DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16620#0009
VOLUME XXXIII.--JULY TO DECEMBER, 1857.
THE PALMEESTON CABINET.—1857.
First Lord of the Treasury........ Viscount Palmerston.
Lord Chancellor . . . . ....... Lord Cranworth.
Chancellor of the Exchequer........ Right Hon. Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, Bart.
Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster........ Right Hon. Matthew Talbot Baines.
President of the Council .... ..... Earl Granville.
Lord Privy Seal <,........ Earl of Harrowby.
Home Office........... Right Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart.
Foreign Office.........■ . . Earl of Clarendon.
Colonial Office........... Right Hon. Henry Labouchere.
War Secretary........... Lord Panmure.
Admiralty........... Right Hon. Sir Charles Wood, Bart.
Board of Control ........... Right Hon. Robert Vebnon Smith.
Board of Trade ........... Lord Stanley of Alderley.
Postmaster-General . . . ....... Dcke or Argyll.
Without Office . ......... Marquess of Lansdowne.
POLITICAL
PAGE
QO much of the present volume is occupied by references to
^ the Indian Mutiny, then at its height, that we are com-
pelled to revert to that most painful subject at greater length
than we could have desired. The origin of the mutiny is
stated to have been as follows :—-
"A new kind of rifle, called the Enfield rifle—being an improvement on
the well known French invention known as the Minid rifle—was introduced
at the beginning of the year into Bengal for the use of the troops, and as
greased cartridges were necessary for its effective use, it was intended to
issue a supply of these to accompany the rifles. On the 23rd of January,
Major-General Hearsey, commanding the Presidency division, informed
the Indian Government that at Dumdum, near Calcutta, an uneasy feeling
existed amongst the Sepoys, caused by the belief that the grease used in the
preparation of the cartridges consisted of a mixture of the fat of cows and
pigs, which, of course, would be abhorrent both to Hindus and Mahom-
medans. The mode in which the rumour arose seems to have been the fol-
lowing:—At Dumdum there was a school of practice for the new Enfield
rifle, and on one occasion, when a Sepoy was about to prepare his food, he
was accosted by a man of low caste, who asked him to let him drink out of
his lotah, or vessel of water. The Sepoy, who was a Brahmin, refused, saying,
' I have scoured my lotah, and you will defile it by your touch.' Upon this
the other replied, ' You think much of your caste, but wait a little: the
Sahib logue (Europeans) will make you bite cartridges soaked in cow and
pork fat, and then where will your caste be?' The Sepoy repeated these
words to his comrades, and the report was not long in reaching Barrackpore,
where the 70th N.I. and other native regiments were stationed, and a strong
feeling of dissatisfaction was manifested amongst the men. When this was
communicated to the Government, orders were given on the 27th of January
that the men might procure their own ingredients at the bazaar, and on the
same day telegraphic messages were despatched to the Military School of
Instruction at Meerut, and also to Umballah and Sealkote in the Punjab, to
the same effect. It is especially worthy of notice that up to this time not a
single En field cartridge had been issued to any of the native troops. The cartridges
objected to were of the same kind as they had hitherto used ; but at the
Serampore manufactory the paper made differs somewhat in colour from the
ordinary cartridge paper; and on the 28th of January the Commander-in-
Chief telegraphed, in answer to the message of the 27th, that ' greased rifle
ammunition had been used for years by native troops, to whom Minie rifles
had been issued on the Peshawur frontier.'
" In consequence, however, of the continued objections to the use of the
ww cartridges, a Court of Inquiry was held at Barrackpore on the 6th of
SUMMARY.
February, and it then appeared that there existed in the minds of the Sepoys
a rooted idea that grease of some kind was used in preparing the paper
of which the cartridges were made. The paper itself therefore was sub-
mitted to a chemical analysis by the Government Chemical Examiner, Dr.
Macnamaba, and he on the 11th February reported that 'the paper had not
been greased or treated with any oily matter during or since its manufacture.' It
does not, however, appear that this most important fact was publicly and
officially made known at the time to the Sepoys. On the 4th of February,
Captain Boswell had written from Barrackpore, and said :—
"'I took the cartridges into the ranks, and showed them to the men
(having one broken open); and upon my asking several of the men, here and
there in the ranks, if they could see anything objectionable in them, their
reply, made in the most civil but soldier-like manner, was, that the paper
was not the same as that used lor the old cartridges, and that they thought
there was something in it.' "
Everything was done that was possible to satisfy the troops,
but at Berhampore, the 19th JO. had to be disbanded. An
attempt to murder an English officer by one Mungal Pandy
(hence the name of "Pandies" given to the rebels by the British
soldiers), a private in the 34th Regiment, led to the disbanding
[ of that regiment also, and others soon followed.
Earlv in March a curious incident happened, which has
never yet been satisfactorily explained, but which it is im-
possible not to believe had some connection with the subse-
quent outbreak of the revolt. The circumstance was this.
A ckowkeydar, or village policeman of Cawnpore, ran up to
another in Futteghur, and gave him two chupatties—little
unleavened cakes, the common food of the poorer classes. He
ordered him to make ten more, and give two to each of the
five nearest chowkeydars with the same order. He was obeyed,
and in a few days the whole country was in commotion with
chowkeydars running about with these cakes. They passed
on from district to district with wonderful rapidity, and
nobody seemed able to give any account of the mystery. A
THE PALMEESTON CABINET.—1857.
First Lord of the Treasury........ Viscount Palmerston.
Lord Chancellor . . . . ....... Lord Cranworth.
Chancellor of the Exchequer........ Right Hon. Sir G. Cornewall Lewis, Bart.
Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster........ Right Hon. Matthew Talbot Baines.
President of the Council .... ..... Earl Granville.
Lord Privy Seal <,........ Earl of Harrowby.
Home Office........... Right Hon. Sir George Grey, Bart.
Foreign Office.........■ . . Earl of Clarendon.
Colonial Office........... Right Hon. Henry Labouchere.
War Secretary........... Lord Panmure.
Admiralty........... Right Hon. Sir Charles Wood, Bart.
Board of Control ........... Right Hon. Robert Vebnon Smith.
Board of Trade ........... Lord Stanley of Alderley.
Postmaster-General . . . ....... Dcke or Argyll.
Without Office . ......... Marquess of Lansdowne.
POLITICAL
PAGE
QO much of the present volume is occupied by references to
^ the Indian Mutiny, then at its height, that we are com-
pelled to revert to that most painful subject at greater length
than we could have desired. The origin of the mutiny is
stated to have been as follows :—-
"A new kind of rifle, called the Enfield rifle—being an improvement on
the well known French invention known as the Minid rifle—was introduced
at the beginning of the year into Bengal for the use of the troops, and as
greased cartridges were necessary for its effective use, it was intended to
issue a supply of these to accompany the rifles. On the 23rd of January,
Major-General Hearsey, commanding the Presidency division, informed
the Indian Government that at Dumdum, near Calcutta, an uneasy feeling
existed amongst the Sepoys, caused by the belief that the grease used in the
preparation of the cartridges consisted of a mixture of the fat of cows and
pigs, which, of course, would be abhorrent both to Hindus and Mahom-
medans. The mode in which the rumour arose seems to have been the fol-
lowing:—At Dumdum there was a school of practice for the new Enfield
rifle, and on one occasion, when a Sepoy was about to prepare his food, he
was accosted by a man of low caste, who asked him to let him drink out of
his lotah, or vessel of water. The Sepoy, who was a Brahmin, refused, saying,
' I have scoured my lotah, and you will defile it by your touch.' Upon this
the other replied, ' You think much of your caste, but wait a little: the
Sahib logue (Europeans) will make you bite cartridges soaked in cow and
pork fat, and then where will your caste be?' The Sepoy repeated these
words to his comrades, and the report was not long in reaching Barrackpore,
where the 70th N.I. and other native regiments were stationed, and a strong
feeling of dissatisfaction was manifested amongst the men. When this was
communicated to the Government, orders were given on the 27th of January
that the men might procure their own ingredients at the bazaar, and on the
same day telegraphic messages were despatched to the Military School of
Instruction at Meerut, and also to Umballah and Sealkote in the Punjab, to
the same effect. It is especially worthy of notice that up to this time not a
single En field cartridge had been issued to any of the native troops. The cartridges
objected to were of the same kind as they had hitherto used ; but at the
Serampore manufactory the paper made differs somewhat in colour from the
ordinary cartridge paper; and on the 28th of January the Commander-in-
Chief telegraphed, in answer to the message of the 27th, that ' greased rifle
ammunition had been used for years by native troops, to whom Minie rifles
had been issued on the Peshawur frontier.'
" In consequence, however, of the continued objections to the use of the
ww cartridges, a Court of Inquiry was held at Barrackpore on the 6th of
SUMMARY.
February, and it then appeared that there existed in the minds of the Sepoys
a rooted idea that grease of some kind was used in preparing the paper
of which the cartridges were made. The paper itself therefore was sub-
mitted to a chemical analysis by the Government Chemical Examiner, Dr.
Macnamaba, and he on the 11th February reported that 'the paper had not
been greased or treated with any oily matter during or since its manufacture.' It
does not, however, appear that this most important fact was publicly and
officially made known at the time to the Sepoys. On the 4th of February,
Captain Boswell had written from Barrackpore, and said :—
"'I took the cartridges into the ranks, and showed them to the men
(having one broken open); and upon my asking several of the men, here and
there in the ranks, if they could see anything objectionable in them, their
reply, made in the most civil but soldier-like manner, was, that the paper
was not the same as that used lor the old cartridges, and that they thought
there was something in it.' "
Everything was done that was possible to satisfy the troops,
but at Berhampore, the 19th JO. had to be disbanded. An
attempt to murder an English officer by one Mungal Pandy
(hence the name of "Pandies" given to the rebels by the British
soldiers), a private in the 34th Regiment, led to the disbanding
[ of that regiment also, and others soon followed.
Earlv in March a curious incident happened, which has
never yet been satisfactorily explained, but which it is im-
possible not to believe had some connection with the subse-
quent outbreak of the revolt. The circumstance was this.
A ckowkeydar, or village policeman of Cawnpore, ran up to
another in Futteghur, and gave him two chupatties—little
unleavened cakes, the common food of the poorer classes. He
ordered him to make ten more, and give two to each of the
five nearest chowkeydars with the same order. He was obeyed,
and in a few days the whole country was in commotion with
chowkeydars running about with these cakes. They passed
on from district to district with wonderful rapidity, and
nobody seemed able to give any account of the mystery. A