Sir Robert Montgomery (Sir John's chief lieutenant) had written, at an earlier date to Mr. Raikes, in a letter before the present writer: —
'Our five rivers, with their ferries, give us a great advantage, as no Purbea (Hindustáni) can show his face without being instantly seized. If a Sepoy deserter or mutineer, he is tried on the spot, and hanged. The Sikhs hate them, and if a Regiment breaks and runs, the whole population is after them. The Sepoys are strangers in a strange land. They have no sympathy from the people, and are not protected or concealed.'
Reverse these words, and we have the situation in the North-West. Arms were in every man's hands. The Sepoy was in his own home. No one questioned him. All favoured or feared him. The population were his brothers. He numbered over 40,000. There were not 800 British troops, all told, available against him.
On three points, closer inquiry is due to Mr. Colvin's memory. It has been said that he failed to detect the true character of the Mutiny till long after it had become apparent to others in high places. He has been reproached with the issue on May 25 of a Proclamation, inviting Sepoys to surrender on terms which Lord Canning compelled him to withdraw. He has been charged with apathy in the conduct of affairs in Agra itself, with neglecting the provisioning of the Fort, and with causing much loss of property by harsh restrictions as to the amount to be taken into the Fort, when events drove the Christian population to its
