Tempo:
CHAP. IX
WAR WITH THE ENGLISH
289
on the 15th March 1846.^ But a portion of the territory at first proposed to be made over to him was reserved by his masters, the payments required from him were reduced by a fourth, and they were rendered still more easy of liquidation by considering him to be the heir to the money which his brother Suchet Singh had buried in Ferozepore.^
1845-6.
Lai Singh became minister once more; but he and suppiethe traitorous chiefs knew that they could not ^entary maintain themselves, even against the reduced army, j^^^j^^g^^J^. when the English should have fairly left the country, 2846. and thus the separation of Gulab Singh led to a further placing departure from the original scheme. It was agreed ^^^^p that a British- force should remain at the capital until ^'"^'^ "';^" '^^ the last day of December 1846, to enable the chiefs to tutelage feel secure while they reorganized the army and intro- during his duced order and efficiency into the administration, minority. The end of the year came; but the chiefs were^ still helpless; they clung to their foreign support, and gladly assented to an arrangement which leaves the English in immediate possession of the reduced dominion of Ranjit Singh, until his reputed son and feeble successor shall attain the age of manhood.^ While the Governor-General and Commander-in- The siuhs Chief remained at Lahore at the head of twenty thou- "o* ^^ssand men, portions of the Sikh army came to the capital ^^^^Jf^J^'^ to be paid up and disbanded. The soldiers showed revers^eT neither the despondency of mutinous rebels nor the effrontery and indifference of mercenaries, and their manly deportment added lustre to that valour which the victors had dearly felt and generously extolled. The men talked of their defeat as the chance of war, all
1
On this occasion 'Maharaja' Gulab Singh stood up, and,
with joined viceroy^
hands,
expressed
his
gratitude
to
the
British
—adding, without however any ironical meaning, that
he was indeed his 'Zurkharid', or gold-boughten slave! In the course of this history there has, n\pre than once, been occasion to allude to the unscrupulous character of Raja Gulab Singh; but it must not therefore be supposed that he is a man malevolently evil. He will, indeed,, deceive an enemy and take his life without hesitation, and in the accumulation of money he will exercise many oppressions; but he must be judged with reference to the morality of his age and race, and to the necessities of his own position. If these allowances be made, Gulab Singh will be found an able and moderate man, who does little in an idle or wanton spirit, and who is not without some traits both of good humour and generosity of temper. 2 See Appendices XXXIV, XXXV, and XXXVI, for the treaties with Lahore and Jammu. 3 See Appendix XXXVII for the second treaty with Lahore.
WAR WITH THE ENGLISH
289
on the 15th March 1846.^ But a portion of the territory at first proposed to be made over to him was reserved by his masters, the payments required from him were reduced by a fourth, and they were rendered still more easy of liquidation by considering him to be the heir to the money which his brother Suchet Singh had buried in Ferozepore.^
1845-6.
Lai Singh became minister once more; but he and suppiethe traitorous chiefs knew that they could not ^entary maintain themselves, even against the reduced army, j^^^j^^g^^J^. when the English should have fairly left the country, 2846. and thus the separation of Gulab Singh led to a further placing departure from the original scheme. It was agreed ^^^^p that a British- force should remain at the capital until ^'"^'^ "';^" '^^ the last day of December 1846, to enable the chiefs to tutelage feel secure while they reorganized the army and intro- during his duced order and efficiency into the administration, minority. The end of the year came; but the chiefs were^ still helpless; they clung to their foreign support, and gladly assented to an arrangement which leaves the English in immediate possession of the reduced dominion of Ranjit Singh, until his reputed son and feeble successor shall attain the age of manhood.^ While the Governor-General and Commander-in- The siuhs Chief remained at Lahore at the head of twenty thou- "o* ^^ssand men, portions of the Sikh army came to the capital ^^^^Jf^J^'^ to be paid up and disbanded. The soldiers showed revers^eT neither the despondency of mutinous rebels nor the effrontery and indifference of mercenaries, and their manly deportment added lustre to that valour which the victors had dearly felt and generously extolled. The men talked of their defeat as the chance of war, all
1
On this occasion 'Maharaja' Gulab Singh stood up, and,
with joined viceroy^
hands,
expressed
his
gratitude
to
the
British
—adding, without however any ironical meaning, that
he was indeed his 'Zurkharid', or gold-boughten slave! In the course of this history there has, n\pre than once, been occasion to allude to the unscrupulous character of Raja Gulab Singh; but it must not therefore be supposed that he is a man malevolently evil. He will, indeed,, deceive an enemy and take his life without hesitation, and in the accumulation of money he will exercise many oppressions; but he must be judged with reference to the morality of his age and race, and to the necessities of his own position. If these allowances be made, Gulab Singh will be found an able and moderate man, who does little in an idle or wanton spirit, and who is not without some traits both of good humour and generosity of temper. 2 See Appendices XXXIV, XXXV, and XXXVI, for the treaties with Lahore and Jammu. 3 See Appendix XXXVII for the second treaty with Lahore.
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