BOOK IX. CHAPTER II. THE repression of the mutiny of the 30th and 31st of May at Lakhnao had, at least, rid the cantonments of the least trustworthy of the sepoys. Illness of Sir But the incessant labour, mental and bodily, Henry Law. rence. the deprivation of sleep, the constant anxiety, had told on the already overtasked strength of the Chief Commissioner. His spare frame daily became still sparer, physical strength diminished under mental toil. His medical advisers insisted then that he should rest for a time from the labours of his office. Sir Henry Lawrence, I have already stated, had been on the point of proceeding to Europe for the benefit of his health when he was summoned by Lord Canning to Oudh. Regarding that summons as a call of duty, with characteristic forgetfulness of self, he had obeyed it. But the fatigues, the excitement, the anxiety had now made his state worse than it had been when his medical advisers ILLNESS OF SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. 413 had ordered him home from Rájpútáná. It was necessary that he should rest. power ROOK IX. Chapter IL 1857. June. regarding his No one had felt less confident as to his to stand the wear and tear of work in trying times than Sir Henry himself. His strength he knew might utterly fail him at any moment. Under ordinary circumstances he might, and probably would, have felt satisfied that the Government would on his demise provide a fit officer as his successor. But the circumstances His views were not ordinary. In the then state of the successor. country the Government had not the means to send to the province a successor from outside its borders. They might not even have the power of communicating with those in the province itself. In that case the succession would, by right of seniority, devolve upon a civilian in whose judgment and capacity for the post Sir Henry Lawrence had no confidence. To prevent the possibility of an occurrence which he could not regard in anticipation in any other light than as a public misfortune, Sir Henry Lawrence, feeling his strength daily failing, despatched to Lord Canning on the 4th of May a telegram in which he earnestly recommended that, Recommends Major Banks in the event of anything happening to himself, the and Colonel office of Chief Commissioner might be conferred Inglis. on Major Banks, and the command of the troops on Colonel Inglis. "This," he added, "is no time for punctilio as regards seniority. They are the right men, in fact the only men for the places." The Major Banks referred to was the Commis- Major Banks. sioner of the Lakhnao division. He belonged to BOOK IX. Chapter II. 1857. June. Lieutenant- 414 MAJOR BANKS AND COLONEL INGLIS. For the Bengal Army. He was distinguished by the wide range and the depth of his acquirements, by his thorough knowledge of the natives of India, by administrative talents of the highest order, by a large fund of humour, and by his large-hearted sympathies. He was the most promising political officer who had not actually attained the highest grade in that branch of the Indian Service. languages he had a remarkable talent. He was familiar alike with Persian, with Hindí, and with Sanskrit. Major Banks had filled several appointments with distinction; had gained the esteem of men so opposed to each other as were Sir Charles Napier and Lord Dalhousie; and, on the annexation of Oudh, had been selected by the latter to be Commissioner of one of the four divisions of the kingdom. Installed as Commissioner of Lakhnao Banks speedily justified Lord Dalhousie's opinion. How he had impressed a man not easily deceived is apparent from the recommendation made by Sir Henry Lawrence to Lord Canning that Banks should succeed him. Lieutenant-Colonel Inglis, the other officer referred to, commanded the 32nd Foot. He was in the prime of life, an excellent soldier, active, energetic, and quick-sighted. The native army having mutinied, and the only remaining reliable troops being European troops, it was practically necessary that the officer commanding the European regiment should have the chief military authority. It was, to repeat Sir Henry Lawrence's remark, "no time for punctilio as re gards seniority. The recommendation, then, was characterised by practical good sense. BOOK IX. Chapter II. 1857. June 9. Five days after the despatch of this telegram, the health of the Chief Commissioner seemed to give way entirely. On the 9th of June, "an alarming exhaustion came on, and the medical men pronounced that further application to business would endanger his life."* In consequence Sir Henry of this sudden illness, a provisional council was authority to formed of Mr. Gubbins, the Financial Commis- a council of sioner, Mr. Ommaney, the Judicial Commissioner, Major Banks, Colonel Inglis, and the Chief Engineer, Major Anderson. Of this council, Mr. Martin Gubbins was the President. resigns his five. Martin Gub bins. The character of Mr. Gubbins has thus been The President-Mr. sketched by Sir Henry Lawrence: "He is a gallant, energetic, clever fellow, but sees only through his own vista, and is therefore sometimes. troublesome." Now at this particular period, the "vista" of Mr. Gubbins showed him the danger of retaining the armed remnants of the native regiments, the necessity of trusting the native military police. As president of the Council of Five he insisted, then, that the sepoys who still remained in the lines should be disarmed and dismissed. In vain was it pointed out to him that these men had stood the test; that they had been tried in the fire; that they had not only resisted temptation, but had acted with spirit against their comrades on the 30th and 31st of May. Mr. Gubbins would listen to no argument. Opposed * Gubbins. BOOK IX. Chapter II. 1857. June 11. Sir Henry resumes authority. His views regarding the native troops; 416 SIR HENRY RESUMES AUTHORITY. in the Council, he yet step by step carried out his favourite measures, until, on the 11th of June, he actually started off to their homes all the sepoys belonging to the province. This act had upon Sir Henry Lawrence an effect more decisive than the prescriptions of his medical advisers. It roused him to action. Shaking off his weakness, he immediately dissolved the Council, resumed authority, the following day recalled the sepoys, and "had the satisfaction of seeing numbers return to their post, with tokens of delight, the honesty of which was verified by their loyalty during the siege."* Sir Henry Lawrence was particularly desirous to retain the services of a large portion of the native troops. He believed that those who had stood the ordeal of the 30th of May would thenceforth remain faithful. He believed that without the aid of native troops his position at Lakhnao would not be tenable. And he believed, likewise, that by judicious arrangement, it would be possible to ensure loyalty and good service from those who still remained. On resuming office, then, he directed his energies at once to this matter. He collected all the Sikhs from the three native regiments, and formed them into one battalion; the Oudh men he likewise banded together, rejecting those only who had given evidence of disloyalty. Sir Henry had recourse likewise to men of another class. Confident that many of the men who had served in the Company's * MS. Memorandum, quoted by Merivale. Life of Sir Henry Lawrence. |