the exclusion of others; we believe that many harrowing details o suffering and adventure might well bear comparison with theirs ; bu in no narrative that we have hitherto read, can we discern so clearly the bright and dark side of the events of this rebellion, the undying fortitude, which, amid privation and distress, has been so conspicuous in the conduct of our countrymen, and on the other hand the almost universal cold-blooded ingratitude, and insatiable thirst for blood, which have rendered the name of our enemies a bye-word and reproach among all nations.

Notes on the Revolt in the North-West Provinces of India, by Charles Raikes, Judge of the Sudder Court at Agra, &c. London. Longman. 1858.

THE great question suggested by the present rebellion is-how are we, as conquerors and administrators of India, to act for the future, so as, humanly speaking, to prevent the recurrence of such a catastrophe? Our future in India has been a favorite topic for discussion during the last eighteen months, and Mr. Raikes in his "Notes on the Revolt" contributes his quota to swell the sum of what has previously been written on the subject. His pen has already described the North West Provinces during peace; we have now, in the first division of his present work, a picture of the same provinces in a season at confusion, anarchy, and rebellion. We hardly think that the facts recorded in the narrative portion of the volume fulfil the purpose for which they have been introduced, viz. to support the opinions advanced in the concluding chapters of the book; their presence indeed might have been dispensed with altogether. Surely the public have had sufficient data to form an opinion of the exigencies of the case, in the many more detailed narratives of the facts of the rebellion, than Mr. Raikes in his recital affords. There is one chapter doubtless, containing Col. Edwardes' "graphic description" of Sir Henry Lawrence and his old staff, for the introduction of which Mr. Raikes justly claims the thanks of his readers, but on the whole, although the tale of Agra in the mutinies is certainly not devoid of interest, we doubt if that attention, which should be given to facts as the foundations of political suggestions, will be concentrated on the first 120 pages of Mr. Raikes' "Notes."

At the time of the rebellion, Mr. Raikes was stationed in a high official capacity at Agra, and shared with the garrison there all the dangers and sufferings which the hostility of the rebels occasioned. The mutiny in Agra and its incidents, the siege of the fort, the disaster of Brigadier Polwhele, the rout of the rebels by Greathed, are now matters of history, and form but instances of the unflinching determination and fortitude in all circumstances, which have preserved for us our ascendancy over India. We have space for but one short extract from this portion of the volume, which does credit alike to

the heroes and narrator of the incident, "I must describe the conduct ⚫ of the British soldier in the day of sickness and pain. For weeks that the ladies watched over their charge, never was a word said by a soldier which could shock the gentlest ear. When all was over,

and when men of the sick and wounded as recovered were declared convalescent, the soldiers, in order, as they expressed it, to show their gratitude for the kindness of the ladies, modestly asked permission to invite their nurses, and all the gentry and society of Agra, to an entertainment in the beautiful gardens of the Taj. There under the walls of the marble mausoleum, amidst flowers and music, these rough veterans, all seared and mutilated as they were, stood up to thank their country-women who had clothed, fed, and visited them when they were sick. Every lady in Agra was ready to join in this good work, and not one of them but 'will bear testimony to the delicacy of feeling and conduct, as well as the hearty gratitude, of these brave men.”

So much for the introductory portion of the book, let us look for a moment on the "piece de resistance," which Mr. Raikes has prepared in the hints for our future policy, embodied in the concluding chapters of the volume. Here, no doubt, the author is more in his element. More than twenty years' experience of Indian official life have afforded him great facilities for the observation of the excellencies and defects of systems of administration, and although the "Notes" contain little that is new, still the fact that the spirit which dictated them is not unknown in high places, is an encouraging omen for our Indian reform

ers.

The punishment of the old, and the constitution of a new, native army; the education of the masses; the organization of the police; the policy proper to be pursued by Government in religious matters towards the natives-such are the topics on which Mr. Raikes with all well-wishers of India has been meditating. With all his views, as expressed in the volume before us, we cannot coincide, but that the policy which he recommends will be ultimately adopted in spirit, is no longer a question of probability or expediency, but of certainty and necessity. That mutineers and rebels must be punished for their crime with signal, yet discriminating, severity, is a proposition which only extreme partisans of the Manchester school of politicians would attempt to controvert. That a new native army must be held in check and overawed by a proportionate number of European troops, and may advantageously be divided against itself by a judicious intermixture of conflicting sects and tribes, has been advocated without success by very competent authorities ere now. We trust however that the lessons taught us by the mutiny have not been forgotten, and that the system of high caste in the army, denounced so vehemently by Sir Charles Napier, has finally and for ever disappeared.

The question of education for the great body of the people is likewise discussed by Mr. Raikes. Vernacular instruction, as attested by the mutinies, has been worse than useless. "Many of our bitterest enemies were the native doctors and surgeons, who

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had studied European science in the vernacular, all their lives." Contrast with this statement the record of the utility of English education amongst natives. "I found it to be a general rule, that 'where you had an official well educated at our English Colleges, and conversant with the English tongue, there, you had a friend upon 'whom reliance could be placed. So few were the English scholars among our enemies, that it was the custom of the mutineers to burn our intercepted despatches, rather than attempt to get them deciphered. They would trust nobody who even knew English. I may be reminded 'that Nana Sahib's minister was an English scholar, but the exceptions are sufficiently rare to prove the rule. * I conclude therefore

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that this is not the time to press vernacular education on the people. 'But the Government should fix a standard of secular education, in'cluding English Literature as a sine qua non, and bestow a liberal 'grant-in-aid to all schools coming up to that standard."

One more quotation we feel compelled to give on the subject of religion. Mr. Raikes is no advocate for truckling to caste, no enthusiast for increasing hypocrisy by offering a premium for the professors of Christianity in the shape of temporal advancement, but earnestly and eloquently pleads for the adoption of the true policy on this point, toleration to every, undue favor to no, religion-“ Let 'the Hindoo and Mohammedan see clearly that whilst we boldly profess our own, we desire not to constrain their mode of belief; that though we are not indifferent to all religions, we 'treat all men alike. If we hold India as conquerors, we rule it as 'moderators. Our vocation is to keep the public peace, not to govern the public mind. If a Hindoo thinks proper to paint his nose with vermilion, to tie his hair in knots, to squander his money on nautch 'girls, or pagodas, let him do so. But when he wants to sacrifice his 'infant children to the river gods, to sing filthy songs on the high-way, or to stop up his grandfather's mouth with mud, and then launch him, 'still living, into the sacred stream, our laws should interfere. In like 'manner if the Mohammedan solace his spirit by beating his breast, and calling on his prophet or martyrs in public procession, we should allow the procession and fanaticism to pass on; but when he rushes about 'sword in hand frantic with drugs we should take away his arms, and put 'him to cool in the nearest police station. Even so, if under the garb of religion, a minister of Christianity were to offend decency, public or private, the law would strip his gown from the offender.

"The public servant of Government, whether military or civil, should not attempt to preach a crusade,or spend his time in exhibiting religious 'dogmas, or discussing doctrinal points with the natives his subordinates; for this reason above all others that this is the surest way to make hypo'crites not converts. Let the soldier or civilian assist the Missionary with his purse, his counsel, or his prayers, but let him not usurp an office ' which is inconsistent with his duties to the state."

In discussing these and similar topics Mr. Raikes has confined his attention to the prospects of the natives of India alone. There is another element however soon to be introduced, which must materially

influence the policy of our legislators, and which will no doubt tend to advance those plans for the good of our Indian subjects which Mr. Raikes advocates. India, no doubt, must now practically be thrown open to all; as a consequence there will certainly be a large influx of Europeans into the country who will make their voice heard, and justly too, in the administration; and looking at the question in a merely negative point of view, the very fact of their presence and example, will, by elevating the minds, as much as by weakening the strength and prejudices of Hindu and Mussulman, effectually prevent the recurrence of such an emergency as has now awakened us to the necessity of a new and more vigorous policy.

Eight Months' Campaign against the Bengal Sepoy Army, during the Mutiny of 1857. By Colonel George Bourchier, C. B., Bengal Horse Artillery. London. Smith, Elder and Co.

1858.

As time wears on, and the men who bore the first brunt of the mutiny, and were most active in putting down the first risings of rebellion, have rest and leisure given them, and covered with wounds and glory sit in peace in merry England, each under his own vine and his own fig-tree, leaving the work they have so nobly initiated and carried out to be completed by others; every part of the great events in the midst of which we have been living during the past year, has its painter and historian, and we can now almost gather into one great historical focus, the rays of fact, and adventure, and hair-breadth escape, which are streaming from every district and every scene of revolt. While Delhi and Lucknow stand as central points of interest to the politician and the man of war, other districts less famous, abound in story, if possible more thrilling, though less bulking before the eye of the general spectator. The press has been fertile in works that have fully illustrated the state and narrated the history of every rebellious district, with perhaps the exception of Central India. The gallant and glorious Sir Hugh Rose has yet to find a chronicler worthy of being his historian, a panegyrist worthy of such a subject.

Colonel Bourchier begins his story with the Punjab, with Sealkote, where he has stationed under a Brigadier, who seems worthy of a place beside Lloyd and Hewitt. He formed part of the column that was organised under General Nicholson, which, after sweeping the Punjab in pursuit of mutineers from Jullunder to Umritsur, to Phillour, again across the Beeas to Umritsur, to Battala, to Goordaspore by a most severe march, to Trimmoo Ghaut on the Ravee, where after two engagements four hundred of the enemy were left killed or wounded, and subsequently the whole mutinous brigade was destroyed, finally returned to Umritsur, again to await fresh orders from Lahore. Leaving the column, the author visits his family at Simla, and on his return finds it at Paneeput, and they are all within sound of the guns at

Delhi. They join General Wilson's force, with their "bands playing and hearty cheers." We have then a picture of the operations before Delhi, with extracts from Major Norman's journal, and an account of its final assault and capture. In the course of it the author informs us that the notorious Subadar of artillery, Bukht Khan, who raised the standard of rebellion in Rohilcund, and until his defeat at Nujjufghur, was the commander of the rebel forces, was like Nana Sahib, very fond of English society. "At one time when studying Persian he used to come twice a day to my house to read and talk with me. He was a most intelligent character, but a more dreadful hypocrite never stepped on earth."

The story is continued, after a good picture of street fighting in Delhi, and of the state of the city after the capture, by an account of the column of pursuit which started from the Ajmere Gate on the 21st of September, under Col. Greathed, numbering in all 2,790 men, of whom 930 were Europeans. We have the battle of Gazee-oodeen Nuggur, then at Bolundshur, and at Koorjah. We have then the engagement at Allyghur, and the battle of Agra ; and on the 26th of October the entry into Cawnpore, reflections on the massacre, the relief of Lucknow, the defeat of the Gwalior contingent, a glance at Etawah, Mynpoorie, and Futteghur, and finally the departure of the author for Simla, where on the 18th of January 1858, he found himself in the midst of his family. The volume concludes with a detailed account of the massacre, written by one who had access to the best sources of information. It is the work of a rough and daring soldier, written with little literary grace or accuracy, but presenting a clear and spirited account of a greater number of events than most Indian officers were connected with during 1857.

An Account of the Mutinies in Oudh, by Martin Richard Gubbins, of the Bengal Civil Service, Financial Commissioner for Oudh. London. Bentley. 1858.

In the last number of this Review, we ranged at the head of an article on the Siege of Lucknow, a list, by no means insignificant, of records of that memorable event. Subsequently however to the publication of these memoirs, other narratives relating to this subject have appeared, amongst which none ranks higher in importance than Mr. Gubbins', "Mutinies in Oudh." The well-known abilities of the writer led the public to entertain great expectations of the value of his written experiences, and the book accordingly on its appearance was favorably received as well as vigorously criticized. On the whole, Mr. Gubbins' narrative has stood the test well; as a chronicle of events, it is calm, faithful, and lucid; the writer, noting incidents day by day from the first symptoms of mutiny down to the evacuation of Lucknow, gradually collects, weaves, and blends them into a continuous and connected story, thus affording us a minute and pleasingly related