is
daily life; the latter is unacclimatised, knows nothing of the
country, and, accustomed to have his every want supplied, is at a
loss when any extraordinary hardships or difficulties are
encountered; he has only his skill in his arms and discipline in
his favour, and sometimes that skill may be also possessed by his
foe. The native of the country has to contend with a difficulty
in maintaining a long contest, owing to want of means and want of
discipline, being unaccustomed to any yoke interfering with
individual freedom. The resources of a regular army, in
comparison to those of the natives of the country, are infinite,
but it is accustomed to discipline. In a difficult country, when
the numbers are equal, and when the natives are of the
description above stated, the regular forces are certainly at a
very great disadvantage, until, by bitter experience in the
field, they are taught to fight in the same irregular way as
their foes, and this lesson may be learnt at a great cost. I
therefore think that when regular forces enter into a campaign
under these conditions, the former ought to avoid any unnecessary
haste, for time does not press with them, while every day
increases the burden on a country without resources and
unaccustomed to discipline, and as the forces of the country,
unprovided with artillery, never ought to be able to attack
fortified posts, any advance should be made by the establishment
of such posts. All engagements in the field ought, if possible,
to be avoided, except by corps raised from people who in their
habits resemble those in arms, or else by irregular corps raised
for the purpose, apart from the routine and red-tape inseparable
from regular armies. The regular forces will act as the back-bone
of the expedition, but the rock and cover fighting will be done
better by levies of such specially raised irregulars. For war
with native countries, I think that, except for the defence of
posts, artillery is a great incumbrance, far beyond its value. It
is a continual source of anxiety. Its transport regulates the
speed of the march, and it forms a target for the enemy, while
its effects on the scattered enemy is almost _nil_. An advance of
regular troops, as at present organised, is just the sort of
march that suits an