Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎125r] (257/312)

THE TIMES, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12,
ENGLAND AND AFGHANISTAN.
BOMBAY, O ct . 11.
The Civil and Miiitavj Gazette of Lahore states that
General Haines will take the command at Peshawur The
force is composed ot 3),000 mea. An outbreak of hostili-
' ties is regaivied as inevitable. It is believed that Ali
Musjid is armed with stronger guns than was expected.
™ 8 ar0 P ractisin e heavy guns in the Khyber
Puss. Ihe garrison of Peshawnr is being strongly rein
forced.
r
AFGHANtSTAm
f\ The native troops throughout India, we learn, are
displaying great enthusiasm in the present crisis.
Such a feeling was to be expected after the loyal
manner in which men volunteered to fill the va
cancies in those corps ordered to Malta, and
fully refutes the unfavourable estimate given by
the St. Petersburg Correspondent of the Berlin
National Zeitung of the British military strength in
Kindostan. Not only is the actual force under arms
deemed insufficient by this critic for the exigen
cies of warfare beyond our border, but the native
troops are stigmatized as u very untrustworthy,
being kept together only by rigorous discipline."
In point of fact, this is far from being the case ;
the discipline of the native array is most satis
factory An East India Company trading post. . A reference to the reports of general
officers who have been associated with our Indian
forces shows that, whatever may be their views as
to the efficiency of the present irregular system, or
as to the stamina of some of the regiments recruited
in Southern India, there is but one opinion as to
the state of discipline of the native regiments.
Drunkenness, the curse of the British Army, is
almost unknown. Half-a-dozen cases in a batta An extra allowance of pay granted to soldiers involved in special field service or to public servants on special duty.
lion per annum is considered excessive. Desertions,
too, are rare ; insubordination equally so. Petty
acts of slackness on duty, caused by a lack of suffi
cient European supervision, are the principal cases
with which commanding officers have to deal. Sir
Arthur Borton's farewell order to the native con
tingent on their embarcation for Cyprus and the
Duke of Cambridge's repeated references to the
excellent condition of the Indian brigade at Malta
show that the feeling of our own military autho
rities is not that indulged in by the Correspondent
©f the National Zeitung.
f Turning from the question of discipline, which is
ft mere matter of fact, to that of the strength re
quired for an efficient garrison for India, which is
ft matter of opinion, we cannot but hold that,
although at a first glance the number of troops we
consider sufficient to overawe the inhabitants of
Hindostan seems strangely inadequate,—a trifle
over one soldier to 1,000 inhabitants in a far dis
tant land scarcely appears a safe preventive for in-
Burrection,—in reality, however, the regiments of
our Indian Army are capable of great expansion,
End fortunately the means are close at hand. The
System which enables a soldier after three years'
per vice to take his discharge has filled the country
With a vast number of able-bodied young men,
thoroughly drilled, inured to discipline, fond of
bur rule, and proud of their connexion with the
Army. Of these many thousands annually, owing
jo domestic trouble, come up again for re-enlist-
xnent, while many hundreds are ready in their
Villages and quite willing to join our standard
should inducement offer. A prospect of service
and hope of loot would now, as it did in 1857, not
bnly bring up the younger soldiers to their old
corps, but rouse the love of war in the breast of the
older pensioners. When the regiments of the
Punjab Frontier Force were marching through the
-"Sikh country en route to Delhi at the height of
the Mutiny, their numbers were swelled by
several hundred stalwart men, many of whom
had passed through the service, all anxious to fight
■for the Sirkar, and earn a little plunder for them
selves. One well-known story may be given, as i
it illustrates the spirit that pervades the fighting :
races of Northern India. An old Subadar, who 1
liad lost a limb in the Bozdar Expedition but two !
anonths previously, came out to meet his old corps, i
Coke's Rifles," as it passed near his village, i
Maimed as he was, the gallant old man was there, [
sword in hand, to beg that ho might be permitted |
to accompany his late regiment. He could not bear i
the thought of the " Awal pultan " being engaged I
and he not with it. His request was granted ; and !
not the least loss the 1st Punjab Infantry
Suffered during the siege was the death of
ihe Sikh Subadar from a gun-shot wound on j
the ridge of Delhi. The spirit which animates |
the Sikhs is equally strong among the Pathan 1
tribes within our border, such as the Yusufzae i
and the Khuttuks ; while those who skirt
our frontier line, jealous as they are of the appear- |
ance of an Englishman within their lands, came
down in great numbers on the augmentation of our
Army in 1857- In the last Afghan war the very
men who so strenuously opposed our passage
through the Khyber were willing enough to enlist
tinder our flag and to keep open the pass for us '
*when once our footing was made in Cabul. We I
dwelt at some length on Friday last on our relations |
with these border tribes, and pointed out the neces- |
sity of taking them into consideration m dealing j
with any questions as to^forcing the northern passes |
into Afghanistan. Dangerous as they are as tribes,
there is no doubt that many,very many, individuals :
would come down and enlist under our flag at the '
first tap of the drum of war. No raw recruits i
would these men be, but trained soldiers, conversant j
with our drill and adepts in mountain warfare.
In 1857, when our rule in India was shaken to
its very foundation, the personal influence of our
frontier officers was sufficient to call up these wild j
Afghans in thousands. We may be sure the old j
race has not died out. When it was found that the !
Bengal Army had gone and that the safety of India i
depended on the 10,000 British bayonets scattered j
through the length and breadth of the land, ;
and on the little irregular brigade with which j
Brigadier Neville Chamberlain guarded our •
'Punjab frontier. Lord Lawrence, with that
marvellous knowledge of men which was his chief
characteristic, at once detached officers from |
each Punjab corps. He placed them at the
ihead of small bodies of their old regiments,
and directed them to raise new corps. In this
manner an army was collected, which not only
'held the Punjab, but aided most materially in
saving India. The names of these levies were
familiar enough 20 years ago. Probyn's and Fane's j
iHorse were among them, and not an expedition has
:left the shores of India or crossed the frontier,
whether in the north-east or north-west, that has |
not been in the main composed of these corps. The
Indian Government has not forgotten the lesson
taught by the experiences of 1857 ; for we learn
that orders have already been issued to raise the
various infantry battalions composing the ex
peditionary force to a strength of 100 bayonets per
'company, the cavalry at the same time being
augmented to 75 sabres per troop. It would be
comparatively easy, should Government consider
the step advisable, to extend the order, and by
applying it to all the native corps in India increase
our Army there at one stroke by 4,000 sabres and
i 30,000 bayonets.
At this season of the year, with the harvest
I Stored and but little labour going on, recruits
would be plentiful in Oude and the Punjab, the
two chief recruiting grounds of India. The frontier
[tribes, ever anxious for war, would readily come
forward in great numbers. In enlisting these men
[it would be necessary to have recourse to those
iPathans already serving in our ranks, and to con-
ffine enlistments to those clans who have already
Iproved faithful servants. For, odd as it may appear,
'■when it is remembered that all Afghans are born
Soldiers, yet it is nevertheless true that compara-
Ltively few of the border races enlist readily, while
tothers, though willing to enlist, are looked upon
^unfavourably either by commanding officers or else
Iby Government,, who on more than one occasion
lhave forbidden the entertainment of men belonging
io certain tribes. Among those who skirt our
fborder, the Jadoons enlist but rarely, nor are
'they much sought after. The Bonairwals, in spite
»of their animosity to our rule, make most admirable
[soldiers ; but, unfortunately, they are averse to
;-the strict discipline of our service. The Swatis are
'not considered good soldiers, and the fact of their
[connexion with such a powerful religious lever as
Ithe Akhoond was to Mussulmans was doubtless the
'cause of the judicious order on the part of Govern-
imentto discontinue their enlistment. TheMomunds,
'gallant as they have proved themselves in more
than one engagement with our troops, have not a
"high reputation as soldiers among British officers,
and, though a considerable number are in our ranks,
no eiforts are made to induce them to enlist or to
remain when once in the service. The next great
iclan, the Afridis, furnishes the largest number of
soldiers of any border tribe. It is hard to say how
many are in the ranks, certainly several thousands.
Homesickness is as common among them as it
usually is with all mountaineers, consequently un
less inducements are held out to them to remain in
the service they do not serve long. As Light Infantry
soldiers the Afridis have few equals.Indeed, their love
(or the profession of arms is unbounded. They have
shown themselves most gallant and loyal towards
is,and even when operating against their ownclans-
anen desertions are almost unknown. Many hold
ICommisaions in the Native Army ; some are deco-
irated wit h the O rder of British Indiai An officer
who can speak their ownlKSi^oo completely wins
their hearts ; and if this acquisition is combined
with a fine physique, cheery manner, and per
sonal gallantry, the heart of the Afridi is
completely won. The Orakzaes do not enlist
freely, nor do the Eanizaes, the Utmankhel, the
Dawaris, or Vaziris. A few years ago an attempt
was made to induce some Mahsoods to join a Pun
jab regiment; but the scheme broke down, as did a
similar one which was meant to provide a complete
company of Siahposh Kafirs for the corps of
Guides.The tribes further south,such as the Bozdars,
Kasranis, Sheoranis, and Ushteranis, with the
various Belooch clans on the Scinde border, are
not found in the Bengal Army, though some are in
the ranks of that of Bombay.
A goodly contingent of native troops comes from
the far-off tribes of Bajawar, Ningrahar, Hazara,
and Logar, all immediate subjects of the Ameer, j
while in many corps men from Cabul,