restraint. In situations, in which the troops of other nations universally give way to the most atrocious excesses, British soldiers are generally guilty only of childish, absurd extravagances; when their besetting and fatal propensity to drunkenness, which with due care might be checked, gets the better of them, they are mischievous enough, no doubt, but at no time are they wantonly cruel. We say this, not for the purpose of praising war; for we have seen it too closely to uphold it exactly for its own sake, but we must honestly confess that our most ardent desire is to see the martial spirit of the country fairly awakened, not only for its own good, but for the benefit that other nations might derive from our exertions. What is the cause of that distress now so universally complained of in the country? The mighty energies of the people constantly pressing against the narrow bounds within which the limits of our islands confine such tremendous powers of active exertions. Give them but an honourable opening, and the pressure and distress will be relieved in proportion; this can, however, be effected by arms alone, for no extensive channels of trade can now be discovered, were they even desirable, unless in the rear of armies that shall open new countries to the progress of arts, commerce, and civilization. We think that men would be happier under the Government of England, than under the despotism of barbarous or half-civilized chiefs, and should therefore rejoice to see the standard of Britain displayed from the summit of the Atlas and the Himalaya, and conferring peace and security on the fertile and distressed province of old Mauritania as well as to the beautiful and war-torn kingdoms of Cashmere, Cabul, and Curdistan. To lead back the arts to their native Greece, and to aid a great sovereign in protecting the independence, and in civilizing, if we may so express ourselves, the laws and institutions of a brave and honest people, the Turks, may be actions at variance, perhaps, with the abstract theories of modern huckster politics; but as tending to benefit ourselves and a great portion of our species, they are nevertheless worthy of a great nation on which Providence has conferred warlike powers far too mighty to be confined within the narrow limits of these little islands. The world, as now constituted, requires war, and above all, war of civilization against barbarism, because it tends, paradoxical as the assertion may seem, to develope, raise, and improve the best qualities of our nature. Without the constant collisions by which the strength and powers of men can alone be upheld and fostered, we should soon sink from inactivity to utter slothfulness, a brute-feebleness. It is only by the exertion of strength, that strength can be preserved; and war forces men to call forth all their powers of mental and physical exertion. They thus become more ingenious, wiser, stronger, braver, more sociable and more cultivated, and gradually attain, by constant external strife and collisions, the highest pinnacle of fame, greatness, and civilization. Has not this, strange as it may appear, been proved even in our own time? How many useful discoveries has not war given rise to! and how widely was the sphere of human thought enlarged on all matters of religion, justice, toleration, and freedom during the last war. And has it brought no advantage to the half barbarians of Russia and Siberia, in making them acquainted with the most civilized nations of Europe? That without war men could not be what they are, is amply proved by the fact that all great nations have been forced to pass through its iron school. The most enlightened amongst those of antiquity, the Greeks, Romans, and Persians, were indebted to war for their greatness and cultivation. It was exactly whilst engaged in strife with the world, and whilst adding conquest to conquest, that they attained the highest degree of prosperity. Thus war has been, and ever will be in the world, as long as the laws of nature remain what they are, as long as the earth retains its present form, or its inhabitants remain constituted as they now are, influenced by the same passions and impelled by the same principles of action that have governed them at least since the days of Cain. A general peace, either in nature or among men, can only be looked upon as one of those lovely dreams of pious imagination not calculated for this strife-breathing world. And those who wish to see war banished from the earth as the greatest bar to general improvement, and the progress of arts and sciences, take but a very limited view of the subject, and judge only by the evils, melancholy enough, no doubt, that it inflicts at times upon particular districts and individuals, without taking into account the many benefits that Providence has bestowed upon mankind at large by means of its mailed gauntlet. Of course we have no intention of preaching up, by these remarks, a general crusade against either friends or neighbours: but considering the mighty and swelling energies now cooped up within the narrow limits of our islands, as well as the military intelligence and warlike qualities that, for some great purpose, have been conferred upon our people to a degree far above all the other nations of the earth, we confess we should rejoice to see them employed in noble and generous undertakings, capable of adding, not only to our own fame and advantage, but likely to be attended also with lasting benefits to less fortunate or less powerful countries. This is not, however, the time for discussing what should be the exact nature or direction of such enterprises. Our present object is only to show what are our own hopes and views; and to let you, courteous reader, into some of the secrets of our difficulties, in order that you may form a just estimate of our labours, that we may come to a fair understanding, and begin the new year on still better terms than we are about to close the old. In general cases, more of the pleasure to be derived from the contemplation of a work of art, or of the benefit to be gained from the reading of a book, depends on the mood of mind in which the first is looked at, and the second perused, than on the merit of the work itself: we beg of you to open our pages with as kindly a feeling towards us as we must necessarily entertain towards you. It will enhance whatever profit or pleasure you may derive from their perusal, and your approbation will not only cheer our toils, but aid us in attaining the great object of our exertions-that of being useful to the UNITED SERVICES. NAVAL OPERATIONS OF THE BURMESE WAR "Rightly to be great, Is not to stir without great argument; WHEN Major Snodgrass published his ex parte statement of the military operations in the Burmese war, it was pithily inquired, "Where was the Navy?" This question is, at last, well answered in a narrative of the naval operations in Ava,* drawn up by Lieut. J. Marshall, whose persevering industry in biographical researches is a sufficient evidence for his correctness of assertion. This officer, fully alive to the merits of "Blue jackets" under every vicissitude, has collected the scattered official documents of the two years' war, and formed them into an unassuming but straightforward and manly volume, in vindication of their claims to equal notice with their brethren in arms. It is not often that soldiers and sailors are blind to each other's merits; and the general harmony of the United Services in the late war, was a theme of admiration. An occasional growl might be ejected, and such a public memorandum as that of Gen. Prescott against the encroachments of Sir John Jervis,+ might be fulminated, but they impinged little or nothing on the cheerful unanimity which pervaded all ranks, when "roughing it out" on service. The not being blazoned in the gallant Major's magnum opus," would not have inflicted a moment's uneasiness on a single soul in the squadron, but an unequivocal slight from a higher quarter, has given the affair a "shape and feature." The question now at issue, is not one of regret on the loss of reward, but of wounded honour in its being unjustly withheld. t The official reports of our expeditions are usually so minute, correct, and public, that it is quite astonishing how the full participa tion of the Navy, in the Burmese war, could have been suppressed, or passed over, in the remuneration granted by the India Company; whose usual liberality renders the injustice still more provoking. From some hitherto undetected cause, the bounty ordered for distri bution by the "Honourable Masters," was restricted to the land forces and the Bombay marine-albeit the exploits of the latter did not put any naval man to the blush. A perusal of the narrative will clearly show the obligations which the military commander-in-chief held himself under to the squadron: and amongst the victims to exertion and climate, are numbered no less than three successive senior naval officers, viz. Commodore Grant, Capt. Alexander, and Sir James Brisbane. Part of the final injurious misprision may have arisen from the impolitic economy at home, of sending a broad-pendant instead of a flag. But even in this case, as the Burmese war was known to be in progress before Sir James left England, it is to be lamented that he had not quitted it with a red pendant, instead "Narative of the Naval operations in Ava, during the Burmese War, in the years 1824, 5, and 6. By Lieut. John Marshall, R.N. Author of the Royal Naval Biography. London, 1830." Longman and Co. t See Part II. of our Journal for 1831, p. 338. of a blue one, as it would have placed him on a footing with the commander of the forces, who was by many years junior to him in corresponding military rank. Not but that the senior officer was always addressed by the title of Commander-in-chief by the local governments; nor could higher rank have called forth greater energy on the part of the Commodore, or produced a heartier or better feeling than existed between himself and that distinguished veteran, Sir Archibald Campbell. But whether the squadron were commanded by a flag or broad pendant, was of no importance to the event of the war, for Marshall's ingenuous record proves the cheerful ardour of the sailors, under a harassing and almost amphibious series of operations; and the Lieutenant deserves their thanks, for rescuing them from any malevolent misrepresentation which may have influenced the allotment of the rewards. We will endeavour to lay the nature of the service before our readers; and in so doing, we will proceed to show, through the medium of the army reports only, that the exertions and hardships of the seamen and soldiers were mutual, and therefore inseparable. Notwithstanding the London coffee-house opinion, that the Governor-General of India had blindly precipitated the Burmese war, it is now clearly seen, that cruel and unprovoked aggressions of the Arracan chiefs against our frontiers, together with the intrigues of the "golden-footed" monarch, rendered prompt retaliation a measure of the soundest policy. We will not dwell upon the celerity with which a force of upwards of 8700 men, of whom 4077 were British troops, was collected under Sir Archibald Campbell; nor upon the cordial correspondence which took place between the Supreme Council and the senior naval officer, in the very commencement; but will merely observe, that Commodore Grant's squadron consisted at this period of the Liffey, a large frigate, and three sloops of war, the Slaney, the Larne, and the Sophie. The time of sailing was governed by political circumstances, otherwise it might have been deemed injudicious, for had it been deferred till October, six months of delightful weather would have enabled the forces to accomplish what, in their subsequent weakened state, cost two arduous years. But this was not the greatest inconsistency of the Bengal Government: a still greater was committed in placing all the transports, Bombay cruisers, and flotilla,-besides a steam-boat, the first ever seen in India,-under the orders of the general's staff; a measure pregnant with disadvantages, and which, but for the zeal of the Blues in remedying the disorders arising from the absence of method and discipline amongst such discordant materials, might have proved fatal to the expedition. On the 17th of May 1824, the armament, led by the Liffey_and the Larne, sailed up the Irrawaddy, and, without pilots, reached Rangoon in a few hours. This town is situated on the northern bank of a principal branch of that great river, about twenty-eight miles from the sea: it extends along the strand with an unprotected suburb at either end; but the town is defended by an enclosure of stout palisades ten or twelve feet high, strengthened internally by embank⚫ments of earth. At the river gate is a landing-place, denominated the King's wharf, whereon was the principal battery, which appear ed to be mounted with from twelve to sixteen pieces of ordnance. At about 2 P.M. the Liffey anchored in beautiful style immediately opposite to this battery; and while she was furling her sails, the humane British commanders resolved not to commence the contest without giving a chance for sparing the effusion of blood, hoping that the authorities of the town would make an offer of negotiation. Instead of this, the enemy opened a feeble fire on the frigate, which was returned by such powerful broadsides, that the Burmese fled in dismay. A landing was then effected, and Lieut. Thornton, R.N. hoisted the British flag: thus, through the Liffey alone, possession of the place was obtained, as Sir A. Campbell reported, "without the troops having had occasion to discharge a single musket;" and the occurrence was noticed in the following manner by a general order of the Supreme Council, dated the 2nd of June 1824: "A royal salute and three volleys of musketry to be fired at all the stations of the land forces serving in the East Indies, in honour of the capture of Rangoon, by the combined naval and military forces under the command of his Excellency Commodore Grant, C.B. and Brigadier Sir Archibald Campbell, K.C.B." The captors found nearly a hundred pieces of ordnance, of various calibres, and a proportionate quantity of ammunition. Rangoon, however, except as a stepping-stone, might be termed rather a "Scotch prize,"-for the governor, prepared for defeat, had driven most of the inhabitants into the jungle, where the men were to be organized for warfare, and the women and children to be guarded as hostages for their fidelity. Besides these, so many ran off in the consternation of the moment, that not above a hundred persons were found. All stores were carried away, and the supplies being cut off, a poor prospect was afforded to troops who, in hopes of a decisive blow at this town producing overtures for immediate peace, had been dispatched with slender equipment. The prospect presented a horrid mixture of famine and ferocity to be encountered; added to which, dirty hovels built amidst swamps, and inundated paddy fields, with muddy lanes infested by herds of meagre swine and hundreds of hungry dogs, formed a sorry quarter against the southwest, or rainy monsoon, which was just setting in. After having thus placed the army in possession of Rangoon, the Commodore dispatched a flotilla of boats to seek for and destroy firerafts; and also to remain in advance of the shipping during the ebbtide, in doing which, five men were wounded from the villages along shore. On this and other occasions, Sir A. Campbell thus remarks, "It would be presumption in me to speak in terms of praise of an officer so well known as Commodore Grant; but it is my duty to inform you, that the cordial co-operation I have received, and continue to receive from him, calls for my warmest acknowledgement." On the 16th, the first hand-to-hand conflict with the enemy occurred, near Kemmendine, a war-boat station about three miles above the town. This was the gallant storming of three fortified stockades by the grenadier company of the 38th regiment, and the boats crews of the Liffey. Capt. R. Birch, who commanded the soldiers, after bearing testimony to the bravery of the sailors, thus winds up his report: |