Extracts.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 587, 19 June 1858, Page 3

Extracts.

ijf'i THE LAWRENCES. f< } (From the ' Times,? March 8.). t*J shall be expressing, we are sure, the FLnus opinion of the, country when we say *** «nn_h has not yet been done for the reprethat <r?" v g Bof8 of tha t distinguished family to whihh, jse» ta p rov idence, we owe the preservation' of ,Br r 4d the safety of every European in Hin!lndia* _,__ be itf ro mu.s to, undervalue, even ostalJ.nmnarison, the services of such men as W'\nMr and Wilson, or the admirable camjlaveiocK. Colin Campbell; but it is true, palgrrheless, that, had it not been^for the two i rraces there would have been no opening for the achievements of Wilson at Delhi or t Hivelock at Lucknow, nor would the present c mmander-in-Chief in India have had any less k unon his hands than the reconquest of the Se country, step by. step, from the very gates f Calcutta. It was owing /to' :Sir John Law-, nee that our Generals before Delhi found an :y m to command. It-was owing to Sir Henry T-urren'ce that the capital of Oude held out at II and that, in the heart of the most martial Ld malignant province of India the spectacle las exhibited of a garrison heroically repelling eT ery assault of a rebel host until its relief could be at last accomplished. Yet Sir John has hitherto received no-promotion beyond a step in an order of knighthood,while Sir Henry, though to his manifold, claims .upon, his country ■ lje added the final consummation, of. death at his post, has not had his, memory, honored or his deserts recorded by- any distinction to survive in jjis descendants. Through a career of more.than 30 years' duration, were the talents of. this able man devoted to India; but it is not, of course, with any tut his recent services that we are here con- • ceiued. In these, however, must fairly be in-' cfefed his administration of the Punjaub, for it js to this administration that we owe that organization of the old Sikh province which rendered it a secure and sufficient base for our military operations in the north-west of Hindostan. The system of Government which converted a fierce and lately hostile community into one of the best affected districts of India, which sent to our own standards as willing and faithful allies the very warriors, who but ten years before, had been our implacable foes, was carried out, under Lord Dalhousie's authority, by Sir Henry Lawrence. It was he who made the Punjaub what' Sir John Lawrence found it, and thus provided his brother with the materials which were turned so skilfully to account. That very part of India which for years had been regarded with the greatest apprehension, which had cost us our severest and most recent struggles, and which still absorded the chief portion of our garrisons, actually provedour salvation. The vessel of the State throughout this mutiny was anchored by the Punjaub. Lahore became the great arsenal of India, from which our. Generals drew their reinforcements and supplies. L Erom the broad and solid base of the Sutlej di- [ -vision after division marched upon Delhi, until |at last the capture of the city gave the first grand sign of the unassailable supremacy of England. . •' ■ ■

When the mutiny broke out Sir Henry Lawrence occupied the most critical of all the posts in India. The most unquiet, warlike, and dan-

gerous province of India, as we see to this very hour, was Oude. 'The chief city of Oude was Lucknow, and in the Residency at Lucknow, with the charge of the whole country, was stationed Sir Henry Lawrence. For the support of his authority in a territory embracing 25,000

square miles, and swarming with the very popu-

lation from which the mutineers were drawn, he had a single European regiment 500 strong, and with this aid and the assistance of his colleagues in the administration he had to withstand a revolt which convulsed the British dominion in the East. His forecast needed ho warniner from

the overt outbreak at Meerut: A week before that overt explosion occurred he had detected

U and destroyed the first seeds of insurrection in [^ his own province. On the evening of the 3rd of _;i May he learnt that one of the Oude battalions • was on the verge Of mutiny. On the instant, ~\ even in the darkness of that very night, he drew out the troops of the garrison, marched to the .- spot, surrounded the rebellious regiment, dis- :*\ armed it, and arrested the ringleaders of the 5 revolt. But, though he had thus surmounted -,| the first peril of the crisis, he clearly discerned '4 the tremendous tempest still impending, and v | from that moment made his preparations to \ meet it. The- Residency was intrenched and *•s fortified, stores and ammunition of all kinds

I were collected, batteries thrown up, and mea- » sures energetically concerted for the support of ? a protracted siege. As .the catastrophe grar| dually approached Sir Henry called in all his -. scanty forces, carried off and impounded the crown jewels of Oude, and waited in stern dei termination for the storm. It burst at last, and i a perfect sea of mutiny surged and roared round ; the little garrison of Lucknow. But it was now { too late. The consummate abilities of a master J mind had provided for every contingency, and :] from that hour to the undaunted advance of J Havelock with his : column of relief the whole | force of Oude could do. nothing against the work iof Sir Henry Lawrence. He was unhappily not i saved to witness the success of his operations. 1 n the lst of July he was mortally wounded by V the explosion of a shell; but in every particular , had his expectations been fulfilled. The Luckj now garrison, even after the entire Bengal army had broken out into mutiny, and 100,000 rebels vere traversing Hindoston, was never conquered. Every soul it contained was preserved from all hut the ordinary casualties of a siege. The few j sepoys included in the.garrison presented alf most the only examples of military fidelity to be - found among the. natives in British pay, and in j the end the troops which Sir Henry had arrayed I the women and children whom he had protected, , and the treasures which he had secured, were ( all conveyed m triumph from the city. . It is not the least remarkable feature of this I impressive story that one of the many merits of J this distinguished man is actually in some degree 'likely to stand m the way of the recompense \ they invite. Sir Henry Lawrence was the muni- | ncent founder and benefactor of certain institui tions m India, devised for the benefit of Euro- ; pean children, and to these benevolent purposes

he had of late contributed the annual, sum of £1,000. It has been proposed to dignify his memory by perpetuating the endowment of these institutions, and thus connecting the name of the departed hero with such a monument as he would most admire. To this proposition, if the establishments in question should be left to private benefactions at all, there can be no possible objection; but this subscription to a Lawrence memorial, though it may wear the appearance of public acknowledgement, conveys neither honours nor rewards to Sir Henry's immediate representatives. When this illustrious administrator fell he named his successor, and left a testament, in which he directed the defence of Lucknow as long as a man of the garrison remained. Had he survived to see the realization of his views a perpetuation of the title he bore would certainly not have been thought too extravagant a reward for deserts so eminent, and the public, we are convinced, would see with unqualified satisfaction the transfer of national gratitude to his son. Sir Henry Havelock's well-earned designation has not been left to die with him, and the name of Sir Henry Lawrence is one which Englishmen may well desire to see preserved in future generations. Sir John Lawrence fortunately lives to receive in his proper person the honours which it may be confidently anticipated will some day become his own. Sir Henry has fallen in the discharge of his duty, but seldom has there been a more fitting opportunity for the observance of a precedent repeatedlygiven rewarding a son or representative for services which a warrior or statesman has sacrificed his life in rendering.