So much for the school of discipline in Europe. But there had been a class-room opened in the East, to which the Regiment sent some pupils. Admiral Boscawen had been ordered to the East Indies, in command of a mixed naval and military force, including a company of the Royal Artillery, under Major Goodyear. The force of the enemy, and the strength of his defences, had been underrated; and it cannot be said that the expedition was very successful. The ordnance which accompanied the Artillery consisted of twelve 6-pounders, six 3-pounders, two 10- inch, three 8-inch, fifteen 5½ inch, and twenty-five 4⅖-inch mortars, all of brass. It was at the siege of Pondicherry that these guns were used, a siege which lasted from the 11th of August to the 6th of October, 1748, when Admiral Boscawen was compelled to raise it after a loss of over 1000 men. The Royal Artillery lost, out of a total of 148 of all ranks, no less than forty-three, including Major Goodyear, who fell, mortally wounded, during the siege, his leg being carried away by a round-shot. A stop was put to the hostilities by the declaration of peace, but the presence of Admiral Boscawen enabled him to ratify, in a prompt manner, that part of the treaty which restored Madras to the English. Many men of Major Goodyear's company were allowed, in 1749, to volunteer for the East India Company's service. But this expedition has an interest to the Artilleryman beyond the military operations. Before sailing, Admiral Boscawen asserted his intention, in spite of Major Goodyear's remonstrances, of filling up, as Commander-in-Chief, any vacancies which might occur in the company of Artillery. The Board of Ordnance was appealed to, and most warmly protested against such an interference with its prerogative,—declaring that none of the appointments made by the Admiral would be recognized by the present or any succeeding Master-General. Doubtless, the Board was right; and Admiral Boscawen, being anxious to retain the favour of all under his command, let the matter drop. With a seniority corps, essentially detached when on service, it was absolutely necessary that promotion should be general, not local. At the same time, the restraint of the Board was irksome—not the less so because just; and the feeling could never be agreeable to a commander, that serving under him were those who owed a special allegiance to another. As time went on, and the military department of the Ordnance increased, this irritation would become more general, and the points of difference between Generals and the Board would multiply.