१८५७ का स्वातन्त्र्य समर (वीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर - अंग्रेजों द्वारा छपने से पूर्व प्रतिबन्धित महाग्रन्थ)

THE ERUPTION
chief officer was Brigadier Sibbald. About the month of
April, some Sepoys had expressed their doubt about the
cartridges, but the Government did not pay any serious
attention to them, and forced the Sepoys singly to accept
them. Once or twice again there was some tumult and
growing disaffection among the Sepoys, but the Govern-
ment could not see its danger.
The news of the Meerut rising reached Bareilly on the
14th of May. Thereupon, the Englishmen sent all their
families towards Naini Tal and ordered the cavalry to be
in readiness. The cavalry was also Indian, but it had
the special and complete confidence of the English. All
the Sepoys, including the cavalry, were called on parade
on the 15th of May, and the chief English officer preached
to them loyalty and good behaviour. He said that the
new cartridges were thenceforth to be stopped, and that
the Sepoys should use the old cartridges to which they
had no objection. Nay more, he said he would himself
trample into the dust any new cartridges which he saw
on the field and thus tried to remove the Sepoy's fear
about the cartridges. As a matter of fact, to dilate upon
cartridges now was superfluous. The Commander-in-
Chief had issued an order that throughout Hindusthan,
the new cartridges were, thenceforth, to be stopped. When
the Government thus drew back immediately after the
Meerut rising, and stopped, of their own accord, the use
of the cartridges upon which they insisted so much before
the month of May, the people and the Sepoys saw in the
new order nothing but a sign of fear and weakness. The
error of the theory that the Sepoys revolted solely on ac-
count of the cartridges, was now to be clearly proved at
Bareilly. The Brigadier told the Sepoys that he would
himself smash these cartridges, and tried to reassure
them ; but the days were gone when such words could
pacify them. What was the use of giving orders about
cartridges ? Where the question at issue was whether
the English should any longer have the power of giving
168