Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/188

Rh 176 N A P I E K Coa, and again at Busaco, where he was badly wounded in the face. He was ordered to England, but refused to go, and was present with the light division in all the actions which took place during Wellington s pursuit of Masse na. His services were rewarded soon after by the lieutenant- colonelcy of the 102d regiment, which had been entirely demoralized at Botany Bay, and when he joined it at Guernsey was one of the worst regiments in the service ; when he left it in 1813 it was one of the best. He accompanied it in June 1812 from Guernsey to Bermuda, where he wrought a wonderful change in the spirit both of officers and men. By treating his men as friends he won their love and admiration, and became in a peculiar degree the hero of the British soldiers. In September 1813 he exchanged back into the 50th regiment, and in December 1814, believing all chance of active service to be at an end, retired on half-pay. He was gazetted one of the first C.B. s on the extension of the order in 1814, and was present as a volunteer at the capture of Cambray, though he just missed the great battle of Waterloo. Though an officer of some experience and more than thirty years of age, he now joined the military college at Farnham, and completed his military education. In 1819 he was appointed inspecting field officer at Corfu. From Corfu he was moved in 1822 to Cephalonia, where he remained for eight years as governor and military resident. What he did there he has described in a book of his own, and how he loved the place is shown by his wish to the very end of his life to return and die there. He was the model of a despotic colonial governor, and showed all the qualities of a benevolent despot. He made good roads and founded great institutions, but everything must be done by him, and he showed himself averse to interference whether from the lord high commissioner of the Ionian Islands or from the inhabitants of his own little colony. An interesting episode in his command was his communication with Lord Byron when he touched at Cephalonia on his way to his death at Missolonghi, and the insurrection of the Greeks, who would have called him to be their commander-in-chief had the Greek committee in London encouraged his pretensions. But at last his struggle with the authorities of the colonies grew to such a pitch that in 1830 he was obliged to leave Cephalonia. He retired to Normandy, where he published his work on the colonies, and also an historical romance on William the Conqueror. In 1834 he refused the governorship of Australia, still hoping for military employment. In 1837 he was promoted major-general with his brother George, and in 1838 was made a K.C.B. ; but he was to wait till 1839 before he received an offer of employment. In that year he was made commanding officer in the northern district, and found his command no sinecure, owing to the turbulent state of the Chartists in the towns of Yorkshire and Lancashire. His behaviour during the tenure of his command is described by William Napier in his life of his brother, and his inability to hold a command which did not carry supreme authority is plainly portrayed. In 1841, to the content of the Government, he resigned his&quot; command and went to India. He was stationed at Poona, and in September 1842, when troubles were expected there, was ordered to Sind. His command in Sind from 1842 till August 1847 is the period of his life during which, according to his brother, he made good his title to fame, but his acts, more especially at first, have been most severely criticized. In fact there can be little doubt that from the moment he landed in the province he determined to conquer the ameers, and to seek the first opportunity of doing so. He was to be accompanied by Colonel Outram, who had been resident in Sind during the Afghan war, and who felt a great admiration for him, but who had also a warm affection for the ameers, and believed that he could put off the day of their destruction. On February 17, 1843, while Outram was still absent engaged in negotiation, Napier attacked the Baluch army 30,000 strong with but 2800 men. With these 2800 men, including the 22d regiment, which would do anything for him, he succeeded in winning the victory of Meanee. It was a battle of the olden type, in which generals had to fight like privates. Sir Charles was in his element, and himself engaged in the fray. In the March following he finally destroyed the army of the ameers at the battle of Hyderabad. His success was received with enthusiasm both by the governor-general, Lord Ellen- borough, and by the English people, and he was at once made a G.C.B. The conqueror of Sind now had an opportunity to prove his administrative powers, and pro ceeded to apply the same material means of civilization to Sind which had formerly been successful in Cephalonia. Whether or not the conquest of Sind at that particular period can be justified, there can be no doubt that Charles Napier was the best administrator who could be found for the province when conquered. Sind, when it came under English rule, was in a state of utter anarchy, for the Baluches had formed a military government not unlike that of the Mamelukes in Egypt, which had been extremely tyrannical to the native population. This native population was particularly protected by Sir Charley Napier, who completed the work of the destruction of the Baluch supremacy which he had commenced with the victory of Meanee. The labour of administration was rendered more difficult by the necessity of repressing the hill tribes, which had been encouraged to acts of lawless ness by the licence which followed the Afghan war. The later years of his administration were made very stormy by the attacks on the policy of the conquest which had been made in England. He left Sind, after quarrelling with every authority of the presidency of Bombay, and nearly every authority of the whole of India, in August 1847, and received a perfect ovation on his return from all the hero-worshippers of the Napiers, of whom there were many in England. His short stay in England was occupied with incessant struggles with the directors of the East India Company; but, however much the directors hated him, it was not long before they had to beseech him in humble terms to become their commander-in-chief. The news of the indecisive victory of Chillianwalla created a panic in England, and the East India Company was obliged by the force of public opinion to summon the greatest general to take the command of its armies. Sir Charles started almost at a moment s notice, but on reaching India found that the victory of Gujrat had been won and the Sikh war was over. No taint of envy was in his nature, and he rejoiced that he had not to supersede Lord Gough in the moment of defeat. His restless and imperious spirit was met by one equally imperious in the governor-general, Lord Dalhousie. From the very beginning of his com mand the governor-general and the commander-in-chief disagreed, and in April 1850 Sir Charles was reprimanded on some trifling point of discipline. The reprimand was, reiterated by the duke of Wellington, and in December 1850 Napier once more left for England. His constitution was undermined by the Indian climate, and especially by his fatiguing command in Sind, and on August 29, 1853, he died at Portsmouth. Charles James Napier, recognized by his brothers as the greatest representative of the Napiers, though without the literary genius of his brother William, had all the restless energy which distinguished the whole family, the same impatience of command and contra diction, the same power of inspiring the people with a reverential enthusiasm which impressed even the dullest. At Meanee he showed himself to be a gallant general ; but he was also a great soldier.