2. On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  the  Court  of  Inquiiy  sat
(the  6th  February),  a  sepoy  of  the  S4th  Regiment,  Native  Infantry,
came  to  the  officer  of  his  company. Lieutenant  Allen,  and  told  him  of  a
plot  amongst  the  sepoys,  who  were  apprehensive  of  being  forced  to  give^
up  their  caste  and  be  made  Christians,  to  plunder  Barrackpore  and  at«
tf  mpt  to  aeite  Fort  William  or  the  Treasury. A  meeting  of  delegatee


Digitized  by  VjOOQIC


34  THE  INDIAN  MUTINY


from  different  regiments  was,  Lieutenant  Allen's  informant  said,  to  take
place  the  same  night ;  and,  at  his  suggestion,  Lieutenant  Allen,  having
reported  the  matter  to  the  senior  authorities,  proceeded  with  their
sanction  in  the  direction  indicated,  but  saw  no  appearance  of  any  meet-
ing, and  the  roll  having  been  called  in  every  regiment  at  the  same  time
all  the  men  were  reported  to  be  present  in  their  lines. The  sepoy  who
gave  the  information  to  Lieutenant  Allen,  when  subsequently  question-
ed on  the  subject,  stated  that  he  knew  that  a  meeting  had  taken  place
Qn  the  5  th  February,  though  he  was  not  present  at  it  himself,  and  he
understood  that  it  was  then  arranged  that  another  meeting  should  be
held  on  the  following  night  (the  6th) ;  and  he  adds  that  after  he  retum«
ed  to  the  lines  from  Lieutenant  Allen's  he  actually  saw  the  men  leaving
their  lines  and  proceeding  to  the  place  of  assembly,  but  he  supposes  that
a  suspicion  must  have  got  abroad  that  their  intentions  were  discovered,
inducing  them  consequently  to  abandon  the  projected  meeting. The
sepoy  informant  (Ramsahai  Lalla)  appears  to  bear  a  verj^  good  character,
and  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  his  story,  except  that  he  has  probably
very  much  exaggerated  matters. He  has  not  named  any  individuals
who  were  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  5th. 