -some tincture of generosity. They had nominally a religion, but -Mahommedanism, as understood by them, was no better, or perhaps -actually worse, than the creeds of the wildest races on earth. In their -eyes the one great commandment was blood for blood. They were never -without weapons: when grazing their cattle, when driving beasts of -burden, when tilling the soil, they bore arms. Every tribe and section -of a tribe had its internecine wars, every family its hereditary -blood-feuds, and every individual his personal foes. Each tribe had a -debtor and creditor account with its neighbours, life for life. - -They had descended from the hills and fought their battles out in our -territory; they had plundered or burnt our villages and slain our -subjects; they had for ages regarded the plain as their preserve, and -its inhabitants as their game. When inclined for cruel sport, they had -sallied forth to rob and murder, and occasionally took prisoners into -captivity for ransom. They had fired upon our troops, and even killed -our officers in our own territories. They traversed at will our -territories, entered our villages, traded in our markets; but few -British subjects, and no servant of the British Government, would dare -to enter their country on any account whatever. - -On the other hand the British Government had recognised their -independence; had confirmed whatever fiefs they held within its -territory; had never extended its jurisdiction one yard beyond the old -limits of the Sikh dominions or of the Punjab as we found it. It had -abstained from any interference in, or connection with, their affairs. -Though permitting and encouraging its subjects to defend themselves at -the time of attack, it had prevented them from retaliating afterwards -and making reprisals. Though granting refuge to men flying for their -lives, it had never allowed armed bodies to seek protection in its -territory. It had freely permitted these independent hill-people to -settle, to cultivate, to graze their herds, and to trade in its -territories. It had accorded to such the same protection, rights, -privileges, and conditions as to its own subjects. It had freely -admitted them to its hospitals and dispensaries; its medical officers -had tended scores of them in sickness, and sent them back to their -mountain homes cured. The ranks of its service were open to them, so -that they might eat our salt and draw our pay if so inclined. - -Then a list was given of the expeditions, some fifteen in number, -against various tribes between 1849 and 1855, and the policy of these -expeditions was declared to be reasonable and just. If murder and -robbery still went on, in spite of patience, of abstinence from -provocation and of conciliation, then what but force remained? Was the -loss of life and property with the consequent demoralisation to continue -or to be stopped? If it could only be stopped by force, then was not -force to be applied? The exertion of such force had proved to be -successful. The tribes after chastisement usually professed and evinced -repentance. They entered into engagements, and for the first time began -to keep their faith. They never repeated the offences which had brought -on the punishment. In almost every case an aggressive tribe behaved -badly before, and well after, suffering from an expedition. - -By this policy the foundation was laid of a pacification whereby these -border tribes were kept quiet most fortunately during the trouble of -1857, which is soon to be narrated. Had a feeble or inefficient -treatment been adopted towards them from the beginning, they would have -become thereby emboldened to rush upon us in the hour of our weakness. -As it was, they had been accustomed to a firm yet just policy. The awe -of us still rested on them for a while, and they refrained from mischief -at a time when they might have done grievous damage. Further, this -policy, steadily promoted by Lawrence’s successors for fully twenty -years, has rendered the British border Trans-Indus one of the most -satisfactory portions of the Indian empire. In no line of country is the -difference between British and Oriental rule more conspicuous than in -this. - -The consideration of the Frontier Policy, up to the end of 1856, leads -up to the relations between Afghanistan and India. The Punjab as the -adjoining province became naturally the medium of such relations. - -Up to 1854 the administrators of the Punjab had no concern in the -affairs of Afghanistan. The Amir, Dost Mahommed, who had been reinstated -after the first Afghan war, in 1843, was still on the throne, but he was -far advanced in years, and dynastic troubles were expected on his death. -Since the annexation of the Punjab, he and his had given no trouble -whatever to the British. The intermittent trouble, already mentioned on -the Trans-Indus Frontier, arose not from the Afghans proper, but from -border tribes who were practically independent of any government in -Afghanistan. But by the events connected with the Crimean war in 1854, -British apprehensions, which had been quiescent for a while, were again -aroused in reference to Central Asia generally, and to Afghanistan as -our nearest neighbour. The idea, which has in later years assumed a -more distinct form, then arose that Russia would make diversions in -Central Asia in order to counteract any measures which England might -adopt towards Turkey. This caused John Lawrence to express for the first -time his official opinion on the subject. He would, if possible, have -nothing to do with Afghanistan. If Russia were to advance as an enemy -towards India, he would not meet her by way of Afghanistan. He would -await such advance upon the Indus frontier, which should be rendered for -her impassable. The counteracting movement by England should, in his -opinion, be made not in Asia but in Europe; and Russia should be so -attacked in the Baltic and the Black Sea, that she would be thereby -compelled to desist from any attempt to harass India from the quarter of -Central Asia. - - * * * * * - -In these days he received a deputation from the Khan of Kokand, one of -the three well-known Khanates adjoining Siberia, who feared absorption -into the Russian empire. But he deemed assistance from the British side -to be impracticable, and after obtaining the instructions of Lord -Dalhousie, he entertained the deputation kindly but sent it back with a -negative reply; and the Khan’s fear of absorption was soon afterwards -realised. - -Then, in consequence of the hostile movements of Persia against -Afghanistan, presumably with indirect support from Russia, he received -proposals from Colonel (afterwards Sir Herbert) Edwardes, the talented -and distinguished Commissioner of Peshawur, for an alliance with the -Afghan ruler. He strongly advised the Governor-General not to enter into -any relations with Afghanistan, but added, as in duty bound, that if -such relations were to be undertaken, he would do his best to arrange -them satisfactorily. He then, under Lord Dalhousie’s direction, in -company with Edwardes, met Sirdar Gholam Hyder the heir-apparent of the -Amir Dost Mahommed at Peshawur in the spring of 1855. Thereupon he -concluded a treaty, obliging the two parties mutually to respect each -other’s dominions, also binding the Amir to be the friend of the friends -and the enemy of the enemies of the British Government, without imposing -on it any corresponding obligation. But though the treaty was simple, -his negotiations with the Afghan prince were complex, and in these he -was duly assisted by Edwardes, with whom the policy had originated, and -to whom he rendered full acknowledgment. - -He was recommended by Lord Dalhousie for honours from the Crown, and was -made a Knight Commander of the Bath early in 1856, just after Lord -Dalhousie had been succeeded by Lord Canning. - -He was shortly afterwards, in 1856, consulted by Lord Canning regarding -the war which the British Government was declaring against Persia for -her conduct towards Herat, a place then deemed to be the key of -Afghanistan on the western side. In the autumn of that year he was -startled by news of the fall of Herat into Persian hands, and by -proposals from Edwardes for rendering effective aid to the Afghan Amir. -Again he opposed these proposals, with an intimation that if the -Governor-General, Lord Canning, should accept them he would do his -utmost to secure their success. As they were accepted by the Government -of India he repaired early in 1857 to Peshawur to meet the Amir Dost -Mahommed. At the Amir’s special request, he crossed the British portal -of the Khyber Pass, and proceeded for a full march inside that famous -defile. The crags and heights echoed with the boom of the guns fired -from the Afghan camp to salute his arrival. There was much of weirdness -and wildness in the aspect of the Afghan levee which was there held in -his honour, an aspect which betokened the desperate character of many of -the chiefs there assembled. He was then accompanied by Dost Mahommed to -Peshawur, and again assisted by Edwardes in the tedious negotiations -which followed. He concluded an additional treaty with Dost Mahommed, -confirming that which had been already made with Gholam Hyder, and -agreeing to afford the Amir a subsidy of a lac of rupees, or £10,000, -monthly with a present of four thousand stand of arms, on the condition -that a European officer should be temporarily deputed, not to Caubul but -to Candahar, and with an assurance that in deference to Afghan -susceptibility, the British Government would not propose to despatch any -European officer to Caubul unless circumstances should change. - -This treaty established relations between the British empire and -Afghanistan which have lasted, with some brief but stormy interruptions, -for thirty years up to the present time. It was concluded on the eve of -the war of those mutinies in India which were foreseen by neither of the -contracting parties. On its conclusion Dost Mahommed exclaimed that he -had thereby made with the British Government an alliance which he would -keep till death; and he did keep it accordingly. As a consequence, -during the storm, which very soon afterwards burst over Northern India -up to the very verge of Afghanistan, he preserved a friendly neutrality -which was of real value to the British cause. Thus whatever may be the -arguments before or since that date, the beginning of 1857, for or -against the setting up of relations with Afghanistan, this treaty proved -very useful to British interests in the events which arose immediately -after it was made. - -It is but just to the memory of Edwardes, who was the originator and the -prime adviser of this policy, to quote the explanation of it in his own -words by a memorandum which he wrote in the following year, 1858. After -alluding to the former dealings of the British with Afghanistan, he -writes thus regarding himself: - - “When Commissioner of Peshâwur, in 1854, he sought and obtained the - permission of Lord Dalhousie to bring about that hearty - reconciliation which was expressed in the first friendly treaty of - March 1855, and subsequently (with the equally cordial approval of - Lord Canning) was substantially consolidated by the treaty of - January 26, 1857. At this latter juncture the Shah of Persia had - seized Herat and was threatening Candahar. England was herself - attacking Persia in the Gulf, and the Indian Government now gave to - the Amir at Cabul eight thousand stand of arms, and a subsidy of - £10,000 a month, so long as the Persian war should last. We did - this, as the treaty truly said, ‘out of friendship.’ We did it, - too, in the plenitude of our power and high noon of that - treacherous security which smiled on India in January 1857. How - little, as we set our seals to that treaty, did we know that in May - the English in India, from Peshâwur to the sea, would be fighting - for empire and their lives, and that God’s mercy was stopping the - mouths of lions against our hour of need. To the honour of Dost - Mahommed Khan let it be recorded that during the Sepoy war, under - the greatest temptation from events and the constant taunts of the - fanatical priests of Cabul, he remained true to the treaty, and - abstained from raising the green flag of Islam and marching down on - the Punjab.” - -In another memorandum discussing the alternatives, of advancing into -Afghanistan to meet Russia, or of awaiting her attack on our own -frontier--which frontier has just been described--and deciding in favour -of the latter, Edwardes writes thus: - - “By waiting on our present frontier, we husband our money, organise - our line of defence, rest upon our base and railroads, save our - troops from fatigue, and bring our heaviest artillery into the - field; while the enemy can only bring light guns over the passes, - has to bribe and fight his way across Afghanistan, wears out and - decimates his army, exhausts his treasure and carriage, and, when - defeated, has to retreat through the passes and over all - Afghanistan--plundered at every march by the tribes.” - -Early in 1857 all people in the Punjab, with John the Chief Commissioner -at their head, rejoiced to hear that Henry Lawrence had been appointed -by Lord Canning to be Chief Commissioner of Oude and would now occupy a -position peculiarly suited to his genius. - -The narrative, having now reached the month of April, 1857, may pause -for a moment on the eve of a perilous crisis. In the coming events the -Punjab was destined to play a foremost part, to be the staff for -sustaining the empire and the sword for destroying its enemies. It may -be well to review in the briefest terms the position which was about to -undergo the severest test. - -The Punjab had a considerable portion of the European army of India -cantoned within its limits, and relatively to its size a larger -proportion of European troops than any other province in the empire. -Within its area every political centre, but not every strategic point, -was held by European soldiers. The long extended frontier was quiet for -a time at least, some evil-disposed tribes having been overawed and -others deterred by punishment from transgressing. The Frontier Native -Force was in efficient discipline and in high spirits; it had neither -connection nor sympathy with the regular Sepoy army. The Himalayan State -of Jammu-Cashmere, on the northern boundary, was loyal from gratitude -for substantial benefits conferred. The lesser Native States in the -country between the Jumna and the Sutlej were faithful in remembrance of -protection accorded during full fifty years. Of the Native aristocracy, -that portion which had a real root in the soil was flourishing fairly -well, that which had not was withering away. With the feudal classes -judicious concessions in land and money, not over-burdensome to the -Treasury, had extinguished discontent which might otherwise have -smouldered till it burst into a flame if fanned by the gale which was -soon to blow over the province. The middle classes living on the land, -the yeomen, the peasant proprietors, the village communities, all felt a -security never known before. Favourable seasons had caused abundant -harvests, and the agricultural population was prospering. The military -classes of the Sikh nationality had settled down to rural industry. The -land-settlement had provided livelihood and occupation for all the men -of thews and sinews, who formed the flower of the population or the -nucleus of possible armies, and who really possessed the physical force -of the country. The fighting men, interspersed amidst the civil -population, had given up their arms to the authorities. In the British -metaphor of the time, the teeth of the evil-disposed had been completely -drawn. Trade had developed under the new rule, and had expanded with -improved means of communication. Capital had begun to accumulate, and -the moneyed classes were in favour of a government that would support -public credit and refrain from extortion. The mass of the people were -contented, prices being cheap, wages on the rise and employment brisk. -The provincial revenues were elastic and increasing, though the -assessments were easier, the taxation lighter, and the imposts fewer -than formerly. The transit-dues, erst vexatiously levied under Native -rule, had been abolished. The whole administration had been so framed as -to ensure a strong though friendly grasp of the province, its people, -its resources, its capabilities. The bonds were indeed to be worn -easily, but they had been cast in a vast fold all round the country and -could be drawn tighter at pleasure. The awe inspired by British -victories still dwelt in the popular mind. As the repute of the late -Sikh army had been great, that of their conquerors became greater still. -The people were slow to understand the possibility of disaster befalling -so puissant a sovereignty as that which had been set up before their -eyes. The system was being administered by a body of European officers, -trained in the highest degree for organised action and for keeping a -tenacious grip upon their districts. Every post of importance was filled -by a capable man, many posts by men of talent, and some even by men of -genius. At the head of them all was John Lawrence himself, whose eye -penetrated to every compartment of the State-ship to prove and test her -as seaworthy. - -Notes of warning had been sounded from Umballa, the military station -midway between the Jumna and the Sutlej. Beyond the Sutlej in the Punjab -proper no unfavourable symptom was perceptible. But day by day ominous -sounds seemed to be borne northwards in the very air. At first they were -like the mutterings of a far off thunderstorm. Then they were as the -gathering of many waters. Soon they began to strike the ear of the -Punjab administrator, who might say as the anxious settler in North -America said, - - “Hark! ’tis the roll of the Indian drum.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -WAR OF THE MUTINIES - -1857-1859 - - -The story has now arrived at the month of May, 1857, and its hero is -about “to take up arms against a sea of troubles.” It may be well, then, -to remember what his position was according to the Constitution of -British India. - -Of all lands, British India is the land of discipline in the best sense -of the term, and its component parts, though full of self-help and -individuality, are blended into one whole by subordination to a supreme -authority. If in times of trouble or danger every proconsul or prefect -were to do what is best in his own eyes for his territory without due -regard to the central control, then the British Indian empire would soon -be as other Asiatic empires have been. A really great Anglo-Indian must -be able to command within the limits of his right, and to obey loyally -where obedience is due from him. But if he is to expect good -instructions from superior authority, then that authority must be well -informed. Therefore he must be apt in supplying not only facts, but also -suggestions as the issue of original and independent thought. He must -also be skilled in cooperating with those over whom he has no actual -authority, but whose assistance is nevertheless needed. In dangerous -emergency he must do his utmost if instructions from superior authority -cannot be had in time. But he must take the line which such authority, -if consulted, would probably approve; and he must not prolong his -separate action beyond the limit of real necessity. Often men, eminent -on the whole, have been found to fail in one or other of these respects, -and such failure has detracted from their greatness. John Lawrence was -good in all these cardinal points equally; he could command, obey, -suggest, co-operate, according to just requirements; therefore he was -great all round as an administrator,-- - - “Strong with the strength of the race - To command, to obey, to endure.” - -When the Sepoy mutinies burst over Northern India, he was not the -Governor of the Punjab, for the Government of that province was -administered by the Governor-General in Council at Calcutta. Vast as was -his influence, still he was only Chief Commissioner or chief executive -authority in all departments, and Agent to the Governor-General. Subject -to the same control, he had under his general command and at his -disposal the Frontier Force described in the last chapter, an important -body indeed but limited in numbers. In the stations and cantonments of -the regular army, European and Native, he had the control of the -barracks, the buildings and all public works. But with the troops he had -nothing to do, and over their commanders he had no authority. - -After the interruption of communication between the Punjab and Calcutta -on the outbreak of the Mutinies, his position was altered by the force -of events. Additional powers had not been delegated to him, indeed, by -the Governor-General, but he was obliged to assume them in the series of -emergencies which arose. He had to incur on his responsibility a vast -outlay of money, and even to raise loans financially on the credit of -the British Government, to enrol large bodies of Native soldiers, and -appoint European officers from the regular troops to command them; to -create, and allot salaries temporarily to, many new appointments--all -which things lawfully required the authority of the Governor-General in -Council, to whom, however, a reference was impossible during the -disturbance. Again, he was obliged to make suggestions to the commanders -of the regular troops at the various stations throughout the Province. -These suggestions were usually accepted by them, and so had full effect. -The commanders saw no alternative but to defer to him as he was the -chief provincial authority, and as they were unable to refer to the -Commander-in-Chief or to the Supreme Government. They also felt their -normal obligation always to afford aid to him as representing the civil -power in moments of need. Thus upon him was cast by rapid degrees the -direction of all the British resources, civil, military and political, -within the Punjab and its dependencies. - -This explanation is necessary, in order to illustrate the arduous part -which he was compelled to take in the events about to be noticed. Thus -can we gauge his responsibility for that ultimate result, which might be -either the steadfast retention of a conquest won eight years -previously, or a desolating disaster. From such a far-inland position -the Europeans might, he knew, be driven towards their ships at the mouth -of the Indus, but how many would ever reach the haven must be terribly -doubtful. There he stood, then, at the head of affairs, like a tower -raised aloft in the Land of the Five Rivers, with its basis tried by -much concussion, but never shaken actually. He had, as shown in the last -chapter, resources unequalled in any province of India. There were -around him most, though not quite all, of the trusty coadjutors whom his -brother Henry had originally collected, or whom he himself had summoned. -His position during the crisis about to supervene, resembled that of the -Roman Senate after the battle of Cannæ, as set forth by the historian -with vivid imagery--“The single torrent joined by a hundred lesser -streams has swelled into a wide flood; and the object of our interest is -a rock, now islanded amid the waters, and against which they dash -furiously, as though they must needs sweep it away. But the rock stands -unshaken; the waters become feebler, the rock seems to rise higher and -higher; and the danger is passed away.” - -In May, 1857, he had as usual retired to his Himalayan retreat at Murri -for the summer, anxious regarding the mutinous symptoms, which had -appeared at various stations of the Native army in other provinces, but -not in the Punjab proper. He knew his own province to be secure even -against a revolt of the Native troops; his anxiety referred to his -neighbours over whom he had no authority, and he hoped for the best -respecting them. He had in April been suffering from neuralgia, and had -even feared lest the distress and consequent weakness should drive him -to relinquish his charge for a time. He had however decided to remain -yet another year. His pain pursued him in the mountains. The paroxysm of -an acute attack had been subdued by the use of aconite, which relieving -the temples caused sharp anguish in the eyes,--when the fateful telegram -came from Delhi. He rose from a sick bed to read the message which a -telegraph clerk, with admirable presence of mind, despatched just before -the wires were broken by the mutineers and the mob. He thus learnt, -within a few hours of their occurrence, the striking and shocking events -which had occurred there, the outbreak of the native soldiery, the -murder of the Europeans, the momentary cessation of British rule, and in -its place the assumption of kingly authority by the titular Moslem -Emperor. Learning all this at least two days before the public of the -Punjab could hear of it, he was able to take all necessary precautions -civil, political, military, so that when the wondrous news should arrive -the well-wishers of the Government might be encouraged and the -evil-disposed abashed at finding that measures had actually been taken -or were in hand. The excitement of battling with emergency seemed for a -while to drive away the pain from his nerves, and to banish every -sensation save that of pugnacity. - -After the lapse of a generation who can now describe the dismay which -for a moment chilled even such hearts as his, when the amazing news from -Delhi was flashed across the land! For weeks indeed a still voice had -been whispering in his ear that at the many stations held by Sepoys -alone a revolt, if attempted, must succeed. But he had a right to be -sure that wherever European troops were stationed, there no snake of -mutiny would dare to rear its head and hiss. Here, however, he saw that -the mutinous Sepoys had broken loose at Meerut, the very core of our -military power in Hindostan, and had, in their flight to Delhi, escaped -the pursuit of European cavalry, artillery and infantry. For them, too, -he knew what an inestimable prize was Delhi, a large city, walled round -with fortifications, and containing an arsenal-magazine full of -munitions. It is ever important politically that European life should be -held sacred by the Natives, and he was horror-stricken on learning that -this sacredness had been atrociously violated. If British power depended -partly on moral force, then here he felt a fatally adverse effect, for -the rebellion started with a figure-head in the Great Mogul, veritably a -name to conjure with in India. His feeling was momentarily like that of -sailors on the outbreak of fire at sea, or on the crash of a collision. -But if the good ship reeled under the shock, he steadied her helm and -his men stood to their places. - -Within three days he received the reports from his headquarters at -Lahore, showing how Montgomery, as chief civil authority on the spot, -had with the utmost promptitude carried to the commander of the troops -there the telegraphic news from Delhi before the event could be known by -letters or couriers, and had urged the immediate disarming of the -Sepoys, how the commander had disarmed them with signal skill and -success, and how the capital of the province had thus been rendered -safe. - -Murri being near the frontier, he was able to confer personally with -Herbert Edwardes, one of the greatest of his lieutenants, who was -Commissioner of Peshawur, the most important station in the province -next after Lahore itself. At Peshawur also he had John Nicholson, a -pillar of strength. - -During May and June he received reports of disaster daily in most parts -of Northern India, and he knew that his own province, notwithstanding -outward calm, was stirred with conflicting emotions inwardly. - -The events of 1857 were so full of epic grandeur, their results so vast, -their details so terrific, their incidents so complex, and the part -which he played in connection with them was so important, that it is -difficult to do justice to his achievements without entering upon a -historic summary for which space cannot be allowed here. By reason of -his conduct in the Punjab at this crisis, he has been hailed as the -deliverer and the preserver of India. In an account of his life it is -necessary at the very least to recapitulate, just thirty years after the -event, the several acts, measures or proceedings of his which gave him a -claim to this eminent title. All men probably know that he brought about -a result of the utmost value to his country. It is well to recount the -steps by which he reached this national goal. - -From the recapitulation of things done under his direction and on his -responsibility, it is not to be inferred that he alone did them. On the -contrary, he had the suggestions, the counsel, the moral support, the -energetic obedience of his subordinates, and the hearty co-operation of -many military commanders who were not his subordinates. He always -acknowledged the aid he thus received, as having been essential to any -success that was attained. He had his share in the credit, and they had -theirs severally and collectively. In the first enthusiasm of success, -after the fall of Delhi in September, he wrote in a letter to Edwardes: -“Few men, in a similar position, have had so many true and good -supporters around him. But for them what could I have done?” - -He was from the beginning of the crisis in May, 1857, left in his -province, unsupported by all other parts of India save Scinde,--_penitus -toto divisus orbe_. The temporary establishment of the rebel -headquarters at Delhi divided him and the Punjab from North-Western -India, cutting off all direct communication with Calcutta and the -Governor-General. He did not for many weeks receive any directions by -post or telegraph from Lord Canning. It was not till August that he -received one important message from the Governor-General by the -circuitous route of Bombay and Scinde, as will be seen hereafter. He was -thus thrown absolutely on his own resources, a circumstance which had -more advantages than drawbacks, as it enabled him to act with all his -originality and individuality. - -Thus empowered by the force of events, his action spread over a wide -field, the complete survey of which would comprise many collateral -incidents relating to many eminent persons and to several careers of the -highest distinction. All that can be undertaken here is to state the -principal heads of his proceedings as concerning his conduct -individually, with the mention only of a few persons who were so bound -up with him that they must be noticed in order to elucidate his unique -position. - -His first step was to confirm the prompt and decisive measures taken by -his lieutenants at Lahore (as already mentioned) under the spur of -emergency, whereby the capital of the Punjab was placed beyond the reach -of danger. - -But he saw in an instant that the self-same danger of mutiny among the -native troops, from which Lahore had been saved, menaced equally all the -other military stations of the Punjab, namely Jullundur and Ferozepore, -both in the basin of the Sutlej river, Sealkote on the Himalayan border, -Mooltan commanding the approach to Scinde on the river-highway between -the Punjab and the sea, Rawul-Pindi and Peshawur in the region of the -Indus, Jhelum commanding the river of that name; at each of which -stations a body of Sepoys, possibly mutinous, was stationed. Therefore -he proposed that a movable column of European troops should be formed -and stationed in a central and commanding position, ready to proceed at -once to any station where mutiny might show itself among the Sepoys, to -assist in disarming them or in beating them down should they rise in -revolt, and to cut off their escape should they succeed in flying with -arms in their hands. He procured in concert with the local military -authorities the appointment of Neville Chamberlain to command this -movable column, and then of John Nicholson, when Chamberlain was -summoned to Delhi. There were many technical difficulties in completing -this arrangement which indeed was vitally needful, but they were -surmounted only by his masterful influence. Chamberlain was already well -known to him from service on the Trans-Indus frontier. Nicholson was his -nominee specially (having been originally brought forward by his brother -Henry) and will be prominently mentioned hereafter. He was indeed -instrumental in placing Nicholson in a position which proved of -momentous consequence to the country in a crisis of necessity. - -But too soon it became evident that his worst apprehensions regarding -the Sepoys in the Punjab would be fulfilled. Then finding that no -proclamation to the Sepoys was being issued by the Commander-in-Chief -from Delhi, and that no message could possibly come from the -Governor-General, he determined after consulting the local military -authorities to issue a proclamation from himself as Chief Commissioner -to the Sepoys in the Punjab, and to have it posted up at every -cantonment or station. The most important sentences from it may be -quoted here. - - “Sepoys! I warn and advise you to prove faithful to your salt; - faithful to the Government who have given your forefathers and you - service for the last hundred years; faithful to that Government - who, both in cantonments and in the field, have been careful of - your welfare and interests, and who, in your old age, have given - you the means of living comfortably in your homes. Those regiments - which now remain faithful will receive the rewards due to their - constancy; those soldiers who fall away now will lose their service - for ever! It will be too late to lament hereafter when the time has - passed by. Now is the opportunity of proving your loyalty and good - faith. The British Government will never want for native soldiers. - In a month it might raise 50,000 in the Punjab alone. You know well - enough that the British Government have never interfered with your - religion. The Hindoo temple and the Mahommedan mosque have both - been respected by the English Government. It was but the other day - that the Jumma mosque at Lahore, which the Sikhs had converted into - a magazine, was restored to the Mahommedans.” - -Simultaneously under his directions, or with his sanction, several -important forts, arsenals, treasuries and strategic positions, which had -been more or less in the guardianship of the Sepoys, were swiftly -transferred to the care of European troops, before mutiny had time to -develope itself. - -Soon it became necessary for him to urge, with as much secrecy as -possible, the disarming of the Sepoys at nearly every station in the -Punjab. This measure was successful at Peshawur, though with some -bloodshed and other distressful events; at Rawul Pindi it was carried -out under his own eye; at Mooltan a point of vital importance, it was -executed brilliantly under provident arrangements which he was specially -instrumental in suggesting. It was effected generally by the presence of -European troops; at Mooltan, however, he was proud to reflect that it -had been managed by Punjabi agency with the aid of some loyal -Hindostanis. But at Ferozepore its success was partial only, at -Jullundur the mutineers escaped through local incompetence, but the -effects were mitigated by his arrangements. At Sealkote he had advised -disarming before the European regiment was withdrawn to form the Movable -Column already mentioned; nevertheless the military commanders tried to -keep the Sepoys straight without disarming them, so when the mutiny did -occur it could not be suppressed. He felt keenly the ill effects of this -disaster brought about as it was by murderous treachery. But the -mutineers were cut off with heavy loss by the Movable Column which he -had organised. Space, indeed, forbids any attempt to describe the -disarming of the Sepoys which was executed at his instance, or with his -approval, throughout the Province. Once convinced that the Sepoys were -intending, if not actual, mutineers, he gave his _mot d’ordre_ to -disarm, disarm; and this was the primary step in the path of safety. - -Even then, however, at nearly every large station there were bodies of -disarmed Sepoys, ripe for any mischief, who had to be guarded, and the -guarding of them was a grave addition to his toils and anxieties; it was -done however with success. - -His anxiety for the future of Mooltan was acute, as that place commanded -the only line of communication that remained open between the Punjab and -India, and the only road of retreat in event of disaster. So help from -the Bombay side was entreated; and he felt inexpressibly thankful when -the Bombay European Fusiliers arrived at Mooltan speedily from Scinde, -and when a camel-train was organised for military transport to that -place from Kurrachi on the seaboard. He rendered heartfelt -acknowledgments to Bartle Frere, to whose energy the speedy arrival of -this much-needed reinforcement was due. Come what might, he would cling -to Mooltan even to the bitterest end, as events had caused this place to -be for a time the root of British power in the Punjab. - -Almost his first care was to urge on the movement which was being made -by the Commander-in-Chief, General Anson, who, assembling the European -Regiments then stationed in the Himalayas near Simla and at Umballa, -proposed to march upon Delhi. His immediate counsel to the -Commander-in-Chief, from a political point of view--irrespective of the -military considerations of which the General must be the judge--was to -advance. If, he argued, success in stopping the rebellion depended on -moral as well as on physical force, then a forward movement would affect -the public mind favourably, while inactivity must produce a -corresponding depression; thus we could not possibly afford to stand -still, and an advancing policy would furnish our only chance. Rejoiced -to find that counsels of this character prevailed at the army -headquarters then established between Simla and Umballa, and that the -European force had its face turned straight towards Delhi, he set -himself to help in finding transport, supplies and escort. The line of -march lay along the high road from Umballa to Delhi about one hundred -miles, so he helped with his civil and political resources to clear and -pioneer the way. When the European force laid siege to Delhi, this road -became the line of communication with the rear, the chain of connection -between the combatants in camp on the Delhi ridge and the military base -at Umballa; this line, then, he must keep open. Fortunately the -adjoining districts belonged chiefly to Native princes, who had for many -years been protected by the British power and now proved themselves -thoroughly loyal; so he through his officers organised the troops and -the establishments of these Native States to help the British troops in -patrolling the road, provisioning the supply depôts, escorting the -stores and materials for the army in the front. - -The Sepoys having mutinied or been disarmed throughout the Punjab, it -became instantly necessary to supply their place if possible by -trustworthy Native troops; to this task he applied himself with the -utmost skill and energy. He caused the flower of the Punjab Frontier -force, already mentioned in a preceding chapter, to be despatched with -extraordinary expedition to Delhi. He raised fresh levies, with very -suggestive aid from Edwardes at Peshawur, by selecting men from among -the Sikhs and Moslems of the Punjab. He had them rapidly organised for -service in every part of the country from Peshawur to Delhi. As these -new troops were thus promptly formed, he kept a prudent eye on their -total number. Finding this number was mounting to more than fifty -thousand men of all arms, he stopped short, considering this to be the -limit of safety, and he restrained the zeal of his lieutenants so as to -prevent any undue or excessive number being raised. He from the first -foresaw that the fresh Punjabi soldiery must not be too numerous, nor be -allowed to feel that the physical force was on their side. - -The selection of trustworthy Native officers for the new troops required -much discrimination; but his personal knowledge of all eminent and -well-informed Punjabis enabled him either to make the choice himself, or -to obtain guidance in choosing. - -It is hard to describe what a task he and his coadjutors had in order to -provide this considerable force within a very few weeks--to raise and -select trusty men from widely scattered districts, to drill, equip, -clothe, arm and officer them, to discipline and organise them in -marching order, to place them on garrison duty or despatch them for -service in the field. A large proportion of them, too, must be mounted, -and for these he had to collect horses. - -Special care had to be taken by him for the watch and ward of the long -frontier adjoining Afghanistan for several hundred miles, which border -had been deprived of some of its best troops for service before Delhi. -This critical task, too, he accomplished with entire success. - -Further, one notable step was taken by him in respect to the Sepoy -regiments. The Sepoys were for the most part Hindostanis, but in every -corps there were some Sikhs or Punjabis; he caused these latter to be -separated from their comrades and embodied in the newly-formed forces. -Thus he saved hundreds of good men from being involved in mutiny. - -Anticipating the good which would be exerted on the public mind by the -sight of the forces of the Native States being employed under the -British standard before Delhi, he accepted the offers of assistance from -these loyal feudatories. Under his auspices, the Chiefs in the -Cis-Sutlej States were among the first to appear in arms on the British -side. Afterwards he arranged with the Maharaja of Jammu and Cashmere for -the despatch of a contingent from those Himalayan regions to join the -British camp at Delhi; and he deputed his brother Richard to accompany -this contingent as political agent. - -It was providentially fortunate for him and his that no sympathy existed -between the Punjabis and the mutinous Sepoys, but on the contrary a -positive antipathy. The Sepoys of the Bengal army who were mutineers -nearly all belonged to Oude and Hindostan; the Punjabis regarded them as -foreigners, and detested them ever since the first Sikh war, even -disliking their presence in the Punjab; he was fully alive to this -feeling, and made the very most of it for the good of the British -cause. He knew too that they hated Delhi as the city where their -warrior-prophet Tegh Behadur had been barbarously put to death, and -where the limbs of the dead martyr had been exposed on the ramparts. In -the first instance the Punjabis regarded the mutinies as utter follies -sure to bring down retribution, and they were glad to be among his -instruments in dealing out punishment to the mutineers, and so “feeding -fat their grudge” against them. They told him that the bread which the -Sepoys had rejected would fall to the lot of the loyal Punjab. Thus he -seized this great advantage instantly, and drove the whole force of -Punjabi sentiment straight against the rebels, saying in effect as Henry -V. said to his soldiers, - - “I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, - Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot; - Follow your spirit and upon this charge - Cry, ‘God for Harry, England, and St. George.’” - -As outbreak after outbreak occurred, he pressed for the signal and -condign punishment of the leaders, as a deterrent to those who might yet -be wavering between duty and revolt. But this object having been -secured, he instantly tried to temper offended justice with at least a -partial clemency, lest men should be tempted to rebellion by despair. -When batches of red-handed mutineers were taken prisoners, he would -intercede so that the most guilty only should be blown from guns, and -that the lives of the rest should be spared with a view to imprisonment. -In such moments, he would support his appeal by invoking his officers to -look into their consciences as before the Almighty. This solemn -invocation--rarely uttered by him, though its sense was ever on his -mind--attested the earnestness of his conviction. - -By this time he and his were regarded as forming the military base of -the operations against Delhi. Thither had he sent off many of his best -troops and his ablest officers, besides stores and material. Prudential -considerations had been duly brought to his notice in reference to the -Punjab itself becoming denuded of its resources. But after weighing all -this carefully yet rapidly, he decided that the claims of the British -besiegers, encamped over against the rebellious Delhi, were paramount, -and he acted on that decision. - -Fortunately the arsenals and magazines in his province were fully -supplied, and soon after the great outbreak in May a siege-train had -been despatched to Delhi. But he knew that the siege was laid on one -side only out of several sides, nothing like an investment being -practicable as the besieged had perfect communication with their base in -the rebellious Hindostan. So he prepared his province to supply the -countless necessaries for the conduct of such a siege, against a city -girdled with several miles of fortifications, possessing many internal -resources which were further fed from the outside, and defended by -disciplined rebels, who on rebelling had seized the treasure in the -vaults, the ordnance and warlike stores in the magazine of the place. -Thus for many weeks he sent convoy after convoy, even driblet after -driblet, of miscellaneous ordnance stores, saddlery, tents, sand-bags -and articles innumerable. For all this work a complete transport-train -was organised under his orders, to ply daily on the road leading to the -rear of the British forces before Delhi. The vehicles, the animals for -draught or for baggage, the bullocks, the camels, the elephants, were -hired or purchased by him in his province and its dependencies. The -drivers and riders were taken from the people in his jurisdiction, and -they behaved towards their trusted master with steadiness and fidelity. -He sorely needed the public moneys available in the Punjab for his own -operations there; still out of them he spared large sums to be sent to -Delhi, knowing that from nowhere else but the Punjab could a rupee be -obtained by the besiegers. If a few native troops of a special -character, such as sappers and pioneers, were required, he would select -old soldiers of the late Sikh armies and despatch them to the siege. As -the operations of the siege advanced, a second train of heavy guns was -needed, and this he sent in the nick of time by transport collected in -the Punjab. He was in constant correspondence with the commanders before -Delhi, and thus knew their needs, their perils, and their chances. They -sent him all their requisitions, and looked upon him as their military -base. It may be said that he never refused a requisition either for men, -money or means; and that he hardly ever failed to fulfil any request -with which compliance had been promised. - -It is hard to paint the picture of his work in these days, because the -canvas has to be crowded with many diverse incidents and policies. At -one moment he cries in effect--disarm the rebel Sepoys, disarm them -quick, inflict exemplary punishment, stamp out mutiny, pursue, cut off -retreat--at another, spare, spare, temper judgment with discriminating -clemency--at another, advance, advance, raise levies, place men wherever -wanted--at another, hold fast, don’t do too much, by an excessive -number of new men a fresh risk is run--at another, seize such and such -strategic points, guard such and such river-passages--at another, break -up this or that pontoon bridge to prevent the enemy crossing--at -another, press forward the transport, push on the supplies--at all -moments, put a cheerful as well as a bold face even on the worst, for -the sake of moral effect. He unravelled the threads of countless -transactions, collated the thick-coming reports from all the districts, -and noted the storm-warnings at every point of his political compass. -His warfare with the rebels and mutineers was offensive as well as -defensive. His word always was, attack, attack, so that the people, -seeing this aggressive attitude, might not lose heart. His energy in -these days might be called resplendent, as it was all-pervading, -life-infusing, and ranged in all directions with the broadest sweep. But -he recked little of glory, for the crisis was awful. - -It may possibly be asked what the Punjab and the empire would have done, -had he at this time fallen or been stricken down. Such questions, -however, imply scant justice to him and his system; and he would have -taken them as sorry compliments. He had ever so laboured that his work -might live after him. Around him were several leaders capable of -commanding events or directing affairs; and under him was an admirable -band of officers civil and military, trained under his eye, on whom his -spirit rested, and who were ready to follow his lieutenant or successor -even as they had followed him. - -Then financial difficulty stared him in the face, in respect not only -of the normal but also of the abnormal expenses in the Punjab. It will -have been understood from a preceding chapter that his provincial -treasury, though sufficing for the expenses of the Province and for its -share in the military expenditure, was not full enough to meet the -entire cost of the army cantoned in the province for the defence of the -empire generally. Up to the end of April in this year, he had drawn -large supplies in cash regularly from the treasuries in Hindostan and -Bengal. But from May onwards these supplies were cut off, and he was -left to provide money not only for the old charges of the Province, but -also for the new charges on account of the extraordinary measures which -had been adopted. He therefore raised loans of money locally, and moral -pressure had to be applied to the Native capitalists. He observed that -these men, who are usually ready and loyal and are bound to us by many -ties, now hung back and showed closefistedness. This he regarded as an -index of their fears for the issue of the desperate struggle in which we -were engaged. He also invited subscriptions from the Native Princes and -Chiefs. Having raised large sums in this way, he was able to keep the -various treasuries open, and to avoid suspending payment anywhere. His -first care, after the restoration of peace and plenty, was to repay the -temporary creditors. - -As the news from the British forces before Delhi grew more and more -unfavourable during June and July, he reflected, with characteristic -forethought, on the steps to be taken in the event of disaster in that -quarter. Among other things he apprehended that it might become -necessary to retire from Peshawur, so that the large European force -cantoned there might be concentrated for the defence of the Province. -This apprehension of his caused much discussion subsequently, and is -likely to be fraught with historic interest. He thus expressed himself -in a letter to Edwardes on June 9th. - - “I think we must look ahead and consider what should be done in the - event of disaster at Delhi. My decided opinion is that, in that - case, we must concentrate. All our safety depends on this. If we - attempt to hold the whole country, we shall be cut up in detail. - The important points in the Punjab are Peshawur, Mooltan, and - Lahore, including Umritsur. But I do not think that we can hold - Peshawur and the other places also, in the event of disaster. We - could easily retire from Peshawur early in the day. But at the - eleventh hour, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible.” - -On the following day, June 10th, he wrote in the same strain to Lord -Canning, but adding that he would not give up Peshawur so long as he saw -a chance of success. He asked that a telegram might be sent to him by -the circuitous route of Bombay (the only route then open) containing one -of two alternative replies--“Hold on to Peshawur to the last,”--or, “You -may act as may appear expedient in regard to Peshawur.” Very soon he -received Edwardes’s reply that, “With God’s help we can and will hold -Peshawur, let the worst come to the worst.” On June 18th after a -conversation with Nicholson, who was utterly opposed to retiring from -Peshawur, he wrote to Edwardes repeating that in the event of a great -disaster such retirement might be necessary. No reply being received -from Lord Canning, he prepared to act upon this view as the extremity of -the crisis seemed to loom nearer and nearer during June and July. He -reiterated his views in two despatches to the Governor-General, one at -the end of June, the other at the end of July. But by August 1st public -intelligence from India and England reached him, modifying favourably, -though it did not remove, the crisis. On the 7th of that month he -received Lord Canning’s reply, “Hold on to Peshawur to the last.” He -immediately writes to Edwardes: “The Governor-General bids me hold on to -the last at Peshawur. I do not, however, now think that we shall be -driven to any extremity. The tide is turning very decidedly against the -mutineers at Delhi.” This episode evinces his moral courage and -single-mindedness in all that concerned the public safety, for he must -have well known that proposals for retirement were invidious, and might -prove unpopular with many of his supporters. - -When he spoke about the turning of the tide he alluded partly to the -news, which was slowly travelling to the Punjab from England, regarding -the despatch to India of mighty reinforcements of European troops. These -would not indeed reach him in time, but the knowledge nerved him to hold -out, as every day gained was a step towards victory. - -On August 6th he heard at last the tidings of his brother’s death at -Lucknow, from a mortal wound while in bed from the bursting of a shell -which had penetrated the chamber. Immediately he telegraphed to -Edwardes, “My brother Henry was wounded on July 2nd, and died two days -afterwards.” The same day he wrote to Edwardes, “Henry died like a good -soldier in discharge of his duty; he has not left an abler or better -soldier behind him; his loss just now will be a national calamity.” - -In the middle of July he left Murri and proceeded to Lahore, where he -remained at his headquarters till the end of the crisis. There he took -counsel daily with Montgomery and Macleod, the very men on whose -courageous alacrity he most relied for the despatch of public business. -For four weary months he sustained British authority in the Punjab on -the whole from end to end, notwithstanding the agitation caused by -several mutinous outbreaks of the Sepoys, and despite several desperate -attempts at insurrection in some districts. He kept down the disorder, -which was but too ready to upheave itself when the worst example was -being set in neighbouring provinces, and while stories of distant -disasters were flying about. He extinguished every flame that burst -forth. Having under him a matchless staff of officers, civil, political, -military, he set before them all by his own bearing and conduct an -example which they nobly followed. Thus throughout the crisis he -maintained, intact and uninterrupted, the executive power in the civil -administration, the collection of the revenue to the uttermost farthing, -the operations of the judicial courts, the action of the police. He saw, -not only the suppression of violent crime, but also the most peaceful -proceedings conducted, such as the dispensing of relief to the sick and -the attendance of children at school. He felt that during the suspense -of the public mind, a sedative is produced by the administrative -clock-work moving in seconds, minutes, hours of precious time won for -the British cause. He was ruling over the Native population, which was -indeed the most martial among all the races in India, but which also had -been beaten and conquered by British prowess within living memory. He -now took care that the British prestige should be preserved in their -minds, and that the British star should still before their eyes be in -the ascendant. Knowing them to have that generosity which always belongs -to brave races, he determined to trust them as the surest means of -ensuring their fidelity. Therefore he chose the best fighting men -amongst them to aid their late conquerors in the Punjab, and to -re-conquer the rebellious Hindostan. He knew that one way of keeping the -fiercer and more restless spirits out of mischief was to hurl them at -the common foe. - -But the months wore on from May to September while Delhi remained -untaken, and he knew that week by week the respect of the Punjab people, -originally high, for the British Government, was being lowered by the -spectacle of unretrieved disaster. He felt also that the patience of the -evil-disposed, which had been happily protracted, must be approaching -nearer and nearer to the point of exhaustion. He saw that sickness was -creeping over the robust frame of the body politic, and that the -symptoms of distemper, which were day by day appearing in the limbs, -might ere long extend to the vital organs. He learned, from intercepted -correspondence, the sinister metaphors which were being applied to what -seemed to be the sinking state of the British cause--such as “many of -the finest trees in the garden have fallen,” or “white wheat is scarce -and country produce abundant,” or “hats are hardly to be seen while -turbans are countless.” - -Yet it was evident to him that the force before Delhi in August would -not suffice to recapture the place, although he had sent all the -reinforcements which could properly be spared from the Punjab. But if -Delhi should remain untaken, the certainty of disturbance throughout the -Punjab presented itself to him. He must therefore make one supreme -effort to so strengthen the Delhi camp that an assault might be soon -delivered. This he could do by despatching thither the one last reserve -which the Punjab possessed, namely Nicholson’s movable column. This was -a perilous step to take, and his best officers, as in duty bound, -pointed out its perils; still he resolved to adopt it. If the column -should go, grave risk would indeed be incurred for the Punjab, but then -there was a chance of Delhi being taken, and of the Punjab being -preserved; if the column should not go, then Delhi would not be taken, -and in that case the Punjab must sooner or later be lost; and he had -finally to decide between these two alternatives. His intimate -acquaintance with the people taught him that if a general rising should -occur in consequence of the British failing to take Delhi, then the -presence of the movable column in the Punjab would not save the -Province. This was the crisis not only in his career, but also in the -fate of the Punjab and of Delhi with Hindostan. He decided in favour of -action, not only as the safer of two alternatives, but as the only -alternative which afforded any hope of safety. He was conscious that -this particular decision was fraught with present risk to the Punjab, -which had hardly force enough for self-preservation. But he held that -the other alternative must ultimately lead to destruction. His decision -thus formed had to be followed by rapid action, for sickness at the end -of summer and beginning of autumn was literally decimating the European -force before Delhi week by week; and even each day as it passed -appreciably lessened the fighting strength. So the column marched with -all speed for Delhi; and then he had sped his last bolt. In his own -words, he had poured out the cup of his resources to the last drop. - -Thus denuded, his position was critical indeed. He had but four thousand -European soldiers remaining in the Punjab, and of these at least one -half were across the Indus near the Khyber Pass. Several strategic -points were held by detachments only of European troops, and he could -not but dread the sickly season then impending. He had eighteen thousand -Sepoys to watch, of whom twelve thousand had been disarmed and six -thousand still had their arms. Of his newly-raised Punjabis the better -part had been sent to Delhi; but a good part remained to do the -necessary duties in the Punjab; and what if they should come to think -that the physical force was at their disposal? - -The sequel formed one of the bright pages in British annals, and amply -justified the responsibility which he had incurred. The column arrived -in time to enable the British force to storm and capture Delhi; and he -mourned, as a large-hearted man mourns, over the death of Nicholson in -the hour of triumph. He declared that Nicholson, then beyond the reach -of human praise, had done deeds of which the memory could never perish -so long as British rule should endure. - -His relief was ineffable when tidings came that Delhi had been stormed, -the mutineers defeated and expelled, the so-called Emperor taken -prisoner, the fugitive rebels pursued, the city and the surrounding -districts restored to British rule. To his ear the knell of the great -rebellion had sounded. He could not but feel proud at the thought that -this result had been achieved without any reinforcement whatever from -England. But he was patriotically thankful to hear of the succour -despatched by England, through Palmerston her great Minister--some fifty -thousand men in sailing vessels by a long sea-route round the Cape of -Good Hope, full twelve thousand miles in a few months, by an effort -unparalleled in warlike annals. - -While the peril was at its height, his preoccupation almost drowned -apprehension. But when the climax was over, he was awe-struck on looking -back on the narrowness of the escape. He recalled to mind the desperate -efforts which he and his men had put forth. But he was profoundly -conscious that, humanly speaking, no exertions of this nature were -adequate to cope with the frightful emergency which had lasted so long -as to strain his resources almost to breaking. The fatuity, which often -haunts criminals, had affected the mutineers and the rebel leaders; -error had dogged their steps, and their unaccountable oversights had, in -his opinion, contributed to the success of the British cause. He used to -say that their opportunity would, if reasonably used, have given them -the mastery; but that they with their unreason threw away its -advantages, and that in short had they pursued almost any other course -than that which they did pursue, the British flag must have succumbed. -Thus regarding with humility the efforts of which the issue had been -happy, he felt truly, and strove to inspire others with, a sentiment of -devout thankfulness to the God of battles and the Giver of all victory. - -He believed that if Delhi had not fallen, and if the tension in the -Punjab had been prolonged for some more months, even for some more -weeks, the toils of inextricable misfortune would have closed round his -administration. The frontier tribes would, he thought, have marched upon -half-protected districts, and would have been joined by other tribes in -the interior of the province. One military station after another would -have been abandoned by the British, so that the available forces might -be concentrated at Lahore the capital; and finally there would have been -a retreat, with all the European families and a train of camp-followers, -from Lahore down the Indus valley towards the seaboard. Then, as he -declared, no Englishman would for a whole generation have been seen in -the Punjab, either as a conqueror or as a ruler. - -As to his share in the recapture of Delhi, the testimony may be cited of -an absolutely competent witness, Lord Canning, a man of deliberate -reflection, who always measured his words, and who wrote some time after -the event when all facts and accounts had been collated, thus: - - “Of what is due to Sir John Lawrence himself no man is ignorant. - Through him Delhi fell, and the Punjab, no longer a weakness, - becomes a source of strength. But for him, the hold of England over - Upper India would have had to be recovered at a cost of English - blood and treasure which defies calculation.” - -Delhi had heretofore belonged not to the Punjab, but to the -North-Western Provinces; on being re-taken by the British in September, -it was, together with the surrounding territory, made over during -October to his care and jurisdiction. Having removed all traces of the -recent storm from the surface of the Punjab, he proceeded to Delhi in -order to superintend in person the restoration of law and order there. -Before starting, he helped the Commander-in-Chief (Sir Colin Campbell, -afterwards Lord Clyde) in arranging that the Punjabi troops, raised -during the summer, should be despatched southwards beyond Delhi for the -reconquest of Hindostan and Oude. He also wrote to the Secretary of -State entreating that his good officers might be remembered in respect -of rewards and honours. His wife’s health had failed, and he had seen -her start for a river voyage down the Indus on her way to England. He -was at this time very anxious on her account, and would say, what avail -would all worldly successes and advantages be to him if he should lose -her? So he started for Delhi sore at heart; but he received better -accounts of her, and his spirits rose with the approach of the winter -season, which in Upper India always serves as a restorative to the -European constitution. - -Then crossing the Sutlej, he entered the friendly States of the -Protected Sikh Chiefs, who had been saved by the British from absorption -under Runjit Sing, the Lion of Lahore, and whose loyalty had shown like -white light during the darkest days of recent months. Having exchanged -with them all the heartiest congratulations, he passed on to Delhi and -to the scenes of his younger days. With what emotions must he have -revisited the imperial city--to all men associated with the majestic -march of historic events, but to him fraught with the recollections of -that period of life which to the eye of memory almost always seems -bright,--yet just emerging from a condition of tragic horror, the -darkness of which had been lighted up by the deeds of British prowess -and endurance. As he rode through the desolate bazaars, the -half-deserted alleys, the thoroughfares traversed by bodies of men under -arms but no longer crowded with bustling traffic--he must have grieved -over the fate which the rebellious city had brought on itself. His -penetrating insight taught him that in this case, as in nearly all -similar cases, the innocent suffer with the guilty, and the -peace-loving, kindly-disposed citizens are involved in the sanguinary -retribution which befalls the turbulent and the blood-seeking. He found -the fair suburbs razed, the fortifications partly dismantled, the famous -Muri bastion half-shattered by cannonading, the classic Cashmere Gate -riddled with gunshot, the frontage of houses disfigured by musketry, the -great Moslem place of worship temporarily turned into a barrack for -Hindoo troops. The noble palace of the Moguls alone remained intact, and -he passed under the gloomy portal where some of the first murders were -perpetrated on the morning of the great mutiny, and so entered the -courtyard where the Christian prisoners of both sexes had been put to -the sword. Then he proceeded to the inner sanctum of the palace to see -his imperial prisoner, the last of the Great Moguls. He could not but -eye with pity this man, the remnant of one of the most famous dynasties -in human annals, reduced to the dregs of misery and humiliation in the -extremity of old age. Yet he regarded with stern reserve a prisoner who, -though illustrious by antecedents and drawn irresistibly into the vortex -of rebellion, was accused of murder in ordering the execution of the -European captives. He was resolved that the ex-emperor should be -arraigned on a capital charge, and abide the verdict of a criminal -tribunal. - -He knew, however, that by the speedy restoration of the civil authority, -the harried, plundered, partly devastated city would revive; for the -presence of troops in large bodies and their camp-followers created a -demand, which the peasants would supply if they could bring their goods -to market without fear of marauding on the way, and expose them for sale -without molestation. He thus saw the closed shops reopened, the -untenanted houses re-occupied, the empty marts beginning once more to be -crowded; though the city must wear the air of mourning for a long while -before the brilliancy and gaiety of past times should re-appear. - -The re-establishment of police authority for current affairs, and of -civil justice between man and man, formed the easiest and pleasantest -portion of his task. A more grave and anxious part devolved upon him -respecting the treatment of persons who were already in confinement for, -or might yet be accused of, participation in the late rebellion. He -learned that the rebellion, in itself bad enough, had been aggravated, -indeed blackened, by countless acts of contumely, treachery and -atrocity; that the minds of the European officers, after the endurance -of such evils in the inclemency of a torrid climate, had become inflamed -and exasperated; that the retribution had not only been most severe on -those who were guilty in the first degree, but also on those who were -guilty only in the second or the third degree; and that, in the haste of -the time, those whose misconduct had been passive, and even those who -had been but slightly to blame, were mixed up with the active criminals -in indiscriminating condemnation. He would make every allowance for his -countrymen who had borne the burden and heat of an awful day, but he was -there to overlook and see that they were not hurried away by -excitability into proceedings which their after judgment could never -approve. Though rigid in striking down those who were _in flagrante -delicto_, and were actively engaged in murderous rebellion, yet he would -hold his hand as soon as the stroke had effected its legitimate purpose. -While the emergency lasted he would not hesitate in the most summary -measures of repression; it was the life of the assailed against the life -of their assailants. But as soon as the emergency had been overcome, he -was for showing mercy, for exercising discrimination, for putting an end -to summary procedure, and for substituting a criminal jurisdiction with -a view to calm and deliberate judgment. On his arrival at Delhi there -were the most pressing reasons for enforcing this principle, and -forthwith he enforced it with all his energy and promptitude. He -immediately organised special tribunals for the disposal of all cases -which were pending in respect of the late rebellion, or which might yet -be brought forward. He took care that no man thus charged should be -tried, executed, or otherwise punished summarily, but should be brought -to regular trial, without delay indeed, but on the other hand without -undue haste, and should not suffer without having had all fair chances -of exculpating himself. All this may appear a matter of course to us now -after the lapse of a generation, but it was hard indeed for him to -accomplish then, immediately after the subsidence of the political -storm; and it needed all his persistency and firmness. - -It then devolved upon him to inquire officially into the circumstances -of the sudden outbreak in May, 1857, and of the subsequent events. His -inquiries showed that the Sepoys had been tampered with for some weeks -previously, but not for any long time; that they were tempted to join -the conspiracy by the fact of their being left without the control of -European troops, and in command of such a centre as Delhi, with such a -personality as the ex-emperor; all which lessons he took to heart as -warnings for the future. He found that the city had been plundered of -all the wealth which had been accumulated during half a century of -secure commerce and prosperity under British rule; but that the -plundering had been committed by the mob or by miscellaneous robbers, -and not by the victorious soldiery, Native or European. He was rejoiced -to ascertain that on the whole the European soldiery were free from any -imputation of plundering, intemperance, violence, or maltreatment of the -inhabitants, despite the temptations which beset them, the provocation -which they had received, and the hardships they had suffered. - -Having assured himself that the stream of British rule at Delhi had -begun to flow peacefully in its pristine channel, he returned to Lahore -by daily marches in February, 1858. The weather was bright, the climate -invigorating, the aspect of affairs inspiriting; and his health was -fairly good. It was on this march that he caused a despatch to be -prepared, at the instance of Edwardes at Peshawar, regarding the -attitude of the British Government in India towards Christianity. The -fact of the mutinies beginning with a matter relating to caste and its -prejudices, had drawn the attention of the authorities to the practical -evils of the Hindoo system; the flames of rebellion had been fanned by -Moslem fanaticism; the minds of all Europeans had been drawn towards -their Almighty Preserver by the contemplation of deliverance from peril; -thus the thoughts of men were turned towards Christianity; and he was -specially disposed to follow this train of reflection. He little -anticipated the influence which this despatch was destined to exercise -on public opinion in England. - -His carefulness in repaying the temporary loans, raised locally during -the crisis, has already been mentioned. But there was another debt of -honour to be discharged by him; for the Native states and chiefs, who -had stood by us under the fire of peril, were to be rewarded. This he -effected, with the sanction of the Governor-General, by allotting to -them the estates confiscated for murderous treason or overt rebellion. -He desired that the British Government should not benefit by these just -and necessary confiscations, but that the property, forfeited by the -disloyal, should be handed over to the loyal. - -Thus he returned to Lahore, and thence went on to the Murri mountains in -May, 1858, where he might have hoped to enjoy rest after a year of -labour unprecedented even in his laborious life. But now a new danger -began to arrest his attention. During the year just passed, from May -1857 to the corresponding month of 1858, his policy had been to organise -Punjabi troops in place of the Sepoy force mutinous or disarmed, then to -employ them for helping the European army in re-conquering the -north-western provinces, and especially in re-capturing Lucknow. His -Punjabis indeed were almost the only troops, except the Ghoorkas, -employed with the European army in these important operations. Right -loyally had they done their work, and well did they deserve to share in -the honours of victory. They naturally were proud of the triumphs in -which they had participated. They had a right to be satisfied with their -own conduct. But they began to feel a sense of their own importance -also. They had done much for the British Government, and might be -required to do still more. Then they began to wonder whether the -Government could do without them. These thoughts, surging in their -minds, begat danger to the State. Information was received to the effect -that Sikh officers of influence, serving in Oude, were saying that they -had helped to restore British power, and why should they not now set up -a kingdom for themselves. These ideas were beginning to spread among the -Punjabi troops serving not only in Oude and the north-western provinces, -but also in the Punjab itself, even as far as the frontier of -Afghanistan. All this showed that the hearts even of brave, and on the -whole good, men may be evilly affected by pride and ambition or by a -sense of overgrown power. Thus the very lessons of the recent mutinies -were being taught again, and there was even a risk lest that terrible -history should repeat itself. The Punjabis in truth were becoming too -powerful for the safety of the State. So Lawrence had to exert all his -provident skill in checking the growth of this dangerous power, and in -so arranging that at no vital point or strategic situation should the -Punjabis have a position of mastery. - -The situation in the Punjab, too, was aggravated by the presence of -considerable bodies of disarmed Sepoys still remaining at some of the -large stations, who had to be guarded, and who on two occasions rose and -broke out in a menacing manner. - -While at Murri and on his way thither he caused a report to be drawn up -for the Supreme Government regarding the events of 1857 in the Punjab, -awarding praise, commendation, acknowledgment, to the civil and military -officers of all ranks and grades for their services, meting out -carefully to each man his due. He considered also the causes of this -wondrous outbreak, as concerning not only his province but other parts -of India, and as affecting the policy of the British Government in the -East. He did not pay much heed to the various causes which had been -ingeniously assigned in many well informed quarters. Some of these -causes might, he thought, prove fanciful; others might be real more or -less, but in so far as they were real they were only subsidiary. The -affair of the greased cartridges, which has become familiar to History, -was in his judgment really a provocative cause. It was, he said, the -spark that fell upon, and so ignited, a combustible mass; but the -question was, what made the mass combustible? There was, he felt, one -all-pervading cause, pregnant with instruction for our future guidance. -The Sepoy army, he declared, had become too powerful; they came to know -that the physical force of the country was with them; the magazines and -arsenals were largely, the fortresses partially, the treasuries wholly, -in their keeping. They thought that they could at will upset the -British Government and set up one of their own in its place; and this -thought of theirs might, as he would remark, have proved correct, had -not the Government obtained a mighty reinforcement from England, of -which they could not form any calculation or even any idea. It was the -sense of power, as he affirmed repeatedly, that induced the Sepoys to -revolt. In the presence of such a cause as this, it availed little with -him to examine subsidiary causes, the existence or the absence of which -would have made no appreciable difference in the result. Neither did he -undertake to discuss historically the gradual process whereby this -excessive power fell into the hands of the Sepoys. The thing had -happened, it ought not to have happened; that was practically enough for -him; it must never, he said, be allowed to happen again. He took care -that in his Province and its Dependencies, every strategic point, -stronghold, arsenal, vantage-ground, even every important treasury, -should be under the guardianship of European soldiers. He also provided -that at every large station or cantonment, and at every central city, -the physical force should be manifestly on the side of the Europeans. -Though he reposed a generous confidence in the Native soldiery up to a -certain point, and felt gratitude and even affection towards them for -all that they had done under his direction, still he would no longer -expose them to the fatal temptation caused by a consciousness of having -the upper hand. - -In reference to the Mutinies, he thought that the system of promotion by -seniority to high military commands had been carried too far in the -Indian Army. There would always be difficulties in altering that -system, but he held that unless such obstacles could be surmounted, the -British Government in the East must be exposed to unexpected disasters -occasionally, like thunderbolts dropping from the sky. Despite the -warning from the Caubul losses of 1842, which arose mainly from the -fault of the Commander, he noticed that the Meerut disaster of 1857 at -this very time was owing again to failure on the local Commander’s part, -and a similar misfortune, though in a far lesser degree, occurred soon -afterwards in the Punjab itself at Jullundur from the same cause. -Incompetency in the Commander, he would say, neutralises the merits of -the subordinates: there had been vigorous and skilful officers at -Caubul, at Meerut, at Jullundur,--but all their efforts were in vain by -reason of weakness in the man at the helm. - -Soon were honours and rewards accorded to him by his Sovereign and the -Government. He was promoted in the Order of the Bath from the rank of -Knight Commander to that of Grand Cross. He was created a Baronet and a -Privy Councillor. A special annuity of £2000 a year was granted him by -the East India Company from the date when he should retire from the -service. The emoluments, though not as yet the status, of a -Lieutenant-Governor were accorded to him. He also received the Freedom -of the City of London. - -He marched from his Himalayan retreat at Murri during the autumn of -1858, with impaired health and an anxious mind. He trusted that the time -had come when he might with honour and safety resign his high office. He -knew that physically he ought to retire as soon as his services could be -spared. He had every reason to hope for a speedy and happy return to -his home in England. Yet he was not in really good spirits. Perhaps he -felt the reaction which often supervenes after mental tension too long -protracted. Partly from his insight into causes which might produce -trouble even in the Punjab, and even after the general pacification of -the disturbed regions, partly also from his natural solicitude that -nothing untoward should occur to detain him beyond the beginning of -1859--he was nervously vigilant. After leaving Murri he crossed the -Indus at Attok and revisited Peshawur. But neuralgia pursued him as he -marched. At this time the royal proclamation of the assumption by the -Queen of the direct government of India had arrived, and he wished to -read it on horseback to the troops at Peshawur; but he performed the -task with difficulty owing to the pain in his face. Once more from the -citadel height he watched the crowded marts, rode close to the gloomy -mouth of the Khyber Pass, and wondered at the classic stronghold of -Attok as it overhangs the swift-flowing Indus. - -As he crossed the Indus for the last time, towards the end of 1858, and -rode along its left bank, that is on the Punjab side of the river, he -gazed on the deep and rapid current of the mighty stream. That he held -to be a real barrier which no enemy, advancing from the West upon India, -could pass in the face of a British force. He noticed the breezy uplands -overhanging the river on the east, and said that there the British -defenders ought to be stationed. His mind reverted to the question, -already raised by him in the summer of 1857, regarding the -relinquishment of Peshawur. And he proposed to make over that famous -valley to the Afghans, as its retention, in his view, was causing loss -and embarrassment instead of gain and advantage to the British -Government. The position was exposed to fierce antagonists and its -occupation was in consequence costly; in it was locked up a European -force which would be better employed elsewhere; that force had been -decimated by the fever prevailing every autumn in the valley; the -political and strategic advantages of the situation were purchased at -too heavy a price, too severe a sacrifice; those advantages were -possessed equally by Attok or any post on the Indus at a lesser cost. -These were some of the arguments uppermost in his mind. The seasons had -been even more insalubrious than usual, and he was grieved at the wear -and tear of European life, the drain of European strength, in the -valley. The transfer of a fertile and accessible territory to the Amir -of Caubul would, he thought, give us a real hold upon the Afghans. It -was not that he had any faith in the gratitude of the Afghans on the -cession of Peshawur, which indeed they regard as a jewel and an object -of the heart’s desire; but if after the cession they should ever -misbehave, then they could easily be punished by our re-occupation of -the valley, and the knowledge that such punishment would be possible -must, he conceived, bind them to our interests. Notwithstanding this -deliberate opinion, which he deemed it his duty to record, the -prevailing view among British authorities was then, and still is, in -favour of retaining Peshawur as a political and strategic post of -extraordinary value. Having submitted an opinion which was not accepted, -he refrained from raising the question any further. At this time on the -morrow, as it were, after the war of the Mutinies, he could hardly have -anticipated that within one generation, or thirty years, the railway at -more points than one would be advanced up to this Frontier, and that the -Indus, then deemed a mighty barrier, would be a barrier no longer, being -spanned by two bridges equally mighty, one at Attok in the Punjab, the -other at Sukkur in Scinde, and perhaps by a third at Kalabagh. To those -who can vividly recall the events of this time, the subsequent march of -affairs in India is wonderful. - -By the end of 1858 he had received the kind remonstrances of the -Governor-General, Lord Canning, in regard to his leaving the Punjab. But -he replied that if the public safety admitted of his going, he was bound -from ill health to go. Indeed he needed relief, as the neuralgia -continued at intervals to plague him. He had always a toil-worn, -sometimes even a haggard, look. Despite occasional flashes of his -vivacity or scintillations of his wit, his manner often indicated -depression. He no longer walked or rode as much as formerly. As he had -been in his prime a good and fast rider, the riding would be a fair test -of his physical condition. - -At this time the Punjab and its Dependencies, including the Delhi -territory, were at last formed into a Lieutenant-Governorship, and he -received the status and title of a position which he had long filled -with potent reality. This measure, which formerly would have been of -great use in sparing him trouble and labour, now came quite too late to -be any boon to him in this respect. In view of his departure at the -beginning of the coming year, 1859, he had secured the succession for -his old friend and comrade, Montgomery, who had for some months been -Chief-Commissioner of Oude. - -Before leaving his post he was present at a ceremonial which marks an -epoch in the material development of his province; for he turned the -first sod of the first railway undertaken in the Punjab which was -destined to connect its capital Lahore with Mooltan, Scinde, and the -seaboard at Kurrachi. - -Then he received a farewell address from his officers, civil and -military, who had been eye-witnesses of all his labours, cares, perils -and successes. The view taken by these most competent observers, most of -whom were present during the time of disturbance, was thus set forth, -and theirs is really evidence of the most direct and positive -description. - - “Those among us who have served with the Punjabi troops know how, - for years, while the old force was on the frontier, you strove to - maintain that high standard of military organisation, discipline - and duty, of which the fruits were manifest when several regiments - were, on the occurrence of the Bengal mutinies, suddenly summoned - to serve as auxiliaries to the European forces, before Delhi, in - Oude, in Hindostan,--on all which occasions they showed themselves - worthy to be the comrades of Englishmen; how you, from the - commencement, aided in maintaining a military police, which, during - the crisis of 1857, proved itself to be the right arm of the civil - power. They know how largely you contributed to the raising and - forming of the new Punjabi force, which, during the recent - troubles, did so much to preserve the peace within the Punjab - itself, and which has rendered such gallant service in most parts - of the Bengal Presidency. All those among us who are military - officers, know how, when the Punjab was imperilled and agitated by - the disturbances in Hindostan, you, preserving a unison of accord - with the military authorities, maintained internal tranquillity, - and held your own with our allies and subjects, both within and - without the border; how, when the fate of Northern India depended - on the capture of Delhi, you, justly appreciating the paramount - importance of that object, and estimating the lowest amount of - European force with which the Punjab could be held, applied - yourself incessantly to despatching men, material, and treasure for - the succour of our brave countrymen engaged in the siege; how - indeed you created a large portion of the means for carrying on - that great operation, and devoted thereto all the available - resources of the Punjab to the utmost degree compatible with - safety.” - -In his reply, two passages are so characteristic that they may be -quoted. He modestly recounts at least one among the mainsprings of his -success, thus: - - “I have long felt that in India of all countries, the great object - of the Government should be to secure the services of able, - zealous, and high-principled officials. Almost any system of - administration, with such instruments, will work well. Without such - officers, the best laws and regulations soon degenerate into empty - forms. These being my convictions, I have striven, to the best of - my ability, and with all the power which my position and personal - influence could command, to bring forward such men. Of the many - officers who have served in the Punjab, and who owe their present - position, directly or indirectly, to my support, I can honestly - affirm that I know not one who has not been chosen as the fittest - person available for the post he occupies. In no one instance have - I been guided in my choice by personal considerations, or by the - claims of patronage. If my administration, then, of the Punjab is - deserving of encomium, it is mainly on this account, and assuredly, - in thus acting, I have reaped a rich reward. Lastly, it is with - pleasure that I acknowledge how much I have been indebted to the - military authorities in this Province for the cordiality and - consideration I have ever received at their hands.” - -Further, he thus describes the conduct of the European soldiers under -the severe conditions of the time-- - - “I thank the officers and men of the British European regiments - serving in the Punjab, for the valour and endurance which they - evinced during the terrible struggle. The deeds, indeed, need no - words of mine to chronicle their imperishable fame. From the time - that the English regiments, cantoned in the Simla hills, marched - for Delhi in the burning month of May, 1857, exposure to the - climate, disease and death under every form in the field, were - their daily lot. Great as were the odds with which they had to - combat, the climate was a far more deadly enemy than the mutineers. - - “In a very few weeks, hundreds of brave soldiers were stricken down - by fever, dysentery, and cholera. But their surviving comrades - never lost their spirits. To the last they faced disease and death - with the utmost fortitude. The corps which remained in the Punjab - to hold the country, evinced a like spirit and similar endurance. - Few in numbers, in a strange country, and in the presence of many - enemies who only lacked the opportunity to break out, these - soldiers maintained their discipline, constancy and patience.” - -Immediately afterwards, that is in the beginning of February, 1859, he -started from Lahore, homeward bound, and steaming down the Indus arrived -at Kurrachi. There near the Indus mouth he delighted in this cool and -salubrious harbour, which, though not so capacious as some harbours, -might, he knew, prove of infinite value hereafter, in the event of -Britain having to stand in battle array on her Afghan frontier. There -also he exchanged the friendliest greetings with Bartle Frere, the only -external authority with whom he had been in communication throughout the -crisis, and from whom he had received most useful co-operation. Thence -he sailed for Bombay, which was still under the governorship of Lord -Elphinstone, who had rendered valuable aid to the Punjab during the war. -Bombay was then by no means the fair and noble capital that it now is; -still he admired its land-locked basin, one of the finest harbours in -the world, where fleets of war and of commerce may ride secure. He -avoided public receptions so far as possible, and shortly proceeded by -the mail steamer to England, where he arrived during the month of April. -It may be well here to note that he was then only forty-eight years of -age. - -After the lapse of just one generation, time is already beginning to -throw its halo over his deeds in 1857; the details are fading while the -main features stand out in bolder and bolder relief. There is a monument -to him in the minds of men; - - “And underneath is written, - In letters all of gold, - How valiantly he kept the Bridge - In the brave days of old.” - -Doubtless this is not the last crisis which British India will have to -confront and surmount; other crises must needs come, and in them the men -of action will look back on his example. For the British of the future -in India the prophet of Britain may say what was said for Rome; - - “And there, unquenched through ages - Like Vesta’s sacred fire, - Shall live the spirit of thy nurse, - The spirit of thy sire.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -SOJOURN IN ENGLAND - -1859-1864 - - -In the spring of 1859 John Lawrence took up his residence in London, -with his wife and his family, now consisting of seven children. He -assumed charge of his office as a member of the Council of India in -Whitehall, to which he had been nominated by Lord Stanley during the -previous year, when the functions of the East India Company were -transferred to the Crown. Though in some degree restored by his native -air, he found his head unequal to any prolonged mental strain. -Nevertheless his bearing and conversation, and his grand leonine aspect, -seem to have struck the statesmen and officials with whom he had -intercourse in England. A man of action--was the title accorded to him -by all. During the summer he received the acknowledgments of his -countrymen with a quiet modesty which enhanced the esteem universally -felt for him. The City of London conferred on him formally, in the -Guildhall, the Freedom which had already been bestowed while he was in -India. This was one of the two proudest moments in his life. On that -occasion he said: “If I was placed in a position of extreme danger and -difficulty, I was also fortunate in having around me some of the ablest -civil and military officers in India.... I have received honours and -rewards from my Sovereign.... But I hope that some reward will even yet -be extended to those who so nobly shared with me the perils of the -struggle.” The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge granted him their -Honorary Degrees. He was honoured by an invitation to Windsor Castle, -and it appears that he must have had several important conversations -with the Prince Consort. - -On June 24th he received an address signed by eight thousand persons, -including Archbishops, Bishops, Members of both Houses of Parliament, -Lord Mayors and Mayors, Lord Provosts and Provosts. The national -character of this demonstration was thus set forth in a leading-article -of the _Times_ of the 25th: “Of the names contained in the address -hundreds are representative names,--indicating that chiefs of schools -and of parties have combined to tender honour to a great man, and that -each subscriber was really expressing the sentiments of a considerable -body.” - -The chair was taken on the occasion by the Bishop of London (Archibald -Campbell Tait, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury). Addressing John -Lawrence, and recounting the work in the War of the Mutinies, he said: - - “When we recollect that at the commencement of the recent mutiny it - was not uncommonly said that one cause of our weakness in other - parts of India was the necessity which existed of concentrating our - forces for the purpose of occupying the Sikh territory; and when we - remember on the other hand that through your instrumentality that - province which had been our terror became one of the sources of - our strength, that instead of concentrating the British forces in - the Punjab you were able to send men to aid in the capture of - Delhi, so that the weapon which seemed so formidable to our power - was by you so wielded as to be our best defence; when we reflect - that those very soldiers, who but a few years ago were engaged in - mortal conflict with our own, became under your superintendence our - faithful allies,--there appears in the whole history something so - marvellous that it is but right we should return thanks, not so - much to the human instrument, as to God by whom that instrument was - employed.” - -This passage in the Chairman’s speech shows an accurate appreciation of -the position of the Punjab during the crisis. In the address itself, -after due allusion to the war and its results, there comes this special -reference to the despatch regarding Christianity in India, which has -been already mentioned in a previous chapter. - - “You laid down the principle that ‘having endeavoured solely to - ascertain what is our Christian duty, we should follow it out to - the uttermost undeterred by any consideration.’ You knew that ‘if - anything like compulsion enters into our system of diffusing - Christianity, the rules of that religion itself are disobeyed, and - we shall never be permitted to profit by our disobedience.’ You - have recorded your conviction that Christian things done in a - Christian way will never alienate the heathen. About such things - there are qualities which do not provoke distrust nor harden to - resistance. It is when unchristian things are done in the name of - Christianity, or when Christian things are done in an unchristian - way, that mischief and danger are occasioned.’ These words are - memorable. Their effect will be happy not only on your own age but - on ages to come. Your proposal that the Holy Bible should be - relieved from the interdict under which it was placed in the - Government schools and colleges, was true to the British principle - of religious liberty and faithful to your Christian conscience.” - -Some passages may be quoted as extracts from Lawrence’s reply as they -are very characteristic. Expressing gratitude for the good opinion of -his countrymen, and again commending his officers to the care of their -country, he thus proceeds: - - “All we did was no more than our duty and even our immediate - interest. It was no more than the necessities of our position - impelled us to attempt. Our sole chance of escape was to resist to - the last. The path of duty, of honour, and of safety was clearly - marked out for us. The desperation of our circumstances nerved us - to the uttermost. There never, perhaps, was an occasion when it was - more necessary to win or to die. To use the words of my heroic - brother at Lucknow, it was incumbent on us never to give in. We had - no retreat, no scope for compromise. That we were eventually - successful against the fearful odds which beset us, was alone the - work of the great God who so mercifully vouchsafed His protection.” - -This passage will probably be regarded as effective oratory, indeed few -orators would express these particular points with more of nervous -force. Thus an idea may be formed of what his style would have been, had -he received training when young, and had he retained his health. But -though he had at this time, 1859, frequently to make speeches in public, -on all which occasions the modesty, simplicity and straightforwardness -of his utterance pleased his hearers, yet he was not at all an orator. -In his early and middle life he had never, as previously explained, any -practice or need for public speaking. Had he been so practised, he would -doubtless have been among speakers, what he actually was among writers, -forcible, direct, impressive, not at all ornate or elaborate, perhaps -even blunt and brief. In short he would have been an effective speaker -for practical purposes, rising on grave occasions even to a rough -eloquence--inasmuch as he had self-possession and presence of mind in a -perfect degree. But now, as he was fully entered into middle life, all -this was impossible by reason of physical depression. Had this -depression been anywhere but where it actually was, it might have failed -to spoil his public speaking. But its seat was somewhere in the head, -and any attempt at impromptu or extempore delivery seemed first to -affect the brain, then the voice and even the chest. He could no doubt -light up for a moment and utter a few sentences with characteristic -fire; or he could make a longer speech quietly to a sympathetic -audience; but beyond this he was no longer able to go. As his health -improved, his power of speaking increased naturally, still it never -became what it might have become had he been himself again physically. - -In the autumn of 1859 he proceeds to Ireland, where his wife revisits -the scenes of her early years. He returns to London, where he spends a -happy Christmas in his domestic circle, with rapidly improving health. - -In the spring of 1860, he attests his abiding interest in the cause of -religious missions to India by attendance at an important gathering in -Exeter Hall, to hear his friend Edwardes (of Peshawur) deliver a -remarkable speech. - -During the summer months he zealously promotes the holiday amusements of -his children. Visitors, calling to see him on public affairs, would find -him, not in a library, but in a drawing-room surrounded by his family. -In the autumn he visits his birthplace, Richmond in Yorkshire. Thence -he goes to Inverary to be the guest of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, -with both of whom he forms a lasting friendship. Then he receives the -Freedom of the City of Glasgow and returns to London. - -Early in the following year, 1861, he leaves London and takes a roomy -old-fashioned house at Southgate, a few miles to the north of London, -where he remains for the remainder of his sojourn in England. To the -house is attached some land where he may indulge his taste for farming -and his fondness for animals. In the week days he attends the Council of -India in London, but his summer evenings he spends at home with his -family, and mainly lives a country life. - -His position in the Indian Council, where Sir Charles Wood (afterwards -Lord Halifax) had succeeded Lord Stanley as Secretary of State for -India, was not such as to call his individuality into play. Though he -had a voice in the affairs of India, he was no longer a man of action. -Even then, however, he impressed his colleagues favourably, and -especially the Secretary of State. He felt and expressed great regret at -the abolition of the local army of India, and its amalgamation with the -army of the Crown. He was not what is termed in England a party man, but -he certainly was a moderate Liberal in politics. As a churchman of the -Church of England, he was content with his Bible and the Book of Common -Prayer. - -In 1862 he met Lord Canning, who had resigned his high office as -Governor-General, returning home very shortly to die. Then he saw Lord -Elgin appointed to fill the important place. - -During 1863 he was running the even and quiet course of his life in -England, attending to the work in the Council of India in Whitehall, -which for him was not onerous, enjoying rural amusements with his -family, playing games with his children, imbibing the country breezes, -recovering as much of vigour and nerve as might be possible for a -constitution like his which had been sorely tried and severely battered. -He became much improved in health, and still more in spirits. He was in -easy circumstances, having a salary as member of the Council of India at -Whitehall, his annuity for which he had virtually paid by deductions -from salary since the date of entering the Civil Service of India, the -special pension granted to him by the East India Company, and the -moderate competency from his savings during a long service of nearly -thirty years. He was himself a man of the simplest tastes and the fewest -wants, but he had a large family for whom he was affectionately -solicitous. But while liberal and open-handed in every case which called -for generosity, he was a thrifty and frugal manager, a good steward in -small things of everyday life, even as he had been in national affairs. -He nowadays acted on the principle that-- - - “The trivial round, the common task, - Will furnish all we ought to ask; - Room to deny ourselves; a road - To bring us daily nearer God.” - -Thus he did few of the things which men of his repute and position might -ordinarily do, and which doubtless he must have often been urged to -undertake. He wrote neither books nor brochures, he hardly ever -addressed public meetings, he did not preside over learned or -philanthropic societies, he took no active part in politics, municipal -or national. He sought repose, dignified by the reminiscence of a mighty -past. Believing that his life’s work was in the main accomplished and -his mission ended, he pondered much on the life to come. If there be -such things on earth as unclouded happiness and unalloyed contentment, -these blessings were his at that time. - -But in the autumn of 1863, two events occurred in India to disturb the -tenor of his English life. First, a fanatical outbreak occurred among -some of the hill tribes near Peshawur, the British arms received a -slight check, the excitement spread to some of the neighbouring hills, -and seemed likely to extend with rising flames to the various tribes -whose fighting power has been set forth in a previous chapter. Next, the -Governor-General, Lord Elgin, was stricken with mortal illness and -resigned his high office. The choice of the Government at once fell on -Lawrence as his successor. That he was the best and fittest man for the -arduous place, was manifest as a general reason. But there probably was -a particular reason in addition for selecting him, which may have had -weight in the minds of the responsible ministers, Lord Palmerston and -Sir Charles Wood, namely the incipient danger just mentioned on the -Trans-Indus Frontier. A little war might rapidly assume larger -proportions; it was essential to preserve India, exhausted by the War of -the Mutinies, from further warfare; none would be so competent as he to -restrict the area of operations and to speedily finish them. If this -additional reason had any operative effect, that was most honourable to -him. - -So he was on November 30th suddenly offered the post of -Governor-General, which he accepted. In the evening he went home and -told his wife what had happened, whereupon he met with much of tender -remonstrance. As he laughingly said afterwards, it was fortunate that he -had accepted that day before going home, for had he gone home first on -the understanding that he was to reply the next day, he might have been -induced to refuse. He could not but feel, however, some pride and -satisfaction, though there were several drawbacks. He was to incur the -risk of shortening life, and the certainty of injuring whatever of -health might remain to him. He was to be separated from his family just -when they most required his attention, and to break up a home which he -had established with loving care. He did not at all need advancement, -and could hardly add to his fame. But the disinclination which all -official men have to decline any important offer, the discipline which -renders them anxious to do as they are bid by authority, the disposition -which men, long used to arms, feel to don their armour once again--these -sentiments constrained him. Though he would no longer seek new duties, -yet if they were imposed upon him, it would be his highest pleasure to -discharge them well. He had an important interview, before starting, -with the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston. On December 9th, within ten -days from receiving the intimation of his appointment, he started from -Charing Cross for India, journeying alone, as it was impossible for his -wife to leave suddenly the family home. - -The continuance to him, while Governor-General of India, of the special -pension (given by the late East India Company as already mentioned in -the last chapter) had to be sanctioned by Parliament; and a resolution -to this effect was passed by the House of Commons on February 8th, 1864. -The terms in which the Secretary of State, Sir Charles Wood, introduced -the resolution, and the response received may be quoted from Hansard’s -_Parliamentary Debates_. He said: “I had no hesitation in recommending -Sir John Lawrence to Her Majesty for the Governor-Generalship of India; -and within two days from the receipt of the intelligence from India (of -Lord Elgin’s death) I was authorised to offer the high post to him. He -accepted it at once, and knowing the importance of despatch he showed -the same zeal for the service of the country which had always -distinguished him, by declaring himself ready to leave England for India -by the first mail to Calcutta. The services of Sir John Lawrence are so -well known and so universally recognised, that it will only be necessary -to read the Resolution under which the pension was conferred upon him, -passed at a meeting of the Court of Directors (East India Company) on -August 11th, 1858-- - - “‘Resolved unanimously that in consideration of the eminent - services of Sir John Laird Mair Lawrence, G.C.B., whose prompt, - vigorous and judicious measures crushed incipient mutiny in the - Punjab and maintained the province in tranquillity during a year of - almost universal convulsion, and who by his extraordinary exertions - was enabled to equip troops and to prepare munitions of war for - distant operations, thus mainly contributing to the recapture of - Delhi and to the subsequent successes which attended our arms, and - in testimony of the high sense entertained by the East India - Company of his public character and conduct throughout a long and - distinguished career, an annuity of £2000 be granted to him.’” - -From the opposite Bench, Lord Stanley rose and said: “I apprehend that -there will be no difference on any side of the House upon this -Resolution. I rise merely to express my entire concurrence, having been -connected with Indian affairs during part of the time when the services -of Sir John Lawrence were performed. This was not a retiring pension, -but was a recognition, and a very inadequate recognition, of services as -distinguished as had ever been performed by a public servant in India.” - -The motion was passed by the House of Commons without any dissentient -voice, and the manner in which it was received in Parliament, when -reported in India, was sure to strengthen John Lawrence’s position -there. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA - -1864-1869 - - -The work which John Lawrence had heretofore done in India is not of that -sort which should be measured statistically. Its material proportions -had been indeed considerable, but they were infinitely exceeded by its -moral effect. Still some few comparative facts may be noted to show what -his new sphere was compared with his old. The Punjab with its -dependencies contained, when he left it in 1859, one hundred and -forty-five thousand square miles, with twenty-two millions of -inhabitants, and paid an annual revenue of two and a half millions -sterling. It had been augmented, since its first formation as a British -province, by the addition of the Delhi territory. The Indian empire, -when he took charge of it in 1864, contained one million three hundred -thousand square miles with two hundred and thirty-five millions of -inhabitants, paid an annual revenue of fifty-three millions sterling, -was defended by an army of nearly two hundred thousand men, including -both European and Native troops, and was divided into eleven provincial -governments or administrations, under two Governors, three -Lieutenant-Governors, three Chief Commissioners, and three Residencies -or Governor-General’s Agencies. - -In January, 1864, Lawrence arrived at Calcutta as Viceroy and -Governor-General. He looked much brightened and freshened by a sojourn -of four and a half years in England. His old vivacity sparkled again; he -had been softened as well as brightened by his sojourn in England. He -walked with a stride, and his seat in the saddle was almost as of yore. -His health had been temporarily restored, but had not, as the sequel -showed, been re-established. - -Usually a new Viceroy and Governor-General is, on landing in India, -really new in every sense. The European officers, the Native Princes, -Chiefs and people, are strangers to him as he is personally unknown to -them. Yet he has great power and wide influence, not only over -individuals, but also over large classes and masses, and his personality -will for a term of years affect the conduct of the executive and the -course of legislation. Consequently when he comes, public expectation is -on the tiptoe, and the public gaze is strained to discover what manner -of man he may be. It is hard to describe adequately the anxious -uncertainty which prevails, and consequently the intensity of the -interest which is thus aroused in most instances. But in the instance of -Lawrence there was no such novelty. His name was already a household -word from one end of the empire to the other. To all men his character, -disposition and idiosyncrasy were known by fame, and to numerous -individuals, even to many classes, were familiar. Again, other -Governors-General arriving in India have been obliged to go to school -politically, and almost serve an apprenticeship; but he was already a -master workman, and could enter fully and at once upon his whole duty. - -As Governor-General he had all the power entrusted to that high -functionary by the Acts of Parliament settling the Constitution of -British India. As Viceroy he represented the Sovereign on all occasions. - -On his arrival at Calcutta he was greeted most cordially by all classes -of his countrymen, from the soldiers and sailors upwards. Loud was the -chorus of British voices, thick was the concourse of Natives, as the -stately vessel, bearing him as its freight, steamed up the broad reaches -of the tidal Hooghly, between banks crowned with groves of the -cocoa-nut, the palm and the bamboo, approached the forest of masts in -the harbour of the Indian capital, and anchored near the ramparts of -Fort William, close to the palace of the Governor-General. - -Landing in Bengal, he met that section of the Indian population which -had but little direct concern in the War of the Mutinies, and was -therefore less cognisant of his deeds than the Natives of Northern -India; still the Bengalis in their way strove to do him honour. His -first levée was one of the most numerously attended levées ever held in -Calcutta. He was full of alacrity, and if ever in his life he wore a -smiling aspect it was then. Things had heretofore gone well with him in -the estimation of all men East and West. The farewell addresses on -leaving the Punjab, the addresses of welcome on reaching England, the -congratulations at home on his new appointment, the notes of gladness on -his return to India, were all present to his mind, and he was breathing -the _popularis aura_. Few men, climbing to estate so high as his, have -known so little of ungenerous objections or of actual misrepresentation, -as he had up to this time. He was hardly prepared, perhaps, for the -fitful moods of public opinion in such a country as India, for the -wearing anxieties, the lesser troubles, even the annoyances, to be -endured at intervals for some years before the moment when he should lay -down the supreme power, and again look back with some pride and -satisfaction upon another arduous stage accomplished in life’s journey. - -He came by the overland route in December at the most favourable season -of the year and escaped sea-sickness. As sea life was never quite -suitable to his temperament, he did not read nor write much during the -voyage, but he must have had time to arrange his thoughts respecting the -imperial charge which had been committed to him. As a rule, he meant to -deal with matters as they should arise--knowing that these would be -numerous, and confident in his own power to dispose of them--rather than -to shape out any policy or policies in his mind, or to descry any -particular goal which he would strive to reach. Nevertheless he landed -in India with certain ideas which might, according to his hope, be -realised. As they are quite characteristic of him, some allusion may be -here made to them. - -During his sojourn in England he had been much impressed with the -importance of sanitation or sanitary administration, as likely to become -the pressing question of the immediate future. The insanitary condition -of Indian cities had affected him in his younger days, and in later -years his letters contain allusions to the subject. But something more -than spasmodic effort was needed for that rectification which he would -now make an imperial concern. To stimulate his recollections he would -direct his morning rides to the unhealthiest parts of Calcutta, and one -of his first measures after assuming the general government was to -appoint a Sanitary Commission. - -But the principle of sanitation had in his mind a special application. -He appears while in England to have been conferring with Florence -Nightingale regarding military hospitals and the health of the European -soldiery. Here, again, as a young man, he had grieved over the -intemperance existing among these troops, and partly attributable to -injudicious regulations which had been subsequently modified. The War of -the Mutinies had brought home to his mind, with greater force than ever, -the supreme value of these men to the Eastern empire. He then set -himself to observe their barracks, and especially their hospitals, which -he used to visit in times of epidemic sickness. He would now use all his -might as Governor-General to give them spacious and salubrious barracks, -suitable means for recreation, and other resources for the improvement -of their condition. - -In former years he had witnessed the effects of drought upon districts -destitute of artificial irrigation; and it was notorious that drought is -the recurring plague not only of the continental climate of Mid-India, -as physical geographers term it, but also of the southern peninsula. He -had seen the inception of the Ganges canal, the queen of all canals ever -undertaken in any age or country; and he would now stimulate the -planning and executing of irrigation works great and small. - -For this, however, capital was needed, so his financial instinct warned -him that the Government of India must cease constructing these necessary -works out of revenue--a tardy and precarious process--but must open a -capital account for the nation, whereby India might borrow money for -reproductive works, on the principle which prevails in all progressive -countries. - -Lastly, he had while in England reconsidered the principle of what is -known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, which was much disapproved -by the administrative school of his earlier days. He had now come to -think that this Settlement possessed much political advantage, in -strengthening the basis of landed prosperity, and thus attaching all -landowners to the British Government; and so far he was actually -prepared to extend it to some other districts beyond Bengal. But he was -as keenly alive as ever to its imperfections, as it had neglected the -rights of subordinate occupiers. He looked back with thankfulness upon -the efforts which had been made in North-western India to preserve these -rights. Having some fear that they might in certain circumstances be -overridden, he resolved to champion them when necessary. This resolve -brought about some trying episodes in his subsequent career. - -Thus there were at least five large matters of imperial policy arranged -in his mind from the very outset as he set foot once again on the Indian -shore. The public sanitation, the physical welfare of the European -soldiery, the prevention of famine by irrigation works, the capital -account of the national outlay for material improvement, the settlement -of agrarian affairs,--these were principles long fixed in his mind. But -his conception of them had been widened or elevated by his sojourn in -England, and by the fresh influences of political thought there. - -From the beginning of January to the middle of April he worked, with -his Executive Council, at Government House in Calcutta. The Councillors -were five in number for the several departments, Foreign, Home, -Legislative, Public Works, Financial, Revenue, Military; and in addition -the Commander-in-Chief of the army. In ordinary matters the decision of -the Government was formed by a majority of votes; but in matters of -public safety he had power to act on his own authority alone. He was -able to maintain excellent relations with his colleagues in Council. The -Foreign Department was ordinarily kept in his own hands. He worked from -six o’clock in the morning till five in the evening daily, despatching -current business in all departments with amazing promptitude and -completeness withal. He issued the necessary orders on the speedy and -successful termination of the military operations on the Trans-Indus -Frontier, which have been already mentioned. He reviewed Volunteers, -founded a Sailors’ Home, inspected sanitation in the Native city, and -made the acquaintance of all important persons of every nationality in -the capital. His health stood the new test fairly well, but he suffered -at times from headache. In the middle of April he started for Simla, -taking his Council with him. On his way thither he revisited the Asylum -for the orphan children of European soldiers at the Himalayan station of -Kassowli, founded with much private munificence by his brother Henry. He -had not seen this beautiful Simla since he met Lord Dalhousie there in -1851. Though he said little, he pondered much on all that had happened -to him and his since then, the perils escaped, the victories won. - -After his arrival at Simla having reviewed his own position and -prospects, he wrote to Sir Charles Wood, the Secretary of State in -London, on this subject. He said explicitly that he found himself unable -to work all the year round at Calcutta, and especially in the hot and -unhealthy season there; that if he were allowed to spend the summer -months in the Himalayas, he could retain his post; otherwise he wished -to resign in the spring of the following year and return to England. By -Sir Charles Wood’s reply he was requested to stay in office, with the -understanding that he might reside wherever he chose within the -Himalayas or other hill-regions of India. Regarding his Council the -reply was not quite so clear, but in the end it was virtually conceded -that he might exercise his own discretion in taking his colleagues with -him. At all events he determined to stay for four out of his five -allotted years in India, and arranged that his wife should join him at -Calcutta by the end of the year 1864. - -He soon decided that during his tenure of office the Government of India -shall, barring unforeseen events, spend the summer months at Simla, that -is the Governor-General, the Executive Council, a part of the -Legislative Council, and the principal Secretaries. He would not -separate himself from them: he did not wish to have them acting at -headquarters in many cases without him; nor did he desire to act in some -cases alone without them. He thought it better that, with the growing -increase of business, they should be all together. - -At that time it was the fashion to propose various situations in the -empire, one in the south another in the west and so on, for the -permanent capital and headquarters of the Government of India, involving -the abandonment of Calcutta for this purpose; but he objected to all -such schemes, considering them to be crude. In the first place, such a -move would be inordinately expensive; in the second, Calcutta was, he -thought, the best of all available positions. Though it is actually a -sea-port, yet its position is by nature rendered unassailable by an -attack from the sea; its trade places it in the first rank of mercantile -cities; the districts around it are wealthy, fertile, populous and -peaceful; these advantages he duly appreciated. During the disturbances -of 1857 he remembered that Lower Bengal around Calcutta was undisturbed, -and paid its tens of millions of rupees into the State Treasury, and -that while half the empire was convulsed, order was preserved at the -imperial centre. Thus he would hold fast to Calcutta and settle his -Government there, at least during the cool season of each year when -trade and industry are in their fullest activity. - -But he would have his Government sojourn during the hot weather of each -year in the refreshing climate of the Himalayas. He had no hesitation in -choosing Simla for this purpose, as being the only mountain station that -could furnish house-accommodation for the influx of sojourners; as being -easily accessible by rail and road at all seasons; as having politically -a good position sufficiently near the North-western Frontier, yet not so -near as to be within reach of danger; and as being immediately -surrounded by a peaceful population. He was sensible of the natural -beauty, the varied charms, the salubrious climate of the place, and his -choice has been fully ratified by the Governors-General who have -succeeded him. - -His Government, while sojourning at Simla, would transact all its -administrative business for the time, and proceed with some parts of its -legislation. But he would reserve for its residence at Calcutta all -those bills or projects of law which might be of general importance, and -wherein contact with public opinion might be specially desirable. - -He was now by the autumn of 1864, fairly launched on his career as -Viceroy and Governor-General. His health had been slightly shaken by the -change from England to Calcutta, of which the climate agreed with him -less than that of any other place in India. But it soon revived in the -Himalayan air. He kept up his early riding in the morning while at -Calcutta, but was induced by the pressure of business to intermit it at -Simla. However he took exercise in the afternoon fully, and so during -this year and 1865 he remained fairly well; indeed during the summer of -1865 he was better than he had been for many years, that is since his -Trans-Sutlej days. But he was not so well in 1866, and in the summer of -1867 he intimated to the Secretary of State, who was then Sir Stafford -Northcote, that he might have to retire early in 1868 having completed -his four years. The Secretary of State, however, on public grounds -requested him to remain till the end of his five years if possible, that -is till the beginning of 1869. So he braced his determination to remain -his allotted term. He said in private that it would be a great -satisfaction to him to serve out his time, and to hand over the work to -his successor without any arrears. From 1867, however, he became weaker -physically by slow, perhaps by imperceptible degrees, and that general -condition naturally set up lesser ailments from time to time; while the -clear brain and the unconquerable will remained. - -Apprehensions of ill health, however, were not the only reason why he -thought in 1867 of resigning office. He was indeed as good, efficient -and successful a Viceroy and Governor-General as India ever had; still -the course of affairs did not exactly suit his masterful genius. Grand -events would have afforded scope for the mighty capacity he was -conscious of possessing. The country was for the most part at peace, -nevertheless he was troubled even harassed by divers incidents which -affected the public interests. The empire was making steady progress -under his care and recovering its stability after a severe convulsion; -yet mishaps, reverses, plagues of all sorts, would occur through no -fault of his. But he would not relieve himself of responsibility for -what might be amiss or go wrong in any part of his vast charge, and -often he was tempted to exclaim, - - “The time is out of joint, oh! cursed spite - That I was ever born to set it right!” - -Hitherto the _popularis aura_ had been with him; he had not yet felt -that chilling blast of unpopularity which sooner or later never fails to -overtake public men of mark and vigour such as his. No man had known -less than he the carping, the cavilling, the captiousness of critics, or -the misrepresentation of opponents. He had never swam with the stream, -but rather had cut out a channel for the stream and made it flow with -him. Thus the wear and tear of his former life had arisen from notable -causes, but not from the friction of an adverse current. Now, however, -he was to taste of all these small adversities. He was indeed to rule an -empire thoroughly well in ordinary times, and to suffer the vexations -which ordinarily beset rulers and make their heads “lie uneasy.” He -strove manfully to hide his sensitiveness when attacked or impugned; for -all that, he was more sensitive to these attacks than he need have been, -in regard to their intrinsic deserts. The deference, the cordiality, -even the affection (as he himself gratefully described it) of the -reception which greeted him in England, and which was repeated on his -first landing in India, had scarcely prepared him for the provocations, -petty indeed but yet sharp, which awaited him in the subsequent years. -As a man of action he had been used to arguments of an acute even fierce -character, yet they were short and decisive either for or against him. -But now he had to work his government through an Executive Council of -some six members, in which the discussions were partly on paper daily, -and partly by word of mouth at weekly meetings. The paper-controversies -he could bear; if he had a majority on his side the decision would be -couched in a few of his pithy sentences and no more was heard of it. But -at times the weekly debates tried him sorely; he listened like patience -on a monument, but he sighed inwardly. India being unavoidably a land of -personal changes, the composition of his Council varied from year to -year with outgoing and incoming men. In the nature of things it was -inevitable that some of his colleagues should support him more and -others less, while some opposed. He rejoiced in the hearty aid afforded -by some, and grieved over the opposition, or as it appeared to him the -thwarting, counteracting conduct of others, which was different from -anything that he had previously endured. Again, he thankfully -acknowledged in the end the support he received from successive -Secretaries of State in England, and certainly the Government in England -sincerely desired to sustain his authority; but meanwhile cases occurred -wherein he considered himself insufficiently supported from home, and -one case where even his old friends in the Council of India in Whitehall -counteracted his wishes. Respecting the action of Secretaries of State -he hardly made sufficient allowance for Parliamentary difficulties, -which prevent the men who are nominally in power from being their own -masters. It has been acutely remarked of him that he was not versatile; -in truth versatility in the face of opposition was not among his -qualities. He hardly possessed that peculiar resourcefulness (for which, -for instance, the great Warren Hastings was distinguished) whereby one -expedient having failed or one way being stopped, another is found, -perhaps circuitously, the goal being all the while kept in view. Being -human he must needs have faults, though the proportion which these bore -to his virtues was small indeed; he certainly had a tendency to chafe -over-much, yet if this be a fault, then owing to his self-command, it -affected himself only but not others. He loved power, indeed, which he -habitually described in a favourite Persian phrase as _khûd-raftâri_, -which is an elegant synonym for having one’s own way. Such power was, in -his estimation, to be wielded not capriciously but under the constraint -of a well-informed conscience. He had scarcely thought out the fact, -however, that in few modern nations, and least of all in the British, -can there be such a thing strictly speaking as power, though there may -be powerful influence. For the jealously-watched and tightly-bound -“thing which is mocked by the name of power,” he had scant appreciation. -In short, his position presented much that was novel rather than -pleasant, though he encountered less of novelty than any -Governor-General who had preceded him. But it is well in passing to -sketch these lesser traits, for the portraiture of the real man in all -his greatness and goodness. - -To give an account of his Government at large, would be to write the -history of an empire during five years, and space cannot here be -afforded for such a task. Again, to do justice to all the coadjutors who -helped him, would be to set forth at least parts of the careers of many -eminent men, and that, too, is beyond the limits of this work. All that -is possible, then, is to analyse or sum up briefly the main heads of his -policy and achievements, with the proviso that, what for the sake of -brevity is attributed to him nominally, is really attributable to him -with the Councils, both Executive and Legislative, the extensive -Secretariat, the Presidencies, and the provincial Governors or -Administrators. These heads may be arranged in the following order:--the -army, the works of material improvement, the sanitation, the finances, -the landed settlement, the legislation, the public service, the national -education, the state ceremonies, the foreign policy; and to each of -them, as respecting him particularly, a short notice will be afforded. - -In the military branch, he had not much to do with the reorganisation of -the army for India. That had been done during the interval since his -departure from India in 1859. Some changes had been made, against which -he had protested from his place in Council at Whitehall, but now he had -loyally to accept the accomplished facts, and to make the changes work -well through good management. Keeping his eye ever fixed on the national -finance, he rejoiced to find the Native Army reduced in numbers, and the -overgrown levies (which had been raised during the War of the Mutinies) -now disbanded throughout the country or transferred to the -newly-organised Police. The strength of the European troops varied from -seventy to seventy-five thousand men: which was, in his judgment, the -minimum compatible with safety in time of peace. He never forgot what -his Native advisers used to drop into his ear during the Mutiny--namely -this, that in India the European soldier is the root of our power. -Knowing how hard it would be for the English Government to provide, and -for the Indian Government to bear, the cost of a larger number, he bent -himself to make the European soldiery as effective as possible by -improving their life and lot in the East. Everything that pertained to -their health, recreation, comfort, enlightenment, employment in leisure -time, and general welfare, moral or physical, he steadfastly supported. -At the basis of all these improvements lay the question of constructing -new barracks or re-constructing old buildings, on reformed principles -sanitary as well as architectural; and for this he was prepared to incur -an outlay of several millions sterling. Protracted discussions ensued in -his Executive Council in regard to the situations for the new barracks, -causing delay which distressed him. He insisted that the buildings -should be placed in those centres of population, and those strategic -points, where old experience had shown that the presence of European -soldiers was necessary. So after a while the work of barrack-building -went on to his satisfaction. Criticism, even objections, were soon -levelled against these operations, and the barracks were styled -“palatial,” under the notion that they were extravagantly good; but he -was not thereby at all turned from his purpose. - -In active warfare operations were undertaken near the Trans-Indus -Frontier on two occasions; the first of these, which has already been -mentioned at the moment of his arrival in India, was known by the name -of Umbeyla, the second was remembered as that of the Black Mountain. -Otherwise he thankfully observed the pacification of that difficult -Frontier, which had successfully been effected by the policy of himself -and his brother from 1849 onwards, as set forth in a previous chapter. -One little war, indeed, he had which was from first to last hateful to -him, but which he turned to excellent account for British interests, as -the event has subsequently proved; this is known to history as the -Bhûtan campaign. On his arrival he found that a mission had been already -despatched to that semi-barbarous principality in the eastern Himalayas -over-looking Bengal, and that the British envoy had been insulted and -even maltreated. Redress was demanded, and this being refused, he had -resort to arms; and during the course of these operations in a wild, -wooded, malarious and mountainous country, a small British force in a -hill-fort was cut off from its water-supply by the enemy’s devices, and -had to beat a somewhat disastrous retreat. The disaster was soon -retrieved by the recapture of the place, and full preparations were made -for a decisive advance when the enemy sued for terms; whereon he laid -down the British conditions of peace. These being accepted, he was glad -to save the lives of a miserable foe from destruction, and the British -troops from inglorious warfare in an unhealthy country. The main point -in the conditions on which he concluded peace was the cession by Bhûtan -to the British of a rich sub-Himalayan tract called the Dûars, on his -agreeing to pay a certain sum annually to the Bhûtanese. He felt the -value of this tract to the British, as was indeed manifest then, and has -been proved by subsequent experience. He knew that the payment of this -small subsidy would just preserve the Bhûtanese from that pecuniary -desperation which leads to border incursions, and would give us a hold -on them, as it could be withheld in event of their misconduct in future; -and in fact they have behaved well ever since. But the terms were by the -European community at Calcutta deemed inadequate and derogatory after -all that had happened; and he was subjected to much severe criticism, -which however did not move, though it doubtless grieved, him at this -stage of his career. - -He rejoiced in the opportunity afforded by the expedition to Abyssinia -for helping his old friend Napier to collect an effective force from -India, to be equipped for very active service and to be despatched from -the Presidency of Bombay. - -In respect to material improvement, he pressed onwards the construction -of railways and canals. There had been by no means an entire, but only a -partial, suspension of these works during the War of the Mutinies, and -the period of disturbance which followed; but now as peace reigned -throughout the land, he prosecuted these beneficent operations with more -energy than ever, and at no previous time in Indian history had progress -been so systematised as now. This could only be done by establishing a -capital account for the State, according to the principle which, as -already mentioned, had been working in his mind when he recently landed -in India. The cost of these works having heretofore been defrayed from -current revenue, their progress had been precarious, but he would place -their finance on a sure basis by treating the expenditure as capital -outlay and raising loans for that purpose. The interest on these would -be defrayed from current revenue, as he would have no such thing as -paying interest out of capital. For the due calculation of the demand to -be made on the money-market for the loans, he caused a forecast to be -made of the canals and railways recommended for construction during a -cycle of years. He proposed that the future railways should be -constructed not by private companies with guarantee by the State of -interest on outlay, but by the State itself. With a view to lessening -the capital outlay in future, he leaned towards the introduction of a -narrower gauge than that heretofore in use. The introduction of the -capital account into Indian finance has not only stimulated, but also -regulated and ensured the material development of the empire; and this -is a prominent feature in his administration. - -Besides the ordinary arguments for accelerating the construction of -railways, there was the necessity of perfecting our military -communications, in order to obtain a tighter grasp of the country than -heretofore. The lesson of 1857-8 had taught him how much this hold had -needed strengthening. Again, beyond the usual reasons for excavating -canals of irrigation for agriculture in a thirsty land, he felt the -obligation to protect the people from the consequences of drought. No -warning, indeed, was required by him in this behalf, otherwise it would -have been furnished by the experience of the Orissa famine in 1866-7. In -that somewhat inaccessible province the drought occurred one year and -the people bore it, but it continued during the second and even the -third year, reducing their straitened resources to starvation point; -then towards the end of the third year heavy downpours of rain caused -inundation to submerge the remnant of the crops; thus, in his own -expressive words, “that which the drought spared the floods drowned.” He -had been very uneasy about the prospect of the famine, but the province -was under the Government of Bengal subject to the control of the -Governor-General, and he was bound to consult the local authorities. He -accepted for the moment the assurance of the Lieutenant-Governor of -Bengal, who had proceeded to the spot to make personal inquiries, to the -effect that the precautions taken to prevent mortality from famine were -sufficient. Still he remained anxious till further tidings came, and -these were bad. Then he caused the most strenuous efforts to be put -forth but they were too late to save life, and their efficacy was -impaired by a still further misfortune, because contrary gales kept -grain-laden ships tossing about within sight of the shore and unable to -land their cargoes. Though he was not to blame in all the circumstances, -still this disaster cut him to the quick, and he fretted at the thought -of what might have been done to save life had he himself been wielding -the executive powers locally as in former days, instead of exercising -only a general control as Governor-General. The loss being irreparable, -all he could now do was to make the strictest inquisition regarding the -failure in foresight which delayed the relief in the first instance, to -take additional precautions by the light of this melancholy experience, -and so to prevent the possibility of its recurrence. Thus under him from -that time a new era of development, and especially of canal-making arose -happily for Orissa. - -For sanitation, he acted on the view which had opened out before him on -his way from England for India. The Sanitary Commission appointed by him -made searching inquiries and followed these up with suggestions -professional or practical. He sanctioned expenditure by Government on -drainage, water-supply, open spaces, and the like, in the stations or -around the buildings which belonged to the State. In all the places -which were made under municipal institutions he encouraged the local -corporations to do the same. Through his precept or example a fresh -impulse was given to these beneficent works at every capital city, -industrial centre, or considerable town, throughout the Bengal -Presidency--more than half the empire--and a general quickening of -municipal life was the consequence. His influence could not under the -constitution of British India be equally direct in the Madras and Bombay -Presidencies but there also it was felt as a practical encouragement. -Thus though he may not be called the originator of Indian Sanitation, -yet he was the founder of it on a systematic basis, and he established -it as a department of the State administration. - -The finances caused him trouble from the first even to the last day of -his incumbency. The scheme for housing and lodging the European army in -India, according to humane and civilised plans, was to cost ten millions -sterling (for, say, seventy-five thousand men), and out of that he -caused five millions to be spent during his five years of office. He was -most unwilling to borrow for this purpose, holding firmly that the -charge must be defrayed from current revenues, and so it was. But then -it caused some difficulty in the finances, and he had to devise -additional means for making the income balance the expenses. Always -having a heart for the poor, and believing that their resources were not -at all elastic, he was resolved to avoid taxing the masses of the -population any further. On the other hand he thought that the rich -escaped paying their full share. So he proposed to renew the income tax, -which had been introduced in 1860 by James Wilson (the economist and -financier sent out from England) and remitted in 1862. He was unable to -obtain, however, the necessary concurrence of his Council. Then he -reluctantly consented to a proposal of the Council that duties should be -imposed on certain articles of export which, in the economic -circumstances of the moment, were able to bear the impost. The ordinary -objection to export-duties was urged in England and even in Parliament, -so these were disallowed by the Secretary of State; and thus he suffered -a double annoyance. His own proposal had been refused by his Council, -and their proposal, to which he agreed as a choice of evils, had been -rejected by the Secretary of State. The following year he induced his -Council to accept a modified income-tax, under the name of a -License-Tax. This was, he knew, inferior to a scientific income-tax, -inasmuch as it failed in touching all the rich; still it did touch the -well-to-do middle class, heretofore almost exempt from taxation, and -that was something. This plan was passed into law by the Legislative -Council at Calcutta, but the passage met with embittered opposition from -outside in the European as well as in the Native Community; he stood -firm, however, and this time was supported both by his Council in India -and by the Secretary of State in England. But he knew that this measure, -though much better than nothing, was insufficient, and he ceased not -from urging the imposition of the income-tax proper. Indeed during his -fifth and last year he laid the foundation and prepared the way for that -tax, which was actually imposed after his departure, and which during -several succeeding years saved the finances from ultimate deficit. - -During his five years, however, there were five and a quarter millions -sterling of deficit, and two and three quarter millions of surplus, -leaving a net deficit of two and a half millions. This deficit was, -indeed, more than accounted for by the expenses of five millions on the -barracks; but it would never have occurred, had he been properly -supported in the sound fiscal measures proposed by him. The financial -result in the end, though fully capable of explanation, did indeed fall -short of complete success; but this partial failure did not at all arise -from any fault of his. Indeed it occurred despite his well-directed -exertions. He left India with somewhat gloomy anticipations regarding -its financial future. He feared lest his countrymen should fail to -appreciate the standing difficulty of Indian finance. He knew that the -Natives may have more means relatively to their simple wants than the -corresponding classes in European countries, and in that sense may not -be poor. But he thought that their power of paying revenue down in cash -was very small according to a European standard, and that their fiscal -resources were singularly inelastic. - -In connection with finance he was much troubled by the failure of the -Bank of Bombay. On his arrival in India the American Civil War, then at -its height, was causing a rapid rise in the value of cotton in Western -India, and an excessive speculation in consequence. On the cessation of -the war in 1865 he saw this speculation collapse, and became anxious for -the fate of the Bank of Bombay which was a State institution. He did his -utmost to guide and assist the Government of Bombay in preventing a -catastrophe. But despite his efforts the Bank fell, and its fall was -keenly discussed in England generally and in the House of Commons. Then -a commission of inquiry was appointed, which after complete -investigation remarked upon the steadiness and carefulness displayed by -him at least, while it distributed blame among several authorities. - -Much was done in his time, more than ever before, for legislation. He -took a lively interest in the proceedings of the Legislative Council for -India; it consisted of some thirteen members, of whom six belonged to -the Executive Council, and seven, partly official and partly -non-official, were nominated by the Governor-General; and it was apart -from the local legislatures of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. He -assiduously presided over its deliberations, which at that time embraced -such important matters as civil and criminal procedure, transfer of -property, contract, evidence, negotiable securities, and others. During -no period of Indian history has legislation of a fundamental, and, so to -speak, scientific character been more remarkably advanced than during -his incumbency of five years. He was throughout assisted by English -Jurists in England, and in India especially. - -In one legislative measure he was able to take a strong part personally, -and that was the Punjab Tenancy Act. It appeared to him that in various -ways the rights secured (by the land settlement in that Province as -already mentioned) to certain classes of cultivators, as separate from -peasant proprietors, were being gravely threatened. So he procured the -passing of a law for the preservation of the rights and interests in -these numerous tenancies under legal definitions. - -Cognate to this subject, a question arose in Oude regarding -tenant-right, in which he acted with decisive effect. While anxious that -the landed aristocracy (styled the Talukdars) in this Province should be -maintained in the position ultimately guaranteed to them by Lord Canning -in 1859, he was equally resolved that the subordinate rights of -occupants and cultivators should be protected. He, in common with -others, believed that their rights had been secured simultaneously with -those of the Talukdars. But during the subsequent five years this -security had, he found, been disturbed, and further measures were needed -for protection. He therefore caused these tenant-rights or occupancy -tenures to be protected by additional safeguards, which have since been -embodied in legislative enactments. These measures of his aroused keen -opposition in Northern and North-eastern India, and especially in -Calcutta, as the landlord interest in Bengal made common cause with the -Talukdars of Oude. Thus much invective was levelled at him by the -Anglo-Indian newspaper-press. Then the agitation began to spread from -India to England: the influential few could make their cry heard across -the seas, the voiceless million could not; that was all the greater -reason why he would take care of the million. He held that the question -was one of justice or injustice towards a deserving and industrious -class of British subjects. His mind, however, was exercised by this -controversy in India mainly because he apprehended that the ground of -argumentative battle might be shifted to England, and perhaps even to -the floor of the House of Commons. Though he fully hoped that the then -Secretary of State, Sir Charles Wood, and the Cabinet would support him, -yet he was prepared, indeed almost determined, to give up his high -office if his policy in Oude should fail to be sustained. He used to say -to his intimate friends at the time that he would stand or resign upon -his policy in Oude. This is borne out by a letter of his to Sir Charles -Wood which has since been published by his biographer, and from which a -characteristic passage may be quoted. - - “What could make me take the course I have done in favour of the - Ryots of Oude, but a strong sense of duty? I understand the - question right well, as indeed must every man who has had anything - to do with settlement-work. I have no wish to harm the Talukdars. - On the contrary, I desire to see fair-play to their interests.... - It would be a suicidal act for me to come forward and modify the - instructions given recently. The Home Government may do this. - Parliament may say what it thinks proper. But, of my own free will, - I will not move, knowing as I do, that I am right in the course - which has been adopted. Did ever any one hear of the Government of - India learning that a class of men were not having fair-play at the - time of settlement, and then failing to interfere or to issue such - orders as the case appeared to demand?” - -In the sequel he was generously sustained by the Government in England, -and the retrospect of this episode was pleasant to him as he believed it -to be a victory for justice. - -In respect to the public service in its several branches, it fell to his -lot to recommend, and obtain sanction from the Government in England -for, some beneficent measures. A revision of the rules regarding leave -in India and furlough to Europe, for the three great classes of -Government, namely, the Indian Army, the Covenanted Civil Service, and -the Uncovenanted Service, had been pending for some time before his -arrival. Knowing well the bearings of this many-sided question, he -resolved to settle it in a manner befitting the merits of the public -servants whose labours and efforts he had witnessed in so many fields of -action. He accordingly appointed the most competent persons in India to -frame suitable sets of rules, which he induced the Government in England -to sanction with but slight modifications. The simple record of this -great fact affords no idea of the attention he personally gave to the -multiform and often complex details which involved many conflicting -considerations. The rules were demanded by the requirements of the age, -and would sooner or later have been passed, at least in their -essentials, whoever had been Governor-General; but it is to his -sympathy, his trained intelligence, his knowledge and experience, that -these great branches of the public service owe the speedy concession, in -so acceptable a manner, of the boons which those rules bestow. - -Respecting the national education, he allowed the Universities, which -had been already established at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, to work -out their own views. It was in regard to elementary education and -village schools that he chiefly interested himself, and with -considerable effect. He also helped the Bishop of Calcutta to establish -schools at Himalayan stations for European and East Indian children. The -progress of religious missions, belonging to all denominations of -Christians, afforded him the liveliest satisfaction. He foresaw the -possibility of converting large numbers among tribes that had not yet -fallen under any of the dominant religions of the East. The example set -by the lives of the missionaries produced, in his judgment, a good -effect politically by raising the national repute of British people in -the eyes of the Natives. Though he was guarded and discreet in his -public utterances and in his official conduct, yet his private -munificence was always flowing in this direction. When at Calcutta in -the winter, he would spend the later part of his afternoons in visiting -Christian schools and institutions. He gave a never-failing support to -the clergy and all ministers of religion in the discharge of their -sacred functions, and became a rallying point around which all -influences for good might gather. - -A farewell address was voted to him at a conference of missionaries at -Calcutta, which comprised a remarkable list of measures attributed by -them to his influence. These measures of his, which these competent -observers selected for mention, were of a prosaic and unambitious -description. But thereby was evinced his insight into the wants of the -very humblest and least in the Native population, and his anxiety to -render British rule acceptable to his Indian fellow-subjects. - -At the same time an address from the Bishop and clergy acknowledged his -efforts for the moral and spiritual advancement of the European -soldiery, and the effect of his example in promoting true religion among -our fellow-countrymen. - -To the hospitalities and social ceremonies, becoming to the position of -Viceroy, he paid due attention, as was proper in a country where -external style is much considered. But he had no longer the buoyancy for -entering joyously into social intercourse on a large scale. Regarding -the ceremonies of the stateliest character, organised specially for the -Native princes and chiefs, he was very particular. These levées or -assemblages, called Durbars, signifying a concourse of eminent -personages from great distances and requiring long preparation, can only -be held on rare occasions, and under all Governors-General have been -historically memorable; he held three such during his incumbency, at -Lahore, at Agra, and at Lucknow. - -The Durbar at Lahore was wondrous even among these occasions which have -all excited wonder. The princes, the chiefs, the feudatories of the -empire, from the Punjab, the Himalayas, the Trans-Indus frontier, and -even from Afghanistan, vied with each other in doing honour to the man -who in their eyes was the embodiment of British might, and had returned -as the Queen’s representative to the centre-point of his labours and the -scene of his former triumphs. This moment was the second of the two -proudest moments of his life, the first having been that at the -Guildhall in London. He found his bosom friend, Sir Robert Montgomery -(to whom he had made over charge of the Punjab when departing for -England in 1859), still in the position of Lieutenant-Governor. The -manner in which his services were remembered by his old associates, is -shown by the following passage from the Lieutenant-Governor’s speech, -which was applauded with rapture: “Then came 1857. The Punjab under his -grasp stood firm. Delhi must be regained or India lost. The Punjab was -cut off from all aid. It poured down at his bidding from its hills and -plains the flower of the native chivalry. The city was captured and we -were saved. We are here to welcome him this day, in a hall erected to -his memory by his Punjab friends.” - -His Durbar was held in a beautiful plain lying between the castellated -city of Lahore and the river Ravi, which became for the nonce a tented -field. Moving to his place there, he looked around at the noble mosque -turned by the Sikhs into a magazine, but lately restored to the Moslems -by the British--at the palace of the Mogul emperors--at the tomb of -Runjeet Sing, the Lion-king of the Punjab--and further off across the -river, at the still nobler mausoleum of the emperor Jehangir. Amidst -these historic surroundings he addressed to the assembly a speech in the -vernacular of Hindostan, probably the first speech that had ever been -made by a Viceroy in this language. The whole of his well-considered -oration is worth reproduction; but the quoting of one passage only must -suffice. - - “I recognise the sons of my old allies, the Maharaja of Cashmere - and Puttiala: the Sikh chiefs of Malwa and the Manjha; the Rajpût - chiefs of the hills: the Mahommedan Mulliks of Peshawur and Kohat; - the Sirdars of the Derajat, of Hazara, and of Delhi. All have - gathered together to do honour to their old ruler. My friends! Let - me tell you of the great interest which the illustrious Queen of - England takes in all matters connected with the welfare, comfort - and contentment of the people of India. Let me inform you, when I - returned to my native country, and had the honour of standing in - the presence of Her Majesty, how kindly she asked after the welfare - of her subjects in the East. Let me tell you, when that great Queen - appointed me her Viceroy of India, how warmly she enjoined on me - the duty of caring for your interests. Prince Albert, the Consort - of Her Majesty, the fame of whose greatness and goodness has spread - through the whole world, was well acquainted with all connected - with this country, and always evinced an ardent desire to see its - people happy and flourishing.” - -His next Durbar was at Agra, again in a tented plain near the river -Jumna, almost within sight of the peerless Taj Mahal, with its gleaming -marble, the acknowledged gem of all the architecture in the world, and -not far from the red-stone fortress of Akbar the Great. Hither he had -summoned the princes and chiefs of two great divisions of the empire -which are still almost entirely under Native administration. He utilises -the pomp and magnificence with which he is surrounded, in order to give -weight and solemnity to his exhortation. Again he delivers to the -assembly a speech in the language of Hindostan, which really forms an -imperial lecture to Oriental rulers on the duty of ruling well, and is -probably the most noteworthy utterance of this description that ever -proceeded from British lips. Every sentence, almost every word, of his -oration was adapted to a Native audience. Without any vain compliments -he reminds them of their besetting faults, and declares to them, “that -peace and that security from outward violence which the British -Government confers on your territories, you must each of you extend to -your people.” He admonishes them, in tones bland and dignified but still -earnest and impressive, to improve their roads for traffic, their -schools for the young, their hospitals for the sick, their police for -repressing crime, their finances. He urges them to enlighten their minds -by travelling beyond their own dominions. Knowing their passion for -posthumous fame and their leaning towards flattery, he takes advantage -of these sentiments thus, - - “It has often happened after a chief has passed away that he has - not been remembered as a good ruler. Great men while living often - receive praise for virtues which they do not possess; and it is - only after this life is ended that the real truth is told. The - names of conquerors are forgotten. But those of virtuous chiefs - live for ever.” - -Then in order to add encouragement, after impressive advice, he proceeds -thus--in reference to their disputes among themselves regarding -precedence-- - - “The British Government will honour that chief most who excels in - the management of his people, and does most for the improvement of - his country. There are chiefs in this Durbar who have acquired a - reputation in this way--I may mention the Maharaja Scindia and the - Bêgum of Bhopal. The death of the late Nawab Ghour Khan of Jowrah - was a cause of grief to me, for I have heard that he was a wise and - beneficent ruler. The Raja of Sîtamow in Malwa is now ninety years - old, and yet it is said that he manages his country very well. The - Raja of Ketra in Jeyepore has been publicly honoured for the wise - arrangements he has made in his lands.” - -His third and last Durbar was at Lucknow, after the controversy (already -mentioned) with the Talukdars had been happily settled. They found that -the compromise on which he insisted for the protection of their tenants, -was quite workable, that it left a suitable margin for the landlords, -and that with its acceptance the thorough support of the British -Government to their Talukdâri status would be secured. So they in their -turn emulated their brethren of other provinces in doing him honour. -Mounted on seven hundred elephants in a superb procession, they rode -with him into Lucknow past the ruins (carefully preserved) of the -hastily formed defences, and of the battered Residency where his brother -Henry had been mortally wounded. The city of Lucknow is artistically not -so fine as Lahore and Agra, the scenes of the two former Durbars; still -he is greeted by a fair spectacle, as the city stands with a long -perspective of cupolas, towers and minarets on the bank of the Goomti. -The aspect of Lucknow has never been better described than by the -greatest man who ever ruled there, his brother Henry, who wrote: - - “The modern city of Lucknow is both curious and splendid. There is - a strange dash of European architecture among its Oriental - buildings. Travellers have compared the place to Moscow and - Constantinople, and we can easily fancy the resemblance: gilded - domes surmounted by the crescent; tall slender pillars and lofty - colonnades; houses that look as if they had been transplanted from - Regent Street; iron railings and balustrades; cages some containing - wild beasts, others filled with strange bright birds; gardens, - fountains, and litters, and English barouches.” - -Again there comes the gorgeous assemblage in the tented field with the -speech in Hindostani from his dais as Viceroy, and the last of these -dramatic occasions is over. Believing this to be his final utterance in -public Durbar, he throws a parting solemnity into his language. After -acknowledging the address just presented by the Talukdars, whereby they -admit the considerateness towards them, as superior land-owners, with -which the rights of the subordinate proprietor and tenancy-holders had -been defined--he speaks to them thus: “Talukdars! Though we differ in -race, in religion, in habits of thought, we are all created by the same -God; we are all bound by the same general laws; and we shall all have to -give an account to Him at the last of the manner in which we have obeyed -His commandments. In this way there is a common bond of union among us -all, whether high or low, rich or poor, learned or ignorant.” - -While at Lucknow he visited his brother Henry’s lowly tomb, the room -where the mortal wound from a bursting shell had been inflicted, and the -remains of the defences which had been hastily thrown up in that -emergency. He must at the moment have conjured up the thoughts to which -the poet has given expression: - - “Frail were the works that defended the hold that we held with our lives; - Death in our innermost chamber, and death at our slight barricade; - ‘Never surrender, I charge you; but every man die at his post!’-- - Voice of the dead whom we loved, our Lawrence the best of the brave.” - -These ceremonial occasions can give no idea of the business-like -attention which he gave to the affairs of the numerous Native States of -the Indian Empire. He remembered thankfully the signal services which -they (with the fewest exceptions) had rendered during the disturbances -of 1857-58. In his judgment their existence was advantageous to British -interests in India, as forming a safety-valve to release discontent of -several kinds, which otherwise might be pent up till it burst forth -injuriously. He believed that they afford a field of employment to many -who cannot find any adequate scope in the British territories, and that -hereby a nucleus of influence is constituted in favour of a strong -imperial Paramount. - -The only part of his policy remaining to be summarised is that relating -to foreign affairs, which mainly concern Afghanistan. It has been shown -in a previous chapter that originally he desired to avoid having -anything to do with Afghanistan, but that under the directions of two -Governors-General in those days, he had negotiated two treaties with the -Afghan Amir Dost Mahommed, involving the regular payment of pecuniary -subsidies. When he himself became Governor-General, he saw Afghanistan -torn by internecine and fratricidal contests after the death of Dost -Mahommed. He scrupulously stood aloof from these civil wars, espousing -neither party in any contest, willing to recognise the man who should -establish himself as _de facto_ ruler, but waiting till such -establishment should be complete before according formal recognition. At -length he was able to recognise officially Shir Ali, who had practically -fought his way to the status of Amir, on the understanding that the -periodical subsidy would follow as a consequence. - -But having confirmed friendly relations with the Amir of the day by -substantial gifts and by moral support, he planted his foot, so to -speak, on this line as on a limit not to be passed. He considered that -the Amir when subsidised and otherwise well treated by us, ought to be -the friend of our friends and the enemy of our enemies. Otherwise he -would scrupulously respect the Amir’s independence as ruler of -Afghanistan. On the other hand, he would have on the British side no -offensive and defensive alliance with the Amir, lest the British -Government should be drawn into complications owing to errors on the -Afghan side. If this principle should seem one-sided, it was, he held, -unavoidable in the circumstances. But he would let the Amir, when in the -right, feel sure of British support, provided always that Britain were -not expected to send troops into Afghanistan. He set his face not only -against any interference in affairs within Afghanistan, but also against -the despatch of British officers to Caubul, Candahar or anywhere else. -He deemed that the presence of British officers in Afghanistan would -spoil everything, would kindle fanatical jealousy, and would end in -their own murder. - -The Afghans, he was convinced, will be the enemies of those who -interfere, and the friends of those who protect them from such -interference. Therefore, as he would say in effect, let us leave Russia -(our natural opponent) to assume, if she dares, the part of -interference, and let the British adopt the attitude of protection; that -would be the only chance of obtaining an Afghan alliance in British -interests. In that case he hoped that the Afghans would offer a deadly -opposition to a Russian advance towards India through their inhospitable -country. Even then he hoped only, without feeling sure, for the conduct -of the Afghans cannot be foreseen. They might, he would often say, be -tempted to join the Russians on the promise of sharing in the plunder of -India; but such junction would not be probable: on the other hand, if -the British advance into Afghanistan to meet Russia, they ensure Afghan -enmity against themselves and cause the Afghans to favour Russian -interests. If Russia should send missions to, or set up agencies in, -Afghanistan adverse to British interests, he would waste no -remonstrances on the Afghans, believing them to be unwilling recipients -of Russian messages, and to be more sinned against than sinning. He -would remonstrate direct with Russia herself, and would let her see -diplomatically that behind these remonstrances were ironclads and -battalions. He was for telling her in time of peace, courteously but -firmly, that she would not be allowed to interfere in Afghanistan or in -any country contiguous to India. But if a general war were to break out, -and if Russia not having been stopped by British counter-operations in -Europe, were to advance towards India, then on no account would he meet -her in Afghanistan. That, he affirmed, would be wasting our resources in -men and money, and would be playing into the enemy’s hands. The Afghans -would, he supposed, be bitterly hostile to such advance, even though -cowed into momentary submission. In that case he would help them with -money and material, though not with men. Thus strengthened they might -hamper the movements or retard the advance of the Russians; but be that -as it might, he would have the British stand made on the British -frontier. If the God of battles should then steel the hearts of British -soldiers as of yore, the Russian invasion would, he trusted, be repelled -decisively; and then the Russian retreat through Afghanistan, with the -dreadful guerilla warfare of the Afghans, would be a spectacle to serve -as a warning to invaders for all time coming. - -Such is the substance of the opinion which he held rightly or wrongly, -and for the vindication of which he exhausted every form of expression -in private letters, in official despatches, and in conversations -innumerable. His policy was once described by a friendly writer in the -_Edinburgh Review_ as “masterly inactivity,” which expression contained -both truth and error, and was regretted as being liable to -misconstruction by the British public. - -His views respecting the Russo-Afghan question were finally stated -during the first days of January, 1869, in one of the last official -letters of importance that he, with his Council, ever addressed to the -Secretary of State in London. - - “Should a foreign Power, such as Russia, ever seriously think of - invading India from without, or, what is more probable, of stirring - up the elements of disaffection or anarchy within it, our true - policy, our strongest security, would then, we conceive, be found - to lie in previous absence from entanglements at either Cabul, - Candahar, or any similar outpost; in full reliance on a compact, - highly equipped, and disciplined army stationed within our own - territories, or on our own border; in the contentment, if not in - the attachment, of the masses; in the sense of security of title - and possession, with which our whole policy is gradually imbuing - the minds of the principal chiefs and the native aristocracy; in - the construction of material works within British India, which - enhance the comfort of the people while they add to our political - and military strength; in husbanding our finances and consolidating - and multiplying our resources; in quiet preparation for all - contingencies which no honest Indian statesman should disregard.” - -He repeated the same conclusion in his reply to the company at a -farewell banquet on the evening of his last day in office, a speech -which was his final utterance in India. Repelling the oft-repeated -charge of inactivity in Central Asia, and speaking in the presence of -many who knew all the details, he declared that he had watched most -carefully all that went on in those distant regions; that he had -abstained from interference there because such a course would lead to -wars of which no man could foresee the end, would involve India in vast -expenses which must lead to such an increase of taxation as would render -British rule unpopular. Our true policy, he declared, is to avoid such -complications, to consolidate our power in India, to give its people the -best government we can, to organise our administration in every -department by a combination of efficiency with economy. This he seemed -to regard as his political testament on leaving India. - -To show how these principles remained fast in his mind to the very end -of life, two passages may be quoted from public letters which he -dictated within the last twelvemonth before his death, after he had been -literally half blinded by illness, when he was bowed down with infirmity -and no longer able to read or write; and yet they remind the reader of -his best manner. - -Regarding the people of Afghanistan, he says: - - “The Afghan is courageous, hardy, and independent; the country he - lives in is strong and sterile in a remarkable degree, - extraordinarily adapted for guerilla warfare; these people will - never cease to resist so long as they have a hope of success, and, - when beaten down, they have that kind of elasticity which will ever - lead them to renew the struggle whenever opportunity of so doing - may occur. If we enter Afghanistan, whether it be to punish the - people for the alleged faults of their chiefs or to rectify our - frontier, they will assuredly do all in their power to resist us. - We want them as friends and not as enemies. In the latter category, - they are extremely dangerous to us.” - -In respect of our policy towards them he repeats: - - “So far as diplomacy and diplomacy alone, is concerned, we should - do all in our power to induce the Afghans to side with us. We ought - not, in my mind, to make an offensive and defensive treaty with - them. This has been for many years their desire; but the argument - against it is that if we made such a treaty, we should be bound to - restrain them from any attacks on their neighbours, and to resent - such assaults on them, while it would be next to impossible for us - to ascertain the merits of such complaints. We should thus - constantly find ourselves in a position to please neither party, - and even bound to defend causes in which the Afghans were to - blame.” - -Towards the end of 1868, having obtained the approval of the Government -in England, he arranged a personal conference with the Amir Shir Ali, -to be held at some place in British territory for settling the terms on -which a limited support by subsidies in arms and money might be accorded -to a friendly and independent Afghanistan. But he waited in vain for -Shir Ali, who, though anxious to come, was prevented from doing so by -some passing troubles near at home. This was in December, 1868, and his -stay in India was fast drawing to a close, as his successor, Lord Mayo, -was expected to arrive at Calcutta the following month, January, 1869. -So the plan, to which he had obtained the sanction of the British -Government, was unavoidably left to be carried out by his successor -after a personal meeting with Shir Ali at some early date; and this -actually took place at Umballa in the ensuing spring. - -The night before the arrival of his successor, he attended the farewell -banquet given in his honour by some two hundred and fifty gentlemen -representing the European community of Calcutta. His public services -were reviewed by the chairman, Sir William Mansfield (afterwards Lord -Sandhurst), the Commander-in-Chief. His services respecting military -supplies and transport in 1846, and regarding reinforcements for the -army in 1857, were specially attested by Mansfield, a most competent -judge speaking from personal knowledge; and then his subsequent career -was reviewed in statesmanlike and eloquent terms. When he rose to reply -his voice was not resonant and his manner seemed hesitating, but the -hesitation arose from the varied emotions that were surging in his -breast, and the counter trains of thought that were coursing through his -mind, as “the hours to their last minute were mounting,” for his Indian -career. Doffing his armour after a long course of victory, and arriving -at that final end which entitles the victor to be called fortunate, he -might well have been cheerful; but, on the contrary, he was somewhat -melancholy--and his bearing then, compared to what it was when he landed -in Calcutta, shewed how heavily the last five years had told upon him. -His speech was characteristic as might have been expected. He reviewed -his own policy in a concise and comprehensive manner; he said a good -word for the inhabitants of North-western India, among whom his -laborious lot had long been cast, attributing much of his success to the -officers, his own countrymen, who had worked with him; and, as a -peroration, he commended the Natives of India to the kindly sympathies -of all whom his words might reach. - -The next day he wore full dress for the reception of his successor, Lord -Mayo, according to usage. The gilded uniform and the glittering -decorations compared strangely with his wan look and toilworn frame. His -veteran aspect presented a complete contrast to that of his handsome and -gallant successor. He looked like a man whose conduct was as crystal and -whose resolution as granite. He was indeed prematurely aged, for being -only fifty-eight years old, he would, according to a British standard, -be within the cycle of activity. His faithful friends, and they were -legion, saw in him the representative of Anglo-Indian greatness. The -same could not be said of his predecessors: the greatness of Wellesley, -of Dalhousie, of Canning was not wholly of this character, but his -greatness was Anglo-Indian solely and absolutely. Like Warren Hastings, -the first in the illustrious line of Governors-General, he had been -appointed entirely for merit and service, without reference to -parliamentary considerations or political influences; and again, like -Warren Hastings, he had been instrumental in saving the empire from the -stress of peril. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -CONCLUSION - -1869-1879 - - -On March 15th, 1869, Sir John Lawrence landed in England after an -absence of more than five years, his wife having preceded him thither -the year before. The friends, who welcomed his return, thought him -looking worn and broken. He was immediately raised to the peerage under -the title of Baron Lawrence of the Punjab and Grateley. The Prime -Minister (Mr. Gladstone), in the kindest terms, communicated to him the -pleasure of the Sovereign. For his armorial bearings he -characteristically adopted as supporters, two native Indian soldiers, a -Sikh and a Mahommedan, in order to perpetuate, so far as might be -possible, the remembrance of what he and his country owed to the men of -these classes. The name Grateley he took from the small estate on -Salisbury Plain which his sister Letitia, Mrs. Hayes, had left him on -her death. His home at Southgate had been transferred to Queen’s Gate in -South Kensington; and he very soon made a short tour to Lynton to see -his sister’s grave, and to Clifton near Bristol, the home of his -childhood. - -In the spring of 1869, then, Lord Lawrence took his seat on the cross -benches of the House of Lords, apparently indicating that he had not as -yet attached himself formally to either political party, though he -certainly continued to be, what he had always been, a very moderate -Liberal in politics, anxious to preserve all the good institutions which -the nation possesses, while striving for such reforms as might prove to -be just, expedient or needful. His first rising in his place to say a -few words, on a matter relating to the organisation of the Council of -India at Whitehall, was greeted with significant cheers from both sides -of the House of Lords. At that time the Bill for disestablishing the -Irish Church was before Parliament, and in his heart he grieved over -this measure, being much moved by all the Ulster associations of his -youth, and well acquainted with all the considerations from a -Churchman’s point of view through his wife’s relations or connexions. -His regret was even intensified by his respect and esteem for the -Ministry of that day, especially for the Duke of Argyll, and for the -political party which comprised many of his best friends. When the Bill -came to the Lords from the Commons, he followed with keen but melancholy -interest the important debates which ensued, without however taking any -part in them. He voted for the second reading, in the belief that -resistance to the main principle of the measure had become hopeless in -the circumstances, and that it only remained for the friends of the -Church in the House of Lords to try and make the terms of -disestablishment more favourable to her than those offered by the House -of Commons, and to preserve as much of her property as possible. He -rejoiced when the House of Lords succeeded in doing much towards this -end. - -At this time the loss of the troopship _Megæra_, off the south-western -coast of Africa, attracted much public attention; the Government -appointed a Commission of Inquiry of which he accepted the chairmanship. -Much evidence was taken and an elaborate report made, into all which -business he threw his wonted energy. - -During the summer of 1869 his aspect brightened in the English air, and -the tired look began to disappear, as if the oppression of care had been -lightened. His circumstances were easy, and his means were adequate for -his requirements with that good management which he always gave to his -affairs. Though the inevitable gaps had been made by death among his -relations and connexions, still his domestic circle was more than -ordinarily peaceful and fortunate. His daughters were being married -happily, and his sons were growing up or entering the world -successfully. Thus the first year of his final return home drew to its -close favourably. The next year, 1870, he spent placidly at Queen’s -Gate, Kensington, recruiting his strength, until the autumn, which for -him became eventful. - -He found that the Elementary Education Act had come into effect, and -that a great School Board for all London was to be assembled, -representing the several divisions of the metropolis. The elections took -place in November, and having accepted a nomination by the ratepayers of -his district, Chelsea, he was elected to be one of the members. When the -members of the Board assembled in the Guildhall, he was chosen by them -to be their Chairman, with Mr. C. Reed (afterwards Sir Charles) as -Vice-Chairman. His acceptance of this position, within a short time -after relinquishing the Government of India and returning to England, -gladdened his friends as proving at least a partial recovery of health, -but also surprised them. Thankless drudgery, as they thought, would be -his lot, while wearisome debates would tax his patience, and a -multiplicity of details would harass one who had been bred amidst -stirring affairs in distant lands. Some even wondered whether such work -as this would be for him _dignus vindice nodus_. He thought otherwise -however; and his immediate recognition, at the very outset, of the great -future in store for the London School Board, is a token of his -prescience and sagacity. He shared the anxiety then felt by many lest -the education given in the Board Schools should fail to include -religious instruction, and he decided for this reason among others to -put his massive shoulder to the wheel. He had the happiness soon to see -this instruction properly afforded. The work, too, was for the children -of the labouring poor, and--while looking towards high education with -due deference--he had fixed his heart always on elementary education. In -India he rejoiced in village schools, and during his sojourn in England -he had given attention to the schools near his house at Southgate. -Having accepted the Chairmanship, he was prepared not only to guide the -deliberations of the Board in a statesmanlike manner, but also to take a -personally active part in its business. The permanent officers of the -Board still remember the ardour and enthusiasm which he seemed to throw -into the work. Much as it might differ from that to which he had long -been used, yet he remembered the command,--that which thy hand findeth -to do, do it with all thy might. - -On this Board he found many members in company with whom any man might -be glad to act: Lord Sandon (now Earl of Harrowby), Lord Mahon (the -present Earl Stanhope), Mr. W. H. Smith (now leader of the House of -Commons), Professor Huxley, Samuel Morley, the Reverend Anthony Thorold -(now Bishop of Rochester), and others. He presided regularly at the -weekly meetings, and when the executive business came to be done by -several committees, he attended them also with the utmost assiduity. On -this occasion, as on other occasions in his life, the acceptance of -fresh work seemed to have an electric effect on him. After the lapse of -seventeen years the operations of the Board are seen by all men to be -vast, probably the largest of their kind under any one Board in the -world; but in his day there was at first only a small beginning. The -number of children in the metropolis at voluntary schools (elementary) -of all kinds was little over three hundred thousand, too few for a -population of more than four millions, so the Board under his presidency -was to ascertain the total number of children of a school-going age, -then about three-quarters of a million, deduct therefrom the number -actually at voluntary schools, and for the remainder (technically called -the deficiency) provide Board Schools, after making allowance for those -who must unavoidably be absent. - -In the very first instance he and his colleagues had to arrange the -working of the Board itself, which, as a representative body of -considerable importance, needed rules to be framed for the conduct of -its debates. He soon found the benefit of a definite procedure, because -public elementary education was new, and many questions which having -been since settled are now regarded as beyond dispute, were then in an -inchoate condition, and tossed about with diverse forces of argument. -Many of his colleagues were positive thinkers, fluent debaters, and -persons with independent or original ideas, so he had to preside -patiently over protracted discussions on grave subjects wherein, after a -survey of the arguments, his own mind was soon made up. So fast has been -the progress of public opinion, that nowadays, after the lapse of -seventeen years, we may wonder at the heat and pertinacity with which -several educational topics were debated before him: such as the exercise -of the powers for compelling attendance at the schools,--the -introduction of sound religious teaching,--the principles on which the -Board should calculate the educational wants which it was to -supply,--the curriculum of the subjects which should be taught in the -schools, as coming within the scope of elementary education,--the part -to be taken by the Board in carrying into effect the beneficent -principles of the Industrial Schools Act throughout the metropolitan -area,--the gradation of the fees payable by the scholars, and so on. He -rejoiced in the Resolution passed by the Board in 1871, that “The Bible -should be read, and that there should be given such explanations and -such instructions therefrom in the principles of religion and morality -as are suited to the capacity of children; provided that no attempt be -made to attach children to any particular denomination.” - -He and his colleagues saw at once that the administration of so growing -a business as this could not be conducted by a deliberative body of more -than fifty members assembled once a week. He and they knew that the -executive work must really be done in Committees. So he arranged that on -one or more of the Committees every member of the Board should serve, -and that the recommendations of each Committee should be brought up to -the weekly meetings of the whole Board, for adoption, or for such other -orders as might be passed. Thus he saw those several Committees -constituted,--which have during the subsequent sixteen years done what -must be termed a mighty work,--for determining the provision of -school-places, according to the needs of the population,--for procuring, -and if necessary enforcing by law, the attendance at school,--for -distributing the large staff of teachers among a great number of -schools,--for dealing with the waif and stray children in the -streets,--for the purchase of sites for school-houses in densely peopled -quarters, and for the erection of buildings,--for managing the debt -which the Board must incur in building school-houses,--and for -determining annually the amount to be levied by precept from the -ratepayers of the metropolis. - -He also saw a Divisional Committee appointed for each of the ten -electoral divisions of the metropolis, to consist of the members of the -Board representing that division with the assistance of local residents. -Then his Board furnished the Divisional Committees with a staff of -Visitors whose duty it was to make a house-to-house visitation, and to -register every child of a school-going age throughout the metropolis, -so that the attendance of all might be by degrees enforced; and this -far-reaching organisation still exists. - -The elections being triennial, his Board, which had been elected as the -first Board in November, 1870, yielded place to its successor in -November, 1873. He then, from fatigue which necessitated repose, -resigned the Chairmanship after three years’ incumbency, and did not -seek re-election as a member. In fact, within his term, he had been once -obliged to be absent for a few months on account of sleeplessness -attributable to mental exertion. At the last meeting of his Board a vote -of thanks was accorded to him, on the motion of Samuel Morley seconded -by W. H. Smith, for the invariable kindness and ability which he had -evinced in the Chair. - -Then it was announced that £400 had been contributed by members of the -Board in order to form a scholarship to perpetuate the memory of his -chairmanship, and £1000 were added by the Duke of Bedford “in order to -mark his sense of the services of Lord Lawrence and of the Board over -which his Lordship had presided.” The permanent officers of the Board -caused a portrait of him to be painted, which now hangs in the large -hall of the Board-meetings right over the Chair which is occupied by his -successors. A banquet was given in his honour by his colleagues, at -which a tribute to his labours in the Board was paid by Mr. W. E. -Forster, then a member of the Government, as vice-president of the -Council. - -It may be well to cite some brief passages to show the estimation in -which he was held by the Board. When the vote of thanks on his -retirement was proposed, Mr. Samuel Morley, speaking as “an acknowledged -Nonconformist,” said that gentlemen of the most opposite opinions had -been able to work together harmoniously, and this result he attributed -in a large measure to the character of the Chairman. Mr. W. H. Smith -said “the way in which Lord Lawrence came forward had greatly tended to -rouse the minds of the people to the absolute duty of providing for the -education of the destitute children, not only of London, but of -England.” Another member said “his friends out of doors, the working -classes, would find fault with him if he did not on their behalf tender -their thanks to Lord Lawrence.” - -From his reply one significant sentence may be quoted as showing that -his Board had been friendly to the Voluntary system of education in the -metropolis. “We have in no way trodden upon those who have gone before -us, or done anything to injure them, but on the contrary our sympathies -and feelings have been in the main with those who have preceded us, and -all we desired to do was to supplement the good work which they had -begun.” - -Lastly, at the banquet Mr. Forster said that “the greatest compliment he -could pay to the Board would be to say that the work of the last three -years will not be the least interesting part of the history of Lord -Lawrence, and will bear comparison with many another passage in that -history.” - -Thus ended the crowning episode in the story of his public life. He who -had been the master of many legions, had used the pomp and circumstance -of the East for exerting beneficent influence, had defended an empire -daring war and guided it in progressive ways during peace--now rejoiced -that the sunset of his career should be gilded by services to the poor -of London. - -He continued, however, to take interest in matters cognate to education. -Being one of the Vice-Presidents of the Church Missionary Society, he -frequently attended the meetings of its General Committee. Once at a -gathering held in furtherance of the mission cause, he bore testimony on -behalf of the Missionaries in India, with words that are affectionately -cherished by all whom they concern. - - “I believe that, notwithstanding all that the people of England - have done to benefit India (that is, by philanthropic effort), the - Missionaries have done more than all other agencies combined. They - have had arduous and uphill work, often receiving no encouragement, - and have had to bear the taunts and obloquy of those who despised - and disliked their preaching. But such has been the effect of their - earnest zeal, untiring devotion, and of the excellent example which - they have universally shown, that in spite of the great masses of - the people being opposed to their doctrine, they are, as a body, - popular in the country. I have a great reverence and regard for - them, both personally and for the sake of the great cause in which - they are engaged.” - -In his three months’ absence, already mentioned, during his incumbency -in the School Board for London, he visited at Paris the scenes of the -Franco-German war and subsequent disturbances there. He also renewed his -recollections of Rome and Naples. Since 1871 he had taken for a summer -residence the beautiful Brockett Hall in Hertfordshire, fragrant with -the memories of Palmerston, and he kept it till the autumn of 1875. The -place and its surroundings always delighted him. The last years of -physical comfort that he was destined to enjoy were spent there. He -appeared to think himself old, though he was hardly so in years, being -then sixty-five; but over-exertion during his life of action may have -aged him prematurely. To his friends he would write that old age was -creeping over him. - -Early in 1876 the eyes, which had been keen-sighted originally but had -for many years troubled him occasionally, began to fail, and an -operation was afterwards performed in London. During the summer he -suffered dreadful pain, and had for weeks to be kept in complete -darkness. From this misery he emerged in the autumn with one eye -sightless and the other distressfully weak. In the spring of the -following year, 1877, he submitted to a further operation, and took up -his abode in London at Queen’s Gate Gardens. Though unable to read or -write, he was relieved from the fear of blindness; so he made a short -tour in the New Forest, and attended the House of Lords occasionally -during the summer. In the autumn he visited Inverness, and was thankful -on finding himself able to read the Bible in large print. For the winter -he returned to Queen’s Gate Gardens, and in August of the next year, -1878, he moved for a while to Broadstairs in the Isle of Thanet. Soon he -began to take an anxious interest in the intelligence from Afghanistan, -which was then agitating the public mind in Britain. He dictated several -letters to the _Times_, reiterating with the old force and clearness his -well-known views on Afghan policy, which have been set forth in the -preceding chapter. He in conjunction with some of his political friends -pressed the Government in London for the production of papers that -might elucidate the circumstances, which had led to the military -operations by the British against Afghanistan, and especially the -conduct, as proved or surmised, of the Amir Shir Ali. He saw, however, -that events came thick and fast; the war advanced apace, and was -followed by a treaty with Shir Ali’s son Yakoob; the papers were -produced in England, and the whole matter was disposed of in Parliament -by a late autumn session. - -Early in 1879 he seemed fairly well, though he himself had felt warnings -of the coming end. But in the spring he paid flying visits to Edinburgh -and Manchester. In May he made a wedding-speech on the marriage of his -second son. On June 19th he attended the House of Lords for the last -time. His object in so doing was to make a speech on a License Tax which -had recently been imposed in India. He did not object to such taxes -being introduced there to touch the rich and the comparatively -prosperous middle classes; indeed he had levied such himself. But he -deprecated them extremely if they reached the poor, and he was -apprehensive lest this particular tax should go too far in that -direction. Therefore he wished to raise his voice on the subject. But it -was with him that day as it had been with dying statesmen before, and -the sad history repeated itself. His once resonant voice, his strong -nerve, his retentive memory, failed him in some degree, and he was not -able to deliver fully a speech for which he had made preparations with -his wonted carefulness. Yet it was fitting, even poetically meet, that -this supreme effort of his should have been put forth on behalf of the -industrial poor for whom he had ever cared at home and abroad. However -he sat out the debate and drove home exhausted. During the ensuing days -drowsiness set in, and he, the indefatigable worker at last complained -of fatigue. But for the briefest while he revived enough to attend to -private business. He was present, too, at an anniversary meeting on -behalf of the asylum at Hampstead for the orphan daughters of soldiers, -and proposed a vote of thanks to the Duchess of Connaught. The next day -the sleepiness again overtook him, and continued for the two following -days, though he aroused himself enough to attend to business. Then he -became too weak to leave his bed, and shortly afterwards died -peacefully, surrounded by those who were nearest and dearest to him. - -Two statues are standing in memory of him; one opposite the Government -House at Calcutta, on the edge of that famous plain, called the Mydan, -which is being gradually surrounded with monuments of British heroism -and genius; the other at Waterloo Place in London, side by side with -Clyde and face to face with Franklin. No stately inscriptions -commemorate his achievements in classic terms. His friends deemed it -best to engrave his great name on the stone, with the simplest -particulars of time and place. - -But the most sympathetically human demonstration was that at the funeral -on July 5th, when his body was laid “to mingle with the illustrious -dust” in Westminster Abbey. The Queen and the Prince of Wales were each -represented in this closing scene. All the renowned Anglo-Indians then -in England were present. The gathering, too, comprised much that was -representative of Britain in war and peace, in art, literature and -statesmanship. The decorations of the officers, won in Eastern service, -shone amidst the dark colours of mourning. The words of the anthem were -“his body is buried in peace but his name liveth for evermore.” As the -coffin was lowered, the concluding lines of the hymn were sung: - - “And at our Father’s loved abode - Our souls arrive in peace.” - -The funeral sermon was preached in the choir by Dean Stanley, who -exclaimed as he ended: “Farewell, great Proconsul of our English -Christian empire! Where shall we look in the times that are coming for -that disinterested love, that abounding knowledge of India, like his? -Where shall we find that resolution of mind and countenance which seemed -to say to us, - - ‘This rock shall fly - From its firm base as soon as I’?” - -THE END - - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. - - * * * * * - -_Vols. I.-IV., with Portraits, Now Ready, 2s. 6d. each._ - - -English Men of Action. - - -=General Gordon.= By Colonel Sir WILLIAM BUTLER. - - The _Athenæum_ says:--“As a brief memorial of a career that - embraced many momentous spheres of action, that included some of - the principal military and colonial crises of the past fifty years, - and that ended in a halo of transcendent self-immolation, Sir - William Butler’s volume is the best we possess.” - - The _Spectator_ says:--“This is beyond all question the best of the - narratives of the career of General Gordon that have yet been - published.” - - The _St. James’s Gazette_ says:--“Sir William Butler tells the - story of Gordon’s life as a brother officer should. The interest - never flags, and the narrative is imbued with a deep feeling of - reverence.” - - The _Broad Arrow_ says:--“If the succeeding biographies of ‘English - Men of Action’ do not in interest fall beneath, whilst in - compilation they attain, the standard excellence of this volume, - with which the series begins, they will form a notable addition to - the library and furnish a valuable source of reference to the - student of history.... To Plutarch’s Lives we would now recommend - our young officers to add the ‘Life of Charles George Gordon’ as - related by Sir William Butler.” - -=Henry the Fifth.= By the Rev. A. J. CHURCH. - - The _St. James’s Gazette_ says:--“The incidents in Henry’s life are - clearly related, the account of the battle of Agincourt is - masterly, and the style is eminently readable.” - - The _Scotsman_ says:--“No page lacks interest; and whether the book - is regarded as a biographical sketch or as a chapter in English - military history, it is equally attractive. This series of books - promises to be as successful as the ‘English Men of Letters’ - Series.” - - The _Spectator_ says:--“Mr. Church has told well his interesting - story.” - - The _Yorkshire Post_ says:--“The story of Henry V. is told here - with remarkable skill--the whole history is gathered up in the most - lucid and vigorous way.” - -=Livingstone.= By Mr. THOMAS HUGHES. - - The _Spectator_ says:--“The volume is an excellent instance of - miniature biography, for it gives us what we seek in such a book--a - sketch of his deeds, but a picture of the man.... This excellent - little book.” - - The _Scotsman_ says:--“The stirring story is narrated in terse and - vivid language, and with remarkable completeness ... a better - biographer than Mr. Hughes could not have been found for so - excellent a type of the muscular Christian as Dr. Livingstone. He - was a man, and his was a life after the biographer’s heart.” - -=Lord Lawrence.= By Sir RICHARD TEMPLE. - - The Volumes to follow are:-- - -=Wellington.= By Mr. GEORGE HOOPER. - -[_In June._ - -=Monk.= By Mr. JULIAN CORBETT. - -[_In July._ - - The price of each is half a crown, and the volumes named below are - either in the press or in preparation:-- - -=Sir John Hawkwood.= By Mr. F. MARION CRAWFORD. - -=Warwick, the King-Maker.= By Mr. C. W. OMAN. - -=Peterborough.= By Mr. W. STEBBING. - -=Strafford.= By Mr. H. D. TRAILL. - -=Montrose.= By Mr. MOWBRAY MORRIS. - -=Dampier.= By Mr. W. CLARK RUSSELL. - -=Captain Cook.= By Mr. WALTER BESANT. - -=Clive.= By Colonel Sir CHARLES WILSON. - -=Warren Hastings.= By Sir ALFRED LYALL. - -=Sir John Moore.= By Colonel MAURICE. - -=Sir Charles Napier.= By Colonel Sir WILLIAM BUTLER. - -=Havelock.= By Mr. ARCHIBALD FORBES. - -=Marlborough.= By Colonel Sir WILLIAM BUTLER. - - -MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON. - - * * * * * - -POPULAR EDITION, ONE SHILLING EACH. - -Popular Edition, now Publishing in monthly Volumes (Volume I., January -1887) price 1s. each in Paper Cover, or in Limp Cloth Binding, 1s. 6d. - - -ENGLISH MEN OF LETTERS. - -EDITED BY JOHN MORLEY. - - “This admirable series.”--_British Quarterly Review._ - “Enjoyable and excellent little books.”--_Academy._ - - JOHNSON. By LESLIE STEPHEN. - SCOTT. By R. H. HUTTON. - GIBBON. By J. C. MORISON. - SHELLEY. By J. A. SYMONDS. - HUME. By T. H. HUXLEY, F.R.S. - GOLDSMITH. By WILLIAM BLACK. - DEFOE. By W. MINTO. - BURNS. By Principal SHAIRP. - SPENSER. By the DEAN of ST. PAUL’S. - THACKERAY. By ANTHONY TROLLOPE. - BURKE. By JOHN MORLEY. - MILTON. By MARK PATTISON. - HAWTHORNE. By HENRY JAMES. - SOUTHEY. By Prof. DOWDEN. - BUNYAN. By J. A. FROUDE. - CHAUCER. By A. W. WARD. - COWPER. By GOLDWIN SMITH. - POPE. By LESLIE STEPHEN. - BYRON. By JOHN NICHOL. - DRYDEN. By GEORGE SAINTSBURY. - LOCKE. By THOMAS FOWLER. - WORDSWORTH. By F. W. H. MYERS. - LANDOR. By SIDNEY COLVIN. - DE QUINCEY. By DAVID MASSON. - CHARLES LAMB. By Rev. A. AINGER. - BENTLEY. By Prof. R. C. JEBB. - DICKENS. By A. W. WARD. - GRAY. By EDMUND GOSSE. - SWIFT. By LESLIE STEPHEN. - STERNE. By H. D. TRAILL. - MACAULAY. By J. C. MORISON. - FIELDING. By AUSTIN DOBSON. - SHERIDAN. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. - ADDISON. By W. J. COURTHOPE. - BACON. By the DEAN of ST. PAUL’S. - SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. By J. A. SYMONDS. - COLERIDGE. By H. D. TRAILL. - KEATS. By SIDNEY COLVIN. - - ⁂ _Other Volumes to follow._ - - -MR. JOHN MORLEY’S COLLECTED WORKS. - -A New Edition. In Ten Volumes. Globe 8vo. Price 5s. each. - - VOLTAIRE. One Vol. - DIDEROT AND THE ENCYCLOPÆDISTS. Two Vols. - ROUSSEAU. Two Vols. - ON COMPROMISE. One Vol. - MISCELLANIES. Three Vols. - BURKE. One Vol. - - =On the Study of Literature.= By JOHN MORLEY. Globe 8vo. 2s. 6d. - =Aphorisms.= By JOHN MORLEY. Globe 8vo. 2s. 6d. - - -Now Publishing. Crown 8vo. Price 2s. 6d. each. - - -TWELVE ENGLISH STATESMEN. - - The _Times_ says:--“We had thought that the cheap issues of uniform - volumes on all manner of subjects were being overdone, but the - ‘Twelve English Statesmen,’ published by Messrs. Macmillan, induce - us to reconsider that opinion. Without making invidious - comparisons, we may say that nothing better of the sort has yet - appeared, if we may judge by the five volumes before us. The names - of the writers speak for themselves.” - - WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. By EDWARD A. FREEMAN, D.C.L., LL.D. - -[_Ready._ - - HENRY II. By Mrs. J. R. GREEN. - -[_Ready._ - - EDWARD I. By F. YORK POWELL. - - HENRY VII. By JAMES GAIRDNER. - -[_Shortly._ - - CARDINAL WOLSEY. By Professor M. CREIGHTON, M.A., D.C.L., LL.D. - -[_Ready._ - - ELIZABETH. By E. S. BEESLY. - - OLIVER CROMWELL. By FREDERIC HARRISON. - -[_Ready._ - - WILLIAM III. By H. D. TRAILL. - -[_Ready._ - - WALPOLE. By JOHN MORLEY. - -[_Shortly._ - - CHATHAM. By JOHN MORLEY. - - PITT. By JOHN MORLEY. - -[_Shortly._ - - PEEL. By J. R. THURSFIELD. - -[_Shortly._ - - - -MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON. - - -Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber: - -the Jullandur Doab=> the Jullundur Doab {pg 27} - -serving in Oudh=> serving in Oude {pg 126} - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lord Lawrence, by Richard Temple - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LORD LAWRENCE *** - -***** This file should be named 53278-0.txt or 53278-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/2/7/53278/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif, MWS and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Lord Lawrence - -Author: Richard Temple - -Release Date: October 14, 2016 [EBook #53278] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LORD LAWRENCE *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif, MWS and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="332" height="500" alt="" title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="cb"><span class="eng">English Men of Action</span> -<br /><br /><br />LORD LAWRENCE -<br /><br /><br /><img src="images/colophon.png" -width="150" -alt="Image of the colophon unavailable." -/></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_004_lg.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_004.jpg" width="500" height="496" alt="[Image of -portrait of -Lord Lawrence unavailable.] - -Engraved by O. Lacour after a Photograph by Maull and Polybank" /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LORD LAWRENCE -<br /> -Engraved by O. Lacour after a Photograph by Maull and Polybank</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii"></a>{iii}</span></p> - -<h1> -LORD LAWRENCE</h1> - -<p class="c">BY<br /> -<br /> -SIR RICHARD TEMPLE<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<span class="eng">London</span><br /> -MACMILLAN AND CO.<br /> -AND NEW YORK<br /> -1889<br /> -<br /> -<small><i>The right of translation and reproduction is reserved</i></small> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv"></a>{iv}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v"></a>{v}</span> </p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_001">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Early Life</span>, 1811-1829</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_007">7</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Delhi Territory</span>, 1829-1846</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_015">15</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Trans-Sutlej States</span>, 1846-1849</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_027">27</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Punjab Board of Administration</span>, 1849-1853</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_045">45</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Chief Commissioner of the Punjab</span>, 1853-1857<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi"></a>{vi}</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_069">69</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">War of the Mutinies</span>, 1857-1859</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_092">92</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Sojourn in England</span>, 1859-1863</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_137">137</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">The Government of India</span>, 1864-1869</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_148">148</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><span class="smcap">Conclusion</span>, 1869-1879</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_190">190</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_001" id="page_001"></a>{1}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -<small>INTRODUCTION</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">John Laird Mair Lawrence</span> was born in 1811 and died in 1879, being -sixty-eight years of age. Within that time he entered the Civil Service -of the East India Company, governed the Punjab then the most difficult -province in India, took a very prominent part in the War of the -Mutinies, was by many called the saviour of the Indian empire, and -became Viceroy of India. By reason of his conduct in these capacities he -is regarded as a man of heroic simplicity, and as one of the best -British type, to be reckoned among our national worthies.</p> - -<p>I shall write the following account of him as a man of action, partly -from authentic records, but chiefly from personal knowledge. I was his -Secretary during some of the most busy and important years when he was -governing the Punjab, and one of his Councillors when he was Viceroy. My -acquaintance with him began in 1851, and continued on intimate terms -till 1870, from which time until his death I was separated from him by -distance. Thus I have been in great part an eyewitness of what is to be -related of him. My knowledge, too, of his views is derived, not from -correspondence<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_002" id="page_002"></a>{2}</span> nor from private letters, but from verbal communication. -For several years it was my chief duty so to imbue my mind with his -policy and opinions that I might be able to express them in writing at a -moment’s notice.</p> - -<p>He was a man of action as distinguished from a man of letters. He did -not write a book nor contribute to periodical literature. Among his -predecessors and successors in high office amidst the imperial affairs -of India, some have been men either of letters or of literary culture; -as for instance, Warren Hastings, Wellesley, Teignmouth, Mountstuart -Elphinstone, Lytton. Though neither unlettered nor uncultured, he had no -literary training nor did he possess that which would nowadays be called -culture. Again, some of his predecessors and successors had acquired a -considerable position either in political and parliamentary life at home -or in imperial affairs abroad, as for example Amherst, Ellenborough, -Hardinge, Dalhousie, Canning, Elgin, Mayo, Northbrook. But he derived -his position solely from experience of India, knowledge of her people, -and services rendered within her limits. The son of a poor and hardy -veteran officer, he was essentially a self-made and a self-taught man. -It is therefore interesting to learn how he came to make and teach -himself thus grandly, and what was the process of the making and the -teaching. For he had no wondrous gifts of intellect or imagination and -few external graces. He never enjoyed the advantages of high education, -of family connection, of contact with political life, of guidance from -the lights of the age. He had to raise himself by his own up-heaving -force, and to propel himself by his own motive power. Before him many -great men<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_003" id="page_003"></a>{3}</span> have been singled out for greatness by every observer from -their youth onwards. But he as a young man was never deemed remarkable, -and almost up to his middle life he was not expected by his best friends -to acquire greatness. Then the hour of difficulty came, and was followed -by other hours harder and harder still; and he was found more and more -to be the man for them all. From a good magistrate of a comparatively -old district he became the administrator of a newly-annexed territory. -Thence he rose to be Resident at a Native Court in time of trouble, and -virtual governor of an arduous province. While thus occupied he was -overtaken by the desperate tempest of the Mutinies, and he rode on the -crest of every wave. Thence he was promoted in natural order to the -supreme command in India. Thus he rose not by assumed antecedents nor by -collateral advantages, but by proved merit in action. Doing lesser -things very well he was tried in greater things, and he did them with -equal efficiency. Tested in the furnace of fiery danger he showed the -purest metal. Lastly, when elevated to the highest office he was still -successful.</p> - -<p>All this while, his qualities were for the most part those which are -commonly possessed by British people. He evinced only two qualities in -an uncommon degree, namely energy and resolution. But if he was not a -man of genius in the ordinary acceptation of the term, there must have -been a certain genius in him, and that was virtue. Such genius is indeed -heaven-born, and this was the moral force which combined all his -faculties into a harmonious whole and made him a potent instrument for -good, a man of peace or of war, according to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_004" id="page_004"></a>{4}</span> the requirements of right -and justice. His virtue was private as well as political, domestic as -well as public. He was a dutiful son, a faithful husband, a kind father, -an affectionate brother, a steadfast friend. There have been men eminent -in national affairs over whose life a veil must partially be thrown; but -his conduct was unassailable even by those who assailed his policy and -proceedings. However fiercely the light might beat on him, he was seen -to be unspotted from the world. Again there have been statesmen who, -vigilant as regards the public interests, have yet neglected their own -concerns; but he was a good steward in small things as well as in great. -He always found the means of meeting charitable demands; he was ever -ready with trusty counsel for his friends; he managed a fund formed by -himself and his brothers as a provision for their widowed mother. But, -while upright and undaunted before men, he was inwardly downcast and -humble before the all-seeing Judge. He relied on divine mercy alone, -according to the Christian dispensation. Apart from the effect of his -constant example in Christian action, he made no display of religion -beyond that which occasion might require. In this cardinal respect as in -all lesser respects he was unostentatious, excelling more in practice -than in precept. Amidst the excitement of success in emergent affairs, -he would reflect on the coming time of quiet and retirement. In the -heyday of strength and influence he would anticipate the hour when the -silver cord must be loosed and the golden bowl broken; when surrounded -with pomp and circumstance, he would reckon up the moments when the -splendid harness must be cast aside. In a word,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_005" id="page_005"></a>{5}</span> massive vigour, -simplicity and single-mindedness were the keynotes of his character.</p> - -<p>In the following pages, then, the development of this character will be -traced through many striking circumstances in distant fields of action, -through several grave contingencies and some tremendous events. The -portrait will, indeed, be drawn by the hand of affection. Nevertheless -every endeavour will be made to preserve accurately the majestic -features, to pourtray the weather-beaten aspect, to depict the -honourable scars, the wrinkles of thought, the furrows of anxiety. In a -word he is to be delineated as he actually was in gentleness or -ruggedness, in repose or activity, in sickness or health.</p> - -<p>His course, from the beginning to the end of life, should have a -spirit-stirring effect on the middle class from which he sprung. For to -his career may be applied the Napoleonic theory of a marshal’s baton -being carried by conscripts in their knapsacks during a campaign. With -virtue, energy and resolution like his, British youths of scanty means, -winning their places by competition, may carry with them to the Eastern -empire the possibilities of national usefulness and the resources for -conquering fortune in her noblest sphere.</p> - -<p>Moreover, a special lesson may be learnt from him, namely that of -endurance; for he was, in the midst of energetic life, often troubled -and sometimes even afflicted by sickness. In early life he seemed to -have been born with powerful robustness; but as a young man he suffered -several times from critical illness, and in middle age ailments, -affecting chiefly the head, grew upon him like gathering clouds. As an -elderly man he was prematurely borne down to the dust of death, while -according<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_006" id="page_006"></a>{6}</span> to ordinary hope he might yet have been spared for some years -to his family his friends and his country. If anything could add to the -estimation in which he is held, it is the remembrance that when he -magnificently swayed the Punjab his health was fitfully uncertain, that -it was still worse when he stemmed the tide of the Mutiny and Rebellion, -that it had never been really restored even when he became Viceroy, and -that during the performance of deeds, always arduous and often heroic, -he had to struggle with physical pain and depression as well as wrestle -with public emergencies.</p> - -<p>But though he might have added something to the long list of his -achievements had his life been prolonged, still the main objects of his -existence had been fulfilled, and he died neither too early nor too late -for his fame. Even if it cannot be said of him that he lived long enough -to be gathered to his fathers like a full shock of corn, still there is -a fulness and a completeness in his career. To his memory may be applied -the lines of Schiller on a dead hero: “He is the happy one. He has -finished. For him is no more future here below. For him destiny weaves -no webs of envy now. His life seems spotless, and spreads out with -brightness. In it no dark blemish remains behind. No sorrow-laden hour -knocks to rouse him. He is far-off beyond hope and fear. He depends no -longer on the delusive wavering planets. For him ’tis well for ever. But -for us, who knows what the dark-veiled hour may next bring forth!”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_007" id="page_007"></a>{7}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -<small>EARLY LIFE</small><br /><br /> -<small>1811-1829</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">He</span> who would understand this story aright must stretch the wings of his -imagination for a flight across the ocean to the sunny shores beyond. In -these northern latitudes sunshine is regarded as genial and benignant, -but in those regions the sun is spoken of by the natives as cruel and -relentless. It is with fierce rays that he strikes the stately -architecture, the crowded marts, the dusty highways, the arid plains, -the many-coloured costumes, the gorgeous pageantry,—in the midst of -which our action is laid, and which in their combination form the -theatre where the mighty actors of our drama are to play their parts. -But not in such a climate nor amidst such scenes were these actors born -and bred. In the time of youth,—when the physical frame is developed, -and the foundation of the character is laid,—their stamina were -hardened, their faculties nursed, their courage fostered, under the grey -skies and misty atmosphere, in the dales and hills, amidst the green -fields and the smoky cities of Great Britain and Ireland.</p> - -<p>The village of Richmond is situated in the North<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_008" id="page_008"></a>{8}</span> Riding of Yorkshire at -the western base of the hills which flank the Westmoreland plateau, and -near the head-waters of the Swale, an affluent of the Ouse. In the year -1811 it formed the headquarters of the Nineteenth Regiment of Foot, of -which Alexander Lawrence was the Major.</p> - -<p>Here John Lawrence was born on March 4th, 1811: being the eighth in a -family of twelve children. His sister Letitia, his elder brothers George -and Henry, his younger brother Richard, will be mentioned in the -following narrative. His brother Henry, indeed, was closely associated -with some of the events to be related hereafter.</p> - -<p>The parents were people of British race domiciled for some generations -in Ulster. The mother was a descendant of John Knox the Scotch reformer, -and the daughter of a clergyman in the Church of England, holding a cure -in Donegal. The father had run a military career for full fifteen years -in India and Ceylon, and had been among the leaders of the forlorn hope -in the storming of Seringapatam. He was a fighting man, ardent for -warlike adventure, maimed with wounds, fevered by exposure, yet withal -unlucky in promotion. He was full of affection for his family, and of -generosity towards his friends. Despite the <i>res angusta domi</i> which -often clings to unrewarded veterans, he was happy in his domestic life. -His only sorrow was the indignant sense of the scant gratitude with -which his country had regarded his services. Nevertheless he sent forth -three of his sons for military careers in that same East where he -himself had fought and bled,—of whom two rose to high rank and good -emoluments.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_009" id="page_009"></a>{9}</span> But he placed them all in the service of the East India -Company, which he hoped would prove a good master, and that hope was -realised.</p> - -<p>As a child, John Lawrence went with his parents from Richmond to -Guernsey, thence to Ostend where the father commanded a Veteran -Battalion during the Waterloo campaign, and thence soon after 1815 to -Clifton near Bristol. During his childhood he suffered severely from an -affection of the eyes, the very ailment which, as we shall see -hereafter, overshadowed his declining years. From Clifton he went to a -day-school at College Green in Bristol, walking daily over the breezy -uplands that then separated the two places, in company with his brother -Henry, his elder by five years. It would seem that according to the -fashion of the schools of this class in those times, he received a -rudimentary education with a harsh discipline. His home, being furnished -with scanty means, must have been destitute of external amenities. But -he enjoyed the care of one who, though forced by circumstances to be -rigid, was a thoroughly good mother, and the tender thoughtfulness of -his sister Letitia which he never forgot. He listened eagerly to his -father’s animated tales of war, as the veteran recounted</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i8">“the story of his life<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That he had passed ...<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Wherein he spoke of most disastrous chances,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of moving accidents by flood and field,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Of hair-breadth ’scapes i’ the imminent deadly breach.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Doubtless it was from his father’s conversation in these days of -childhood that he acquired the soldierly predilections<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_010" id="page_010"></a>{10}</span> which clung to -him throughout his civil career. The receptive years of his boyhood up -to twelve were thus spent in English surroundings, and amidst English -scenery of an attractive character. Despite the whirl and worry of his -after-life, he ever remembered the beautiful Clifton of his day—before -the rocks were pierced for railway-tunnels or the valley spanned by a -suspension-bridge. He loved the forest-clad heights, the limestone -cliffs, the bed of the tidal Avon.</p> - -<p>At twelve years of age he went to Foyle College close to Londonderry, to -be under the care of the Reverend James Knox, his mother’s brother. In -this College were his brothers George and Henry, also Robert Montgomery, -who was in future years to become to him the best of colleagues. Here he -stayed during two years of great importance in the forming of his mind -and disposition, as he breathed the air, imbibed the ideas, and gathered -the associations of Ulster. At first, however, his ways were so much -those of England that his companions called him “English John.” The -education which he there received was characteristic of the British -type, for it tended rather to form and strengthen the character than to -enlighten the intellect. The religious training, to which he was -subjected, appears to have been somewhat too severely strict. Yet in -combination with home influences and with natural impulses, it planted -religion ineradicably deep in his heart. The recollection of it, -however, rendered him adverse to formalism of any kind.</p> - -<p>Foyle College as an educational institution has doubtless been much -developed since his time. But the building and its precincts may now be -seen almost exactly as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_011" id="page_011"></a>{11}</span> they were when he was there. From the upper -windows is the same prospect which he had of the Foyle estuary, and from -the field where he played football is beheld a view of the historic -city. As he used to stay there with his uncle during the holidays, he -must have often walked round the terrace on the top of the well-kept -walls, that still enclose the old citadel-town wherein the faith and -freedom of the Protestants were sheltered during the storm of war in -1688-9. Here he found the historic memories preserved with wonderful -tenacity. So he must have gazed at the Ship-Quay, the Water-gate as it -once was, whither the relieving ships from England, after fighting their -way up the Foyle, brought victuals for the long-suffering and famished -garrison. He must have passed beneath the venerable bastions where the -defenders repeatedly beat back the French soldiers of King James. He -attended on Sundays divine service in the Cathedral which stood close to -the fighting-ground during the defence, and where the bones of eminent -defenders were interred. This, then, was just the place to be for him a -<i>nutrix leonum</i>, and the meet nurse for a heroic child; as indeed it is -the Saragossa of the British Isles. In after life his talk would oft -revert to the Foyle as to him the queen of rivers. Forty years later, -when at the summit of his greatness, he spoke publicly to his admirers -in the Punjab about the memories of Londonderry, as nerving Britons in -other lands to stubborn resistance.</p> - -<p>At fifteen years of age he returned to England and went to a school kept -at Wraxall Hall, near Bath, an Elizabethan structure with picturesque -courtyards and orchards. It was comparatively near to his paternal home -at Clifton, and in it were renewed those rural<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_012" id="page_012"></a>{12}</span> associations of English -life which he had gathered in childhood. Shortly afterwards he was -offered a civil appointment in the East India Company’s service by a -good friend, Mr. Hudlestone, who had already given appointments in the -Company’s military service to three of the elder brothers, one of whom -was Henry. But he was minded to decline the civil appointment, then -considered of all appointments the most desirable, and to ask for a -military appointment instead. He would not regard the advice of his -father, nor of his brother Henry, who had just returned from India on -sick leave after hard service in the wars. The influence of his sister -Letitia alone persuaded him to accept the civil appointment. -Consequently at the age of seventeen he went to the East India Company’s -College at Haileybury near Hertford, and remained there for the -appointed term of two years. There he heard lectures in political -economy from Malthus, and in law from Empson, afterwards editor of the -<i>Edinburgh Review</i>. The discipline was not specially strict, nor was the -intellectual training severe; but as the Company maintained a highly -qualified and distinguished staff of professors, he had educational -opportunities of which he availed himself in a moderate or average -degree only. He was a fairly good student, but was not regarded by his -compeers as remarkable for learning or for prowess in games. His frame -was tall and well knit but gaunt. His manner was reserved in public, -sometimes tending to taciturnity, but vivacious and pleasant in private. -As he had been thought to be English when in Ireland, so now when in -England he was deemed to be somewhat Irish in his ways. In his case, as -in many eminent cases, the temper and disposition<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_013" id="page_013"></a>{13}</span> were being fixed and -settled, while the mental faculties were being slowly developed. The -basis of his great character was being founded in silence. But his -fondness for the rural side of English life must have been gratified to -the full at College. He had not cultivated any architectural taste, and -if he had, it would have been offended by the plainness even ugliness of -the collegiate architecture; but his nature rejoiced in the surroundings -of the College, the extensive woods reaching to the very gates, the -outburst of vernal foliage, the singing birds in their leafy haunts, the -open heath, the Rye House meadows, the waters of the Lea. He would roam -with long strides in the meads and woodlands. Though not gifted with any -æsthetic insight into the beauties of Nature, yet he would inwardly -commune with her, and he had an observant eye for her salient features. -Such things helped to establish a mind like his, and to temper it like -pure steel for the battle of life.</p> - -<p>He used to spend a part of his vacation in each year at the house of a -friend at Chelsea, before returning to his home at Clifton. Having -passed through College he spent four months in England, in order to have -the companionship of Henry on the voyage out to India. He sailed in -September 1829, being nineteen years old, in a vessel bound for Calcutta -by the route round the Cape of Good Hope.</p> - -<p>At a later stage in his life, some analysis will be given to show how -far he partook of the several elements in our composite national -character, English, Scotch and Irish. It may suffice here to state that -for all these years his nurture, bringing up, and education generally,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_014" id="page_014"></a>{14}</span> -had been English, with the important exception of the two years which he -spent at Londonderry. Whatever Scotch or Irish proclivities he may have -possessed, and they will be considered hereafter, no son of England, of -his age, ever left her shores more imbued than he with her ideas, more -loyal to her principles, more cognisant of her strength or weakness, of -her safety or danger, of her virtues or failings.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_015" id="page_015"></a>{15}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -<small>THE DELHI TERRITORY</small><br /><br /> -<small>1829-1846</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">John Lawrence</span>, in company with his elder brother Henry, entered in 1829 -upon his new life, beginning with a five months’ voyage through the -Atlantic and Indian Oceans. On this voyage he suffered severely from -sea-sickness, and the suffering was protracted over several weeks. This -must have aggravated any constitutional tendency to nervous irritability -in his head. He landed at Calcutta in February, 1830, just when the cool -season was over and the weather was growing warmer and warmer till it -attained the heat of early summer. Then he passed through the rainy -period of midsummer, which in those latitudes always had a depressing -effect on him as on many others. He was an ordinarily good student in -the College of Fort William—the official name whereby the stronghold of -Calcutta is called. He mixed but little in the society of the capital, -and pined for his English home, fancying that poverty there would be -better than affluence in the East; he even allowed himself to be -dominated by this sort of home-sickness, for the first and last time in -his life. However, after sojourning for a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_016" id="page_016"></a>{16}</span> months in Calcutta, and -passing the examination in the vernacular of Upper India, he asked for -and obtained an appointment at Delhi, partly because his brother Henry -was serving in the Artillery at Kurnal in that neighbourhood, partly -also because the far-off frontier had a fascination for him as for many -others. In those days a journey from Calcutta to Delhi (now accomplished -by railway within three days) often occupied nearly three months by boat -on the Ganges; but by travelling in a palanquin he traversed the -distance, about eleven hundred miles, within three weeks.</p> - -<p>Arrived at Delhi, in 1830, he felt that happy revulsion of thought and -sentiment which is well known to many who have passed through similar -circumstances. He had not only landed on a strange and distant shore, -but had advanced many hundred miles into the interior of the country. He -had thus, so to speak, cut his cables and cast away home-sickness, -treasuring the memory of the former existence in the sunniest corner of -his heart, but bracing and buckling himself to the work of the new -existence. This work of his, too, was varied and intensely human in its -interests. Its nature was such as made him anxious to learn, and yet the -learning was extraordinarily hard at first. His dormant energies were -thus awakened, as he dived deep into the affairs of the Indian people, -listened to their petitions, guarded their rights, collected the taxes, -watched the criminal classes, traced out crime, regulated the police. -The work was in part sedentary, but it also afforded him healthy -exercise on foot and on horseback, as he helped in supervising the -streets, the drains, the roads, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_017" id="page_017"></a>{17}</span> municipal institutions of all -sorts in a great city and its neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>He was, moreover, impressed deeply by imperial Delhi itself as one of -the most noteworthy cities in the world, and as</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The lone mother of dead empires.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">The matchless palace of the Great Mogul overhanging the river Jumna, the -hall of audience, the white marble mosque, a veritable pearl of -architecture, the great city mosque, probably the finest place of -worship ever raised by Moslem hands, the ruins outside the walls of -several capitals belonging to extinct dynasties, doubtless affected his -imagination in some degree. But he was too much pre-occupied by work to -regard these things as they would be regarded by artists or -antiquarians. Nevertheless his native keenness of observation served him -well even here, for he would describe the structural merits of these -noble piles, the clean cutting of the red-sandstone and the welding -together of the massive masonry. He was more likely to observe fully the -geographical situation, which gave commercial and political importance -to the city in many ages, and preserved it as a capital throughout -several revolutions. In the intervals of practical business he must have -noticed the condition of the Great Mogul, whom the British Government -then maintained as a phantom sovereign in the palace. But he could not -have anticipated the position of fell activity into which this very <i>roi -fainéant</i> was fated to be thrust some twenty-seven years later. It will -be seen hereafter that the local knowledge which he thus gained of -Delhi, served him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_018" id="page_018"></a>{18}</span> in good stead during the most critical period of his -after-life.</p> - -<p>In 1834 he was placed in temporary charge of the district of Paniput, in -a vast plain that stretches along the western bank of the Jumna. His -being after only four years’ service entrusted, as acting Magistrate and -Collector, with the command of a district containing some thousands of -square miles and some hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, was a proof -of the early reputation he had won as a capable officer and -well-informed administrator. At Paniput he controlled, as a superior, -much the same work as that which he had performed as a subordinate at -Delhi. That which he had learnt by laborious self-instruction on a -smaller scale, he was now to practise on a larger. The area being -extensive, and rapidity of movement being essential to the maintenance -of a personal control over affairs, he used to ride on horseback over -his district from end to end. Every arduous or dangerous case, fiscal or -criminal, he would keep in his own hands; though even in these early -days he trusted his subordinates when trustworthy, and made them do -their duty as he did his. He did not, indeed, adorn all that he touched, -but he stamped on it the mark of individuality. The natives soon learnt -to regard him as the embodiment of British justice. The various sections -of the population, the evil-disposed or the industrious, the oppressor -or the oppressed, the suppliant for redress or the hardened -wrong-doer,—all in their respective ways felt his personality. The good -officers in India live, move and have their being among the people, and -such was his daily routine. He could not fail, moreover, to be moved by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_019" id="page_019"></a>{19}</span> -the historic traditions of Paniput—the scene of the Mahabhârat, that -antique epic of the Hindoos; the victory of the young Akber, the first -of the Great Moguls; the Persian invasion under Nâdir Shah; the rout of -the Mahrattas under Ahmed Shah the Afghan: especially must the tragic -and touching incidents of the Mahratta disaster have appealed to -susceptibilities such as his.</p> - -<p>In these days he practised himself much in horsemanship, becoming a -strong rider and a good judge of horses; it was truly to be said of him -<i>gaudet equis canibusque</i>. He was a keen observer of steers and heifers, -of bullocks for draught and plough. Being fond of animals generally, he -studied their breeding, nurture and training, their temper, habits and -capabilities. Though a stranger to botany as a science, he knew the -local names of every tree and plant. He had a discriminating eye for the -varieties of soil, the qualities of growing crops, the faults and merits -of husbandry. Though not versed in the theory of economic science, he -had an insight into the causes affecting the rise and fall of prices, -the interchange of commodities, the origin and progress of wealth, the -incidence of taxation. He had hardly, indeed, mastered the -technicalities of finance, yet he had a natural bent for figures, and -was a financier almost by instinct.</p> - -<p>This was the spring-tide of his public life when he was bursting forth -into vigour of body, soaring in spirit, and rejoicing like a young lion -in healthy strength. Then, too, he was able to withstand the climate all -the year round. For although in summer the sky was as brass, the earth -as iron, the wind as a blast from a furnace, still in winter the -marching in tents was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_020" id="page_020"></a>{20}</span> salubrious, the breeze invigorating, the -temperature delicious by day, and the air at night frosty.</p> - -<p>After an incumbency of three years at Paniput he was transferred to -Gurgaum, a district south of Delhi. There his work was the same as that -already described, only somewhat harder, owing to the lawless and -intractable habits of some classes among the inhabitants, and because of -drought which visited and distressed that region. Then in 1838 he was -appointed Settlement-Officer of Etawah, a district south-east of Delhi -between the Ganges and the Jumna. In technical or official language, his -settlement-work included the whole scope of landed affairs, in the most -comprehensive as well as in the minutest sense,—the assessment of that -land-tax, which is the main burden of the peasantry and the prime -resource of the State—the cadastral survey of every field in every -village or parish—the adjudication of all disputes regarding the -rights, interests and property in land—the registration of landed -tenures. His duty herein was, of all duties which can be entrusted to a -man in India, the one of most interest and importance, the one which -penetrates deepest into the national life, the one for which the -Government always chooses its most promising officers. This duty, -moreover, universally attractive to the best men throughout India, had -for him especial charms in the districts between the Ganges and the -Jumna. For here he found, in all their pristine and unimpaired vigour, -those Village Communities which have survived the shocks of war and -revolution, and have engaged the thoughts of jurists and philosophers. -His business was to guard the innate and indestructible energy of these -ancient<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_021" id="page_021"></a>{21}</span> communities, to adapt their development to the wants of the -present time, to fence round their privileges and responsibilities with -all the forms of a civilized administration. The experience thus gained -was to him of unspeakable value in the most arduous passages of his -after life. But though he entered with all his heart and mind into this -work, he felt the district itself to be dull and distasteful after Delhi -and Paniput, and this feeling shows how the antique splendour of the -former and the historic traditions of the latter had affected his -imagination. He could no longer live contentedly unless amidst his -surroundings there were something grand for his mind to feed upon. -However grateful he may have felt to Etawah for the experience it had -given him, he never looked back on the place with pleasure. One -melancholy recollection abided with him, for it was here that he caught -his first serious illness, a violent fever which rapidly reduced him to -the verge of death. By an effort of nature he shook it off and rallied -for a while. Then in the autumn of 1839 he glided, as an invalid in -river-boats, down the Jumna and the Ganges to Calcutta. There he had a -relapse of fever, and decided in the beginning of 1840 to proceed to -England, being entitled to furlough after his active service of ten -years. He arrived in England during June of that year.</p> - -<p>The first act in the drama of his public life was thus concluded. He had -done well, he had mastered the details of a difficult profession, in his -own words he “had learnt his business.” He was esteemed by his comrades -and his superiors as a competent officer in all respects; beyond this, -however, nothing more was said or thought<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_022" id="page_022"></a>{22}</span> of him at that time. All this -has been and yet will be recorded of hundreds of British officers in -India, before or after him, whose names are nevertheless not written in -the roll of fame. <i>Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona multi</i>: indeed many men -as good as he then was are now living and will still live. Furthermore, -many officers have, in the course of their first ten years, shown more -signs of genius, or talent, or statesmanlike accomplishments, than he -had displayed up to this time. When he sailed from Calcutta for England -in 1840 neither he himself nor his friends had, on a retrospect of his -first ten years, formed any idea of the career which he was to run -during his second ten years, and had never, even in day-dreams, caught a -vision of the destiny which awaited him during his third ten years. The -elements of his character were being gradually fused into granitic -consistency. To him was applicable that British metaphor, which though -familiar is never trite because the proofs of its truth are -oft-recurring: the sturdy oak grows slowly, but in proportion to that -slowness is the ultimate strength to bear the weight, withstand the -strain and resist the storm.</p> - -<p>Returning to England during the summer of 1840, he found the home of his -youth at Clifton much altered. His father had passed away, his sister -Letitia had married, but his mother remained to benefit by his -affectionate assistance. Though his health was not re-established, yet -his energy and spirits revived under the European skies, and his -vivacity astonished both friends and acquaintances. He proceeded to -Bonn, and stayed there for a time with his sister-in-law, the wife of -George Lawrence who was in Afghanistan. Then he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_023" id="page_023"></a>{23}</span> paid visits in England -and travelled in Scotland and Ireland. In Donegal he was so fortunate as -to meet Harriette, daughter of the Reverend Richard Hamilton, whom he -married in August 1841, thus forming a union of the very happiest -character. He proceeded to the continent of Europe on a wedding-tour, -passing through Switzerland to Italy, and gathered notions, in his -practical way, regarding the policy and strategy of ancient Rome. He -particularly noticed the campaigns of Hannibal, to which he often -alluded in after-life. But the Indian ailments partially reappeared in -the malarious climate of the Roman campagna. At Naples, in the beginning -of 1842, he received news of the disasters at Caubul and hurried home to -England, sorely anxious regarding the captivity of his brother George -amidst the Afghans. In London he had a grave relapse of illness, but was -sufficiently recovered by the autumn to start for India by the overland -route, after bidding a last farewell to his mother.</p> - -<p>During his sojourn in England of little more than two years, he left -upon every one who conversed with him a marked impression of his -originality, elasticity, animated conversation, brightness of spirit and -physical force. Those who saw him only when he was well, little thought -how suddenly he could become ill, and—erroneously, alas!—supposed him -to be a man of abounding health as well as strength. None, however, -foresaw his future greatness, or even predicted for him a career more -useful than that which is run by the many able and zealous men who are -found in the Indian service. This failure of prescience is the more -remarkable, because his elder brother Henry had long<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_024" id="page_024"></a>{24}</span> been designated by -admiring comrades as one of the heroes and statesmen of the future.</p> - -<p>He landed with his wife at Bombay towards the end of 1842, and thus -gained his first experience of Western India. Thence he travelled by -palanquin, at the rate of thirty miles a day, over the eight hundred -miles that separated him from Allahabad in the North-Western Provinces -to which he officially belonged. In the beginning of 1843 he marched at -the rate of ten miles a day in tents towards the Delhi territory, where -he was thankful to find employment. The tent-life in the bracing -winter-season of Upper India was very beneficial to him physically, and -he resumed work amidst his early associations in good health. With his -wife and young children he settled down to the routine of public life, -and girded himself for the discharge of ordinary duties. At Kurnal, not -far from Delhi, he made a searching and practical analysis of the causes -which produced a malarious and disabling sickness among the troops -stationed there. In 1844 he was appointed to the substantive post of -Magistrate and Collector of Delhi. While holding this appointment he -laid the foundation of his fortunes in public life. In November, 1845, -he first met the Governor-General, Lord Hardinge, who passed through -Delhi to join the army assembling near the Sutlej for the first Sikh -war. His bearing, conversation and subsequent proceedings, made a -lasting impression on the mind of the Governor-General, who ever -afterwards spoke and wrote of him as the ideal of what a civil officer -for India ought to be.</p> - -<p>He soon justified by deeds the high estimate thus<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_025" id="page_025"></a>{25}</span> formed respecting -him, for he was charged with the duty of finding transport for the siege -train with its heavy guns, stores and munitions from Delhi to the -battlefields on the bank of the Sutlej; and this transport was to -consist of four thousand carts with bullocks and drivers complete. He -furnished a signal instance of the manner whereby in India the civil -administration aids the army by providing transport in time of war. Such -transport, in quantities adequate for the service, cannot be obtained -without a really powerful organisation; during public emergency it can -by law be forcibly impressed, but when thus collected it is likely to -prove inefficient unless the civil authority makes such arrangements as -may secure the contentment of those from whom the vehicles and the -animals are hired: in this case his arrangements were practically -perfect. Within a very short time he so managed that all the thousands -of carts should be driven by their owners, who, for good hire, partly -paid in advance, became willing to undertake the service. He despatched -the long-extended train in complete order so that it arrived, without -any straggling or deserting, without the failure of a man, a wheel or a -bullock, in time for the battle of Sobraon. For the first time in his -life a public service had been demanded from him of definite importance, -requiring knowledge of the natives, aptitude for command and power of -organisation. He at once stepped to the very front as if to the manner -born. His capacity, too, was evinced in a large affair, wherein the -Governor-General from personal experience was peculiarly qualified to -adjudge the merit. So when, as a consequence of the war, the -Trans-Sutlej<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_026" id="page_026"></a>{26}</span> States were shorn from the Sikh kingdom and annexed to the -British dominions, he was appointed by Lord Hardinge to be the -Commissioner and Superintendent of the newly-acquired territory.</p> - -<p>He quitted his command at Delhi early in 1846, never dreaming of the -wonderful circumstances in which he was destined to resume it only -eleven short years later in 1857. Those who reflect on the reserve -force, the dormant capacity, the latent energy that existed within him, -might imagine poetically the surging thoughts that made his breast heave -as he drove or rode off from the bank of the Jumna with his face set -towards the bank of the Sutlej. But such was not his manner; if he had -leisure to meditate at all, he would have peered into the future with a -modest even a humble look, anticipating the disappointments rather than -the successes that might be in store for him. On his way, though at the -most favourable season of the year, he was seized with a sharp attack of -cholera. From that, however, he rallied quickly, and crossed the Sutlej -in sufficiently good health, and with buoyant spirits.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_027" id="page_027"></a>{27}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -<small>THE TRANS-SUTLEJ STATES</small><br /><br /> -<small>1846-1849</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">From</span> the last preceding chapter it has been seen that in March, 1846, -John Lawrence was appointed Commissioner of the territory, known -officially as the Trans-Sutlej States, and geographically as the -Jullundur Doab, containing thirteen thousand square miles and two and a -half millions of inhabitants. He thus became prefect of this -newly-annexed territory, which was placed not under any provincial -Government but under the immediate administration of the -Governor-General in Council. It was divided into three districts, with -district officers who were to exercise power as great as that which he -had possessed at Delhi, in some respects greater indeed, and he was in -command of them all. He was at the head of what was then the frontier -province of the empire, and under the eye of the Governor-General. His -foot was on the first step of the ladder which leads to greatness, but -it was quite doubtful whether he would succeed in mounting any further -steps. His temper was naturally masterful in that degree which is -essential to any considerable achievements in human affairs. This -quality in him had been fostered by his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_028" id="page_028"></a>{28}</span> service at Delhi. It had the -fullest play in his new province, which lay half at the base of the -Himalayas and half within the mountains. Below the hills he found the -territory fertile, the population sturdy, and the land with its -inhabitants like plastic clay to be moulded by his hand. Old-standing -wrongs were to be redressed, half-suppressed rights to be vindicated, -tenures to be settled, crimes to be stamped out, order to be introduced -not gradually but rapidly, law to be enforced in spirit if not in -letter, an administration to be rough-hewn after civilised models, -provincial finance to be managed; here, then, he was in his element. -This was, probably, the happiest time of his whole life, and the most -satisfactory portion of his long career. In after years he would recur -to it wistfully, when troubled by other surroundings and beset by other -circumstances. There he had quite his own way, and left his proper mark; -for in a few months he laid broadly and deeply the foundations of good -administration. Besides the civil business, there was other work -demanding his care. The province contained not only the rich and peopled -plain near the confluence of the Sutlej and the Beas, but also a -Himalayan region extending northwards to Tibet and held by mountaineer -chieftains; and he had to reduce this mountainous country also to -reasonable obedience. The results he attained in six months, that is -from March to August 1846, seem on a retrospect to be wonderful, and -prove with what method as well as force, what steadiness as well as -energy, what directness of aim, what adaptation of means to righteous -purposes, he must have laboured. Throughout these affairs he was in -direct and immediate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_029" id="page_029"></a>{29}</span> relations with the Government of India from whom -he received ample support. And he more than justified the confidence of -the Governor-General, Lord Hardinge, who had selected him.</p> - -<p>Though his new charge in the Trans-Sutlej States was distant not more -than two hundred miles from his old charge at Delhi,—which for -north-western India is a short distance—there was a change of scene. -Around Delhi and Paniput he had seen scenery as flat as that of northern -or south-eastern Europe in the basin, for instance, of the Elbe and the -Oder or of the Don and the Volga. No mountain wall, no abrupt peak, no -wooded eminence, broke for him the monotony of outline, or bounded his -horizon which ran in a complete circle like the horizon at sea. But in -the Trans-Sutlej States on a fine winter’s morn, his northern horizon of -the plains was bounded by a glittering wall of the snowy Himalayas, a -sight which, when beheld by Europeans for the first time, so affects -them that they instinctively raise their hats to the peerless mountains. -Within the lower hills, which are outworks of the greater ranges, he -rode up and down stony bridle-paths or across the sandy beds of -summer-torrents, and gazed at hill-forts on stiff heights, or on castles -like that of Kot-Kangra rising proudly from the midst of ravines with -precipitous surroundings. Penetrating further northwards he reached -mountains, with fir-woods bounded by snow, which reminded him of his -Alpine tour only four years ago, and thought how short that interval -was, and yet how much had happened to him within it. Though not -specially sensitive to the beauties of Nature, he would yet dilate with -something near enthusiasm on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_030" id="page_030"></a>{30}</span> vale of Dhurmsala, with its cultivated -slopes, intersected by a net-work of artificial rivulets or murmuring -brooks, and surrounded by forests of oak and pine, while above the scene -there towered the everlasting snows that look down upon the transient -littleness of man. But he lingered not in any scene, however glorious, -for his heart was with the swarthy population under his charge in the -hot and dusty plains below.</p> - -<p>In August, 1846, he was called away to Lahore to act for his brother -Henry as British Resident with the Regency of the Punjab. Here he had a -fresh field of action, which though nominally new was yet one where his -experience of native life enabled him to enter at once with full effect. -He was temporarily the agent of the paramount British power in a Native -State, torn by restless and incompatible factions, and possessing the -<i>débris</i> of a warlike power that had been shattered by British arms in -recent campaigns. He was, however, acting for his brother absent on -leave, on whose lines he loyally worked. But though he had no chance of -showing originality, he yet evinced capacity for that which in India is -called political work, and which though cognate to, is yet distinct -from, civil administration.</p> - -<p>He resumed charge of his province, the Trans-Sutlej States, by the end -of 1846, and consolidated his work there during the first half of 1847. -But in August of that year he was again called to act for Henry at -Lahore, who had proceeded on sick leave to England. By this time a -further arrangement had been made, placing the supervision of the -Punjab, during the minority of the Native Prince, under the British -Resident. Consequently during this his second incumbency at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_031" id="page_031"></a>{31}</span> Lahore he -enjoyed a largely extended authority, and the evidence he gave of -capacity increased together with his opportunities. He remained at -Lahore from the middle of 1847 to the spring of 1848, when he made over -his political charge to Sir Frederick Currie, and returned to his -province in the Trans-Sutlej States. During this time his friend Lord -Hardinge had been succeeded by Lord Dalhousie as Governor-General. -Hardly had he resumed the civil command of his province when the -rebellion broke out at Mooltan in the southern Punjab, and spread over -the whole country west of Lahore. During the events which followed, -throughout 1848 and up to the spring of 1849, and which have been -regarded by history as constituting the second Punjab War, he held his -provincial command with characteristic vigour. The rebellious fire in -the Punjab sent many sparks into the inflammable materials in the -hill-districts of his jurisdiction. Newly subdued chiefs, occupying -mountainous territories, showed their teeth, and there was anxiety for -the safety of Kot-Kangra, the famous hill-fort which was the key of the -surrounding country; but in an instant he seemed to be ubiquitous. With -scanty resources in troops, and with hastily raised levies, he struck -blows which prevented insurrection from making head. Throughout the war -his Trans-Sutlej province, occupying a critical position between the -elder British dominions and the Punjab, was kept well in hand.</p> - -<p>In the beginning of 1849 he repaired to Lahore to confer with Henry, who -had come back from England and resumed charge of the Residency. He -remained in close communication with his brother till after the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_032" id="page_032"></a>{32}</span> -termination of the war by the battle of Gujerat in February of that -year. In March he went on his brother’s behalf to Ferozepur, whither the -Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, had come in order to determine the -fate of the Punjab. There he met Lord Dalhousie for the first time, and -discussed with him the principal matters connected with the annexation -of the country—not the policy of annexing, for that had really been -determined, but rather the best way of carrying that measure into -effect. The conference being verbal and confidential, the substance -cannot be given; but he certainly advised the Governor-General that if -annexation was to be decreed there was not a moment to be lost, for in -the first place the spring crops, the main sources of the land revenue, -were ripening for harvest, and the Government interests would be -sacrificed by delay; and in the second place, the hot weather was coming -on apace, and very few weeks remained wherein the British officers could -possibly move about and establish order in the country. This valuable -and withal characteristic advice of his must have carried due weight -with Lord Dalhousie.</p> - -<p>The Punjab being annexed immediately afterwards, he was appointed a -member of the Board of Administration of which Henry was President. The -Board was constituted for managing the country, though the powers of the -Government were reserved for the Governor-General in Council; but its -functions were comprehensive and he was an important member of it.</p> - -<p>He was now on the threshold of Anglo-Indian greatness, with nineteen -years’ standing in the service, including two years of furlough in -England. For some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_033" id="page_033"></a>{33}</span> time his health had been fairly good; he was in the -zenith of strength and in the prime of life; he was happy in his -domestic circumstances; he was as yet on good terms officially with his -eminent brother Henry as he ever was privately. He had shown himself to -be perfectly equipped for civil administration, competent for extended -command, able in dealing with political contingencies, active in the -field as well as laborious in the cabinet, prompt in suppressing -disturbance, equal to grave emergency. Nevertheless he had not up to -this time conceived any idea of a great future being in store for him. -He had seen men of signal power, whom he reverently regarded, leave -India without reward or external honour, although their fame might live -for generations in the hearts of many millions, and he hardly expected -any different issue for himself.</p> - -<p>At the present stage the main points may be reviewed in his public -character which by this time had been cast in its lasting mould. The -basis and framework of his nature assuredly belonged to what is -familiarly known as the British type. The earliest influences brought to -bear upon him had been English absolutely, and the effect, thus produced -at the most impressionable age, abided with him to the end. Later on, -however, a quality developed itself in him which is not especially -English, namely caution. This he derived, no doubt, from his mother’s -Scottish blood. He was an extremely cautious man, and obeyed the -dictates of caution up to the utmost reasonable limit. Whenever he acted -in a dashing and daring manner—as he sometimes had to do—it was only -after a cool, even though a rapid, review of diverse considerations. He -thought that as a race the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_034" id="page_034"></a>{34}</span> English are incautious, even impatient in -time of energetic action, and apt to feel too secure and self-sufficing -in time of quiet. When preparing instructions for a possible emergency, -he would often say that they must be so framed as to guard against the -over-impetuous disposition of our countrymen in the presence of danger. -As a cognate quality to caution, he had forethought in the highest -degree. In all considerable affairs he habitually disciplined his mind -to think out the probable or possible future, to perceive beforehand -what might or might not happen, to conjure up the contingencies which -might arise, to anticipate the various turns which events might take. -This faculty must, indeed, be possessed more or less by all who achieve -anything great in public life; but probably few men ever possessed it in -a higher degree than he. For ill-digested policy, or hastily judged -action, or inconsiderate rashness, he had nothing but pity and contempt. -With such a temperament as this he would willingly, indeed anxiously, -listen to all that could be said on the several sides of every question, -collate the opinions of others, and gather local knowledge before making -up his own mind. After that, however, his mind would be made up -decisively without further delay, and would be followed by action with -all his might. Thus he became essentially a man of strong opinions, and -was then self-reliant absolutely. The test of a first-rate man, as -distinguished from ordinary men, is the fitness to walk alone; that was -his favourite expression, meaning doubtless the exercise of undivided -responsibility. Thus he was masterful in temperament. He would yield -obedience readily to those whom he was bound to obey, but would quickly -chafe<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_035" id="page_035"></a>{35}</span> if the orders he received were couched in inconsiderate terms. He -would co-operate cordially with those from whom he had no right to -expect more than co-operation; but he always desired to be placed in -positions where he would be entitled to command. Though not thirsting -for power in the ordinary sense of the term, he never at any stage of -his career felt that he had power enough for his work and his -responsibilities. He certainly complained often on this score. His -confidence in the justice of his own views was complete, because he knew -that he had thought them out, and was conscious of being gifted with the -power of thinking. Still he was not aggressively dogmatic, nor -uncharitable to contrary opinions on the part of others, but rather -forbearing. He would modestly say that these opinions of theirs should -be respected, but his own view was formed, and he must act upon it. -Hesitancy might be desirable during the stage of deliberation, but was -not, in his mind, permissible when once the conclusions had been -reached, for then it must give place to promptitude in action.</p> - -<p>He had one faculty which is characteristic of the best English type, -namely, the power of judging evenly and calmly in regard to the merits -or demerits of those with whom he had to deal. Without undue -predilection he would note the faults or failings of those who on the -whole had his admiration. Equally without prejudice he would make -allowance for the weakness of those whom he reprobated, and would -recollect any countervailing virtue. He was ready to condone errors in -those who were zealous for the public service. But to those who were -lacking in desire for the performance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_036" id="page_036"></a>{36}</span> of duty he would show no -consideration, notwithstanding any gifts or accomplishments which they -might possess. In holding a just balance between virtues and faults in -others, or estimating with discrimination the diverse moral and -intellectual qualities of those who were responsible to him, he has -rarely, if ever, been surpassed. It almost necessarily follows that he -was a keen observer and an accurate judge of character in all with whom -he came in contact. He was inclined to believe more in men than in -measures. Almost any plan, he would say, will answer with good men to -execute it, with such men even an inferior system will succeed; but with -bad or indifferent men to work it, the best system will fail.</p> - -<p>While the basis of his disposition was British, still there was in him -an Irish element. His heart was with Ulster, and in his hardest times he -would recur to the defence of Londonderry. He was often humorous, -vivacious and laughter-loving, to a degree which is not usual with -Britons of so rough and hard a fibre as his. He was frequently grave and -silent; his temper, too, though very good in reality, was not mild, and -occasionally might seem to be irascible; nevertheless when at his ease, -or off his guard, he would relax at once into smiles and witticisms. If -wrapped up in preoccupation of thought—as was but too often the -case—he must needs be serious. But if not preoccupied, he would look -forth upon the world around him, men, things, animals and objects -generally, with a genial desire to gain amusement from them all, and to -express that amusement in racy terms to any friend or companion who -might be with him. As he moved along a thoroughfare<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_037" id="page_037"></a>{37}</span> of traffic or the -streets of a city, his talk sparkled like a hill-stream flowing freshly -over a stony bed. His wit was abundantly seasoned by the use of -metaphor. His figures of speech were drawn not only from his native West -but from the East of his adoption. His <i>repertoire</i> and vocabulary were -thus enriched from Oriental resources which abound in imagery. He had in -early years acquired not a scholar-like but a competent knowledge of -Persian. Thus he was able to apply the similes, the tropes, the quirks -of that flowery language to passing objects in a manner which moved -everyone European or Native to laughter. He had an amazing memory for -tales of real life, in the East chiefly, and these he would on occasion -narrate in a vivid or graphic style.</p> - -<p>Beneath a rough-hewn exterior there flowed an undercurrent of gentleness -and tenderness which he reserved for his home. In his domestic life he -was thoroughly happy, and fortunate beyond the average lot of mankind. -This had a quieting and softening effect upon him amidst the distraction -and excitement of active life. Never having studied art of any kind, or -paid any attention to music and painting, he would not idealize -anything, nor take an artistic view of the grand and glorious objects in -Nature that often met his eye. But if such an object affected military -or political combinations—as for instance a precipitous defile, a bluff -headland, a treacherous river-passage, a rockbound ravine—then he would -describe it with eloquent, even poetic, illustrations.</p> - -<p>He had by nature an acute and far-reaching eyesight, which, however, in -middle life became impaired by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_038" id="page_038"></a>{38}</span> excessive reading both in print and -manuscript. But this reading of his ranged for the most part over -official papers only. He read but little of literature generally,—that -little, however, would be in the heroic mould, something that related to -the struggles of ancient Rome, or her contest with Carthage, or the -marches of Alexander the Great, or the stirring episodes of Irish -history, or the English policy of Cromwell, or the travels of -Livingstone. His classical lore extended to Latin only; he knew but -little of Greek and rarely alluded to the efforts of Athens or Sparta. -To the Book of books he turned daily; with its more than mortal -eloquence he had by reverent study familiarised himself. As a steadfast -member of the Church of England, he had passages from the Church -Services read to him constantly. For all other books, too, he would, if -possible, find some one to read aloud, being anxious to spare his eyes. -Had he not lived always in official harness, he would have been -adventurous, for he loved to collate and describe the adventures of -others. Had his leisure sufficed, he would have been a reader of the -fine romances with which our literature is adorned. But he could only -enjoy a few selected works, and his choice fell chiefly on the novels of -Walter Scott. The finest of these would be read out to him in evenings -at home, because, among other reasons, they reminded him of his visit to -Scotland in 1841.</p> - -<p>His pen was that of a ready as well as a busy writer, though in all his -life he never wrote a line of literary composition. His writing was -either official or what is called demi-official. In the Delhi territory -his extensive correspondence was mainly in the vernacular, for which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_039" id="page_039"></a>{39}</span> -native amanuenses were employed. In the Trans-Sutlej States it was -largely in English, and had to be conducted by his own hand. In the -still higher offices which he was now to fill, the services of -secretaries are available, and he needed seldom to write long despatches -or minutes. Some few reports, however, he did write, and these are -marked throughout by a clear, straightforward and forcible style; the -salient features in a situation, the points in the character of a -person, the elements in a political combination, being sketched offhand -in a simple but telling manner, and even with some degree of picturesque -effect. The excellence in these reports of his, few and far between, -attracted Lord Dalhousie’s notice. He never was content with -communicating his views and wishes officially, but would usually -reinforce his public instructions with private letters. He wrote -privately to all officers of importance whom he wished to impress with -his sentiments. He encouraged them to write to him and he invariably -answered their letters. Distance, separation and other circumstances, -render it necessary to employ writing more largely in India than in any -other country, and certainly his writing was enormous in quantity as -well as varied in interest. Copies were kept of his countless letters, -filling many volumes. Still every letter was short and decisive, for he -tried to spare words and to array his meaning in the most succinct form. -But his extant correspondence is almost entirely of a public nature. The -series of his private letters to his sister Letitia is stated to have -been deliberately destroyed. At the time now under reference the -electric telegraph had not been introduced into India; after its -introduction<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_040" id="page_040"></a>{40}</span> he seized on this new means of communication, the brevity -of which suited his temperament. In the years between 1856 and 1859 -probably no man in the world sent off so many telegrams as he. He had no -practice whatever for public speaking in English, but he could address a -limited audience of Natives, either civil or military, in the vernacular -with point and effect.</p> - -<p>Though never courting applause, and ready to incur odium for the sake of -duty, he was not indifferent to the good opinion of others. With all his -reserve, he was more sensitive to sympathy or to estrangement than was, -perhaps, commonly supposed. He had not, during the middle stage of his -career, much to do with the Press or the organs of public opinion. He -was strict in demanding from all men a more than ordinary standard of -work and of exertion, setting an example by his own practice. He was -guarded, even chary, in awarding praise; still for real desert he always -had the good word which was spoken in season and was valued accordingly. -He never forgot that by training and profession he was a Covenanted -Civil Servant, first of the East Indian Company and then of the Crown. -No member of the Covenanted Civil Service was ever more jealous of its -traditions, more proud of its repute, than he. No officer ever laboured -harder than he to learn civil business proper, as distinguished from all -other kinds of business. Yet he was by instinct and temper a soldier, -and was ever studying martial affairs or acquiring military knowledge. -He would familiarly speak of himself as the son of a soldier and the -brother of three soldiers. Herbert Edwardes of Peshawur, who knew him -well and was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_041" id="page_041"></a>{41}</span> competent judge on such a subject, wrote of him as a man -of real military genius.</p> - -<p>The crowning grace of his rough-hewn character was a simplicity, the -genuine result of single-mindedness. The light of religion shed a gentle -radiance over his whole life and conversation. For him, too, the path of -religious duty was brightened by his wife’s example.</p> - -<p>The habits of his daily life are worth mentioning, as they were -originally and as they became afterwards. Up to the present time, 1849, -he always rose early, and by sunrise all the year round was on horseback -or on foot. Returning home before the sun was high in the heaven, he did -some of his best work indoors before breakfast. This work would be -continued all day till late in the afternoon, when he would be again out -of doors until nightfall. After that he would refrain from work and -retire early. As he had duty out of doors as well as indoors, this -routine was very suitable to the public service and preserved the <i>mens -sana in corpore sano</i>. It was kept up by him after 1849 whenever he was -on the march or in camp, for several months in every year, though he -would sometimes drive in a gig or a carriage where formerly he would -have ridden or walked. But it became gradually intermitted when he was -in quarters, that is when he was stationary under a roof, owing to -illness and to the consequent diminution of physical force. He would -then go out in the early morning if there was anything to be done, such -as the inspecting of public works or the visiting of institutions. But -if he did not move out, still he would be at work in his study very soon -after sunrise at all seasons. At no time, however, did he fail to be in -the open air at eventide<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_042" id="page_042"></a>{42}</span> when the sun was low. He was temperate and -abstemious, and he advocated moderation, believing that in a hot climate -the European constitution is apt to suffer not only from the use of -stimulants but also from excess of animal food.</p> - -<p>The mode of his work changed as years rolled on. Up to this time, 1849, -he had to listen and talk more, to read and write less; and for his -constitution this was the best. But after 1849, the process became -reversed by degrees, and he had to read and write very much, which was -detrimental to him. In official diligence and regularity, distributed -evenly over the whole range and course of business, he has never been -excelled and rarely equalled. In the power of despatching affairs of all -sorts great and small, ordinary and emergent, in perfect style for all -practical purposes, he was a master hand. When he had risen to high -office with a secretariat staff at his disposal, his ordinary method was -in this wise. As he read a long despatch or reference he inscribed short -marginal notes as his eye passed on from paragraph to paragraph; or if -the reference was a short one in a folded letter, he would in the fewest -words endorse his opinion on the outer fold. From the marginal notes or -from the endorsements his secretaries would prepare the despatches in -draft, and the drafts in all important cases would be submitted for his -approval. The number of despatches which within a few hours would come -back from him with his marks on them to the secretariat was astonishing. -Again in the largest matters he had a masterly manner of explaining -verbally to a secretary the substance of what was to be written and -touching on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_043" id="page_043"></a>{43}</span> various points. He would thus indicate orally in a few -minutes a course of argument which must for the secretary occupy some -hours in order to express it all in writing. But though no statesman -ever knew better how to make a full use of the secretariat, still he -bore even in writing his full share, and his secretaries entirely joined -in the admiration felt for him by the world at large. Indeed they -esteemed him the most because they knew him the best. Though no longer -brought into hourly intercourse with the Natives all day, he yet kept up -the habit of conversing with them, of receiving visits from them, of -listening to petitions, of gathering information even from the humblest -regarding the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows of the people. While -anxious to consult the views and wishes of the upper classes, he was -resolved that the industrial masses of the population should be cared -for. He dissented from the opinion which has been sometimes held that -gratitude finds no place in the Oriental vocabulary. Give the Natives -something to be grateful for, he would say, and they will shew gratitude -fast enough.</p> - -<p>His appearance was much in accord with the character which has thus been -sketched. He was above the middle height, with a broad and powerful -frame, a forward-gait and a strong stride; though, alas, care, labour -and sickness, as years rolled on, reduced the frame and lessened its -activity. His head was massive, his brow open, his face lined and -furrowed, his eye grey and piercing but somewhat small, his hair -originally dark but slightly silvered even in middle life, his -complexion somewhat sunburnt. His expression was that of majestic -simplicity, but when in repose he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_044" id="page_044"></a>{44}</span> had an air of solemnity. His voice in -ordinary talk was neither loud nor deep, but under strong emotion it -could resound powerfully. The most noteworthy feature was his mouth; for -though it might be closely set while the mind was working, yet in -moments of ease it was mobile, and constantly opened with a natural -grace for smiles, or laughter, or the play of wit and fancy. Withal he -was of that rugged type, sometimes termed Cromwellian by his friends, -which affords some of the fittest subjects for the painter or the -sculptor.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_045" id="page_045"></a>{45}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -<small>PUNJAB BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION</small><br /><br /> -<small>1849-1853</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> the preceding chapters we have followed the development of John -Lawrence’s character amidst his personal surroundings, without dwelling -upon the condition of the provinces in which he served. But in this -chapter and in the succeeding chapter, we must note specifically the -status and the progress of the great Province in which he is engaged. He -is now in a commanding position, certainly; but the crisis of his life -is not yet come. Against that crisis he is unconsciously to make ready -himself and his province. He is to set his house in order straightway, -because on such ordering must depend the ability of the Punjab for doing -that which it was required to do eight years later. Upon that supreme -ability, on the part of him and his at the crucial moment, hung the fate -of British dominion in the most important part of the Indian empire. The -warship of the Punjab is now in sight, that ship which is not only to -brave the battle and the breeze, bearing her own wounds, but is also to -tow her wounded, battered, half-disabled consort into the haven of -safety. It is well, then, for us to see how she was designed, welded<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_046" id="page_046"></a>{46}</span> -compactly, built in water-tight compartments, launched and sent to sea.</p> - -<p>Further, though John Lawrence has a commanding position, he is not yet -in sole command of the Punjab administration. It is necessary to recount -the circumstances whereby he came to be vested locally with that single -and individual authority which he wielded with immense effect, during -the crisis to be described hereafter.</p> - -<p>It has been seen, then, that the Board of Administration for the Punjab -was constituted by Lord Dalhousie in March, 1849. Henry Lawrence was -President of the Board, and John was his colleague. A third member was -also appointed, but after a short time he went away. The successor was -Robert Montgomery, who had been the schoolfellow of the two Lawrences at -Foyle College and a friend to them both equally. He was the one man in -whom each of them would confide, when they differed with one another. -Henry would, in his differences with John, open his heart to Montgomery. -John too would speak of Montgomery as his bhai or brother. In addition -to sterner qualities, the signal display of which will be seen -hereafter, Montgomery possessed all those qualities which are needed for -a peacemaker and mediator. His position at the Board, then, in -conjunction with the two Lawrences was most fortunate. He had the art of -making business move smoothly, rapidly and pleasantly. For the two -brothers did, as will be explained presently, differ not privately nor -fraternally but officially. When differences arise between two such -eminent persons as these, each of them must naturally have his own -adherents, especially<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_047" id="page_047"></a>{47}</span> as Henry was a military Officer in Staff employ -and John a Covenanted Civil Servant, or in simpler phrase the former was -a soldier and the latter a civilian. Consequently something like party -spirit arose which never was very acute and which has perhaps, under the -influence of time, died away. To attempt any description of Henry -Lawrence here would be to travel beyond the purpose of this book. But he -cannot, even here, be wholly dissociated from the present account of -John’s career. In order to avoid the semblance of passing over or -disparaging Henry, it may suffice now to state briefly and summarily -what he was in 1849, and what he continued to be up to his untimely and -lamented death in 1857. This may preferably be done now, before the -necessity arrives for explaining the difference (respecting certain -public affairs only) which arose between him and his brother.</p> - -<p>Henry Lawrence, then, was a man of talent, of poetic temper, of -sentiment, of meteoric energy, and of genius. Though destitute of -external gifts and graces, he yet possessed qualities which were inner -gifts and graces of the soul, and which acted powerfully upon men. From -his spirit an effulgence radiated through an ever-widening circle of -friends and acquaintances. Being truly lovable, he was not only popular -but beloved both among Europeans and Natives. He was generous almost to -a fault, and compassionately philanthropic. Indeed his nature was aglow -with the enthusiasm of humanity. As might perhaps be expected, he was -quick-tempered and over-sensitive. His conversational powers were -brilliant, and his literary aptitude was considerable, though needing -more culture for perfect<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_048" id="page_048"></a>{48}</span> development. His capacity for some important -kinds of affairs was vast. In emergencies demanding a combination of -military, political and civil measures he has never been surpassed in -India. He was mortally wounded by a shell when at the height of his -usefulness. Had he lived to confront national danger in its extremity, -he would have proved himself to be one of the ablest and greatest men -that ever went forth from the shores of England to vindicate the British -cause in the East. As a civil governor he had some but not all of the -necessary qualifications. He had knowledge, wide and deep, of the Indian -people, sympathy with their hopes and fears, tenderness for their -prejudices, an abiding sense of justice towards them and an ardent -desire for their welfare. He had that mastery of topographical details -which is very desirable in administration. He was zealous in promoting -public improvement and material development. He had a clear insight into -character, and knew perfectly how to select men after his own heart. -These he would attach to himself as disciples to a master. But in a -civil capacity he had several defects. Though he could despatch affairs -spasmodically, he was unsystematic almost unmethodical in business. -Though he might make a system succeed in a certain way while he and his -<i>alumni</i> lived or remained present to exercise control, yet he would not -have been able to carry measures of complexity and establish them on -foundations to stand the test of time. Moreover he was not, and never -could have become, a financier; indeed he was not sufficiently alive to -financial considerations. Great things have indeed been sometimes -accomplished by statesmen and by nations in disregard, even in -contravention,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_049" id="page_049"></a>{49}</span> of financial principles; yet he might as a civil -governor, if uncontrolled, have run the State ship into danger in this -respect. Then being by nature impetuous, and possessed with ideas in -themselves noble, he was hard to be controlled.</p> - -<p>This short digression is necessary, in order to do justice to a great -and good man who is indissolubly connected with the subject of this -book.</p> - -<p>The Board of Administration, then, composed of these three men began, -founded and built up an administration, which lasted without -interruption till 1857, and was the most brilliant that has ever been -seen in India. They had co-ordinate authority, and ostensibly acted in -solidarity. But among themselves there was a division of labour in -ordinary matters: that is to say, Henry took the political and military -departments, John the financial and fiscal including the land -settlements, Montgomery the judicial and the police; while on important -matters pertaining to any department whatever, each of the three members -had his voice, the majority of course prevailing. If figuratively Henry -was the heart of the Board and Montgomery its arm, then John was -veritably its backbone.</p> - -<p>Accordingly John had his headquarters permanently fixed at Lahore, and -he straightway proceeded to build himself a home there. He found it to -be really a Mahommedan city, the ancient capital of Moslem dynasties -from Central Asia, which had been retained by the Sikhs as their -political centre, while their national and religious centre was at -Amritsar, some thirty miles off. Its noble mosques, its fortress-palace, -its imperial tombs, must have brought back to his mind<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_050" id="page_050"></a>{50}</span> the associations -of Delhi. At this time, 1849-50, he was in full health and strength; -alas, these were the last years of unimpaired comfort physically that he -was ever to enjoy. Those who saw in after years the iron resolution and -the energy which even sickness could not subdue, can imagine the -magnificent vigour he threw at this time into the work of pacifying a -much disturbed province, reducing it to order and calling forth its -resources.</p> - -<p>There is not space here to describe the territories under the Board of -Administration. Suffice it to say that the British territories comprised -the Cis and Trans-Sutlej States and the Punjab proper, or the basins of -the Indus and its affluents, together with Native States on the east of -the Sutlej, and in the Himalayan region, including the famous valley of -Cashmere. The name Punjab, a Persian word denoting five-waters, refers -to this river-system. The total area of all kinds amounted to one -hundred and thirty-five thousand square miles, and the population to -just twenty millions; both area and population being exclusive of the -Cashmere kingdom. The climate is much the same as that of the Delhi -territory already described, except that the winter is sharper and -longer while the autumn is more feverish. The people, consisting chiefly -of Moslems and Sikhs, was quite the strongest, manliest and sturdiest -that the British had ever had to deal with in India. On two sides the -country was bordered by British districts, and on one side by the -Himalayas. So far, then, the circumstances were favourable. But on the -front or western side, the border touched on Afghanistan for eight -hundred miles, and was the most arduous frontier in the Eastern empire.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_051" id="page_051"></a>{51}</span></p> - -<p>The administration, known as that of the Lawrences in the Punjab, was in -its day famous throughout India, and those engaged in it were too busy -to reflect upon its characteristics. But after the lapse of a whole -generation, or more than thirty years, a retrospect of that epoch may be -calmly taken in a summary divested of technicalities.</p> - -<p>In 1852 the Board caused a report to be drawn up of their -administration; which is known in Indian history as “The First Punjab -Report.” But it would not now suffice to state, in the words of this -document, that internal peace had been preserved, the frontier guarded, -and the various establishments of the State organised; that violent -crime had been repressed, the penal law executed, and prison discipline -enforced; that civil justice had been administered in a simple and -popular manner; the taxation readjusted and the revenue system reformed; -that commerce had been set free, agriculture fostered, the national -resources developed, and plans for future improvement projected.</p> - -<p>Some further explanation is needed to indicate the true position of the -Board in the administrative annals of India. For, together with due -acknowledgment of the zeal, capacity and knowledge, evinced in all these -cardinal matters, it must yet be remembered that these are the very -matters which have always been undertaken either promptly or tardily, -and with more or less of success, by every administration in every -province that has within this century been added to the Indian empire. -Nevertheless the Punjab Board had an unsurpassed, perhaps even an -unequalled merit; and it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_052" id="page_052"></a>{52}</span> is well to note exactly in what that merit -consisted; for through this merit alone was the province subdued, -pacified and organised in time, so as to be prepared for the political -storm which it was destined to confront within eight short years. Time -indeed was an essential element in the grand preparation. Upon this -preparedness, as we shall see hereafter, the issue was to depend, either -for victory or for wide-spread disaster, to the British cause in -Northern India.</p> - -<p>Now the Board showed its statesmanship because it did straightway, -almost out of hand, with comparative completeness, that which others had -done elsewhere by degrees at first and sometimes incompletely at last. -To enjoin authoritatively the carrying out of such measures and to -describe them when carried out may be comparatively easy; but to carry -them out all at once in a new province under strange conditions, and in -the teeth of innumerable obstacles, is hard indeed. Yet this is what the -Board actually accomplished. It set to work simultaneously upon varied -and intricate subjects, which other authorities elsewhere had been -content, or else had been forced, to undertake by degrees, or piecemeal -one by one according to opportunities in the course of years. But to the -Board every week was precious and every month was eventful. It thus -managed to effect, in a short span of years, as much as had been -effected elsewhere in two or more decades. It is indeed but too easily -conceivable that work done with rapid energy may result in imperfections -injuring the effect of the whole. But the Board’s operations were -masterly in conception, thorough in foundation, business-like in -details. So far the work has never been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_053" id="page_053"></a>{53}</span> excelled and seldom rivalled in -other provinces, either before or since that era.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, the Board enjoyed several advantages which were -almost unique. Its genius was partly shown in this that such advantages -were seized, grasped tightly and turned to the best use. A mass of -valuable experience has been garnered up amidst the older provinces, and -was available for guidance or encouragement. Thus many projects became -demonstrably practicable as well as desirable, which might otherwise -have been disputable or untenable. The Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, -having annexed the Punjab, had justly the strongest motives for ensuring -speedy success for the administration of the province. He had at his -disposal the imperial resources, and these were consequently placed at -the disposal of the Board to an extent which has never been seen in any -other Indian province. Again, there was something in the strategic -position, the historic repute, and in the internal circumstances of the -Punjab, to attract the idiosyncrasy of the Anglo-Indian Services; -therefore able and aspiring men were willing to volunteer for service -there, even with all its risks and hardships. Among the internal -circumstances was the national character of the inhabitants, who were -known to be sturdier and straighter than those of other provinces, and -were expected to present more fully a <i>tabula rasa</i>, for the proceedings -of British rule. The Board had an insight into character, and a faculty -for choosing men for the administration. Believing its own reputation, -as well as the public good, to depend on this choice, it pursued the -object with circumspection and single-mindedness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_054" id="page_054"></a>{54}</span> Though India is -essentially the land of administrators, yet no governing body in any -province has ever possessed at one time so many subordinates with -talents applicable to so many branches, as the Board had for several -years.</p> - -<p>Thus the Board owed something to its auspicious star, but still more to -its own innate power and inherent aptitude.</p> - -<p>Apart from the general administration, some few measures may be noticed -here as being peculiar to the Punjab. The first step after annexation -was the disbandment of the late Sikh army. The men had been drawn -chiefly from the class of peasant proprietors. They now reverted to the -ancestral holdings, where their rights and interests were found to be -secured by British arrangements. They were disarmed on being discharged, -and no swords were left to be turned into ploughshares. But they settled -down at once to agriculture, which was at that time more prosperous and -profitable that it had ever been within living memory. Next, the people -at large, by a disarming proclamation, were required to give up their -arms. This they did without hesitation and almost without fail. Their -minds had been overawed by the British victories and their spirit -stupefied by recent defeat. This general disarming tended to the -immediate pacification of the province, and ultimately proved of -priceless advantage during the crisis which supervened eight years -afterwards. If at that moment any men were disposed to raise their hands -against us, they had no weapons to wield.</p> - -<p>Then, defensive arrangements were made for the Trans-Indus Frontier, -running as it did for full eight<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_055" id="page_055"></a>{55}</span> hundred miles at the base of the -mountains which surround the valley of Peshawur and then stretching -southwards, separate India from Afghanistan. The British border, thus -formed, was itself inhabited by wild Moslem races, and was subject to -incursions from still fiercer tribes dwelling in the adjacent hills. To -guard this long-extended frontier a special body of troops, some twelve -thousand men horse and foot, was organised and styled “The Punjab -Frontier Force”; and it was placed not under the Commander-in-Chief of -the Army, but under the Board of Administration. This frontier service -immediately became an object of ambition to the European officers of the -army as affording a school for soldiers and a field for distinction. -Consequently the Board were able to draw from the ranks of the regular -army many of the most promising officers of the day. The Native soldiers -were recruited from among the most martial tribes in the border -mountains, and the Native officers were chosen for personal merit and -social status. Indeed this Force became perhaps the finest body of -Native troops ever arrayed under British banners in India. As will be -seen hereafter, it was able within eight years from this time to render -signal service to the empire during the War of the Mutinies. In these -arrangements the experience and talent of Henry Lawrence were -conspicuously valuable.</p> - -<p>Works of material improvement were at once to be undertaken in all parts -of the province, and the Board were fortunate in being able to obtain -for the direction of these operations the services of Major Robert -Napier—now Lord Napier of Magdala.</p> - -<p>In those days, before the introduction of railways,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_056" id="page_056"></a>{56}</span> the primary object -was to construct the main trunk lines of roads. Such a trunk line had -already been constructed through the older provinces from Calcutta to -Delhi, a distance of about twelve hundred miles. The Board decided to -continue this line from Delhi to Peshawur, a further distance of eight -hundred miles. The viaducts over the Five Rivers were to be postponed, -but the bridging of all lesser streams in the champaign country was to -be undertaken, and especially a good passage made through the rugged -region between the Jhelum and the Indus. At the outset, hopes were -entertained that the Five Rivers would become the water-highways between -this inland province and the coast, and be navigated by vessels with -much steam power and yet with light draught. But there was difficulty -for some years in building suitable vessels for service in the shifting -and shallow channels; and in the end this idea vanished before the -railway system which was advancing from the east.</p> - -<p>In the land of the Five Rivers artificial irrigation occupied a -prominent place. A new canal was now undertaken, to be drawn from the -river Ravi, near the base of the Himalayas. It was to water the -territory near Lahore the political capital, and Amritsar the religious -centre, of the Sikhs. This territory was the home of the Sikh -nationality and the most important part of the Punjab.</p> - -<p>A feudal system had existed under the Sikh rule and ramified over the -whole country. The status of the Native aristocracy depended mainly upon -it. This system was absorbing much of the State resources, and could not -be maintained under British rule. Its abolition gave rise to individual -claims of intricacy, even of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_057" id="page_057"></a>{57}</span> delicacy. These had to be treated -generously and considerately so far as such treatment might consist with -the policy itself, and with the just interests of public finance. In -this department the kindly influence of Henry Lawrence was especially -felt, and he did much to bridge over the gulf between Native and British -rule.</p> - -<p>In the civil administration the Board desired that, in the first -instance at least, the forms of British procedure should be simplified, -cheap, speedy and substantial justice dispensed, and affairs conducted -after what was termed the patriarchal model. The native races here were -more frank in their utterance, more open in their demeanour, more direct -in all their ways, than is usual in most parts of India. Every European -officer was directed to cultivate from the outset a friendly -understanding with them, so as to banish all sense of strangeness from -their minds, and to make them feel at home and at ease under the British -rule. This object is indeed aimed at universally in India, but it was -attained with unrivalled success in the Punjab, and thereby was laid the -foundation of that popular contentment which stood the Government in -good stead during the season of dire trial eight years later in 1857.</p> - -<p>The intense application, bestowed by the Board on many diverse subjects -simultaneously, aggravated the toils of the members. But they derived -relief and benefit from the division of labour (already mentioned) -whereby for ordinary business the political and military branches were -allotted to Henry, the fiscal and financial to John, the judicial to -Montgomery.</p> - -<p>In the fiscal department John found the noblest sphere for his special -ability, because herein was included<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_058" id="page_058"></a>{58}</span> the settlement of the land -revenue, the all-important scope of which has been explained in a -preceding chapter. Then despite his unfavourable recollections of Etawah -in 1838-39, he must have looked back with some gratitude to that place -which had given him priceless experience in settlement-work. Here he -was, happily for the Punjab, at home and in his element; as a -consequence the field-survey, the assessment of the land-tax, the -adjudication of rights and interests, the registration of tenures, were -conducted with admirable completeness, promptitude and efficiency. He -well knew that such operations were not likely to be turned out complete -offhand; the affairs themselves were novel both to the officials and to -the people; errors, failures, oversights, would occur, but he would have -them rectified, again and again, until at last after re-constructing, -re-casting, re-writing,—a full, accurate and abiding result was -obtained. This cardinal operation has been one of the first cares of the -Government in every province of India; but in no province has it ever -been effected so completely, within a comparatively short time, as it -was in the Punjab under his supervision. Its success conduced largely to -that popular contentment which proved a bulwark of safety to British -rule, during the danger which eight years afterwards menaced the -Province.</p> - -<p>Before the Native population, before the world, and for the most part -before the European officers, the Board preserved an unbroken front and -kept up the appearance of solidarity. But though the wheels of the great -machine moved powerfully, and with apparent smoothness, still within the -Board itself there was increasing friction. It became known, not perhaps -to the public,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_059" id="page_059"></a>{59}</span> but to the European officers around the centre of -affairs, that Henry and John were not always in accord regarding policy -and practice. And this matter affected the future for both of them, and -especially for John.</p> - -<p>Between Henry and John there was agreement in many essential matters -such as the military occupation and the pacification of the province, -the guarding of the Trans-Indus Frontier, the political relations with -the Native States comprised within the Punjab, the development of -material resources, the progressive policy of the administration. They -were absolutely united in the diffusion of zeal among all grades and -classes of officers and officials, and in stamping the best possible -characteristics upon the public service. But they differed more or less -on certain other points, and this difference must unavoidably be -noticed, however briefly, because among other consequences, it had a -considerable effect on the subsequent career of John. It was, however, -official only and did not affect the sentiments of admiration and -affection with which each regarded the other.</p> - -<p>The difference then related to three points: the system of collecting -the land revenue, the management of the finances, and the treatment of -the feudal classes on the introduction of British rule. Some brief -allusion must be made to each of these three points.</p> - -<p>Under Native rule the land revenue had been collected sometimes in kind -and sometimes in cash. John abhorred the system of collection in kind, -as being the parent of oppressive abuses. His voice was consonant with -the best traditions of British rule, and was at first popular with the -agriculturists. But from various circumstances the prices of produce -fell for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_060" id="page_060"></a>{60}</span> several years abnormally, and the men had difficulty in -obtaining money for their produce wherewith to pay their land-tax in -cash. So they began to ask that it might as heretofore be paid in kind. -Henry, partly from tenderness to old customs under Native rule, partly -too from want of familiarity with fiscal abuses, inclined his ear to -these murmurs which were indeed coming to be requests. John of course -insisted on the cash system being maintained, though he was willing, -indeed anxious, that the tax should be so assessed that the people could -pay it easily even in the altered circumstances.</p> - -<p>The finance of the province was ever present to the mind of John. Though -keenly anxious for improvements of all sorts, he held that such measures -must be regulated according to the financial means available within the -province. Henry would not deny this in theory but would overlook it in -practice. Having initiated projects tending to civilisation in a newly -annexed province, he would press them forward without adequately -considering how the cost was to be defrayed. He had an inner conviction -that once a very desirable thing had been accomplished successfully, the -difficulties on the score of expenses would either vanish or right -themselves.</p> - -<p>The treatment of the feudal classes on the introduction of British rule -depended on a certain method which had been adopted under Native rule in -the Punjab as in other parts of India. The land revenue belonged to and -was the mainstay of the State. The ruler of the day would assign to an -individual the revenue thus receivable from specified lands or villages. -The right of the assignee extended only to the receipt of the land -revenue. It<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_061" id="page_061"></a>{61}</span> did not necessarily affect the right to the property, that -is to say, he had not thereby any title to collect the rent, as that -would depend on whether he did or did not acquire the property. The -assignment would be made generally on one or other of three grounds, the -maintenance of religious establishments, the bestowal of favour, the -reward or remuneration of services. The difference of opinion between -Henry and John showed itself less on the first of the three grounds, but -more on the second, and still further on the third. The discussion -between the two brothers on the third or feudal ground may be summarised -in this wise.</p> - -<p>The Native ruler or sovereign would assign temporarily to his chieftains -the land revenue of certain villages, or whole tracts of territory, on -the condition of feudal service, chiefly military, being rendered. This -service is not wanted under British rule, and cannot be maintained; then -the question arises whether the assignment of the land revenue is to be -continued. Similarly, allowances in cash from the State treasury are -made to local chiefs in consideration of duty nominal or real being -performed. This duty cannot be accepted under British rule, and a -discussion springs up regarding the extent to which the allowances are -to be withdrawn. When these cases exist on a large scale, involving -extensive interests, it will be seen at a glance that there is much room -for divergence of opinion between statesmen equally able, humane and -conscientious. Henry thought that liberal concessions ought to be made -to these feudal classes, for reasons of policy in allaying discontent -among influential sections of the community. He held that the greater -part of the former grants ought to be continued,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_062" id="page_062"></a>{62}</span> although the -obligation of service might be remitted. This must be effected, despite -the financial cost which such arrangements might involve. John would -rejoin that these grants must at once be curtailed, and provision made -for their cessation on the demise of present incumbents. The government -could not bear the double expense of continuing grants for the old -service just dispensed with, and of defraying the charge of the newly -organized service which the British Government must introduce according -to its own ideas.</p> - -<p>This is but a bare summary of a large and complex question, affecting -not only thousands but tens of thousands of cases scattered all over the -country. Upon such a question as this the social contentment and the -financial equilibrium of the province largely depended. This much of -notice is needed in order to show how the matter concerned the career -and fortunes of John.</p> - -<p>The Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, became aware of the growing -difference of opinion between Henry and John, but viewing it from afar -he thought at first that more good than harm would result. He had the -highest respect for both the brothers, but knowing them to have an -independent will and potential force of character, he surmised that each -might be inclining towards an extreme and that one would correct the -other. Moreover he saw that the friction produced apparently that mental -heat which supplied force to move the administration on and on towards -success. With the excellent results displayed before him in the “First -Punjab Report” in 1852, he was little disposed to interfere with the -mechanism, and hoped that the two eminent brothers might gradually learn -<i>componere<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_063" id="page_063"></a>{63}</span> lites</i>. But afterwards he began to perceive that this -difference was working harm inasmuch as the discussions not only -produced delay, but sometimes caused important matters to be put aside -on account of the diversity of argument, for which no solution could be -found.</p> - -<p>Had these conditions lasted, moreover, an additional evil must have -arisen; for in the ranks of the public service two parties would have -sprung up. Each brother was loyal to the other, and was as reticent as -possible regarding the difference in opinion between them. Still -inevitably the fact transpired, and accordingly some officers agreed -with Henry and others with John. Though these good men obeyed orders, -yet those orders would be issued only after their views had been -submitted and considered. These views would become tinged with the -colouring of the thought in two schools of opinion. It must be added -that the Natives, who had concessions to ask, were persuasively -insistent with their requests. Eloquence is one of nature’s gifts to -Oriental races. The skill with which a native will plead his cause in -the ear of a listening official, is conceivable only to those Europeans -who have experienced it. In these particular cases much that was -dramatic or historical, affecting or pathetic, would be urged. Even the -sterner mind of John would be touched sometimes, and much more so the -more susceptible heart of Henry. Then the susceptibilities of the latter -would be taken up by the officers who had been chosen by him for service -in the Punjab. In the turn which events took, the formation of two -parties, and the detriment to the public service which would have -followed, were avoided.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_064" id="page_064"></a>{64}</span></p> - -<p>Soon Lord Dalhousie and his Council at Calcutta concluded that an -opportunity must be taken to effect a change; and that as one only of -the two brothers should remain in the Punjab, John must be the man. -While this conclusion was affecting the mind of the Governor-General, it -so happened that, on an important vacancy occurring elsewhere, both -brothers simultaneously offered to resign their positions in the Punjab -and take service in some other part of India. This precipitated the -decision of the Supreme Government.</p> - -<p>That decision was communicated to Henry Lawrence by Lord Dalhousie in a -memorable letter, from which some passages may be quoted to show -historically how the matter stood.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“It has for some time been the recorded opinion of the Supreme -Government that, whenever an opportunity occurred for effecting a -change, the administration of the Punjab would best be conducted by -a Chief Commissioner, having a Judicial and a Revenue Commissioner -under him. But it was also the opinion of the Government that, -whenever the change should be made, the Chief Commissioner ought to -be an officer of the Civil Service. You stand far too high, and -have received too many assurances and too many proofs of the great -estimation in which your ability, qualities, and services have been -held by the successive governments under which you have been -employed, to render it necessary that I should bear testimony here -to the value which has been set upon your labours and upon your -service as the head of the administration of the Punjab by the -Government over which I have had the honour to preside. We do not -regard it as in any degree disparaging to you that we, -nevertheless, do not consider it expedient to commit the sole -executive charge of the administration of a kingdom to any other -than to a thoroughly trained and experienced civil officer. -Although the Regulations do not prevail in the Punjab, and -although<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_065" id="page_065"></a>{65}</span> the system of civil government has wisely and -successfully been made more simple in its forms, still we are of -opinion that the superintendence of so large a system, everywhere -founded on the Regulations, and pervaded by their spirit, can be -thoroughly controlled and moulded, as changes from time to time may -become necessary, only by a civilian fully versed in the system of -the elder provinces and experienced in its operation.</p> - -<p>“As the Government entertained these views, it became evident that -the change it contemplates in the form of administration could not -be effected, nor could the dissensions existing be reconciled, -unless it were agreeable to you to transfer your services to some -other department.</p> - -<p>“The result of our consideration was the statement I have now to -make, that if you are willing to accept Rajputana, the Government -will be happy to appoint you to it, with a view to effecting the -change of the form of administration in the Punjab, to which I have -already referred.”</p></div> - -<p>So Henry departed for Rajputana in 1853, with honour acknowledged of all -men, and amidst the sorrowing farewells of friends, European and Native. -He left a fragrant memory behind him as he crossed the Sutlej for the -last time on his way to Rajputana, whither countless good wishes -followed his course. But no man then anticipated the grave events which, -within four years, would open out for him in Oude a sphere as grand as -that which he was now quitting.</p> - -<p>Thus after a term of four years’ service in the Board of Administration, -that is from 1849 to 1853, John Lawrence was left in sole command of the -Punjab. But though his nerve was unimpaired, his capacity developed, his -experience enlarged, he was not physically the same man at the end of -this term that he was at the beginning. In October, 1850, at Lahore, he -had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_066" id="page_066"></a>{66}</span> been stricken down by a severe fever, as bad as that from which he -had suffered just ten years previously at Etawah, and his health never -was fully restored after that shock. He, however, recovered sufficiently -to accompany Lord Dalhousie on a march in the Punjab during the winter -months, and afterwards in the following spring 1851 to examine the -condition of the Peshawur valley. The ensuing months he spent at Simla -in company with his wife and children.</p> - -<p>Then, for the first time in his toil-worn life, he enjoyed the blessings -of a Himalayan retreat, after the torrid heat and the depressing damp of -twenty previous summers. He resorted thither, not on leave but on duty, -by the special direction of Lord Dalhousie who was there also. He was -indeed obliged to quit Lahore for that summer, and had not a retreat to -Simla been open to him, he must for a time have relinquished his office -in the Punjab. As he ascended the Simla mountains, seven to nine -thousand feet above sea-level, the sight of the Himalayas was not new to -him, for he had seen them in the Trans-Sutlej States; twice also he had -paid brief visits to Simla itself. How pleasant, then, through the -summer of 1851, was it for him to bask in mild sunshine, to drink in the -balmy air, to recline in the shadows of oaken glades, to roam amidst -forests of pine and cedar, to watch the light gilding peak after peak in -the snowy range at sunrise, to perceive through a field-glass at sunset -the familiar Sutlej winding like the thinnest of silver threads through -the distant plains, to note the rain-clouds rolling up the mountain -sides, to hear the thunder-peals echo among the crags! These things -would have been delights to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_067" id="page_067"></a>{67}</span> him even as a visitor in the easiest -circumstances, in hale robustness, in all the pride of life; but no pen -can describe what they were to the over-taxed brain, the strained -nerves, the fevered constitution, the shaken strength—such as his. He -revived apace and remained in official harness, having taken the most -important part of his work with him, and receiving by the daily post his -papers and despatches from Lahore. Further, he had the advantage of -personal intercourse with Lord Dalhousie, and thus formed a friendship -which, at first official, soon became personal. After two or three -months of this changed life, his old vivacity returned, and his -conversation was almost as it had been in England and Ireland. But -recurrence of Indian fever after an interval is almost a rule, and his -case was no exception. At Simla in the autumn his Lahore fever -reappeared severely, just a year after its original appearance. This -time he was stronger to meet the attack, and so threw it off. But he -rose from the sick-bed, for the second time in thirteen months, with -vitality impaired. He was, as the event proved, sufficiently recovered -to escape any serious illness for nearly three years, and to work -without interruption till 1854. But during this summer of 1851, he -calmly reviewed his position. He thus actually prepared himself for -closing the important part of his career, and for speedily retiring from -the public service. With his usual forethought, and in his unassuming -way, he would reckon up his resources, and estimate how to live in some -quiet and inexpensive place in England on a modest competency. But -Providence decreed otherwise, and the possible necessity, though ever -borne in mind, did not reach<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_068" id="page_068"></a>{68}</span> the point of action. So in the early -winter he returned to his post at Lahore, to mix in all the troublous -discussions, and to bear the official fatigues which have been already -mentioned, until the spring of 1853, from which point our narrative -takes a fresh departure.</p> - -<p>Though now left, in his own phrase, to walk alone—the very course most -acceptable to him—he ever remembered his absent brother. In after years -he was anxious that Henry’s name should be linked with his own in the -annals of the Punjab. At Lahore in 1864, at the culminating point of his -fame, and in the plenitude of his authority—when the memory of former -differences had long been buried in his brother’s grave—he used these -words in a speech to the assembled princes and chiefs of the province: -“My brother Henry and I governed this province. You all knew him well, -and his memory will ever dwell in your hearts as a ruler who was a real -friend of the people. We studied to make ourselves acquainted with the -usages, feelings and wants of every class and race, and to improve the -condition of all.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_069" id="page_069"></a>{69}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small>CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF THE PUNJAB</small><br /><br /> -<small>1853-1857</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> governing idea, as set forth at the outset of the last chapter, must -be sustained in this chapter also. The administration of the Punjab, -already sketched, must be yet further delineated; for upon its -completeness depended the ability and sufficiency of the province to -keep its own head aloft in the rising tide, and to hold up its -neighbours amidst the dashing breakers of the rebellion destined to -occur only four years later. We need not ask what would have happened -had the Punjab been governed with feebleness and inefficiency, because -such defects are not to be anticipated under British rule; but the -chance was this, that even under an ordinarily fair administration, the -preparation of the province might not have been effected within the too -short time allowed by events,—that, for instance, the pacification had -not been perfect, the frontier tribes not entirely over-awed, the -dangerous classes not fully disarmed, the feudal classes not conciliated -by timely concessions, the land-settlement not complete, the agrarian -disputes not quite composed, the official establishments not so -organized as to call forth all the provincial<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_070" id="page_070"></a>{70}</span> resources at a moment’s -notice. For all these things in combination, an extraordinarily good -administration was needed, and that the Punjab had. Without that, the -province must have been submerged by the floods of rebellion in 1857, -and then all Northern India, the finest part of the Indian empire, must -have succumbed.</p> - -<p>John Lawrence was now, during the spring of 1853, installed in the sole -and chief command of the Punjab, with the title of Chief Commissioner, -and without any colleague of equal station with himself. This title was -created on this occasion for the first time in India, and has since been -borne by other men in other provinces; but the fact of its being -originally borne by him has invested it with peculiar dignity, and -rendered every one proud to bear it. The Punjab had been divided from -the beginning of British rule, under his Board, into seven divisions, -each being under the civil command of a Commissioner—namely, the -Cis-Sutlej on the east of that river, the Trans-Sutlej on the west, the -central or Lahore division round the capital, the southern division -around Mooltan near the confluence of the Indus and its tributaries, the -Sind Sagar division on the east of the Middle Indus,—Sind being the -original name of Indus—the Peshawur division comprising that famous -valley with the surrounding hills, and the Derajat division at the base -of the Sulemani range dividing India from Afghanistan. These seven -divisions or commissionerships being placed under him, he was styled the -Chief Commissioner. In the management of the country he was assisted by -two high officers styled the Judicial Commissioner for law and justice, -and the Financial Commissioner for revenue and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_071" id="page_071"></a>{71}</span> general administration. -His colleague in the late Board, Montgomery, filled the Judicial -Commissionership. The Financial Commissionership was, after a year, -filled by Donald Macleod, who had been for some time Commissioner of the -Trans-Sutlej division. Macleod was eminently worthy of this post in all -respects save one. Though prompt and attentive in ordinary affairs, and -most useful in emergencies, he had a habit of procrastination in matters -requiring deliberative thought. Despite this drawback, he was one of the -most eminent men then in India. His scholar-like acquirements, his -profound knowledge of eastern life and manners, his refined intellect -and polished manner, rendered him an ornament to the Punjab service. -Moreover, he had a serene courage, a calm judgment amidst turmoil and -peril, which, during the troublous years to come, stood him and his -country in good stead.</p> - -<p>Thus John Lawrence was blessed with two coadjutors after his own heart, -who were personally his devoted friends, who set before all men the -example which he most approved, and diffused around the very tone which -he wished to prevail. He was in complete accord with them; they were -proud to support him, he was thankful to lean on them. No doubt the -recent tension with his brother, amidst the urgency of affairs, had -affected his health. With him as with other men, the anxiety of -undecided controversy, the trial of the temper, the irritating annoyance -of reiterated argument, caused more wear and tear than did labour and -responsibility. But now he began to have halcyon days officially. His -spirits rose as the fresh air of undivided responsibility braced his -nerves. Though far from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_072" id="page_072"></a>{72}</span> being physically the man he was before the -illness of 1850, he was yet sufficiently well to give a full impulse to -the country and its affairs, and he girded himself with gladness for the -work before him. Like the good ship <i>Argo</i> of old, he propelled himself -with his own native force—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Soon as clear’d the harbour—like a bird—<br /></span> -<span class="i1"><i>Argo</i> sprang forward with a bound, and bent<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Her course across the water-path.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The administration of the county proceeded in the same course, even -along the same lines and in the same grooves, under him as under the -late Board. There may have been some change in tendency here and there, -or rather existing tendencies may have been drawn a little in this or -that direction; but for the most part he introduced no perceptible -modification. This fact may appear strange, when the differences of -opinion between him and his brother are remembered. These differences, -however, had been reserved as much as possible for discussion <i>inter -se</i>, and so kept back from the public eye; thus many important matters -had for a time been laid aside; consequently he had not anything to undo -in these matters, for in fact nothing had finally been done. So he had -no decisions to reverse in cases which had for a while been left -undecided. But being relieved from the irritation of controversy, he -paid more regard to the known opinions or the recorded convictions of -his now absent brother, than perhaps he had done when the brother was -present to press the counter-arguments. Thus he succeeded in carrying on -the administration without any external break of continuity. If anything -like the formation or growth of two schools or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_073" id="page_073"></a>{73}</span> parties of opinion among -the civil officers had begun, that ceased and disappeared at once. All -men knew that the public policy would be directed by one guiding hand, -and that when all those who had a claim to be consulted had said their -say, a decision would be pronounced which must be obeyed <i>ex animo</i>. But -this obedience was rendered easy, because no marked deflection from -former principle or procedure was perceptible. It had for some time been -notified in various ways that the expenses were growing too fast for the -income, and greater financial strictness would be required. None were -surprised, therefore, when a more rigid adjustment of expenditure in -reference to revenue, and of outlay to resources, was introduced. The -Board had designed to adjust the income and expenses so that the -Province should from its provincial revenues defray the cost of its -administration and contribute a share towards defraying the cost of the -army cantoned within its limits; and he carried that financial design -into full effect. It was not expected of him that his Province should -pay for the whole of that army which defended the empire as well as the -Province. But he managed that his provincial treasury should give its -proper quota.</p> - -<p>In most, perhaps almost all, other respects the conduct of business was -the same as that described as existing under the late Board. The march -of affairs was rapid and the stream flowed smoothly. The only novelty -would be the introduction of additional improvements according to the -opportunities of each succeeding year, and the growing requirements of -the time. Such improvements were a brief digest of Native law and of -British procedure for the use of the courts of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_074" id="page_074"></a>{74}</span> justice, commonly called -at the time the Punjab Code; the taking of a census and other -statistics; the introduction of primary education under State agency, -and others.</p> - -<p>In weighing the burden which now fell on John Lawrence’s shoulders, it -is to be remembered that though before the public and at the bar of -history he was the virtual Governor of the Punjab, yet the Government -was not technically vested in him, nor had he the status and title of -Lieutenant-Governor. As Chief Commissioner he was the deputy of, or the -principal executive authority under, the Governor-General in Council. -Not only was he under the constant control of the Government of India, -but also he had to obtain the specific sanction of that supreme -authority for every considerable proceeding, and for the appointment of -every man to any office of importance. Being high in the confidence of -the Government of India, he was almost always able to obtain the -requisite sanction, which was, as a general rule, given considerately -and generously. On a historic retrospect it may appear that he ought -then to have been appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, on an -equal footing with the Lieutenant-Governors of the North-Western -Provinces and of Bengal, and that he who really did the work and bore -the responsibility should also have had the rank and the status. But at -that time <i>dîs aliter visum</i>. The point ought however to be mentioned -here, because it greatly affected the extent of his labours and -anxieties. It was one thing for him to devise and arrange what ought to -be done, and to prepare for carrying it out; but it was an additional -thing for him to obtain the sanction on grounds to be set forth in every -important case. The selection of the right men to fill<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_075" id="page_075"></a>{75}</span> the various -offices of trust fell upon him. But instead of appointing them -straightway to the places, he had to obtain sanction, in view of which -sanction some explanation would have to be rendered. Sometimes, too, the -Government of India might desire to appoint some officer other than the -one whom he had recommended. Thereupon he would be sure to press his -view, believing that the success and efficiency of his work depended on -the fitting man being placed in the right position. Being regarded by -the Governor-General with generous confidence, he almost invariably -carried his point. But the correspondence, official and private, caused -hereby was considerable, and the anxiety was greater still. But although -as Chief Commissioner he found the work more laborious than it would -have been to him as Lieutenant-Governor, still he gladly accepted the -position with this drawback, because within his jurisdiction he had his -own way. He must come to an understanding with the Government of India -indeed; but once he had succeeded in that, no colleague at home, no high -officer near his provincial throne, could challenge his policy. This -autonomy, even with its unavoidable limitations, was a great boon to a -man of his temperament.</p> - -<p>Having set to work under new and favourable conditions, he pursued his -task with what in many men would be termed ardour and enthusiasm. These -qualities were evinced by him, no doubt, but in his nature they were -over-borne by persistency and determination. Thus it would be more -correct to say that he urged on the chariot of state with disciplined -energy. He well knew, as the Board before him had known, that the -results of large operations must in the long run be well reported<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_076" id="page_076"></a>{76}</span> for -public information. But he held that the reporting might be deferred for -a short season. Meanwhile he would secure actual success; the work -should from beginning to end be accurately tested; it should be tempered -and polished like steel and finished <i>usque ad unguem</i>. Some officers -would ensure an excellent quality of work with great pains, but then -they would fall short in quantity; others would despatch a vast -quantity, but then it would be of inferior quality; he would have both -quality and quantity, all the work that came to hand must be performed -in time, but then it must also be done well. Nothing is more common even -for able administrators than to lean too much towards one or the other -of these two alternatives; no man ever held the balance between the two -better than he, and very few could hold it as well. In no respect was -his pre-eminence as an administrator more marked than in this. In the -first instance he would prepare no elaborate despatches, indite no -minutes, order no detailed reports to be prepared, write no long -letters. He would have action absolutely, and work rendered complete. -His management of men may be aptly described by the following lines from -Coleridge’s translation of Schiller:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Well for the whole, if there be found a man<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Who makes himself what nature destined him,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The pause, the central point, to thousand thousands—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Stands fixed and stately like a firm-built column.<br /></span> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">. . . . . . . . . .</span><br /> -<span class="i0">“How he incites and strengthens all around him,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Infusing life and vigour. Every power<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Seems as it were redoubled by his presence;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">He draws forth every latent energy,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Showing to each his own peculiar talent.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_077" id="page_077"></a>{77}</span></p> - -<p>He knew that an administrator shines, not only in what he does himself, -but also in what he induces others to do, that his policy will in part -be tested by the character of the men whom he raises up around him, that -the master is recognised in his pupils, and that if his work is to live -after him, he must have those ready who will hand on the tradition, and -will even take his place should he fall in the battle of life. His aim, -then, was to establish a system and found a school.</p> - -<p>During 1853 and the early part of 1854 he remained in fair health, -though not in full strength according to his normal standard. During the -early summer of 1854 he sojourned at Murri, a Himalayan sanatorium in -the region between the Jhelum and the Indus. At this sanatorium, six to -eight thousand feet above sea-level, he enjoyed the advantages which -have been already described in reference to Simla. His horizon was -bounded by the snowy ranges that overlook the valley of Cashmere. About -midsummer he returned to his headquarters at Lahore in the hottest time -of the year, and he was once more stricken down with illness, from the -effects of which he certainly did not recover during the remainder of -his career in the Punjab. Fever there was with acute nervous distress, -but it was in the head that the symptoms were agonizing. He said with -gasps that he felt as if <i>rakshas</i> (Hindoo mythological giants) were -driving prongs through his brain. The physicians afforded relief by -casting cold douches of water on his head; but when the anguish was over -his nerve-system seemed momentarily injured. Afterwards when alluding to -attacks of illness, he would say that he had once or twice been on the -point of death. Perhaps this may<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_078" id="page_078"></a>{78}</span> have been one of the occasions in his -mind. For a man of his strength the attack hardly involved mortal -danger; still it was very grave and caused ill effects to ensue. After a -few days he rallied rapidly, went back to Murri, and resumed his work, -disposing of the arrears which in the interval had accumulated. -Doubtless he returned to duty too soon for his proper recovery, but this -was unavoidable.</p> - -<p>After 1854 he spent the summer months of each year at Murri, having been -urged to do so by the Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie.</p> - -<p>At various times he visited several of the Native States under his -charge, exchanging courtesies, conforming to their ceremonial usages, -holding Oriental levees, and mixing in scenes of Asiatic pomp amidst -localities of exceeding picturesqueness. He strove to set the seal on -their contentment—hardly anticipating how soon he would have to require -them to draw their swords for the Empire. He again visited Peshawur, -directed operations against some offending hill-tribes, and marched -along the whole Trans-Indus frontier.</p> - -<p>In 1854 he caused a report of his civil administration to be prepared. -This report recounted the efforts made for imparting force and vigour to -the police, simplicity and cheapness to civil justice, popularity to -municipal institutions, salubrity and discipline to the prisons, -security to the landed tenures, moderation as well as fixity to the -land-tax. It narrated the beginning of a national education, and the -establishment of institutions such as dispensaries and hospitals, -evincing a practical interest in the well-being of the people. It -adverted specially to the construction of roads and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_079" id="page_079"></a>{79}</span> bridges in the face -of physical difficulties, the excavation of canals, the patrolling of -the highways and the erection of caravan-serais. None could then foresee -the enormous service which these highways would render to the British -cause during the troubles which were in store for the country.</p> - -<p>In corroboration of this summary, the following testimony was afterwards -afforded in 1859 in a farewell address presented to him by his officers, -when he was about to lay down his power, and to quit them perhaps for -ever. Most of them were either eye-witnesses, or otherwise personally -cognisant, of what they relate.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Those among us who have served in political and diplomatic -capacities know how you have preserved friendly relations, during -critical and uncertain times, with the native principalities by -which this province is surrounded; how, all along an extended, -rugged, and difficult frontier, you have successfully maintained an -attitude of consistency and resolution with wild and martial -tribes, neither interfering unduly, on the one hand, nor yielding -anything important on the other.</p> - -<p>“Those among us who are immediately connected with the civil -administration know how, in the interior of the country, you have -kept the native chiefs and gentry true to their allegiance by -strictness tempered with conciliation; how emphatically you have -been the friend of the middle and lower classes among the natives, -the husbandman, the artisan, and the labourer. They know how, with -a large measure of success, you have endeavoured to moderate -taxation; to introduce judicial reforms; to produce a real security -of life and property; to administer the finances in a prudent and -economical spirit; to further the cause of material improvements, -advancing public works so far as the means, financial and -executive, of the Government might permit; to found a popular -system of secular education; to advocate the display of true -Christianity before the people, without infringing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_080" id="page_080"></a>{80}</span> those -principles of religions toleration which guide the British -Government in dealing with its native subjects. They know how you -have always administered patronage truly and indifferently for the -good of the State. To the civil officers you have always set the -best example and given the soundest precepts, and there are many -who are proud to think that they belong to your school.”</p></div> - -<p>In this address the maintenance of order along the frontier Trans-Indus -is mentioned prominently, and indeed this thorny subject had engaged his -attention almost incessantly. He had been obliged frequently to order -military expeditions against the martial and intractable tribes -inhabiting that wild border. No such difficult frontier having -previously been incorporated in British India, his policy though -unavoidable was in some degree novel, and the public mind became at -times agitated, perhaps even mistrustful of the necessity for this -frequent recourse to arms. In 1855, at Lord Dalhousie’s suggestion, he -caused his Secretary to draw up a report of the expeditions which had -been undertaken, and of the offences which had afforded not only -justification but grounds of necessity. That report was an exposition of -his frontier policy at the time.</p> - -<p>This frontier was described as being eight hundred miles in length. The -tribes were grouped in two categories, one having one hundred and -thirty-five thousand, the other eighty thousand fighting men, real -warriors, brave and hardy, well armed though undisciplined. After a -precise summary of the chronic and heinous offences perpetrated by each -tribe within British territory, the character of the tribes generally -was set forth. They were savages, noble savages perhaps, and not without -some tincture of generosity. They had nominally a religion, but -Mahommedanism,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_081" id="page_081"></a>{81}</span> as understood by them, was no better, or perhaps -actually worse, than the creeds of the wildest races on earth. In their -eyes the one great commandment was blood for blood. They were never -without weapons: when grazing their cattle, when driving beasts of -burden, when tilling the soil, they bore arms. Every tribe and section -of a tribe had its internecine wars, every family its hereditary -blood-feuds, and every individual his personal foes. Each tribe had a -debtor and creditor account with its neighbours, life for life.</p> - -<p>They had descended from the hills and fought their battles out in our -territory; they had plundered or burnt our villages and slain our -subjects; they had for ages regarded the plain as their preserve, and -its inhabitants as their game. When inclined for cruel sport, they had -sallied forth to rob and murder, and occasionally took prisoners into -captivity for ransom. They had fired upon our troops, and even killed -our officers in our own territories. They traversed at will our -territories, entered our villages, traded in our markets; but few -British subjects, and no servant of the British Government, would dare -to enter their country on any account whatever.</p> - -<p>On the other hand the British Government had recognised their -independence; had confirmed whatever fiefs they held within its -territory; had never extended its jurisdiction one yard beyond the old -limits of the Sikh dominions or of the Punjab as we found it. It had -abstained from any interference in, or connection with, their affairs. -Though permitting and encouraging its subjects to defend themselves at -the time of attack, it had prevented them from retaliating afterwards -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_082" id="page_082"></a>{82}</span> making reprisals. Though granting refuge to men flying for their -lives, it had never allowed armed bodies to seek protection in its -territory. It had freely permitted these independent hill-people to -settle, to cultivate, to graze their herds, and to trade in its -territories. It had accorded to such the same protection, rights, -privileges, and conditions as to its own subjects. It had freely -admitted them to its hospitals and dispensaries; its medical officers -had tended scores of them in sickness, and sent them back to their -mountain homes cured. The ranks of its service were open to them, so -that they might eat our salt and draw our pay if so inclined.</p> - -<p>Then a list was given of the expeditions, some fifteen in number, -against various tribes between 1849 and 1855, and the policy of these -expeditions was declared to be reasonable and just. If murder and -robbery still went on, in spite of patience, of abstinence from -provocation and of conciliation, then what but force remained? Was the -loss of life and property with the consequent demoralisation to continue -or to be stopped? If it could only be stopped by force, then was not -force to be applied? The exertion of such force had proved to be -successful. The tribes after chastisement usually professed and evinced -repentance. They entered into engagements, and for the first time began -to keep their faith. They never repeated the offences which had brought -on the punishment. In almost every case an aggressive tribe behaved -badly before, and well after, suffering from an expedition.</p> - -<p>By this policy the foundation was laid of a pacification whereby these -border tribes were kept quiet most fortunately during the trouble of -1857, which is soon to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_083" id="page_083"></a>{83}</span> be narrated. Had a feeble or inefficient -treatment been adopted towards them from the beginning, they would have -become thereby emboldened to rush upon us in the hour of our weakness. -As it was, they had been accustomed to a firm yet just policy. The awe -of us still rested on them for a while, and they refrained from mischief -at a time when they might have done grievous damage. Further, this -policy, steadily promoted by Lawrence’s successors for fully twenty -years, has rendered the British border Trans-Indus one of the most -satisfactory portions of the Indian empire. In no line of country is the -difference between British and Oriental rule more conspicuous than in -this.</p> - -<p>The consideration of the Frontier Policy, up to the end of 1856, leads -up to the relations between Afghanistan and India. The Punjab as the -adjoining province became naturally the medium of such relations.</p> - -<p>Up to 1854 the administrators of the Punjab had no concern in the -affairs of Afghanistan. The Amir, Dost Mahommed, who had been reinstated -after the first Afghan war, in 1843, was still on the throne, but he was -far advanced in years, and dynastic troubles were expected on his death. -Since the annexation of the Punjab, he and his had given no trouble -whatever to the British. The intermittent trouble, already mentioned on -the Trans-Indus Frontier, arose not from the Afghans proper, but from -border tribes who were practically independent of any government in -Afghanistan. But by the events connected with the Crimean war in 1854, -British apprehensions, which had been quiescent for a while, were again -aroused in reference to Central Asia generally, and to Afghanistan as -our nearest neighbour.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_084" id="page_084"></a>{84}</span> The idea, which has in later years assumed a -more distinct form, then arose that Russia would make diversions in -Central Asia in order to counteract any measures which England might -adopt towards Turkey. This caused John Lawrence to express for the first -time his official opinion on the subject. He would, if possible, have -nothing to do with Afghanistan. If Russia were to advance as an enemy -towards India, he would not meet her by way of Afghanistan. He would -await such advance upon the Indus frontier, which should be rendered for -her impassable. The counteracting movement by England should, in his -opinion, be made not in Asia but in Europe; and Russia should be so -attacked in the Baltic and the Black Sea, that she would be thereby -compelled to desist from any attempt to harass India from the quarter of -Central Asia.</p> - -<p> </p> - -<p>In these days he received a deputation from the Khan of Kokand, one of -the three well-known Khanates adjoining Siberia, who feared absorption -into the Russian empire. But he deemed assistance from the British side -to be impracticable, and after obtaining the instructions of Lord -Dalhousie, he entertained the deputation kindly but sent it back with a -negative reply; and the Khan’s fear of absorption was soon afterwards -realised.</p> - -<p>Then, in consequence of the hostile movements of Persia against -Afghanistan, presumably with indirect support from Russia, he received -proposals from Colonel (afterwards Sir Herbert) Edwardes, the talented -and distinguished Commissioner of Peshawur, for an alliance with the -Afghan ruler. He strongly advised the Governor-General not to enter into -any relations with Afghanistan,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_085" id="page_085"></a>{85}</span> but added, as in duty bound, that if -such relations were to be undertaken, he would do his best to arrange -them satisfactorily. He then, under Lord Dalhousie’s direction, in -company with Edwardes, met Sirdar Gholam Hyder the heir-apparent of the -Amir Dost Mahommed at Peshawur in the spring of 1855. Thereupon he -concluded a treaty, obliging the two parties mutually to respect each -other’s dominions, also binding the Amir to be the friend of the friends -and the enemy of the enemies of the British Government, without imposing -on it any corresponding obligation. But though the treaty was simple, -his negotiations with the Afghan prince were complex, and in these he -was duly assisted by Edwardes, with whom the policy had originated, and -to whom he rendered full acknowledgment.</p> - -<p>He was recommended by Lord Dalhousie for honours from the Crown, and was -made a Knight Commander of the Bath early in 1856, just after Lord -Dalhousie had been succeeded by Lord Canning.</p> - -<p>He was shortly afterwards, in 1856, consulted by Lord Canning regarding -the war which the British Government was declaring against Persia for -her conduct towards Herat, a place then deemed to be the key of -Afghanistan on the western side. In the autumn of that year he was -startled by news of the fall of Herat into Persian hands, and by -proposals from Edwardes for rendering effective aid to the Afghan Amir. -Again he opposed these proposals, with an intimation that if the -Governor-General, Lord Canning, should accept them he would do his -utmost to secure their success. As they were accepted by the Government -of India he repaired early in 1857 to Peshawur to meet the Amir<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_086" id="page_086"></a>{86}</span> Dost -Mahommed. At the Amir’s special request, he crossed the British portal -of the Khyber Pass, and proceeded for a full march inside that famous -defile. The crags and heights echoed with the boom of the guns fired -from the Afghan camp to salute his arrival. There was much of weirdness -and wildness in the aspect of the Afghan levee which was there held in -his honour, an aspect which betokened the desperate character of many of -the chiefs there assembled. He was then accompanied by Dost Mahommed to -Peshawur, and again assisted by Edwardes in the tedious negotiations -which followed. He concluded an additional treaty with Dost Mahommed, -confirming that which had been already made with Gholam Hyder, and -agreeing to afford the Amir a subsidy of a lac of rupees, or £10,000, -monthly with a present of four thousand stand of arms, on the condition -that a European officer should be temporarily deputed, not to Caubul but -to Candahar, and with an assurance that in deference to Afghan -susceptibility, the British Government would not propose to despatch any -European officer to Caubul unless circumstances should change.</p> - -<p>This treaty established relations between the British empire and -Afghanistan which have lasted, with some brief but stormy interruptions, -for thirty years up to the present time. It was concluded on the eve of -the war of those mutinies in India which were foreseen by neither of the -contracting parties. On its conclusion Dost Mahommed exclaimed that he -had thereby made with the British Government an alliance which he would -keep till death; and he did keep it accordingly. As a consequence, -during the storm, which very soon afterwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_087" id="page_087"></a>{87}</span> burst over Northern India -up to the very verge of Afghanistan, he preserved a friendly neutrality -which was of real value to the British cause. Thus whatever may be the -arguments before or since that date, the beginning of 1857, for or -against the setting up of relations with Afghanistan, this treaty proved -very useful to British interests in the events which arose immediately -after it was made.</p> - -<p>It is but just to the memory of Edwardes, who was the originator and the -prime adviser of this policy, to quote the explanation of it in his own -words by a memorandum which he wrote in the following year, 1858. After -alluding to the former dealings of the British with Afghanistan, he -writes thus regarding himself:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“When Commissioner of Peshâwur, in 1854, he sought and obtained the -permission of Lord Dalhousie to bring about that hearty -reconciliation which was expressed in the first friendly treaty of -March 1855, and subsequently (with the equally cordial approval of -Lord Canning) was substantially consolidated by the treaty of -January 26, 1857. At this latter juncture the Shah of Persia had -seized Herat and was threatening Candahar. England was herself -attacking Persia in the Gulf, and the Indian Government now gave to -the Amir at Cabul eight thousand stand of arms, and a subsidy of -£10,000 a month, so long as the Persian war should last. We did -this, as the treaty truly said, ‘out of friendship.’ We did it, -too, in the plenitude of our power and high noon of that -treacherous security which smiled on India in January 1857. How -little, as we set our seals to that treaty, did we know that in May -the English in India, from Peshâwur to the sea, would be fighting -for empire and their lives, and that God’s mercy was stopping the -mouths of lions against our hour of need. To the honour of Dost -Mahommed Khan let it be recorded that during the Sepoy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_088" id="page_088"></a>{88}</span> war, under -the greatest temptation from events and the constant taunts of the -fanatical priests of Cabul, he remained true to the treaty, and -abstained from raising the green flag of Islam and marching down on -the Punjab.”</p></div> - -<p>In another memorandum discussing the alternatives, of advancing into -Afghanistan to meet Russia, or of awaiting her attack on our own -frontier—which frontier has just been described—and deciding in favour -of the latter, Edwardes writes thus:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“By waiting on our present frontier, we husband our money, organise -our line of defence, rest upon our base and railroads, save our -troops from fatigue, and bring our heaviest artillery into the -field; while the enemy can only bring light guns over the passes, -has to bribe and fight his way across Afghanistan, wears out and -decimates his army, exhausts his treasure and carriage, and, when -defeated, has to retreat through the passes and over all -Afghanistan—plundered at every march by the tribes.”</p></div> - -<p>Early in 1857 all people in the Punjab, with John the Chief Commissioner -at their head, rejoiced to hear that Henry Lawrence had been appointed -by Lord Canning to be Chief Commissioner of Oude and would now occupy a -position peculiarly suited to his genius.</p> - -<p>The narrative, having now reached the month of April, 1857, may pause -for a moment on the eve of a perilous crisis. In the coming events the -Punjab was destined to play a foremost part, to be the staff for -sustaining the empire and the sword for destroying its enemies. It may -be well to review in the briefest terms the position which was about to -undergo the severest test.</p> - -<p>The Punjab had a considerable portion of the European army of India -cantoned within its limits, and relatively to its size a larger -proportion of European troops<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_089" id="page_089"></a>{89}</span> than any other province in the empire. -Within its area every political centre, but not every strategic point, -was held by European soldiers. The long extended frontier was quiet for -a time at least, some evil-disposed tribes having been overawed and -others deterred by punishment from transgressing. The Frontier Native -Force was in efficient discipline and in high spirits; it had neither -connection nor sympathy with the regular Sepoy army. The Himalayan State -of Jammu-Cashmere, on the northern boundary, was loyal from gratitude -for substantial benefits conferred. The lesser Native States in the -country between the Jumna and the Sutlej were faithful in remembrance of -protection accorded during full fifty years. Of the Native aristocracy, -that portion which had a real root in the soil was flourishing fairly -well, that which had not was withering away. With the feudal classes -judicious concessions in land and money, not over-burdensome to the -Treasury, had extinguished discontent which might otherwise have -smouldered till it burst into a flame if fanned by the gale which was -soon to blow over the province. The middle classes living on the land, -the yeomen, the peasant proprietors, the village communities, all felt a -security never known before. Favourable seasons had caused abundant -harvests, and the agricultural population was prospering. The military -classes of the Sikh nationality had settled down to rural industry. The -land-settlement had provided livelihood and occupation for all the men -of thews and sinews, who formed the flower of the population or the -nucleus of possible armies, and who really possessed the physical force -of the country. The fighting men, interspersed amidst the civil -population, had given up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_090" id="page_090"></a>{90}</span> their arms to the authorities. In the British -metaphor of the time, the teeth of the evil-disposed had been completely -drawn. Trade had developed under the new rule, and had expanded with -improved means of communication. Capital had begun to accumulate, and -the moneyed classes were in favour of a government that would support -public credit and refrain from extortion. The mass of the people were -contented, prices being cheap, wages on the rise and employment brisk. -The provincial revenues were elastic and increasing, though the -assessments were easier, the taxation lighter, and the imposts fewer -than formerly. The transit-dues, erst vexatiously levied under Native -rule, had been abolished. The whole administration had been so framed as -to ensure a strong though friendly grasp of the province, its people, -its resources, its capabilities. The bonds were indeed to be worn -easily, but they had been cast in a vast fold all round the country and -could be drawn tighter at pleasure. The awe inspired by British -victories still dwelt in the popular mind. As the repute of the late -Sikh army had been great, that of their conquerors became greater still. -The people were slow to understand the possibility of disaster befalling -so puissant a sovereignty as that which had been set up before their -eyes. The system was being administered by a body of European officers, -trained in the highest degree for organised action and for keeping a -tenacious grip upon their districts. Every post of importance was filled -by a capable man, many posts by men of talent, and some even by men of -genius. At the head of them all was John Lawrence himself, whose eye -penetrated<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_091" id="page_091"></a>{91}</span> to every compartment of the State-ship to prove and test her -as seaworthy.</p> - -<p>Notes of warning had been sounded from Umballa, the military station -midway between the Jumna and the Sutlej. Beyond the Sutlej in the Punjab -proper no unfavourable symptom was perceptible. But day by day ominous -sounds seemed to be borne northwards in the very air. At first they were -like the mutterings of a far off thunderstorm. Then they were as the -gathering of many waters. Soon they began to strike the ear of the -Punjab administrator, who might say as the anxious settler in North -America said,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Hark! ’tis the roll of the Indian drum.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_092" id="page_092"></a>{92}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -<small>WAR OF THE MUTINIES</small><br /><br /> -<small>1857-1859</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> story has now arrived at the month of May, 1857, and its hero is -about “to take up arms against a sea of troubles.” It may be well, then, -to remember what his position was according to the Constitution of -British India.</p> - -<p>Of all lands, British India is the land of discipline in the best sense -of the term, and its component parts, though full of self-help and -individuality, are blended into one whole by subordination to a supreme -authority. If in times of trouble or danger every proconsul or prefect -were to do what is best in his own eyes for his territory without due -regard to the central control, then the British Indian empire would soon -be as other Asiatic empires have been. A really great Anglo-Indian must -be able to command within the limits of his right, and to obey loyally -where obedience is due from him. But if he is to expect good -instructions from superior authority, then that authority must be well -informed. Therefore he must be apt in supplying not only facts, but also -suggestions as the issue of original and independent thought. He must -also be skilled in cooperating<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_093" id="page_093"></a>{93}</span> with those over whom he has no actual -authority, but whose assistance is nevertheless needed. In dangerous -emergency he must do his utmost if instructions from superior authority -cannot be had in time. But he must take the line which such authority, -if consulted, would probably approve; and he must not prolong his -separate action beyond the limit of real necessity. Often men, eminent -on the whole, have been found to fail in one or other of these respects, -and such failure has detracted from their greatness. John Lawrence was -good in all these cardinal points equally; he could command, obey, -suggest, co-operate, according to just requirements; therefore he was -great all round as an administrator,—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Strong with the strength of the race<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To command, to obey, to endure.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>When the Sepoy mutinies burst over Northern India, he was not the -Governor of the Punjab, for the Government of that province was -administered by the Governor-General in Council at Calcutta. Vast as was -his influence, still he was only Chief Commissioner or chief executive -authority in all departments, and Agent to the Governor-General. Subject -to the same control, he had under his general command and at his -disposal the Frontier Force described in the last chapter, an important -body indeed but limited in numbers. In the stations and cantonments of -the regular army, European and Native, he had the control of the -barracks, the buildings and all public works. But with the troops he had -nothing to do, and over their commanders he had no authority.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_094" id="page_094"></a>{94}</span></p> - -<p>After the interruption of communication between the Punjab and Calcutta -on the outbreak of the Mutinies, his position was altered by the force -of events. Additional powers had not been delegated to him, indeed, by -the Governor-General, but he was obliged to assume them in the series of -emergencies which arose. He had to incur on his responsibility a vast -outlay of money, and even to raise loans financially on the credit of -the British Government, to enrol large bodies of Native soldiers, and -appoint European officers from the regular troops to command them; to -create, and allot salaries temporarily to, many new appointments—all -which things lawfully required the authority of the Governor-General in -Council, to whom, however, a reference was impossible during the -disturbance. Again, he was obliged to make suggestions to the commanders -of the regular troops at the various stations throughout the Province. -These suggestions were usually accepted by them, and so had full effect. -The commanders saw no alternative but to defer to him as he was the -chief provincial authority, and as they were unable to refer to the -Commander-in-Chief or to the Supreme Government. They also felt their -normal obligation always to afford aid to him as representing the civil -power in moments of need. Thus upon him was cast by rapid degrees the -direction of all the British resources, civil, military and political, -within the Punjab and its dependencies.</p> - -<p>This explanation is necessary, in order to illustrate the arduous part -which he was compelled to take in the events about to be noticed. Thus -can we gauge his responsibility for that ultimate result, which might be -either the steadfast retention of a conquest won<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_095" id="page_095"></a>{95}</span> eight years -previously, or a desolating disaster. From such a far-inland position -the Europeans might, he knew, be driven towards their ships at the mouth -of the Indus, but how many would ever reach the haven must be terribly -doubtful. There he stood, then, at the head of affairs, like a tower -raised aloft in the Land of the Five Rivers, with its basis tried by -much concussion, but never shaken actually. He had, as shown in the last -chapter, resources unequalled in any province of India. There were -around him most, though not quite all, of the trusty coadjutors whom his -brother Henry had originally collected, or whom he himself had summoned. -His position during the crisis about to supervene, resembled that of the -Roman Senate after the battle of Cannæ, as set forth by the historian -with vivid imagery—“The single torrent joined by a hundred lesser -streams has swelled into a wide flood; and the object of our interest is -a rock, now islanded amid the waters, and against which they dash -furiously, as though they must needs sweep it away. But the rock stands -unshaken; the waters become feebler, the rock seems to rise higher and -higher; and the danger is passed away.”</p> - -<p>In May, 1857, he had as usual retired to his Himalayan retreat at Murri -for the summer, anxious regarding the mutinous symptoms, which had -appeared at various stations of the Native army in other provinces, but -not in the Punjab proper. He knew his own province to be secure even -against a revolt of the Native troops; his anxiety referred to his -neighbours over whom he had no authority, and he hoped for the best -respecting them. He had in April been suffering from neuralgia,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_096" id="page_096"></a>{96}</span> and had -even feared lest the distress and consequent weakness should drive him -to relinquish his charge for a time. He had however decided to remain -yet another year. His pain pursued him in the mountains. The paroxysm of -an acute attack had been subdued by the use of aconite, which relieving -the temples caused sharp anguish in the eyes,—when the fateful telegram -came from Delhi. He rose from a sick bed to read the message which a -telegraph clerk, with admirable presence of mind, despatched just before -the wires were broken by the mutineers and the mob. He thus learnt, -within a few hours of their occurrence, the striking and shocking events -which had occurred there, the outbreak of the native soldiery, the -murder of the Europeans, the momentary cessation of British rule, and in -its place the assumption of kingly authority by the titular Moslem -Emperor. Learning all this at least two days before the public of the -Punjab could hear of it, he was able to take all necessary precautions -civil, political, military, so that when the wondrous news should arrive -the well-wishers of the Government might be encouraged and the -evil-disposed abashed at finding that measures had actually been taken -or were in hand. The excitement of battling with emergency seemed for a -while to drive away the pain from his nerves, and to banish every -sensation save that of pugnacity.</p> - -<p>After the lapse of a generation who can now describe the dismay which -for a moment chilled even such hearts as his, when the amazing news from -Delhi was flashed across the land! For weeks indeed a still voice had -been whispering in his ear that at the many stations held by Sepoys -alone a revolt, if attempted, must succeed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_097" id="page_097"></a>{97}</span> But he had a right to be -sure that wherever European troops were stationed, there no snake of -mutiny would dare to rear its head and hiss. Here, however, he saw that -the mutinous Sepoys had broken loose at Meerut, the very core of our -military power in Hindostan, and had, in their flight to Delhi, escaped -the pursuit of European cavalry, artillery and infantry. For them, too, -he knew what an inestimable prize was Delhi, a large city, walled round -with fortifications, and containing an arsenal-magazine full of -munitions. It is ever important politically that European life should be -held sacred by the Natives, and he was horror-stricken on learning that -this sacredness had been atrociously violated. If British power depended -partly on moral force, then here he felt a fatally adverse effect, for -the rebellion started with a figure-head in the Great Mogul, veritably a -name to conjure with in India. His feeling was momentarily like that of -sailors on the outbreak of fire at sea, or on the crash of a collision. -But if the good ship reeled under the shock, he steadied her helm and -his men stood to their places.</p> - -<p>Within three days he received the reports from his headquarters at -Lahore, showing how Montgomery, as chief civil authority on the spot, -had with the utmost promptitude carried to the commander of the troops -there the telegraphic news from Delhi before the event could be known by -letters or couriers, and had urged the immediate disarming of the -Sepoys, how the commander had disarmed them with signal skill and -success, and how the capital of the province had thus been rendered -safe.</p> - -<p>Murri being near the frontier, he was able to confer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_098" id="page_098"></a>{98}</span> personally with -Herbert Edwardes, one of the greatest of his lieutenants, who was -Commissioner of Peshawur, the most important station in the province -next after Lahore itself. At Peshawur also he had John Nicholson, a -pillar of strength.</p> - -<p>During May and June he received reports of disaster daily in most parts -of Northern India, and he knew that his own province, notwithstanding -outward calm, was stirred with conflicting emotions inwardly.</p> - -<p>The events of 1857 were so full of epic grandeur, their results so vast, -their details so terrific, their incidents so complex, and the part -which he played in connection with them was so important, that it is -difficult to do justice to his achievements without entering upon a -historic summary for which space cannot be allowed here. By reason of -his conduct in the Punjab at this crisis, he has been hailed as the -deliverer and the preserver of India. In an account of his life it is -necessary at the very least to recapitulate, just thirty years after the -event, the several acts, measures or proceedings of his which gave him a -claim to this eminent title. All men probably know that he brought about -a result of the utmost value to his country. It is well to recount the -steps by which he reached this national goal.</p> - -<p>From the recapitulation of things done under his direction and on his -responsibility, it is not to be inferred that he alone did them. On the -contrary, he had the suggestions, the counsel, the moral support, the -energetic obedience of his subordinates, and the hearty co-operation of -many military commanders who were not his subordinates. He always -acknowledged the aid he thus received, as having been essential to any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_099" id="page_099"></a>{99}</span> -success that was attained. He had his share in the credit, and they had -theirs severally and collectively. In the first enthusiasm of success, -after the fall of Delhi in September, he wrote in a letter to Edwardes: -“Few men, in a similar position, have had so many true and good -supporters around him. But for them what could I have done?”</p> - -<p>He was from the beginning of the crisis in May, 1857, left in his -province, unsupported by all other parts of India save Scinde,—<i>penitus -toto divisus orbe</i>. The temporary establishment of the rebel -headquarters at Delhi divided him and the Punjab from North-Western -India, cutting off all direct communication with Calcutta and the -Governor-General. He did not for many weeks receive any directions by -post or telegraph from Lord Canning. It was not till August that he -received one important message from the Governor-General by the -circuitous route of Bombay and Scinde, as will be seen hereafter. He was -thus thrown absolutely on his own resources, a circumstance which had -more advantages than drawbacks, as it enabled him to act with all his -originality and individuality.</p> - -<p>Thus empowered by the force of events, his action spread over a wide -field, the complete survey of which would comprise many collateral -incidents relating to many eminent persons and to several careers of the -highest distinction. All that can be undertaken here is to state the -principal heads of his proceedings as concerning his conduct -individually, with the mention only of a few persons who were so bound -up with him that they must be noticed in order to elucidate his unique -position.</p> - -<p>His first step was to confirm the prompt and decisive<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span> measures taken by -his lieutenants at Lahore (as already mentioned) under the spur of -emergency, whereby the capital of the Punjab was placed beyond the reach -of danger.</p> - -<p>But he saw in an instant that the self-same danger of mutiny among the -native troops, from which Lahore had been saved, menaced equally all the -other military stations of the Punjab, namely Jullundur and Ferozepore, -both in the basin of the Sutlej river, Sealkote on the Himalayan border, -Mooltan commanding the approach to Scinde on the river-highway between -the Punjab and the sea, Rawul-Pindi and Peshawur in the region of the -Indus, Jhelum commanding the river of that name; at each of which -stations a body of Sepoys, possibly mutinous, was stationed. Therefore -he proposed that a movable column of European troops should be formed -and stationed in a central and commanding position, ready to proceed at -once to any station where mutiny might show itself among the Sepoys, to -assist in disarming them or in beating them down should they rise in -revolt, and to cut off their escape should they succeed in flying with -arms in their hands. He procured in concert with the local military -authorities the appointment of Neville Chamberlain to command this -movable column, and then of John Nicholson, when Chamberlain was -summoned to Delhi. There were many technical difficulties in completing -this arrangement which indeed was vitally needful, but they were -surmounted only by his masterful influence. Chamberlain was already well -known to him from service on the Trans-Indus frontier. Nicholson was his -nominee specially (having been originally brought forward by his brother -Henry)<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span> and will be prominently mentioned hereafter. He was indeed -instrumental in placing Nicholson in a position which proved of -momentous consequence to the country in a crisis of necessity.</p> - -<p>But too soon it became evident that his worst apprehensions regarding -the Sepoys in the Punjab would be fulfilled. Then finding that no -proclamation to the Sepoys was being issued by the Commander-in-Chief -from Delhi, and that no message could possibly come from the -Governor-General, he determined after consulting the local military -authorities to issue a proclamation from himself as Chief Commissioner -to the Sepoys in the Punjab, and to have it posted up at every -cantonment or station. The most important sentences from it may be -quoted here.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Sepoys! I warn and advise you to prove faithful to your salt; -faithful to the Government who have given your forefathers and you -service for the last hundred years; faithful to that Government -who, both in cantonments and in the field, have been careful of -your welfare and interests, and who, in your old age, have given -you the means of living comfortably in your homes. Those regiments -which now remain faithful will receive the rewards due to their -constancy; those soldiers who fall away now will lose their service -for ever! It will be too late to lament hereafter when the time has -passed by. Now is the opportunity of proving your loyalty and good -faith. The British Government will never want for native soldiers. -In a month it might raise 50,000 in the Punjab alone. You know well -enough that the British Government have never interfered with your -religion. The Hindoo temple and the Mahommedan mosque have both -been respected by the English Government. It was but the other day -that the Jumma mosque at Lahore, which the Sikhs had converted into -a magazine, was restored to the Mahommedans.”</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span></p> - -<p>Simultaneously under his directions, or with his sanction, several -important forts, arsenals, treasuries and strategic positions, which had -been more or less in the guardianship of the Sepoys, were swiftly -transferred to the care of European troops, before mutiny had time to -develope itself.</p> - -<p>Soon it became necessary for him to urge, with as much secrecy as -possible, the disarming of the Sepoys at nearly every station in the -Punjab. This measure was successful at Peshawur, though with some -bloodshed and other distressful events; at Rawul Pindi it was carried -out under his own eye; at Mooltan a point of vital importance, it was -executed brilliantly under provident arrangements which he was specially -instrumental in suggesting. It was effected generally by the presence of -European troops; at Mooltan, however, he was proud to reflect that it -had been managed by Punjabi agency with the aid of some loyal -Hindostanis. But at Ferozepore its success was partial only, at -Jullundur the mutineers escaped through local incompetence, but the -effects were mitigated by his arrangements. At Sealkote he had advised -disarming before the European regiment was withdrawn to form the Movable -Column already mentioned; nevertheless the military commanders tried to -keep the Sepoys straight without disarming them, so when the mutiny did -occur it could not be suppressed. He felt keenly the ill effects of this -disaster brought about as it was by murderous treachery. But the -mutineers were cut off with heavy loss by the Movable Column which he -had organised. Space, indeed, forbids any attempt to describe the -disarming of the Sepoys which was executed at his instance, or with his -approval,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span> throughout the Province. Once convinced that the Sepoys were -intending, if not actual, mutineers, he gave his <i>mot d’ordre</i> to -disarm, disarm; and this was the primary step in the path of safety.</p> - -<p>Even then, however, at nearly every large station there were bodies of -disarmed Sepoys, ripe for any mischief, who had to be guarded, and the -guarding of them was a grave addition to his toils and anxieties; it was -done however with success.</p> - -<p>His anxiety for the future of Mooltan was acute, as that place commanded -the only line of communication that remained open between the Punjab and -India, and the only road of retreat in event of disaster. So help from -the Bombay side was entreated; and he felt inexpressibly thankful when -the Bombay European Fusiliers arrived at Mooltan speedily from Scinde, -and when a camel-train was organised for military transport to that -place from Kurrachi on the seaboard. He rendered heartfelt -acknowledgments to Bartle Frere, to whose energy the speedy arrival of -this much-needed reinforcement was due. Come what might, he would cling -to Mooltan even to the bitterest end, as events had caused this place to -be for a time the root of British power in the Punjab.</p> - -<p>Almost his first care was to urge on the movement which was being made -by the Commander-in-Chief, General Anson, who, assembling the European -Regiments then stationed in the Himalayas near Simla and at Umballa, -proposed to march upon Delhi. His immediate counsel to the -Commander-in-Chief, from a political point of view—irrespective of the -military considerations of which the General must be the judge-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span>-was to -advance. If, he argued, success in stopping the rebellion depended on -moral as well as on physical force, then a forward movement would affect -the public mind favourably, while inactivity must produce a -corresponding depression; thus we could not possibly afford to stand -still, and an advancing policy would furnish our only chance. Rejoiced -to find that counsels of this character prevailed at the army -headquarters then established between Simla and Umballa, and that the -European force had its face turned straight towards Delhi, he set -himself to help in finding transport, supplies and escort. The line of -march lay along the high road from Umballa to Delhi about one hundred -miles, so he helped with his civil and political resources to clear and -pioneer the way. When the European force laid siege to Delhi, this road -became the line of communication with the rear, the chain of connection -between the combatants in camp on the Delhi ridge and the military base -at Umballa; this line, then, he must keep open. Fortunately the -adjoining districts belonged chiefly to Native princes, who had for many -years been protected by the British power and now proved themselves -thoroughly loyal; so he through his officers organised the troops and -the establishments of these Native States to help the British troops in -patrolling the road, provisioning the supply depôts, escorting the -stores and materials for the army in the front.</p> - -<p>The Sepoys having mutinied or been disarmed throughout the Punjab, it -became instantly necessary to supply their place if possible by -trustworthy Native troops; to this task he applied himself with the -utmost skill and energy. He caused the flower of the Punjab<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span> Frontier -force, already mentioned in a preceding chapter, to be despatched with -extraordinary expedition to Delhi. He raised fresh levies, with very -suggestive aid from Edwardes at Peshawur, by selecting men from among -the Sikhs and Moslems of the Punjab. He had them rapidly organised for -service in every part of the country from Peshawur to Delhi. As these -new troops were thus promptly formed, he kept a prudent eye on their -total number. Finding this number was mounting to more than fifty -thousand men of all arms, he stopped short, considering this to be the -limit of safety, and he restrained the zeal of his lieutenants so as to -prevent any undue or excessive number being raised. He from the first -foresaw that the fresh Punjabi soldiery must not be too numerous, nor be -allowed to feel that the physical force was on their side.</p> - -<p>The selection of trustworthy Native officers for the new troops required -much discrimination; but his personal knowledge of all eminent and -well-informed Punjabis enabled him either to make the choice himself, or -to obtain guidance in choosing.</p> - -<p>It is hard to describe what a task he and his coadjutors had in order to -provide this considerable force within a very few weeks—to raise and -select trusty men from widely scattered districts, to drill, equip, -clothe, arm and officer them, to discipline and organise them in -marching order, to place them on garrison duty or despatch them for -service in the field. A large proportion of them, too, must be mounted, -and for these he had to collect horses.</p> - -<p>Special care had to be taken by him for the watch and ward of the long -frontier adjoining Afghanistan<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span> for several hundred miles, which border -had been deprived of some of its best troops for service before Delhi. -This critical task, too, he accomplished with entire success.</p> - -<p>Further, one notable step was taken by him in respect to the Sepoy -regiments. The Sepoys were for the most part Hindostanis, but in every -corps there were some Sikhs or Punjabis; he caused these latter to be -separated from their comrades and embodied in the newly-formed forces. -Thus he saved hundreds of good men from being involved in mutiny.</p> - -<p>Anticipating the good which would be exerted on the public mind by the -sight of the forces of the Native States being employed under the -British standard before Delhi, he accepted the offers of assistance from -these loyal feudatories. Under his auspices, the Chiefs in the -Cis-Sutlej States were among the first to appear in arms on the British -side. Afterwards he arranged with the Maharaja of Jammu and Cashmere for -the despatch of a contingent from those Himalayan regions to join the -British camp at Delhi; and he deputed his brother Richard to accompany -this contingent as political agent.</p> - -<p>It was providentially fortunate for him and his that no sympathy existed -between the Punjabis and the mutinous Sepoys, but on the contrary a -positive antipathy. The Sepoys of the Bengal army who were mutineers -nearly all belonged to Oude and Hindostan; the Punjabis regarded them as -foreigners, and detested them ever since the first Sikh war, even -disliking their presence in the Punjab; he was fully alive to this -feeling, and made the very most of it for the good of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span> British -cause. He knew too that they hated Delhi as the city where their -warrior-prophet Tegh Behadur had been barbarously put to death, and -where the limbs of the dead martyr had been exposed on the ramparts. In -the first instance the Punjabis regarded the mutinies as utter follies -sure to bring down retribution, and they were glad to be among his -instruments in dealing out punishment to the mutineers, and so “feeding -fat their grudge” against them. They told him that the bread which the -Sepoys had rejected would fall to the lot of the loyal Punjab. Thus he -seized this great advantage instantly, and drove the whole force of -Punjabi sentiment straight against the rebels, saying in effect as Henry -V. said to his soldiers,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Follow your spirit and upon this charge<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Cry, ‘God for Harry, England, and St. George.’<span class="lftspc">”</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>As outbreak after outbreak occurred, he pressed for the signal and -condign punishment of the leaders, as a deterrent to those who might yet -be wavering between duty and revolt. But this object having been -secured, he instantly tried to temper offended justice with at least a -partial clemency, lest men should be tempted to rebellion by despair. -When batches of red-handed mutineers were taken prisoners, he would -intercede so that the most guilty only should be blown from guns, and -that the lives of the rest should be spared with a view to imprisonment. -In such moments, he would support his appeal by invoking his officers to -look into their consciences as before the Almighty. This solemn -invocation—rarely uttered by him, though its sense<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span> was ever on his -mind—attested the earnestness of his conviction.</p> - -<p>By this time he and his were regarded as forming the military base of -the operations against Delhi. Thither had he sent off many of his best -troops and his ablest officers, besides stores and material. Prudential -considerations had been duly brought to his notice in reference to the -Punjab itself becoming denuded of its resources. But after weighing all -this carefully yet rapidly, he decided that the claims of the British -besiegers, encamped over against the rebellious Delhi, were paramount, -and he acted on that decision.</p> - -<p>Fortunately the arsenals and magazines in his province were fully -supplied, and soon after the great outbreak in May a siege-train had -been despatched to Delhi. But he knew that the siege was laid on one -side only out of several sides, nothing like an investment being -practicable as the besieged had perfect communication with their base in -the rebellious Hindostan. So he prepared his province to supply the -countless necessaries for the conduct of such a siege, against a city -girdled with several miles of fortifications, possessing many internal -resources which were further fed from the outside, and defended by -disciplined rebels, who on rebelling had seized the treasure in the -vaults, the ordnance and warlike stores in the magazine of the place. -Thus for many weeks he sent convoy after convoy, even driblet after -driblet, of miscellaneous ordnance stores, saddlery, tents, sand-bags -and articles innumerable. For all this work a complete transport-train -was organised under his orders, to ply daily on the road leading to the -rear of the British forces before<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span> Delhi. The vehicles, the animals for -draught or for baggage, the bullocks, the camels, the elephants, were -hired or purchased by him in his province and its dependencies. The -drivers and riders were taken from the people in his jurisdiction, and -they behaved towards their trusted master with steadiness and fidelity. -He sorely needed the public moneys available in the Punjab for his own -operations there; still out of them he spared large sums to be sent to -Delhi, knowing that from nowhere else but the Punjab could a rupee be -obtained by the besiegers. If a few native troops of a special -character, such as sappers and pioneers, were required, he would select -old soldiers of the late Sikh armies and despatch them to the siege. As -the operations of the siege advanced, a second train of heavy guns was -needed, and this he sent in the nick of time by transport collected in -the Punjab. He was in constant correspondence with the commanders before -Delhi, and thus knew their needs, their perils, and their chances. They -sent him all their requisitions, and looked upon him as their military -base. It may be said that he never refused a requisition either for men, -money or means; and that he hardly ever failed to fulfil any request -with which compliance had been promised.</p> - -<p>It is hard to paint the picture of his work in these days, because the -canvas has to be crowded with many diverse incidents and policies. At -one moment he cries in effect—disarm the rebel Sepoys, disarm them -quick, inflict exemplary punishment, stamp out mutiny, pursue, cut off -retreat—at another, spare, spare, temper judgment with discriminating -clemency—at another, advance, advance, raise levies, place men wherever -wanted—at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> another, hold fast, don’t do too much, by an excessive -number of new men a fresh risk is run—at another, seize such and such -strategic points, guard such and such river-passages—at another, break -up this or that pontoon bridge to prevent the enemy crossing—at -another, press forward the transport, push on the supplies—at all -moments, put a cheerful as well as a bold face even on the worst, for -the sake of moral effect. He unravelled the threads of countless -transactions, collated the thick-coming reports from all the districts, -and noted the storm-warnings at every point of his political compass. -His warfare with the rebels and mutineers was offensive as well as -defensive. His word always was, attack, attack, so that the people, -seeing this aggressive attitude, might not lose heart. His energy in -these days might be called resplendent, as it was all-pervading, -life-infusing, and ranged in all directions with the broadest sweep. But -he recked little of glory, for the crisis was awful.</p> - -<p>It may possibly be asked what the Punjab and the empire would have done, -had he at this time fallen or been stricken down. Such questions, -however, imply scant justice to him and his system; and he would have -taken them as sorry compliments. He had ever so laboured that his work -might live after him. Around him were several leaders capable of -commanding events or directing affairs; and under him was an admirable -band of officers civil and military, trained under his eye, on whom his -spirit rested, and who were ready to follow his lieutenant or successor -even as they had followed him.</p> - -<p>Then financial difficulty stared him in the face, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span> respect not only -of the normal but also of the abnormal expenses in the Punjab. It will -have been understood from a preceding chapter that his provincial -treasury, though sufficing for the expenses of the Province and for its -share in the military expenditure, was not full enough to meet the -entire cost of the army cantoned in the province for the defence of the -empire generally. Up to the end of April in this year, he had drawn -large supplies in cash regularly from the treasuries in Hindostan and -Bengal. But from May onwards these supplies were cut off, and he was -left to provide money not only for the old charges of the Province, but -also for the new charges on account of the extraordinary measures which -had been adopted. He therefore raised loans of money locally, and moral -pressure had to be applied to the Native capitalists. He observed that -these men, who are usually ready and loyal and are bound to us by many -ties, now hung back and showed closefistedness. This he regarded as an -index of their fears for the issue of the desperate struggle in which we -were engaged. He also invited subscriptions from the Native Princes and -Chiefs. Having raised large sums in this way, he was able to keep the -various treasuries open, and to avoid suspending payment anywhere. His -first care, after the restoration of peace and plenty, was to repay the -temporary creditors.</p> - -<p>As the news from the British forces before Delhi grew more and more -unfavourable during June and July, he reflected, with characteristic -forethought, on the steps to be taken in the event of disaster in that -quarter. Among other things he apprehended that it might become -necessary to retire from Peshawur, so that the large<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span> European force -cantoned there might be concentrated for the defence of the Province. -This apprehension of his caused much discussion subsequently, and is -likely to be fraught with historic interest. He thus expressed himself -in a letter to Edwardes on June 9th.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I think we must look ahead and consider what should be done in the -event of disaster at Delhi. My decided opinion is that, in that -case, we must concentrate. All our safety depends on this. If we -attempt to hold the whole country, we shall be cut up in detail. -The important points in the Punjab are Peshawur, Mooltan, and -Lahore, including Umritsur. But I do not think that we can hold -Peshawur and the other places also, in the event of disaster. We -could easily retire from Peshawur early in the day. But at the -eleventh hour, it would be difficult, perhaps impossible.”</p></div> - -<p>On the following day, June 10th, he wrote in the same strain to Lord -Canning, but adding that he would not give up Peshawur so long as he saw -a chance of success. He asked that a telegram might be sent to him by -the circuitous route of Bombay (the only route then open) containing one -of two alternative replies—“Hold on to Peshawur to the last,”—or, “You -may act as may appear expedient in regard to Peshawur.” Very soon he -received Edwardes’s reply that, “With God’s help we can and will hold -Peshawur, let the worst come to the worst.” On June 18th after a -conversation with Nicholson, who was utterly opposed to retiring from -Peshawur, he wrote to Edwardes repeating that in the event of a great -disaster such retirement might be necessary. No reply being received -from Lord Canning, he prepared to act upon this view as the extremity of -the crisis seemed to loom nearer and nearer during June and July. He -reiterated his views in two despatches<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span> to the Governor-General, one at -the end of June, the other at the end of July. But by August 1st public -intelligence from India and England reached him, modifying favourably, -though it did not remove, the crisis. On the 7th of that month he -received Lord Canning’s reply, “Hold on to Peshawur to the last.” He -immediately writes to Edwardes: “The Governor-General bids me hold on to -the last at Peshawur. I do not, however, now think that we shall be -driven to any extremity. The tide is turning very decidedly against the -mutineers at Delhi.” This episode evinces his moral courage and -single-mindedness in all that concerned the public safety, for he must -have well known that proposals for retirement were invidious, and might -prove unpopular with many of his supporters.</p> - -<p>When he spoke about the turning of the tide he alluded partly to the -news, which was slowly travelling to the Punjab from England, regarding -the despatch to India of mighty reinforcements of European troops. These -would not indeed reach him in time, but the knowledge nerved him to hold -out, as every day gained was a step towards victory.</p> - -<p>On August 6th he heard at last the tidings of his brother’s death at -Lucknow, from a mortal wound while in bed from the bursting of a shell -which had penetrated the chamber. Immediately he telegraphed to -Edwardes, “My brother Henry was wounded on July 2nd, and died two days -afterwards.” The same day he wrote to Edwardes, “Henry died like a good -soldier in discharge of his duty; he has not left an abler or better -soldier behind him; his loss just now will be a national calamity.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span></p> - -<p>In the middle of July he left Murri and proceeded to Lahore, where he -remained at his headquarters till the end of the crisis. There he took -counsel daily with Montgomery and Macleod, the very men on whose -courageous alacrity he most relied for the despatch of public business. -For four weary months he sustained British authority in the Punjab on -the whole from end to end, notwithstanding the agitation caused by -several mutinous outbreaks of the Sepoys, and despite several desperate -attempts at insurrection in some districts. He kept down the disorder, -which was but too ready to upheave itself when the worst example was -being set in neighbouring provinces, and while stories of distant -disasters were flying about. He extinguished every flame that burst -forth. Having under him a matchless staff of officers, civil, political, -military, he set before them all by his own bearing and conduct an -example which they nobly followed. Thus throughout the crisis he -maintained, intact and uninterrupted, the executive power in the civil -administration, the collection of the revenue to the uttermost farthing, -the operations of the judicial courts, the action of the police. He saw, -not only the suppression of violent crime, but also the most peaceful -proceedings conducted, such as the dispensing of relief to the sick and -the attendance of children at school. He felt that during the suspense -of the public mind, a sedative is produced by the administrative -clock-work moving in seconds, minutes, hours of precious time won for -the British cause. He was ruling over the Native population, which was -indeed the most martial among all the races in India, but which also had -been beaten and conquered by British prowess within living<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span> memory. He -now took care that the British prestige should be preserved in their -minds, and that the British star should still before their eyes be in -the ascendant. Knowing them to have that generosity which always belongs -to brave races, he determined to trust them as the surest means of -ensuring their fidelity. Therefore he chose the best fighting men -amongst them to aid their late conquerors in the Punjab, and to -re-conquer the rebellious Hindostan. He knew that one way of keeping the -fiercer and more restless spirits out of mischief was to hurl them at -the common foe.</p> - -<p>But the months wore on from May to September while Delhi remained -untaken, and he knew that week by week the respect of the Punjab people, -originally high, for the British Government, was being lowered by the -spectacle of unretrieved disaster. He felt also that the patience of the -evil-disposed, which had been happily protracted, must be approaching -nearer and nearer to the point of exhaustion. He saw that sickness was -creeping over the robust frame of the body politic, and that the -symptoms of distemper, which were day by day appearing in the limbs, -might ere long extend to the vital organs. He learned, from intercepted -correspondence, the sinister metaphors which were being applied to what -seemed to be the sinking state of the British cause—such as “many of -the finest trees in the garden have fallen,” or “white wheat is scarce -and country produce abundant,” or “hats are hardly to be seen while -turbans are countless.”</p> - -<p>Yet it was evident to him that the force before Delhi in August would -not suffice to recapture the place, although he had sent all the -reinforcements<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span> which could properly be spared from the Punjab. But if -Delhi should remain untaken, the certainty of disturbance throughout the -Punjab presented itself to him. He must therefore make one supreme -effort to so strengthen the Delhi camp that an assault might be soon -delivered. This he could do by despatching thither the one last reserve -which the Punjab possessed, namely Nicholson’s movable column. This was -a perilous step to take, and his best officers, as in duty bound, -pointed out its perils; still he resolved to adopt it. If the column -should go, grave risk would indeed be incurred for the Punjab, but then -there was a chance of Delhi being taken, and of the Punjab being -preserved; if the column should not go, then Delhi would not be taken, -and in that case the Punjab must sooner or later be lost; and he had -finally to decide between these two alternatives. His intimate -acquaintance with the people taught him that if a general rising should -occur in consequence of the British failing to take Delhi, then the -presence of the movable column in the Punjab would not save the -Province. This was the crisis not only in his career, but also in the -fate of the Punjab and of Delhi with Hindostan. He decided in favour of -action, not only as the safer of two alternatives, but as the only -alternative which afforded any hope of safety. He was conscious that -this particular decision was fraught with present risk to the Punjab, -which had hardly force enough for self-preservation. But he held that -the other alternative must ultimately lead to destruction. His decision -thus formed had to be followed by rapid action, for sickness at the end -of summer and beginning of autumn was literally decimating the European -force<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span> before Delhi week by week; and even each day as it passed -appreciably lessened the fighting strength. So the column marched with -all speed for Delhi; and then he had sped his last bolt. In his own -words, he had poured out the cup of his resources to the last drop.</p> - -<p>Thus denuded, his position was critical indeed. He had but four thousand -European soldiers remaining in the Punjab, and of these at least one -half were across the Indus near the Khyber Pass. Several strategic -points were held by detachments only of European troops, and he could -not but dread the sickly season then impending. He had eighteen thousand -Sepoys to watch, of whom twelve thousand had been disarmed and six -thousand still had their arms. Of his newly-raised Punjabis the better -part had been sent to Delhi; but a good part remained to do the -necessary duties in the Punjab; and what if they should come to think -that the physical force was at their disposal?</p> - -<p>The sequel formed one of the bright pages in British annals, and amply -justified the responsibility which he had incurred. The column arrived -in time to enable the British force to storm and capture Delhi; and he -mourned, as a large-hearted man mourns, over the death of Nicholson in -the hour of triumph. He declared that Nicholson, then beyond the reach -of human praise, had done deeds of which the memory could never perish -so long as British rule should endure.</p> - -<p>His relief was ineffable when tidings came that Delhi had been stormed, -the mutineers defeated and expelled, the so-called Emperor taken -prisoner, the fugitive rebels pursued, the city and the surrounding -districts restored to British rule. To his ear the knell of the great -rebellion had sounded. He could not but feel proud at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span> the thought that -this result had been achieved without any reinforcement whatever from -England. But he was patriotically thankful to hear of the succour -despatched by England, through Palmerston her great Minister—some fifty -thousand men in sailing vessels by a long sea-route round the Cape of -Good Hope, full twelve thousand miles in a few months, by an effort -unparalleled in warlike annals.</p> - -<p>While the peril was at its height, his preoccupation almost drowned -apprehension. But when the climax was over, he was awe-struck on looking -back on the narrowness of the escape. He recalled to mind the desperate -efforts which he and his men had put forth. But he was profoundly -conscious that, humanly speaking, no exertions of this nature were -adequate to cope with the frightful emergency which had lasted so long -as to strain his resources almost to breaking. The fatuity, which often -haunts criminals, had affected the mutineers and the rebel leaders; -error had dogged their steps, and their unaccountable oversights had, in -his opinion, contributed to the success of the British cause. He used to -say that their opportunity would, if reasonably used, have given them -the mastery; but that they with their unreason threw away its -advantages, and that in short had they pursued almost any other course -than that which they did pursue, the British flag must have succumbed. -Thus regarding with humility the efforts of which the issue had been -happy, he felt truly, and strove to inspire others with, a sentiment of -devout thankfulness to the God of battles and the Giver of all victory.</p> - -<p>He believed that if Delhi had not fallen, and if the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span> tension in the -Punjab had been prolonged for some more months, even for some more -weeks, the toils of inextricable misfortune would have closed round his -administration. The frontier tribes would, he thought, have marched upon -half-protected districts, and would have been joined by other tribes in -the interior of the province. One military station after another would -have been abandoned by the British, so that the available forces might -be concentrated at Lahore the capital; and finally there would have been -a retreat, with all the European families and a train of camp-followers, -from Lahore down the Indus valley towards the seaboard. Then, as he -declared, no Englishman would for a whole generation have been seen in -the Punjab, either as a conqueror or as a ruler.</p> - -<p>As to his share in the recapture of Delhi, the testimony may be cited of -an absolutely competent witness, Lord Canning, a man of deliberate -reflection, who always measured his words, and who wrote some time after -the event when all facts and accounts had been collated, thus:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Of what is due to Sir John Lawrence himself no man is ignorant. -Through him Delhi fell, and the Punjab, no longer a weakness, -becomes a source of strength. But for him, the hold of England over -Upper India would have had to be recovered at a cost of English -blood and treasure which defies calculation.”</p></div> - -<p>Delhi had heretofore belonged not to the Punjab, but to the -North-Western Provinces; on being re-taken by the British in September, -it was, together with the surrounding territory, made over during -October to his care and jurisdiction. Having removed all traces of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span> the -recent storm from the surface of the Punjab, he proceeded to Delhi in -order to superintend in person the restoration of law and order there. -Before starting, he helped the Commander-in-Chief (Sir Colin Campbell, -afterwards Lord Clyde) in arranging that the Punjabi troops, raised -during the summer, should be despatched southwards beyond Delhi for the -reconquest of Hindostan and Oude. He also wrote to the Secretary of -State entreating that his good officers might be remembered in respect -of rewards and honours. His wife’s health had failed, and he had seen -her start for a river voyage down the Indus on her way to England. He -was at this time very anxious on her account, and would say, what avail -would all worldly successes and advantages be to him if he should lose -her? So he started for Delhi sore at heart; but he received better -accounts of her, and his spirits rose with the approach of the winter -season, which in Upper India always serves as a restorative to the -European constitution.</p> - -<p>Then crossing the Sutlej, he entered the friendly States of the -Protected Sikh Chiefs, who had been saved by the British from absorption -under Runjit Sing, the Lion of Lahore, and whose loyalty had shown like -white light during the darkest days of recent months. Having exchanged -with them all the heartiest congratulations, he passed on to Delhi and -to the scenes of his younger days. With what emotions must he have -revisited the imperial city—to all men associated with the majestic -march of historic events, but to him fraught with the recollections of -that period of life which to the eye of memory almost always seems -bright,—yet just emerging from a condition of tragic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span> horror, the -darkness of which had been lighted up by the deeds of British prowess -and endurance. As he rode through the desolate bazaars, the -half-deserted alleys, the thoroughfares traversed by bodies of men under -arms but no longer crowded with bustling traffic—he must have grieved -over the fate which the rebellious city had brought on itself. His -penetrating insight taught him that in this case, as in nearly all -similar cases, the innocent suffer with the guilty, and the -peace-loving, kindly-disposed citizens are involved in the sanguinary -retribution which befalls the turbulent and the blood-seeking. He found -the fair suburbs razed, the fortifications partly dismantled, the famous -Muri bastion half-shattered by cannonading, the classic Cashmere Gate -riddled with gunshot, the frontage of houses disfigured by musketry, the -great Moslem place of worship temporarily turned into a barrack for -Hindoo troops. The noble palace of the Moguls alone remained intact, and -he passed under the gloomy portal where some of the first murders were -perpetrated on the morning of the great mutiny, and so entered the -courtyard where the Christian prisoners of both sexes had been put to -the sword. Then he proceeded to the inner sanctum of the palace to see -his imperial prisoner, the last of the Great Moguls. He could not but -eye with pity this man, the remnant of one of the most famous dynasties -in human annals, reduced to the dregs of misery and humiliation in the -extremity of old age. Yet he regarded with stern reserve a prisoner who, -though illustrious by antecedents and drawn irresistibly into the vortex -of rebellion, was accused of murder in ordering the execution of the -European captives. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span> was resolved that the ex-emperor should be -arraigned on a capital charge, and abide the verdict of a criminal -tribunal.</p> - -<p>He knew, however, that by the speedy restoration of the civil authority, -the harried, plundered, partly devastated city would revive; for the -presence of troops in large bodies and their camp-followers created a -demand, which the peasants would supply if they could bring their goods -to market without fear of marauding on the way, and expose them for sale -without molestation. He thus saw the closed shops reopened, the -untenanted houses re-occupied, the empty marts beginning once more to be -crowded; though the city must wear the air of mourning for a long while -before the brilliancy and gaiety of past times should re-appear.</p> - -<p>The re-establishment of police authority for current affairs, and of -civil justice between man and man, formed the easiest and pleasantest -portion of his task. A more grave and anxious part devolved upon him -respecting the treatment of persons who were already in confinement for, -or might yet be accused of, participation in the late rebellion. He -learned that the rebellion, in itself bad enough, had been aggravated, -indeed blackened, by countless acts of contumely, treachery and -atrocity; that the minds of the European officers, after the endurance -of such evils in the inclemency of a torrid climate, had become inflamed -and exasperated; that the retribution had not only been most severe on -those who were guilty in the first degree, but also on those who were -guilty only in the second or the third degree; and that, in the haste of -the time, those whose misconduct<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span> had been passive, and even those who -had been but slightly to blame, were mixed up with the active criminals -in indiscriminating condemnation. He would make every allowance for his -countrymen who had borne the burden and heat of an awful day, but he was -there to overlook and see that they were not hurried away by -excitability into proceedings which their after judgment could never -approve. Though rigid in striking down those who were <i>in flagrante -delicto</i>, and were actively engaged in murderous rebellion, yet he would -hold his hand as soon as the stroke had effected its legitimate purpose. -While the emergency lasted he would not hesitate in the most summary -measures of repression; it was the life of the assailed against the life -of their assailants. But as soon as the emergency had been overcome, he -was for showing mercy, for exercising discrimination, for putting an end -to summary procedure, and for substituting a criminal jurisdiction with -a view to calm and deliberate judgment. On his arrival at Delhi there -were the most pressing reasons for enforcing this principle, and -forthwith he enforced it with all his energy and promptitude. He -immediately organised special tribunals for the disposal of all cases -which were pending in respect of the late rebellion, or which might yet -be brought forward. He took care that no man thus charged should be -tried, executed, or otherwise punished summarily, but should be brought -to regular trial, without delay indeed, but on the other hand without -undue haste, and should not suffer without having had all fair chances -of exculpating himself. All this may appear a matter of course to us now -after the lapse of a generation, but it was hard<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span> indeed for him to -accomplish then, immediately after the subsidence of the political -storm; and it needed all his persistency and firmness.</p> - -<p>It then devolved upon him to inquire officially into the circumstances -of the sudden outbreak in May, 1857, and of the subsequent events. His -inquiries showed that the Sepoys had been tampered with for some weeks -previously, but not for any long time; that they were tempted to join -the conspiracy by the fact of their being left without the control of -European troops, and in command of such a centre as Delhi, with such a -personality as the ex-emperor; all which lessons he took to heart as -warnings for the future. He found that the city had been plundered of -all the wealth which had been accumulated during half a century of -secure commerce and prosperity under British rule; but that the -plundering had been committed by the mob or by miscellaneous robbers, -and not by the victorious soldiery, Native or European. He was rejoiced -to ascertain that on the whole the European soldiery were free from any -imputation of plundering, intemperance, violence, or maltreatment of the -inhabitants, despite the temptations which beset them, the provocation -which they had received, and the hardships they had suffered.</p> - -<p>Having assured himself that the stream of British rule at Delhi had -begun to flow peacefully in its pristine channel, he returned to Lahore -by daily marches in February, 1858. The weather was bright, the climate -invigorating, the aspect of affairs inspiriting; and his health was -fairly good. It was on this march that he caused a despatch to be -prepared, at the instance of Edwardes at Peshawar, regarding the -attitude of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span> British Government in India towards Christianity. The -fact of the mutinies beginning with a matter relating to caste and its -prejudices, had drawn the attention of the authorities to the practical -evils of the Hindoo system; the flames of rebellion had been fanned by -Moslem fanaticism; the minds of all Europeans had been drawn towards -their Almighty Preserver by the contemplation of deliverance from peril; -thus the thoughts of men were turned towards Christianity; and he was -specially disposed to follow this train of reflection. He little -anticipated the influence which this despatch was destined to exercise -on public opinion in England.</p> - -<p>His carefulness in repaying the temporary loans, raised locally during -the crisis, has already been mentioned. But there was another debt of -honour to be discharged by him; for the Native states and chiefs, who -had stood by us under the fire of peril, were to be rewarded. This he -effected, with the sanction of the Governor-General, by allotting to -them the estates confiscated for murderous treason or overt rebellion. -He desired that the British Government should not benefit by these just -and necessary confiscations, but that the property, forfeited by the -disloyal, should be handed over to the loyal.</p> - -<p>Thus he returned to Lahore, and thence went on to the Murri mountains in -May, 1858, where he might have hoped to enjoy rest after a year of -labour unprecedented even in his laborious life. But now a new danger -began to arrest his attention. During the year just passed, from May -1857 to the corresponding month of 1858, his policy had been to organise -Punjabi troops in place of the Sepoy force mutinous or disarmed, then to -employ<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> them for helping the European army in re-conquering the -north-western provinces, and especially in re-capturing Lucknow. His -Punjabis indeed were almost the only troops, except the Ghoorkas, -employed with the European army in these important operations. Right -loyally had they done their work, and well did they deserve to share in -the honours of victory. They naturally were proud of the triumphs in -which they had participated. They had a right to be satisfied with their -own conduct. But they began to feel a sense of their own importance -also. They had done much for the British Government, and might be -required to do still more. Then they began to wonder whether the -Government could do without them. These thoughts, surging in their -minds, begat danger to the State. Information was received to the effect -that Sikh officers of influence, serving in Oude, were saying that they -had helped to restore British power, and why should they not now set up -a kingdom for themselves. These ideas were beginning to spread among the -Punjabi troops serving not only in Oude and the north-western provinces, -but also in the Punjab itself, even as far as the frontier of -Afghanistan. All this showed that the hearts even of brave, and on the -whole good, men may be evilly affected by pride and ambition or by a -sense of overgrown power. Thus the very lessons of the recent mutinies -were being taught again, and there was even a risk lest that terrible -history should repeat itself. The Punjabis in truth were becoming too -powerful for the safety of the State. So Lawrence had to exert all his -provident skill in checking the growth of this dangerous power, and in -so arranging that at no vital point or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span> strategic situation should the -Punjabis have a position of mastery.</p> - -<p>The situation in the Punjab, too, was aggravated by the presence of -considerable bodies of disarmed Sepoys still remaining at some of the -large stations, who had to be guarded, and who on two occasions rose and -broke out in a menacing manner.</p> - -<p>While at Murri and on his way thither he caused a report to be drawn up -for the Supreme Government regarding the events of 1857 in the Punjab, -awarding praise, commendation, acknowledgment, to the civil and military -officers of all ranks and grades for their services, meting out -carefully to each man his due. He considered also the causes of this -wondrous outbreak, as concerning not only his province but other parts -of India, and as affecting the policy of the British Government in the -East. He did not pay much heed to the various causes which had been -ingeniously assigned in many well informed quarters. Some of these -causes might, he thought, prove fanciful; others might be real more or -less, but in so far as they were real they were only subsidiary. The -affair of the greased cartridges, which has become familiar to History, -was in his judgment really a provocative cause. It was, he said, the -spark that fell upon, and so ignited, a combustible mass; but the -question was, what made the mass combustible? There was, he felt, one -all-pervading cause, pregnant with instruction for our future guidance. -The Sepoy army, he declared, had become too powerful; they came to know -that the physical force of the country was with them; the magazines and -arsenals were largely, the fortresses partially, the treasuries wholly, -in their keeping.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span> They thought that they could at will upset the -British Government and set up one of their own in its place; and this -thought of theirs might, as he would remark, have proved correct, had -not the Government obtained a mighty reinforcement from England, of -which they could not form any calculation or even any idea. It was the -sense of power, as he affirmed repeatedly, that induced the Sepoys to -revolt. In the presence of such a cause as this, it availed little with -him to examine subsidiary causes, the existence or the absence of which -would have made no appreciable difference in the result. Neither did he -undertake to discuss historically the gradual process whereby this -excessive power fell into the hands of the Sepoys. The thing had -happened, it ought not to have happened; that was practically enough for -him; it must never, he said, be allowed to happen again. He took care -that in his Province and its Dependencies, every strategic point, -stronghold, arsenal, vantage-ground, even every important treasury, -should be under the guardianship of European soldiers. He also provided -that at every large station or cantonment, and at every central city, -the physical force should be manifestly on the side of the Europeans. -Though he reposed a generous confidence in the Native soldiery up to a -certain point, and felt gratitude and even affection towards them for -all that they had done under his direction, still he would no longer -expose them to the fatal temptation caused by a consciousness of having -the upper hand.</p> - -<p>In reference to the Mutinies, he thought that the system of promotion by -seniority to high military commands had been carried too far in the -Indian Army.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span> There would always be difficulties in altering that -system, but he held that unless such obstacles could be surmounted, the -British Government in the East must be exposed to unexpected disasters -occasionally, like thunderbolts dropping from the sky. Despite the -warning from the Caubul losses of 1842, which arose mainly from the -fault of the Commander, he noticed that the Meerut disaster of 1857 at -this very time was owing again to failure on the local Commander’s part, -and a similar misfortune, though in a far lesser degree, occurred soon -afterwards in the Punjab itself at Jullundur from the same cause. -Incompetency in the Commander, he would say, neutralises the merits of -the subordinates: there had been vigorous and skilful officers at -Caubul, at Meerut, at Jullundur,—but all their efforts were in vain by -reason of weakness in the man at the helm.</p> - -<p>Soon were honours and rewards accorded to him by his Sovereign and the -Government. He was promoted in the Order of the Bath from the rank of -Knight Commander to that of Grand Cross. He was created a Baronet and a -Privy Councillor. A special annuity of £2000 a year was granted him by -the East India Company from the date when he should retire from the -service. The emoluments, though not as yet the status, of a -Lieutenant-Governor were accorded to him. He also received the Freedom -of the City of London.</p> - -<p>He marched from his Himalayan retreat at Murri during the autumn of -1858, with impaired health and an anxious mind. He trusted that the time -had come when he might with honour and safety resign his high office. He -knew that physically he ought to retire as soon as his services could be -spared. He had every reason<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> to hope for a speedy and happy return to -his home in England. Yet he was not in really good spirits. Perhaps he -felt the reaction which often supervenes after mental tension too long -protracted. Partly from his insight into causes which might produce -trouble even in the Punjab, and even after the general pacification of -the disturbed regions, partly also from his natural solicitude that -nothing untoward should occur to detain him beyond the beginning of -1859—he was nervously vigilant. After leaving Murri he crossed the -Indus at Attok and revisited Peshawur. But neuralgia pursued him as he -marched. At this time the royal proclamation of the assumption by the -Queen of the direct government of India had arrived, and he wished to -read it on horseback to the troops at Peshawur; but he performed the -task with difficulty owing to the pain in his face. Once more from the -citadel height he watched the crowded marts, rode close to the gloomy -mouth of the Khyber Pass, and wondered at the classic stronghold of -Attok as it overhangs the swift-flowing Indus.</p> - -<p>As he crossed the Indus for the last time, towards the end of 1858, and -rode along its left bank, that is on the Punjab side of the river, he -gazed on the deep and rapid current of the mighty stream. That he held -to be a real barrier which no enemy, advancing from the West upon India, -could pass in the face of a British force. He noticed the breezy uplands -overhanging the river on the east, and said that there the British -defenders ought to be stationed. His mind reverted to the question, -already raised by him in the summer of 1857, regarding the -relinquishment of Peshawur. And he proposed to make over that famous -valley to the Afghans, as its<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span> retention, in his view, was causing loss -and embarrassment instead of gain and advantage to the British -Government. The position was exposed to fierce antagonists and its -occupation was in consequence costly; in it was locked up a European -force which would be better employed elsewhere; that force had been -decimated by the fever prevailing every autumn in the valley; the -political and strategic advantages of the situation were purchased at -too heavy a price, too severe a sacrifice; those advantages were -possessed equally by Attok or any post on the Indus at a lesser cost. -These were some of the arguments uppermost in his mind. The seasons had -been even more insalubrious than usual, and he was grieved at the wear -and tear of European life, the drain of European strength, in the -valley. The transfer of a fertile and accessible territory to the Amir -of Caubul would, he thought, give us a real hold upon the Afghans. It -was not that he had any faith in the gratitude of the Afghans on the -cession of Peshawur, which indeed they regard as a jewel and an object -of the heart’s desire; but if after the cession they should ever -misbehave, then they could easily be punished by our re-occupation of -the valley, and the knowledge that such punishment would be possible -must, he conceived, bind them to our interests. Notwithstanding this -deliberate opinion, which he deemed it his duty to record, the -prevailing view among British authorities was then, and still is, in -favour of retaining Peshawur as a political and strategic post of -extraordinary value. Having submitted an opinion which was not accepted, -he refrained from raising the question any further. At this time on the -morrow, as it were, after the war of the Mutinies, he could hardly have -anticipated<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span> that within one generation, or thirty years, the railway at -more points than one would be advanced up to this Frontier, and that the -Indus, then deemed a mighty barrier, would be a barrier no longer, being -spanned by two bridges equally mighty, one at Attok in the Punjab, the -other at Sukkur in Scinde, and perhaps by a third at Kalabagh. To those -who can vividly recall the events of this time, the subsequent march of -affairs in India is wonderful.</p> - -<p>By the end of 1858 he had received the kind remonstrances of the -Governor-General, Lord Canning, in regard to his leaving the Punjab. But -he replied that if the public safety admitted of his going, he was bound -from ill health to go. Indeed he needed relief, as the neuralgia -continued at intervals to plague him. He had always a toil-worn, -sometimes even a haggard, look. Despite occasional flashes of his -vivacity or scintillations of his wit, his manner often indicated -depression. He no longer walked or rode as much as formerly. As he had -been in his prime a good and fast rider, the riding would be a fair test -of his physical condition.</p> - -<p>At this time the Punjab and its Dependencies, including the Delhi -territory, were at last formed into a Lieutenant-Governorship, and he -received the status and title of a position which he had long filled -with potent reality. This measure, which formerly would have been of -great use in sparing him trouble and labour, now came quite too late to -be any boon to him in this respect. In view of his departure at the -beginning of the coming year, 1859, he had secured the succession for -his old friend and comrade, Montgomery, who had for some months been -Chief-Commissioner of Oude.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span></p> - -<p>Before leaving his post he was present at a ceremonial which marks an -epoch in the material development of his province; for he turned the -first sod of the first railway undertaken in the Punjab which was -destined to connect its capital Lahore with Mooltan, Scinde, and the -seaboard at Kurrachi.</p> - -<p>Then he received a farewell address from his officers, civil and -military, who had been eye-witnesses of all his labours, cares, perils -and successes. The view taken by these most competent observers, most of -whom were present during the time of disturbance, was thus set forth, -and theirs is really evidence of the most direct and positive -description.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Those among us who have served with the Punjabi troops know how, -for years, while the old force was on the frontier, you strove to -maintain that high standard of military organisation, discipline -and duty, of which the fruits were manifest when several regiments -were, on the occurrence of the Bengal mutinies, suddenly summoned -to serve as auxiliaries to the European forces, before Delhi, in -Oude, in Hindostan,—on all which occasions they showed themselves -worthy to be the comrades of Englishmen; how you, from the -commencement, aided in maintaining a military police, which, during -the crisis of 1857, proved itself to be the right arm of the civil -power. They know how largely you contributed to the raising and -forming of the new Punjabi force, which, during the recent -troubles, did so much to preserve the peace within the Punjab -itself, and which has rendered such gallant service in most parts -of the Bengal Presidency. All those among us who are military -officers, know how, when the Punjab was imperilled and agitated by -the disturbances in Hindostan, you, preserving a unison of accord -with the military authorities, maintained internal tranquillity, -and held your own with our allies and subjects, both within and -without the border; how, when the fate of Northern India depended -on the capture of Delhi, you, justly appreciating the paramount<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> -importance of that object, and estimating the lowest amount of -European force with which the Punjab could be held, applied -yourself incessantly to despatching men, material, and treasure for -the succour of our brave countrymen engaged in the siege; how -indeed you created a large portion of the means for carrying on -that great operation, and devoted thereto all the available -resources of the Punjab to the utmost degree compatible with -safety.”</p></div> - -<p>In his reply, two passages are so characteristic that they may be -quoted. He modestly recounts at least one among the mainsprings of his -success, thus:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I have long felt that in India of all countries, the great object -of the Government should be to secure the services of able, -zealous, and high-principled officials. Almost any system of -administration, with such instruments, will work well. Without such -officers, the best laws and regulations soon degenerate into empty -forms. These being my convictions, I have striven, to the best of -my ability, and with all the power which my position and personal -influence could command, to bring forward such men. Of the many -officers who have served in the Punjab, and who owe their present -position, directly or indirectly, to my support, I can honestly -affirm that I know not one who has not been chosen as the fittest -person available for the post he occupies. In no one instance have -I been guided in my choice by personal considerations, or by the -claims of patronage. If my administration, then, of the Punjab is -deserving of encomium, it is mainly on this account, and assuredly, -in thus acting, I have reaped a rich reward. Lastly, it is with -pleasure that I acknowledge how much I have been indebted to the -military authorities in this Province for the cordiality and -consideration I have ever received at their hands.”</p></div> - -<p>Further, he thus describes the conduct of the European soldiers under -the severe conditions of the time—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I thank the officers and men of the British European regiments -serving in the Punjab, for the valour and endurance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span> which they -evinced during the terrible struggle. The deeds, indeed, need no -words of mine to chronicle their imperishable fame. From the time -that the English regiments, cantoned in the Simla hills, marched -for Delhi in the burning month of May, 1857, exposure to the -climate, disease and death under every form in the field, were -their daily lot. Great as were the odds with which they had to -combat, the climate was a far more deadly enemy than the mutineers.</p> - -<p>“In a very few weeks, hundreds of brave soldiers were stricken down -by fever, dysentery, and cholera. But their surviving comrades -never lost their spirits. To the last they faced disease and death -with the utmost fortitude. The corps which remained in the Punjab -to hold the country, evinced a like spirit and similar endurance. -Few in numbers, in a strange country, and in the presence of many -enemies who only lacked the opportunity to break out, these -soldiers maintained their discipline, constancy and patience.”</p></div> - -<p>Immediately afterwards, that is in the beginning of February, 1859, he -started from Lahore, homeward bound, and steaming down the Indus arrived -at Kurrachi. There near the Indus mouth he delighted in this cool and -salubrious harbour, which, though not so capacious as some harbours, -might, he knew, prove of infinite value hereafter, in the event of -Britain having to stand in battle array on her Afghan frontier. There -also he exchanged the friendliest greetings with Bartle Frere, the only -external authority with whom he had been in communication throughout the -crisis, and from whom he had received most useful co-operation. Thence -he sailed for Bombay, which was still under the governorship of Lord -Elphinstone, who had rendered valuable aid to the Punjab during the war. -Bombay was then by no means the fair and noble capital that it now is; -still he admired its land-locked basin, one of the finest<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span> harbours in -the world, where fleets of war and of commerce may ride secure. He -avoided public receptions so far as possible, and shortly proceeded by -the mail steamer to England, where he arrived during the month of April. -It may be well here to note that he was then only forty-eight years of -age.</p> - -<p>After the lapse of just one generation, time is already beginning to -throw its halo over his deeds in 1857; the details are fading while the -main features stand out in bolder and bolder relief. There is a monument -to him in the minds of men;</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And underneath is written,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">In letters all of gold,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">How valiantly he kept the Bridge<br /></span> -<span class="i3">In the brave days of old.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Doubtless this is not the last crisis which British India will have to -confront and surmount; other crises must needs come, and in them the men -of action will look back on his example. For the British of the future -in India the prophet of Britain may say what was said for Rome;</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And there, unquenched through ages<br /></span> -<span class="i3">Like Vesta’s sacred fire,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Shall live the spirit of thy nurse,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">The spirit of thy sire.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small>SOJOURN IN ENGLAND</small><br /><br /> -<small>1859-1864</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> the spring of 1859 John Lawrence took up his residence in London, -with his wife and his family, now consisting of seven children. He -assumed charge of his office as a member of the Council of India in -Whitehall, to which he had been nominated by Lord Stanley during the -previous year, when the functions of the East India Company were -transferred to the Crown. Though in some degree restored by his native -air, he found his head unequal to any prolonged mental strain. -Nevertheless his bearing and conversation, and his grand leonine aspect, -seem to have struck the statesmen and officials with whom he had -intercourse in England. A man of action—was the title accorded to him -by all. During the summer he received the acknowledgments of his -countrymen with a quiet modesty which enhanced the esteem universally -felt for him. The City of London conferred on him formally, in the -Guildhall, the Freedom which had already been bestowed while he was in -India. This was one of the two proudest moments in his life. On that -occasion he said: “If I was placed in a position of extreme danger and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span> -difficulty, I was also fortunate in having around me some of the ablest -civil and military officers in India.... I have received honours and -rewards from my Sovereign.... But I hope that some reward will even yet -be extended to those who so nobly shared with me the perils of the -struggle.” The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge granted him their -Honorary Degrees. He was honoured by an invitation to Windsor Castle, -and it appears that he must have had several important conversations -with the Prince Consort.</p> - -<p>On June 24th he received an address signed by eight thousand persons, -including Archbishops, Bishops, Members of both Houses of Parliament, -Lord Mayors and Mayors, Lord Provosts and Provosts. The national -character of this demonstration was thus set forth in a leading-article -of the <i>Times</i> of the 25th: “Of the names contained in the address -hundreds are representative names,—indicating that chiefs of schools -and of parties have combined to tender honour to a great man, and that -each subscriber was really expressing the sentiments of a considerable -body.”</p> - -<p>The chair was taken on the occasion by the Bishop of London (Archibald -Campbell Tait, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury). Addressing John -Lawrence, and recounting the work in the War of the Mutinies, he said:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“When we recollect that at the commencement of the recent mutiny it -was not uncommonly said that one cause of our weakness in other -parts of India was the necessity which existed of concentrating our -forces for the purpose of occupying the Sikh territory; and when we -remember on the other hand that through your instrumentality that -province which had been our terror became one of the sources<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span> of -our strength, that instead of concentrating the British forces in -the Punjab you were able to send men to aid in the capture of -Delhi, so that the weapon which seemed so formidable to our power -was by you so wielded as to be our best defence; when we reflect -that those very soldiers, who but a few years ago were engaged in -mortal conflict with our own, became under your superintendence our -faithful allies,—there appears in the whole history something so -marvellous that it is but right we should return thanks, not so -much to the human instrument, as to God by whom that instrument was -employed.”</p></div> - -<p>This passage in the Chairman’s speech shows an accurate appreciation of -the position of the Punjab during the crisis. In the address itself, -after due allusion to the war and its results, there comes this special -reference to the despatch regarding Christianity in India, which has -been already mentioned in a previous chapter.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“You laid down the principle that ‘having endeavoured solely to -ascertain what is our Christian duty, we should follow it out to -the uttermost undeterred by any consideration.’ You knew that ‘if -anything like compulsion enters into our system of diffusing -Christianity, the rules of that religion itself are disobeyed, and -we shall never be permitted to profit by our disobedience.’ You -have recorded your conviction that Christian things done in a -Christian way will never alienate the heathen. About such things -there are qualities which do not provoke distrust nor harden to -resistance. It is when unchristian things are done in the name of -Christianity, or when Christian things are done in an unchristian -way, that mischief and danger are occasioned.’ These words are -memorable. Their effect will be happy not only on your own age but -on ages to come. Your proposal that the Holy Bible should be -relieved from the interdict under which it was placed in the -Government schools and colleges, was true to the British principle -of religious liberty and faithful to your Christian conscience.”</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span></p> - -<p>Some passages may be quoted as extracts from Lawrence’s reply as they -are very characteristic. Expressing gratitude for the good opinion of -his countrymen, and again commending his officers to the care of their -country, he thus proceeds:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“All we did was no more than our duty and even our immediate -interest. It was no more than the necessities of our position -impelled us to attempt. Our sole chance of escape was to resist to -the last. The path of duty, of honour, and of safety was clearly -marked out for us. The desperation of our circumstances nerved us -to the uttermost. There never, perhaps, was an occasion when it was -more necessary to win or to die. To use the words of my heroic -brother at Lucknow, it was incumbent on us never to give in. We had -no retreat, no scope for compromise. That we were eventually -successful against the fearful odds which beset us, was alone the -work of the great God who so mercifully vouchsafed His protection.”</p></div> - -<p>This passage will probably be regarded as effective oratory, indeed few -orators would express these particular points with more of nervous -force. Thus an idea may be formed of what his style would have been, had -he received training when young, and had he retained his health. But -though he had at this time, 1859, frequently to make speeches in public, -on all which occasions the modesty, simplicity and straightforwardness -of his utterance pleased his hearers, yet he was not at all an orator. -In his early and middle life he had never, as previously explained, any -practice or need for public speaking. Had he been so practised, he would -doubtless have been among speakers, what he actually was among writers, -forcible, direct, impressive, not at all ornate or elaborate, perhaps -even blunt and brief. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span> short he would have been an effective speaker -for practical purposes, rising on grave occasions even to a rough -eloquence—inasmuch as he had self-possession and presence of mind in a -perfect degree. But now, as he was fully entered into middle life, all -this was impossible by reason of physical depression. Had this -depression been anywhere but where it actually was, it might have failed -to spoil his public speaking. But its seat was somewhere in the head, -and any attempt at impromptu or extempore delivery seemed first to -affect the brain, then the voice and even the chest. He could no doubt -light up for a moment and utter a few sentences with characteristic -fire; or he could make a longer speech quietly to a sympathetic -audience; but beyond this he was no longer able to go. As his health -improved, his power of speaking increased naturally, still it never -became what it might have become had he been himself again physically.</p> - -<p>In the autumn of 1859 he proceeds to Ireland, where his wife revisits -the scenes of her early years. He returns to London, where he spends a -happy Christmas in his domestic circle, with rapidly improving health.</p> - -<p>In the spring of 1860, he attests his abiding interest in the cause of -religious missions to India by attendance at an important gathering in -Exeter Hall, to hear his friend Edwardes (of Peshawur) deliver a -remarkable speech.</p> - -<p>During the summer months he zealously promotes the holiday amusements of -his children. Visitors, calling to see him on public affairs, would find -him, not in a library, but in a drawing-room surrounded by his family. -In the autumn he visits his birthplace, Richmond in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span> Yorkshire. Thence -he goes to Inverary to be the guest of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, -with both of whom he forms a lasting friendship. Then he receives the -Freedom of the City of Glasgow and returns to London.</p> - -<p>Early in the following year, 1861, he leaves London and takes a roomy -old-fashioned house at Southgate, a few miles to the north of London, -where he remains for the remainder of his sojourn in England. To the -house is attached some land where he may indulge his taste for farming -and his fondness for animals. In the week days he attends the Council of -India in London, but his summer evenings he spends at home with his -family, and mainly lives a country life.</p> - -<p>His position in the Indian Council, where Sir Charles Wood (afterwards -Lord Halifax) had succeeded Lord Stanley as Secretary of State for -India, was not such as to call his individuality into play. Though he -had a voice in the affairs of India, he was no longer a man of action. -Even then, however, he impressed his colleagues favourably, and -especially the Secretary of State. He felt and expressed great regret at -the abolition of the local army of India, and its amalgamation with the -army of the Crown. He was not what is termed in England a party man, but -he certainly was a moderate Liberal in politics. As a churchman of the -Church of England, he was content with his Bible and the Book of Common -Prayer.</p> - -<p>In 1862 he met Lord Canning, who had resigned his high office as -Governor-General, returning home very shortly to die. Then he saw Lord -Elgin appointed to fill the important place.</p> - -<p>During 1863 he was running the even and quiet<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> course of his life in -England, attending to the work in the Council of India in Whitehall, -which for him was not onerous, enjoying rural amusements with his -family, playing games with his children, imbibing the country breezes, -recovering as much of vigour and nerve as might be possible for a -constitution like his which had been sorely tried and severely battered. -He became much improved in health, and still more in spirits. He was in -easy circumstances, having a salary as member of the Council of India at -Whitehall, his annuity for which he had virtually paid by deductions -from salary since the date of entering the Civil Service of India, the -special pension granted to him by the East India Company, and the -moderate competency from his savings during a long service of nearly -thirty years. He was himself a man of the simplest tastes and the fewest -wants, but he had a large family for whom he was affectionately -solicitous. But while liberal and open-handed in every case which called -for generosity, he was a thrifty and frugal manager, a good steward in -small things of everyday life, even as he had been in national affairs. -He nowadays acted on the principle that—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The trivial round, the common task,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Will furnish all we ought to ask;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Room to deny ourselves; a road<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To bring us daily nearer God.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Thus he did few of the things which men of his repute and position might -ordinarily do, and which doubtless he must have often been urged to -undertake. He wrote neither books nor brochures, he hardly ever -addressed public meetings, he did not preside over learned or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> -philanthropic societies, he took no active part in politics, municipal -or national. He sought repose, dignified by the reminiscence of a mighty -past. Believing that his life’s work was in the main accomplished and -his mission ended, he pondered much on the life to come. If there be -such things on earth as unclouded happiness and unalloyed contentment, -these blessings were his at that time.</p> - -<p>But in the autumn of 1863, two events occurred in India to disturb the -tenor of his English life. First, a fanatical outbreak occurred among -some of the hill tribes near Peshawur, the British arms received a -slight check, the excitement spread to some of the neighbouring hills, -and seemed likely to extend with rising flames to the various tribes -whose fighting power has been set forth in a previous chapter. Next, the -Governor-General, Lord Elgin, was stricken with mortal illness and -resigned his high office. The choice of the Government at once fell on -Lawrence as his successor. That he was the best and fittest man for the -arduous place, was manifest as a general reason. But there probably was -a particular reason in addition for selecting him, which may have had -weight in the minds of the responsible ministers, Lord Palmerston and -Sir Charles Wood, namely the incipient danger just mentioned on the -Trans-Indus Frontier. A little war might rapidly assume larger -proportions; it was essential to preserve India, exhausted by the War of -the Mutinies, from further warfare; none would be so competent as he to -restrict the area of operations and to speedily finish them. If this -additional reason had any operative effect, that was most honourable to -him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span></p> - -<p>So he was on November 30th suddenly offered the post of -Governor-General, which he accepted. In the evening he went home and -told his wife what had happened, whereupon he met with much of tender -remonstrance. As he laughingly said afterwards, it was fortunate that he -had accepted that day before going home, for had he gone home first on -the understanding that he was to reply the next day, he might have been -induced to refuse. He could not but feel, however, some pride and -satisfaction, though there were several drawbacks. He was to incur the -risk of shortening life, and the certainty of injuring whatever of -health might remain to him. He was to be separated from his family just -when they most required his attention, and to break up a home which he -had established with loving care. He did not at all need advancement, -and could hardly add to his fame. But the disinclination which all -official men have to decline any important offer, the discipline which -renders them anxious to do as they are bid by authority, the disposition -which men, long used to arms, feel to don their armour once again—these -sentiments constrained him. Though he would no longer seek new duties, -yet if they were imposed upon him, it would be his highest pleasure to -discharge them well. He had an important interview, before starting, -with the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston. On December 9th, within ten -days from receiving the intimation of his appointment, he started from -Charing Cross for India, journeying alone, as it was impossible for his -wife to leave suddenly the family home.</p> - -<p>The continuance to him, while Governor-General of India, of the special -pension (given by the late East<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span> India Company as already mentioned in -the last chapter) had to be sanctioned by Parliament; and a resolution -to this effect was passed by the House of Commons on February 8th, 1864. -The terms in which the Secretary of State, Sir Charles Wood, introduced -the resolution, and the response received may be quoted from Hansard’s -<i>Parliamentary Debates</i>. He said: “I had no hesitation in recommending -Sir John Lawrence to Her Majesty for the Governor-Generalship of India; -and within two days from the receipt of the intelligence from India (of -Lord Elgin’s death) I was authorised to offer the high post to him. He -accepted it at once, and knowing the importance of despatch he showed -the same zeal for the service of the country which had always -distinguished him, by declaring himself ready to leave England for India -by the first mail to Calcutta. The services of Sir John Lawrence are so -well known and so universally recognised, that it will only be necessary -to read the Resolution under which the pension was conferred upon him, -passed at a meeting of the Court of Directors (East India Company) on -August 11th, 1858—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Resolved unanimously that in consideration of the eminent -services of Sir John Laird Mair Lawrence, G.C.B., whose prompt, -vigorous and judicious measures crushed incipient mutiny in the -Punjab and maintained the province in tranquillity during a year of -almost universal convulsion, and who by his extraordinary exertions -was enabled to equip troops and to prepare munitions of war for -distant operations, thus mainly contributing to the recapture of -Delhi and to the subsequent successes which attended our arms, and -in testimony of the high sense entertained by the East India -Company of his public character and conduct throughout a long and -distinguished career, an annuity of £2000 be granted to him.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span></p> - -<p>From the opposite Bench, Lord Stanley rose and said: “I apprehend that -there will be no difference on any side of the House upon this -Resolution. I rise merely to express my entire concurrence, having been -connected with Indian affairs during part of the time when the services -of Sir John Lawrence were performed. This was not a retiring pension, -but was a recognition, and a very inadequate recognition, of services as -distinguished as had ever been performed by a public servant in India.”</p> - -<p>The motion was passed by the House of Commons without any dissentient -voice, and the manner in which it was received in Parliament, when -reported in India, was sure to strengthen John Lawrence’s position -there.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -<small>THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA</small><br /><br /> -<small>1864-1869</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> work which John Lawrence had heretofore done in India is not of that -sort which should be measured statistically. Its material proportions -had been indeed considerable, but they were infinitely exceeded by its -moral effect. Still some few comparative facts may be noted to show what -his new sphere was compared with his old. The Punjab with its -dependencies contained, when he left it in 1859, one hundred and -forty-five thousand square miles, with twenty-two millions of -inhabitants, and paid an annual revenue of two and a half millions -sterling. It had been augmented, since its first formation as a British -province, by the addition of the Delhi territory. The Indian empire, -when he took charge of it in 1864, contained one million three hundred -thousand square miles with two hundred and thirty-five millions of -inhabitants, paid an annual revenue of fifty-three millions sterling, -was defended by an army of nearly two hundred thousand men, including -both European and Native troops, and was divided into eleven provincial -governments or administrations, under two Governors, three -Lieutenant-Governors, three Chief Commissioners, and three Residencies -or Governor-General’s Agencies.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span></p> - -<p>In January, 1864, Lawrence arrived at Calcutta as Viceroy and -Governor-General. He looked much brightened and freshened by a sojourn -of four and a half years in England. His old vivacity sparkled again; he -had been softened as well as brightened by his sojourn in England. He -walked with a stride, and his seat in the saddle was almost as of yore. -His health had been temporarily restored, but had not, as the sequel -showed, been re-established.</p> - -<p>Usually a new Viceroy and Governor-General is, on landing in India, -really new in every sense. The European officers, the Native Princes, -Chiefs and people, are strangers to him as he is personally unknown to -them. Yet he has great power and wide influence, not only over -individuals, but also over large classes and masses, and his personality -will for a term of years affect the conduct of the executive and the -course of legislation. Consequently when he comes, public expectation is -on the tiptoe, and the public gaze is strained to discover what manner -of man he may be. It is hard to describe adequately the anxious -uncertainty which prevails, and consequently the intensity of the -interest which is thus aroused in most instances. But in the instance of -Lawrence there was no such novelty. His name was already a household -word from one end of the empire to the other. To all men his character, -disposition and idiosyncrasy were known by fame, and to numerous -individuals, even to many classes, were familiar. Again, other -Governors-General arriving in India have been obliged to go to school -politically, and almost serve an apprenticeship; but he was already a -master workman, and could enter fully and at once upon his whole duty.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span></p> - -<p>As Governor-General he had all the power entrusted to that high -functionary by the Acts of Parliament settling the Constitution of -British India. As Viceroy he represented the Sovereign on all occasions.</p> - -<p>On his arrival at Calcutta he was greeted most cordially by all classes -of his countrymen, from the soldiers and sailors upwards. Loud was the -chorus of British voices, thick was the concourse of Natives, as the -stately vessel, bearing him as its freight, steamed up the broad reaches -of the tidal Hooghly, between banks crowned with groves of the -cocoa-nut, the palm and the bamboo, approached the forest of masts in -the harbour of the Indian capital, and anchored near the ramparts of -Fort William, close to the palace of the Governor-General.</p> - -<p>Landing in Bengal, he met that section of the Indian population which -had but little direct concern in the War of the Mutinies, and was -therefore less cognisant of his deeds than the Natives of Northern -India; still the Bengalis in their way strove to do him honour. His -first levée was one of the most numerously attended levées ever held in -Calcutta. He was full of alacrity, and if ever in his life he wore a -smiling aspect it was then. Things had heretofore gone well with him in -the estimation of all men East and West. The farewell addresses on -leaving the Punjab, the addresses of welcome on reaching England, the -congratulations at home on his new appointment, the notes of gladness on -his return to India, were all present to his mind, and he was breathing -the <i>popularis aura</i>. Few men, climbing to estate so high as his, have -known so little of ungenerous objections or of actual misrepresentation, -as he had up to this time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span> He was hardly prepared, perhaps, for the -fitful moods of public opinion in such a country as India, for the -wearing anxieties, the lesser troubles, even the annoyances, to be -endured at intervals for some years before the moment when he should lay -down the supreme power, and again look back with some pride and -satisfaction upon another arduous stage accomplished in life’s journey.</p> - -<p>He came by the overland route in December at the most favourable season -of the year and escaped sea-sickness. As sea life was never quite -suitable to his temperament, he did not read nor write much during the -voyage, but he must have had time to arrange his thoughts respecting the -imperial charge which had been committed to him. As a rule, he meant to -deal with matters as they should arise—knowing that these would be -numerous, and confident in his own power to dispose of them—rather than -to shape out any policy or policies in his mind, or to descry any -particular goal which he would strive to reach. Nevertheless he landed -in India with certain ideas which might, according to his hope, be -realised. As they are quite characteristic of him, some allusion may be -here made to them.</p> - -<p>During his sojourn in England he had been much impressed with the -importance of sanitation or sanitary administration, as likely to become -the pressing question of the immediate future. The insanitary condition -of Indian cities had affected him in his younger days, and in later -years his letters contain allusions to the subject. But something more -than spasmodic effort was needed for that rectification which he would -now make an imperial concern. To stimulate his recollections he would -direct his morning rides to the unhealthiest parts of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span> Calcutta, and one -of his first measures after assuming the general government was to -appoint a Sanitary Commission.</p> - -<p>But the principle of sanitation had in his mind a special application. -He appears while in England to have been conferring with Florence -Nightingale regarding military hospitals and the health of the European -soldiery. Here, again, as a young man, he had grieved over the -intemperance existing among these troops, and partly attributable to -injudicious regulations which had been subsequently modified. The War of -the Mutinies had brought home to his mind, with greater force than ever, -the supreme value of these men to the Eastern empire. He then set -himself to observe their barracks, and especially their hospitals, which -he used to visit in times of epidemic sickness. He would now use all his -might as Governor-General to give them spacious and salubrious barracks, -suitable means for recreation, and other resources for the improvement -of their condition.</p> - -<p>In former years he had witnessed the effects of drought upon districts -destitute of artificial irrigation; and it was notorious that drought is -the recurring plague not only of the continental climate of Mid-India, -as physical geographers term it, but also of the southern peninsula. He -had seen the inception of the Ganges canal, the queen of all canals ever -undertaken in any age or country; and he would now stimulate the -planning and executing of irrigation works great and small.</p> - -<p>For this, however, capital was needed, so his financial instinct warned -him that the Government of India must cease constructing these necessary -works out of revenue—a tardy and precarious process—but must<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span> open a -capital account for the nation, whereby India might borrow money for -reproductive works, on the principle which prevails in all progressive -countries.</p> - -<p>Lastly, he had while in England reconsidered the principle of what is -known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, which was much disapproved -by the administrative school of his earlier days. He had now come to -think that this Settlement possessed much political advantage, in -strengthening the basis of landed prosperity, and thus attaching all -landowners to the British Government; and so far he was actually -prepared to extend it to some other districts beyond Bengal. But he was -as keenly alive as ever to its imperfections, as it had neglected the -rights of subordinate occupiers. He looked back with thankfulness upon -the efforts which had been made in North-western India to preserve these -rights. Having some fear that they might in certain circumstances be -overridden, he resolved to champion them when necessary. This resolve -brought about some trying episodes in his subsequent career.</p> - -<p>Thus there were at least five large matters of imperial policy arranged -in his mind from the very outset as he set foot once again on the Indian -shore. The public sanitation, the physical welfare of the European -soldiery, the prevention of famine by irrigation works, the capital -account of the national outlay for material improvement, the settlement -of agrarian affairs,—these were principles long fixed in his mind. But -his conception of them had been widened or elevated by his sojourn in -England, and by the fresh influences of political thought there.</p> - -<p>From the beginning of January to the middle of April<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> he worked, with -his Executive Council, at Government House in Calcutta. The Councillors -were five in number for the several departments, Foreign, Home, -Legislative, Public Works, Financial, Revenue, Military; and in addition -the Commander-in-Chief of the army. In ordinary matters the decision of -the Government was formed by a majority of votes; but in matters of -public safety he had power to act on his own authority alone. He was -able to maintain excellent relations with his colleagues in Council. The -Foreign Department was ordinarily kept in his own hands. He worked from -six o’clock in the morning till five in the evening daily, despatching -current business in all departments with amazing promptitude and -completeness withal. He issued the necessary orders on the speedy and -successful termination of the military operations on the Trans-Indus -Frontier, which have been already mentioned. He reviewed Volunteers, -founded a Sailors’ Home, inspected sanitation in the Native city, and -made the acquaintance of all important persons of every nationality in -the capital. His health stood the new test fairly well, but he suffered -at times from headache. In the middle of April he started for Simla, -taking his Council with him. On his way thither he revisited the Asylum -for the orphan children of European soldiers at the Himalayan station of -Kassowli, founded with much private munificence by his brother Henry. He -had not seen this beautiful Simla since he met Lord Dalhousie there in -1851. Though he said little, he pondered much on all that had happened -to him and his since then, the perils escaped, the victories won.</p> - -<p>After his arrival at Simla having reviewed his own<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span> position and -prospects, he wrote to Sir Charles Wood, the Secretary of State in -London, on this subject. He said explicitly that he found himself unable -to work all the year round at Calcutta, and especially in the hot and -unhealthy season there; that if he were allowed to spend the summer -months in the Himalayas, he could retain his post; otherwise he wished -to resign in the spring of the following year and return to England. By -Sir Charles Wood’s reply he was requested to stay in office, with the -understanding that he might reside wherever he chose within the -Himalayas or other hill-regions of India. Regarding his Council the -reply was not quite so clear, but in the end it was virtually conceded -that he might exercise his own discretion in taking his colleagues with -him. At all events he determined to stay for four out of his five -allotted years in India, and arranged that his wife should join him at -Calcutta by the end of the year 1864.</p> - -<p>He soon decided that during his tenure of office the Government of India -shall, barring unforeseen events, spend the summer months at Simla, that -is the Governor-General, the Executive Council, a part of the -Legislative Council, and the principal Secretaries. He would not -separate himself from them: he did not wish to have them acting at -headquarters in many cases without him; nor did he desire to act in some -cases alone without them. He thought it better that, with the growing -increase of business, they should be all together.</p> - -<p>At that time it was the fashion to propose various situations in the -empire, one in the south another in the west and so on, for the -permanent capital and headquarters of the Government of India, involving -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span> abandonment of Calcutta for this purpose; but he objected to all -such schemes, considering them to be crude. In the first place, such a -move would be inordinately expensive; in the second, Calcutta was, he -thought, the best of all available positions. Though it is actually a -sea-port, yet its position is by nature rendered unassailable by an -attack from the sea; its trade places it in the first rank of mercantile -cities; the districts around it are wealthy, fertile, populous and -peaceful; these advantages he duly appreciated. During the disturbances -of 1857 he remembered that Lower Bengal around Calcutta was undisturbed, -and paid its tens of millions of rupees into the State Treasury, and -that while half the empire was convulsed, order was preserved at the -imperial centre. Thus he would hold fast to Calcutta and settle his -Government there, at least during the cool season of each year when -trade and industry are in their fullest activity.</p> - -<p>But he would have his Government sojourn during the hot weather of each -year in the refreshing climate of the Himalayas. He had no hesitation in -choosing Simla for this purpose, as being the only mountain station that -could furnish house-accommodation for the influx of sojourners; as being -easily accessible by rail and road at all seasons; as having politically -a good position sufficiently near the North-western Frontier, yet not so -near as to be within reach of danger; and as being immediately -surrounded by a peaceful population. He was sensible of the natural -beauty, the varied charms, the salubrious climate of the place, and his -choice has been fully ratified by the Governors-General who have -succeeded him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span></p> - -<p>His Government, while sojourning at Simla, would transact all its -administrative business for the time, and proceed with some parts of its -legislation. But he would reserve for its residence at Calcutta all -those bills or projects of law which might be of general importance, and -wherein contact with public opinion might be specially desirable.</p> - -<p>He was now by the autumn of 1864, fairly launched on his career as -Viceroy and Governor-General. His health had been slightly shaken by the -change from England to Calcutta, of which the climate agreed with him -less than that of any other place in India. But it soon revived in the -Himalayan air. He kept up his early riding in the morning while at -Calcutta, but was induced by the pressure of business to intermit it at -Simla. However he took exercise in the afternoon fully, and so during -this year and 1865 he remained fairly well; indeed during the summer of -1865 he was better than he had been for many years, that is since his -Trans-Sutlej days. But he was not so well in 1866, and in the summer of -1867 he intimated to the Secretary of State, who was then Sir Stafford -Northcote, that he might have to retire early in 1868 having completed -his four years. The Secretary of State, however, on public grounds -requested him to remain till the end of his five years if possible, that -is till the beginning of 1869. So he braced his determination to remain -his allotted term. He said in private that it would be a great -satisfaction to him to serve out his time, and to hand over the work to -his successor without any arrears. From 1867, however, he became weaker -physically by slow, perhaps by imperceptible degrees, and that general -condition<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span> naturally set up lesser ailments from time to time; while the -clear brain and the unconquerable will remained.</p> - -<p>Apprehensions of ill health, however, were not the only reason why he -thought in 1867 of resigning office. He was indeed as good, efficient -and successful a Viceroy and Governor-General as India ever had; still -the course of affairs did not exactly suit his masterful genius. Grand -events would have afforded scope for the mighty capacity he was -conscious of possessing. The country was for the most part at peace, -nevertheless he was troubled even harassed by divers incidents which -affected the public interests. The empire was making steady progress -under his care and recovering its stability after a severe convulsion; -yet mishaps, reverses, plagues of all sorts, would occur through no -fault of his. But he would not relieve himself of responsibility for -what might be amiss or go wrong in any part of his vast charge, and -often he was tempted to exclaim,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“The time is out of joint, oh! cursed spite<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That I was ever born to set it right!”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">Hitherto the <i>popularis aura</i> had been with him; he had not yet felt -that chilling blast of unpopularity which sooner or later never fails to -overtake public men of mark and vigour such as his. No man had known -less than he the carping, the cavilling, the captiousness of critics, or -the misrepresentation of opponents. He had never swam with the stream, -but rather had cut out a channel for the stream and made it flow with -him. Thus the wear and tear of his former life had arisen from notable -causes, but not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span> from the friction of an adverse current. Now, however, -he was to taste of all these small adversities. He was indeed to rule an -empire thoroughly well in ordinary times, and to suffer the vexations -which ordinarily beset rulers and make their heads “lie uneasy.” He -strove manfully to hide his sensitiveness when attacked or impugned; for -all that, he was more sensitive to these attacks than he need have been, -in regard to their intrinsic deserts. The deference, the cordiality, -even the affection (as he himself gratefully described it) of the -reception which greeted him in England, and which was repeated on his -first landing in India, had scarcely prepared him for the provocations, -petty indeed but yet sharp, which awaited him in the subsequent years. -As a man of action he had been used to arguments of an acute even fierce -character, yet they were short and decisive either for or against him. -But now he had to work his government through an Executive Council of -some six members, in which the discussions were partly on paper daily, -and partly by word of mouth at weekly meetings. The paper-controversies -he could bear; if he had a majority on his side the decision would be -couched in a few of his pithy sentences and no more was heard of it. But -at times the weekly debates tried him sorely; he listened like patience -on a monument, but he sighed inwardly. India being unavoidably a land of -personal changes, the composition of his Council varied from year to -year with outgoing and incoming men. In the nature of things it was -inevitable that some of his colleagues should support him more and -others less, while some opposed. He rejoiced in the hearty aid afforded -by some, and grieved over the opposition, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span> as it appeared to him the -thwarting, counteracting conduct of others, which was different from -anything that he had previously endured. Again, he thankfully -acknowledged in the end the support he received from successive -Secretaries of State in England, and certainly the Government in England -sincerely desired to sustain his authority; but meanwhile cases occurred -wherein he considered himself insufficiently supported from home, and -one case where even his old friends in the Council of India in Whitehall -counteracted his wishes. Respecting the action of Secretaries of State -he hardly made sufficient allowance for Parliamentary difficulties, -which prevent the men who are nominally in power from being their own -masters. It has been acutely remarked of him that he was not versatile; -in truth versatility in the face of opposition was not among his -qualities. He hardly possessed that peculiar resourcefulness (for which, -for instance, the great Warren Hastings was distinguished) whereby one -expedient having failed or one way being stopped, another is found, -perhaps circuitously, the goal being all the while kept in view. Being -human he must needs have faults, though the proportion which these bore -to his virtues was small indeed; he certainly had a tendency to chafe -over-much, yet if this be a fault, then owing to his self-command, it -affected himself only but not others. He loved power, indeed, which he -habitually described in a favourite Persian phrase as <i>khûd-raftâri</i>, -which is an elegant synonym for having one’s own way. Such power was, in -his estimation, to be wielded not capriciously but under the constraint -of a well-informed conscience. He had scarcely thought out the fact, -however, that in few<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span> modern nations, and least of all in the British, -can there be such a thing strictly speaking as power, though there may -be powerful influence. For the jealously-watched and tightly-bound -“thing which is mocked by the name of power,” he had scant appreciation. -In short, his position presented much that was novel rather than -pleasant, though he encountered less of novelty than any -Governor-General who had preceded him. But it is well in passing to -sketch these lesser traits, for the portraiture of the real man in all -his greatness and goodness.</p> - -<p>To give an account of his Government at large, would be to write the -history of an empire during five years, and space cannot here be -afforded for such a task. Again, to do justice to all the coadjutors who -helped him, would be to set forth at least parts of the careers of many -eminent men, and that, too, is beyond the limits of this work. All that -is possible, then, is to analyse or sum up briefly the main heads of his -policy and achievements, with the proviso that, what for the sake of -brevity is attributed to him nominally, is really attributable to him -with the Councils, both Executive and Legislative, the extensive -Secretariat, the Presidencies, and the provincial Governors or -Administrators. These heads may be arranged in the following order:—the -army, the works of material improvement, the sanitation, the finances, -the landed settlement, the legislation, the public service, the national -education, the state ceremonies, the foreign policy; and to each of -them, as respecting him particularly, a short notice will be afforded.</p> - -<p>In the military branch, he had not much to do with the reorganisation of -the army for India. That had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span> been done during the interval since his -departure from India in 1859. Some changes had been made, against which -he had protested from his place in Council at Whitehall, but now he had -loyally to accept the accomplished facts, and to make the changes work -well through good management. Keeping his eye ever fixed on the national -finance, he rejoiced to find the Native Army reduced in numbers, and the -overgrown levies (which had been raised during the War of the Mutinies) -now disbanded throughout the country or transferred to the -newly-organised Police. The strength of the European troops varied from -seventy to seventy-five thousand men: which was, in his judgment, the -minimum compatible with safety in time of peace. He never forgot what -his Native advisers used to drop into his ear during the Mutiny—namely -this, that in India the European soldier is the root of our power. -Knowing how hard it would be for the English Government to provide, and -for the Indian Government to bear, the cost of a larger number, he bent -himself to make the European soldiery as effective as possible by -improving their life and lot in the East. Everything that pertained to -their health, recreation, comfort, enlightenment, employment in leisure -time, and general welfare, moral or physical, he steadfastly supported. -At the basis of all these improvements lay the question of constructing -new barracks or re-constructing old buildings, on reformed principles -sanitary as well as architectural; and for this he was prepared to incur -an outlay of several millions sterling. Protracted discussions ensued in -his Executive Council in regard to the situations for the new barracks, -causing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span> delay which distressed him. He insisted that the buildings -should be placed in those centres of population, and those strategic -points, where old experience had shown that the presence of European -soldiers was necessary. So after a while the work of barrack-building -went on to his satisfaction. Criticism, even objections, were soon -levelled against these operations, and the barracks were styled -“palatial,” under the notion that they were extravagantly good; but he -was not thereby at all turned from his purpose.</p> - -<p>In active warfare operations were undertaken near the Trans-Indus -Frontier on two occasions; the first of these, which has already been -mentioned at the moment of his arrival in India, was known by the name -of Umbeyla, the second was remembered as that of the Black Mountain. -Otherwise he thankfully observed the pacification of that difficult -Frontier, which had successfully been effected by the policy of himself -and his brother from 1849 onwards, as set forth in a previous chapter. -One little war, indeed, he had which was from first to last hateful to -him, but which he turned to excellent account for British interests, as -the event has subsequently proved; this is known to history as the -Bhûtan campaign. On his arrival he found that a mission had been already -despatched to that semi-barbarous principality in the eastern Himalayas -over-looking Bengal, and that the British envoy had been insulted and -even maltreated. Redress was demanded, and this being refused, he had -resort to arms; and during the course of these operations in a wild, -wooded, malarious and mountainous country, a small British force in a -hill-fort was cut off<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span> from its water-supply by the enemy’s devices, and -had to beat a somewhat disastrous retreat. The disaster was soon -retrieved by the recapture of the place, and full preparations were made -for a decisive advance when the enemy sued for terms; whereon he laid -down the British conditions of peace. These being accepted, he was glad -to save the lives of a miserable foe from destruction, and the British -troops from inglorious warfare in an unhealthy country. The main point -in the conditions on which he concluded peace was the cession by Bhûtan -to the British of a rich sub-Himalayan tract called the Dûars, on his -agreeing to pay a certain sum annually to the Bhûtanese. He felt the -value of this tract to the British, as was indeed manifest then, and has -been proved by subsequent experience. He knew that the payment of this -small subsidy would just preserve the Bhûtanese from that pecuniary -desperation which leads to border incursions, and would give us a hold -on them, as it could be withheld in event of their misconduct in future; -and in fact they have behaved well ever since. But the terms were by the -European community at Calcutta deemed inadequate and derogatory after -all that had happened; and he was subjected to much severe criticism, -which however did not move, though it doubtless grieved, him at this -stage of his career.</p> - -<p>He rejoiced in the opportunity afforded by the expedition to Abyssinia -for helping his old friend Napier to collect an effective force from -India, to be equipped for very active service and to be despatched from -the Presidency of Bombay.</p> - -<p>In respect to material improvement, he pressed onwards<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span> the construction -of railways and canals. There had been by no means an entire, but only a -partial, suspension of these works during the War of the Mutinies, and -the period of disturbance which followed; but now as peace reigned -throughout the land, he prosecuted these beneficent operations with more -energy than ever, and at no previous time in Indian history had progress -been so systematised as now. This could only be done by establishing a -capital account for the State, according to the principle which, as -already mentioned, had been working in his mind when he recently landed -in India. The cost of these works having heretofore been defrayed from -current revenue, their progress had been precarious, but he would place -their finance on a sure basis by treating the expenditure as capital -outlay and raising loans for that purpose. The interest on these would -be defrayed from current revenue, as he would have no such thing as -paying interest out of capital. For the due calculation of the demand to -be made on the money-market for the loans, he caused a forecast to be -made of the canals and railways recommended for construction during a -cycle of years. He proposed that the future railways should be -constructed not by private companies with guarantee by the State of -interest on outlay, but by the State itself. With a view to lessening -the capital outlay in future, he leaned towards the introduction of a -narrower gauge than that heretofore in use. The introduction of the -capital account into Indian finance has not only stimulated, but also -regulated and ensured the material development of the empire; and this -is a prominent feature in his administration.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span></p> - -<p>Besides the ordinary arguments for accelerating the construction of -railways, there was the necessity of perfecting our military -communications, in order to obtain a tighter grasp of the country than -heretofore. The lesson of 1857-8 had taught him how much this hold had -needed strengthening. Again, beyond the usual reasons for excavating -canals of irrigation for agriculture in a thirsty land, he felt the -obligation to protect the people from the consequences of drought. No -warning, indeed, was required by him in this behalf, otherwise it would -have been furnished by the experience of the Orissa famine in 1866-7. In -that somewhat inaccessible province the drought occurred one year and -the people bore it, but it continued during the second and even the -third year, reducing their straitened resources to starvation point; -then towards the end of the third year heavy downpours of rain caused -inundation to submerge the remnant of the crops; thus, in his own -expressive words, “that which the drought spared the floods drowned.” He -had been very uneasy about the prospect of the famine, but the province -was under the Government of Bengal subject to the control of the -Governor-General, and he was bound to consult the local authorities. He -accepted for the moment the assurance of the Lieutenant-Governor of -Bengal, who had proceeded to the spot to make personal inquiries, to the -effect that the precautions taken to prevent mortality from famine were -sufficient. Still he remained anxious till further tidings came, and -these were bad. Then he caused the most strenuous efforts to be put -forth but they were too late to save life, and their efficacy was -impaired by a still further misfortune, because<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span> contrary gales kept -grain-laden ships tossing about within sight of the shore and unable to -land their cargoes. Though he was not to blame in all the circumstances, -still this disaster cut him to the quick, and he fretted at the thought -of what might have been done to save life had he himself been wielding -the executive powers locally as in former days, instead of exercising -only a general control as Governor-General. The loss being irreparable, -all he could now do was to make the strictest inquisition regarding the -failure in foresight which delayed the relief in the first instance, to -take additional precautions by the light of this melancholy experience, -and so to prevent the possibility of its recurrence. Thus under him from -that time a new era of development, and especially of canal-making arose -happily for Orissa.</p> - -<p>For sanitation, he acted on the view which had opened out before him on -his way from England for India. The Sanitary Commission appointed by him -made searching inquiries and followed these up with suggestions -professional or practical. He sanctioned expenditure by Government on -drainage, water-supply, open spaces, and the like, in the stations or -around the buildings which belonged to the State. In all the places -which were made under municipal institutions he encouraged the local -corporations to do the same. Through his precept or example a fresh -impulse was given to these beneficent works at every capital city, -industrial centre, or considerable town, throughout the Bengal -Presidency—more than half the empire—and a general quickening of -municipal life was the consequence. His influence could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span> under the -constitution of British India be equally direct in the Madras and Bombay -Presidencies but there also it was felt as a practical encouragement. -Thus though he may not be called the originator of Indian Sanitation, -yet he was the founder of it on a systematic basis, and he established -it as a department of the State administration.</p> - -<p>The finances caused him trouble from the first even to the last day of -his incumbency. The scheme for housing and lodging the European army in -India, according to humane and civilised plans, was to cost ten millions -sterling (for, say, seventy-five thousand men), and out of that he -caused five millions to be spent during his five years of office. He was -most unwilling to borrow for this purpose, holding firmly that the -charge must be defrayed from current revenues, and so it was. But then -it caused some difficulty in the finances, and he had to devise -additional means for making the income balance the expenses. Always -having a heart for the poor, and believing that their resources were not -at all elastic, he was resolved to avoid taxing the masses of the -population any further. On the other hand he thought that the rich -escaped paying their full share. So he proposed to renew the income tax, -which had been introduced in 1860 by James Wilson (the economist and -financier sent out from England) and remitted in 1862. He was unable to -obtain, however, the necessary concurrence of his Council. Then he -reluctantly consented to a proposal of the Council that duties should be -imposed on certain articles of export which, in the economic -circumstances of the moment, were able to bear the impost. The ordinary -objection to export-duties<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span> was urged in England and even in Parliament, -so these were disallowed by the Secretary of State; and thus he suffered -a double annoyance. His own proposal had been refused by his Council, -and their proposal, to which he agreed as a choice of evils, had been -rejected by the Secretary of State. The following year he induced his -Council to accept a modified income-tax, under the name of a -License-Tax. This was, he knew, inferior to a scientific income-tax, -inasmuch as it failed in touching all the rich; still it did touch the -well-to-do middle class, heretofore almost exempt from taxation, and -that was something. This plan was passed into law by the Legislative -Council at Calcutta, but the passage met with embittered opposition from -outside in the European as well as in the Native Community; he stood -firm, however, and this time was supported both by his Council in India -and by the Secretary of State in England. But he knew that this measure, -though much better than nothing, was insufficient, and he ceased not -from urging the imposition of the income-tax proper. Indeed during his -fifth and last year he laid the foundation and prepared the way for that -tax, which was actually imposed after his departure, and which during -several succeeding years saved the finances from ultimate deficit.</p> - -<p>During his five years, however, there were five and a quarter millions -sterling of deficit, and two and three quarter millions of surplus, -leaving a net deficit of two and a half millions. This deficit was, -indeed, more than accounted for by the expenses of five millions on the -barracks; but it would never have occurred, had he been properly -supported in the sound fiscal measures proposed by him. The financial -result in the end,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span> though fully capable of explanation, did indeed fall -short of complete success; but this partial failure did not at all arise -from any fault of his. Indeed it occurred despite his well-directed -exertions. He left India with somewhat gloomy anticipations regarding -its financial future. He feared lest his countrymen should fail to -appreciate the standing difficulty of Indian finance. He knew that the -Natives may have more means relatively to their simple wants than the -corresponding classes in European countries, and in that sense may not -be poor. But he thought that their power of paying revenue down in cash -was very small according to a European standard, and that their fiscal -resources were singularly inelastic.</p> - -<p>In connection with finance he was much troubled by the failure of the -Bank of Bombay. On his arrival in India the American Civil War, then at -its height, was causing a rapid rise in the value of cotton in Western -India, and an excessive speculation in consequence. On the cessation of -the war in 1865 he saw this speculation collapse, and became anxious for -the fate of the Bank of Bombay which was a State institution. He did his -utmost to guide and assist the Government of Bombay in preventing a -catastrophe. But despite his efforts the Bank fell, and its fall was -keenly discussed in England generally and in the House of Commons. Then -a commission of inquiry was appointed, which after complete -investigation remarked upon the steadiness and carefulness displayed by -him at least, while it distributed blame among several authorities.</p> - -<p>Much was done in his time, more than ever before, for legislation. He -took a lively interest in the proceedings of the Legislative Council for -India; it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span> consisted of some thirteen members, of whom six belonged to -the Executive Council, and seven, partly official and partly -non-official, were nominated by the Governor-General; and it was apart -from the local legislatures of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. He -assiduously presided over its deliberations, which at that time embraced -such important matters as civil and criminal procedure, transfer of -property, contract, evidence, negotiable securities, and others. During -no period of Indian history has legislation of a fundamental, and, so to -speak, scientific character been more remarkably advanced than during -his incumbency of five years. He was throughout assisted by English -Jurists in England, and in India especially.</p> - -<p>In one legislative measure he was able to take a strong part personally, -and that was the Punjab Tenancy Act. It appeared to him that in various -ways the rights secured (by the land settlement in that Province as -already mentioned) to certain classes of cultivators, as separate from -peasant proprietors, were being gravely threatened. So he procured the -passing of a law for the preservation of the rights and interests in -these numerous tenancies under legal definitions.</p> - -<p>Cognate to this subject, a question arose in Oude regarding -tenant-right, in which he acted with decisive effect. While anxious that -the landed aristocracy (styled the Talukdars) in this Province should be -maintained in the position ultimately guaranteed to them by Lord Canning -in 1859, he was equally resolved that the subordinate rights of -occupants and cultivators should be protected. He, in common with -others, believed that their rights had been secured simultaneously with -those<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> of the Talukdars. But during the subsequent five years this -security had, he found, been disturbed, and further measures were needed -for protection. He therefore caused these tenant-rights or occupancy -tenures to be protected by additional safeguards, which have since been -embodied in legislative enactments. These measures of his aroused keen -opposition in Northern and North-eastern India, and especially in -Calcutta, as the landlord interest in Bengal made common cause with the -Talukdars of Oude. Thus much invective was levelled at him by the -Anglo-Indian newspaper-press. Then the agitation began to spread from -India to England: the influential few could make their cry heard across -the seas, the voiceless million could not; that was all the greater -reason why he would take care of the million. He held that the question -was one of justice or injustice towards a deserving and industrious -class of British subjects. His mind, however, was exercised by this -controversy in India mainly because he apprehended that the ground of -argumentative battle might be shifted to England, and perhaps even to -the floor of the House of Commons. Though he fully hoped that the then -Secretary of State, Sir Charles Wood, and the Cabinet would support him, -yet he was prepared, indeed almost determined, to give up his high -office if his policy in Oude should fail to be sustained. He used to say -to his intimate friends at the time that he would stand or resign upon -his policy in Oude. This is borne out by a letter of his to Sir Charles -Wood which has since been published by his biographer, and from which a -characteristic passage may be quoted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“What could make me take the course I have done in favour of the -Ryots of Oude, but a strong sense of duty? I understand the -question right well, as indeed must every man who has had anything -to do with settlement-work. I have no wish to harm the Talukdars. -On the contrary, I desire to see fair-play to their interests.... -It would be a suicidal act for me to come forward and modify the -instructions given recently. The Home Government may do this. -Parliament may say what it thinks proper. But, of my own free will, -I will not move, knowing as I do, that I am right in the course -which has been adopted. Did ever any one hear of the Government of -India learning that a class of men were not having fair-play at the -time of settlement, and then failing to interfere or to issue such -orders as the case appeared to demand?”</p></div> - -<p>In the sequel he was generously sustained by the Government in England, -and the retrospect of this episode was pleasant to him as he believed it -to be a victory for justice.</p> - -<p>In respect to the public service in its several branches, it fell to his -lot to recommend, and obtain sanction from the Government in England -for, some beneficent measures. A revision of the rules regarding leave -in India and furlough to Europe, for the three great classes of -Government, namely, the Indian Army, the Covenanted Civil Service, and -the Uncovenanted Service, had been pending for some time before his -arrival. Knowing well the bearings of this many-sided question, he -resolved to settle it in a manner befitting the merits of the public -servants whose labours and efforts he had witnessed in so many fields of -action. He accordingly appointed the most competent persons in India to -frame suitable sets of rules, which he induced the Government in England -to sanction with but slight modifications.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span> The simple record of this -great fact affords no idea of the attention he personally gave to the -multiform and often complex details which involved many conflicting -considerations. The rules were demanded by the requirements of the age, -and would sooner or later have been passed, at least in their -essentials, whoever had been Governor-General; but it is to his -sympathy, his trained intelligence, his knowledge and experience, that -these great branches of the public service owe the speedy concession, in -so acceptable a manner, of the boons which those rules bestow.</p> - -<p>Respecting the national education, he allowed the Universities, which -had been already established at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, to work -out their own views. It was in regard to elementary education and -village schools that he chiefly interested himself, and with -considerable effect. He also helped the Bishop of Calcutta to establish -schools at Himalayan stations for European and East Indian children. The -progress of religious missions, belonging to all denominations of -Christians, afforded him the liveliest satisfaction. He foresaw the -possibility of converting large numbers among tribes that had not yet -fallen under any of the dominant religions of the East. The example set -by the lives of the missionaries produced, in his judgment, a good -effect politically by raising the national repute of British people in -the eyes of the Natives. Though he was guarded and discreet in his -public utterances and in his official conduct, yet his private -munificence was always flowing in this direction. When at Calcutta in -the winter, he would spend the later part of his afternoons in visiting -Christian schools and institutions. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span> gave a never-failing support to -the clergy and all ministers of religion in the discharge of their -sacred functions, and became a rallying point around which all -influences for good might gather.</p> - -<p>A farewell address was voted to him at a conference of missionaries at -Calcutta, which comprised a remarkable list of measures attributed by -them to his influence. These measures of his, which these competent -observers selected for mention, were of a prosaic and unambitious -description. But thereby was evinced his insight into the wants of the -very humblest and least in the Native population, and his anxiety to -render British rule acceptable to his Indian fellow-subjects.</p> - -<p>At the same time an address from the Bishop and clergy acknowledged his -efforts for the moral and spiritual advancement of the European -soldiery, and the effect of his example in promoting true religion among -our fellow-countrymen.</p> - -<p>To the hospitalities and social ceremonies, becoming to the position of -Viceroy, he paid due attention, as was proper in a country where -external style is much considered. But he had no longer the buoyancy for -entering joyously into social intercourse on a large scale. Regarding -the ceremonies of the stateliest character, organised specially for the -Native princes and chiefs, he was very particular. These levées or -assemblages, called Durbars, signifying a concourse of eminent -personages from great distances and requiring long preparation, can only -be held on rare occasions, and under all Governors-General have been -historically memorable; he held three such during his incumbency, at -Lahore, at Agra, and at Lucknow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span></p> - -<p>The Durbar at Lahore was wondrous even among these occasions which have -all excited wonder. The princes, the chiefs, the feudatories of the -empire, from the Punjab, the Himalayas, the Trans-Indus frontier, and -even from Afghanistan, vied with each other in doing honour to the man -who in their eyes was the embodiment of British might, and had returned -as the Queen’s representative to the centre-point of his labours and the -scene of his former triumphs. This moment was the second of the two -proudest moments of his life, the first having been that at the -Guildhall in London. He found his bosom friend, Sir Robert Montgomery -(to whom he had made over charge of the Punjab when departing for -England in 1859), still in the position of Lieutenant-Governor. The -manner in which his services were remembered by his old associates, is -shown by the following passage from the Lieutenant-Governor’s speech, -which was applauded with rapture: “Then came 1857. The Punjab under his -grasp stood firm. Delhi must be regained or India lost. The Punjab was -cut off from all aid. It poured down at his bidding from its hills and -plains the flower of the native chivalry. The city was captured and we -were saved. We are here to welcome him this day, in a hall erected to -his memory by his Punjab friends.”</p> - -<p>His Durbar was held in a beautiful plain lying between the castellated -city of Lahore and the river Ravi, which became for the nonce a tented -field. Moving to his place there, he looked around at the noble mosque -turned by the Sikhs into a magazine, but lately restored to the Moslems -by the British—at the palace<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span> of the Mogul emperors—at the tomb of -Runjeet Sing, the Lion-king of the Punjab—and further off across the -river, at the still nobler mausoleum of the emperor Jehangir. Amidst -these historic surroundings he addressed to the assembly a speech in the -vernacular of Hindostan, probably the first speech that had ever been -made by a Viceroy in this language. The whole of his well-considered -oration is worth reproduction; but the quoting of one passage only must -suffice.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I recognise the sons of my old allies, the Maharaja of Cashmere -and Puttiala: the Sikh chiefs of Malwa and the Manjha; the Rajpût -chiefs of the hills: the Mahommedan Mulliks of Peshawur and Kohat; -the Sirdars of the Derajat, of Hazara, and of Delhi. All have -gathered together to do honour to their old ruler. My friends! Let -me tell you of the great interest which the illustrious Queen of -England takes in all matters connected with the welfare, comfort -and contentment of the people of India. Let me inform you, when I -returned to my native country, and had the honour of standing in -the presence of Her Majesty, how kindly she asked after the welfare -of her subjects in the East. Let me tell you, when that great Queen -appointed me her Viceroy of India, how warmly she enjoined on me -the duty of caring for your interests. Prince Albert, the Consort -of Her Majesty, the fame of whose greatness and goodness has spread -through the whole world, was well acquainted with all connected -with this country, and always evinced an ardent desire to see its -people happy and flourishing.”</p></div> - -<p>His next Durbar was at Agra, again in a tented plain near the river -Jumna, almost within sight of the peerless Taj Mahal, with its gleaming -marble, the acknowledged gem of all the architecture in the world, and -not far from the red-stone fortress of Akbar the Great. Hither he had -summoned the princes and chiefs of two great divisions of the empire<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span> -which are still almost entirely under Native administration. He utilises -the pomp and magnificence with which he is surrounded, in order to give -weight and solemnity to his exhortation. Again he delivers to the -assembly a speech in the language of Hindostan, which really forms an -imperial lecture to Oriental rulers on the duty of ruling well, and is -probably the most noteworthy utterance of this description that ever -proceeded from British lips. Every sentence, almost every word, of his -oration was adapted to a Native audience. Without any vain compliments -he reminds them of their besetting faults, and declares to them, “that -peace and that security from outward violence which the British -Government confers on your territories, you must each of you extend to -your people.” He admonishes them, in tones bland and dignified but still -earnest and impressive, to improve their roads for traffic, their -schools for the young, their hospitals for the sick, their police for -repressing crime, their finances. He urges them to enlighten their minds -by travelling beyond their own dominions. Knowing their passion for -posthumous fame and their leaning towards flattery, he takes advantage -of these sentiments thus,</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“It has often happened after a chief has passed away that he has -not been remembered as a good ruler. Great men while living often -receive praise for virtues which they do not possess; and it is -only after this life is ended that the real truth is told. The -names of conquerors are forgotten. But those of virtuous chiefs -live for ever.”</p></div> - -<p>Then in order to add encouragement, after impressive advice, he proceeds -thus—in reference to their disputes among themselves regarding -precedence—<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“The British Government will honour that chief most who excels in -the management of his people, and does most for the improvement of -his country. There are chiefs in this Durbar who have acquired a -reputation in this way—I may mention the Maharaja Scindia and the -Bêgum of Bhopal. The death of the late Nawab Ghour Khan of Jowrah -was a cause of grief to me, for I have heard that he was a wise and -beneficent ruler. The Raja of Sîtamow in Malwa is now ninety years -old, and yet it is said that he manages his country very well. The -Raja of Ketra in Jeyepore has been publicly honoured for the wise -arrangements he has made in his lands.”</p></div> - -<p>His third and last Durbar was at Lucknow, after the controversy (already -mentioned) with the Talukdars had been happily settled. They found that -the compromise on which he insisted for the protection of their tenants, -was quite workable, that it left a suitable margin for the landlords, -and that with its acceptance the thorough support of the British -Government to their Talukdâri status would be secured. So they in their -turn emulated their brethren of other provinces in doing him honour. -Mounted on seven hundred elephants in a superb procession, they rode -with him into Lucknow past the ruins (carefully preserved) of the -hastily formed defences, and of the battered Residency where his brother -Henry had been mortally wounded. The city of Lucknow is artistically not -so fine as Lahore and Agra, the scenes of the two former Durbars; still -he is greeted by a fair spectacle, as the city stands with a long -perspective of cupolas, towers and minarets on the bank of the Goomti. -The aspect of Lucknow has never been better described than by the -greatest man who ever ruled there, his brother Henry, who wrote:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“The modern city of Lucknow is both curious and splendid. There is -a strange dash of European architecture among its Oriental -buildings. Travellers have compared the place to Moscow and -Constantinople, and we can easily fancy the resemblance: gilded -domes surmounted by the crescent; tall slender pillars and lofty -colonnades; houses that look as if they had been transplanted from -Regent Street; iron railings and balustrades; cages some containing -wild beasts, others filled with strange bright birds; gardens, -fountains, and litters, and English barouches.”</p></div> - -<p>Again there comes the gorgeous assemblage in the tented field with the -speech in Hindostani from his dais as Viceroy, and the last of these -dramatic occasions is over. Believing this to be his final utterance in -public Durbar, he throws a parting solemnity into his language. After -acknowledging the address just presented by the Talukdars, whereby they -admit the considerateness towards them, as superior land-owners, with -which the rights of the subordinate proprietor and tenancy-holders had -been defined—he speaks to them thus: “Talukdars! Though we differ in -race, in religion, in habits of thought, we are all created by the same -God; we are all bound by the same general laws; and we shall all have to -give an account to Him at the last of the manner in which we have obeyed -His commandments. In this way there is a common bond of union among us -all, whether high or low, rich or poor, learned or ignorant.”</p> - -<p>While at Lucknow he visited his brother Henry’s lowly tomb, the room -where the mortal wound from a bursting shell had been inflicted, and the -remains of the defences which had been hastily thrown up in that -emergency. He must at the moment have conjured<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span> up the thoughts to which -the poet has given expression:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Frail were the works that defended the hold that we held with our lives;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Death in our innermost chamber, and death at our slight barricade;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">‘Never surrender, I charge you; but every man die at his post!’—<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Voice of the dead whom we loved, our Lawrence the best of the brave.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>These ceremonial occasions can give no idea of the business-like -attention which he gave to the affairs of the numerous Native States of -the Indian Empire. He remembered thankfully the signal services which -they (with the fewest exceptions) had rendered during the disturbances -of 1857-58. In his judgment their existence was advantageous to British -interests in India, as forming a safety-valve to release discontent of -several kinds, which otherwise might be pent up till it burst forth -injuriously. He believed that they afford a field of employment to many -who cannot find any adequate scope in the British territories, and that -hereby a nucleus of influence is constituted in favour of a strong -imperial Paramount.</p> - -<p>The only part of his policy remaining to be summarised is that relating -to foreign affairs, which mainly concern Afghanistan. It has been shown -in a previous chapter that originally he desired to avoid having -anything to do with Afghanistan, but that under the directions of two -Governors-General in those days, he had negotiated two treaties with the -Afghan Amir Dost Mahommed, involving the regular payment of pecuniary -subsidies. When he himself became Governor-General,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> he saw Afghanistan -torn by internecine and fratricidal contests after the death of Dost -Mahommed. He scrupulously stood aloof from these civil wars, espousing -neither party in any contest, willing to recognise the man who should -establish himself as <i>de facto</i> ruler, but waiting till such -establishment should be complete before according formal recognition. At -length he was able to recognise officially Shir Ali, who had practically -fought his way to the status of Amir, on the understanding that the -periodical subsidy would follow as a consequence.</p> - -<p>But having confirmed friendly relations with the Amir of the day by -substantial gifts and by moral support, he planted his foot, so to -speak, on this line as on a limit not to be passed. He considered that -the Amir when subsidised and otherwise well treated by us, ought to be -the friend of our friends and the enemy of our enemies. Otherwise he -would scrupulously respect the Amir’s independence as ruler of -Afghanistan. On the other hand, he would have on the British side no -offensive and defensive alliance with the Amir, lest the British -Government should be drawn into complications owing to errors on the -Afghan side. If this principle should seem one-sided, it was, he held, -unavoidable in the circumstances. But he would let the Amir, when in the -right, feel sure of British support, provided always that Britain were -not expected to send troops into Afghanistan. He set his face not only -against any interference in affairs within Afghanistan, but also against -the despatch of British officers to Caubul, Candahar or anywhere else. -He deemed that the presence of British officers in Afghanistan would -spoil everything, would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span> kindle fanatical jealousy, and would end in -their own murder.</p> - -<p>The Afghans, he was convinced, will be the enemies of those who -interfere, and the friends of those who protect them from such -interference. Therefore, as he would say in effect, let us leave Russia -(our natural opponent) to assume, if she dares, the part of -interference, and let the British adopt the attitude of protection; that -would be the only chance of obtaining an Afghan alliance in British -interests. In that case he hoped that the Afghans would offer a deadly -opposition to a Russian advance towards India through their inhospitable -country. Even then he hoped only, without feeling sure, for the conduct -of the Afghans cannot be foreseen. They might, he would often say, be -tempted to join the Russians on the promise of sharing in the plunder of -India; but such junction would not be probable: on the other hand, if -the British advance into Afghanistan to meet Russia, they ensure Afghan -enmity against themselves and cause the Afghans to favour Russian -interests. If Russia should send missions to, or set up agencies in, -Afghanistan adverse to British interests, he would waste no -remonstrances on the Afghans, believing them to be unwilling recipients -of Russian messages, and to be more sinned against than sinning. He -would remonstrate direct with Russia herself, and would let her see -diplomatically that behind these remonstrances were ironclads and -battalions. He was for telling her in time of peace, courteously but -firmly, that she would not be allowed to interfere in Afghanistan or in -any country contiguous to India. But if a general war were to break out, -and if Russia not having been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span> stopped by British counter-operations in -Europe, were to advance towards India, then on no account would he meet -her in Afghanistan. That, he affirmed, would be wasting our resources in -men and money, and would be playing into the enemy’s hands. The Afghans -would, he supposed, be bitterly hostile to such advance, even though -cowed into momentary submission. In that case he would help them with -money and material, though not with men. Thus strengthened they might -hamper the movements or retard the advance of the Russians; but be that -as it might, he would have the British stand made on the British -frontier. If the God of battles should then steel the hearts of British -soldiers as of yore, the Russian invasion would, he trusted, be repelled -decisively; and then the Russian retreat through Afghanistan, with the -dreadful guerilla warfare of the Afghans, would be a spectacle to serve -as a warning to invaders for all time coming.</p> - -<p>Such is the substance of the opinion which he held rightly or wrongly, -and for the vindication of which he exhausted every form of expression -in private letters, in official despatches, and in conversations -innumerable. His policy was once described by a friendly writer in the -<i>Edinburgh Review</i> as “masterly inactivity,” which expression contained -both truth and error, and was regretted as being liable to -misconstruction by the British public.</p> - -<p>His views respecting the Russo-Afghan question were finally stated -during the first days of January, 1869, in one of the last official -letters of importance that he, with his Council, ever addressed to the -Secretary of State in London.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Should a foreign Power, such as Russia, ever seriously think of -invading India from without, or, what is more probable, of stirring -up the elements of disaffection or anarchy within it, our true -policy, our strongest security, would then, we conceive, be found -to lie in previous absence from entanglements at either Cabul, -Candahar, or any similar outpost; in full reliance on a compact, -highly equipped, and disciplined army stationed within our own -territories, or on our own border; in the contentment, if not in -the attachment, of the masses; in the sense of security of title -and possession, with which our whole policy is gradually imbuing -the minds of the principal chiefs and the native aristocracy; in -the construction of material works within British India, which -enhance the comfort of the people while they add to our political -and military strength; in husbanding our finances and consolidating -and multiplying our resources; in quiet preparation for all -contingencies which no honest Indian statesman should disregard.”</p></div> - -<p>He repeated the same conclusion in his reply to the company at a -farewell banquet on the evening of his last day in office, a speech -which was his final utterance in India. Repelling the oft-repeated -charge of inactivity in Central Asia, and speaking in the presence of -many who knew all the details, he declared that he had watched most -carefully all that went on in those distant regions; that he had -abstained from interference there because such a course would lead to -wars of which no man could foresee the end, would involve India in vast -expenses which must lead to such an increase of taxation as would render -British rule unpopular. Our true policy, he declared, is to avoid such -complications, to consolidate our power in India, to give its people the -best government we can, to organise our administration in every -department by a combination of efficiency with economy. This he seemed -to regard as his political testament on leaving India.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span></p> - -<p>To show how these principles remained fast in his mind to the very end -of life, two passages may be quoted from public letters which he -dictated within the last twelvemonth before his death, after he had been -literally half blinded by illness, when he was bowed down with infirmity -and no longer able to read or write; and yet they remind the reader of -his best manner.</p> - -<p>Regarding the people of Afghanistan, he says:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“The Afghan is courageous, hardy, and independent; the country he -lives in is strong and sterile in a remarkable degree, -extraordinarily adapted for guerilla warfare; these people will -never cease to resist so long as they have a hope of success, and, -when beaten down, they have that kind of elasticity which will ever -lead them to renew the struggle whenever opportunity of so doing -may occur. If we enter Afghanistan, whether it be to punish the -people for the alleged faults of their chiefs or to rectify our -frontier, they will assuredly do all in their power to resist us. -We want them as friends and not as enemies. In the latter category, -they are extremely dangerous to us.”</p></div> - -<p>In respect of our policy towards them he repeats:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“So far as diplomacy and diplomacy alone, is concerned, we should -do all in our power to induce the Afghans to side with us. We ought -not, in my mind, to make an offensive and defensive treaty with -them. This has been for many years their desire; but the argument -against it is that if we made such a treaty, we should be bound to -restrain them from any attacks on their neighbours, and to resent -such assaults on them, while it would be next to impossible for us -to ascertain the merits of such complaints. We should thus -constantly find ourselves in a position to please neither party, -and even bound to defend causes in which the Afghans were to -blame.”</p></div> - -<p>Towards the end of 1868, having obtained the approval of the Government -in England, he arranged a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span> personal conference with the Amir Shir Ali, -to be held at some place in British territory for settling the terms on -which a limited support by subsidies in arms and money might be accorded -to a friendly and independent Afghanistan. But he waited in vain for -Shir Ali, who, though anxious to come, was prevented from doing so by -some passing troubles near at home. This was in December, 1868, and his -stay in India was fast drawing to a close, as his successor, Lord Mayo, -was expected to arrive at Calcutta the following month, January, 1869. -So the plan, to which he had obtained the sanction of the British -Government, was unavoidably left to be carried out by his successor -after a personal meeting with Shir Ali at some early date; and this -actually took place at Umballa in the ensuing spring.</p> - -<p>The night before the arrival of his successor, he attended the farewell -banquet given in his honour by some two hundred and fifty gentlemen -representing the European community of Calcutta. His public services -were reviewed by the chairman, Sir William Mansfield (afterwards Lord -Sandhurst), the Commander-in-Chief. His services respecting military -supplies and transport in 1846, and regarding reinforcements for the -army in 1857, were specially attested by Mansfield, a most competent -judge speaking from personal knowledge; and then his subsequent career -was reviewed in statesmanlike and eloquent terms. When he rose to reply -his voice was not resonant and his manner seemed hesitating, but the -hesitation arose from the varied emotions that were surging in his -breast, and the counter trains of thought that were coursing through his -mind, as “the hours to their last minute were mounting,” for his Indian<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span> -career. Doffing his armour after a long course of victory, and arriving -at that final end which entitles the victor to be called fortunate, he -might well have been cheerful; but, on the contrary, he was somewhat -melancholy—and his bearing then, compared to what it was when he landed -in Calcutta, shewed how heavily the last five years had told upon him. -His speech was characteristic as might have been expected. He reviewed -his own policy in a concise and comprehensive manner; he said a good -word for the inhabitants of North-western India, among whom his -laborious lot had long been cast, attributing much of his success to the -officers, his own countrymen, who had worked with him; and, as a -peroration, he commended the Natives of India to the kindly sympathies -of all whom his words might reach.</p> - -<p>The next day he wore full dress for the reception of his successor, Lord -Mayo, according to usage. The gilded uniform and the glittering -decorations compared strangely with his wan look and toilworn frame. His -veteran aspect presented a complete contrast to that of his handsome and -gallant successor. He looked like a man whose conduct was as crystal and -whose resolution as granite. He was indeed prematurely aged, for being -only fifty-eight years old, he would, according to a British standard, -be within the cycle of activity. His faithful friends, and they were -legion, saw in him the representative of Anglo-Indian greatness. The -same could not be said of his predecessors: the greatness of Wellesley, -of Dalhousie, of Canning was not wholly of this character, but his -greatness was Anglo-Indian solely and absolutely. Like<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span> Warren Hastings, -the first in the illustrious line of Governors-General, he had been -appointed entirely for merit and service, without reference to -parliamentary considerations or political influences; and again, like -Warren Hastings, he had been instrumental in saving the empire from the -stress of peril.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -<small>CONCLUSION</small><br /><br /> -<small>1869-1879</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">On</span> March 15th, 1869, Sir John Lawrence landed in England after an -absence of more than five years, his wife having preceded him thither -the year before. The friends, who welcomed his return, thought him -looking worn and broken. He was immediately raised to the peerage under -the title of Baron Lawrence of the Punjab and Grateley. The Prime -Minister (Mr. Gladstone), in the kindest terms, communicated to him the -pleasure of the Sovereign. For his armorial bearings he -characteristically adopted as supporters, two native Indian soldiers, a -Sikh and a Mahommedan, in order to perpetuate, so far as might be -possible, the remembrance of what he and his country owed to the men of -these classes. The name Grateley he took from the small estate on -Salisbury Plain which his sister Letitia, Mrs. Hayes, had left him on -her death. His home at Southgate had been transferred to Queen’s Gate in -South Kensington; and he very soon made a short tour to Lynton to see -his sister’s grave, and to Clifton near Bristol, the home of his -childhood.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a>{191}</span></p> - -<p>In the spring of 1869, then, Lord Lawrence took his seat on the cross -benches of the House of Lords, apparently indicating that he had not as -yet attached himself formally to either political party, though he -certainly continued to be, what he had always been, a very moderate -Liberal in politics, anxious to preserve all the good institutions which -the nation possesses, while striving for such reforms as might prove to -be just, expedient or needful. His first rising in his place to say a -few words, on a matter relating to the organisation of the Council of -India at Whitehall, was greeted with significant cheers from both sides -of the House of Lords. At that time the Bill for disestablishing the -Irish Church was before Parliament, and in his heart he grieved over -this measure, being much moved by all the Ulster associations of his -youth, and well acquainted with all the considerations from a -Churchman’s point of view through his wife’s relations or connexions. -His regret was even intensified by his respect and esteem for the -Ministry of that day, especially for the Duke of Argyll, and for the -political party which comprised many of his best friends. When the Bill -came to the Lords from the Commons, he followed with keen but melancholy -interest the important debates which ensued, without however taking any -part in them. He voted for the second reading, in the belief that -resistance to the main principle of the measure had become hopeless in -the circumstances, and that it only remained for the friends of the -Church in the House of Lords to try and make the terms of -disestablishment more favourable to her than those offered by the House -of Commons, and to preserve as much of her property as possible. He -rejoiced when the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>{192}</span> House of Lords succeeded in doing much towards this -end.</p> - -<p>At this time the loss of the troopship <i>Megæra</i>, off the south-western -coast of Africa, attracted much public attention; the Government -appointed a Commission of Inquiry of which he accepted the chairmanship. -Much evidence was taken and an elaborate report made, into all which -business he threw his wonted energy.</p> - -<p>During the summer of 1869 his aspect brightened in the English air, and -the tired look began to disappear, as if the oppression of care had been -lightened. His circumstances were easy, and his means were adequate for -his requirements with that good management which he always gave to his -affairs. Though the inevitable gaps had been made by death among his -relations and connexions, still his domestic circle was more than -ordinarily peaceful and fortunate. His daughters were being married -happily, and his sons were growing up or entering the world -successfully. Thus the first year of his final return home drew to its -close favourably. The next year, 1870, he spent placidly at Queen’s -Gate, Kensington, recruiting his strength, until the autumn, which for -him became eventful.</p> - -<p>He found that the Elementary Education Act had come into effect, and -that a great School Board for all London was to be assembled, -representing the several divisions of the metropolis. The elections took -place in November, and having accepted a nomination by the ratepayers of -his district, Chelsea, he was elected to be one of the members. When the -members of the Board assembled in the Guildhall, he was chosen by them -to be their Chairman,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>{193}</span> with Mr. C. Reed (afterwards Sir Charles) as -Vice-Chairman. His acceptance of this position, within a short time -after relinquishing the Government of India and returning to England, -gladdened his friends as proving at least a partial recovery of health, -but also surprised them. Thankless drudgery, as they thought, would be -his lot, while wearisome debates would tax his patience, and a -multiplicity of details would harass one who had been bred amidst -stirring affairs in distant lands. Some even wondered whether such work -as this would be for him <i>dignus vindice nodus</i>. He thought otherwise -however; and his immediate recognition, at the very outset, of the great -future in store for the London School Board, is a token of his -prescience and sagacity. He shared the anxiety then felt by many lest -the education given in the Board Schools should fail to include -religious instruction, and he decided for this reason among others to -put his massive shoulder to the wheel. He had the happiness soon to see -this instruction properly afforded. The work, too, was for the children -of the labouring poor, and—while looking towards high education with -due deference—he had fixed his heart always on elementary education. In -India he rejoiced in village schools, and during his sojourn in England -he had given attention to the schools near his house at Southgate. -Having accepted the Chairmanship, he was prepared not only to guide the -deliberations of the Board in a statesmanlike manner, but also to take a -personally active part in its business. The permanent officers of the -Board still remember the ardour and enthusiasm which he seemed to throw -into the work. Much as it might differ from that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a>{194}</span> to which he had long -been used, yet he remembered the command,—that which thy hand findeth -to do, do it with all thy might.</p> - -<p>On this Board he found many members in company with whom any man might -be glad to act: Lord Sandon (now Earl of Harrowby), Lord Mahon (the -present Earl Stanhope), Mr. W. H. Smith (now leader of the House of -Commons), Professor Huxley, Samuel Morley, the Reverend Anthony Thorold -(now Bishop of Rochester), and others. He presided regularly at the -weekly meetings, and when the executive business came to be done by -several committees, he attended them also with the utmost assiduity. On -this occasion, as on other occasions in his life, the acceptance of -fresh work seemed to have an electric effect on him. After the lapse of -seventeen years the operations of the Board are seen by all men to be -vast, probably the largest of their kind under any one Board in the -world; but in his day there was at first only a small beginning. The -number of children in the metropolis at voluntary schools (elementary) -of all kinds was little over three hundred thousand, too few for a -population of more than four millions, so the Board under his presidency -was to ascertain the total number of children of a school-going age, -then about three-quarters of a million, deduct therefrom the number -actually at voluntary schools, and for the remainder (technically called -the deficiency) provide Board Schools, after making allowance for those -who must unavoidably be absent.</p> - -<p>In the very first instance he and his colleagues had to arrange the -working of the Board itself, which, as a representative body of -considerable importance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a>{195}</span> needed rules to be framed for the conduct of -its debates. He soon found the benefit of a definite procedure, because -public elementary education was new, and many questions which having -been since settled are now regarded as beyond dispute, were then in an -inchoate condition, and tossed about with diverse forces of argument. -Many of his colleagues were positive thinkers, fluent debaters, and -persons with independent or original ideas, so he had to preside -patiently over protracted discussions on grave subjects wherein, after a -survey of the arguments, his own mind was soon made up. So fast has been -the progress of public opinion, that nowadays, after the lapse of -seventeen years, we may wonder at the heat and pertinacity with which -several educational topics were debated before him: such as the exercise -of the powers for compelling attendance at the schools,—the -introduction of sound religious teaching,—the principles on which the -Board should calculate the educational wants which it was to -supply,—the curriculum of the subjects which should be taught in the -schools, as coming within the scope of elementary education,—the part -to be taken by the Board in carrying into effect the beneficent -principles of the Industrial Schools Act throughout the metropolitan -area,—the gradation of the fees payable by the scholars, and so on. He -rejoiced in the Resolution passed by the Board in 1871, that “The Bible -should be read, and that there should be given such explanations and -such instructions therefrom in the principles of religion and morality -as are suited to the capacity of children; provided that no attempt be -made to attach children to any particular denomination.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>{196}</span></p> - -<p>He and his colleagues saw at once that the administration of so growing -a business as this could not be conducted by a deliberative body of more -than fifty members assembled once a week. He and they knew that the -executive work must really be done in Committees. So he arranged that on -one or more of the Committees every member of the Board should serve, -and that the recommendations of each Committee should be brought up to -the weekly meetings of the whole Board, for adoption, or for such other -orders as might be passed. Thus he saw those several Committees -constituted,—which have during the subsequent sixteen years done what -must be termed a mighty work,—for determining the provision of -school-places, according to the needs of the population,—for procuring, -and if necessary enforcing by law, the attendance at school,—for -distributing the large staff of teachers among a great number of -schools,—for dealing with the waif and stray children in the -streets,—for the purchase of sites for school-houses in densely peopled -quarters, and for the erection of buildings,—for managing the debt -which the Board must incur in building school-houses,—and for -determining annually the amount to be levied by precept from the -ratepayers of the metropolis.</p> - -<p>He also saw a Divisional Committee appointed for each of the ten -electoral divisions of the metropolis, to consist of the members of the -Board representing that division with the assistance of local residents. -Then his Board furnished the Divisional Committees with a staff of -Visitors whose duty it was to make a house-to-house visitation, and to -register every child<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a>{197}</span> of a school-going age throughout the metropolis, -so that the attendance of all might be by degrees enforced; and this -far-reaching organisation still exists.</p> - -<p>The elections being triennial, his Board, which had been elected as the -first Board in November, 1870, yielded place to its successor in -November, 1873. He then, from fatigue which necessitated repose, -resigned the Chairmanship after three years’ incumbency, and did not -seek re-election as a member. In fact, within his term, he had been once -obliged to be absent for a few months on account of sleeplessness -attributable to mental exertion. At the last meeting of his Board a vote -of thanks was accorded to him, on the motion of Samuel Morley seconded -by W. H. Smith, for the invariable kindness and ability which he had -evinced in the Chair.</p> - -<p>Then it was announced that £400 had been contributed by members of the -Board in order to form a scholarship to perpetuate the memory of his -chairmanship, and £1000 were added by the Duke of Bedford “in order to -mark his sense of the services of Lord Lawrence and of the Board over -which his Lordship had presided.” The permanent officers of the Board -caused a portrait of him to be painted, which now hangs in the large -hall of the Board-meetings right over the Chair which is occupied by his -successors. A banquet was given in his honour by his colleagues, at -which a tribute to his labours in the Board was paid by Mr. W. E. -Forster, then a member of the Government, as vice-president of the -Council.</p> - -<p>It may be well to cite some brief passages to show the estimation in -which he was held by the Board.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>{198}</span> When the vote of thanks on his -retirement was proposed, Mr. Samuel Morley, speaking as “an acknowledged -Nonconformist,” said that gentlemen of the most opposite opinions had -been able to work together harmoniously, and this result he attributed -in a large measure to the character of the Chairman. Mr. W. H. Smith -said “the way in which Lord Lawrence came forward had greatly tended to -rouse the minds of the people to the absolute duty of providing for the -education of the destitute children, not only of London, but of -England.” Another member said “his friends out of doors, the working -classes, would find fault with him if he did not on their behalf tender -their thanks to Lord Lawrence.”</p> - -<p>From his reply one significant sentence may be quoted as showing that -his Board had been friendly to the Voluntary system of education in the -metropolis. “We have in no way trodden upon those who have gone before -us, or done anything to injure them, but on the contrary our sympathies -and feelings have been in the main with those who have preceded us, and -all we desired to do was to supplement the good work which they had -begun.”</p> - -<p>Lastly, at the banquet Mr. Forster said that “the greatest compliment he -could pay to the Board would be to say that the work of the last three -years will not be the least interesting part of the history of Lord -Lawrence, and will bear comparison with many another passage in that -history.”</p> - -<p>Thus ended the crowning episode in the story of his public life. He who -had been the master of many legions, had used the pomp and circumstance -of the East for exerting beneficent influence, had defended an<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a>{199}</span> empire -daring war and guided it in progressive ways during peace—now rejoiced -that the sunset of his career should be gilded by services to the poor -of London.</p> - -<p>He continued, however, to take interest in matters cognate to education. -Being one of the Vice-Presidents of the Church Missionary Society, he -frequently attended the meetings of its General Committee. Once at a -gathering held in furtherance of the mission cause, he bore testimony on -behalf of the Missionaries in India, with words that are affectionately -cherished by all whom they concern.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I believe that, notwithstanding all that the people of England -have done to benefit India (that is, by philanthropic effort), the -Missionaries have done more than all other agencies combined. They -have had arduous and uphill work, often receiving no encouragement, -and have had to bear the taunts and obloquy of those who despised -and disliked their preaching. But such has been the effect of their -earnest zeal, untiring devotion, and of the excellent example which -they have universally shown, that in spite of the great masses of -the people being opposed to their doctrine, they are, as a body, -popular in the country. I have a great reverence and regard for -them, both personally and for the sake of the great cause in which -they are engaged.”</p></div> - -<p>In his three months’ absence, already mentioned, during his incumbency -in the School Board for London, he visited at Paris the scenes of the -Franco-German war and subsequent disturbances there. He also renewed his -recollections of Rome and Naples. Since 1871 he had taken for a summer -residence the beautiful Brockett Hall in Hertfordshire, fragrant with -the memories of Palmerston, and he kept it till the autumn of 1875. The -place and its surroundings always delighted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a>{200}</span> him. The last years of -physical comfort that he was destined to enjoy were spent there. He -appeared to think himself old, though he was hardly so in years, being -then sixty-five; but over-exertion during his life of action may have -aged him prematurely. To his friends he would write that old age was -creeping over him.</p> - -<p>Early in 1876 the eyes, which had been keen-sighted originally but had -for many years troubled him occasionally, began to fail, and an -operation was afterwards performed in London. During the summer he -suffered dreadful pain, and had for weeks to be kept in complete -darkness. From this misery he emerged in the autumn with one eye -sightless and the other distressfully weak. In the spring of the -following year, 1877, he submitted to a further operation, and took up -his abode in London at Queen’s Gate Gardens. Though unable to read or -write, he was relieved from the fear of blindness; so he made a short -tour in the New Forest, and attended the House of Lords occasionally -during the summer. In the autumn he visited Inverness, and was thankful -on finding himself able to read the Bible in large print. For the winter -he returned to Queen’s Gate Gardens, and in August of the next year, -1878, he moved for a while to Broadstairs in the Isle of Thanet. Soon he -began to take an anxious interest in the intelligence from Afghanistan, -which was then agitating the public mind in Britain. He dictated several -letters to the <i>Times</i>, reiterating with the old force and clearness his -well-known views on Afghan policy, which have been set forth in the -preceding chapter. He in conjunction with some of his political friends -pressed the Government<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>{201}</span> in London for the production of papers that -might elucidate the circumstances, which had led to the military -operations by the British against Afghanistan, and especially the -conduct, as proved or surmised, of the Amir Shir Ali. He saw, however, -that events came thick and fast; the war advanced apace, and was -followed by a treaty with Shir Ali’s son Yakoob; the papers were -produced in England, and the whole matter was disposed of in Parliament -by a late autumn session.</p> - -<p>Early in 1879 he seemed fairly well, though he himself had felt warnings -of the coming end. But in the spring he paid flying visits to Edinburgh -and Manchester. In May he made a wedding-speech on the marriage of his -second son. On June 19th he attended the House of Lords for the last -time. His object in so doing was to make a speech on a License Tax which -had recently been imposed in India. He did not object to such taxes -being introduced there to touch the rich and the comparatively -prosperous middle classes; indeed he had levied such himself. But he -deprecated them extremely if they reached the poor, and he was -apprehensive lest this particular tax should go too far in that -direction. Therefore he wished to raise his voice on the subject. But it -was with him that day as it had been with dying statesmen before, and -the sad history repeated itself. His once resonant voice, his strong -nerve, his retentive memory, failed him in some degree, and he was not -able to deliver fully a speech for which he had made preparations with -his wonted carefulness. Yet it was fitting, even poetically meet, that -this supreme effort of his should have been put forth on behalf of the -industrial poor for whom he had ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a>{202}</span> cared at home and abroad. However -he sat out the debate and drove home exhausted. During the ensuing days -drowsiness set in, and he, the indefatigable worker at last complained -of fatigue. But for the briefest while he revived enough to attend to -private business. He was present, too, at an anniversary meeting on -behalf of the asylum at Hampstead for the orphan daughters of soldiers, -and proposed a vote of thanks to the Duchess of Connaught. The next day -the sleepiness again overtook him, and continued for the two following -days, though he aroused himself enough to attend to business. Then he -became too weak to leave his bed, and shortly afterwards died -peacefully, surrounded by those who were nearest and dearest to him.</p> - -<p>Two statues are standing in memory of him; one opposite the Government -House at Calcutta, on the edge of that famous plain, called the Mydan, -which is being gradually surrounded with monuments of British heroism -and genius; the other at Waterloo Place in London, side by side with -Clyde and face to face with Franklin. No stately inscriptions -commemorate his achievements in classic terms. His friends deemed it -best to engrave his great name on the stone, with the simplest -particulars of time and place.</p> - -<p>But the most sympathetically human demonstration was that at the funeral -on July 5th, when his body was laid “to mingle with the illustrious -dust” in Westminster Abbey. The Queen and the Prince of Wales were each -represented in this closing scene. All the renowned Anglo-Indians then -in England were present. The gathering, too, comprised much that was -representative of Britain in war and peace, in art, literature and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a>{203}</span> -statesmanship. The decorations of the officers, won in Eastern service, -shone amidst the dark colours of mourning. The words of the anthem were -“his body is buried in peace but his name liveth for evermore.” As the -coffin was lowered, the concluding lines of the hymn were sung:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“And at our Father’s loved abode<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Our souls arrive in peace.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="nind">The funeral sermon was preached in the choir by Dean Stanley, who -exclaimed as he ended: “Farewell, great Proconsul of our English -Christian empire! Where shall we look in the times that are coming for -that disinterested love, that abounding knowledge of India, like his? -Where shall we find that resolution of mind and countenance which seemed -to say to us,</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i5">‘This rock shall fly<br /></span> -<span class="i0">From its firm base as soon as I’?”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p class="c">THE END</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Printed by</i> <span class="smcap">R. & R. Clark</span>, <i>Edinburgh</i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a>{205}</span><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a></p> - -<hr /> -<div class="addss"> -<p class="c"><i>Vols. I.-IV., with Portraits, Now Ready, 2s. 6d. each.</i></p> - -<p class="c"><span class="eng">English Men of Action.</span></p> - -<p><b>General Gordon.</b> By Colonel Sir <span class="smcap">William Butler</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The <i>Athenæum</i> says:—“As a brief memorial of a career that -embraced many momentous spheres of action, that included some of -the principal military and colonial crises of the past fifty years, -and that ended in a halo of transcendent self-immolation, Sir -William Butler’s volume is the best we possess.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Spectator</i> says:—“This is beyond all question the best of the -narratives of the career of General Gordon that have yet been -published.”</p> - -<p>The <i>St. James’s Gazette</i> says:—“Sir William Butler tells the -story of Gordon’s life as a brother officer should. The interest -never flags, and the narrative is imbued with a deep feeling of -reverence.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Broad Arrow</i> says:—“If the succeeding biographies of ‘English -Men of Action’ do not in interest fall beneath, whilst in -compilation they attain, the standard excellence of this volume, -with which the series begins, they will form a notable addition to -the library and furnish a valuable source of reference to the -student of history.... To Plutarch’s Lives we would now recommend -our young officers to add the ‘Life of Charles George Gordon’ as -related by Sir William Butler.”</p></div> - -<p><b>Henry the Fifth.</b> By the Rev. <span class="smcap">A. J. Church</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The <i>St. James’s Gazette</i> says:—“The incidents in Henry’s life are -clearly related, the account of the battle of Agincourt is -masterly, and the style is eminently readable.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Scotsman</i> says:—“No page lacks interest; and whether the book -is regarded as a biographical sketch or as a chapter in English -military history, it is equally attractive. This series of books -promises to be as successful as the ‘English Men of Letters’ -Series.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Spectator</i> says:—“Mr. Church has told well his interesting -story.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Yorkshire Post</i> says:—“The story of Henry V. is told here -with remarkable skill—the whole history is gathered up in the most -lucid and vigorous way.”</p></div> - -<p><b>Livingstone.</b> By Mr. <span class="smcap">Thomas Hughes</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The <i>Spectator</i> says:—“The volume is an excellent instance of -miniature biography, for it gives us what we seek in such a book—a -sketch of his deeds, but a picture of the man.... This excellent -little book.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Scotsman</i> says:—“The stirring story is narrated in terse and -vivid language, and with remarkable completeness ... a better -biographer than Mr. Hughes could not have been found for so -excellent a type of the muscular Christian as Dr. Livingstone. He -was a man, and his was a life after the biographer’s heart.”</p></div> - -<p><b>Lord Lawrence.</b> By Sir <span class="smcap">Richard Temple</span>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The Volumes to follow are:—</p></div> - -<p><b>Wellington.</b> By Mr. <span class="smcap">George Hooper</span>.</p> - -<p class="r"> -[<i>In June.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><b>Monk.</b> By Mr. <span class="smcap">Julian Corbett</span>.</p> - -<p class="r"> -[<i>In July.</i><br /> -</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="c">The price of each is half a crown, and the volumes named below are -either in the press or in preparation:—</p></div> - -<p><b>Sir John Hawkwood.</b> By Mr. <span class="smcap">F. Marion Crawford</span>.</p> - -<p><b>Warwick, the King-Maker.</b> By Mr. <span class="smcap">C. W. Oman</span>.</p> - -<p><b>Peterborough.</b> By Mr. <span class="smcap">W. Stebbing</span>.</p> - -<p><b>Strafford.</b> By Mr. <span class="smcap">H. D. 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By <span class="smcap">Leslie Stephen</span>.<br /> -SCOTT. By <span class="smcap">R. H. Hutton</span>.<br /> -GIBBON. By <span class="smcap">J. C. Morison</span>.<br /> -SHELLEY. By <span class="smcap">J. A. Symonds</span>.<br /> -HUME. By <span class="smcap">T. H. Huxley</span>, F.R.S.<br /> -GOLDSMITH. By <span class="smcap">William Black</span>.<br /> -DEFOE. By <span class="smcap">W. Minto</span>.<br /> -BURNS. By Principal <span class="smcap">Shairp</span>.<br /> -SPENSER. By the <span class="smcap">Dean</span> of <span class="smcap">St. Paul’s</span>.<br /> -THACKERAY. By <span class="smcap">Anthony Trollope</span>.<br /> -BURKE. By <span class="smcap">John Morley</span>.<br /> -MILTON. By <span class="smcap">Mark Pattison</span>.<br /> -HAWTHORNE. By <span class="smcap">Henry James</span>.<br /> -SOUTHEY. By Prof. <span class="smcap">Dowden</span>.<br /> -BUNYAN. By <span class="smcap">J. A. Froude</span>.<br /> -CHAUCER. By <span class="smcap">A. W. 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One Vol.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="nind"> -<b>On the Study of Literature.</b> By <span class="smcap">John Morley</span>. Globe 8vo. 2s. 6d.<br /> -<b>Aphorisms.</b> By <span class="smcap">John Morley</span>. Globe 8vo. 2s. 6d.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">Now Publishing. Crown 8vo. Price 2s. 6d. each.</p> - -<p class="c"><big><span class="sans">TWELVE ENGLISH STATESMEN</span></big>.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>The <i>Times</i> says:—“We had thought that the cheap issues of uniform -volumes on all manner of subjects were being overdone, but the -‘Twelve English Statesmen,’ published by Messrs. Macmillan, induce -us to reconsider that opinion. Without making invidious -comparisons, we may say that nothing better of the sort has yet -appeared, if we may judge by the five volumes before us. The names -of the writers speak for themselves.”</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. By <span class="smcap">Edward A. 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