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 battalion, three batteries of artillery, one European regiment, and a depôt of another. But Frere felt that when the Punjab was in danger this force was too large a one to be kept in Sind. His rule had been so successful that he could answer for the internal peace of the province, and he felt that, as he afterwards wrote, ‘when the head and heart are threatened, the extremities must take care of themselves.’ He therefore at once sent off his only European regiment to Mooltan, and by so doing secured this strong fortress during the worst days of the mutiny; at the same time he despatched a steamer to intercept the 64th and 78th regiments, which were on their way to Sind from the war in Persia, and to order them on to Calcutta. As the mutiny spread he directed a battery of artillery and a detachment of the 14th native infantry to march to the support of General Roberts at Guzerat. He further sent a portion of the remaining corps of Europeans into the south Marathá country, and the Belooch battalion to the further help of Sir John Lawrence in the Punjab. The removal of these several regiments left Frere only 178 European bayonets in Sind. And they were enough, though mutinies broke out at Shikarpur, Hyderabad, and Karàchi. Without exception these outbreaks were put down at once, and so slight a hold did the poison of disaffection get in Sind that at Karàchi the leaders in the revolt were tried by a court-martial composed of native officers, who dealt out exemplary punishments to the accused. But Frere was able to do more than give away the force he already had. He was able to create regiments, and when all natives were generally distrusted he raised troops who were as loyal as Europeans throughout the crisis. In the midst of all the work which was thus thrown upon him he found time to visit the khan of Khelat, and thus laid the foundation of an alliance which finally led up to the cession of Quetta and to the frontier treaty negotiated by Sir F. Goldsmid in 1872. Nor did he shrink from protesting with all the force of his influence and knowledge against the proposal of Sir John Lawrence to retire from Peshawur. While that fortress, Lahore, and Mooltan were in our possession, we were, he held, ‘lords of the Punjab,’ and he maintained that it would be better to stand at Peshawur a siege like that of Jellalabad than retire from it. He had time also to review in his own mind the acts of the Calcutta government, and a memorandum he then wrote on the constitution of the Indian army is as thoughtful and comprehensive as if written in the most peaceful leisure. Throughout the anxieties of the time he never for an instant relaxed his efforts for the development of the province. In April 1858 he turned the first sod of the railway from Karàchi to Kotri; in the same year the Oriental Inland Steam Company commenced to run steamers between Karàchi and Mooltan, and in the following year the Eastern Narra canal was opened.

Frere's great services were recognised by men on the spot. ‘From first to last,’ wrote Sir John Lawrence, ‘from the first commencement of the mutiny to the final triumph, that officer [Frere] has rendered assistance to the Punjab administration just as if he had been one of its own commissioners. … The chief commissioner believes that there is no civil officer in India who, for eminent exertions, deserves better of his government than Mr. H. B. E. Frere.’ In England the value of his services was also cordially recognised. His name was especially mentioned in the vote of thanks passed by both houses of parliament.

In 1859 Frere received for the second time the thanks of both houses of parliament for his services during the mutiny, and at the same time he received the knight commandership of the Bath. He was in the same year appointed a member of the council of the governor-general. Up to that time the members of the council had always been chosen from the Bengal services, and the tradition was broken for the first time in Frere's favour. The news of his promotion came like an announcement of disaster to the people of Sind. From Shikarpur to Karàchi came expressions of deep regret from both native and foreign residents. From being a comparatively desolate and barren country it had become under his rule a fruitful and well-watered land. Trade had been developed and fostered, and the revenue had risen in eight years from twenty-three to forty-three lakhs of rupees. Six thousand miles of road were opened out and the Rohree supply channel was constructed, which irrigated many thousand square miles of territory. He gave proprietary rights and fixity of tenure to landowners who had previously held their possessions only at the will of their rulers. He secured to the people generally the enjoyment of their lives and property. He improved the postal service of the province and issued for use in Sind the first postage-stamps ever printed in India.

Frere, from being an almost independent ruler, now became a unit in a body whose deliberations were criticised on all sides, and whose decisions he could only affect to the extent of his influence and vote. Frere had always kept his mind open to the great problems of Indian policy, and was not unprepared to face the enormous difficulties of his