Reduction of Golundaz Battalion—Formation of Regiment into Two European Battalions with Ten Battalions of Lascars—Goddard’s Expedition—Popham’s Capture of Gwalior—Insurrection at Benares—Attacks on Pateeta, Luteefpoor, and Siege of Bidgegurh—Colonel Pearse’s Expedition to the Coast—Reduction of Golundaz Companies—Transport Train, Foundry, Powder-works—Reduction in Establishment—Pay—Artillery formed into One European Battalion of Ten Companies—Lascar Battalions abolished—Battalion Guns—Artillery formed into Three European Battalions, Lascars into Thirty Companies.

The formation detailed in the preceding chapter was not destined to remain, for in March, 1779, Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote arrived from England with the commission of commander-in-chief, and soon after his arrival it was rumoured that he had brought authority to disband the golundaz.

From representations grounded in error and party views, alarm had been taken by the Court of Directors and the Government at the supposed danger of teaching the natives the use of artillery, and in August the golundaz were ordered to be disbanded, the men having the option allowed them of entering infantry regiments or joining the lascars.

To this corps, having been raised at his suggestion and disciplined by himself, Colonel Pearse was much attached, and, both on public grounds and private feelings, was averse to its being broken up. He unfortunately had many enemies in high rank in Calcutta;—the consequence of the feelings of rancour which had so long disturbed the settlement, and which were still kept up by Mr. Francis’s and General Clavering’s faction and Warren Hastings’s adherents. Among these was Colonel Watson, commanding the engineers, who vowed the overthrow of the golundaz, and, having considerable influence, urged Sir Eyre Coote to proceed in this ill-judged measure.

Those readers, who may recollect the golundaz at Cawnpore under Major Hay, may well conceive how deeply it must have wounded Colonel Pearse to see a similar corps sacrificed to jealousy and party views; and there is every reason to suppose that Colonel Pearse’s golundaz were equal to Major Hay’s, which is saying every thing, for there never was a corps better disciplined than the latter.

Colonel Pearse determined that the golundaz should not be reduced, if any exertions on his part could save them; and accordingly, as soon as the rumours reached him, addressed a letter to the commander-in-chief, in which he urged the necessity of employing native artillery, from the impossibility of keeping up sufficient European artillery for the service of our extended empire, liable to be attacked at both extremities, and at such a distance as to preclude the possibility of assistance. He combated the argument of danger from native artillerymen deserting and teaching their art to the golundaz of native powers, by proving that, at that time and previously, the native states had artillerymen not inferior to ours in the mere gun exercise and preparation of common stores, and that, were this not the case, the desertion of a few European artillerymen would render all precautions useless; that in reality for many years past there were thirty men nominally infantry, but in reality artillerymen attached to each battalion, for the service of the two field guns, which arrangement entailed the possibility of all the evils now feared, though without the advantages which a regular corps of native artillery would give. He deprecated the system of battalion guns as useless, the guns being without officers to manage them so as to produce the best effect, by attending to the advantages of ground and selection of ammunition best adapted to the occasion; the two European artillerymen detached with each battalion for this purpose being ignorant of the higher—the more scientific parts of the profession, which knowledge is confined in general to the officers; that it ruined the discipline of these men, who, though they went out good men, returned, in general, drunken vagabonds; that the lascars sent, though of the artillery, were only employed in dragging the guns, and were unarmed and undisciplined, but that they served for menial offices, which made them desirable to captains commanding the infantry battalions. He recommended that the guns should be collected in small brigades, or batteries, and brought to the points wanted, instead of being frittered away along the line; that the discipline of the men working them, from being under their own officers, would be better preserved, and that cannon would be better looked after, and their fire produce more effect in action, by being under the exclusive command of an officer bred up to the profession. He concluded by urging that, even should the artillery desert and take service with native powers, there was in reality little to fear, for though the country powers have infantry formed like ours, they are inferior in every respect: their irregularity of pay is the grand foundation of it; their want of sufficient instruction and of the essential knowledge of our discipline, will long keep them so; and such as their sipahis are to ours their artillery will be to our artillery, though the men should desert in equal proportion, which he did not think would occur, particularly if the golundaz had a small increase of pay over the infantry, which was the case in all other services.

On the receipt of the order, Colonel Pearse again attempted to prevent this ill-judged measure, by a respectful representation to Government, in which he pointed out that the European artillery numbered but 370 in all, of whom only 150 were at the presidency; that two ships of the season had come in without a single recruit; that it would therefore be impossible to complete the corps till the next year, and that, even, was doubtful, from the scarcity of recruits, his Majesty’s regiments being filled by pressing; that if an attack was made, the European artillery were insufficient even for the defence of Fort William, much more were they unable to furnish the detachments which would be necessary; that the golundaz were good artillerymen; the name and service the highest in repute among the natives; and that they would not, even if the pay were equal, enter the ranks of the lascars; so that raw and ignorant men must be enlisted for that class, who would require instruction, and, till they were taught, the presidency would be almost destitute of artillery. He submitted that, under these circumstances, the execution of the order should be delayed until the commander-in-chief could be consulted, lest any ill consequences should follow the immediate execution of it.

Colonel Pearse’s endeavours were, however, looked upon by Sir Eyre Coote as arising from a spirit of insubordination, which never had a place in his breast; and they drew forth a severe and cutting letter from the commander-in-chief, taxing him with unmilitary and unprecedented conduct, tending to sap subordination and obedience to its foundation, and telling him that he was called upon for obedience and not for an opinion, and that he was in nowise answerable for the results.

It must, however, be stated, in justice to Colonel Pearse, that, during the command of General Stibbert, several important military transactions occurred, and General Stibbert being absent in the field, Colonel Pearse obtained permission from him, as commander-in-chief, to address the Government direct on urgent occasions; and it was in the spirit of this permission, considering the disbanding the golundaz as a measure fraught with danger, that Colonel Pearse addressed the representation to Government.

To the commander-in-chief’s letter Colonel Pearse replied, regretting he had fallen under his displeasure, and detailing circumstances, such as the rumour of a body of Mahrattas being in the neighbourhood of Burdwan; the arrival of the ships without any recruits, of which he believed the commander-in-chief to have been in ignorance when the order was dictated, and which seemed to call for the exercise of some discretion on his part, in carrying into execution an order which would cramp the means of defence; that he had, in the exercise of what he deemed a sound discretion, stated the facts to Government, who could at once determine whether orders might with safety be instantly carried into execution, or whether they should be delayed until the commander-in-chief could be consulted; he deprecated any unguarded expressions, if such there were, in his former letter, being construed into a want of respect; and concluded by begging that the step he had taken might be considered as founded in error of judgment, and not in want of obedience; and entreated the commander-in-chief to overlook his error, and entertain a more favourable opinion of him than that expressed in the letter with which he had been honoured.

The appeal to Government was ineffectual, and the minutes of Council of 23rd November, 1779, “ordered that the native officers of the golundaz corps, at the presidency, be paid up to the end of this month and immediately discharged from the service; that the commandant of artillery be directed to repeat the offers already made to the men, and those who still decline to accept of them be immediately discharged.”

Those who feared the native powers training up good artillerymen by means of deserters from the British service, do not appear to have considered that without the material which is provided and kept up at a heavy expense, the best artillerymen would be useless; and that, although artillerymen are taught the preparation of stores, still very few have that intimate knowledge which only results from constantly handling and making them up; and which is, in reality, found in a much greater degree in the magazine workmen—a class who come and go at their pleasure, and appear to be little thought of, although the practical information they could carry to an enemy would be worth more than hundreds of mere well drilled artillerymen.

The Court of Directors, however, must be excepted, for in their warrant (17th June, 1748) they direct that “no Indian, black, or person of a mixed breed, nor any Roman Catholic, of what nation soever, shall, on any pretence, be admitted to set foot in the laboratory, or any of the military magazines, either out of curiosity, or to be employed in them, or to come near them, so as to see what is doing or contained therein.” And to such an extent did this fear then carry them, that another paragraph runs: “And if any person belonging to the company of artillery marry a Roman Catholic, or his wife become a Roman Catholic after marriage, such person shall immediately be dismissed from the company of artillery, and be obliged to serve the remainder of his time in one of the other companies, or be removed to another of the Company’s settlements, to serve it out there, if the Council think fit,” &c. And again, in their military letter to Bombay (6th April, 1770), they say: “As it is very essential that the natives should be kept as ignorant as possible, both of the theory and practice of the artillery branch of the art of war, we esteem it a very pernicious practice to employ the people of the country in working the guns; and, if such practice is in use with you, we direct that in future you attach European artillerymen to the service of the guns which may belong to sipahi corps, and that no native be trusted with any part of this important service, unless absolute necessity should require it.”

With these views it is not to be wondered at that the Home Government should have directed the golundaz to be reduced; but Indian experience might even then have taught that no more dangerous ally can be found for a native army than a large and imperfectly-equipped artillery. A native power will hardly bear the heavy continued expense required to keep it efficient; or, if the state should supply the means, the want of integrity in its agents will divert them from their proper course; and consequently, in the hour of emergency, the army is forced to fight a pitched battle to protect the unwieldy train of cannon, which becomes an incumbrance instead of a support: so it had been at Plassey and Buxar, and so it has been in every general action since. Assye, Argaum, Laswaree, Mahidpoor, would have been avoided, had there been no artillery in the native armies; unencumbered, they could have evaded the British; but the necessity of protecting their trains, and, perhaps, the confidence which their presence inspired, induced them to try the result of a battle.

Instead of discouraging native powers from organizing large parks of artillery, our policy should have been the reverse, resting confident that native parsimony and dishonesty would insure inefficiency in that branch.

In the new organization of the artillery now ordered, it was formed into two European battalions of five companies each, and to each company was attached a battalion of six companies of lascars, under the command of the same officer; they were to perform the whole duty dependent on the corps of artillery, and to be instructed in the usual services of artillery, with the exception “of pointing and loading guns and mortars.” They were dressed in uniform, and armed with a light pike, so constructed as to form a cheveux-de-frise.