Review of the Indian Contingent at Malta.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2991, 16 September 1878, Page 3

Review of the Indian Contingent at Malta.

The correspondent of the Standard, writing from Malta on June 3rd, says :— There was a grand turn-out of the troops, black and white, on Saturday afternoon, for inspection by the Governor. Half-past six, when the glare and heat of the Maltese summer d&y were over, was the hour fixed for the gathering, and the Floriana parade ground, a hard, bare, dusty, open space, was marked out as the trysting spot. The "rank, beauty, and fashion 7 of * Malta, -to fall back on the familiar phrase, were present, and with them that inquisitive and important ele-j ■•■■■.ment;the sovereign people. There was, ' however, no pressure except among the troops, and they were literally jammed soclosely -that they could execute none 'but 'the simplest '- evolutions: The great curiosity, of/ course, was to witness the' Indians under arms. That was the motive Which brought but y^ the ladies of the small .but remarkably "proud and long-lined local aristocracy, '*' officers' families/ priests, tradesmen, the , xnotltoy crewof" boatmen, touts, > the withered old crones, the shopkeepers' ?>ortlj* T^iTeß, the omnipresent beggar, the can &nd; conceited dandy with curly s whislceri and the self sufficient consciousness that' a great - tenor is lost in him, "children of all jages, Tbramy Atkins off 'fluty—keenest critic there ~ Tommy's wife, in gaudy kerchief,, with her- rich ■ Irish or Scotch: brogue, and brown-faced maidens, with humid black eyes spark-, ; .ling from^under the awning of the pro-, jecting Maltese veil of black silk, which gives beauty the demure attractiveness of n the' cloister. • ■ ; , The garrison on the island is unusually [ strottgatthenlomeht. In addition to the brigade of artillery which is assigned to • the chain of forts, and the regiment of Malta Fenciblesi which isi here en-per- ■ ■manence, and is likely to be, let us hope, for some ceDturies yet, 'there are seven regiment¥!lof ;jthe British { Dine; "these, • -taking them by rotation of numbers, are "'•- the"lst,Wß,6yal Scots (not a few"df whom are pure'iCorkonian's),, the 27th Ennis-, killen, the Black Watch, the 61st (South GloticelteFshire), thesis* Highland Brigade, bonnie lads in trews; the 98th. , and? 'the 3,olst' Boyal Bengal Fusiliers. ;; On 'this occasion all—even to the kilted >i Fortyitwa and the Fusiliers—wore • the -foreign; service' white ■•pith helmet wjth brass; sske, and most of the officers were in 'tunics arid trousersi.." ; .of white, drill. nTo the Indian, 'troops was given the placfelof honour on ' the left of the line. '; Their "infantry was^, driven; into : gadbs. Thefirst, composed of the 13th Bengal (the Shekawattee Battalion), the ;^26th-r Madras, and the ;31st Bengal was trade* the command of Col. Langmore, of the latter regiment, acting provisionally •r.-a» Brigadier. The second consisted of the Madras and Bombay Sappers, and the 9th and' 26th Bombay N. 1., under the orders of Col. Thompson, pf the 9th., ; The First Brigade was singularly imposing in its appearance. The Shekawattees are tail, handsome men, quite as tall i as the cracks of the Household Brigade, but neither no brawny nor broad- . shouldered. Their dress—a stately turban of bluish stuff, red tunic, and black cloth knickerbockers, with gaiters—gave ". all that was requisite in costume to their physique. It.was not a pin's point to .choose between them and the sister Ben- ' fal regiment, the 31st; the one point of . -detail in which they differed was that the ' latter wore trousers. The Maddrassees • dusky as night in countenance, looked ■mart—very smart—wearing exactly the ' game dress as our line, save that they had foraging caps with a red band. The 2nd Brigade was if not the equal in height, quite'as martial in bearing and well up in drill' as the first, with one pardonable exception, the Madras Sappers, ' In 'the, inarch past the two companies were decidedly ragged; but there was an explanation of .this, a man having fallen, in the ranks and thrown them into confusion. The dark jacket, trousers, and head-gear of these Madrassees are against them ; they stood out against the scarlet mass like a streak of ink. Before dismissing them,, 1 perhaps it may soften the asperity of a judgment which, after all, is one taken' Bolely from the stand-point of the adjutant, to admit frankly and freely that these Madras Sappers, in their own sphere, are capital,' and rank high. Besides, sappers are not expected to go through barrack-square movements like guardsmen; still, it would be no detriment; to their skill in the trench if they would learn to step together, and look to the front and feel the touch. The Bombay infantry left little, if anything, to be desired J They are certainly a most ' imposing-looking set of men, and the new ■ French grey topee and-baggy trousers lerit' them a most effective ensemble ;" there was a breadth of light above, and a free- ' and-easy grace, below in the serried . ranks that was most grateful to the ' ' -iirA Charles Van Straubenzee -arrived - on horseback about seven, and with him a brilliant staff in cocked hats and plumes and gilt aiguillettes,. escorting a bevy of fair ladies. Lieutenant-General Sir, James Airey and Major-General Boss were in 1 command, and the lines having been passed in the usual offhand way, when every one puts on such a knowing air and scrutinises the rank and file as if the mental photograph of everyone there could be taken en bloc at a lightning cJance, the knot of generals took station ' by the flagstaff, and the order was given ' for the troops to move. The one battery of field artillery, that of the First Brigade, led by columns of divisions—that is to say with two guns abreast. The walk past would hardly have elicited encomiums at Woolwich, but the trot pest at a later period was beyond cavil. Pressing and distance' were observed with marvellous minuteness. The hcrses had already got rid of the jaded droop begotten of the long confinement in a floating stable, and stepped outwith briskness and firmness. They are better in size than in color ; but it is no easy thing to procure cattle to mount a battery in India that, will unite, all the desirable qualities. They passed in silence, but for the music of the massed bands, be it observed, for military pageants are too common here to tempt a cheer. After the artillery, came the Bombay Lancers in column of squadrons; and if there were the material of a huzza in the Maltese military dilettante, this sight would 1 have brought it to the surfacer How a crowd in Hyde Park would have cheered these erect rind active troopers as they pranced haughtily by on their small, spirited steeds with the arching necks of the Arab ! Some were animals of bigger bone, importations from Australia, but all were full of fire and power. The garb of the Bengal horse-

men is semi-Oriental; a lofty blue turban with blue and white lallttiiniiL'inK over the shoulders, a blue liinic, yollo'vish pantaloons, and "high jackho<«(fi. makt- a better blending of East mid West it) apparel than is often met with. Tho first rank of each squadron carried lances with red and white pennons, the second ranks swords only. Behind the Bombay Lancers rode a mixed squadron made up of portions of the 2nd Bombay Light Cavalry and the 9th Bengal Lancers, for. the headquarters .iof whom we are auxiously -waiting." The first squadron of the Lancers bore away the palm for steadiness; the second was goodiikewise; but not so good ;: and the third was a little ragged. The cavalry trotted past well; they and the artille;ryj were unable to canter past, the ground being so small;; indeed, so small is it tliat the infantry, as they cleared the saluting base, had to 1 move into close formation on the glacis. Behind the Lancers came the 10th Brigade of Koyal Artillery, and the regiment of Malta Fencible Artillery, in three divisioris, under Col.' Dumaresq, B. A., marching as infantry. Then arrived the Indian troops in column; but these I have described. The seven British regiments followed in quarter column, a splendid body of men, massive, stern, and 'inarching well.' The Highlanders were curtailed, being quartered at Gozo. When the field artillery and cavalry had trotted past, they made their way to, their cantonments, and the infantry closed the programme of the evening's review. „t i With an; experience of troops,in most countries of Europe, extending over many yeairs, one may safely, hazard an opinion as to those under inspection on Saturday; and this is the deliberate opinion to which I commit myself* that our native auxiliaries, siich of them as are here, are far and away beyond the ' French in ; physique, equal to the Germans in drill; above both in cleanliness, and—^caodbur compels j it -—better in conduct, more temperate^ and tractable than the soldiers born in; a ; 'more: favoured land that; boasts '-of jits civilisation, and serving under the same flag/ The Indians drink less and give less trouble than those soldiers. But those soldiers have more backbone in thejm, andi if it came, to the tug of war; I should mdst'assuredly ■ 'p'tefer ';lo be in their neighbourhood when the.enemy was at hand;.