Page:Sir Thomas Munro and the British Settlement of the Madras Presidency.djvu/52

 44 -SIR THOMAS MUNRO

of war, Munro, then stationed at Ambiir, in writing to his father, January 17, 1790, gave his opinion on the state of affairs and his reasons for differing from the line of policy pursued as regards Tipii. There is, however, space for only a few extracts from this interesting letter.

'It will require some time to assemble an army able to face the enemy ; and before such an army can be put in motion, Tipii may be in actual possession of Travancore and all the southern countries. We have derived but little benefit from experience and mis- fortune. The year 1790 now sees us as unprepared as the year 1780 did for war. We have added to the numbers of our army, but not to its strength, by bringing so many regiments from Europe. For so great a number of Europeans serve only to retard the operations of an Indian army, less by their inability to endure the fatigues of the field, than by the great quantity of cattle which is requisite to convey their provisions and equipage. No addition has been made to our sepoys, on whom we have long depended, and may still with security depend, for the preservation of our empire in this country. We have, therefore, made our army more expensive and numerous, though less calculated for the purposes of war, than formerly, both on account of the multitude of Europeans and the want of cattle. We keep up, it is true, a small establishment of bullocks, but hardly sufficient to draw the guns, far less to transport the prodigious quantity of stores and provisions which follow an army. Had