The Garhwalis as a distinct type were being tested for the first time in Class Corps. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 39th Garhwal Rifles did splendidly on every occasion in which they were engaged. In fact they surprised us all; not that we did not expect them to do well, but they suddenly sprang into the very front rank of our best fighting men. At Festubert in 1914, and at Neuve Chapelle, nothing could have been better than their _élan_ and discipline, and they at once established a reputation which will live in India. After a long experience of the Indian Army, I do not think that what are called Class Regiments (_i.e._ composed of men all of one race) are the best, or in many cases even desirable. With the exception of Gurkhas, Mazbi Sikhs, and Garhwalis, I think the other races of Northern India are at their best in war when formed in half battalions or companies and mixed with other classes. In the case of Gurkhas I only know one example of their being mixed with other races, and that was a company of the Guides. Their case, however, stands on a different footing, as it was a Corps which was stationary in ordinary times of peace, having its Headquarters at Mardan on the North-West Frontier, and besides the Guides were an exceedingly very fine corps. I would advocate an exception to the above statement, and that is, in the case of some of the battalions, the Class system might, in recognition of their distinguished services during the war, be given a further trial. The reasons for what I advocate are complex, but the truth is to my thinking undeniable. Perhaps I shall be met with the statement that this has been disproved by the Class Regiment system in this war. I do not agree, on the contrary in my opinion it has been proved, and I have seen much proof of it. The different races have their own characteristics; by mixing them you get a combination of _élan_, stubbornness, and endurance; you make it easier to maintain one form of discipline for all classes; and while giving full play to each religion and its prejudices, you eliminate the narrow-mindedness that springs of clannishness in Eastern peoples. Moreover the mixed battalion system makes it easier to introduce gradually the _lingua franca_ of India throughout a Corps, so that the loss of British officers will not mean an absence of Europeans who can talk the language of their men. This is in any case a difficult matter under any system, but with Class Corps it is a quandary. What then is the remedy with Gurkhas who speak a language absolutely their own? In this case we can do our best to make Hindustani understood as far as it can be, and for the rest, to encourage in every way a knowledge of their language amongst British officers of the Indian Army who can be persuaded to learn it. The Indian Army without these fine fighters would be like a twinscrew steamer minus one screw. Means can be found to keep the ship in trim.