that station in May for the purpose of seeing the new weapon, as well as of judging of the temper of the Sepoys, reported to Lord Canning that 'all were highly pleased with the new musket and quite ready to adopt it;' 'The officers assured him that no bad feeling had been shown, and he could perceive no hesitation or reluctance on the part of the Sepoys.' From Ambála General Barnard wrote in favourable terms of the behaviour of the troops. It thus seemed that at the central points, the rifle depots, the difficulty had been tided over. At Meerut, the insubordination of the 3rd Cavalry provoked no imitators. The threatening storm seemed to have passed, and Lord Canning began to turn his thoughts to current topics of administration. Presently came bad news from Lucknow. Early in May a regiment of Oudh Irregular Cavalry had shown symptoms of disaffection. The men refused to use the cartridges, and had broken into open mutiny. Sir H. Lawrence had at once adopted vigorous measures of repression, and, hurrying to the spot, had succeeded in disarming the regiment. Symptoms of disturbance, however, continued. Incendiarism was rife in the native quarters, and Sir H. Lawrence satisfied himself, by personal intercourse with the men, that the moving cause of the disturbance was the conviction of the native soldiery that the English Government contemplated their compulsory conversion.
At Calcutta the punishment of the 34th Regiment had been considered with that leisurely exactness
