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70
EARL CANNING

a menace to caste and religion, and aided, probably, by Tipú Sáhib's family, who were detained there — had shown itself in overt insubordination. In a few hours Gillespie's Horse Artillery, galloping from Arcot, had brought the offenders to account, and military order had been vindicated by a sudden and terrible retribution.

Eighteen years later, on the occasion of the first Burmese War, a native regiment, the 47th, alarmed lest the vicissitudes of the journey to Burma might imperil the integrity of the terms of their engagement, refused to march. Discipline was again sternly asserted. A sudden discharge of artillery swept the ranks of the offenders; the surviving leaders were hanged, and the name of the guilty regiment disappeared from the Army List.

Subsequent events had not tended to improve the temper of the Sepoy, or diminish the grounds of disaffection. The conquests of Wellesley, Hastings, and Dalhousie had enlarged the area in which the Sepoy was bound to serve without the extra allowance granted for foreign service. The victories, which the Sepoy helped to win, were thus turned to his disadvantage. The ill-feeling had on more occasions than one assumed a dangerous form. The 34th Regiment, ordered to Sind, had refused to march beyond Firozpur without the usual addition to its pay. Several other regiments had followed the example. The Government was afraid or unable to strike the necessary blow; and though the 34th