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small handled, guardless Leaf-shaped Swords found with other brazen articles at Futteghur. Nothing appears to be known of these curiosities except that they were thirteen in all, and were given to the Society by T. Williams, Esq.-being acknowledged in Vol. XVII. p. 624 of the Asiatic Researches. One of these very interesting relics is not quite so leaf-shaped as the others, which are distinctly so, and the finish of the workmanship is not equal to that of the weapon found near Edinburgh, represented at p. 228 of Wilson's work, and of others figured by Wright at p. 75 of theCelt, Roman, and Saxon." The handles have no rivet holes, and the weapons can scarcely have been used to strike in combat without wrapping a cloth or other soft substance round the metallic heft. Still it is quite evident that these are true leafshaped swords, resembling the British specimens also in the entire absence of any contrivance for a guard, and in their length. The largest of the two swords of this description found at Duddingstone, near Edinburgh, measured 26 inches in length, the other 24 inches. The four swords in the As. S. Collection vary in length. The longest is 30 inches, including the heft, the shortest 25 inches. They are all, however, broader than the Scottish specimens, which were only 1 inches in greatest breadth : the greatest breadth of the Asiatic specimens is nearly three inches. It is impossible to compare these interesting relics with the representations of the British specimens without arriving at the conviction that they belonged to men of the same race, either of different ranks or at different periods of their acquaintance with the art of working in metals.* The well finished British swords might belong to officers; the Indian ones to their men—or the former might have been wielded by the Arian inhabitants of India;-the latter may have been forged, on the same type, by the Arian Colonists when settled in their territories which they had gained in Britain from ruder Allophylians driven out at the points of such swords as these.

We can well imagine that some of the few hard readers, who may have borne with us until now, will be inclined to close the Review, and ask,-Why has this man cared to lay upon us this load of mouldy Archæology; nearly every detail of which is debatable; but which, if resolved, with infinite labour and sifting,

moderately thick crust of erugo conceals the surface of the metal ; which ought, however, to be examined.

Beside the swords at the A. S. Museum, is a "Copper spear head, found at Beloor." This specimen is also of very great interest, as demonstrating that such copper weapons were manufactured in or for India, and were not brought in by strangers. The bronze spear heads found in the North have their shanks hollowed to admit the end of the shaft. The lower end of this spear head is solid, evidently to fit the hollow end of a bamboo, to which it could be fixed by a transverse rivet, the hole for which remains.

into facts of absolute historical authenticity, would leave us still with a mere array of the dry bones of antiquity-illustrating the plain old thesis that all humanity sprang from a common stock? We are men of action, living in a practical age-we deal only with useful, tangible knowledge that can be wrought upon. Your article is not lively;-is it practical; does it tend to "Progress?" Our reply is-assuredly yes;-if you will but read and apply it aright. You are Missionaries, Judges, Soldiers, Indigo Planters, Engineers, Surgeons, Political Agents,all having your lot cast among the people of India, and therefore, having a personal stake in their past, their present, and their future. Have these millions to be converted to Christianity?-Has the overthrow of Hinduism become a greater problem to the London Missionary Societies of the Nineteenth century than the annihilation of the deeply impressed vestiges of its kindred Druidism in Northern Europe was to a few bare-footed ascetics of the Sixth? Is it a matter of no practical interest to observebranded in upon the criminal characteristics of the people of India-those very superstitions which, not many centuries ago, sent the English wizard to the stake, the ordeal, or the rack ; and which, in the very narration, paled the cheek of such a Judge as Matthew Hale? Is it no satisfaction to the Engineer or to the Cultivator to know that Bengal now offers a far fairer field for his operations than he would have found, anywhere within the length and breadth of England, in the time of Bluff King Hal; and that his coolies or ryots, lazy and feeble as they may be, are much such fellows as those Celts whom the Roman Stephenson thrashed into constructing Watling Street across bogs and fens the like of which are unknown in the present day, either in Europe or in India? Let the Surgeon be careful how he slights the Kobiraj :-his is a science of great antiquity, involving many curious and useful doctrines, worthy of sifting; and he is so far a philosopher that he is not unwilling to add to his knowledge. Let due respect be paid to the Hukeem. He and the Oxford M. D. are school-fellows-they are both of Avicenna's class. Neither would have known much had there been no Moorish colleges at Bagdad and Toledo. Still again, to the ruler of an Indian province, is it nothing to learn that the degenerate wretches whom he has to govern are of the same material as the Scandinavian Kæmp, the Teuton Sage, the Sclavonian aggressor, the beautiful Greek of the age of Alcibiades-the first Master of Arts; the stately Roman of the Empire the first Master of the World. Of the self-same material say we,--but with the daring, the honesty, the chivalry and the manly pith all crushed out by centuries of Mussulmaun oppression.

Is it not something, also, that you all-our Arian friendsshould be told, intensely as it may disgust you, that this Arian Bengali-whom, uncivilly and un-ethnologically, you have been in the habit of calling a "Nigger,"-is, stubbornly as you may kick against the conviction, your Elder Brother :one who, much as you may glory in being descended from certain Teuton pig-herding Thegns or piratical Norse Vikings, is, in very truth-admitting the colour of the hide, which your ancestors changed amid the snows of the North-the representative of the pure Arian stock, of which you are a mere offshoot, the heir who came to ruin upon the patrimony which your branch of the family left for successful adventure in other lands. Still one of your own blood, whom it is your duty to treat with mercy, justice, and forbearance ;-as you will have to answer for your dealing with him to the God and Father of us all.

ART. IX.-1. General Orders of the Bengal Army.

2. A Rough Sketch of the Rise and Progress of the Irregular Horse of the Bengal Army, with hints for improving the Regular and Irregular Cavalry of that Presidency. By an old Cavalry Officer.

3. Hints on Irregular Cavalry. By CAPT. CHARLES FARQUHAR TROWER, Major of Brigade, H. H. the Nizam's Cavalry. 4. Remarks by an Officer of the Scinde Irregular Horse, on an article in the "Calcutta Review," for March, 1846, entitled "Hints on Irregular Cavalry, &c."

5. The use and application of Cavalry in War, from the text of Bismark. By LIEUT. COL. NORTH LUDLOW BEAMISH. 6. Cavalry, its History and Tactics. By CAPT. L. E. NOLAN. London, 1853.

A BRIEF and general reference to the mounted branch of the service was included in the article on the Indian Army, which appeared in our last issue, and a more detailed notice of the Irregular Cavalry formed the subject of a separate article in one of the earlier numbers of our series:* now however, we propose to consider the broader question of the condition, organization, uses, adaptation, defects and requirements of the whole Cavalry arm on this side of India. We are not either ignorant or unmindful of the extent and importance of this topic, bearing as it does upon one of the essential constituents of an efficient army; but on the contrary we are fully cognizant of the difficulties of the subject, and of the delicate ground that must be touched on if the whole truth is to be recorded: but whilst we will endeavour to "nothing extenuate nor set down aught in malice" so will we strive honestly and to the best of our ability to do justice to the merits, whilst we lay bare the defects of the existing system; but not without at the same time offering such suggestions as in our humble opinions are calculated to remedy the evils, the existence of which we are compelled to admit. We enter upon this task with no prejudices to influence us, no pet project to develop, and with no object save a sincere desire to lend our humble aid in the introduction of efficient reform, which is most likely to be obtained by a temperate and candid exposition of existing evils.

To enable our readers to understand this extensive question thoroughly, it is necessary to cast a glance at the origin and gradual progress of the arm under consideration; in other words to give a brief historical sketch of the Bengal Cavalry. And as the principles of the existing organization are to be traced to the ori

* No. IX. January, 1846.

ginal constitution of the force, it will be necessary to dwell more in detail upon the earlier periods of the record.

In the infancy of the British connection with Bengal, the limited military establishment being intended, not for offensive operations, but only for the defence of a few forts and factories, Cavalry naturally formed no part of it. Plassey was fought and won without the aid of a single trooper; and although that important action had completely changed the British position in India,—a fact to which the master mind of Lord Clive was fully alive,-more than three years elapsed before any mounted troops were added to the establishment, which already numbered an efficient and formidable body of European and Native Infantry with a proportion of Artillery.

The first record of the employment of British Cavalry on this side of India was at the battle of Bedarrah in November, 1759, when a body of between 20 and 30 mounted Volunteers from Calcutta, mostly members of the Civil Service,-assisted at the defeat of the Dutch force under Colonel Roussel, and performed yeoman's service in following and cutting up the fugitives, thereby rendering the victory complete. In the campaign of the following year in Behar and the provinces on the other side of the Ganges, the want of a body of horse was severely felt, on more than one occasion, by the commanding officer Colonel Caillaud; which induced him to recommend the formation of three troops of European Cavalry. In accordance with this recommendation the Government by an order in Council dated 22nd of September, 1760, directed the organization of two troops of Dragoons and one troop of Hussars, the men to be selected from the European Infantry and the horses obtained by purchase. The original estimate appears to have been for an aggregate of 235 non-commissioned and troopers, but this establishment was never completed; owing partly to the difficulty of obtaining horses, but even more to the inability to spare sufficient men from the small body of Infantry. The actual establishment finally constituted, as shown by the returns, averaged for each troop of Dragoons, 1 Captain, 3 Subalterns and 60 non-commissioned and rank and file; but for the Hussars only 2 Subalterns and 36 non-commissioned and troopers. Both officers and men were mounted by the State, which also supplied arms, clothing, accoutrements and saddlery; but the troop commanding officers had to keep the latter in repair, as also to feed the horses and furnish stable gear, shoes, medicines, &c., for all which they received a monthly allowance of Rs. 30 for each horse. They also drew the off-reckonings and clothed the men. The pecuniary advantages of these commands, as also the enormous cost to Government of such establishments, may be easily calculated. Although the troopers were speedily told off, and officers nomi

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