ith
many others, was doubtful as to the wisdom of encouraging a high state
of efficiency amongst the troops of independent States; the excellent
work, however, done by the Native Contingent I had with me in Kuram,
and the genuine desire of all ranks to be allowed to serve side by
side with our own soldiers, together with the unmistakable spirit of
loyalty displayed by Native Rulers when war with Russia was imminent
in 1885, convinced me that the time had arrived for us to prove to
the people of India that we had faith in their loyalty, and in their
recognition of the fact that their concern in the defence of the
Empire was at least as great as ours, and that we looked to them to
take their part in strengthening our rule and in keeping out all
intruders. I believed, too, that we had now little to fear from
internal trouble so long as our Government continued just and
sympathetic, but that, on the other hand, we could not expect to
remain free from outside interference, and that it would be wise to
prepare ourselves for a struggle which, as my readers must be aware, I
consider to be inevitable in the end. We have done much, and may
still do more, to delay it, but when that struggle comes it will be
incumbent upon us, both for political and military reasons, to make
use of all the troops and war material that the Native States can
place at our disposal, and it is therefore to our advantage to render
both as efficient and useful as possible.

The subject was, of course, most delicate and complex, and had to
be treated with the greatest caution, for not only was the measure
adapted to materially strengthen our military position in India, but
I was convinced it was politically sound, and likely to be generally
acceptable to the Native Rulers, provided we studied their wishes, and
were careful not to offend their prejudices and susceptibilities by
unnecessary interference.

It was very satisfactory to find how cordially the Chiefs responded
to Lord Dufferin's proposals, and extremely interesting to watch the
steady improvement in their armies under the guidance of carefully
selected British officers. Substantial results have been already
obtained, valuable help having been afforded to the Chitral expedition
by the transport trains organized by the Maharajas of Gwalior and
Jaipur, and by the gallantry of the Imperial Service Troops belonging
to His Highness the Maharaja of Kashmir at Hunza-Naga and during the
siege and relie