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APPENDIX.

THE following information is derived from trustworthy sources, and may be of some interest :

Cabul Plain

Table of Heights above mean Sea-level.

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TRANSPORT FOR THE INDIAN ARMY.

The transport arrangements have always been the great stumbling-block when war has been declared in India, and in the hope that something will be done to form a permanent establishment, I republish the following letter, written in Sherpur on June 15th, 1880:

15th June. Lieutenant-Colonel Low, of the 13th Bengal Lancers, Chief Director of Transport with the Cabul Force, has suggested a plan for establishing a permanent transport service, the details of which I will try to explain. He advocates a system-the expense of which should be moderate in time of peace, and not extravagant in time of war-which should admit of rapid expansion when war breaks out, and, most important of all, which should allow of the animals being employed for ordinary purposes of commerce in peace time, yet always be ready to fall into their places when the State requires them. Colonel Low takes an army of 36,000 of all arms with fifteen days' food as the unit to be treated, this being about the strength of a force which is likely to be mobilized in case of war breaking out, and he believes that under his system transport for such an army could be raised, at any time, in a fortnight.

Taking the mule as the only transport animal in the "first line," he calculates that 70,000 mules (of which number 1,028 would be spare animals) would be required for the 36,000 men, the estimate being as follows:

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This calculation is made on the Cabul scale of baggage, and each animal would have to carry two maunds only; allowance is made for forage and grain also being carried. The 70,000 mules required would be located in the three Presidencies, in the following proportion :-Bengal, 35,000; Bombay and Madras, 17,500 each. Regarding Northern India, it is calculated that the N.-W. Provinces would furnish 9,750, Oudh 750, and Rohilkund 2,000. The Punjab would be responsible for 27,500. The system of maintenance would be the division of all the country into a certain number of districts; as, for instance, the N.-W. Provinces into thirteen, and the Punjab into twenty, each of which would have a fixed number of mules ready for the State when occasion might arise. Colonel Low's explanation of the organization he would create is so clear, that I will give his own words. He says "The districts would all have been numbered off in the transport books, and I will suppose I am visiting the Rawalpindi or No. 20 district. The first village I enter might have, perhaps, fifteen mules, nine of which were over three and under fourteen years old. To the owners of these animals I would say: 'Government will give you, through me, one rupee per month for each of these animals. Government does not want them now and may never want them at all. Keep them, therefore, and use them as you have been accustomed to. All that Government asks is that you will agree to give the use of the mules in time of war. You must bring them with their saddles, &c., arranging among yourselves that at least one man shall accompany every three mules. On Government calling for the mules, you will receive war rates of pay from that day till the animals are discharged, when they will revert to peace rates of one rupee per month. This present agreement is to last twelve months, after which notice of three months on either side may end the bargain: the one proviso

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being that when Government has called for the service of the mules, the notice cannot be given until the mules are discharged. Meanwhile the mules must be branded with the district mark 'R 20;' and here is Rs. 36, the first quarter's payment in advance."" Colonel Low states that from his personal knowledge, and from opinions expressed by native gentlemen, he is convinced the people would eagerly accept such a system, as it is one which they could easily understand, and is quite in keeping with their customs and traditions.

Then comes the all-important question of cost. Regarding the permanent establishment, Colonel Low suggests that a Director, who would have control all over India, should be appointed with staff pay of Rs. 1,000 per month. His subordinates in Bengal would be two superintendents (Rs. 500 each), and four assistants (Rs. 150 to Rs. 200); in Bombay and Madras just half this establishment. There would also be a number of native officers, and non-commissioned officers, and five sowars would be told off to each district. The staff in Bengal would cost Rs. 9,210 per month (in peace time), in Bombay and Madras Rs. 4,030 each, or a total of Rs. 17,270 for establishment. The premium to owners of Re. 1 per animal would be Rs. 70,000, making a grand total of Rs. 87,270. When war broke out, the staff would be available for instant service at their normal pay, while the owner of each animal would receive his Rs. 12 per month, in all Rs. 8,40,000, or a total expenditure on service of Rs. 8,57,270. To put the matter in simpler form, Colonel Low remarks:-"If we suppose a period of four years in which there was war for four months, the cost would be

44 months' peace, at Rs. 87,270 per mensem
4 months' war, at Rs. 8,57,270 per mensem

Rs. 37,29,880

33,29,080

Total 70,58,960

"This can

This is, in round numbers, £700,000;" and Colonel Low significantly adds:no doubt be compared with transport expenses in the last campaign -an allusion, perhaps, to the enormous compensation we had to pay to camel-owners for animals lost or killed. The second line of transport in a campaign, Colonel Low considers should be wheeled carriages, a certain number of carts being always kept ready at stations near the bases of supply, such as Multan, Rawalpindi, &c. With this scheme, and no doubt several others before them, it will be strange if the Government does not once for all make up its mind to an expenditure in peace time upon transport service: it may seem, for the time being, money wasted, but anyone seeing the accounts of the present war cannot help being convinced that a permanent transport would have saved the country many lakhs of rupees.

THE END.

Woodfall & Kinder, Printers, Milford Lane, Strand, London, W.C.

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