There Sir Bindon Blood received the submission of the
Utman Khels, who brought in the weapons demanded from them, and paid a
fine as an indemnity for attacking the Malakand and Chakdara.
The soldiers, who were still in a fighting mood, watched with impatience
the political negotiations which produced so peaceful a triumph.
All Indian military commanders, from Lord Clive and Lord Clive's times
downwards, have inveighed against the practice of attaching civil
officers to field forces. It has been said, frequently with truth, that
they hamper the military operations, and by interfering with the
generals, infuse a spirit of vacillation into the plans. Although the
political officers of the Malakand Field Force were always personally
popular with their military comrades, there were many who criticised
their official actions, and disapproved of their presence. The duties of
the civil officers, in a campaign, are twofold: firstly, to negotiate,
and secondly, to collect information. It would seem that for the first
of these duties they are indispensable.
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