Robert Hamilton Vetch

“ Lawrence and the great lakes of Canada, 'If ever man deserved to be immortalised in this utilitarian age,' says Sir Richard Bonnycastle in 'The Canadas in 1841,' 'it was Colonel John By,' In an unexplored part of the country, where the only mode of progress was the frail Indian canoe, with a department to be organised, workmen to be instructed, and many difficulties to be overcome, he constructed a remarkable work — the Rideau canal. ”

“ Western Australia had not so far been a successful colony, and as the government undertook to send out as many free emigrants as convicts the increased supply of labour was welcomed. At the same time a new development of the convict system was to be tried. The prisoners were to be selected with reference to their fitness for colonial life, and, after passing a certain time in a public works prison, were to be sent out to private employment under police supervision, or else employed in public works in various parts of the colony. ”

“ Jervois proved a good governor, and after five years in South Australia he was transferred to the government of New Zealand in 1882, retiring from the military service on 7 April of the same year. He paid great attention to the defence of the principal ports of New Zealand, and roused public feeling in the colony by his lectures and writings. He was much aided in these endeavours by the war scare in 1885, and had the satisfaction of seeing the scheme of defence completed before the termination of his term of office. ”

“ He left Wellington, New Zealand, on the completion of his term of government on 18 March 1889, 'the best and most popular governor that New Zealand has ever had.'
In 1890 Jervois served on Edward Stanhope's consultative committee on coast defence duties. He had strongly advocated, on his return home, both in the press and by lectures, that the defence of naval bases at home and abroad should be in the hands of the navy. The navy, however, consistently adhered to the fundamental principle that its duty is to fight the enemy's ships, and declined to be hampered by any such charge. ”

“ He strongly urged before a committee of the education department that special classes in elementary schools should be provided for the benefit of children of defective intellect, and he advocated the removal of such children, when subject to unhealthy or evil surroundings, to ‘homes’ in order to give them, by family life, an opportunity of development, believing that the proper care of such children would eventually reduce crime and add to the strength and wealth of the nation. ”

“ The shah of Persia himself sent a telegram to his family expressing his great regret for the loss of Bateman-Champain, 'qui a laissé tant de souvenirs ineffaçables en Perse,' a very unusual departure from the rigid etiquette of the court of Teheran. He married in 1865 Harriet Sophia, daughter of Sir Frederick Currie, first baronet (d. 1875) . She survived her husband with six sons and two daughters of the marriage. Three sons are in the army and one in the navy.
Bateman-Champain was a member of the council of the Royal Geographical Society and of the Society of Telegraph Engineers. ”

“ In December 1857, though still suffering from his wounds, Havelock was appointed, at his own request, deputy-assistant adjutant-general to the Azimgarh and Janpur field force under Brigadier-general Franks, with whom he had served for some years as adjutant of the 10th regiment. He now assisted him in the operations against the rebel chief Mahudi Haisan in the successful actions at Nasratpur on 23 Jan. 1858, at Chanda and Hamirpur on 19 Feb., Sultanpur on 23rd, and the check at Dhaorara on 4 March, when the column joined the commander-in-chief at the siege of Lucknow. ”

“ The man who fired the shot is now in our ranks. The intention was to put Havelock-Allan to ransom, and the Khaibaris were disappointed at his death. When his body was found, it was taken to Rawul Pindi, where his regiment, the royal Irish, was then quartered.
Havelock-Allan had been honorary colonel of the Durham militia artillery since 7 May 1887, and in command of the Tyne and Tees volunteer infantry brigade from 17 Oct. 1888. He was a justice of the peace for the North Riding, Yorkshire, and for the county of Durham, of which he was a deputy lieutenant. ”

“ On his arrival in Canada he surveyed the inland route up the Ottawa river to the Rideau affluent, and thence by the Rideau lake and Catariqui river to Kingston on Lake Ontario. He chose for his headquarters a position near the mouth of the proposed canal, a little below the beautiful Chaudiere falls of the Ottawa river, whence the canal was to ascend eighty-two feet by a succession of eight locks through a chasm. Here he built himself a house in the bush, there being at that time only two or three log huts at Nepean point. A town soon sprang up, and was named after him Bytown. ”

“ He presided over Cardwell's 'Localisation Committee' in that year, one of the most important which have ever sat at the war office, whose report, generally adopted, proposed by the fusion of the regular, reserve, and auxiliary forces under the generals commanding districts, to form one army for defence under the Commander-in-chief and by the institution of linked battalions, to have always one at home and one abroad, with depot centres for enlisting and training recruits. ”

“ The investigation which ensued showed that Stewart had taken every reasonable precaution to safeguard the governor-general during his visit; nevertheless, Stewart felt the shock of the tragedy so severely that he was obliged to go to Europe on sick leave. On his return to India in 1875 he was present at the camp of exercise at Delhi in honour of the visit of King Edward VII, then prince of Wales, and in April 1876 was appointed to the command of the Lahore division. ”

“ After the usual course of professional instruction at Chatham, where his survey sheets were framed as a pattern for the survey school, and after a few months' duty at Woolwich, Jervois embarked on 26 March 1841 for the Cape of Good Hope. He was employed on the eastern frontier in the construction of defensive posts on the Fish river to keep the Kaffirs in check. Towards the end of 1842 he was appointed brigade major to a force of all arms, sent to Colesberg on the Orange river, under Colonel Hare, the lieutenant-governor, to control the Boers. ”

“ The number of Zulus killed was 350 out of about three thousand—the wounded were carried off. The British force had fifteen killed and twelve wounded.
Chard's despatch, which was published in a complimentary general order by Lord Chelmsford, is remarkable for its simplicity and modesty. It was observed at the time: 'He has spoken of every one but himself.' The successful defence of Rorke's Drift saved Natal from a Zulu invasion, and did much to allay the despondency caused by the Isandhlwana disaster. On the arrival of reinforcements in Natal in April the force was reorganised. ”

“ The works in course of construction at home met with plenty of criticism, to which Jervois replied with his usual energy and success. In 1868 he delivered a lecture at the Royal United Service Institution on the 'Application of Iron to Fortifications in special reference to the Plymouth Breakwater Fort.' In the same year the work of the engineers was attacked in the House of Commons and a committee appointed to examine the fortification works built under the defence loan. ”

“ His combined force was now styled the Northern Afghanistan field force. Having seen the new amir, Abdur Rahman, formally recognised, Stewart was preparing to leave the country when intelligence reached him at the end of July of the disaster at Maiwand, and he sent Sir Frederick Roberts with a picked force of ten thousand men to march to Kandahar to retrieve the position of affairs. He himself returned to India in August with the rest of the troops by the Khaibar route. ”

“ In February 1816 Hoste returned to England, and for the next nine years was employed in the Medway and Thames military districts, after which he went on particular service to Canada in 1825, and to Ireland in 1828. On the accession of William IV in 1830, he was appointed gentleman usher of the privy chamber to Queen Adelaide. He served as commanding royal engineer of the eastern, western, and Woolwich military districts successively. ”

“ His prompt action when the king of Samoa made overtures to the colony to place his dominions under British protection, and the New Zealand ministers proposed to send an armed vessel to Samoa, saved a serious complication.
Jervois differed from the general opinion in Australasia on the question of Chinese immigration, believing that, as half the Australian continent lies within the tropics, it can only be fully developed by coloured labour, of which the Chinese is the most valuable. ”

“ On 29 Dec. 1839 he was sent by Todd to the court of Khiva, at a time when the Russian general Peroffski was advancing on Khiva for the ostensible purpose of negotiating with the khan, Hazrat of Khiva, for the release of Russian captives detained in slavery by him. Abbott, at the earnest entreaty of the khan, undertook to visit the Russian court, bearing the khan’s offer to liberate all Russian captives. He set out by the Mangh Kishlat route, under the escort of Hassan Mhatur, chief of the Chaodur Turkomans, but on reaching the Caspian Sea found that no boats had been provided. ”

“ But Galton's name will always be chiefly associated with sanitary science. The Herbert hospital at Woolwich was designed by him when he was at the war office between 1860 and 1862, and many improvements in barracks and hospitals are due to his initiative. He invented a ventilating fire grate in the early sixties, which was adopted for all military barracks and hospitals, and went by his name. ”

“ For six months he was employed at the India office in the preparation of an account of his explorations in Central Asia, and in April 1889 he took up the appointment of assistant military secretary for Indian affairs at the horse guards. But he did not remain long in England, for he returned to India in November 1890 to command the Punjab frontier force, first as a brigadier-general and then as a major-general, until March 1895. The greater part of this time was occupied by warfare with the hill tribes in a succession of punitive expeditions. ”

“ Colonels Edward Fanshawe and Griffith George Lewis [q. v.] , of the royal engineers, were sent as commissioners from England to report on the subject, and adopted By's views. Kingsford, in his 'History of Canada,' says, 'We should never forget the debt we owe to Colonel By for the stand he made on this occasion.' Bytown sprang quickly into an important place, and became the centre of a vast lumber trade. After the union of Upper and Lower Canada, its name was changed to Ottawa; in August 1858 it became the capital of the united provinces, and in 1867 of the dominion of Canada. ”

“ In 1842 he was appointed assistant to the resident at Indore, with charge of Nimar, and in 1845 commissioner of Hazara. During his rule Hazara rose from desolation to prosperity. When Chatar Singh, the Sikh chief of Hazara, declared for Mulraj of Multan in 1848 and the second Sikh war broke out, Abbott had ‘gained such an influence over the inhabitants of the province that he could do whatever he pleased with a race whom the Sikhs could never control’ (governor-general to secret committee, 7 Sept. 1848) . ”

“ Cureton commanded the cavalry at the battle of Aliwal on 28 Jan., when he smashed up a large body of the celebrated Ayin troop trained by General Avitabile, and utterly routed the Sikh right, the 16th lancers breaking a well-formed infantry square of Avitabile's regiment, and, notwithstanding the steadiness of the enemy, reforming and charging back repeatedly. Sir Harry Smith signally defeated the Sikhs, and in his despatch of 30 Jan. said: 'In Brigadier Cureton her majesty has one of those officers rarely met with; the cool experience of the veteran soldier is combined with youthful activity ”

“ The object of the expedition — the destruction of the mole and defences of Tangier and the withdrawal of the garrison — having been satisfactorily accomplished, Beckman went to Gibraltar, and made a plan of the Spanish Rock in two sheets, which is now in the King's Library, British Museum. After his return to England he was sent to Scotland to design works for strengthening Stirling, and he also reported on the defences of Carlisle, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Tynemouth, and Scarborough castles, Chester, Yarmouth, and Landguard fort. ”

“ Lord Wolseley was directed to hold the Nile from Merawi to Dongola and Hanneck cataract during the summer and prepare for an autumn campaign, while Graham was sent to Suakin to protect the flank of the Nile column by crushing Osman Digna, and constructing a railway from Suakin towards Berber. Graham's force was composed of both British and Indian troops numbering altogether, including the Suakin garrison, some thirteen thousand men, besides eleven thousand labourers, camel drivers, and muleteers. ”

“ In 1794 Caldwell went to the Northern Circars with Michael Topping, who came to India as an astronomer and was employed on the public works, to investigate and report upon proposals for the improvement of that part of the country. He constructed various public works until 1799, when he took part under General Harris in the final campaign against Tippu. He was present at the action of Malavali on 27 March and at the second siege of Seringapatam in April, when he commanded the third brigade of engineers. ”

“ His pluck and indomitable energy were as evident in his political career as in his military. Shrewd and well-meaning, but impetuous and choleric, he held strong opinions on many subjects, and made no concealment of his likes and dislikes. ”

“ ELPHINSTONE, Sir HOWARD CRAWFURD (1829–1890) , major-general, royal engineers, comptroller of the Duke of Connaught's household, fourth son of Captain Alexander Francis Elphinstone, royal navy, a noble in Livonia, and of his wife, a daughter of A. Lobach of Cumenhoff, near Riga, was born on 12 Dec. 1829 at Wattram in Livonia. His family were Scottish, and his great-grandfather, Captain John Elphinstone, royal navy, and admiral in the Russian navy, commanded the Russian fleet in 1770 in the victory over the Turks at the naval battle of Tchesmé Bay. ”

“ On 7 May 1746 he was attached as an engineer to the expedition under Lieutenant-general Sinclair against L'Orient. He took part in the siege of that place in September, and in the subsequent descent on Quiberon. He then resumed his studies at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. On 30 Jan. 1747 he was appointed engineer extraordinary in Flanders. Debbieg attracted the attention of the Duke of Cumberland and Marshal Bathiani by his boldness and intelligence, and was made an extra aide-de-camp to the duke. ”