A MUTINY HERO.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 124, 16 May 1908, Page 4

A MUTINY HERO.

I On the eve of the recent Mutiny celc- , brations in London died William Brenj dish, one of the heroes of that lime. , whose devotion to his civil duties in that critical hour did much towards saving i India. "J wo things saved the Empire," !it has been .said; "the first was the ; telegraph wire, the second was the fact : thai the mutineers bail no l'ider, and I iicted on no plan." The nrst outbreak : was at Meerut, ami Delhi, forty miles away, the strategic centre in India, was ' Willi revolt. The wires liej tweeii Delhi and Meerut were cut on I that latal Sunday, and next morning a J man mimed Todd started out from Delhi Ito repair lliem. lie was caught bv the | advance guard ~r ihc Meerut rebels, and | killed. Two uiung operators, Breiidish | and Pilkiligton. stayed at their post* in j the Delhi olHce. Delhi was allame with I insurrection, tiring was going on all I round, and fugitives warned "them ot | their danger, but they stayed. The wire | to I mbiilla was intact, and they sent, the following message:—" The Sepoys have coire in from .Meerut and are burning everything. Mr. Todd is dead, and, we hear, several Europeans. We must shut ii)i." That fateful message of Mav 11th was Hashed from I'mbalhi to Lahore. to liawalpiudi. to Peshawar. and to every ntlirr cj\i] ami military centre tliat '"Hid ]i<> reached |>y telegraph. and it the hist ol the on* break of Hie nuitinr. Its value was priceless; forewarned, forearmed. Thus put on the alert, the officials in the Punjaub and the other provinces made instant investigations and found traces ol the widespread conspiracy. No small matter was it, also, that the mutinous Sepoys in several cases were overawed by the fact that, the sahib know all about it. Where and how could he have learnt it? The two young men. with Mrs. Todd and her child, got through the howling mob safely, but'it was desired to scud an official message (o Ihe outside world, and I'ilkington went back voluntarily and sent it. Bromlish and 'l'ilkington reached Umballa. and lirendish joined the Meerut Light Horse. then transferred to the llengal Yeomanry Cavalrv. with which regiment he served up to its disbandment in .Inly, 1H3!I. Then he rejoined his department, ami, completing forty years' service in ISOH. he retired, the Secretary of State for rndia granting him a pension eipial to full pay. lie lived happily, also to see his gallant deed recognised. In April. 1002. Lord ('urzoo unveiled at Delhi a memorial creeled bv the members of the Telegraphic Department in honour of their heroic com- ' nulcs.