Page:The Marquess of Dalhousie.djvu/122

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114
DALHOUSIE'S WORK IN INDIA

scene of action, that disgraced the first months of the Punjab revolt in 1849. In Calcutta the military authorities seem at first to have been imperfectly informed. With the exception of six or seven regiments, the Bengal Native Army was enlisted for service in India only. Yet Lord Dalhousie was permitted by his responsible advisers to name a Native regiment for service across the sea in Burma, without due regard to this fact. The men objected, and pleaded the terms of their enlistment. Lord Dalhousie acknowledged the mistake which had been made, and rescinded the order for the 38th Native Infantry to proceed by sea.

In Madras the military difficulty threatened to be a more serious one. Sir Henry Pottinger, piqued at not been taken into consultation about the campaign, refused to embark the Madras troops except upon the personal responsibility of the Governor-General. As a matter of fact the Madras troops were enlisted for general service, and the responsibility for moving them was vested in the Governor-General by Statute. The wounded military vanity of the Governor of Madras was overcome, and indeed he had no alternative but to obey. His objections, however, caused annoyance and delay; and the Madras troops had the vexation of arriving a little after the Bengal contingent at the place of rendezvous.

In April, 1852, the expeditionary force occupied