§ COLONEL SYKESsaid, he rose to ask the Secretary of state for India, Whether Officers of the Indian Army who accept the invitation to volunteer for general service, or into the Staff Corps in India, in any way whatever compromise the rights guaranteed to them under the Act 21 & 22 Vict., c. 29, s. 56, of 1858, and the Act 23 & 24 Vict., c. 100, s. 1, of 1860, with respect to pay, pensions, allowances, privileges, promotions, and otherwise; and, whether the reported appointment of Colonel Highland, C.B., of Her Majesty's 56th Regiment, to command the 1st Bombay Fusiliers, in supercession of the Field Officers of that Regiment, had the sanction of the Secretary of State? The hon. and gallant Member was understood to say that in the Act which transferred the Government of India from the Company to the Crown, certain rights respecting pay, promotion, and allowance were guaranteed to the local European army, and that the discontent and mutiny of the European regiments were owing to faith not having been kept with them. Subsequently, faith had been broken in the case of the degradation of the three distinguished regiments of Bombay Regular Native Cavalry by their conversion into Irregulars. Nothing could be more explicit than the guarantees in the clauses of the Acts of 1858–60, which insured to officers, all allowances they then held, also prospects of command; successors to regimental staff situations, troop, and company allowances, and other regimental allowances. Nevertheless, the conversion of these regular regiments, with twenty-three officers, into irregulars, with only four or five officers each, deprived the captains and senior subalterns of the command of their troops and troop allowances, and the officers generally of successors to office on the regimental staff, and to ultimate command of their regiments. The proposed conversion of the regular infantry into irregulars would have similarly injurious results. Moreover, the Military Commission, sitting in Calcutta have reported, that of the 5,000 European officers of the local army 1,445 officers chiefly of the senior ranks will be thrown out of employment by the amalgamation, abrogating the privileges and allowances guaran- 831 teed to them by the Acts of Parliament. Equally it would be a breach of faith to appoint officers from the Line to command the European regiments which have accepted bounty for general service, in supersession of the claims of the field officers of those troops to succeed to the command of their respective regiments. The above cases and others of a similar character have raised great distrust in the minds of the local officers, and with the exception of those officers who have volunteered with the European Artillery and Infantry, nine-tenths of the officers were deterred from volunteering either for general service or the Staff corps. He (Colonel Sykes), therefore, hoped his right hon. Friend would be able to state that, in case the officers volunteered, they would not compromise their guaranteed privileges.
§ SIR CHARLES WOODsaid, that he should have no difficulty whatever in showing the House that the rights and privileges of Her Majesty's forces in India had been substantially maintained, it was proved by every communication which had been received from India. There was not the slightest reason for saying that the General Order had not given satisfaction; and so far as the returns had been received, the volunteering had exceeded all expectations, however sanguine they might have been. No returns had been received from Bombay and Madras; but those from the Bengal army showed that the troops had almost volunteered in a body. Of 8,000 men, upwards of 7,000 volunteered for general service; and about 300 declared for local service; and, of the remainder, most of those who claimed their discharge had afterwards applied to be enrolled. The whole of the officers who had volunteered certainly had not been called at once into general service, for the best of reasons—there was no possible mode of employing the whole of the officers of the Indian army in it; most of them would be employed in local duty. Of the Artillery of the Bengal army, 172 officers had volunteered for general service, 8 for local service, and 1 for the Staff Corps. Of the Cavalry, 62 officers had volunteered for general, and 17 for local service; of the Engineers, 1 officer had volunteered for local service; the others had not yet declared themselves. Of the infantry, 92 officers had volunteered for general, 102 for local service, and 47 for the Staff Corps. This showed the opinion of the officers of 832 the Bengal army, and was the best possible proof that the question might be most satisfactorily answered. If these officers had thus volunteered for general service in the Staff Corps, it proved that they did not consider they compromised any rights by so doing. It was a perfectly voluntary transaction on their parts. They had a free choice, and they declared either for general service or the Staff Corps, according as they thought it most to their advantage. In conclusion, he must say it would be a great injustice to His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief not to state that he had, on every occasion, shown the most anxious desire to promote the wishes of the Indian officers.
§ Motion agreed to.