All are allowed to live with their families, and European officers are stationed at central points in the different parts of the country where they are most numerous to pay them their stipends every six months.  These officers are at—­ 1st, Barrackpore; 2nd, Dinapore; 3rd, Allahabad; 4th, Lucknow; 5th, Meerut.  From these central points they move twice a year to the several other points within their respective circles of payment where the pensioners can most conveniently attend to receive their money on certain days, so that none of them have to go far, or to employ any expensive means to get it—­it is, in fact, brought home as near as possible to their doors by a considerate and liberal government.[8]

Every soldier is entitled to a pension when pronounced by a board of surgeons as no longer fit for the active duties of his profession, after fifteen years’ active service; but to be entitled to the pension of his rank in the army, he must have served in such rank for three years.  Till he has done so he is entitled only to the pension of that immediately below it.  A sepoy gets four rupees a month, that is, about one-fourth more than the ordinary wages of common uninstructed labour throughout the country.[9] But it will be better to give the rate of pay of the native officers and men of our native infantry and that of their retired pensions in one table.

TABLE OF THE RATE OF PAY AND RETIRED PENSIONS OF THE NATIVE OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF OUR NATIVE INFANTRY.

Rank           Rate of Pay    Rate of
per       Pension per
Mensem.       Mensem.

Rupees. Rupees.

A Sepoy, or private soldier. (Note.—­
  After sixteen years’ service eight
  rupees a month, after twenty years
  he gets nine rupees a month) . . 7.0 4.0
A Naik, or corporal . . . . 12.0 7.0
A Havildar, or sergeant . . . . 14.0 7.0
A Jemadar, subaltern commissioned officer 24.8 13.0
Subadar, or Captain . . . . 67.0 25.0
Subadar Major . . . . . 92.0 0.0[a]
A Subadar, after forty years service . 0.0 50.0
A Subadar Bahadur of the Order of British
    India, First Class, two rupees a day
    extra; Second Class, one Rupee a day
    extra.  This extra allowance they
    enjoy after they retire from the
    service during life.[b]

a.  I presume this means that no special rate of pension was fixed for the rank of Subadar Major.

b.  The monthly rates of pay and pension now in force for native officers and men of the Bengal army are as follows: 

Rank Pay. Pension.

Ordinary. Superior. Ordinary. Superior.
Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.